Wednesday, April 22

Quilty Post.

I am a little late to the party.
Park City Girl is Hosting this Bloggers Quilt Festival.



I am rather a contrary non joiner, but I have decided to join this. Even though they are having Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, & we are having Autumn here Downunder, Quilts are really timeless, & seasonless, after all.

I am entering this quilt, which I designed myself, because it is original.
It is a very simple quilt, but it is full of bright colours, and I called it "Gratitudes".
I made it as a gift for a very good friend, to say thankyou, for all she does to help me, & for being a lovely friend.



I quilted it very simply, on my domestic machine. It is not really wonky, but it was hard to get a good photo out on the clothesline.
Go & visit Amy, she has the full list of entrants, as well as some lovely music!
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This next series of pics are not quilt related at all.
When my mother was a little girl, her family were very poor you might say. My Grandmother was the local postmistress for the district. This meant she handled all the mail in the district, from her home. There was no official Post Office. She had wonderful stamps she had collected & years later, when we were children we felt we had much treasure in the old stamps our grandmother had kept.
Our Grandfather was the local Roadman. He was the maintenance man for the local roads. It was his responsibility to keep the roads free of slips, which often happened when the weather was really wet- as it frequently was, in the valley where they lived. He also had to keep the 'water tables' clear, so the water did not wash out the metal roads.
How different it all is, today, in that area. The roads are wide & are now sealed. There are still occasional slips onto the roads, but of course, there is much heavy machinery to deal with such events.
My grandfather used to cycle many miles on his old bicycle, with his implements for work carried along with him.
My mother was an only daughter. She had 2 older brothers, & a younger brother. The small house where they lived had little space for a family, so her older brothers slept in tents. It was a very cold valley, so I really dont know how they managed to keep warm.
My mother was born in 1920. She was a long baby, & the nurse told my Grandmother that she would grow to be a 'very tall woman'. Hah! She barely made 5'2", & was tiny all her life.
She had few toys in her childhood, but this little blue metal enamelled teaset was one of her treasures she kept. I loved it as a child, & always mourned the fact that it had one cup missing. I had a plastic teaset, & I substituted the missing cup with a plastic one, which I still have.
As you can see, the set was made in Germany, as stamped on the base of the teapot.


Over the years it has sustained some chips off the enamel. I did play with it, & I let my daughter play with it occasionally, though of course she had her own modern teasets.
I also let my granddaughter play with it, and on looking at it recently I saw there was a little teaset of my daughter's tucked away with this one. The other little set is one plate, one cup & one saucer. It too is metal, with a blue enamel, but it has a little design on the edges. It was made in Hong Kong.
So many memories!
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Yesterday, we went to a Country Court, to see what sentence the guilty attacker of our friend would get. Having pled guilty, he got a 'discount'. WTH??
'Normal' discount is 25%. Because our friend had had to give evidence, before the little scrote pled guilty, he 'only' got a 10% discount!
I see no rhyme or reason to the way the justice system works. The outcome amounts to a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.
Little wonder people take justice into their own hands.
A bitter lesson to our friend's children.
This was the stand of trees we passed in the lane we walked, leading to the Court. Such attractive trees, with lovely bright bracts.

They lined this carpark, in the lane, & I wish I had taken the photo on the way into the court. The sun was weakly shining on the way there, but it had clouded somewhat when we returned to our car.

The copper colours are some type of bracts, not flowers. Sorry I have no idea what sort of trees they are.


Colbie Caillat, Dreams Collide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzA6J2_Mtb8



29 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you entered your very pretty quilt. You did a great job with a the nine-patch and half-square triangle blocks, turning them into a great quilt.

Vicki said...

I really like that quilt. 9-patches are great!

Julia said...

It's gorgous Meggie..
nice to see you joining in..
Julia ♥

Jennifer said...

What a lovely quilt! Your friend is very lucky.
And I have to say, I agree with you about the court.

ancient one said...

I love your quilt... and I'm going to check out the others in a bit...

I don't understand the court system either... it seems to me that no one gets much punishment any more...

Those trees were pretty...

And I loved the tea sets...

molly said...

I think those might be golden rain trees. We have them here in Florida....Lovely quilt Meggie; lucky friend!

shara said...

I don't quilt myself, but love quilt patterns. I love hearing some of the history, the stories behind the patterns. How wonderful that yours has a story!

The tea set is wonderful- and again- the story that goes w/ it makes it even more wonderful.

I must say, courts and justice are hard to decipher. I have mixed feelings myself. I hope somehow, either now, in the prison or sometime or other (in this life), justice will be served.

Unknown said...

Lovely quilt Meggie - I especially love the dark patterned fabric you've used in the HSTs - gives it an added zing! :o)

Sheila said...

It's called justice Meggie, but I'm not sure who the justice is for.
One of our jails here is very old, and any one being kept there before trial is allowed a 2 for 1 off the sentence. For every day spent there they get two knocked of the sentence, or it might be the other way round. However you look at it, heaven forbid they should not be comfortable while waiting for trial. Even if their victim is in hospital, or worse dead!
The quilt is beautiful, the colours are great. I wouldn't know where to start.

Thimbleanna said...

Your quilt is beautiful Meggie. I love the pretty, bright colors. And why do doctors always try to judge the adult-to-be from the baby? One of my sons was really long and they said he would be tall too, but he's just average and the same height as his much-shorter-as-a-baby brother. How wonderful that you have that treasured tea set. Oh, and I'll never understand the justice system. Ever.

quilteddogs said...

Love the quilt. Very colorful.

Mike said...

I see your justice system is just as goofy as ours.

Becky said...

Your quilt is splendid! Thanks for sharing a picture with us. Enjoyed visiting your blog!

Aunt Spicy said...

So glad you signed up! Your quilt is just lovely! And love the family heirloom tea set!

Quilt Rat said...

Great quilt, aptly named....lucky friend!
Wonderful story so rich with family history. So glad you decided to join this fabulous festival.

The Sagittarian said...

Wonderful quilts, Meggie. You should pop over to mine and follow the link to Pixie, she has lovely quilts too!
I think when people go to Court they end up with a legal opinion, not justice.

New Yorker wannabes said...

Lovely quilt Meggie! My vote to you!

Thank you for sharing your stories with us!

Take care now
peace and love
xoxo

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

I love your Gratitude quilt. The color selection makes it so enjoyable to look at. Lucky recipient!

Granny J said...

Such a pretty quilt, Meggie! It so happens that I photographed a a few quilts at our public library yesterday, which I will post soon. In the meantime, I'm taking a look at the group you suggested.

Jeanette said...

Beautiful Quilt Meg.I dont understand the Courts Some get a slap on the wrist for something worthy of a good sentance others get the book thrown at thenm for something hardly worth mentioning.

Ohh Your sponge just looks like My Passed MIL used to make so yummy and as we used to tell her .. LOl (as light as a fairies fart)... Lol'' Jen

Lisa @celebrate CREATIVITY said...

What a beautiful quilt. Love all the vibrant colors and the pattern looks great.

Unknown said...

Love your quilt! The colors and design are beautiful :) Glad you joined in the fun!

Cathi said...

Your quilt is wonderful -- one wants to look at each 9-patch block! Lovely!

Christine Thresh said...

What a fun quilt. I love the way it steps down.
I hope you see your friend often so you can visit your (her) quilt.
Your tea set is sweet. Doesn't it bring back memories with a rush?

Anonymous said...

Here through the festival, and what a lovely quilt! My entry is also a gift for my closest friend - so we have that in common, as well, cleary, good taste in friends! (Wny else would they be worth it?)

Congrats on a beautiful quilt.

KittyAnn said...

I absolutely LOVE your 'Gratitudes' quilt - it is lovely, the large pattern fabric really sets it off nicely.

Thank you for sharing your memories of your grandmother and grandfather, so dear our memories - memories are really what we are after all.

Ah, the teaset is so precious, amazing the things we keep and treasure.

You blog is one the best I read from time to time, I appreciate the time you take to record your thoughts and sightings and of course your quilting!

Best,
Ani

The Fibers of Life said...

What a loverly quilt that is Meggie. I just finished one for a dear friend who has gone through some really tough times for the last 3 years. She came to visit and I had it waiting for her on the guest bed.
The trees in your picture looks like something we call "Silk Trees" here but I generally think of them as Spring trees so I can't be sure. They are lovely trees.

Finn said...

Love your gratitudes quilt, a perfect quilt in my opinion *VBS* Love all those those colors and the nice diagonals. Hugs, Finn

Mary L. said...

Great quilt!