Hubblebird's Quilt Blog

Like Michelle who is the author of 'From Bolt to Beauty' I love words. Here's hoping that her  initiative to fill the gap left by Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts (taking a step back from a weekly link party) takes off.  I send the same wish for success to Wendy from Wendy's Quilts and More . She is hosting a weekly link party too (Peacock Party) and I am keen to support her, especially since the finish (below) was only started after I read about her finished cushion a while ago. I liked it so much I bought Jen Kingwell's book so that I could try and make one myself. I'm not a prolific quilter, so my blog is about all sorts of things that interest me. I don't have an Instagram account either. I prefer reading about how someone has constructed something, who it is for, what it is for, where it will go - the whole shebang!  I mourn the loss of another (very quirky) blogger on the Isle of White (Little Island Quilting) who seems to have abandoned her bl...

Our avocado green and bilious brown bathroom is getting demolished. My husband (who loves bathing) wanted to get rid of the enormous spa bath and have a long, deep tub that he could lie down in. He is 6ft 2in, so that seemed like a reasonable request.  I, on the other hand, loathe bathing in a tub.  In fact, the quicker I can get in and out of a bathroom the better. Must come from sharing one bathroom with three males for most of my adult life - my morning shower before work had to be quick - but the truth is I don't linger in there because I have far better things to do with my time! If we'd known how costly it would be to renovate such a large bathroom we might have had second thoughts.  However, it has to be done and its best to get it over and done with for the next 20-odd years as we don't plan on moving out of this house unless it is feet first. This house was built more than 26 years ago, and back then there was no regulation about waterproofing in wet a...

That’s surplus flesh versus insufficient covering from swimsuits by the way, not that there is a surplus of swimsuits on sale here!  How is it that in a coastal town there is very little choice of retail outlets for swimwear?   Make that very little choice of swimwear for women over 50, and on the shall we say, cuddly side too. And, is there anything worse than trying on swimsuits in hot, humid conditions? In a surprising twist for this time of year, it is pouring with rain outside, which makes struggling to pull on swimsuits over damp and clammy flesh even more tiresome than it needs to be. This makes my head hot and sweaty which makes my hair (due to be cut and coloured tomorrow) even more limp than usual. Add in the cruel mirrors, which vary from store to store, and the size of change cubicle (miniscule in the surf shops for miniscule women) and I am more than a little hot and bothered. The shame comes from having put on 10kg since I went back to wo...

Friday was blisteringly hot here – around 37 degrees C – with low cloud and a lot of humidity. Sadly, no rain, but warm enough to reassure me that I am on the right track with my exercise program and a new tennis schedule for summer (and the dreaded bathing suit) which is just around the corner.  Thankfully, today was much cooler and it was great to get out onto the tennis court with the coach and a new group of ladies (in my age group) all keen to improve our tennis and our fitness levels. I had my first lesson with Brad (the coach) last week, and after explaining to him that my (almost) 60-year-old knees could not take too much twisting in tennis drill, I was very happy to have him say that he feels it is important to learn how to strike the ball properly so that we are less susceptible to injury if our bodies – particularly our legs and feet – are in the wrong position in the first place. Today we focussed on the backhand, and the importance of follow through in ...

I asked the 'Postmistress' in the local newsagency/post office. "Upwards of AUD200," she replied to my question on the cost of posting 'The Wedding Quilt' to California. I was aghast.  Admittedly, this is a king size quilt, measuring 90 x 90 inches, and it weighs in excess of 10kg. But that's a lot of money to still risk it being stolen en route .  Insurance won't cover the financial loss, and certainly not the sentimental loss. The wedding quilt has a long history of heartache.  I started it as a gift for a family member in 2005.   For one reason or another it didn't get finished until 2015, after the intended recipient divorced, and several years after my darling Mum died.  Mum and my sisters helped me to pin baste the quilt when they were on a visit to Australia and I have very happy memories of the gossip and laughter we shared (plus a few glasses of wine) as we pin-basted it on a huge dining table in the house they had rented f...