Exciting News!!

We have a new grand baby as of yesterday afternoon.  Hunter has a little sister - Phoenix Autumn Ross.  Unfortunately I have no pictures yet to share.  The technology of getting pictures from a camera to nana seems to be missing this time.  I think it is a problem with the camera phone and facebook.  Hopefully I have pictures tomorrow.  The baby was born at 4:57 PM on November 12th -- my mother's birthday.  Although since I have yet to get a picture I am beginning to doubt her existance -- but I have heard her loud and clear in background of numerous phone calls.  Everyone is doing well.  Hunter is missing his mum I am sure -  and not allowed to go to the hospital because of the H1N1 flu.  I will be going to see little Phoenix and Hunter on Tuesday.  Since the baby was supposed to be born sometime after November 17th - I can not go until after working this weekend.

Since I have no pictures of the baby I can show pictures of my weekend retreat at Bowen Island last week.



This is the kit that I bought in Skagway on the cruise in May of 2008.  It was actually much easier to cut out than I thought it would be.  I used Steam a Seam lite.  It is amazing how much fabric gets cut away from the fish.  I have since cut out the rest of the two borders and it is ready to be put together.  The fish are not ironed at this time - just placed in position.  About half way through cutting out the second fish I discovered that I had put the fish on the fabric upside down --so the second fish was opposite in colour to the first fish -  red part of the fabric was on the bottom instead of on the top.  I was in a panic.  It was a kit and I had no more fabric - and it was going to look silly.  As we all gathered around my table Sunday afternoon trying to decide what I should do - search on line for more fabric - place the fish in a different position.  We actually decided we liked it better that way and all Jim really cared about was that they had green heads!  So I think the colour movement in the piece actually adds to it a bit -- that's my story and I'm sticking to it! 



My next accomplishment was my Morris Garden quilt.  I made 20 or so blocks -- there are a LOT of half square triangles!!  I am going to make as many as I can with the amount of fabric I have - which should be about 60-70 or so.  Because I am still having mathmatical issues with this quilt.  Thinking - obviously not clearly -   I decided that each large square cut  into two half square triangle would make two blocks - so 30 fat quarters -- two large squares -- four large half square triangles = 120 blocks.  Except that each block required TWO half square triangles --- thus only 60 blocks - and not quite enough for the size of quilt that I thought I was making.  I am sure in some previous math class some math teacher insisted that this Grade 10 algebra would one day come in handy!!  To make the quilt the size I want I think I need about 72 blocks.  So -- my dear friend Dianne gave me a bit of William Morris fabric from another line -- quite lovely and I ordered a few fat quarters from the new Morris Workshop line - and I think I can do this.........

A couple of pictures from the show and tell at retreat --one of my favourites was this little Red Rocks of Sedona wall hangings made by one of the ladies in my Friday stitch. 



And a very pretty quilt made from a "Flower of the month" fabric club.  Not a fabric club that I would have thought of joining but you just can help but feel happy when you look at a quilt just full of bright and pretty flowers. 

I will post pictures of Phoenix as soon as I can.  I am anxiously awaiting them!!  I hear she has dark hair - like her mum and looks a bit like Hunter as well but she has very long fingers and toes -- 6 lbs 2 oz and 50 cm long and she is a very good little eater and doesn't cry too much.