Wednesday, December 28, 2011

SSCS unwrapped

I managed to resist the temptation till Christmas morning and then I was able to unwrap my SSCS present from Fran...how exciting... and what a lovely surprise...shown in the photo below are the 2 pairs of lovely earings (I put one pair in straight away and wore them for the day) a kit to make the Rosemary for Remembrance pincushion which had the linen, cosmo threads, ric rac all ready to go, a piece of gorgeous Christmas fabric some magnets and a cute little hexagon bag.  There were also some little Darrell Lea chocolates which didn't last long enough to make the photo!!  Thank you so much Fran for the lovely gifts which I was thrilled to receive..and a big thank you also to Chookyblue for all your work in organising this swap..it was my first time and I would love to do it again..


This is what I sent to my partner Leanne for the SSCS swap, a stitchers mat bag in a NZ print fabric, a bobbin lace bookmark, pair of scissors, NZ Quilter magazine, NZ pictorial desk calendar and the cupcake ornament



Christmas day was a relaxed day here, and as always a large part of the time was spent snacking...just our  family for the day here at home...so no travel involved this year and no rushing to the airport after lunch, as usually in other years someone has been flying off to Australia to have Christmas day with family on each side of the Tasman...

DD1 brought these lovely peony roses to add to the decorations...  

and DD2 spent Saturday afternoon baking and decorating a gingerbread house.  We bought a kit last year but didn't like the taste of the gingerbread at all so she did it from scratch this year, much nicer..



Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas...

May this Festive Season be filled with love and joy....


and a Merry Christmas to you all...  


Sunday, December 18, 2011

Sue Daley has a give-away...

Why not hop over to visit Sue Daley's Blog and read her entry for December 15 about her new book, New English Paper Piecing.  There are some beautiful things to make in it.  While you are there you can enter Sue's give-away for her book...

Monday, December 12, 2011

My lovely SSCS gift has arrived..

Aren't I the lucky one...my SSCS parcel from Frances in NSW arrived this morning and it is wonderful...even the string on the package had that Christmas feel to it..
Inside are some beautifully wrapped gifts..all tied up with ribbon...and some Tim Tam fingers..yummy, just love Tim Tams..
So I am allowed to unwrap the decoration (and try to avoid the temptation of the other!! ) and inside was a beautiful Christmas ball, so I hung it from the bottlebrush out in the garden...doesn't it look fabulous, with its Christmas sparkle..I just love it...
Thank you so much Frances for your lovely gift...

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Chocolate Chippers

Not the biscuit variety but something I had never heard of...chocolate covered potato chips.. all the way from America..the chips gave that bit of a crunch to the dark chocolate...sounds unusual but it tasted really good...

They were part of a giveaway from Heidi from one of the Friday Night Sew In sessions that I joined up with...here is the rest of what she sent...lucky me !  It was a wonderful parcel to receive.


Saturday, December 10, 2011

Time has flown....

Wow, 34 years today....The time seems to have flown by since our wedding on a hot summer's day in Sydney (way back in 1977) ... such a lot has happened since then...we now live in a different country, we have two lovely daughters (and a few extra pounds have been added on over the years LOL!)...  and my husband surprised me with these beautiful flowers for our anniversary today

Friday, December 9, 2011

It's been a busy few weeks ...from today I will have some time to relax and not have such a regimented day..(.the summer holidays stretch out before me)...so I now have some time to catch up on all the things I have been missing out there in blogland...
I have just heard that my parcel made it all the way to South Australia and Leanne has opened the decoration part so this is what I sent...inspired by some lovely decorated cupcakes I saw on her blog...


It was relaxing to sit outside and read the paper this morning and I'm off to a gathering of friends this afternoon...so not a bad way to spend the day and the first day of my 'holidays'
Another rhododendron coming into flower, as the flowers on the others are just a memory..

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Busy...Busy...Busy....

It's that time of the year when things are just plain busy...busy at work and busy with secret projects...and too busy to post on my blog.  So this afternoon I came home a bit early for some 'me' time (encouraged to do so by a colleague)  So what have I done...it was sunny -ish when I came home..so I sat out on the back deck with a cup of coffee reading the newspaper...then took a walk around the garden to take a few photos (with the dogs for company)...and then I was chased inside by the rain...it is looking quite dark down south so I imagine it may get heavier... so I am posting a bit of colour from the garden since I can't show any photos of my sewing...I have only had time for 'secret stuff'...


I have been waiting for a replacement printer for our newish one that would not stay online and print...a hardware problem I was told after a 2 hour diagnosis over the phone!!... and finally it has arrived ...after a month of waiting...it has been one hassle after another - not made any easier by the support centre being offshore...so now I'll be able to print, scan and fax again...

Sunday, November 6, 2011

November Snow...

Yes, it snowed here in the South yesterday, and consequently we have single digit temperatures.  The weather forecasters did predict snow at the end of the week and they were right- a light fall where we are left a coating of white on Saturday morning..
Snow on the outside table...
Now the worst part of it all was that we were travelling south to Invercargill for the Southern Regional Lace Day yesterday.  Each year one of the southern centres hosts the lacemaking groups  for a get together day.. The roads were clear where we are, so off we set for the 2 1/2 hour drive south on the highway, not too worried about the snow (we thought the front had passed through!!)  How wrong we were when, for quite a part of the journey, we ended up driving through the snow falling, then it would clear and then it would come through heavy again.  The closer we got to our destination the thicker it was on the road.  I'm glad I wasn't driving!  At one point the car in front of us turned off to the other side of the road and went back the way they had come, must have been too much for them!!
We joked about what time we had to be back at work on Monday, but we made it through and had a lovely day- we all got a Christmas Cracker (since it was Guy Fawkes) with little goodies inside.  We enjoyed the company, lots of chatter and looking at what everyone was working on.  I bought a few new bobbins (just have to spangle them i.e. attach some beads for weight) and some variegated cottons to try and won 2 raffle prizes.  Next year it will only be an hours drive south...and hopefully not in the snow!
Some things I bought and a few of the other goodies I got...


                                     

Monday, October 31, 2011

Finished in time for the end of the month..

I've taken the pins out of the piece of lace I was working on in the previous post and the bookmark is finished just in time for the end of the month.  It gave me a chance to practice a few stitches to get me back into it..and a change from the stitching I have been doing of late...What will I do next??  Off to the monthly get together of the local lace group tomorrow night...

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Some SKOW fabric chosen...

I've been sorting out some fabrics to use for the Some Kind of Wonderful quilt.  Last week I went on a road trip down south with some stitching friends.  We stopped on the way for morning tea and a visit to a patchwork shop and then continued on our way.  At the end of our 2 1/2 hour drive we came to the shop we had aimed for - I have never seen so much fabric in one place before-- there were so many choices it was unbelievable!  I came away with a few pieces to add to the basket above and a few other bits and pieces- it was just as well I had gone with a list of what I wanted or who knows what might have happened!!   It will be well worth another trip in the future...with such good travelling companions it didn't seem like such a long drive.
I've been getting on with some secret sewing but have also put something else on to the lace pillow- with a little bit more to do I should have another finish for the month.  After finishing the other piece a few weeks back I have got back in the groove.. (should have tidied up the bobbins before I took the photo!)
 Yesterday we had a balmy 20 degrees here (well when the temperatures during the week have been about 13/14 degrees then 20 does seem a lot warmer)  Today is supposed to be 24 but it has been raining.. looks like it is going to fine up though.
In the garden the kowhai tree is flowering...we thought this was lost to the frosts a few years back, but it recovered..
As some of the rhododendrons finish flowering others are just coming into flower..this is one we bought as a tiny plant at the sale at the Botanic Gardens in town quite a few years ago..don't know its name though...

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Checking in...

I just love Fig Tree fabrics, and in my stash is a jelly roll and fat quarter set from the Buttercup range...so today I am sharing the photo of the jelly roll, and the way the colours spiral around- what are my plans for the fat quarters..well, when I bought them I was planning on using them for the quilt from the Vignette magazine, but other things seem to be getting in the way....too many projects on the wish list, not enough time...

Meanwhile in my garden another rhodendron is starting to flower and this one is Mrs G W Leak - I love the spotted throat on the flowers.  

It was a lovely sunny day on Monday when I took the photo, but yesterday it was heavy rain all day...not nice weather at all, so I don't know how the flowers will hold up.  The weather didn't worry me too much yesterday, though...I went on a road trip down south, with some stitching friends, to visit a couple of patchwork shops...but I'll leave that for another day...

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Off the pillow at last....

....the bobbin lace pillow that is...



this little (about 2 inches across) piece of Bucks Point lace has been sitting 'finished' except for the the ends to be joined to make it complete...
While I have been busy doing other things it has been sitting for far longer than I would like to admit and so yesterday was the day... feels good to have another finish...so now I can set up my bobbins for the new thing I want to do... just hope I remember what to do as it has been so long now......I need the practise....

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

It's a finish...

Yes, a finish so early in the month...the fabric from several posts back has been turned into this, the latest Christmas themed project we have done in the group I have been going to each  month...I do have sore fingers from attaching the beads and stitching to highlight the patterns on the fabric...( if I had spaced it out better over the month then there wouldn't have been a problem...but Tis the Season took up a bit of my time..)

It wouldn't be Spring without the sight of daffodils...after the strong winds that we have had in the past few days a few of them have their stems bent and heads down...there are bits and pieces blown around the yard, but at least we escaped the power outages that others in the area had...

Have a great day!

Monday, October 10, 2011

I'm happy that...

My favourite rhododendron is starting to come out in flower...

 **It was Holden 1,2,3 at Bathurst yesterday in the Supercheap Auto 1000. While we didn't spend the whole day watching it on TV, the things that kept me occupied during the day were near enough to keep an ear and at times eye on the race...49 years it has been running for ....funny how some of the drivers have aged too (or retired)...as if we haven't as well !!! LOL!!

 **The Wallabies won their quarterfinal (YAY!!)  at the Rugby World Cup...

 **I think I have found the fabric which I think I will use for a secret something.....for a secret someone.... using a pattern which have ordered...and which I am waiting on to arrive... I hope I have correctly interpreted what I was reading on their blog in what I am making.... will run it by some friends later in the week to see what they think...

And I have finally worked out why I have been having a little problem with the set out of my posts as I write them...thought it was the new interface but I have just pushed a button at the top and everything is back to normal....

Saturday, October 8, 2011

New Blogger in Kiwiland

Clare has just started her blog this week- - I have just been over to visit her and this is her blog Craft Lady in Kiwiland

Monday, October 3, 2011

A new project..

Just need to do some stitching and beading to transform this piece of fabric into another finish...

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Manly, 2011 Premiers....

Great excitement in our household.... Manly won the NRL Grand Final today...just wish I could have been there, but sat glued to the TV instead...brings back those memories of growing up on the Northern Beaches and all those afternoons sitting on the hill there at Brookvale Oval cheering Manly on... even being lucky enough to see them play and win a few of their earlier Grand Finals...though I live in NZ now it is still Manly all the way ....

Friday, September 30, 2011

Yahoo....I finished....

...it's just gone 11.30 pm here in NZ and I have just put the last stitches in the binding...I've finished on time...RELIEF !!!....( UPDATE on October 1st---added a quick photo last night but have replaced it with this updated photo- it is a bit breezy here today so had to pin it to one of the trees in the garden....)
While I was outside taking the photo, I took one of the blossom as well- it has been fabulous everywhere over the past few weeks...

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Progress update...

The quilting is finished on my TTS quilt, so that just leaves the binding- but that can keep for another night..I'm feeling relieved (phew!!) because I think that I will make the deadline...YAY!!!! I'll go by AEST so that gives me an extra 3 hours as that is how far ahead of NSW we are since daylight saving began here last weekend. It will cut back to 2 hours once your daylight saving begins. Oh, and have a lovely 3 day weekend for all the States who have the Labour Day holiday on Monday...

Monday, September 26, 2011

More progress...

The borders are now on and so the next step will be the quilting. Since I changed the way I put it together, my top is smaller than the one in the book, so less quilting to be done !!!!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

On the home stretch...

I can see the end in sight- there is light at the end of the tunnel !! The top is nearly complete- just the gold to put top and bottom and then another border in the red print and that will 'just' leave the quilting...can I do it in time???
As you can see the way I am doing it is different to the pattern...and I am pleased with the way it is going.... Daylight Saving started today and true to form the weather was 'rubbish'- sunny to begin with but then it was overcast and we have had some hail showers....or maybe that is just the changeable weather we have been having of late

Saturday, September 24, 2011

What a relief....

Way back in August I bought myself the "Some Kind of Wonderful" book from the States and it only took 10 days to arrive. When a couple of friends saw it they asked if I could order a copy for them- sure I said, it only took 10 days for mine to arrive- so I went on line and ordered for them. Well, their books shipped on the 21st August and as each week has gone by I have continued to haunt my letterbox, hoping that each day when I came home from work that they would be there...Huge relief today-they arrived at last- just as well we still have Saturday mail deliveries.... I was going to do a post to see if anyone else had been experiencing delays with mail from the States, but instead I have been able to do a much happier post....

Friday, September 23, 2011

It's my first time....

for joining in to Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap. Starting a blog this year has opened up a world of possibilities - like meeting new friends with a common interest and also being able to take part in a swap like this... To prepare myself I have been looking around at other blogs (and of course the special one belonging to my swap partner) and trying to get a feel for what to make for her. Decisions, decisions....

Saturday, September 17, 2011

FNSI

The first thing I sat down to do last night was to read this...
...it arrived in the mail yesterday.  Then I set to and cut out more hexagons for my quilt... After that I finally sorted out the borders for my Tis The Season quilt (and I have changed the fabric I thought I was going to use originally) - I am going to finish it in a different way to what the pattern says, so a photo will follow later..

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Catching up...

It was my lucky day.  I was fortunate to win a giveaway that Kate was having as she was packing up her sewing room- a lovely selection of Moda fat quarters - I will have to find something special to use them in.


meanwhile the glue etc has dried on another little project for Christmas- the wooden letters were covered with torn strips of patterned serviettes - reminded me of doing papier mache, without the multiple layers.  After missing out on a complete finish last month I will be able to put this one down for this month.


Meanwhile this Friday night is....

So hop on over to Heidi's blog  if you are interested in signing up...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Craft book sale...

If you love to buy craft books then go over to Quilt Kitty's blog- she has written a post about C & T Publishing's Summer Sizzling Sale which is online for this weekend only... there are some really cheap books on the website.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Some new reading.......

...and some planning to do.  There has been no sewing the past few days, but I have been reading these 2 books which I ended up ordering from here (the exchange rate was better for me to buy from there than it was for buying it from Oz)


I haven't finished the current Stitch-a-Long yet but am pleased with my current progress, so thought I would get some pre-reading done before the next one kicks off !

I have read Bonnie's blog and liked her ideas about using squares etc as leaders and enders (rather than using scraps of fabric over and over again) so you then have segments to use to construct blocks for a quilt.  I suppose it is about sewing smarter,  so I decided to buy her book and continue to read about how she does it.
So while I haven't been sewing anything in particular I think that reading is good preparation for future projects !!!  Sounds like a good excuse anyway...

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Is Spring on its way....

Blossom on the plum tree
It's been a lovely sunny day today and there's been the sound of something that we don't hear over the winter months- the lawnmowers zooming around the yards.  Nothing much grows over the Winter.  So today I took a walk around the garden to see what signs of Spring I could find...
It has been a sunny afternoon...
Some colour in the garden..

New growth on the golden elm...
It shouldn't be too long now before the rhododendrons are in flower.  It has been a glorious day here today and it has been matched by my delight in a win for the Wallabies and Robbie last night...it will be a relief for me going to work tomorrow after the ribbing I got last week when the team and new captain was announced...

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

You know you need help when...

You can't see the eye of the needle to thread the cotton through.
You can't tell that you have left a few fabric threads between the stitches when you are backstitching...
So what do you do- go and get tested for some reading glasses- which is just what I did a few months back.  But...  I have still found it difficult to stitch at night.  I have been using a halogen floor lamp and even with the new glasses I just wasn't happy.  So last week I saw this lamp ( on sale at 40% off the day I was looking) and bought it.  It is just wonderful ......
My new Daylight lamp
So what is so good about it- well it has a bright white light over a wider area ( my halogen lamp cast more of a dull yellowish light in the one spot in comparison.) 
I'm delighted with my purchase and am enjoying being able to clearly see what I am working on!
It might help me to work a bit faster on some of my handstitching...

Sunday, August 21, 2011

FNSI

I decided to participate this month after reading about it just early this week.  I have to confess though that I wilted early on in the evening, but not before I had tacked some more hexagons onto papers and then sewed 3 new 'flowers' together.  So this is my effort for the night...
With focusing on finishing the stitching for Tis The Season, my hexies have been lying forgotten so it was time to get them out and sew some more together- I now have a month to get prepared for the next FNSI so that will see me better prepared than I was this month, as I only joined up the night before..

Friday, August 19, 2011

I thought I might try this....

I have been reading about this on some other blogs so thought it might give me something to focus on tonight.


If you are interested pop over to   Heidi's blog for more information and to sign up