Saturday, October 22, 2016

FNSI

Last night for FNSI...I worked a little more on my bobbin lace..I have taken some of the pins out so that I can see the design starting to emerge..
                            
And then I completed the first monthly block for the  $25 quilt project 
                           


Sunday, October 16, 2016

Yesterday was Bobbin Lace Group day

Twice a month the little bobbin lace group I belong to meets on a Saturday. Yesterday was the day.  So armed with my bobbins, thread, lace pillow and a new pricking (pattern) off I went.
Several of the ladies in the group have already made this pattern for a mat so I was able to glean plenty of help and advice as I got started.
 I started with a very full box of bobbins and by the time I had wound the thread on for the new project there were very few left in the container.
                  
This is the beginning of the central piece and later there are 2 borders to add on.  So after a good morning's work and a little time after lunch as well, here is what I achieved for the day..the stitch holders are to keep the bobbins together when I am not working on it.
                  
..I .will have to see how much further I get before the next get together at the beginning of November.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

FNWF

I spent a lovely afternoon with my stitching friends who meet each Friday afternoon.  With it being school holidays I was able to be there for the whole afternoon, not just calling in after school as I usually do.
 I have been knitting a dishcloth (yes a little late to the making of dishcloths compared with others) ...a friend gave me the pattern and a ball of cotton to use..all I had to do was get out some needles and knit.  So for FNWF I managed to finish it off, not too bad I think for someone who has not done a lot of knitting.  Now to look for some other patterns to try as I don't need the good light for knitting that I would for stitching...
                         

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Is it Spring? and FNWF

Well it is supposed to be Spring but the weather is so changeable from day to day...we have had misty days where the mist has clung to the hills and above the harbour...sunny days with a cold wind blowing..and today it is a grey, rainy day..I wonder what tomorrow will bring???
Still with Spring comes blossom on the trees and lovely spring flowers..and an icecream from the Rob Roy Dairy after a drive at the weekend, best value in town..yum..caramel fudge this time.

It is the first Friday of the month this week and so it is time for ...
                                     Everyone is WelcoMe
sign up over at Cheryll's
       

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

I am still here..

Time seems to have slipped by and it is a lot longer since my last post than I thought.  It's been a busy term, beginning and ending with one of those lurgies which has been doing the rounds over here..ERO (somewhat similar to the school inspectors) came midterm and so my stitching has suffered from a lack of mojo and time.
I do have a few things to catch up on including my trip up to Ashburton, at the end of August, to take a class with Katrina Hadjimichael when she was over here in New Zealand.  An absolutely fabulous weekend.
Well probably the best thing for me to do is...make a list ...of everything that I need to get on with in my stitching..will see how successful I am..
Back soon with some photos and a post on  my class with Katrina.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

FNSI roundup...

As I am writing this snow is falling outside..I wonder how long it will last.  We had heavy rain till about an hour ago so the ground is rather wet, so while the snow is falling it is not laying on the ground.  Still it is great to watch while keeping warm inside.
FNSI coincided with the last day of the school holidays for me so I was able to spend the afternoon stitching with friends (in real life) before I joined in with every out there in cyber space.
My bag has made slow progress as I had one of those bugs going around and so the first week of the holidays passed in a blur.  Now that I am feeling better it is time to go back to school again,..typical!!
So here is some of the progress I have made...
          
Some felt flowers, buttons and some of the hexagons that are in progress...
I hope you all had a lovely stitch a long on Friday as well..
Just as I thought..I've come back an hour later to publish this post and the snow has stopped here but just across on the hill opposite us it is rather white across the top ...and the hill suburbs have a good coating...and it is very cold outside...

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Next project in the making

..will be the Home Sewn Sampler Bag by Anni Downs.
....Stitchery panels are ready to start..
         
And the papers and fabric for the hexagons
               
And when I am finished it will look something like this photo from Anni's book
                      

Now all I have to do is finish writing the rest of the school reports this week so that on so I can get on with some stitching ...



Monday, June 6, 2016

Little design boards..

I bought the foam core board, cut it to size and then watched the You Tube clip of them being made.  Lori Holt made it look easy..but I haven't done a lot of work with a hot glue gun a lot before, so it looks like a bit more practice could be on the way..
I made them 10" squares so I got  exactly 6 from the sheet of foam core board.  I have some looking 'au naturel', waiting for their fabric binding....

...and some others that have been finished with their fabric 'binding' around the outside..I'm rather pleased with how they turned out.
We've had another lovely day to finish off the long weekend over here. A stark contrast to the weather on the other side of the Tasman with the damage that the storms have caused up and down the east coast in NSW. 
 I've had a few phone calls with Mum over the weekend, checking how she is with the wild weather.  She is fine, just a bit of a  mop up where the rain blew in where it hasn't before.   She went for a walk down to the beach today to see what it was like after the storm, met up with a friend taking photos of the surf and got them emailed to me.. the southern end of Dee Why and the pool is somewhere there under all that water..and rocks washed up here and there


It's unbelievable to see the power of the water and it's ability to cause damage..


Sunday, June 5, 2016

Getting back into blogging..at last...

..as part of the celebration for the Chookshed's 4th birthday....
                                       
I've been reading what some of you have been up to over the weekend, but I need to get on to leaving some comments as well.
It's been a long time between posts..a busy beginning to the year..lots of ideas but motivation has been lacking..I could think of any number of things that have distracted me from blogging, and the longer I was offline the harder it was to get going again.
So with the Chookshed's birthday came the impetus that now sees me online again.
I have been wanting to make some design boards for a while..so after seeing Chookyblue's post I got myself organised.. It's the Queen's Birthday long weekend here in NZ so I have another day tomorrow to finish them up along with a bit of work on some other things..and then some photos to take. We have had 2 wonderfully sunny days on this side of the Tasman such a contrast to what we had last week.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

OPAM


                                                                       Opam 2016

..I've joined up for OPAM again this year.  I need to get motivated and stop daydreaming about what I want to work on and just get on with it.  Last year didn't go well and I ended up with more unfinished projects at the end of it than what I started with..so here's hoping for some more finishes this year.
If you would like to join in then visit Kris or Peg before February 1.

Monday, January 25, 2016

FNSI

..well I'm back home again after my trip to Sydney to see Mum.  It's a bit of a mammoth day travelling back..left Mum's at 6.30 am and arrived home at 9.30pm NZ time (7.30pm AEDT).there is no direct flight for us now from Sydney (they were discontinued in 2014 so more flight capacity could be put in to Queenstown and Christchurch..just great (not!!))..so it was a 3 hour flight to Auckland, followed by a 3 hour wait in the domestic terminal before another 3 hour flight south..which included a 35 minute stop in Wellington...a long day just to cross the ditch..
I did join in for FNSI..spent a bit of time contemplating what I'm going to work on this year..and then did a little more on the rug I am making..have got seriously behind with it..
                  
While I was away DH built the timber frame so we could have a roof over our back deck..so Saturday was spent helping to put the clear roofing on..it was a bit breezy so all help was needed to hold the sheet panels till he had screwed them down...guess what sort of day we have today..
               
Yes, it's drizzling and showers are expected for the next few days..but I'm not worried as it's nice and dry under here.. that's one of the solar lights I found on sale in town..it glows green when it's dark..
One week of school holidays left..then the year will really be in full swing..
I hope you all enjoyed FNSI..I will have to visit over the next few days to see what you all did...



Sunday, January 10, 2016

FNWF

Well a first for me as I am in Sydney for FNWF.  It has been wonderful to see the sunshine after the few days of heavy rain.  Mum's phone is out till Tuesday, something to do with a cut cable, so it is just as well I am still here.  They have redirected her calls to my mobile as Mum has never wanted to have a mobile...but now the thought that she could have been without access to a phone for a week if I wasn't here with mine has got her thinking about whether she might need to get one 'for emergencies'.
Last year (seems strange to think of 2015 as last year) Mum was reading the weekend paper when she saw a teapot cosy in the living section..thought it would be great for my DD2 ( her GD of course).  They only had a website so there was phone call to me to 'look on the net' as she calls it.  Not available the website said so a bit of a google found one in a shop in Tasmania and it was soon on it's way.  

Mum doesn't crochet so I also have the task of making it ...so for FNWF  I got started..
.
Now the other night I fluked resizing some photos so will try to manage it tonight on the iPad...oh well!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

It's the start of a new year

.and I have a few things to catch up on sharing.  I tried to do this post the other day but had so much trouble adding photos that I gave up..come back to it today and it's working fine..can't figure that one out..
Well how relieved was I when I heard from Fiona that the gift I sent her for the SSCS swap had arrived..I don't know where it has been and it probably has its own tale to tell but that doesn't matter now that Fiona has it.
I made a Home Sweet...Sweet Home decoration

And a project folder as you can never have enough of them for your special projects
..and I included some fabric with pohutakawa flowers on it as they flower at Christmas time and are also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree..and just in case Fiona had a little time to relax and read..a copy of the NZ Quilter magazine