What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Matariki is celebrated as the Maori New Year, a time of remembrance, celebrating the present and looking to the future.  I joined in the "Matariki Kaumatua (respected elder) Day Out"  bus trip yesterday with several friends.  This was organised by our local library for older people in the community, and two buses took us out to Foxton Beach Estuary to celebrate the spirit of the season.

I was having morning tea in the library cafe with this group of friends from the Cancer Society some weeks ago when staff member Henry stopped at our table to tell us about this ...

 I've been sitting doing some slow stitching this afternoon, on a rather dreary day.  It's grey outside, and showery.  Not that it matters, I'm nice and cozy inside, happily big quilt stitching one of my two teddy bear cushion panels.  And I've finished.  Gemma gave Teddy the once over.  I wonder if she noticed the little brown bird in the tree?  These will be made into cushions for foster kids when they are completed.

Is that a birdie?

 At our last Sew Wot get-together, Heather had a table of free stuff she wanted gone.  I swooped on two teddy bear cushion panels that took my fancy.  Just the thing for a couple of cushions for kids in care, I thought. These are now layered with batting, and pinned up, ready for me to do big stitch quilting around the motifs.  

Two cushion panels from Heather, ready for quilting

I've made a start of Father Teddy sitting on the window seat, reading his book.

Father Ted

I've also hand stitched a label on two secret quilts I ...

 It was time to send a few more items off to new homes.  You may remember the crate of knitting my granddaughter got down from the loft for me, it contained knitted jumpers I had done for future great grand children.  It was time to let two of them go, plus a several knitted hats I had finished recently.

Off to new homes

The pink jumper was knitted recently with yarn I had purchased from an Op Shop, and the navy one is a reknit of a pattern I made for my first baby Michael many years ago.  He is ...

 The caravan club had a rally at Mt Lees over Anzac weekend.  With a museum visit and lunch planned on Sunday, I decided to drive up and join in the activities.  Fellow member Geoff was planning to go as well, so I asked if he could give me a ride.  The only problem was that President Owen had called a called a committee meeting at 9.00am, and Geoff was on the committee.  So that meant we both had to set our respective alarm clocks, and I had to be ready to go at 8.00am, with Geoff leaving home ...

 I've certainly been out and about lately, meeting up with friends.  Firstly with Louise and Robert who came down this way in their motor home to attend a country and music festival in Marton.  Then they had people to see, family to catch up with, and arranged to meet me for lunch too.  There was a communication breakdown about where we were meeting, as my text message didn't get sent, for whatever reason.  After a bit of telephone tag later in the morning, everything was smoothed out, and arrangements confirmed.   We went to a favourite of mine, Salt ...

It's the lead up to Christmas and the days are still so busy.  On Monday the first thing on my list was a visit to the library, as I had found out that the local library would be closed for two weeks over the holiday period.  Oh dear, what if I run out of books to read!  So I called in and collected three more, just in case.   The library was nicely decorated and had quite a Christmas vibe, very nice indeed.

Letters for Santa go in the red box

I think that arm chair is for Santa

With ...

Happy Birthday hand made card from Dot

My birthday week started well.  I'd just returned home on Sunday from my 10 day coach trip up to the Far North, avoiding all those coughs and sneezes  I could hear on the coach most days.  Or so I thought!  By Monday afternoon I was coughing and sneezing too, my throat was burning, I had headaches, and I didn't feel at all well.  So much so that I told my Sew Wot friends that I wouldn't be joining them the next morning.  So I stayed tucked up in bed, sipping ...

 The RSC colour for this month is black or brown.  Great, I'll get on with stitching the last of my selvedge strips and make a final two handed oven mitt for the year.  You may remember that I have been on a quest to use up my remaining selvedges.   But where was the bag with the selvedges and the hessian for the backing?  It should have been hanging up on the coat rack with various other bags of stuff, but no, it wasn't anywhere to be found.  Perhaps it was in the crates in the wardrobe, where I ...

The caravan club was having a weekend rally at Feilding over the weekend.  My friend Dot is a club member too and has a small motor home, but wasn't attending the rally, but she asked me if I would like a ride up on Saturday to catch up with the members. Yes, I certainly would.  The boot of the car was packed, we needed a folding chair each, our lunches, and a coat in case it was cold and windy up there.  But surprise, surprise, the day turned out sunny and wonderfully warm, no complaints about the weather at ...

 Recently Dot and I went on a bus trip organised by our Probus Club.  The day was cold and wet and we waited in the cold car park wrapped up in our rain jackets and scarves, together with the rest of the group  for the bus to arrive.  Once onboard, we were soon on our way.

Our bus for the day

One of the highlights  of the trip for me was to travel across the newly opened "Te Ahu a Turanga", the new 11.5km piece of State Highway 3, between Ashhurst and Woodville.  This replaces the old Manawatu Gorge ...

 My secret sewing is completed, I've finished and gifted the birthday quilt to my daughter Nicky for her 60th birthday.  Nicky had quite specific ideas for her birthday quilt, nothing sharp and spiky such as stars, she wanted 9 patches.  And in pinks and greens.  I could do that for her.  I had started the quilt some time ago, gathering up fabrics in the required colours, cutting and assembling the nine patch blocks.  In between times of course I stitched away at other projects and challenges.

Slowly the blocks were completed.  I stitched pink nine patches with a centre ...

I've just come back from an overnight stay in the capitol city, Wellington.   As I was away a little less than 24 hours, Gemma stayed home alone.  She was left with dry food, wet food, fresh water, and a nice clean litter box.  As she tends to snooze most of the day, I was sure she would be fine.  Although maybe her pussy cat brain would wonder where I was at bedtime?  My blue overnight case was packed, and I was ready to go.

Saturday was quite a busy day.  The caravan club was spending the weekend at the Manawatu Caravan Club grounds, and I drove up to join them for morning tea, about a half hour drive away.  It was lovely to catch up with everyone, and as a bonus, one of the member's was celebrating a birthday so cake was provided.  The weather was fine and clear, cold overnight and frosty in the morning.

Joining the caravan club for morning tea

I left the camp ground after morning tea, and drove up to Sanson, another half hour drive away, to meet ...

 On Thursday we had the AGM for the caravan club at Paraparaumu.  Although I am no longer an active member, as a Life Member I am welcome at any functions and get togethers.  The meeting was at Club Vista and the restaurant has views over the sea.  Not much to see as the weather was very wet indeed on the drive down.  Kapiti Island was under the clouds.

View from the restaurant

We all stayed on for lunch and took over two tables in the restaurant.  The meals were very tasty, and rather large helpings indeed.  I enjoyed my Pork ...

On Sunday  I met my daughter Nicky for lunch at Viv's Kitchen at Sanson.  It was a rather cool rainy day, but no wind luckily for the drive up there, a 100km round trip.  Viv's Kitchen is very popular and has a 50's vibe.  The young waitresses are dressed in full skirts, and the cafe looks just like a version of Happy Days.  Where's the Foz?  We ordered lunch, and I couldn't go past a Southland Cheese Roll, delicious.  Viv's Kitchen is famous for their Cream Horns, not that I ordered one.  No, I ...

 I've been out and about lately.  The other day I traveled down to Waikanae to visit my friend Trish who had recently moved from the Hutt Valley to her new home.  Rather than drive I took the bus down, which is free for oldies like me.  This bus route only travels on Tuesdays and Thursdays, departing from my home town at 9.00am then leaving Waikanae Railway Station  at 3.00pm.  Many locals take this trip down to Waikanae to then get the train into Wellington.

 Not quite a caravan trip, but the next best thing.  I went to visit the caravan club who were away for the weekend at Mt Lees Reserve.  On the way  I stopped off at the very popular Lewis Farms to buy some strawberries.  These are grown in huge tunnel houses so the growing season seems to last for ages.  I bought myself a nice hot coffee too before I continued on my drive north.

Yummy strawberries from Lewis Farms

I arrived at Mt Lees Reserve in time for morning tea, just as well I remembered to pack my folding camping ...

Yellow is the RSC colour of the month, and I've done a little  stitching for my  block sets.  Not much yellow at all in my bag of 2.5in squares to make my framed four patches, but it just had to do.  I'm using those squares up, not cutting new ones.  And I cut some yellow strips for my black and white blocks.

Yellow RSC blocks

I enjoyed a lunch out with friends this week, I have known these ladies for over 40 years, so we go back a while.  Robin and I have been meeting up with ...

 I've finished the last of the blue sewing for RSC this month.    I'm on a quest to use up the last remaining few selvedge strips this year and found a small handful of blue ones.  So, another double handed oven mitt was created.   Just like the pink  ones I stitched last month, there were just enough strips to use on the top of the pockets, and I used dark blue fabric for the rest.  Insulbrite and toweling in the middle, and hessian (sacking) on the back.