Not a New Project?

 I know I said I wasn't starting anything, but...

My quilt group will be having a display of miniature quilts at a hotel in Ballarat in April. Quilts have to be 40cm square. I don't have anything that size, so need to get sewing!

I hope I am not being too ambitious, but this is my starting point:

Design 3734.6 in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. I printed it from Blockbase, and have had it pinned up on my noticeboard since 27th November, if you can read the small print on the next photo:

Yesterday I went to a sit and sew day and made the first two stars, just as a test. I think it will work, although I'm not looking at the diamond circle border just yet...

A few more diamond stars prepped. I need to decide on a background soon.

The Garden in January

We've had a few hot days, with a few more to come, but fortunately today is quite nice. Here's what is flowering at the moment.

Christmas lilies, which were only small buds at Christmas, are now open:

Daylilies:

Kangaroo paws, and in the background some roses and if you look hard, some gladioli:

Leucospermum:

 Leptospermum "Rudolf" didn't get here by Christmas this time:

Lots of buds on this Melaleuca, but only one flower head opening so far:

Yellow buttons, Chrysocephalum apiculatum:

Buddleia with bonus common brown butterfly:

Red hot pokers:

Lots of gladdies, although they tend to fall over in the heat:

Rose:

Hydrangeas:

Echinacea with bonus common brown butterfly:

Sunflowers looking sunny:

Philadelphus, or mock orange:

Fuchsias:

In the back yard, one lot of hebes have finished so need pruning, and the next lot are flowering but looking a bit parched. They should be fine after a drink:

Hanging basket of pansies:

Honeysuckle:

And last of all, the sweet peas are lasting well. I'm sure they would normally be finished by now:

That's it for the garden in January, although I know I missed photographing a few things.

Scraps of This and That

 I'm doing the Rainbow Scrap Challenge again this year, in a very low-key way.

I've made 2 of Ivani's Hearts blocks this month.

Last year I made 6 of each colour, but when I assembled the quilt top I only used 4 of each. So 2 new and 2 left-over hearts will give me enough for another quilt the same size this year.

I'm adding the sashing as I go this time.

Linked to the SoScrappy link-up here.

A bit of quilting practice:

I'm going to make a cover for my machine out of this happy fabric.

The greenhouse is now fully assembled:

That photo was about a week ago - now it is full of plants and has shadecloth over the top.

And just because, here is a superb fairywren having a splash in one of our birdbaths:

Then flying out of the water:

To dry off in the sun:

So cute! (And blue, for the January RSC colour).

Hello 2023

I'm starting this year slowly. 

We had some hot weather in the last week of December. Early one morning I went out to water some young plants before the heat. Something bit my leg. I didn't notice at the time, but when I did I assumed it was a mosquito bite. However over the course of a day or so it became quite red, swollen and sore. Eventually I went to a doctor who prescribed antibiotics. I have now finished the course and the swelling and pain and most of the redness is gone, but there is still a pink patch about 5cm across which is itchy when something touches it. And my digestive system is very unhappy due to the antibiotics. I hope the new year starts looking up soon!

During December I started sorting out the mess in my sewing room which, like the rest of life, has been out of control over the last couple of years. I have made some progress but there is still a way to go.

At the beginning of 2020, I did a post about my unfinished projects.  My plan was to get some of them done that year. Ha ha! The only one I even touched was the last one on the list, that year's Quiltville mystery, Frolic. It became two quilts, the larger one finished in January 2021, and a smaller one made of the left-overs, finished in March 2021. 

Since then I have started several new projects, which I won't list here. Let's just say I have a lot to be going on with. In fact, in the course of cleaning up my sewing room I found 2 projects that weren't even in the document that I keep as a record of my progress. So my list of UFOs is longer than I thought it was.

The daylilies are looking good, though!

And the greenhouse is taking shape:

I'm not making any predictions about what I will or will not achieve this year.  No plans. With everything that life has thrown at me since the beginning of 2020, I think I will just take this year one day at a time.

Happy 2023, everyone.