A Bit of This and a Bit of That

Some time ago one of the ladies from our Sweet Peas quilting group gave me a box containing oddments of lace and included was this lovely little piece of vintage embroidered lace. It measured just 8cm (3.5inches).

Not much to be done with a piece of lace that size, I guess but I did think it might be nice, incorporated into one of my miniature one of a kind embroidery pieces.

Today I finished the piece - lovely soft pink silk dupioni for the background and bits and pieces of silk ribbon and thread.

So nice to think that a little bit of left over vintage lace could be repurposed into a new work or art.

I have just listed it on Trade Me.

Another Quilt for Christchurch

On the 18th January I wrote about a quilt in progress.

Although some time has passed this quilt was actually completed within 2 weeks which I think was pretty good as far as quilting projects go.

Through my sales on the New Zealand auction site, Trade Me, I am often surprised by the percentage of sales that go to the South Island of our country and in particular to Christchurch.

Since the earthquakes and the many, many after shocks the percentage of buyers from Christchurch (especially in the earthquake affected suburbs) remains high and I often wonder if people are seeking to do craft as an outlet to help them through difficult times.

One lady who buys from me from time to time, often buys pansy prints to use in the making of greeting cards for family of friends. I asked her at one time how she had fared during the earthquakes and she had suffered personal injury and was keen to get better so she could resume her craft interests.

I often think of her, especially when we hear of another round of earthquakes and so I decided to make this quilt for her. Linda and I got together and raided our stashes to make a bright and cheery quilt. I took a punt on her liking the pansy theme due to her purchases of pansy silk prints.

I did the machine piecing and Linda added her quilting magic to finish off the work. Linda has written about this project as well on her blog and there is an image of the whole quilt there.

I did not know it but purple and orange were two of the recipients favourite colours. She said that she had been going through a particularly difficult time and the quilt was a real boost to her morale.

February 22 is the 1st anniversary of the 2nd major quake but the trauma has been such she said the first six months were just a blur.

One can only imagine there must still be many more people in Christchurch who have ongoing needs for our encouragement.

Soft and Romantic

This week I had a request through my services advertisement on Trade Me for some soft pink velvet flowers as well as some hand dyed silk ribbons in soft pinks, green and cream for a project she had in mind.

Colours after my own heart, I thought, so whilst dyeing some ribbons for her I dyed some for myself.

I was glad when she let me know that what I sent was exactly what she had been looking for.




With some of very own hand dyed silk ribbon in lovely, soft colours I set about making another of my 'one of a kind' embroidery pieces and am very happy with the result.

More Stitching Has Already Happened

The last time I wrote I said I was stitching a pansy quilt project. However, I did not say that prior to that Linda and I had already embarked on another stitching project.

For some time now we have been talking about making a quilt for a relative in Christchurch but the other week we actually sprang into action and made a quilt top together.

I got to do the stitching while Linda did pressing and pinning. We managed to complete the top over two days and then Linda went on to machine quilt it and yesterday I finished stitching down the binding. The only thing that is left to be done is a label.

We really enjoyed working on this project together and one of the things we really liked about it was that it was done from our stash, no running out to the store for extra yardage to complete.

Linda had been given some cat blocks for Christmas one year and we decided to incorporate them into this quilt having checked first that the recipient is a cat lover.

Part of using our stash included using the repurposed woollen blanket for the batting. It can be cold in Christchurch in the winter and so the wool warmth will be very much appreciated.

You can see more pictures of the quilt being machine quilted on Linda's blog.

Stitching is Happening

Today was the first day of the year for our quilting group, Sweet Peas, to meet at our home.

Just a small group, five of us, but we had a lovely time regardless.

I had been thinking about a sewing project for a few days and Linda and I had been putting together the fabric and so today I started cutting.............



...........and then some sewing...............












and then some more cutting..............












before some more stitching...............















By the time I stopped stitching for the day, I had completed four blocks, with just twelve more to go.

Very bright and cheery and definitely for someone who loves pansies.

Summer in the garden

So far this summer the weather has proved to be quite wet.

A lot of things in the garden have gone quite rampant.

We have more of this dark red poppy than ever before. We think it would be nice to harvest the seed and have a big cluster of this particular poppy somewhere in our garden. I have saved some of the poppy heads so maybe, just maybe we can do something about this.









These shasta daisies were planted last year and have only just come into bloom in recent weeks. They are making up for lost time as they are there in abundance.

We have found them to be a good vase flower as they last quite well.






From where I sit in my bedroom using my computer I can see this lovely hollyhock plant.

The image is probably more blueish than the real colour, which, to the eye looks a very dark chocolate brown.

It is the dark, dark colour that fascinates me. Not many plants with flowers like this.

A Gentle Reminder..............

Yesterday morning our brother, Norman, rang from Christchurch to let us know that another round of earthquakes was shaking up their city.

He was ringing to ask if we would do a care package, not for himself, but for his son and daughter-in-law, who he felt needed some encouragement during such a time as this.

We had sent boxes of baked goodies before but it had been some time so we needed a gentle reminder to get the baking gear out again.

A couple of hours in the kitchen and Linda and I had made family biscuits (affectionately called donkey drops by some members of our family), chocolate crunch, butterscotch slice, ginger nut slice and fruit cake.

Chocolate crunch has been a family favourite for years. Our Mother used to make it on a regular basis. It is egg free and if you are interested, the recipe is as follows:-

Crunch 3 weetbix in a bowl

add

1 cup coconut
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 dessertspoon of cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
6oz (170gms) melted butter

Mix well and spread into buttered slice baking tray.

Bake 10 - 15 minutes in oven 180 c or 350 f - cook further 5 minutes if necessary.

Before cold make icing:-

250g (8oz) icing sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
50g (2oz) soft butter

Mix together adding sufficient hot water (approximately 3 tablespoons) to make a stiff mix.
Heat in microwave for 30 seconds
Spread on crunch before it is cold and cut into portions.

Enjoy!

Christmas 2011

Christmas for us this year was about enjoying each others company as family.

Rick and James have come to share two weeks with us over the Christmas period and we have really enjoyed them being here.

Linda started off the day by baking us Christmas mince pies and we had a tipple of Drambuie to go along with our early taste treat.

A little break and then it was on with ham, eggs and fried bread for breakfast. Our leg of ham had been specially cooked for us and was extra delicious. To fry some to have with our eggs was very special - yum.

That was enough eating for a while but inevitably Christmas luncheon needed to be served.

Again Linda treated us with a very special Beef Wellington cooked to perfection.

We were fortunate to able to have new potatoes dug from our garden this morning as well as fresh carrots and beans from the local market.

Rick and James provided a bottle of Cabernet Franc which was very nice to top off the meal.

We finished up with some pavlova roulade and fresh strawberries marinated in cointreau.

This year we had a new centrepiece for our table. A silver plated candelabra combined with a flower bowl, a lovely op shop find that has now become part of our Christmas festivities. Bright pink carpet roses from our garden provided a lovely finishing touch.

We have had a lovely, peaceful Christmas and we hope it is the same for you.

The Gift of Flowers

On Saturday we had friends around for a pre-Christmas lunch.

One of them, Moira, brought us the most beautiful bouquet of roses from her garden.

They seem like the old worlde varieties and have given us much pleasure as we have watched them open up over the last few days.

More about poppies

From under one of our lemon trees we have this one poppy plant shoot up each year.

It is the richest red in colour, looks dark and luxurious and if you don't take a photo within the first 24 hours of it opening up you will have missed it at its best.

It is one flower you have to make the most of it when it shows its face because it does not stay for long.

Only A Cat..........

She could have sat on my lap. There was plenty of room, really.

However, a cat is a cat and as I had my legs up on the footstool, CiCi decided she would much rather find a spot between my lower legs and supported by my feet on the footstool.

She must have felt quite snug but did not appreciate me taking her photo.

A New Camera

One of my sons gave me some cash for my birthday so I decided it was time to treat myself to a new camera.

My Kodak camera has served me well for five years or more but in this day of ever developing technology I felt it was time for an upgrade.

The Nikon S3100 is half the thickness and has a much larger preview screen, so those two elements alone make it well worthwhile.

I decided to go for a wander in our garden and take some photos of what's in bloom.

This calibrachoa continues to give us pleasure year after year and this year has some exceptional flowers, in quantity and colour.

We are trying to build up the variety of poppies in our garden and this year we have quite a few here and there.

This one was only planted this year and has an amazing amount of buds ready to bloom into scarlet red flowers.









These calendulas have added so much colour to the garden just outside our kitchen.

A great addition as they will be happy to come back year after year.








We have two large pots like this at the entrance to our home.

Linda's efforts have paid off. She planted them both with pansies and lobelias and they are looking so good and we hope they will last for some time to come.






These grandmothers bonnets are a new favourite of mine.

Planted last year, this plant has taken on new strength this year and rewarded us with an abundance of blooms.

We have planted more of these little wonders in another part of the garden and hope they do as well as these ones.

I am very happy with the camera, never mind that I would not have a clue how to use the software that came with it. I managed to work my way around that, fortunately.

Cottage Garden Posy

The other day we had our Sweet Peas quilting group again. It was the first time they had been to our house in a while so it was lovely to regroup and to hear the chatter as we all caught up with each other.

One of the ladies, Andreena, brought us a lovely large posy of flowers from her garden - roses, lavender, carnations and more. It was really nice.

This yellow rose was part of the collection and I felt that the spiral of the centre of the flower was worth capturing - amazing.

A Funeral, A Wedding and then a Birthday

It seemed to me that having a birthday so close to significant other family events was maybe a bit much but such is life.





I have often pondered the words from The Lion King in recent times:-

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

Yesterday marked my 63rd birthday. I was greeted by my sister, Linda, with a lovely early morning cup of tea and the suggestion that we eat out for breakfast. Yes, please, that would be nice.

We went to our favourite cafe of the moment, Picolos, and had a lovely cooked breakfast.

Well wishes came by way of phone calls, text messages, birthday cards and the new way to send birthday greetings, I have found, Facebook - thank you everybody.

Cooked breakfast was lovely but there was more to come. Linda cooks a pretty smashing beef stroganoff and so that was on offer as well. The beautiful roses came from our garden and the platter the meal was served off was one from our Mother's kitchen - it must be more than 50 years old.

The 'mad' cat was a gift from a quilting friend of ours, Margaret. She is very creative and thought that rather than send us a sympathy card, she would make us a 'care' cat each and so this one is mine. They look so mad they do bring a smile to your face.

Thanks to The Lion King for reminding us about the Circle of Life.

More Wedding Photos

Linda added some more wedding photos on her blog today.

This one that I took is of Barbara with her other daughter, Sharon, and son Zachary.







Barbara, arriving at the church.

On Saturday we had a family wedding.

Our sister, Barbara, has worked at an opportunity shop for some time now, and amazingly this is where she met the new man in her life, Bryan.

Apparently there's not much you can't find in an opportunity shop if your prepared for the fun of the waiting game.

This is Barbara's second marriage and she was attended by her daughters and grandchildren.

Fiona and Zachary are here with Barbara bringing her to the church.

As you may have guessed from the images, this was a cowboy/girl theme wedding and hats were in abundance.

This was my only shot of the bride and groom but there were plenty of others taking photos so I hope the bride scored better from them than me.

Never too old for a new romance. I hope that Barbara and Bryan share many happy years together.

Our Mum

On Friday, 18th November, our Mum passed away - she was 92 years old.

It has been eight years since I came home to take care of her and that time just seems to have slipped away very easily. It has been a privilege to share the twilight years of her life with her.

Two of our brothers have been with us through the last days of Mum's life and it has been lovely to sit around the table for our main meal of the day as, inevitably, our conversations have drifted towards our Mum.

We have had a lot of laughs as she did bring fun into our lives with her interesting characteristics.

She was a very knowledgeable lady who loved to read, loved her music, watching Coronation Street from inception, loved the garden, New Zealand politics and keeping tabs on her ever growing family.

To the best of my knowledge this is the only photo we have of all of our family together.

From the left, Norman, yours truly, Dad with brother Bob sitting in front, then Linda, Mum, Barbara, Wendy and Alan.

Even in those days we were considered to be a large family and our Mum did well to bring us all up and keep us well occupied.

One of the things she instilled in us to keep us occupied was a love of reading. The daily newspaper was always there for us as well as a weekly supply of comics and magazines. Comics were frowned upon by school teachers in general in those days but Mum saw it as another means of encouraging us to read which it certainly did. You could always find a book to read and we all had our own personal favourites.

She also loved to provide puzzles, games and, in latter years, cryptic crosswords.

To this day if you were to observe our family life you would invariably see one or more of us reading, doing a crossword puzzle, in the garden or occupied with craft - all peacable activities which have contributed to us being a self reliant happy family cluster.

Thank you, Mum, for the richness you have given us in the lives that we lead.

Rest in peace - you deserve to!

Back in the day

Our local radio station has a retail advertisement which alludes to good old fashioned customer service and use the term 'back in the day' quite a bit.

Back in the day when I first began crazy quilting I made this project book for my sister, Linda.

At the time I had been involved with a number of e-mail craft groups who were doing themed swaps and through that I had collected a number of items featuring purple, pansies and this lovely calico print which is one of my all time favourite fabric prints.

Linda loves purple and pansies and so what better theme for this project book that I made.

This is a close up of the front cover.

Close up of the back cover.













I made project pages inside from pellon and it was inclined to cling to itself so I heat fused fabric pansies to the bottom right hand corners to assist with turning of pages.










Overall view of front of project book.
















Overall view of back cover.

Bouquets of Spring

On the river side of our property we have a finger of land that has a pathway lined by trees and it stretches towards and overlooks the Waikato River.

It is a short distance from our house and yet if you walk to end of the pathway you become surrounded by trees and it is almost like being in another place altogether.

At the moment you can stop and listen to the birds of spring and sense the flow of the river below - so peaceful and quiet, it is always a pleasure to spend a few minutes in this part of the garden.

For a while now one of the trees at the end of the pathway has been in blossom with a lovely soft yellow glow. The yellow can be seen at the centre back in this image.


Yesterday I went for a wander down the pathway to investigate the yellow blossom and broke off one of the branches.

I have no idea what it is, possibly wattle, but it seemed a shame to have it on its own so I went for a wander through the rest of our garden.







A little bit of this and a little bit of that from various parts of the garden and our yellow blossom became part of a spring bouquet for our home.

Sitting Ducks?

We sometimes wonder if we are 'sitting ducks' to the cats of our neighbourhood.

We have already been adopted by one cat 'CiCi' since arriving and regularly have visits from other neighbours cats who wander casually through our property as if they own the place. Some have even been cheeky enough to raid left overs from our cats eating bowls.

Yesterday we were visited upon by neighbourhood ducks. They even came right up to the window at our kitchen as if to say, 'When are you going to feed us?'

They have never done this before and we can only assume that the people who they usually visit were not home to oblige in the food department so they thought they would take a chance with us. Did they really think that we were 'sitting ducks'?