The last two weeks are a blur.  The Adelaide germs caught up with me and laid me low for about 10 days, and then I was scrambling to meet two major deadlines, still not feeling better.  One deadline is still looming, so I'm not having any fun until that is behind me.  Oh well, I feel so much better now, and I'm looking forward to tackling my chores so that I can have a bit of free time next week.

I went and picked up my sewing machine, and I'm so glad to have it back.  She purrs like a kitten, I hadn't realised how noisy she was before.  Everyone at the shop remarked on  her good condition; she has a couple of scratches, but I've tried to look after her all these years and it shows.  She doesn't have a name though, how odd.

The repair shop is Allmake Sewing Machines, and they were wonderful to deal with.  I'm a happy customer.

Check out this wall of machines in their back room!

When I can't sew, I buy.  Sad, but true.  I've been wanting to make some bright, cheerful quilts for the kids in our lives, but my stash is full of sombre, serious reproduction fabrics.  I bought a couple of bundles from a destash group on Facebook, and had an instant stash of suitable fabrics. 

 They aren't anything special, but a darn sight more cheerful than what is in my cupboards. 

I'm making a disappearing nine-patch to begin with, then I might do a Bricks and Stepping Stones.  I don't need these to be clever or original or show-stopping.  I just want some pretty quilts that the girls can drag around and play with and snuggle into.

Isla has a quilt on her bed that belonged to Shonny, and it makes me happy to tuck her in at night knowing there's another layer of meaning being added to the simple Double Irish Chain.  Shonny is quite sentimental about the family quilts now, I think losing her dad last year has changed her attitude to those things from her early life. I have some shirts of his to make into a memory quilt, and I hope she can help sew it with me. Quilts are healing to sew, as well as to wrap up in.