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...

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...

                                     

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...

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...

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...

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....

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!