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 ...

We are not great movie goers, but now and again a film grabs our attention, and we just have to go and see it. 

The Great Escaper, starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson was such a film.  This film is based on a true story about pensioner Bernard Jordan, who absconded from his Care Home in Sussex, UK in 2014, to attend an event in France marking the 70th Anniversary of the D Day Landings.  Bernard missed out on getting a pass to join one of the official groups, so decided to go it alone.

It was an excellent film ...

 Over the last several months I have been stitching away, and had accumulated a bag of donations for Foster Hope charity.  The nearest drop off point was on the way to where we were heading for lunch, so that worked out well.  I collected the bag, and we were ready to go.

 Baby Jack has arrived - the first grandson of Robin's sister Kaye and her husband Jan.  That was certainly exciting news and we caught up with Kaye for lunch while she was staying with the new parents and baby to offer a helping hand.  Luckily I had a baby quilt  tucked away for a new arrival, wrapped it up and took it to our lunch date. 

 Happy Valentine's Day to all.  I had to educate Robin about St Valentine - he didn't realise that there was indeed such a person.  St Valentine was martyred on 14th February in the year 269 under instructions of Emperor Claudius 11 for helping Christian couples wed.

I like to bring out my bed quilt "Hearts of Love" for the months of November, our wedding month, and again in February, for Valentine's Day.  The heart blocks were received some years ago when I took part in a block swap.  Then I assembled the quilt using star blocks as part ...

The  Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour for January is green, and I thought I had already completed my RSC stitching this month.  But another project sneaked in.  Hiding in plain sight was a bag of 2.5in squares, and I had thinking of doing a project I had seen in blogland, but that didn't happen.  To be quite honest, I don't really like working with little squares, and was considering donating the bag to the Op Shop.

Perhaps I'll do something with them after all, I thought.  So I rummaged through the bag, pulled out all the soft ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Just in time for Christmas, I've received my new hand crafted quilt ladder.  Robin had found a plan to make one of these on the internet, and asked his Menz Shed builder friend for advice.  While he was in hospital getting his second knee replacement, and the subsequent eight weeks recovery time, Brian the builder took the job over for him.  He measured the timber, cut and assembled the ladder for Robin - how kind of him.  Once Robin could comfortably stand on his knee again, he took over the sanding and the wood staining.  And then brought it home ...

We recently attended the last Probus meeting for the year, held in the local Cossie Club, followed by a wonderful catered meal.  There was a big group of about 80 members present, and the restaurant certainly did us proud with the menu.  Hot ham and chicken, plenty of veggies and salad, followed by sticky date pudding, custard and cream, with meringues and fruit salad too. 

Enjoying our Probus Christmas lunch

There was talk around the table of going back home and having an afternoon nap, as most of us would not be used to consuming such a hearty meal in ...

We had a busy old day yesterday, left home early and headed for Palmerston North.  But first, we had a stop at the asparagus farm.  This tasty vegetable usually finishes growing by Christmas, only a few weeks away now, so we have to purchase it while we can.  I bought two bundles, one for us, and the other for my daughter, Nicky.  We were to catch up with her later in the day.

Lewis Farms

Our first stop in Palmerston North was to the walk in Vaccination Clinic to get a Covid booster shot.  Oh no, they were closed in ...

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 Anniversary Trip was winding down.  But I did have time for a little shopping therapy.  Not much really, I was after some cream  wide backing for a project nearing completion, and while there picked up two half yard cuts of pink and green fabric for my daughter’s upcoming big birthday quilt. Nicky doesn't like “bright – in your face” types of colours so I found a couple of muted shades for her.

Holiday fabric purchases

You know you have arrived in Rotorua when that “rotten egg sulphur smell” hits your nose.  Not all the time, just here and ...

Sunday arrived, our 40th Anniversary.  After breakfast, we drove out to one of the things on our “must do” list, the Redwoods Treewalk.  Driving into the carpark, we noticed walkways in the trees above criss crossing overhead.  Tickets purchased, we were given a briefing about allowable numbers on the walkways and platforms, and don't touch the trees as it can harm the bark, we were on our way up the spiral walkway.

The start of the walk

We weren't sure how we would both manage up in the tree tops, but it was very easy walking indeed.  The ...

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 ...

There was excellent news for Robin at his appointment with the orthopedic surgeon last week to check on his knee replacement.   There were x-rays on the monitor showing the replacement pieces, and everything looked nice and straight, we were told.  The wound has healed nicely and Robin’s knee movement is excellent.  We were told that slow improvement will happen over the next year or so, but everything looks fine, and he can do away with the sticks.  Yes, he is cleared to drive, so a caravan trip will be happening in the near future.  Yippee to that!

We had ...

I've had such a busy time out in the last week or so, one social outing after another.  And no, its not usually like that at all, everything just came at once.  We have been meeting up with a group of friends each month.  In the early years when we were much younger and fitter, we would go walking up and down hills, along the coast line, travel out out town for weekends away, visit gardens, exhibitions  and museums, all sorts of things.  As the years went by our numbers have dwindled as friends have passed away, and of ...

What could be busier than a 5.00am wake-up call?  Just as well we set the alarm on the cell phones to get us up early one day last week, now we are retired our mornings are no longer ruled by alarm clocks.  Robin was having a procedure done at the hospital and we had to be up, showered, dressed and on our way bright and early.  Driving to the hospital takes about 50 minutes but we like to allow about an hour, just in case.  And just in case it was, when we came to a complete standstill behind ...

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 ...