What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

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 ...

Although I always seem to be busy with my projects, I have to admit that I’ve been flitting from one thing to the other over the last week.  So consequently, nothing really gets finished.  With my knitting, I've been working on the sleeves of my navy blue cardigan, then also on the button hole bands as well.  Then I’ve two pair of socks on the go, sometimes I work on one set, later I work on the other.  I've been doing a little machining here and there, working on a couple of projects.  So nothing much ...

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 ...

We have been out and about lately.  First we took a trip down to Kapiti to drop of a bag of donations for Foster Hope Charity.  Included in this donation were two draw string bags for the kids pencils or treasures, and two little girls aprons.

Bags and aprons

And quilts, winter is coming after all, and there is sure to be a need for these.  First were two toddlers quilts made from small printed panels – these were finished last year but I wasn't quite ready to part with them, just in case there was a need close to ...

This week we attended a family wedding.  The venue is so popular that Saturday bookings are not available for the next two years.  So Robin’s niece Hanah (daughter of Kaye and Jan from Nelson where we spent a wonderful Christmas) and her bridegroom chose a Tuesday wedding, followed by a casual BBQ lunch for all the guests on Wednesday.

It was a garden wedding, with guests from as far away as Ireland  from the groom’s side of the family.  When the ceremony was concluded, and the photos taken, we sat outside in the sunshine with drinks and nibbles ...

We are heading back up the east coast of the South Island, making our slow way back to the Ferry Terminal.  Staying at Christchurch for a couple of days gave us the opportunity to catch up with son Michael again.  And I had so enjoyed our previous visit to Sign of the Kiwi Café on the Port Hills last time we were here, that we collected him from his home and went there for lunch.  It certainly was a long and winding drive up the road.  There were plenty of people there already there enjoying their lunches in the fresh ...

We went out exploring one afternoon, driving an oval shaped route from Gore and back through the countryside, a road we hadn’t previously traveled on.  And goodness me, on reaching Clinton we discovered this sign, we had just driven along the Presidential Highway!

This stretch of highway between Clinton and Gore acquired unexpected fame in the 1990s when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were respectively president and vice-president of the United States. When President Clinton visited New Zealand in 1999, a photograph of the road sign was presented to him by the United States ambassador, Josiah Beeman.

Hello, Mr ...

Slowly but surely, my Noah’s  Ark stitcheries are coming along.  In between traveling and sightseeing I’ve enjoyed some stitching time outside in the warm weather.  Or I should say “hot”, as some of the afternoons have been very hot indeed.  Here is my latest little finish, two lions and two blue birds  waiting their turn to climb aboard the Ark.  I must say that they seem to be a pair of rather strange looking lions indeed.  But Noah chose them, so they must be OK.

Stitching outside in the afternoon

The lion block is the fourth one I ...

Something ticked off the Bucket List, and what an adventure we had.  We are currently in Te Anau (which means place of swirling waters) and recently enjoyed a Coach/Cruise/Underwater Observatory combo to Milford Sound and through the Homer Tunnel.  Our adventure started in Te Anau when we boarded the big red coach – with several photo stops along the way.  The scenery here is spectacular. The very pretty Mirror Lakes were just off the roadside, and it was a nice easy 5 minute  boardwalk there and back.  People everywhere, we certainly weren’t the only bus in the car ...

We have moved on to Christchurch, mainly to catch up with my son Michael, and also to see what changes had been made since our last time here in 2018, when the city was still in recovery mode.  On February 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake caused severe damage in Christchurch and Lyttleton, killing 185 people and injuring several thousand.  This earthquake occurred on a shallow fault line close to the city, and the shaking was particularly destructive.  The earthquake brought down many buildings damaged in the previous earthquake in September, especially older brick and mortar buildings,  and two-thirds of ...

There is an awful lot to see down here in the South Island, as we are traveling around.   We spent several days in Blackball, an old mining town.  The most famous building here is undoubtedly the pub which has an interesting story about it’s name,  called “Formerly the Blackball Hilton”.  Built in 1910 it was named The Dominion.  In the 1970s the owners changed the name to The Blackball Hilton, as the main street is called Hilton after one of the early mine managers.  However, a threat of legal action from the overseas Hilton Hotel chain caused the name ...

We have moved on to the tiny settlement of Barrytown and I had an hour or so sitting under the shady awning doing a little stitching. We are camped up on a hill and have a wonderful sea view.

Not only did I finish this tiny little dove from Noah's Ark stitchery, but worked a little longer to start the next design – two kangaroos waiting to hop onboard the ark.

Just a small finish

Sitting outside in the balmy evening with our camping neighbours, we were chatting away and waiting for the sun to go down into the horizon ...

It’s been much too hot and sticky lately to do any hand stitching or knitting, so nothing to report on that.  But we have been having a great time driving around and exploring on our South Island Trip.  Here’s an update of our adventures.  Boxing Day at the Beach is a Kiwi institution.   The day was hot and sunny, but the cool sea breeze cooled the temperatures down while we were sitting on the golden sand at Marahau Beach .  There was plenty of action happening off shore.  Several people were enjoying para-sailing, with the wind carrying them along ...

Black thread  - that’s what I needed for my traveling stitchery project.  Luckily we found out where the LQS was and I made a quick visit.  I was after Perle No 5 in black, and luckily they had some.  Then while browsing around,  found some nice stripy fabric which could work well as the borders on my Noah's Ark stitchery.  Or not, perhaps I should have waited till this project was completed to see if it would go well with the stitchery blocks.  Never mind, I’ve bought it now.

My purchases

I’m not expecting to make our ...

It’s that time of the year when all the end of year functions happen.  We gathered at The Emporium for our last Sew Wot get-together of the year, our Christmas Lunch and gift swap.  The Emporium has a pretty little gift shop in front of the café, so we all had a browse around, looking for a bargain or two.

Lots of gift items on display

It was so nice that everyone could make it on the day, and we also welcomed former member Moira who joined us for lunch.  The menu was studied, we made our choices, and ...

Last Sunday we drove up to Palmerston North meet the family and exchange gifts.  We will be away on a long caravan trip at Christmas so won’t be able to see them during the festive season.  But first we had a stop at Lewis Farms to buy some fresh asparagus.  With only a short growing season of this delicacy, we like to buy it from the grower when we can. 

Shop and Packing Shed

As well as purchasing some asparagus, we needed a little something extra.  A usual, it was a coffee for me, and an ice-cream for him ...

We spent the day in Palmerston North,  with a long list of things to do.  First up was a visit to Spotlight to purchase a cushion inner.  While I was there a lady wearing  a rather stylish 50s dress stopped me to comment that she loved my dress!  (It was a newish blue denim dress with embroidered flowers on the bodice and skirt).  Such a surprise, and not something which happens much, I must admit.   Of course, I had to return the compliment, as she really looked stunning herself.  A random compliment certainly makes your day and lifts the spirit ...

Another RSC top done, using some of the flag blocks I misplaced and then found again.  This joins two other RSC tops I made from four patch blocks, which I had completed a month or so ago.  So that’s three RSC tops ready and waiting to be quilted!  I found this picture on the internet somewhere or other, and decided it was a pretty way to assemble some of my flag blocks, in pink, pale blue, yellow and purple.  I substituted plain squares for the corner flag blocks, and framed each block.

The blocks were assembled, and I finished ...

I was thrilled with the birthday gift I received from my daughter Nicky.  Several years ago I had purchased  a partially completed embroidered tablecloth with unused threads from a fabric fair. That would be a good project to finish, I thought.  But…… time went by and I didn't do a single stitch, so asked my daughter Nicky if she could complete it for me – sometime.  Out of sight, out of mind, and I truly had forgotten all about it.  We got together for a birthday lunch on Thursday and Nicky presented me with a parcel, it was the completed ...

My birthday is coming up fast (during the weekend) and my daughter Nicky suggested we meet for lunch up in Feilding.  What a good idea we thought, and drove up on Thursday.  We were meeting in  Delish Café,  a new to us place, and they certainly were busy.  We were a little early grabbed a table, ordered a coffee each, and waited for the family to arrive.

Lunch time

It was so nice that both grand-daughters could meet us for lunch as well.  Megan took a couple of hours off from work, and Emma had the whole day off, because ...