All the goings on.

So what has been keeping me away from my sewing and blogging?

Well for a start we had this young man all day yesterday.  Torstein is nearly 3 now and very much interested in the world around him. Sitting here with the sun streaming in through our big windows he discovered reflections yesterday and was fascinated watching them move and dance on the ceiling and walls, once I had shown him how to do it by moving his toys.

It was wonderful to see the awe and amazement on his face. 

He also spent some time with Grandad who was taking apart a game console that had stopped working. Torstein was happy to watch and make several trips to the tool cupboard to fetch screwdrivers and other important items. Grandad also spent some time reading and looking at the pictures in the Fire engine book. He loves to sit up beside Grandad at the table when it is time to eat. For his tea he demolished a big plate of butter chicken, rice and naan bread. 

Yesterday was a good day.

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Today and over the last couple of weeks I have been spending a lot of time out in the garden. This image is the third pile of pea straw bales delivered to our place. A total of six dozen bales.

I have been busy laying it onto our gardens to keep the weeds down. It's taken a long time (As in years) to convince him, but Tony has finally allowed me to do this.

It was a lot of work to get it all done.

Not just on the garden beds, but also along the dirt path at the very back of the property.

We have quite a long fence line which could do with one or two repairs.

There is still one garden bed to tidy up before I put more straw down. It's good to get it done.

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The feijoa trees have dropped almost all of their fruit now, I've done lots of baking and even made some feijoa jam. Here it is in the cauldron.

Maybe now that most of the garden jobs are completed and things are all tidy for the winter, I just might get a little more sewing time in. I have made time for sewing, taking myself in to my little room each day, even if I only had time to sew one block.

One is better than none right?

I have a few of Jude's ready set sew blocks made now, but have put them aside today, in order to make a start on a new quilt. Miss Charmaine has her birthday in a months time and has requested one of Nanny's quilts please. I fished about in the stash after tea last night and found a bundle of scrappy 10 inch squares. It was a bundle I bought quite a while ago especially to make a girly quilt for Charmaine. We looked at the fabrics together and she seemed to approve, well she had lots of favourites. LOL

I did a little work on them before I sat down here to blog. I'll get pictures soon, I hope.

Torstein is also very fond of Nanny's quilts and blankets, each time he visits he asks if he can take a blanket home. LOL  He has taken some, but we have managed to convince him that he must leave some here to snuggle in too.  I must get my grans old airer out and show him how to make a blanket den/playhouse. 

Well that's my news. All my chores are done, I might go read a few blogs, then pull out my cross stitch. 

I hope you're having a great weekend.

Zooming along.

Chooky convened another meeting of the Chookshed Stitchers on Saturday. We all gathered on zoom to celebrate 11 years since the Chookshed was installed in her garden. 

Although I do have a project set aside as my zoom project, it really is not calling to me and I had a few other things lined up for my attention. Firstly I had some small quilts waiting for their binding to be stitched closed.

Firstly a coffee mat, for the coffee machine to sit on.

Next up was another small quilt for the kitchen, this time something to protect my new frying pans.

It turned out a little larger than needed. I must have remembered the numbers wrong. LOL

Better too big than too small. 

Both of those projects were made using up scraps and off cuts.

Next up, more binding, this time a UFO. I finally got the binding on to my Frivol. 

Another item checked off the list. 

Then I picked up my cross stitch Lorikeets. I had decided that as I had worked on them at Scrub Stitchin' I should make a note of that fact.

I'll leave them in this hoop and add a felt backing. 

Tada!

Ready to hang.

I also did some crochet for a while. My little white and pink blanket is growing.

Then the call of EPP grew strong and I collected up some papers and more fabric scraps.

Then cut and glued, making a little pile of 2 inch hexies ready to sew together. 

As always it was great to spend time with like minded people. We cut and sewed and chatted the day away. It was a great day.

Thank you Chooky. 

 

Acquisitions and a new start.

 As I mentioned in my last post, our recent bus trip was not all about Rachael's exhibition, there were also shopping opportunities. Our first stop was just a short distance up the road at the Pin Tin in Geraldine, where I purchased this half jelly roll in Kiwi fabrics.

I'll make a small jelly roll race style quilt with it, for donating.

Next was the op shop where I met that cute and very friendly kitty cat. Some of the ladies found treasure, I was happy to cuddle the cat.

Speaking of cats, after visiting the exhibition we stopped at Annies Country Quilt store where I found this wee hanger for the amazing kitty in a box quilt that Janice gifted to me on our recent visit.

Not quite the hanger I wanted, but better than no hanger at all. 

It was good to get kitty up on to the wall. I think he needs a name. And I'm thinking Jack, because he is in a box! 

Also at Annies I found a lovely bag pattern.

Looks like a good one for using up some pretty scraps. 

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The other day I had a big tidy up in my room as it was a mess, goodness knows how, I haven't been in there much to mess it up! Once I was done, I was going to make a wee scrappy quilted mat/pot holder for in the kitchen but that plan went out the window somehow and I found myself playing with the ready set sew kit that Jude was good enough to bring along to Scrub Stitchin' for me.

I just love the wee case it came in.

Inside was everything I need to make up a cute scrappy style quilt top.

All the fabrics are precut. No measuring, mathematics or cutting required.

So I started sewing.

In two short sessions before work, over two days....

All of the HSTs in the case were sewn together. Later today I'll have a read of the pattern that was included and start the next step. It will be good to sit and sew for a while. I've had a busy morning. 

One very important job that needs doing to to ensure I have projects prepped for Zoom stitching on Saturday. I've taken a day off work, especially so I can join in.

Maybe I'll see you there. 

Almost two weeks since I wrote.

 As you may have guessed, life continues to get in the way.  But I continue to pick away slowly at various projects. Here you see my winter crochet project. A yummy woollen blanket in the making.

I did some of it during a recent and impromptu zoom session with Chooky.

I've just had my weekend off work and Saturday saw me heading out on a bus trip with the Timaru Patchworkers club. One of our members has an exhibition in the art gallery in Ashburton, about an hour up the road.

As you moved around the gallery, the colours grew. 

While this improv style is not my style at all, I can still appreciate Rachael's use of colour and quilting.

In places her quilting lines looked like brush strokes in paint.

There were also some screen printed panels incorporated into the pieces.

Here she is, the artist herself. 

It was good to have her with us. She told us about her process and the thoughts behind them. She said it was great having us ask questions and give feedback as it would help when she has to give a talk at the gallery later this week.

Of course as we were there we had to look around the rest of the gallery.

I took pictures of one or two pieces that caught my eye.

This amazing carved and painted Kakapo was amazing, he looked incredibly life like.

These ceramics also caught me eye. 

I think the colours and simplicity and variety of the designs caught my eye. 

Of course no day out would be complete without a little shopping. We started the day at the pin tin in Geraldine, then a visit to an op shop in Mayfield, where I met this cute wee kitty.

No, she does not belong to the shop, but waits each day for the doors to open, then strolls in and finds a good spot for the day. LOL

And finally a visit to Annie's country quilt store.

Yes, I shopped. I'll get pics of my purchases soon.

I continue to deal with the offerings from the garden.

The chilli plants have slowed but are still producing.

And I believe I mentioned that the feijoas are now producing a bowlful every day. I've been baking feijoa and date loaves for the freezer. Later today I'll deliver a bag full of fruit to Debbie.

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I've also made time to play with a few scraps of fabric and get some smaller items ready for binding, more about those another time. Right now I'm off to cross stitch for an hour before work.

Lots of things getting in the way....

Life continues to get in the way of what I really want to do.  But I have managed to wring out a few moments for some stitching.

The snow drifts have grown a little around St Nicks feet 

And I have completed the Rainbow Lorikeets I took to Scrub Stitchin' with me. If you remember i stitched some of it one afternoon while I was sat outside with Janice.

That was a nice afternoon, out in the fresh air enjoying hearing the birds chattering and watching them as we sewed.

In other news, I've started a crochet project, to keep me warm through the cooler months. More about that another time.

That's all my news, hopefully I'll have something more exciting to share next time.