A Quilting Friend.

One of my good quilting  friends Dorothy ( Dee )  died this morning having been totally sedated for the past 3 days. I am so glad she has no more pain. We have been friends since she moved to Tauranga from Hamilton some years ago. She came along to our Patchwork and Quilting Group and we have been friends ever since.

 I took this photo of her when were waiting to catch a bus. She made lots of bags . The black and white one on the seat is mine ; she made it for my birthday last year.

 She loved making bags and quilts and had a long sewing history.

 We spent many happy times together and my garden has lots of her plants she needed a home for, happily growing in it.  (Her garden was quite a small town garden.)

 The men in her family ( husband and 2 sons ) are right into motorbikes. This photo show her on the back of her husband's motorbike outside our house, a couple of years ago.

 I will miss you so dear friend ,but have many happy keepsakes of our times together. 

RIP  DEE..

 ( 16 /5 /1945 - 30/10/2016.)

Mixed Emotions.

Having had a lovely weekend with Grandson and all the family  today I have very mixed emotions. I have a very sick friend who is not going to make a recovery this time. Another friend kindly updated me on her this morning. She saw her yesterday so I know the information she passed on is accurate. So here are some bright flowers in my garden for you Dee.

 My Little garden plants from the supermarket are doing well at various stages. These tomatoes are going to get put in the garden today .They are the biggest. Followed by broccoli and kale.

 At the moment anything little has to be covered because of this little visitor.......... look very closely by the pots....do you see him...the little thief!

There are lots of plants that have got smaller not bigger and so far R has not been able to get a clear shot at him.

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 I did so want to show this funny picture of Little grandson on the lawn but it won't stay the right way up. (Please turn your head to the right ) He abandoned playing with his new rake from his other Grandma and went to see what that was on the lawn.it was a few steps then a long crawl. One of the bigger cousins had got too hot it was such a lovely day and had dropped a t shirt on the lawn where they were all playing.

 Grandson's other gardening exploits include digging his fingers into the dirt and spreading little stones and pulling his first radish out of my herb garden and proudly holding it up. Too funny. Supervision has become a much needed part of having the lovely wee man staying.

Open Days. Part 2

The Yellow Challenge also an Aotearoa Challenge was the second loaned travelling exhibit we had last weekend. Some of our members had entered. I have covered most but not all the entries. ( click to enlarge ) 

The winner was the 5 bees at the bottom here. Bees and honeycomb were a popular theme. All entries measured 12 by 12" 

 The varied quilting on the bird here was so clever - it gave the mottle speckled appearance that was  just right.

 Here are some of the visitors enjoying a cuppa and a sit down and chat.

Open Days.

Saturday and Sunday were Open Days at our Patchwork and Quilters Group site on Elizabeth Street in Tauranga. Entry was free, there were 4 lovely raffles and we provided a simple refreshment service. Pam our long time best scone maker made fresh scones on the premises each day. I mainly served the teas, coffees and scones ( Devon-shire tea style. )  We were aiming to attract new members and also give our members a chance to view 2 wonderful Aotearoa  (National Association of NZ Quilters ) Quilt Challenges we had on loan.
 Some of our members had entered both these challenges. Here are photos of the beautiful entries in the Floral Challenge . ( if you want to see the rules look on  (www.aotearoaquilters.co.nz  ))

 The 2 at bottom right were by members of our Group.

 My favourite of all was second from the left top row. The turquoise colours  on black were beautiful.

 The quilt with the Mountain backdrop won the Challenge.

 ( click to enlarge the photos for a better look.

 I would happily have given over 20 of these wall space at my place.

 Next post I will show some of the yellow Challenge.

Hours of Gardening.

Spring is in the air...well some days. For me lately that has meant hours and hours of gardening.

 Plum tree blossom getting pollinated . That's a hopeful sign.

 I had already cut away any old growth on last year's strawberry plants and put 4 new ones in the gaps. I weeded  again  then spread blood and bone and sheep pellets then a thin layer of compost. Some flowers are showing so I hope that bee or one of the other willing workers finds them so I will get a good crop.

 Here little lettuces are coming ready and the peas are climbing their frame. ( they are, "eat the whole thing peas"  ) so only a few are needed. I replanted where there were gaps on another frame. I am not sure who to blame for the gaps....rabbits,  slugs,snail or quails all have been seen lurking. ( I know of 3 rabbits nearby. R has since reduced that number to 2 ) I have laid slug bait.

 A couple of posts ago I showed the "Little Garden, " free seeds kits that New World supermarket was giving away. 1 per $40 spent.

 This is stage 2 of mine on the bench in the garden shed.  I have stage 1 of another lot on the kitchen windowsill where I can keep a close eye on the watering.

 So far I have received : chilli; cress; basil; broccoli; carrots; chives; mint;cauliflower; kale;cherry tomato; rocket and parsley.  Some I have got twice. There are 24 different but you don't get to say which you want as there is no visible name on the outside of the packs. Some it is probably the wrong time of the year to be sowing ( temp and white butterflies on brassica ) . But I will give them all a go. I am now considering it a challenge to see how many I can get to fruition. I know the cress and rocket will be first ready.

 Any other Kiwis growing these?

A Big Ship Sailed through the ........

A "BIG" ship sailed through the Tauranga harbour yesterday ( sorry Elizabeth Matterson - old English Rhyme ) Along with many other spectators we watched the Aotea Maersk container ship arrive from South America.

 When we arrived it was out to sea off the Mount beach.

It was travelling at speed so I we didn't have time to walk around the mount...I ended up sitting on the grass in Pilot Bay to see this appear from behind the Mt.

 It rapidly made it's way across the inner harbour to the wharf on the other side.

 It is the largest container ship ever to enter NZ waters.( or Australian )  It can carry 9640 containers! 

 It was loading up after it arrived and during last  night and taking off for Asia during the early hours ( less than 24 hour turn around...no wonder Tauranga Port is # 1 in the country! ) 

 Apparently it is going to be a frequent caller to our port from now on.

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 I got this wee navy Jersey ( Debbie Bliss pattern ) finished and sent off to Grandson, who by the way is one today!

 It is a super pattern to knit. All the stitches around the neck are kept on stitch holders so no picking up. It was a lovely soft  4ply merino wool.

*****

 The constant rain has trashed so many of the more fragile flowers in the garden but not this NZ native Rata bush. On the close up pools of nectar can be seen...The Tuis know about it.

 The bush wobbles when they land in it but that doesn't deter them they just grip on and keep licking.

 In my next post I will show how well my little free seedlings are doing.

Feast Your Eyes on Quilts.

Yesterday I went to the Mt. College Hall to the Papamoa Patchers Quilt EXHIBITION.
 It is still on today and tomorrow 1st and 2nd of October if you are near by. 10 till 4 each day.

 Labyrinth Walk was at the far end of the hall as you walked in your couldn't miss it!

 Yes the colours tell you it's a Ngaire Brooks' Pattern - Silvereye's Fantasy by Raewyn Wilson.

 Val Parry's Meandering Batik was lovely.

Kay McNeill used NZ Batiks to make New Zealand Aura.

 I have seen this McKennna Ryan Faith, Hope, Love as a quilt but I thought Fran Osborne"s idea of mounting the blocks separately really displayed it better than as a quilt.

 I think this masterpiece by Carol Andrews was getting the most attention and discussion. Rightly so. 

 Jacobean Journey was machine embroidered on a Pfaff machine and is made up of 120   8" blocks which were joined using the quilt as you go method.( each 8" block took about 3.5 hours to stitch / quilt! ) 

 Some of the detail ( an there was a lot! )

 There were many many more lovely displays of frocks quilts wall hangings cushions and toys . If you get the chance go and visit.