Sixteen years ago......

Way back in early 2006 we were planning a trip overseas - a cruise, no less!  Our older son was working on board a cruise ship playing in the orchestra so we booked ourselves a flight to Vancouver, did some tootling around Vancouver then Victoria on Vancouver Island, cruised for seven days to Alaska on our son's ship, then spent a few more days in Alaska going as far north as Fairbanks before eventually flying home.  It was a very busy three weeks.

Because all those flights entailed much sitting and waiting I decided to do something I hadn't done before - piece quilt blocks by hand.  A six inch flower basket block was decided on and a few blocks cut from floral and white-on-white fabrics; these were first taken to Canberra for our annual Easter trip, and some stitches were actually sewn.  The original plan was to make 169 blocks to be set 13 rows across by 13 rows down....good heavens, I said to myself, that's a lot of sewing.  However I kept plodding away and after a few years was enjoying the process so much that I thought to make the quilt bigger, so ended up making 225 blocks.  There are fabrics from several trips to Canada, as well as that Alaskan trip, in it.

Once all the blocks were made several years ago they were joined nine at a time, three rows by three.  The original Cunning Plan was to do them quilt-as-you-go then join those blocks to make a quilt but I couldn't decide which quilting design to use, so they sat....and they sat.....and they sat some more until last year when the hand-piecing on my tumbler quilt was finished, and I thought "blow it - I'll finish the flower basket top and have it quilted".

On Friday night the last stitch was taken on the top - and it's done, sixteen years after it was first a bright idea in my brain!  I'll try to get a photo but it is so big that may be hard to do, so here are some progress pics.

The last block was made and photographed on 20th August, 2014.

One of the 25 blocks of nine; white and floral backgrounds were alternated.

This was taken just six months after the first stitches were taken, when enough blocks had been made to cover the top of our dining table.

There won't be a border, it's already large enough....90 inches square, 4,500 individual pieces.  It will, of course, shrink when quilted.

You probably heard my sigh of relief and achievement on Friday night from your house, wherever you are.

We will be going away on Tuesday so my knitting will come along, as will the diamonds which were recently cut for hand-piecing.  And some books to read, and a book of crossword puzzles - Kevin likes Sudoku, I prefer crosswords - our little caravan doesn't have TV.  When we come home, quilting on the border of my Canadian quilt will be done....it's time it was finished, and there are other machine projects to fill in the rest of this year and probably the next year as well.  And to start off the following year after that.....

Last night's concert went very well, it was so good to sing to an audience again!  The choir songs were well received as were the ukulele group songs, and my solo was much applauded; while I was packing up my uke a man from the audience came to compliment me and to say how much he enjoyed my song, which I thought was really nice of him.  I sang a parody - in French, no less! - of words which have crept into English, to the tune of 'La vie en rose'.  Other audience members also complimented me as we were leaving, saying how much they enjoyed my funny song.

Of course my uke will go away in the caravan too.  As will warm clothes, because Canberra's forecast is for some fairly cool weather.  My birthday will be a few days after we arrive and I had decided that Kevin could take me out for chocolate lunch.  At a chocolate shop/café.  Which we have now found out is closed, yet another victim of business downturn due to the covid plague.

Sigh.....

"General rules for balls.

A young man who can dance, and will not dance, should stay away from a ball."

Indeed.  The whole point of going to a ball is to socialise and to dance, so if you will not dance there is no point in going, is there?

We'll be back at the end of May.  Until then.....

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer