Finished!!! The Girly Girly Quilt

It's finished! 

I'm not any kind of quilter but this was FUN.  A lot of work even in this simple construction but fun nonetheless.  I even bound the edges properly with mitred corners and a perfectly joined binding... if I do say so.  I made up the pattern for the top - it's just vertical strips about the width of our floor boards - easy to run your scissors along!  I found this article a lot of help with the binding.  I followed all the instructions except I started at the back of the quilt folding the binding over to the front of the quilt and then top stitching with the machine.  I've said it before, I do not hand stitch things. 

By the way, I did finish it in time for Little Miss Cuggle's 3rd birthday a couple of weeks ago. : ) Kim

Raw Honesty

The Fairy Garden Great Aunty Cuggles Made

Am I just lucky?  How often do we tell our family how very much we love them?   

It was Great Aunty Cuggles' 60th birthday on the weekend and the whole family congregated up the coast for a party weekend.  During the birthday dinner, Granny Cuggles (my Mum-in-Law) got up to tell her sister (the birthday girl) how much she loves her.  In addition to acknowledging Aunty's achievements Granny told some stories about tough times in their childhood that they came through together.  If there were any dry eyes when Granny sat down, they soon overflowed when Aunty delivered her reply.

Aunty had a stack of photos in her hands and as she spoke she passed around a picture of the people she was talking about.  She recalled lots of happy times but also recognised some sad truths that aren't often talked openly about.  There was no negativity, just statements acknowledging different situations and perspectives.  She finished with a photo of her dear Dad.  He passed away a long time ago but remains a solid presence within the family.  I never got to meet 'Papa' but feel as though I know what he was like because he is talked about so often and with such reverence.

I'm feeling very philosophical this week about how lucky I am to have married into such a wonderful family.  I've just written love notes to Granny and Aunty to tell them so.  Yes, I know that sounds corny. : )

PS. Isn't the fairy garden so cute?  We found these minature table and chairs buried under the overgrown garden when we bought the house 2 years ago.  I saved them knowing there'd be somewhere for them eventually.  When Aunty was helping with the new baby last year she put this little garden together for my daughter in between cooking, cleaning and organising us for a week.

xxxKim