Oh those lovely stars

I am in between projects at the moment and so went looking through our collection of orphan blocks for inspiration.

I ended up with three different groups of blocks and in the end this large star block got my attention.

The smaller blocks surrounding the star were also orphans, or at least seven of them.  I made up the blue one on the right so that could complete the row.

That was all the orphan blocks in this group so now it is up to me to continue with something of my own.

I decided I would like more stars to reflect the star in the centre and this is what I have come up with so far.

I need to make up another six blocks to complete the round.

These blocks are only 6.5 inches square and so some of the individual pieces are only 2 inches square.  A bit fiddly but worth it for the result.

I am enjoying the process.

I think, by the time I add these to the quilt top it will be big enough to be considering a border row.

A significant birthday

Our oldest brother had a significant '0' birthday today so Linda and I have been busy stitching in order to get this quilt delivered to him on time.

No shortage of quilt tops to choose from.  We had discussed that one of our scrappy quilt tops might be appropriate and so we chose one of the ones I had made from 2.5" squares collected during 1999 in a worldwide Y2K swap.  I have four of these in hand and what a great feeling to have one completed, despatched and arriving at its destination on the day of our brother's birthday.

Linda decided on an overall scrolling design and it suited the quilt well.  Looks great on the back too.  No quilt would be complete without having a cat scan and so CiCi obliged for us.

I had not envisaged putting magic binding on this particular quilt but in the end it was the expedient thing to do as it aided in getting the quilt finished in time.  I was pleased with the choice.  This image provides a nice close up on Linda's lovely stitching.

We had some wool batting that needed to be used up and so we put two layers in this quilt.  The quilt's home will be Christchurch and so the double layer of wool will provide extra warmth for those cold winter nights.

Enjoy, Norman, we hope you have many more happy birthdays to come.

Quilt for Anna-Clara

It was a very satisfying experience this week to finish this small quilt for my granddaughter, Anna-Clara.

Even though I keep saying that Magic Binding is not appropriate for all quilts I still keep finding quilts to use it on and this one was no exception.

I have had some pink minky fabric in my stash for some time.  I have always felt it should be appropriate for a young child's quilt.  With wanting to make this one as tactile as possible I was pleased to be able to incorporate the minky fabric into the back of the quilt.

When I was half way through putting the binding on I realised I had not made a label for the quilt so just for fun I made a small label and put it on the front on the bottom right.  I pinked the edges - just another bit of texture for small hands to discover.

Every quilter 'needs' a stash

 

Now, if I didn't have a stash this current project probably never would have happened.

The nursery panel in the middle I picked up in a remnant bin in a quilt store in Sydney whilst there on holiday.

The pink stripey fabric I have used as a border is the remainder of some bargain priced yardage I bought last time I visited Seattle WA.

If didn't have a stash I would not have been able to add some silk and ribbon tags within the seam lines.  My stash provided variety for the other tags as well.

I have been pondering making a 'tactile' quilt for a while.  In the meantime my granddaughter, Anna-Clara is growing up very quickly.  Now 9 months, sitting up and on the move, all too soon her need for such a thing may be gone.

I well remember all of my boys liking to hold fabric, especially when breast or bottle feeding and I think Anna-Clara is no exception so the plan is to complete for her and get this quilt on the way.

As well as the tags around the nursery panel I have some lovely soft Minky fabric (another something in my stash) to put on the back. I hope it will be a totally tactile experience for this little girl.

Another search in my stash should reveal some fabric suitable for a magic binding - yes every quilter needs to have a stash for projects such as these.

Then there were three

In keeping with my love of hexagons, I have now made three quilt tops and now it is time to say goodbye to this theme for a while.

The one on the left is the original one I made from the pattern, Science Fair. The middle one was made with hexagons by the same methodology but with more of a scrappy theme.

Upon completion of the middle quilt top I found I still had the makings of more floral hexagons and decided to make another one based on the Science Fair but this time with a cream background.  Whilst I favour the Science Fair on the left I feel sure I will be pleased with the outcome once the one on the right is quilted as well.

I have a few in between projects that I need to look at for the moment but then I plan to be making another curved piecing quilt top and am looking forward to that project.

Hearts transformed

About a year ago I found this heart quilt wall hanging in an opportunity shop.

You can see some before and after photos of this quilt from when Linda decided to give it more texture here.

Even with with added texture we felt the quilt still needed an extra touch so Linda removed the binding and this week I replaced it with our standby favourite,

Magic Binding.  That extra little touch just seems to give the quilt the finish it needed and we will get much pleasure from it when it next has a turn hanging on the wall in our sun room.

Sweet Peas, again

So good to be in the company of our Sweet Pea ladies once again.

We did a bit of homework today and made some decisions about what projects we might work on together this year so it will be fun to work towards making them happen.

It is always very stimulating when our group share their show and tell.

This hen block is Moira's own creation.  An excellent finish to an original idea.

Trish has been busy during the break creating cushion covers in her favourite colours.

Andreena loves all things Christmas and this block is a work in progress.

A McKenna Ryan creation, the many pieces of fabric that need to be cut out to complete the project will keep Andreena busy for some time.

The village looks really lovely.  We look forward to seeing the sled full of gifts, Santa and the reindeer up front.

Debbie has made this delightful quilt for her grandson.

She used a pre-loved blanket for the batting and so this should be warm and cosy for him.

What more could a young man want than a transport theme quilt to snuggle under.

Lovely to have Maxie with us today.

She was not able to attend many meetings last year so we hope this year will give her more opportunities to be with us.

Today she brought a soft doll that had been made for her by a friend.

No doubt there will be lots more show and tell to share as the year progresses.

Side tracked, just a little bit

 When I last wrote I said I was making another hexagon quilt top but in the mean time I allowed myself to be side tracked, just a little bit.

Last year, at Sweet Peas, we all made birthday blocks for each other.  We had a cluster of birthdays at the end of the year and with my birthday being last and me not having chosen a block it did not happen for me.

Over the summer break I finally decided on a block called The Road to Oklahoma.

Once again I have Deb to thank from A Simple Life Quilts for sharing from her design board.

I spotted her blue and yellow version of this quilt block and decided this was the one for me.

The block itself is one of the easiest you could make and who would guess that by joining four of them together you would come up with this lovely star design.

We have our first meeting of the year for Sweet Peas this coming week and this is the block I will be asking our group of ladies to make.

I look forward to reporting back the results when they happen.

Now, it really must be time to get back to those hexagon blocks.

Hexies, again

Having completed my Science Fair hexagon quilt it was time to return to the scrappy hexagon quilt I began in November.

Some changes happened along the way and the pink has become more prominent but I am happy with it being that way.

Today I completed the top and it will join its companions in the wardrobe to mature until it is ready to be quilted.

In the process of adding all the pink fabric I ended up with a number of left over hexagon pieces so I have now embarked on another Science Fair project.

When that is complete it will definitely be time to say goodbye to hexagons until another day.

Good things can take a while

 Yes, it was six days ago that I wrote and said I was going to do a bit of stitching and bring this quilt to completion.

I really wondered how I would go with the angles of the top and bottom hexagon shapes but the instructions included with the Science Fair pattern by Jaybird Quilts were very good.  Bias binding definitely a must for this finish.

Linda and I had discussed a number of different quilting options and I was very pleased with her end solution.  Curvy lines interspersed with circles extending up and down the length of the quilt was all that was required and it is very effective.

Our cats have a bit of reputation for 'scanning' quilts when we lay them on the floor.  No floor photos this time but Kaiser still had to be part of the picture during my photo shoot.

Science Fair is definitely one of my favourite quilts so far.  Not sure if it is the long time love affair with hexagons or the particular pattern or the colour combination but I am very pleased with the outcome.

A little bit of stitching, maybe?

Most of my blog entries over the past month have related to visitors and, in particular, my grandson, Jackson.

When he arrived to stay with us he announced that he needed a new quilt because he was now too big for the ones he already had.

I selected a few quilt tops from our stash and he made a choice - Science Fair.  Who would have guessed that my hexagon quilt would go to a 7 year old young man.

Linda has been busy quilting it and it came off the frame today.  Looks like I will be doing a little bit of stitching getting the binding on this quilt so it can be sent to Jackson in Seattle.

I love the modern quilting stitching Linda has used and look forward to sharing more images when the binding is done.

More visitors, more bubbles

Our brother, Alan, visited with us this past week.

On one of the days he was here, his son, Alistair and family, came to visit.

Young children need to be happily occupied, but in order to do so, adults had to become involved.

It was a lovely, sunny day, so out came the bubble wands and the fun began.

Jackson had a lot of fun with bubbles when he visited, it was great to see another branch of the family having fun with them too.

A little bit of lovin' goes a long way

I had been contemplating what to do on my blog to summarise what 2013 has meant to me.

Creating a collage of photos highlighting events was my first thought but when I started to look through my images I suddenly felt quite overwhelmed by all that had actually taken place.

Regular followers of my blog would know that 2013 has been very much a year of quilting, quilting and more quilting.

Our Sweet Pea group of ladies that meet at our home have been such an important component as well and we have very much appreciated their friendship and kindness toward us.

Family is always important and top priority and our year concluded on a high with family members coming home to share Christmas with us.

While they were here Jackson was busy one day writing postcards to friends and family back home in the United States.  He also decided to 'send' a postcard to his Great Aunty Linda and Nana.  This is what he wrote on our our personally delivered postcards, 'I love you and you love me but I love you more, from Jackson.

A little bit of lovin' goes a long way, Jackson, thank you for bringing yours to us in 2013.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world

We farewelled James on Friday and David and family on Saturday.

Our family reunion in this part of the world has come to an end and everyone has now made it safely home.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Ricky has been spending time with brother Aaron and family and getting better acquainted with his niece, Anna-Clara.

The clarity of the image is not good - sent by smart phone, but the happiness of both is worth sharing.

Our little Anna-Clara continues to grow and be as cute as ever.

Time for a cruise

Today there was time to take in Lake Taupo aboard a yacht.

In the morning we said goodbye to James and Courtney as they headed for Auckland and then home to Sydney.

Later in the day we had an enjoyable lunch at a local restaurant, Piccolo's, a favourite location of ours for coffee, breakfast or lunch.  We were just finishing there and about to head for our cruise when the heavens opened and it rained and rained.

We began to wonder if the cruise would happen but by the time we found our yacht the rain had stopped.  The clouds overhead still looked threatening but amazingly we managed to cruise for 2.5 hours and not get wet.

It is a warm summery day here and we were amazed at how the temperature dropped once we got out on the lake.  Fortunately fleecy lined ponchos were supplied and gratefully worn - hence our 'grey uniform' look.

Our time on the water was very, very pleasant.  Nothing quite like the gentle rocking motion of a boat on the water.

Lots to see, the coastline of Taupo and beyond, sheer cliff faces, maori carvings in the rock face, parasailing, sky divers, jet skiers, would be fisherman showing off their catches of the day.  It was all there.

We were very appreciative that David and Lisa made this opportunity available for us.

Merry Christmas

I hope you have had a lovely Christmas whatever your circumstance.  A lot of what Christmas is all about centred around my young grandson, Jackson.  He was very patient while he waited for us grown ups to get our act together so that presents could be opened.

The next event of the day was inevitably the main meal of the day.

We had a half leg of ham prepared for us and it was delicious.  New potatoes from our garden seemed to be extra delicious along with the roast vegetables and fresh green beans.

Another Christmas well spent and well fed too.

Jackson, Alpacas and Kunekune Pigs

One of our Sweet Pea friends, Rochelle, lives on a lifestyle block and she thought it might be nice for Jackson to visit to help feed the alpacas and kunekune pigs on their property.

Her two chickens could not resist getting in on the act as well.  When the pigs stopped eating they were happy to take their turn with the remainder of the scraps.

A lovely 'real life' experience for Jackson.  Thank you, Rochelle.

Jackson, Masterchef?

Jackson's Great Aunty Linda thought it would be a great activity for them to make pizza together during his stay.

They had such a great result it was decided that when Uncle James arrived they would go through the process again.

Second time around it was just as good and disappeared in a flash.

Maybe we have a budding masterchef in the making?

Dance time

After dinner tonight, Jackson and his Great Aunty Linda treated us to a demo of a kindergarten dance routine they had been practicing together.

It was a lot of fun.  Jackson has certainly had a great variety of activities to fill his life since coming here.

Tomorrow the family is off to Hobbiton Village in Matamata, New Zealand.  Jackson's father, David, has been interested in Lord of the Rings since his teen years and the family have followed the movies so to go 'on location' should be a great experience for them all.

Uncle James has arrived

Jackson knew when he arrived at our place that Uncle James would be visiting as well.

Every now and then the question was asked, 'When is Uncle James arriving?'

Finally, last night, James arrived.  Because he arrived late he had to have a sleep in but finally he put in an appearance and Jackson has been happy to capture his attention whenever he can.

Jackson's father, David has three brothers, Aaron, James and Ricky.  Jackson has met them on different occasions but not altogether.

Today he kept on calling James, Uncle Ricky.  I reminded him that this was Uncle James, not Uncle Ricky and he said, 'I know, but it is hard because I have so many uncles.'

Life has stepped up a notch for Jackson with the arrival of Uncle James.

Cricket and all that

Jackson's Daddy grew up in Australia in the golden days of cricket with such players as the Waugh brothers, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Ian Healy, Mark Taylor and many more.

Many a happy hour as a family was spent watching the many games that came our way through visiting teams from other countries all too keen to defeat the Aussies but often going away disappointed.

Jackson is growing up in the United States and although he plays soccer and likes basketball he really does not know anything about cricket.

Jackson's Daddy, David, decided that on this holiday with us it would be a good opportunity to share the finer points of this sport with him.

Our front lawn has proved an ideal location and already they have spent considerable time honing their skills.  I understand they are going to continue when they return home.  Maybe our American cousins may get to appreciate this game as well.

New potatoes

Jackson really enjoyed the planting experience in the garden with Aunty Linda the other day.

While they were busy planting Aunty Linda was telling him about 'bandicooting' for potatoes.

We have potato plants in our garden and so a little bandicooting was required.  

Together we showed Jackson how you dig with your hands around the base of the potato plant to see if any potatoes have developed.  By the time we finished we had enough to include new potatoes on the menu for lunch that day.

Although the taste of new potatoes did not appeal to Jackson he did like the digging experience.

He is keeping a journal of his holiday adventure and that evening he wrote, 'bandicooting is like digging for treasure without a shovel.'

Nuggety new potatoes from our own garden are a real treasure to us!

The innocence of childhood

One of the things that Jackson has learned to enjoy since coming to stay is letting the hens out each afternoon for a bit of freedom.

He likes to have the honour of opening the door to the coop himself and enjoys the antics that follow.

Yesterday I found him sitting on the bank quietly watching them digging and scratching and doing what hens do.

He likes to do that but he also enjoys being able to coax the hens back into the coop after they have had their fun.  Throwing them some wheat as part of the whole process is an activity he likes to participate in as well.

Time for the garden

Seven year old Jackson hasn't had any experience of gardening and so today he was in for a bit of 'real life' experience with Aunty Linda in the garden.

Children size gloves were bought for the occasion.

The hose needed to be extended and Jackson also needed to carry the plants to the spot high on our block of land.

His Great Aunty Linda showed him how to take the plants out of the pots to put them in the soil.

Linda had dug holes for each plant and filled them with water.  This she called mud pies and Jackson was greatly taken with the concept.

He has a daily journal to write for school even though on holidays and writing about his gardening experience is top of the agenda for today.  He even wants to know if Great Aunty Linda is going to be planting out again tomorrow.

The simple things in life

Jackson is here on vacation with Mom and Dad but it is still school time back in Seattle and so his teacher prepared an 'adventure' book for him with activities that need to be completed before he returns to school.

When he gets home his school will be on Christmas vacation and so he gets to have an extended vacation.

Mom and Dad are happy to be in New Zealand at this time of year because back home it is dark by 5pm.  They are enjoying the warm, sunny days and the extended sunlight in the evenings.

One of Jackson's activities for his 'adventure' book required a ruler so we went looking for one.  The one I found for him was a metal one and it just happened to have two very strong magnets attached.  After homework was done he had extensive fun, and continues to do so, with the magnets.

Amazing how appealing the simple things of life can be.  I well remember how fascinating I found magnets to be when I was young.  Ah, for the simple things of life.

Family arrivals

Much excitement at our place at the arrival of family members from Seattle.  David, Lisa and Jackson came to us via a few days of rest and recuperation in Hawaii.  Hugs all round and a special hug from Jackson for Aunty Linda.

Our son, James, is talking of coming too from Sydney, so it could be quite a family gathering here for this Christmas.

Where the wind doth blow

We used to have several of these poppy plants growing in parts of the garden where we could easily see them from our house.

This year they seemed to have disappeared altogether.  A bit sad we thought.

We had saved seeds from previous years and sprinkled them in the garden to no avail.

Then a lovely surprise.

At the back of our property we have an area we call the 'secret gully' and Linda spotted a magnificent specimen of this lovely poppy plant.

Definitely self seeded, the poppy must have wanted to claim this secluded landscape all to itself.

Mount Tauhara in the distance and the Waikato River in the middle what better place for the poppy plant to grow.

Pikelets or pancakes?

We grew up with these yummy treats called pikelets.

Americans make their own version, much larger of course, and known as pancakes.

When my grandson, Jackson visited when he was three years of age I introduced him to pikelets. They soon became a firm favourite and it is a given that when Nana visits there will be pancakes.

This year Jackson, now seven, is coming to visit with us (Mom and Dad are coming too).  'Pancakes' have already been requested and much anticipated so I made a batch today for the freezer so we can be sure not to disappoint when family arrive this week.

Last of the year

 This week our Sweet Pea ladies met for morning tea in a local cafe.

Our last meeting for the year, it was nice to do something a little different.

As always, our common sewing interests were part of the mornings proceedings and Debbie brought along this quilt top she has nearly finished.

Stunning, to say the least.

Created by the Gourmet Quilter this pattern is available on her website.

You may like to take up the challenge.  Debbie has enjoyed the process and is looking for another project that equals this.

We will take a break now over the Christmas holiday period and start meeting again towards the end of January next year.

Magic binding lives on

Linda wrote about this quilt after she had finished machine quilting it.

That was earlier this year.

Last week the owner, Jo, came to visit and brought the quilt with her for a little more show and tell.

Jo had read about magic binding on my blog and decided to give it a go herself.

It looks so good.  Nice to know that by sharing on my blog others can pick up ideas and run with them.

Magic binding lives on.

Thanks for sharing your show and tell, Jo.