Have finished my second Lodewijk. Have this time also knitted the arms and legs on 4 needles, which I had not done the first time. It looks better.



Have received siggies from the Netherlands Antilles. Have swapped with 11 ladies and got already 8 back.

















Have been working in the yard a lot, so that I am ready for summer.
Have done pruning, mowing in the front, now the back has to be done. Will need a fire permit there is a lot to be burned. Had a quote for a front fence. Need a new one.
This Sunday I am going on holiday to Lord Howe Island. It is a small island in the Pacific Ocean, only 400 tourists can there be any time. Which is not much but good for the environment.

Have been busy this week. Went to quilting club and started cutting fabric for two small quilts. A friend wants a quilt for her settee and it has also to go over the armrests. The smaller ones I will stitch together with the binding of the quilt. The top of the settee one is finished.



Kit 9 of the gollyville quilt is ready and have started on kit 10. Very slowly this quilt is getting done.



So now and then I do a bit of knitting and this morning I started with a new Lodewijk, I got it from, it is in Dutch and English.



Last week when I went to the Bookfest, my dog thrashed the house again and this week, I put her outside on the chain. This was only temporary. On friday I went to the mechanic with my car. It needed a service. Got a new battery, the other was nearly on the blink. After a check I needed also new disks and pads for the front brakes. Came there at 8 am and was finished at 10.45am, could wait, got even a cup of coffee. Had a book to read from Wilbur Smith, "Warlock". It's a good read.
Went after that to Bunnings and bought a dog kennel and wire for an enclosure for the dog.
Fixed that in the afternoon and the next day in she went.



When I came home she was out, know now how she got out and will close it better next time, which is tomorrow.

It’s been a while that I have been blogging. A lot has happened.
On Thursday 22 of May went to Yati in Morayfield and showed her the design which I had in mind to make for her. The quilt goes over the lounge suit and she wants also quilts going over the armrests. Will stitch those to the side of the quilt. She liked the design and I calculated how much fabric I would need.

In between all this I painted the timber for the pergola for the second time.
On the Monday Graeme called, he was coming on Wednesday to put up the pergola.





He finished on Thursday in the afternoon. Now I have to paint it another time and then I get sheeting fixed on top of the pergola, so I can sit underneath it in summer.



Started cutting the fabric for Yati’s quilt and finished it before Friday, when I was going to a quilting retreat where I could stitch it together.

For the retreat I had still to get a mug so bought one in Browns Plains and went then to Linda. We went from her place in the afternoon when Lennert her husband was home. It took us 2 hours to get to Highfields.
Settled in our bedroom, each person had a bedroom. Beautiful accommodation.







The space in the sewing room was not so good. We had to share one table and with 2 sewing machines on it, you have not much space, but we managed.





It was good I had everything pre-cut. The top is nearly finished the blocks were all stitched together and have now to do the rows.



Last Sunday there was in the city a Book fest from Liveline and bought several books.

These are some of the books I have bought.

Knitting

At the moment quilting is at a standstill. However I have a commission to make a quilt and will very soon start on that one. Coming Thursday I will visit Jati and show her the design and see if she likes it. Can then buy material and start cutting so I can sew it together when I go on the quilting retreat, the end of this month. Am going with Linda.

Had this morning the brickie, who had done the brickwork on the carport poles.
He could not understand how I got the cracks in the bricks. He had not seen this before.



This is the biggest crack.



This pole has 3 sides cracked.

Have been knitting the last couple of days and finished some of the patterns of the Knitalong "Sampler M".



Pattern 16 Cubics



Pattern 17 Wybert



Pattern 18 Twisted Oak.

Have been working hard at the timber for the pergola. It is all painted at least once. Had the acrylic very diluted, so the paint could soak in the timber. Has to do it now for the second time.







Have started to paint the facia, so that it is ready for the pergola. Will have it very soon erected.




On Mother's Day, I went at about 12.45 to Garden City where DD and I where to meet. We bought first tickets for a movie, we saw "Miss Pettygrew". Before the picture started we had something to eat. It was an early dinner for me and a late brunch for DD. At about 5 pm I was home again, we enjoyed it very much.

The shower screen got installed today and it looks very good. Cannot use it today, it needs 24 hours before the glue is hardened.



Had the frame around the mirror also changed from bronze into silver.

Have been to the Stitches and Craft Show today with Linda. We met at the Show and had first a coffee.
The very first thing we saw were the quilts. On this show there are not many quilts. We were not allowed to make pictures.

Bought a couple of things.





The ATC Linda gave me today. I love it very much. It is beautiful. There is now a chance that I might make them too. However have still a lot other things to do.
Have seen the book cover which Linda shows on her blog. It looks even better in reality then on the picture.
Next time I see Linda, we will be going to a quilting retreat in Highfields at the end of this month. It will be there very cold and have already bought a new pj and dressing gown for it.

Have been busy with the laundry and bathroom. On a Friday I got the handyman and he replaced the wall in the bathroom. After that I waterproofed the wall. Have done it twice. The waterproofing stuff is very thick. You paint it on. After 2 hours it is ready for the second layer.









Had to put on the tabs and spout of the bath myself. All other tabs the tiler did but he did not have those.
The tiling is done and now the shower screen has to go in. Rang up and they will come and measure for the screen.

Afterwards I will paint the laundry and bathroom. Want to change the colour on the skirting and architraves. Have now estapol. It is difficult to paint because it is so smooth. You have to sand it back, which is a big job. Made some enquiries and got the solution from Wattyl, I believe they are also the manufacturers of Estapol. There is ESP (easy surface prep), you paint it on after 5 minutes you wipe it off and then you can paint it after 90 minutes. Have done the painting on and wiping off.



Found in the carport loads of paint, we got that a couple of years ago, of a friend.
Have opened one tin and there is acrylic in it which is good for the outside and the pergola. The colour is cream.

Bought some timber from Bunnings for my pergola. Asked it to be delivered on Thursday afternoon after 1 pm. Got it just before I was to leave home for selling tickets in Jimboomba. The driver rang from the end of the road, could not find the house. Checked the delivery, signed and left. The driver unloaded the truck and left the timber at the back of the house.
Now I am painting the timber for the first time. It soaks up the paint. It is acrylic paint and I dilute the paint so it is easier to paint and it covers better. After that is done the pergola can be build.

Discovered today that the bricks around the carport poles are cracking. Know the answer. There was moisture in the soil when the concrete and brickwork was done. Has not been raining lately and the soil is drying out, the concrete and brickwork are adjusting to the conditions. Should have done it when the soil was dried out. Less chance for cracking.