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Sew Wot Tuesday rolled around again, this time Jude was the hostess.   Jude had to rescue me at the gate as I couldn't open it, and the dog was running around.   I was worried he would escape, run out the gate and down the road.  But luckily that didn't happen, he was just so excited when all the Sew Wot ladies arrived.

Once settled down inside on the comfy chairs, we all caught up with the news.  There is always a lot of that these days, news of the world, the fuel crisis, a recent fatal road accident ...

This was our first Sew Wot get-together of the New Year, as several of our ladies had been experiencing health issues, so it was great to get everyone back this week.  Carol was our hostess this time, which coincided nicely with her belated birthday.  It's always such fun watching the birthday girls unwrap their gifts, I'm sure we enjoy it as much as they do.

Happy Birthday Carol

Once that excitement was over, it was time to view the rose challenge.  Rose wall-hangings in various shades were shown.  They were all so lovely, well done, girls!  I didn ...

 Several nights ago I went along to the Service of Remembrance put on by Harvey Bowler Funeral Services to remember those who had passed away during the previous year.  This was held at the Uniting Church and I really didn't know what to expect at all.   As it turned out, I knew several ladies also attending who had lost their husbands recently too.  I found seeing Robin's name up on the Scroll of Remembrance quite hard to cope with.  Rev Sandra took the service, and we were invited up to light a candle for our loved one, and ...

Sew Wot Tuesday rolled around again and we gathered at Sandra's home, just five of us this time. Guess who was the lucky birthday girl?  Yes, me, there were lots of lovely gifts waiting to be opened to celebrate my 80th birthday.  How exciting was that!

What's in here?

Such a lot of thoughtful gifts, coffee mugs, packets of coffee and hot chocolate, a pretty plant pot, a covered journal and candle, and a set of suitcase packing cubes "for my next adventure away", I was told.  Yes, there is another adventure coming up, in February.  Thanks so ...

 Heather was the hostess today, and all the Sew Wots were there.  Jude had a special welcome as she had not been well lately.  We were so pleased that she arrived today as there was a pile of belated birthday gifts for her to open.  

Happy Birthday Jude

We all get just as much fun as the birthday girl as we watched her open the parcels.  Mmm, lovely lavender soaps, fabrics, a set of coffee mugs, chocolate, and a gorgeous fabric covered journal too.  Plus some pretty hand made cards.  Didn't she do well!

Of course there was show ...

 It was a rainy old Tuesday when we all gathered in Carol's home this week.  It's Spring here in New Zealand and the weather is always temperamental during this season. It was nice to catch up with everyone again, with only one absence this time.   I had taken some old quilt magazines around to share, and some of them found new homes.  The rest will be donated to the Op shop.

Of course there was show and tell, with several pair of nice warm socks making an appearance.  Helen had knitted these two pair and during the morning ...

 I was the hostess this time for Sew Wot Tuesday, and it was lovely to welcome everyone to my home for the morning.  Heather had just celebrated her birthday so there were lots of gifts waiting for her to open.  It was such fun seeing what was in those parcels, There was wool, smellies, a set of coffee mugs, and she was thrilled to receive a pair of hand knitted socks!  Plus a home grown lemon tree from Helen.

Birthday gifts for Heather

Heather had been knitting up a storm to bring along for Show and Tell.  There were two ...

 It was so nice to join in with the Sew Wot ladies again, as I had missed the last two get-togethers.  This time, we met at Jude's home.  Our numbers were down a little, with two of the ladies unable to join us this time.  The family dog was not at all happy to be locked up in the back yard.  He really wanted to come and meet all those visitors, and let his displeasure be known!

I had taken along some knitting patterns which were no longer required, and several found new homes.  The rest will be donated ...

 I was looking forward to Sew Wot Tuesday, as I was unable to attend the previous get-together.  But first I had to wrap up a couple of birthday gifts to take, both Mary and Helen had recently celebrated their birthdays.

For the birthday girls

There was a full house at Carol's home, it was so nice that everyone could attend.  Sadly these days as we are getting older, medical appointments and issues seem to pop up regularly.  But we all made it, so that was great.  It was such fun watching both Mary and Helen open their gifts, I ...

 It was a Sew Wot Tuesday with a difference this week, Helen had arranged for us to meet  at Fox's Cottage quilt shop.  This is my favourite LQS and we are always warmly welcomed once we step through the door.

It was a nice sunny Autumn day

Believe it or not, there was not a single item for Show and Tell this week.  But we made up for it by checking out the shop, and most of us purchased a few goodies.  I had a very small list, I needed more pink thread to continue with my machine applique ...

 The Sew Wots gathered at my home this time.  All except Jude, who was away on a family holiday.   Heather arrived and presented me with a nice little bunch of flowers, such a lovely thing to do.

 Our Sew Wot morning started with a severe weather event.  Heavy rain was pouring down, the wind was fierce, and the fire sirens were sounding.  What on earth was going on, a bit of flooding, I thought.  But it was much worse than that, a small tornado had struck town, very close to me indeed, but I didn't realise this till later in the morning.  Roof damage, fences down, trees uprooted, flooding, dear me.  

I drove through the heavy rain passing a group of work men dealing with tree damage at a nearby park.  Jude was the hostess this ...

Heather was the "Hostess with the Mostest" this week, and we all gathered at her home on a lovely sunny Tuesday morning.  She had been having a clean up in her sewing room, and had lots of goodies looking for a new home.  I spotted a strip of three teddy bear panels, which Heather had received from someone else and wasn't sure what to do with them. They will be perfect for making  three kiddies cushions for donation, I told her, as I scooped it up and put it in my bag.

Show and Tell was overflowing this time ...

 This week we met at Carol's home, just a short drive away for me, everyone was there except Sandra who could not make it this time.  We had hardly settled down and then the Show and Tell came thick and fast.  First up was Helen, who had completed her Kiwi Block of the Month quilt, and her task for the morning was to stitch the binding down.  This is a lovely quilt, make with beautiful batiks, and lots of Kiwi elements to spot, such as the lizards frollicking around and a pukeko and her chick at the bottom.

 

 Our Sew Wot Tuesday was held out in the country, at Helen's rural property.  Ruby, the large rottweiler greeted us as we parked our cars, and Helen came down to greet us and help with bags.  Climbing up the steep internal staircase was a challenge for me, a sign that I'm getting older.  No doubt Helen runs up and down these stairs with no trouble at all.   It was lovely to meet up again with everyone, with one absence this time. 

There was plenty of show and tell this time.  Heather had some pretty baby knitting to show ...

It's been quite some time, but our Sew Wot meetings have now resumed for 2025.  Mary was the hostess this time, and we all gathered at her home, excited to see each other again, with the exception of  Sandra who couldn't make it this time.

There was a birthday to celebrate, our first of the year.  Happy Birthday to Carol.  We all eagerly watched as she opened her gifts.  She received all sorts of exciting things, a lovely knitting bag, wool, threads, fabric, fruit tea bags and sweets.  And a bag of toy stuffing, to help with all ...

 These last few weeks between Robin's passing and waiting for the date of his Memorial Service I have been keeping close to home - a bit like being in limbo.  Although I've had to make visits to the bank and the supermarket to keep things running, I decided not to take part in several Christmas break-ups.

I did make an exception with the Sew Wots Christmas lunch the other week.  Thought I would be able to cope with meeting up again with this small group of caring ladies.  The chosen cafe was The Emporium, luckily not too busy with ...

 Last weekend we were getting ready to leave for a caravan rally.  Gemma decided to make life difficult for us, with all the hustle and bustle of packing the caravan going on.  "Why not give my people a hard time and hide for a while", she thought.  We were all ready to go and searched here, searched there, to no avail, then searched again.  Robin finally found her curled up and keeping low in a place I had already checked twice!  I don't know why she acts like this, after all she goes away in the caravan once a ...

It's that time again, and the Sew Wot ladies  met at our home this time.  It was nice to welcome Mary again, who hadn't been able to join us for a few weeks.

Welcome, all

It was a fine but cool morning, with a nippy wind blowing.  The heat pump soon got things warmed up inside. Jude received a couple of late birthday gifts, a pretty kit for a purse, and a big bucket of Liquorice Allsorts, purchased from our local RJ's Factory shop.

Coming home from our recent Safari trip away, I had to convince Robin that we really didn't need an extra day away.  After all, it would be such a shame to miss my two weekly Tuesday Sew Wot get together.  So we returned home on the Monday instead - thank you Robin.   This time we met at Carol's home.  It was Jude's birthday, so we got to watch her opening up the Sew Wot's gifts.  I'm sure it is just as exciting for us as it is to the birthday girl.  

So what did we have ...