Guess what I bought today....

Anyone that knows me knows I love technology and gadgets.  I especially love Apple!!  I started with an iMac and an ipod nano, then bought an iphone 2 years ago. When I went to Vietnam I bought an iPad.  My husband rolled his eyes and I could see he was thinking "Oh just another toy" and he referred to it as a silly little ipad. Well, he uses that silly little ipad more than me now!!!

The iphone 4S was released here in NZ yesterday, so I popped into town this morning and am now the owner of a new iphone.  Siri is fun, but there are obviously issues in understanding my Kiwi accent!!! Oh my, it's a hard decision whether to sew or play with my new toy!!

Source: geeksfever.com

I have found a couple of quilting applications that I use on the ipad...BlockFab HD and the Robert Kaufmann quilting calculator. Does anyone have any favourite apps that they can't do without?   I find I use my ipad a lot in the kitchen if I have found a recipe online. I also store pdfs of quilting patterns and photos look great on the ipad, so it becomes a virtual photo album.  If you have an ipad, what do you tend to use it for?

Kitchen Window

A little bit of Anna Maria Horner and a little bit of Pat Bravo mixed together with Kona solids in the first 4 blocks of Kitchen Window by Elizabeth Hartman. I have her book Practical Guide to Patchwork and I like all of the designs in this book. Her instructions are simple and easy to follow and her diagrams make sense! This is stitching up really quickly and hopefully I will have the top finished tomorrow. Wow! That's got to be a record for me.

We are home from the hospital and Sarah is doing really really well. Each day she surprises me more with what she can do. She is transferring independently to and from her wheelchair now and I can hear her rattling around in the kitchen making something to eat!!  That girl sure has got determination.  Still gets very tired though and needs to have a couple of sleeps a day. That is my "me" time (aka quilting time).

Bloggers Quilt Festival

My entry into the Blogger's Quilt Festival this time is my Bliss quilt using the Wild Things pattern by Thimble Blossoms. I love this range of fabrics and wanted to showcase the whole range.  The aquas, reds and greens look so lovely together and I find them quite restful.

I finished this quilt last night sitting beside my daughter's hospital bed.  I had started the binding before her accident and all it needed was to be handsewn down.  So the quilt is covering her in bed. I had strict instructions from her that she didn't want to be in the photo!! I think this quilt will always remind me of this ghastly week now.

I had really wanted to do FMQ on this quilt, but ended up chickening out. Didn't feel confident enough, so I straight line quilted it. I pieced the back using my fav fabrics from the range.

How quickly life can change...

Right now I am sitting at the hospital next to my little girl. Last Friday I got the call that every parent dreads...."hello, There has been an accident and your child is hurt". I was on my way to pick up Sarah as she had been away at school camp for the week. The parent who was driving the car turned into the school driveway without seeing an oncoming car. Sarah was the rear seat passenger and took the full brunt of the impact as the car hit her directly. When I got to the scene, she was trapped in the car and was unconscious. She needed to be freed from the car by the fire service and was air lifted to the hospital. She has sustained a subdural haematoma with a head injury, facial and nasal fractures, fractured pelvis and fractured femur along with more bruises covering her little body.

I can't get any photos to upload at the moment but there is a pic of the car on flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/61671915@N02/6302961567/in/photo stream

It has been a roller coaster these last few days but she is making progress now. She is such a brave little girl and so strong. I can't bring myself to leave her side and when I do, all I think about is getting back to her. It is going to be a long haul for the next few months...

I did go home last evening for a couple of hours and brought back my Bliss quilt to finish the binding on. She sleeps an enormous amount as a result of the drugs and the head injury so I will make good use of the time she is asleep!

Four years ago today....

Tony and I got married in Rarotonga....

Back from California...

Oh well we returned to reality yesterday.  Had a fabulous time, but it's always good to be home in your own bed.  It's a little cooler here...we had temps in the 30s (C) every day, so a bit of a shock to come back to 14 degrees C.  The first couple of days we just cruised and shopped and looked around. We were staying at the Hyatt in Anaheim so there were lots of things within walking distance.  It seems a lot cheaper there in the supermarkets, but meals out aren't once you add in 20% for the tip.  Took a while to get used to tipping, but we eventually got the hang of it. I never knew who to tip and who not to tip, so we just winged it. Didn't get any rotten fruit thrown at us, so we must have done it ok. 

Janet and Clara (2 fabulous women I had met online through a quilting board) picked me up on Sunday and we went to M & L Fabrics in Anaheim. What an amazing store and so cheap. I picked up a few bargains ;) Actually after my shopping spree here, I needed to buy another suitcase to get the fabric home!

Clara ready and raring to go with her trolley

Janet hunting for bargains!

The 3 of us after the shopping trip

The next 3 days were taken up with Disneyland and California Adventure Park.  Fastpass is fantastic...certainly saved queuing for hours.  So many fabulous rides and things to see, but exhausting. 

Just before the fun started!! 

Pluto was gorgeous and really acted his part well 

World of Color Show...amazing!! All done with lights and water 

Just inside the entrance

On Thursday, we headed up to LA. Certainly had a different feeling to Anaheim. Our hotel was right behind the Kodak Theater so perfect for just strolling down to Hollywood Boulevard. Everyone there was just trying to make a buck.  Michale Jackson's star on the Walk of Fame was certainly the most popular by far.  We went to Universal Studios on Friday. I preferred this to Disneyland and will never view movies in the same way again!! 

Hannah's new boyfriend

Just resting up under the famous sign!

Chilling with the Simpsons!

From the set of Desperate Housewives. They were filming while we were there.

On Saturday and Sunday we shopped.  Just happened to stumble into a little shoe shop...

A few purchases...Thought we were quite restrained.

So goodbye LA...

Blissful times

I have had my Bliss quilt all basted and ready to quilt for the past couple of weeks but have just not had the time to do it.  I really want to FMQ it, but am a little worried I will make a complete disaster of it.  This is one of my favourite fabric ranges, so am not willing to settle for second best with it!!

On another note, in 3 days time we are heading to Disneyland, CA for 10 days!!! Well Disneyland for 4 days and LA for 4 days, but with the time difference we are away 10 days. I am taking the kids and they are SO excited.  I have never been and they are old enough to appreciate it now so I can't wait. Already mapped out a couple of quilt shops around Anaheim that I will visit, much to the kids disgust (aaawww mum, can't you go anywhere without looking at quilt shops!!!).  I am not going all that way without adding a few purchases to my suitcase!! Fabric is so expensive here compared to the USA, so I have already warned my hubby we need to take an extra bag!!

I also have a new job which has been keeping me busy...still nursing but am now the charge nurse of the High Dependency Unit.  Still nice regular hours...Mon- Fri but I do have to make the move back to shiftwork within the next couple of years :( And I thought I had done my last ever night shift...

Ok see you when I get back in a couple of weeks....