Potpourri.

Yesterday I spent some time reading other's Blogs that I enjoy; my list has got very long now, so it takes a while. Over at Pieces from My Scrapbag Finn showed a photo of her family treasure the Chamber pot. That got me thinking maybe others would like to see our old family treasures too.

Isn't the po a beauty. I have it in the Lounge with a yellow Begonia in It. ( I am careful not damage it). (The colour scheme there is yellow blue and white.) On the bass it says Aubrey made in England. It belonged to my Husband's Maternal Grandmother ( and may be older than that) and came to NZ with her family from Scotland in 1884.( she was only 4 ). In the other photo is the school bell that same lady used as a young teacher here in NZ.

The is a soup ladle belonged to the other side of the family.( no markings on it ) The Coffee Pot is a complete set; Pot; 6 little cups and saucers; a sugar bowl and jug, all in perfect condition - Copeland Spode Made in England - Spode's Bryon. I look after them all , so I may then pass them down the generations.

Healing Hearts.

Thought you might like to see a photo of lots of orchardists standing around in our orchard........ Thursday by some fluke was a reasonably warm and sunny day and about 49 people crowded under the Kiwifruit vines to listen learn and discuss.( what they should be doing right now in their own properties. The pros and cons of different methods etc. )

Yesterday I sat and made a healing heart block for a friend in my on line group ( Picking Up Threads ) in Australia, who has just had an op. Hope it helps and that she gets enough to make something worthwhile from us all. ) ( in her favourite colours )
Today is dull and overcast but we went across to the Mt. ( Mt. Maunganui ) and did a walk along the beach boardwalk and other parts for an hour or more and DH was delighted to see overhead 3 Yak planes doing aerobatic / formation practise. We then called by the Classic Flyers Club on the way back for some lunch and a closer look at those and other planes ( that's one of DH's passions and hobbies ) ; it began to rain on the way home and has drizzled ever since so I am sitting quilting some of my hexagons.
The Hexagon total is now 187 sewn and about 120 quilted.

Birds that Frequent.

Thanks for your comments ladies. Yes it can be busy around here. This morning while we ate breakfast I enlisted DH help and we compiled a list of all the birds we could think of that we see on our property. Our property 11.9365 hectares in total has orchard obviously and native bush, gullies and garden. This current interest in birds was sparked by the sudden and recent appearance of a Peacock strolling around our orchard. He has appeared on the lawn beside the house twice now just at dusk, but is camera shy and can run quite fast!
The list of birds has 31 different in all; some are here always, others from time to time:-Peacock; Pheasants; Pukeko; Harrier Hawk(Kahu); Paradise Ducks; Mallard Ducks; Native Pigeon ( Kereru); Kaka; Eastern Rosella; Morepork (Ruru); Tui; Thrush; Blackbirds; Californian Quail; House Sparrows; Indian Myna; Starlings; Magpies; Shining Cuckoo (Pupiwharauroa); Kingfisher (Kotare ); Welcome Swallow; Fantail (Piwakawaka ); Bellbird (Makomako or Korimako ); Yellow Hammer; Grey Warbler ( Riroriro); Silver Eye ( Tauhou ); Chaffinch; Greenfinch; Goldfinch; Black Shag and White Faced Heron. ( in brackets are the Maori names )
I wonder if we forgot any?
( the green feathered bird on the hand is a Shining Cuckoo that flew into a window.)
I love them all, well almost; some like the Rosella are a pest and peck off the kiwifruit buds cause they are parrots and like to play.
The Quails arrive in family groups of about 15 and walk around the lawn. Mrs. Thrush baths daily in my birdbath - very clean lady; sometimes the Tui do too.
If I have to pick a favourite I think it would be Ruru the Morepork.

Labour Weekend.

Although I have written myself a list, my 3 day weekend is consisting of a little of what I fancy mixed with things I must do. I did some baking; I sat for an hour and edited a section of DH life story; I weeded a little till it drizzled; I watched the rugby....aha Waikato beat Wellington in the final of the Air NZ Cup! ( sorry Dale it was a great game but we were just a little better ). I sewed some hexies. I did some housework as I work better in tidy / clean .....Once it's done I can relax ...Till it needs doing again! I picked some flowers from the garden. I read some blogs and other things. DH cooked dinner....I love that !
Unfortunately we were told late on Friday that our kiwifruit packhouse wants to hold a Growers' Field Day here next Thursday so that has added items to my list....... garden weeding that could have waited has now been stepped up in priority as we like to have our property looking neat and tidy. It's neatly mown already but some of the kiwifruit blocks are near garden areas so I don't want any obvious weeds showing! When I finish writing this I am on with some gumboots, off with the watch and down into the front creek ( stream ) to do a little tidying. The water level is quite low with no recent heavy rain so I should be able to stay reasonably dry ( watch my step ).

I have been wandering with the camera taking pics of lovely blooms. Sally Holmes rose has such a simple delicate face...I love to be able to see the stamens in a flower. Arylies rose is tiny and frilly but also beautiful. Both have different quite subtle rose perfumes. Ahhh...

The other photo is of a rarer plant Xeronema. [xeronema callistemon or Poor Knights Lily or raupo-taranga ] It has rigid sword like leaves and is hard to get to flower. Best kept with restricted roots and frost free ...but mine is now a big clump in the garden. Last year it had 2 flowers; this time 4 so far.( They are like red bristled tooth brushes or bottle brushes or dish brushes. )
















Next time I might tell you about the huge variety of birds we have around here....The latest is a peacock...Now where did he come from? I'll try and get some photos too. Those others having a long weekend, enjoy a little of what you fancy, it's probably best to stay off the roads.

Being organized.

Being organized is essential to my way of working.( I don't have a sewing room, just a big double doored cupboard ) I like everything sorted and stored so I know where it is. For my Hexagon I Spy Quilt I have all the completed hex bagged in lots of 40 ( cause that was a good fit ) in zip lock bags and the latest bag I am filling has a notelet with the running total written on it.
As there are 3 parts to each hex there is a pile of batting 4.5 " hex ; a pile of fussy cut 4.5" feature fabric hex and a pile of 6.5" backing fabric hex.
Today I had to go into the city for boring things like printer ink and stamps and a new farm diary, so didn't miss the opportunity to hunt down a few more Fat Quarters to fussy cut for my quilt. Good ones that produced 4 or 5 motifs per fabric. I also happened to come home with 2 new summer tops...But I won't be wearing them if the weather keeps like today. ( if you wait they won't be there when you go shopping again later )....I was restrained as about 7 in all fitted so I picked the 2 I really liked. Roll on warm weather. Only about 17 degrees C here today.
I also picked up my on order copy of Down Under Quilts ( # 101 ) from the mag shop. Storage is starting to be a problem with them, so I may cut back just to the NZ Quilter which is quarterly and gets mailed to me ( much more convenient ).

Hexagon Running total 158.

Current Orchard Work.

Here's what is happening in the kiwifruit orchard AT THE MOMENT. The vines have new growth that is very tender and vulnerable to wind damage. We have just had a week of strong relentless wind. Our damage could have been worse. One photo shows a broken withered shoot that is now lost. Another photo shows a long opening shoot that needs tipping to stop it growing more....... it gets pinched at the end between the thumb and forefinger ( squashed )

If you look carefully you can see the flower buds along the stem. My job during the next fine weather is to thin those buds to just one at each growing point. ( look carefully and you can spot some triples and mis- shapen ones.) You can see from the photos that the camera was pointing up towards the sky....That's cause the vines are all on overhead pergola structures...so you see I get quite tired arms, neck and shoulders by the end of the day. I have to limit how long I spend doing it or suffer.( good excuse ) ( here endeth the lesson ! )

So far, so Good!

Yesterday after we went to DH's eye appointment we went shopping for the new computer. ( isn't it amazing how long it all takes. ) Anyway we decided on an HP - the best for our requirements and DH wanted extra grunt so we got extra put in on the spot ( so we don't have to take it back later to get it done! ) We spent more than I thought we were going to, but that often happens if DH goes shopping! You've all been there done that so I won't tell the whole saga - briefly we got it all together and it is up and running, but I have spent hours getting it all going as we are used to.( very proud of my efforts ) So far there has only been one ooops with the digital camera...it didn't like me using the new computer and after I had, I had to reformat the card. Hope I have sorted it all.The good news is I can still access and use the important places like Blogger....so I can still visit with you all.
While we were in the city I got my Bernina checked and Yes I was right....it did need adjusting. It's purring along now. Haven't had any sewing time though.
We nearly got blown away in the kiwifruit orchard this afternoon...It's blowing a damaging howling gale.
I have P & Q Group tomorrow...Good....Better get some work ready to take. Happy sewing everyone!
( this is the 1st blog from the new puter! )

Simple Machine Quilting

Today I sat and machine quilted a simple border around 40 of my hexagons. That is all they will need. I used variegated thread ( red and green )and don't want the stitching to obscure the object in the hexagons. It is there mainly to hold the batting so it doesn't creep if washed.

Thanks to those who sent computer advice; Anne W of Grains in the Wind; hedgehog and sue. I realize everybody has had differing experiences and probably like cars there are good and bad examples of all models. No further progress has been made, deciding what to get; we need another wet day, but as you can see by the photo DH has put together the new desk ready for the new computer when we do decide.

Score with the hexagons is 130 plus. I'm starting to struggle finding different fabrics now but am not in a hurry. Any motifs that are suitable for a 2nd quilt ( for a girl ) are being cut at the same time as the ones for my boy's quilt. I did some measuring today ( just spread them out on the carpet ) and have some way to go to make a single bed size. I'm still enjoying making them - so that's great.

What To Buy?

These purple Sparaxias have been putting on the usual magnificent show, but a thunder storm and very heavy rain last night have made them look a bit sad now. ( we needed the rain! )

I need some help and advice please. We have decided the time is right to buy a new computer. The one I am using now has some problems and is getting old and slow. It also has some really good features. We have decided it can become the off line computer as there are times when we both want to be using at the same time . It is good to be in a situation where we are not buying cause this one has died...and therefore in a hurry..we can look around ...and ask around. What I would like to know from you dear friends out there is....do you have any recommendations and why...or do you have any "beware stories," about poor service or real dog computers. Should we go for XP Home ; XP Professional or XP Media ? (none have a good photo programme like this one....(Microsoft Photo Editor) (I will have to get photo shop and install that on the new one...ooh!)
Any advice would be much appreciated.