A few photographs

I found a photograph of Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt - the one with hundreds of hexagons - I think you will agree it is quite delicious - so very traditional - a great potential for a family heirloom.

I have some cot sized quilts listed on www.julesandme.com, and am always happy to make to order. If there is a particular theme, or a particular colourway that you like, let me know, and we can create something special. I particularly love vintage inspired fabrics for kids' quilts - there are so many great fabrics to choose from, and you can create a wonderful retro theme for a nursery, especially when the fabrics are combined with gingham.

I have recently purchased some new fabrics from the United States, and I hope to be cutting them soon.

EARLY MORNING BLOGGING

It's 5:45am Saturday, and I have been awake for so long, thought I might as well get out of bed and start the day. One of the worst things about not sleeping is the thoughts that seem to creep into your head that have no right being there ... why does everything seem grim in the middle of the night!!

One of my great passions is patchwork and quilting, and I have just joined the Southern Cross Quilters online group, which is just wonderful! I love seeing emails in my inbox, and with this group there are many emails each day, from the friendliest group of people imaginable - they are supportive of one another, interested in one another's activities - quite amazing. Anyway, they have got me fired up about quilting again, I haven't done much in a while. And I have already been invited to join a local group - a good opportunity to meet up with some new people - I find that quilters are always warm and friendly people, and nothing nicer than sitting with people who have similar interests, chatting and stitching. I have always wanted to make a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt - it requires hundreds of hexagons, so I always have a bag of supplies with me, so that if I find myself on a train, or watching a movie on TV, I can make a few hexagons - I have a mental race with myself to see how many I can put together in an hour - it's a great way to use up small pieces of leftover fabric.

I am always looking for inspiration for my online shop, www.julesandme.com, and I came across these wonderful aboriginal design fabrics on eBay this week, and plan to applique some t-shirts and pj's - something a little different - I just love these fabrics, they are so beautiful, I would like to hang them on a wall! The fabric on the left is called Emu Egg, and the one on the right is Spirit Place.

All I need now is more time in each day to accomplish all of the tasks on my "to do" list.

FORGOT THE PHOTOGRAPH

I thought I had uploaded the beautiful photograph from the Mt Wilson garden, but it didn't happen - here goes, I will try again.

THE NEXT DAY

Well that seemed to have worked well - I remain confused with user names/passwords/signing in to my Google account - I seem to arrive at a different page every time - it's all about patience I guess.

I just want to share with you a wonderful little piece I found amongst some papers - taken from Good Weekend Magazine July 17, 2004.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future, anticipating my 60th birthday, which, given the way time speeds up once you've hit 30, is just around the corner. And here's what I'm working towards: forget the apologies and the cringing. I plan to borrow from a little-known Nepalese ceremony and be carried aloft through the best streets in town on a palanquin for all the world to see. I can just see the faces of the toned and implausibly right-faced women out walking their dogs as I am carried by shops like the one I passed the other day, where featured in the window is a boudoir pillow inscribed with the saying, "age is a number, and mine is unlisted". Just the thought of it makes me smile (adding a crease or two in the process). But what the hell. By then I hope to be well on my way to ageing dangerously".

Isn't that wonderful - I have passed the 60 mark, and it was not as ghastly as I had anticipated - in fact I thoroughly enjoyed myself - I had two weeks in Koh Samui with my family - what more could I possibly have wanted! And I still am quite surprised when I see a 62 year old face in the mirror ... apart from a few aches and pains, I still feel like a 30 year old!

I went out to Mt Wilson for a drive with my husband one day last week, and took a photograph of this beautiful lady - she sits in an old, gracious garden ... thought I would share her with you.

GETTING STARTED

Finally plucked up the courage to get started with a blog - I think I am pretty much the only person I know who doesn't have one ... well I do have one, but it is not relevant now. I will explain ... I had applied (if that's the right word) via Nivea's Channel 7 and New Idea promotion back in October last year to be a volunteer in Thailand, an opportunity to work for a month in a school in Chiang Mai, helping to teach English to students. I had to submit a written application explaining why I wanted to volunteer, why I thought I would be an appropriate volunteer, and filling the Nivea people in on my background in volunteering. I have done volunteer work for quite a few years now, mostly during time spent in Asia - specifically in Thailand and the Philippines - I have done Lifeline counselling here in Sydney, and have spent time working in op shops. I currently work in the Cancer Council op shop in Katoomba. I did make it to the final 8, which was a great, and quite unexpected, honour. Apparently close to 1000 applications were received. The 8 finalists met on December 15 with a panel of judges, as well as Yahoo 7 and New Idea staff - the judges had the difficult task of choosing the four most appropriate applicants out of the final 8 - two would go to Chiang Mai, and two to Pedwa in South Africa. I thought the idea was fantastic - women over the age of 50 were encouraged to apply, to show the world that we mature women still have what it takes to go out there and make a difference.

I am enjoying reading the blogs of the women who went ... the two Chiang Mai blogs are particularly interesting, as that was my chosen destination, mostly because I have spent quite a lot of time in Thailand - love the country, and love the people. The two women in South Africa are so far away from a township that they can only write their blogs once a week - from memory it is a one hour trip to the nearest internet cafe - the things we tend to take for granted!!

My point was ... Yahoo 7 provided each of us with a blog, so that we could tell the world of our adventures - my blog is still there, but as I said, hardly appropriate now.

So ... back to the real world. My focus now is my online boutique - www.julesandme.com - selling baby and infant clothing, toys, handmade quilts and nursery accessories. I love to sew, and have done so for myself and friends for many years. The arrival of my grandson in 2004 however redirected my focus to baby clothes. I bought him plain white t-shirts, onesies and PJs, and embellished them with retro fabric appliques, and made co-ordinating pants, bloomers and shorts. I tested the products on friends, who loved them. I then sold into a couple of boutiques in Sydney, as well as Bondi and Mosman markets. When I felt confident that I was on the right track, my son in law, who is a graphic designer, built a website for me. I love what I am doing, I consider the site a work in progress, and it probably will be for quite some time, but that is very ok!!

Once I work out how to post photographs to this blog, I will show you some of my favourite things. Worked it out! I didn't expect the photographs to show at the top, but there you go. You can see the latest quilt I have made, my gorgeous grandson, and two of the toys I sell - hand knitted by a very clever lady from Newcastle.