Complementary Craft.

Yes Isabelle I do now have a little more time to sit around - but not much.

I have been cutting out the parts for more felt balls.

 This is where my quilting and making felt embroidered balls complement each other. All those scraps of batting cut from the long edges of a quilt just before I apply the binding are wound up ready to use as the inners for the balls.

 It takes lots as they are wound quite tightly in the manner used to wind up a ball of wool. Here it shows one just started the other large enough to insert into a ball. Each evening I have been sewing the pentagons together and have an outer finished and another on the way. I don't really have to think about it while I watch TV it is now second nature and the special looped blanket stitch I use has become very regular and tight . It is self tensioning.

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 I have also been gardening. Collecting all the Autumn leaves. The biggest Oak is about half way dropped the Copper Beech hardly started. ( not my favourite job at all! )  I am trying my hand at growing some celery. Yes I know they should be planted in the Spring but I saw these healthy little plants and just couldn't resist buying a punnet.

 Strangely the day after I planted them I then read in the Listener that Celery, Parsley and Chamomile have high levels of apigenin.  Apigenin is useful for fighting cancer cells - it stops them growing and makes them behave like normal cells - with a limited life, so they die after a given time. Never knew about that before. I also grow lots of parsley, but you can keep the camomile( tea ).

 This is my favourite garden reference book.

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Yesterday it was misty and wet and I went into Tauranga to start buying up all the "Needs," from my 2 lists for Symposium classes. Quite a haul. I also booked my Bernina in for a WOF, next week. I was also getting some photos printed. There was a cloud burst and getting in and out of the car and walking a short distance I go absolutely drenched. I tried sitting it out while I had a coffee but still it pored down. Fortunately my rolls of Vlisofix; tear away, fusible webbing and batting only got a few drips on them. Luckily it only takes me about 15 -20 minutes to get home to a change of dry clothes. I need to think that out better next time I want to purchase things that need to stay dry. (They put the photos in a plastic bag for me. ) Everywhere in the city was almost deserted so in some ways a good time to shop. Visibility was very limited and still some people drive with their lights off.

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 At the moment I am a captive - sort of.  My car is away being driven by the nice man at the garage to diagnose what it ailing it. 3 times it has refused to start when R was driving it. It hasn't done it to me( I'm glad it behaved in the rain yesterday ) If I need to go anywhere I could go on my tractor or be driven in the truck. I will try and stay home!

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 It is certainly soup weather. I love all sorts of soup.  Leek and potato being my favourite. . This lot was minestrone.( a good vegetarian option - I don't mind being a vegetarian at lunch time. )

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Lastly some very good news. Our fruit got packed during the long weekend, ( we didn't even get there to watch ) some on the night shift. It went really well. We got our largest number of trays for a season EVER. A  4000 tray increase on our previous best. We are quite delighted about that.