TropicalSoup

Nana Chris

Last week we farewelled D's beloved Nana Chris. At 103 (and a half!), her death wasn't completely unexpected, but it was still very sad, and very much the end of an era. I confess to having adored that wee woman from the moment I met her some 17 years ago, when she enveloped me in hug and insisted I call her Nana Chris.

I am thrilled to say that Cole and Immy thought as much of their *old nana Chris* as we did, and a visit to her was always a happy occasion, even if it took Cole a little while each time to warm up to the idea of giving her a kiss and a cuddle! (but her skin feels different and looks all folded, mama!)

(May 2011, just before we left NZ)

 

(This is not a very good photo of anyone, but it is my favourite - and so typical - everybody too busy chitter chattering to pay attention and smile, ha! Immy, Bob, Nana Chris, Cole and D - 4 generations!)

 

Thankfully D was able to fly back to NZ to attend her funeral, and to spend some time with his parents, sisters and extended family.

Farewell, Nana Chris, you are much loved and much missed!

 

(The kids discovered during a visit to Nana in 2010 that they could sneak through the fence at the back of the property and end up right outside her window. I think nana rather enjoyed the impromptu farewell dance that followed that day - and every visit since. Nothing like small people for exuberance, these small people particularly!)

Irony:

...getting my quilting mojo back (in a big way!) right before the school holidays and starting back at work!

It seems entirely too ridiculous that I have 4 completed quilts (and a new top!) to share, but haven't had a chance to take photos of them! Oh well, I have Friday off, fingers crossed it's a nice day and I can snap a few pics for you - there's one in particular I'm desperate to show off!

In the meantime, I feel terribly clever for making a pile of flowers in my ongoing teach-myself-to-crochet adventures. Not sure what they'll end up as just yet, but they are happy little things to look at. Made with various yarns (hand dyed merino, cotton, milk yarn) and most have a fabric covered button as their centre.

The Paintbox Pair

 

I thought I'd employ my 2 favourite short people to be quilt holders earlier this week, and snap some shots of the paintbox pair together, now that I have them both finished and living on the back of the sofa. You'd think I'd been feeding them crack cut with pure sugar all day the way things went down...it was pure lunacy! And since we haven't had another day at home with better lighting since then, you get the lunatic pics, ha!

Back to the quilts - they ended up at 46.5" x 40" each (they are the same size, in spite of how it appears in the photos!), and they each have a different back, different quilting and different binding. I quilted the second one in loopy FMQ, which I like the look of, but I confess the concentric circles is my favourite this time around.

I do wish now that I'd bound them both in the 1/4" grey and white stripe (just a generic from Spotlight, no pedigree sorry!) because it rather steals the limelight when compared to wee charcoal swirly line art on medium grey of the other. I hand stitched the binding on both.

 

The second paintbox quilt was backed in white with leftover strips of solids pieced in to break it up (you can read about the back of PaintBox A here) and whilst I was initially concerned about the amount of white on quilts which are going to get an awful lot of exposure to erm, *life*, so far so good. And really, at the end of the day, that's what washing machines and napisan are for, ha! (and why I always always always use cotton batting. Nowadays, at least)

 

The deets:

46.5" x 40"

Pattern: the blocks are made from the pattern given in Oh Fransson's Paintbox Quiltalong, though I deviated from the pattern (surprise!) and added offset white sashing between the blocks, made 84 blocks instead of 80, and split the resulting into 2 quilts.

Fabrics - front: Kona Jelly roll, Kona white, and assorted patterned fabrics for the focus of each block (predominantly Amy Butler's Midwest Modern 1)

Fabrics - back: Kona (and generic) white, Kona Tarragon, Kona Medium Grey, leftover scraps from the Kona roll.

Fabrics - binding: medium grey and white 1/4" stripe (unknown) and medium grey with charcoal line art swirls (pedigree also unknown)

Cotton batting (warm & natural)

Quilting thread: King Tut, in White Linen

 

 

 

Eat your heart out, Hallmark!

(happy birthday mummy. Mummy I love you more than the universe and back 4000 times - Immy)

 

(I love you to the moon and back a 1000 times - Cole. And the ubiquitous pic of him scoring a goal in soccer!)

 

I turned 36 yesterday, and by far the best part of this birthday has been the cards from Cole and Immy. There have been at least a dozen, that just turn up, completely unprompted and clearly (and very endearingly!) without any request for assistance in execution - handed to me, left on pillows, or in yesterday's case, hidden around the house for me to find in a *hot/cold* challenge, ha! How do these not melt your heart?!?!