I have gingerly machine quilted my charity quilt and just have the outside border left to do now. I only got one little tuck on the back so can live with that. Mostly I stitched in the ditch but did shadow outlines around the appliqued shapes at both ends.( all using the walking foot ) I am not sure what to do in the borders. Thinking, thinking !
I am sure you ladies who also embroider knew about these little wonders. Fascinating!
Appliqued clouds would look too heavy for the effect I want at the top of my challenge so I have just tried to pick out cloud shapes on this fabric.( doesn't show up too well in the photo )I may do more stitching at the quilting stage.
( which is not far from where I live.) We walk along this inner harbour sand and up over the tree clad rise at the end. From there we get views out between the trees.
Gardened edges; careful it's a long way down and see there in the very far distance, past all the other land outcrops is the pale outline of the Coromandel Peninsula.
My hand sewing ( the balls ) is finished so I needed to return to an on going hand sewing project - a trellis pattern table runner for the lounge coffee table. I have made this exact same one before in the same 2 colours but it has faded really badly over the years and had the odd thing spilt on it - generally needs replacing. I must have hand sewing for the evenings, as others of you have said in your posts.This is really easy small inch and a half squares. I use backstitch as I have a thing about secure hand stitching so can make the stitches really close together.( yes, I know it would be far quicker machine string pieced but that defeats my purpose )
We had on order a double grafted ( 2 varieties on one tree ) Nashi and a Plum tree. Palmers Garden Centre rang during the week to say they couldn't supply what we had ordered but there was a different single graft Nashi there if we would take it. This morning we went there in the truck and came back with a Nashi Hosui ( which is only partially self fertile ); a Plum - Hawera which sounds yummy ( red flesh and free stone ) and is self fertile and for me a Royal Gala Apple - cause I love apples. It was the best eating apple on offer. We have never grown any of these in this area so it will be interesting to see how they do.
The new plum tree. You can see in the photo how close the bush is so the possum trap will have to spend time here if and when we get any fruit. Already planted in this little orchard patch are the 3 feijoas, a lime; 3 blueberries and a persimmon. It is near one kiwifruit block and the patch of orange trees. So very tempting for possums. We are allowed to kill them in NZ as they are a REAL pest to our native bush. We already run a poison bait station up in the avocado block. We wouldn't get any undamaged fruit if we didn't have that there.
I think the balls look quite good when in the company of other balls!
Pretty Polyanthus and Pansies en masse .( My own plantings just need to be bigger! )
The first blossom I have seen. ( almond? )
I photocopied the fabric first and worked on a paper version before cutting the fabric.here are the rules.
My entry is pictorial, a river and bush scene. here is the background I have been working on.
That is a small section - I can't show it all yet.The pink sections of the fabric are proving the biggest challenge. I have only been able to use pinks in some tree trunks and my lady not seen here. In some parts as there was only a fat quarter of fabric I' ve used the tiniest pieces to make enough in some colours. A lot of the greens are blue green which is not really grass or tree colour but I am trying to make it work.
This is my favourite sign. I see it when walking or driving in the Bethlehen swamp area ( on both sides of the road in this photo.) In NZ we call them Pukekos.( known as swamp hens other places I think ).
Pukeko have a very individual way of walking that makes me laugh.
A male seen here. They have real personality and I love the way they post" lookouts," while the rest of the group feed.
Most afternoons lately I have been gardening. Yesterday I planted out these lovely new polyanthus, and 3 miniature white cyclamen, near some from previous years. I tucked them in with blood and bone under the big oak tree which has now dropped all it's leaves. The leaves are so thick on the ground and so wet that I remove lots of them, into either the compost bins or into wool packs to be mulch under the avocado trees. If the thick layer is not removed from on top of small plants they get bleached white from lack of light then rot and die. I also planted some more iceland poppies. 6 large in bud plants and some wee ones for later. A punnet of lemon snap dragons beside them should look good. With a large garden there is always more to do then time available, but it is good exercise and a place of perfume, birds and little bright delights. I often get a surprise when something I hadn't noticed is suddenly flowering brightly.