None The Wiser & Finishes!

Well ... here I am ... 'another year older and another year wiser' as the saying goes ... but apparently sometimes the 'older' shows up without the 'wiser' !! Tee! Hee! Hee! I had a low-key but enjoyable birthday ... lunch with a good friend and dinner out with my Sweetie, my parents, my boss and his wife ... Hmmm ... have you ever noticed that as we get older, birthdays seem to involve less PRESENTS and more FOOD?!?!?! :0) A huge "THANK YOU!" to everyone who helped make my day special with birthday wishes. I've got to the point where I don't really count YEARS each birthday now (I've well and truly run out of fingers and toes! Tee! Hee! Hee!) ... I count my BLESSINGS ... and each of you lovely friends and blogging buddies are on that list ... MMMWAAAAAAHH!!! To you all!!

So ... what have I been up to besides birthday bingeing. :0) Well ... I did manage to sneak a bit of sewing time in last week and have finished my "ME" project that I had been working on. Remember I started with this ...

... A "Paris Flea Market" layer cake. Well it now looks like this ...

 TA! DA! I added a couple of borders in my favourite fabrics from the range and ET VOILA! you have a pretty queen bed size quilt ... or maybe a bit bigger, as it hangs over the edge by about 9 inches each side.

It's currently laid out on our guest bed ... a restored brass bed that I LOVE! ... waiting for me to be able to stop admiring the pretty fabrics long enough to fold it up to take it off to the quilter. My whole aim with this quilt was to Keep It Simple Stoopid! so I'm just going to have a largish all-over design quilted on it so the gorgeous fabrics are still the stars ... Perhaps I will have to call this my "French K.I.S.S. Quilt"!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Now even though I've finished the TOP of this quilt, it doesn't count as a finish-finish (in the language of our OPAMers!! Tee! Hee! Hee!) but someone in the family DID finish something this week ...

Here's Mum with her cute finish ... a panel soft-book featuring Paddington Bear. While Mum has been dressmaking for years, she's never tried quilting, patchwork or much craft-type sewing. We joke that she'll clothe the world and I'll decorate it! Tee! Hee! Hee! So after she picked up this sweet panel at Quilters Angel, I promised to help her put it all together.

 I had a bit of a 'moment' when we were working on it together. It suddenly struck me, as I read the instructions, cut out the panels and showed Mum how to hold the ruler, use the rotary cutter etc, that this same scene had played out many times over the years ... in reverse! There have been MANY times when I've sat watching as Mum cut out, pinned or sewed a new outfit or costume for me ... usually at short notice! :0) A bit of role reversal, but a nice, relaxing time of stitching with my Mum. :0) She and Dad are house-sitting for friends in Toowoomba at the moment, so it's been nice to spend a bit more time with them than usual. One of those "as you get older, you appreciate it more ..." type of moments ... as I get older, I appreciate the times I get to spend with friends and loved ones more and more ... because they are the precious times when lasting memories are made! :0)

OK ... that's it from me for now ... I'm off to play Polly before I head off to bed. OPAM gals ... don't forget to update your sidebar lists ... only six days left of March  ... EEK!!! The year is flying by scary-fast! :0) Hope your week is off to a fantastic start and that it gets even better as it goes along. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS