Quilt Shop Spending Spree.

Yesterday afternoon was dull and showery so the opportunity arose for me to drive over to Ngongotaha to "Cottage Flair," to use my voucher my son in London sent me last Christmas. I needed some notions so now was a good time. I got quite a variety of things as it was a generous voucher. I told the ladies at the shop that my son found them on the net as they had a good website when he googled 'Quilt Shops Bay of Plenty- NZ .' He paid on line and they posted me the voucher. ( Great Gift, James thanks! )

At our P & Q Group in April we are going to be making button bags ( a bag with buttons on it ) and I want to do 2. One to keep and one as a gift, so I got needle punch( stiff batting ); some clear plastic handles; cotton; a new blade for my rotary cutter as I have just put a new one in and like to keep a spare; some little refills for my chalk marker; 6 buttons; and six fat quarters. As well so I have something to keep from the gift I found a book I thought had useful ideas in it.

Its called "The Quilter's Edge,"( Borders, Bindings and Finishing Touches ) by Darlene Zimmerman. I started reading it last night and I think it will be a great reference and inspiration. There are chapters on: Quilt sizes; Setting Options; Formulas; Borders; Bindings; Edge Finishes; Prairie Points; Knife Edge; Ice Cream Cone Borders; Hanging Sleeves; and Finishing a Pillow. 125 lovely pages!

Today the weather has deteriorated to heavy rain so I'm off now to wash the new FQs, cut my 3.5" squares, cut the batting and get ready for 2 interesting projects I have ahead of me in April.

Yay - wet days do have a silver lining.

Kiwifruit.

On a happier note than the last entry, here are some kiwifruit shots to show you what we are currently working on.

The 1st photo is a close up of some good sized fruit.

The 2nd shows the sort crop load we are carrying.

The 3rd show what I threw on the ground at the beginning of the row ( leaves, tangles and some defective fruit ).

The 4th shows what I am pruning out. Can you see a tangle where the vine end is climbing and twisting around a cane. ( that has to come out carefully.)

The 5th shot shows a selection of fruit I put on the ground to show you the fruit with defects I am taking off and throwing under the vines to be mulched up. All the fruit on the right have things wrong with them - compared to the one on the left which is acceptable. ( he he - not now cause I picked it to take it's photo....so it will miss it's overseas trip! )

The fruit still have maybe 2 months before picking so will get a little bigger, but are vulnerable to the wind and weather.

Note: the fruit looks different colours in some of the shots - that's cause the flash went off with some and not others.The tangles one is the real colour.

Memories of a Lahar.

Yesterday at 11 am. there was a Lahar ( or mudflow ) from the crater lake on Mt. Ruapehu in the central North Island of New Zealand. It was expected ( scientifically ) some time this month or next. This time there was no loss of life!

For me the news rekindled memories of the last time this happened.

For me Christmas Eve 1953 will always be remembered, as this was the time a lahar occurred on that same mountain unexpectedly at 10 pm at night and came roaring down the Whangaehu River taking out the Tangiwai Railway bridge just as the train from Wellington the Auckland was approaching. 153 people lost their lives! My little friend Glenis Benton and her 2 sisters and both parents were among those 153. Glenis had red curly hair and freckles all over her pretty face. We sat together at school and we played together as little girls. That's her on my right in the photo. )

I didn't know she had died till a couple of weeks later in January during the school holidays. Of course we had heard all about the tragedy but it took some time to know and trace all the folk who had been on that train. I found out the awful truth on what was otherwise a happy also memorable day. Queen Elizabeth 11 was visiting NZ at this time and we all got collected by school bus and taken to the race course at Marton Junction to walk to the nearby railway station to meet her. We were lined up for roll call and were given our commemorative medals on the blue ribbon with the Queen's head on one side and a flag to wave. ( still have mine ) Miss Bailey our dear teacher from the previous year had the horrid job of explaining to us kids that Glenis wouldn't be coming back as her whole family had died in the tragedy. I was devastated as she was a close friend. I probably didn't register the finality of that at the time....but she didn't come back to school that next year........ or ever again. It was my first experience of someone close to me dying. We were just 8 1/2 at the time.

Back then there was a pink cover weekly magazine called the Auckland Weekly News which we got and of course it had black and white photos of the disaster. Bad things weren't so freely discussed with kids back then and of course it wasn't on TV in our living rooms.

The next summer when our family went on summer holiday we stopped the car where the new railway bridge had been built. I stared at the river and wondered how Glenis could have drowned in that trickle of water. We could swim! Why didn't she swim? I did so hope that Glenis had been asleep in the train. It was then I learnt what a lahar was and what force it had unleashed on the bridge.

I have a book with many diagrams and photos. There is also a website and memorial where all the names are recorded.( Google search Tangiwai disaster and there is lots to see and read )

Years later when my elder son was at school I met his teacher's wife. She had brown curly hair and lots of freckles. I discovered her maiden name had been Benton. She was Glenis's first cousin. As she was younger than Glenis she hadn't known her so I was able to show her photos and tell her what I remembered of her cousin and my little friend. Glenis Benton. I will never forget you Glenis. You guessed it; even after all this time I am sitting at the computer with tears rolling down my face.

Quilting - a little production line.

The inclement weather has gone and sun has returned to the BOP. I've done 2 gardening stints today, to make up for several days inside.

While it rained and blew I used my time well making a little production line machine quilting my blue hexagons. I stacked them next to the machine and one by one proceeded.

I begin in reverse for about 5 stitches then change direction and proceed along each side of the hex till I meet where I began and do another 5 reverse stitches. Cut and throw to the table behind me. (Leave in reverse ) Grab the next one and repeat. Pretty soon there is quite a pile of hex waiting to have the cotton tails closely trimmed and that's it done! ( I stand up to do that part as I find it good to change position often .)

Sorry I stuffed up the link to your site Joyce, careless typing ( I hate doing that ! ) I have been trying to think what else to add to my tree and chicken panel further along...... Quirky flowers perhaps. Not houses. Or something else....still wondering.

Thanks for all the comments lately girls..........I love hearing from you !

WOW Dale! The Chiefs won their first game - Convincingly!!! NZ also beat England in the cricket!

Sudden Change.

I guess it had to happen....a sudden change in the weather...from warm and balmy to colder squally showers with dashes of sunshine then more showers. You know what I mean.... put the washing out; take it in, put it out again till sense tells me to bring it in and forget it for today...... hang it in the laundry or iron it dry. Get on with some sewing - makes more sense. But wait...rush out and pick beans then the tomatoes...showers; so rush back in. I guess it's good exercise! I have got things done but in a very stop start sort of way.

When I saw the wind coming I went and rescued some of the lovely red Nerines that are telling me it is late Summer, and Autumn will soon be here. They look so bright in the blue vase on my work bench.

I suppose influenced by Joyce ( and all her chickens )and maybe Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston, I had a go at making a fun block to be part of a panel to go between blocks in my Quilt as You Go effort. First time I have tried anything like that. Somehow it has more personal appeal than perfectly matched points on block after block.Cute little chickens eh.

Wetland Walking.

Swamp = wetland.

Sunday's walk for us was across the board walks and tracks that now cross the swamp on the out skirts of Tauranga (in our direction.)The track wends it's way from one new subdivision at Bethlehem to the highway ( up and over that using the footpaths ) and into another new subdividon. The low lying swampy parts were not suitable for housing and have been mostly cleared and New Zealand Native Flora planted. The planting is from 1 to 6 years old and bird life abounds in the creeks and small ponds. The high areas are gravel paths the low bits are wooden board walks. The wood is very springy and makes me walk jauntily - march almost. Along the way we meet pukeko,mallard ducks, paradise ducks, black swans and a heron. I enjoy the meandering perspective lesson the board walk gives as I look forward or back.

Quilt as You Go Method.

Yesterday at my P & Q group we had a lesson on one method of quilt as you go ( or joining pre quilted blocks ).

Preparation.

- All the blocks you wish to join must be quilted through top, batting and backing fabric.

- All blocks need to be the same size.

- Each block needs to be sewn around the outer edge as close as you can. ( trim all excess )

2 sizes of joining strip need to be cut. ( can be same fabric or 2 different )

- Top strip 1 1/4 " wide ( and the length of the blocks )

- Back joining strip 2" wide and length of block. Fold this in half right side out and iron.

- if the order and direction of the blocks matters, lay them in place, right side up and number them.

NEXT.

- Pin then sew the back joining strip ( the folded one ) to the right hand side of the back of block one. Raw edge to raw edge. (see pic ) make the seam just less than the usual 1/4".

- turn this block and now sew the narrower strip down the same hem line ( on the other side )this time making the sewing line slightly wider than the usual 1/4". ( this stitching line should cover the first line of stitching. ( check )

- place block 1 and 2 right sides together and pin the unsewn edge of the narrow strip to the left hand edge of block 2.

- Turn both blocks to the back side and pin; then hand sew down the folded edge of the joining strip.

CONTINUE:

- Using the same sequence continue sewing your blocks together, till you have the desired number in a row. Then another row etc.

- Now using the same method join 2 finished rows together horizontally. Just like you do if you are joining blocks with sashing.

Tip.

If you have the fabric available cut the joining strip in a long length and cut off after each seam, less wastage and they are then all the correct length. You can even use a string piecing system once you have sorted the method out.

A Bit Saucy!

Can you smell that? After 2 batches of chutney we started making sauce. DH helped by finely chopping the onions while I did the tomatoes. Later we both sieved, till our arms fell off but look at it now; yummy! 3.5 litres of red sunshine. Eldest son put in his order when I last spoke to him on the phone, so we may need to keep making batches...it's quite time consuming....but we do have tomatoes coming out our ears this year! I need to replenish the stocks of vinegar first.

I've been sewing too. See the 1st 4 piles of 10 hexagons, ready for me to machine quilt. I'm still getting blocks ready for Friday's P & Q meeting as well. Just as well it rained so I don't have to be in the orchard this afternoon.

Serviettes.

Yesterday as I was cruising fairly rapidly around the supermarket I noticed these! Serviettes ( or paper napkins or table napkins ) with New Zealand Pohutukawa, our Christmas flowering tree . Hadn't seen those before. Had to get some. I'll keep them till next Christmas. In my deep table linen drawer I already keep a stash of special use serviettes. ( not every day ones ) Some are here in this photo. There are some beautiful ones available now. I think it might have been Dale who used similar as the background or starting point for embellishing over. Do any of you enjoy finding these table setting beautifiers? As a little girl one of my jobs was to set the table and along with cutlery, cruet and glasses was always table napkins; fabric ones that were ironed( good to learn on) and kept in serviette rings. I still have some of those ones but don't use them ....these tissue paper ones are prettier and easier. Good restaurants still use linen ones.


Now the blue fabric you asked about Helen. It is Pottery by The Erlanger Group Ltd. Patt#2888. and I purchased it at Barnhouse and Embroidery in Tauranga.

Time Snatching.

Time snatching like multitasking is a great way to make a little progress when I feel I'm not getting projects done. Sometimes I use the timer on the stove and tell myself take 5 minutes and see how much you can achieve. For example switch the iron on, and quickly wash some new fat quarters in hot water then iron them almost dry. Later in the day leave the cutting mat ready and fussy cut the images I want, then by evening when I have some time to sew it is ready to go. I have just introduced 9 new fabrics for my Girlie Quilt that weren't around when I did the boy one. ( that's the 2nd pink fabric...I don't have many of those, but it's okay to have pink in this quilt ). I am very fond of the Laurel Burch designs, she really has her own style always recognizable as hers. I think it is the detail and embellishment on her creatures that makes them special rather than her actual drawing.( I really like the fish and snakes )
At the weekend I managed to quilt 2 12.5" blocks ready for my class on the quilt as you go method next week. I'm pleased with my effort even if I only did stitch in the ditch around a star and card trick block. it looks good on the back. I need to get 2 more ready.
Early on Sunday morning during our walk around a huge new subdivision about 10 kms from here, I took this photo of an original artform in a roundabout. Big rectangular pine logs, bolted together.
I must take some photos to show you how big the kiwifruit has grown...we are still working on the crop, letting light in and removing rejects or anything that won't make it cause it's too small. It rained over night so the humidity is right up there!!!

Blue Backing Fabric.

Although I have a couple of machine projects to work on I still need a hand sewing project to carry around with me. I looked and looked for the purple fabric I had in my mind's eye that I wanted to use as the surround ( backing ) fabric for my Girlie I Spy Quilt. BUT it was not to be found, around Tauranga, as I needed at least 5.5 yards. To get around the problem I then had to look at any fabrics that were available in that quantity and pick from that. I have selected a marbled bright blue. A lovely soft to touch fabric. It was no small task washing and drying and ironing that length( it looked amusing on the clothes line ) but as I asked for the bolt to keep it on it is staying flat and needing no further ironing. I just unfold a few lengths when I need to cut another round of backing hexagons.


I have also been washing some other fabrics from my small stash in preparation for trying Quilt as You Go on some blocks I have already made. A member of our group is going to demonstrate her technique of joining the blocks after quilting. As I couldn't decide which would look best as sashing and which as backing I washed a couple and have been auditioning them.

Yesterday at our P & Q Group we discovered that the family of a recently deceased elderly quilter had cleared out her house and donated some fabric, magazines and 40 quilting stencils to our group. Wasn't that lovely of them. We are so glad they didn't just throw it all away. Some of our members that are on fixed limited incomes were delighted to get the fabric. As Librarian I had the job of cataloguing and putting in a ring binder the 40 Stencils. Fancy one little old lady buying that many stencils!

Tomorrow I need to make tomato chutney or sauce as we have picked so many lovely ripe tomatoes. (here are just a few of them.) Little sweet jewels full of Summer's goodness. ( Oh wow has it been warm...you didn't here me say that) ...it is indeed Summer here in NZ! _

More BOP Beaches.

The spell of beautiful weather is continuing in the Bay of Plenty, so as it was Sunday, the day I try and take an extra long walk, I asked DH to choose a place to go that he would come along too.
We drove Northwest for about 30 minutes till we came to Bowentown and Waihi Beaches. We climbed to the top of the hill overlooking Bowentown beach, some of the track had some shade luckily. ( the walk took almost an hour )The photos show the various views on the way up and we laughed when we saw that some kind person had placed a lone chair at the highest point facing out to sea. One photo shows the view looking towards Waihi, another shows it looking back towards Tauranga. If you look over Matakana Island (it is a long island, has a strip of white sand infront of pine trees) you will see Mt. Maunganui ( of my last post ) in the distance and Karewa Island out in the sea. Rather spectacular scenery.
After our walk we spread out on a quilt in the shade of a Pohutukawa tree and DH read and I stitched for another hour. The peace and tranquility didn't last as the spot became busy and some chap in a bus thought he should run his noisy generator to make himself a cuppa and a family with several kids and a dog named Oscar parked right beside us.
We headed off to a cafe at Waihi Beach and had a pleasant lunch, before making our way home. We have blobbed since then as the temp is hovering at 30 degrees ( that's 84 f), reading and watching NZ cricket on TV. ( Glad we aren't working today! )

Mt. Maunganui Beach.

A few more photos for Meggie and those who have visited the Mt. and beach. ( and maybe tempt those who haven't )The only change you see really is in the type of building there now.

The first photo is looking along the beach to the Mt. The others are taken from the track that winds around the base of the Mt. ( now supposed to be called Mauao it's Maori name ) The sheep which graze on parts of the Mount are controlled in small paddocks but can get down and eat seaweed on the little beach around the harbour channel side. In that photo you can look across the water to Tauranga.

Visit From a Perth Quilter.

For the last several years I have belonged to an online P & Q Group ( Picking Up Threads ) of mainly Australian ladies. One of them Thelma from Perth came to stay for 2 nights. We had only met on line before that. She was born in Ohura NZ but has lived in Oz for 16 years. She wished to relive a childhood memory of eating Fish and Chips on the beach at Mt. Maunganui, which was harder to accomplish than expected; but we eventually got some for dinner on Monday evening, after we walked around the Mt. (DH came too and was thrilled cause I won't normally buy them for us.)

We spent all day Tuesday, visiting the local P & Q fabric stores. We started up at Katipatch at Katikati, then into Tauranga to my favourite Barnhouse Quilts and Embroidery, then after some lunch Tauranga Sewing Centre. Thelma found things at each shop and accrued quite a collection of NZ FQs and magazines. I got a few too. I didn't really need anything but never browse that long and thoroughly without buying something. I can always use more fabric. ( none of these store have good websites so I won't provide links ) I hope she enjoyed her 2 nights stay. Unfortunately she hates avocados and didn't like kiwifruit juice! Here are some photos of her in my favourite quilt shop and us both in my garden and on the beach. She is the shorter, younger one.

Peacock Feathers.

Yes I have collected the feathers the peacock is dropping. ( About 50 ) The other things he is dropping are not so pretty!!! You know what.....lots and lots of smelly meringues.
Aren't the colours just the best.
We have no idea where he came from but he can fly ( even without tail feathers ) so he may have got blown off course. We think he comes up to the deck by the ranch slider doors to look at his reflection in the glass ( vanity )..... or he may think it is another peacock. We think he is lonely. But as his feathers have moulted and he is no longer honking out loudly he as probably missed mating for this year...so sad. We hope he flies off again to where there are some other of his kind. ( free to a good home but you have to come and get him! )

Waitangi Day in NZ.

Today the 6th of February is New Zealand's National Day. While it is a holiday we only changed how we spent the day from one kind of work to another! But Oh what a lot we got done! I started by helping DH clear part of his very weedy vege garden then gave all my herbs a hair cut.( lovely fragrant smells! ) Both gardens are looking so good now it was worth the sweat. Had a long lunch as I had my nose in a book. Later I spent another 2 hours weeding and cutting back part the driveway. We cut one rhododendron that was staggly almost to the ground in a hope it will bush up again. I came in so hot and tired but know I did good out there. After a long cool shower and hair wash I felt much better but announced that I was finishing my book before I did anything about dinner. I was reading the last few pages of Audrey Niffenegger's, The Time Traveler's Wife. I blubbed my way through the last part of the book and would now heartily recommend it. It's a really original story. Possible ....I doubt it but who knows she made it seem plausible.

After 2 bad attempts I think I have worked out how to make a suitable label for my quilt.

At the weekend I spent some time working on my machine quilt project. I am progressing slowly as I am not completely sure how I wish to put the blocks together.( it's purple and a mustard sort of colour....photos are back further somewhere last year ) I'll keep ya posted.

We are a bit worried about the peacock hanging around the house and eyeing the ripening tomatoes. He has over the last 2 weeks lost almost all his tail feathers and no longer shouts out. ( hope we don't have to shoot him as a pest ) Black cat Incubus ( Inky ) put himself on guard cat duty on the deck earlier today. He wants to be the only animal around here! Happy Waitangi Day to any other Kiwis reading this!

Close up photos.

Quilt Story.

It wasn't once upon a time; more of in a twinkling of an eye the spark of an idea in my brain flashed the minute I saw Anna hand sewing a small lap quilt by making individually backed and quilted little hexagons. She was generous in sharing how it was done and I knew I wanted to go further, use other colours and make it my own. I began with carefully measured cardboard hexagons but was able to move to greater accuracy and precision when I purchased a whole set of plastic (acrylic ? perspex? ) templates and later found a real gem of a marker. Have you got one? They are so fine and never need sharpening. It is a little container of chalk dust applied by a little wheel ( see photo )Mine cost NZ$14.55 . Clover Chaco liner.
I already had quite a stash of suitable fabrics to fussy cut motifs for an I Spy Quilt, as I had made one with little squares ( see post May 2006 ). Black had looked good on it and showed the wee pictures off well so I decided to use black backing with a tiny pattern.I have tried to make it suitable for boys by not including fairies, ballet girls etc, but have some of those saved for my girlie version to happen in future months.If anyone want instructions to make this see my posts back in Aug /Sept 2006.
Briefly though the single bed size has 284 hexagons. ( in rows of 14 then 13 then 14 etc. ) Each hexagon has a picture fabric fussy cut to in a 4.5" hex; and similar size batting hex and a 6.5" backing fabric which is folded forward and doubled and hand sewn onto the top. The corners are mitred all in the same direction.
As I didn't want the quilting to distort the wee pictures I did a single quilting row with the machine about a quarter inch in from the point where the backing was stitched to the front. You can see it in the close up photo. This should be sufficient to hold it in place when washing. It also makes a pleasing repetition of the Hexagon shape on the back.
I have tried to work out just how long it took to make but can't be accurate. I do know each hex took me 20 minutes to hand sew. It needed 5.5 yards of backing fabric. sewing one hex to the next took 6 minutes. Sewing the row to row took about 2.5 hours. Then there was the machine quilting and the cutting and pinning and of course the best bit looking for more suitable fabrics I didn't have! Ihave enjoyed the 6 month creating journey, enough that I will do it again. my quilt is born; I wonder who it will meet in it's lifetime?
Things in favour of this method.
1. It's a very portable project.
2.Could be made using any size hexagons. ( big singles= table mats )
3.When it's finished it's finished; no basting the batting and backing or bindings ...you've done it. all.

Photos of Completed Quilt.

I can hardly contain my excitement! It's finished, it's finished ! Started in August last year my Boys' I Spy Quilt made of 284 individually pieced and bound hexagons is completed today after hundreds of hours work over the last 6 months. It is single bed size. As always I can't get the photos just as I want so I have shown you the quilt in several different poses. ( I must study how Gwen Marston had her quilts displayed in her Collaborative Quilting book ...they looked fabulous.) I now have to complete a little hex shaped label I am hand stitching, ( solid black) so it won't distract. In my next post I will tell the quilt's story.

Summer's Heat and Colour

Humidity in the low 90s is making things rather sweaty here.( it's all that rain going back up again! ) We can almost hear things growing....including the lawn which I began mowing early before breakfast, but it was still hot. When first mowed it looks good but not for long. The big gum trees behind the house are shedding bark and leaves continuously at the moment. Bright and perfumed delights keep me being a gardener.The purple Eucomis ( pineapple plants ) look good and the lilies smell so good especially in the evening wafting in the open window. Having worked hard all morning I hope to sit in the shade later( either on the deck or my red garden seat ) and sew, sew, sew. Nearly there!
I hope you ladies of the Northern Hemisphere; where snow abounds can enjoy the green delights and heat of my NZ summer garden.