What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 You know what it's like when you set off on holiday - you seem to have all the time in the world and then it's all over.  We were attending our caravan club rally in Napier, with plenty of plans, people to see, things to do, plus a little shopping.  It didn't all fall nicely into place though.  On my "must do list" was a visit to Skeinz, a local company which spins their own wool.  I had found a pretty 6ply cardigan pattern for myself and was after some yarn.   Of course there were several lovely colours ...

What sort of handwork to take on our caravan trips  was the question.  With no stitchery project on the go at the moment, it had to be knitting.  I usually have a pair of socks on the go, so they were packed.  This pair is going to be for my daughter, she requested a fine 4ply pair this time, and selected the sock yarn from my stash.  I often knit socks on car journeys, nice easy knitting once I'm past those tricky heels.  I knit my socks flat, two at a time, then stitch up the side seam.

Socks ...

 Last weekend we had a caravan trip away to Whanganui, stopping overnight on the way at Duddings Lake.  What a pretty, peaceful place this was.  We decided to camp off power so left the crowded motor camp behind and parked up around the lake on a large grassy area.  There were several caravans and campervans parked here, but plenty of room  between is all.

Our lakeside camping spot

The lake must be very healthy as we noticed plenty of bird life, and the frogs serenaded us in the evening.  How often do we hear frogs, we commented.  Their calls are ...

The lazy, sunny days at Napier were coming to a close.  There really is nothing nicer than sitting under the awning, doing a little knitting or stitching, and chatting away with our friends.  Gemma discovered one of the locker doors open, and wasted no time jumping in to see what she could find.  Sorry Gemma, there’s nothing very interesting in there at all, just a cozy place to curl up.

Gemma in the locker

On our last day in camp we arranged to go out to lunch with Helen and Owen – where to but the Silky Oak Chocolate café ...

My knitting and stitching bags have come  away with me on our caravan trip.  I like to do easy knitting on car trips and I’m working on my blue socks.  Once past those tricky heels, the foot portion is all straight knitting till I reach the toes so doesn't need too much concentration.

Sock knitting in the car

Summer holidays means sitting outside under the shady awning working on my stitchery.  I’ve spent several pleasant hours working on one of my Christmas Kiwi blocks, and have now completed the kiwi and the BBQ.  That’s two finished ...

We've moved on to Napier to spend several days just relaxing.  But….. needs must, and we desperately needed to go to the laundromat.  There was one close by, and at the NZMCA camp we are staying, there was a huge clothesline to hang it all out.  There’s nothing better than laundry drying in the warm sunshine, is there?  Holiday or not, there’s always plenty of washing to do.

Round and round it goes

Not too far from the camp is the Filter Room which makes cider and beer.  There is also a restaurant attached and we took ...

Generally, we spend New Year fairly quietly, but we had a family birthday celebrate.  This year we spent a very wet New Year’s Eve with my nephew Shane who was turning 60.  Shane is the eldest grandchild on the maternal side, the first child of my late sister Kathleen and hubby Dennis.   It is a tradition in this family to prepare and cook a hangi for special occasions, and this Shane did with a little help.  Not a “hole in the ground” traditional hangi, but rather one cooked in a stainless steel container, heated with gas, but still using ...

We have moved on from the family small holding after four very pleasant and relaxed days.  Before we arrived, I was a little worried about the family dog and how he would react to a strange cat on his property.  Noodle would come and look at Gemma through the closed screen door.  Then one morning Robin had the screen door open, Gemma was on her lead, and the two met nose to nose!  I was amazed that nothing untoward happened.  It may well have been a different story if Gemma was outside the safety of the caravan door.

First meeting ...

The caravan was packed, and we were on our way to Kiwitea, to stay with my daughter and her family.  Santa Bear and the Christmas cushions were coming away with us on this trip, and we mustn’t forget the bag of Christmas gifts for the family.

Christmas in the caravan

Expecting the holiday traffic to  be very busy, we kept off SH1 and drove along some quieter rural roads. It’s always good to be safely off the roads in the busy holiday period, and we were soon parked up on the property.  My bacon and egg pie went ...

With only a few days till Christmas, and one day till we head away in out caravan, it’s been a busy old day here today.  I needed to do some baking to take up to my daughter’s home for Christmas, and had promised to make some of my delicious Chocolate Cherry Slice.  This is rich and decadent and is  a lovely treat for Christmas.  Made with a chocolate base and topped with a coconut and glace chocolate topping, it is certainly a winner.

Chocolate Cherry Slice

I also offered to make a bacon and egg pie to help ...

The last caravan club rally of the year was held at the Woodville/Pahiatua Race Course, an 80km trip away driving up and over the Saddle Road.    There were nine vans on site for this rally.  The weather was mostly sunny, but come Sunday when it was time to drive back home, the wind was fierce enough to cause concerns.  Towing a caravan or driving a motorhome in windy weather is always a concern.

Parked at the Race Course

We had a fun day out on Saturday.  Later in the morning the members pooled cars and set of to Dannevirke ...

Pre Christmas is such a busy time, isn't it.  We had another caravan trip planned, about 8 days this time, to attend the ICA Christmas Rally, up at Te Aroha and Matamata, quite a drive away for us.  Most of the ICA members live much further north than us, so depending on where the rally is being held, we generally have the longest drive.  Our first stop was at Turangi, a well known fishing area.  There was a tap  on the door, and a lady asked us if we would be interested in a trout fillet.  My goodness, of ...

Our 40th Anniversary was fast approaching so we needed to decide how we wanted to celebrate.  I'm the social secretary in this household and after throwing a few ideas around, we decided on an Anniversary Trip, ending up in Rotorua.  This is where we spent our honeymoon, all those years ago!  But first, we needed to drive through to Ohaupo, Hamilton, the collect the caravan.  Our caravan Romany Rambler had been driven up to Leisureline Ohaupo just a week before Robin’s knee replacement operation, and left there for some work to be done.  They kindly stored it for ...

Despite my Q-matic system being a bit temperamental since it needs a new cable, I managed to keep it going and completed some customer quilts. I had to watch it more closely than usual so I was not able to go away and work on anything else, although I did manage to put a few stitches onto the quilted coat back. I have 2 front pieces still to go, depending on how much embellishment I feel it needs.

I decided to take my caravan on a Last Hurrah for the year to head north to Moray for a Scottie Dog ...

I have been “off-grid” in the Peak District for a few days. Earlier this year I agreed to meet up with cousins who are hard-core caravaners. I was looking forward to it but also dreading it. Nella and I took 6 hours to get as far as Lockerbie, partly because I took an unnecessary detour. We stayed overnight in a farmer’s field and I was relieved that I did not have to unhitch. One of the most stressful aspects of towing a caravan is stopping – whether it is for fuel or the loo because you don’t know how ...

It’s no wonder I’m rather slow with my knitting projects, as lately I’ve had several on the go at the same time.  This little baby jumper was started in the New Year when we were on our 10 week South Island caravan trip, and knitted off and on over those weeks.  Made with several part balls of donated acrylic yarn, I decided to do stripes and “bunny ears” as this design was called during my childhood.  I was so pleased I had completed the button bands and collar before starting the sleeves,  as the yellow ran out ...

Another month has rolled by, which  means another colour to use for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) blocks.  My Little Bricks were done first.  I’m making two versions of this.  Zig Zag blocks stitched in a row, then the original Little Bricks pattern, both versions very simple to make.  Not many big pieces of yellows in my stash, but I found enough small pieces of different yellows to make my blocks

Yellow Bricks in yellow

Happy Blocks were next, and they do certainly look bright and happy sporting their sunny yellow hues.  I found three boy themed squares to ...

We’ve just enjoyed a three day weekend away with our caravan buddies at Paekakariki Holiday Park.  Robin and I were the rally family, so had been working on a couple of ideas to keep our caravan buddies entertained for the weekend. Friday was a public holiday celebrating  Matariki which is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in midwinter and for many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year. Matariki is a time to reflect on the past and those who have passed on, to celebrate the present with ...

We've been away on a caravan trip for the last week or so.  Our destination was Cambridge, and we had a nice leisurely time getting there.  The first stop was the Gumtree Motorhome Park at Taihape.     Checking out the sign, I wondered what the overseas visitors would think, there are no koalas in New Zealand.  Although there were plenty of gum trees in the park.

Gemma travels quite well in the car, but I suspect she just puts up with it.  But once we get to our destination, she bounds into the caravan, jumps up on the bed, and ...

It seems a bit strange to be talking about going away on the King’s Birthday Weekend, I find.  Especially after 70 or so years of the Queen’s Birthday, but I’m sure we will get used to it.  The particular date is staying the same, and we had a caravan weekend away planned.

But first, we had the firemen come calling.  No, not for an emergency, thank goodness.  They were coming to do several smoke alarm assessments at our village, and we were on their list. And here they come, the fire engine was parked a few doors ...