Reading Pleasure.

I haven't talked about books and reading for a while possibly because it is a while since I have been enthusiastic about what I am reading.

"Life of Pi," by Yann Martel is giving me lots of laughs and keeping my interest. Most of you probably read it a couple of years ago but it only turned up in my to read pile yesterday.

I may have mentioned I record all the books I read ( have done since 1981) in a notebook, which has proved an invaluable record on numerous occasions....when discussing something with someone or talking about books of course, or settling an argument discussion. DH is almost competitive about the number of books he manages to read...... he rereads some too, which I find strange as there are always so many new books I want to read. ( usually only when I find him gnawing on the book shelves saying " I've nothing to read! ") Once when this happened I call from another room, "Well just go the the second shelf from the top and take the 4th book from the right and read that!" It turned out to be the Handbook for the Landrover; which he dutifully sat and read being able to see the funny side of the situation.

I am almost back to normal today ( as normal as I get anyway! ) having had a very red itchy face after my visit to the Dentist on Thursday. I think I must be allergic to latex gloves, as it was all along my jaw, up my checks and around my mouth. Friday I was burning up and looked a sight. I know it felt worse than it looked but it is an annoying addition to my already highly stressful times with the Dentist that I will need to address on future visits.

The weekend is turning into a quite productive one for getting jobs done. (As it is School Hols in NZ ) we are having visitors coming to stay tomorrow so that set up much cleaning, mowing tidying of things....you know things that could normally wait but would be better dealt with before guests.( who I wasn't expecting till they rang on Friday and said they were arriving! ) Despite that we did manage to sit up and watch a late game of NZ playing Portugal in the Rugby World Cup and I had a sleep in after that and have been reading and doing the little bit of quilting on what better be the final set of table mats ( see photo - isn't the backing fabric yummy? )for a while ( But I have to have some hand sewing ....help ! ) Some baking would probably be in order too...it will be Orange and Date Muffins as the oranges are just becoming ripe and juicy and I love to cook using our own home grown fruit and nuts.

Thanks for the kind comment about the garden - I haven't finished with that subject yet ( a bit like the garden itself - never finished - a work in progress that rarely reaches completion ).

I better get back to it I guess. I hope your weekend is going well in all other parts of the world....I'll pop by your blogs to check!

You Know those Olives Stuffed with Pimentos.....

Well that's what my back tooth now looks like....not olive green you understand but it certainly looks stuffed with something ( a dressing cover ) the colour of these words!

Yes, the day has improved greatly and I am now un- numb again. It could have been worse - I survived and behaved reasonably well and only levitated once (beside trembling a lot.) Kind dentist man put a temp pollifiller in the second broken tooth and said it was even more in need of saving than # 1 tooth. That will be $370 please.

Right; on to something pleasant now.

2 of today's photos show the inside and outside of my latest Hexagon creation. A needle case. Using a 5" hexagon I made it by the same method as before( in the quilts ), and sewed the 2 together along just one side to form the spine. Then I cut out 2 side by side felt hexagons with a joining strip between them. I machine stitched the felt to the covers and attached a dome for closure and I have a wee gift for someone. Do you see that wicker basket - its almost as old as me. I got it one Christmas when I was a wee girl and still have it. I keep all my old sewing bits and pieces like hooks and domes and old bias tape and things I rarely use any more in it.

Lastly something else in the garden that looks bright and the bees love. It is a small Rata bush...it's related to the New Zealand Pohutukawa( Christmas tree ) same family in fact.

Yes There's More.

So sorry if you were waiting for me friends - life suddenly got in the way....I wasn't here , but now I am, so let's continue our walk in the garden. ( Thanks for your kind comments )

We have plenty of space around us and when I was 12 years younger ( and had just finished working off the property ) I decided to expand the garden; which was fine for a while; a real challenge. We did the Garden Art Fest where your garden is open to the public for a week in 2000 and 2002. We had lots of lovely folk through but oh the work involved......been there done that - I want to move on....then quilting happened and now I want to spendall some of my time elsewhere SEWING; creating of a different kind.


Of course the garden doesn't go away; it still needs care...and that's ME. ( yes just me ) It doesn't go away ( I don't want it to but ) but now I haven't as much time or energy so some parts get much less care.

I know, I will just show you the tidy parts. Up the driveway where you last looked is okay and around the house is neat and bright; its' my steps and tracks down to the dam ( pond ) that are a bit unkempt. ( we are talking seriously big area here )


Today's photos are of my favourite daffodil and a blaze of purple colour. Then if you'd like to come inside I'll show you what I see out my windows . 2 are out the kitchen window as I stand at the sink( see the herb garden just out there ), oops and that's all my work gloves on the clothes line. The other pic is from the lounge, looking out through the grape vine which is just sprouting; out to the front lawn.
Well perhaps more another day, don't want you getting bored.

I'm not sure if I told you but I love jokes. A friend just sent me a wee story this morning, I'll share it as its brief........

A Fairy Tale.
One day a long, long time ago, there was a woman who surprisingly didn't whine, nag or bitch. But this was a long, long time ago.....and it was just ONE day. THE END.

Come On Then.

Come on then Sheila and anyone else who wants a stroll.

Our gateway and mailbox is beyond the curve in the drive, where the Awanui Flowering Cherries are out. Usually I take their photo so all 4 trees are showing but then it would just look like last years photo! If you happen to be working here you may sit at that table under the tree in the foreground, to eat your lunch or have a rest and a cuppa. Just beside it is one of my favourite Camellias with a perfect white flower and very green shiny leaves.

The drive curves slowly on towards the house. On your left is a garden bed with all this colour. On your right is a tall retaining wall with Flax bushes and Rosemary hanging down. This colourful garden bed is where several trees were removed last year and now the light just pours in. Lots of pale pink and white azaleas, 2 red Rubicon Rhododendrons; bulbs; Cineraria, and Day Lilies grow here. The tree at the top is a Port Wine Magnolia - you know the one that in the evening reminds you of childhood cause it smells like juicy fruit chewing gum.

In the photo with the red rhodo you can see the cherry trees over the top in the distance, so you realise how the drive curves round. Gosh we are only just reaching the house. You better come back later so I can show you whats out in that garden. ( Don't forget all the photos are clickable to enlarge ) Yes, you may pick some flowers I do all the time.

Look What R made FOR ME.

A couple of weeks ago I said, "I'd like to grow some strawberries this summer."

"In my herb garden would be a good place for a few plants." Still no, "Don't waste your time," from DH, so I ventured further. "The Birds would probably get them all.....I wonder if you might be able to make me a lift off frame for over the top?" "Okay,that shouldn't be too hard. "
So I quickly clear one segment of my lovely herb garden pulling out a woody sage plant( I have another ) and weed it all ready for new plants.

Quite by chance because he is on light duties following minor surgery DH had some spare time - Lucky me! He made the frame which looked rather coffin like to start with then today while I went to the supermarket he bought the bird netting .The garden centre that used to be in the city has moved out to between us and the city so we now drive past it all the time - very convenient ! On the way home we stopped for seeds and my Strawberry plants. 6 big beauties in a carrier for "Opening Specials" price. Thank you again; just how many I need!

(Pajero variety, no choice there) The plants are in flower already so I should get some crop quite soon. The frame is light and easy for me to lift off. So I am happy with that.

Spring winds are buffeting us today but things are flowering, so I'll take you for a walk tomorrow if you'd care to come.

Finishing Stuff.

Yes, I have been finishing things in my cupboard; but first have a look at my Spider's web. The Orb Web spider who built this is a resident around here. It's web is easily seen in the early morning with the sun behind it and drops of dew adding sparkle; it's right outside the dining room ranch slider slung between Kingianum orchids which grow on the side of a now sawn off Ponga Fern trunk. I might try and get a photo of the spider....it won't be as dramatic as the spider at Molly Bawn's place - hers is something else!

As I am doing a demonstration at our group soon on all the uses for Quilt as You Go Hexagons, I put together some little tiny ones I made with Christmas type fabric and have sewn them on to a length of gold and green ribbon as a hanger decoration type thing. (I still have to put a pin of some type at the top. )

Lurking in my cupboard unused was a large square of Chenille I made. After we had a demo on how it was done I made this sample and hadn't made it into anything. It could have been a bag or cushion but I made it into a big zip lock bag ( material instead of plastic ) for carrying sewing stuff. It has some pockets inside and a zip across the top. I realise one with a zipper around 3 side to open out flat would have been ideal but at the weekend when I was making this I didn't have a zipper on hand that size - so used what I had. I put a name label on the outside back and will carry my current project in it. In the close up photo I scrunched the fabric up so you can see how it is made. 4 layers of fabric different colours all sewn down in narrow rows then the 3 top layers cut. These should rough up with use or I could brush them or wash them to make that fluffy chenille look.

As things are still very damp outside I am off to Spring clean the Office drawers that are getting over full.....Oh what fun.

The very bad news is another tooth has broken off ( what is going on ? ), so that will mean even more visits to the Dentist. My next appointment is not till Thursday morning, next week, so I hope it doesn't start aching.

Photographic Fabric

Temptation in any colour or size you like!

2 of the photos show parts of the fabric on display in the Traders Mall. Rainbows of colour...just yummy.( awful paint chipped old stand but wonderful fabric ).

The other 2 pics are what I purchased. A beautiful Laurel Burch book I had never seen before ( I think it's new out ). It's a picture book for girls of any age! I love her style and can easily recognise it.( I used a piece of that sea horse fabric on the cover of the book in my I Spy and several others of hers )

The other is the fabric I got. My stash had very little blue /navy in it and I want to make a bag for a gift in those colours. So 3 bigger lengths at the top and the rest fat quarters. The bright red poppies is so me and I have inspected it several times before and decided I really needed a piece in my cupboard. It would even look good framed and hung on the wall.

Quilt Exhibition Photos - 5

Thanks Meggie for directing some new blog friends here to view the quilts. I'm glad to meet new bloggers and quilters from all over the world. The purple quilt shown here was really a much more beautiful shade of mauve and purple than the photo shows. Certainly you will see from all these photos there was a huge variety of types of quilt, colour ways and approaches to traditional blocks.

Today I went to the Dentist! That's no light undertaking for me....for those of you who read Meggie's account of her recent visit you have the scene set already for how I feel. I would much rather have major surgery than visit the Dentist. Lets just say that some bad experiences have coloured my thinking. Months ago half my back bottom molar broke away right down to gum level....there was no pain - I think it was all filling. Once since then when I had sinus and hayfever problems it and several other teeth gave me heaps for about 3 days, but then all settled back down again. Unfotunately when I decided I had the time and money to be able to go and get it seen to I had to wait 5 weeks to get an appointment....now that doesn't do my nerves and state of mind any good...every time my tongue ferrets around the ragged tooth and every time I clean my teeth I have an attach of the gitters. But today finally arrived ( luckily I was very well distracted with my busy few days with the Exhibition) and I duely got seen to.

The receptionist was lovely( no blue rinse) the nurse was lovely and the dentist is a dear so polite & kind - a South African with beautiful manners. So what's your problem you ask. Well the tooth and the procedure and all that awful stuff.

We will try and save the tooth - you need it. If it was to be removed an oral surgeon would have to do it. OK . So today was step 1 in saving the tooth. It has temporary polyfiller in it now.( or similar ) that was $160. I then had to make 3 more appointments at precise intervals to do a root canal then have a cerec crown fitted.( that will be in November, so I have plenty of opportunity to think ahead!!!) Anyway I survived and today was a breeze compared with what I was expecting. Next time won't be so .......... I better stop buying fabric and start saving all my pocket money to give to the nice dentist man! ( maybe he'd take a quilt instead? )

Quilt Exhibition Photos - 4

It all came down quicker than it went up - just as well as we were all exhausted. We think we had a very successful show. 2 ladies sold quilts ( one was the bargello shown here ) and the folk demonstrating the expensive long arm quilter made a large sale too so they were rapt.

The rain that threatened most of the day was just starting to fall as we drove out the gate for home, so luckily the quilts and merchants goods didn't get wet.

The gollies and the big green NZ fabric quilt were 2 popular choices with viewers. The fawn old looking quilt was made from all recycled woollen blankets. The small quilt on the easel was log cabin houses - very effective.

I still have some more photos of our raffles and what I purchased so keep watching.

Quilt Exhibition photos - 3

There were 92 quilts or wall hangings; the bag display and the fabric challenge which had 6 entries. That's the top photo. The winner is on the right - it is a bag in the shape of a bodice of a dress.

Quilt Exhibition Photos - 2

It's all going well so far. We have had lots of visitors who all seem to enjoy it. More pics to come tomorrow.

Quilt Exhibition Photos 1.

Very rushed photos taken after we hung all the quilts. The creams have all come out fawn, unfortunately. ( all quilts belong to members of the Tauranga Patchwork Group ) One pic shows the quilt frame with velcro strip.
Lots more photos to come over the next few days so keep looking. All photos enlarge if you click on them for a closer look.
I'm shattered so off to bed now....3 more busy days to go.

Preparation for Quilt Exhibition.

Fine weather over the weekend and yesterday had me outside doing kiwifruit work and gardening; weeding a long shell path by hand cause the weeds had got too high to control any other way. So my eyes are sore ( I react to something in the garden and pollen ) and my hands don't look like a ladies hands should look - yes , I do wear gloves-but that's nothing new, they will recover. I was going flat out cause this week is going to be a busy one!

The group I belong to ( Tauranga Patchwork and Quilters ) is holding it's Annual Exhibition this Fri, Sat and Sun at the local Race Course. Thursday we spend all day hanging the quilts and doing the displays. The group owns it's own wooden frames for the quilts which have strips of the loopy side of velcro across the top. We have to present our quilts with a row of the fluffy side of velcro across the top. In the photo you can see the back of my blue quilt ready to go....... it's a good idea as the strips are just pinned to the quilt top ( no hanging sleeves required ) and that way can be taken off and reused. I had to make some new strips as well to have enough for the 3 quilts I am exhibiting . Our display this year is BAGS, BAGS and more BAGS...so I have 2 for that. ( we are going to cordon them off so they don't go walk about on someone's arm ).
As well we have to provide finger food to serve with cuppas for all the helpers and stall holders. I have made shortbread fingers and fruit balls so far. I will take some photos on Thursday if I get time and show you how it all looks. ( and of the show itself of course! ) Our venue is basic in some ways but very roomy and affordable. It is in 2 main halls connected by a passageway. Quilt Exhibition in the biggest and Traders' Mall in the other. So there will be time for retail therapy! Over the 3 days we divide the jobs up in 2 hour stints and take turns at being on the door, selling raffles, wearing white gloves or being a gopher. Although we have a lot of members not all are good at helping ( fairly typical ) so the committee ( I'm one of them ) will be busy! I'm not complaining I enjoy working with the other ladies. It's fun and very rewarding to see it all being looked at and enjoyed.
I have got a few more table mats finished in the evenings but have run out of cotton batting for them - I don't think wool or poly is suitable. ( they have to be washable and heat proof. )
Some replies to comments; Yes Sheila I do read instructions and can read instructions. ( I even read them on new appliances and the like ...one of my quirks....a good one I think. )
Yes, I did have a template for the table mats.( they need to be accurate ) I have a set of plastic ones I bought, 16 in all but they only go up in half inch sizes to 8 inches. I made the larger one by lying an ordinary ruler against each side and tracing in on to stiff card board. But for anyone making their own; because a hexagon has 6 sides it is very easy to make accurately by drawing a circle ( 360 degrees and divide it by 6 using a compass ) You make a pattern like a daisy flower with 6 petals - put a line where it crosses the circle and you have your 6 hexagon points.

If you see smoke on the horizon it will just be me over the next little while - going like the clappers!( on my broomstick! )

Amazing Bag.

Lucky me. I scored some extra sewing time!

For the 3rd day in a row we have very, very strong winds; so bad today that it is dangerous and unpleasant outside. Branches and leaves are raining out of the sky, mainly from the huge Gum trees and yellow clouds of pollen from the Cryptomeria shelter belts are blowing everywhere ( oh my poor eyes! ) So I get to stay inside....the work won't go away it will have to get done on a calmer day.

Thanks to Joyce for the inspiration to make this amazing bag. Thanks also to Andrea ( Welsh Quilter ) for the instructions to make the bag. It is quite a mystery making this pattern for the first time but once one is done I can see why more might be in order!

I have a question about the handles. Joyce did you realise their were 2 way to have the handles and you have used different ways on different bags? Without a closure it doesn't matter or need to be one way or the other. After much fannying about and trial I decided they had to be so they can hang up easily....mine is only pinned in the photo cause I haven't made the final decision on the button.

Speaking from experience there are a couple of things to watch out for. Make sure no pins have been left in anywhere lol. I used needle punch batting and it may be too rigid...the bag stands up on its own which is good - it may be easier to make with a more supple batting.

I think the pattern may have more possibilities. For a fold away cheaply made bag for groceries and such it could be made without batting just 2 linings sewn together? it could also be made of different coloured strips rather than all the squares....I'm thinking on that one.

I have also completed some more table mats. The pansy one I really like; it has a 2nd little mate not yet finished. The other is for the sales table. Now I'm off to cut out more!

I hope lots of you got to see that wonderful MOON on Tuesday night. It was quite interesting to look at last night as well. It had a copper ring around it still.

Extending the Hexagon Theme.

I had been planning my next small project in my mind for a while .....having hexagons on my brain planted a seed .......there are other ideas here you could try, using this same method, I thought. ( this is the 1st )

After a week of fine weather and hard work , 2 very wet days and nights gave me the chance to stay inside and cut out and prepare these. Big hexagons and middle sized hexagons...to make sets of table mats. I had already purchased some lovely Christmas fabrics when I saw them and I hope to use up other non Christmas themed scraps for smaller sets. I will make some for gifts and maybe a few for our sales table next week. They are made using the same method of folding the backing fabric forward around the batting and feature fabric; turning under the edges, mitring the corners all facing the same way; hand stitching then machine quilting. On these I have quilted a star shape which can be easily worked out by ruling from corner to corner on the hex shape.

Measuring a hexagon is always done tip to tip across it's widest part. These are 11.5 '' ( with 6 inch sides ) for the big mat and 6 " ( with 3 inch sides ) for the smaller ones.

As long as I find time each day to cut a few out ready I have something to handsew each night. Progress seems quite rapid so I am pleased to be producing some finished articles quickly. ( much quicker than a 325 hex quilt any way lol) Thank you all for your generous comments on the finished quilt in the previous post. It made me feel happy so thanks ladies .

Someone asked who that quilt was for. The answer is My house! Both hex quilts are staying here ( for now anyway. ) When someone comes to visit they may choose which quilt they would like on their bed. Leaving quilts on beds with the strong NZ sun is not a good idea so good quilts get put out for use then put away again. The one permanently on our bed has faded really badly especially on one dark blue fabric.....so I know to be careful.

Quilt Completed.

Yesterday was the last Friday session our P & Q group had before our Exhibition on 7th, 8th and 9th of September. "Show and Tell Session," was great as many ladies had pulled out all the stops and completed quilts and hangings in the nick of time. ( AREN'T DEADLINES WONDERFUL LIKE THAT! ) Among those quilts I am pleased to say was a Blue Hexagon I spy Quilt with a girlie theme! Labelled and all.

It is single bed size, measures 76" by 61" and is made up of 325 individual hexagons; hand sewn and simply machine quilted following the hexagon shape. This makes the back appear like honeycomb.( or chicken netting ) This is done "quilt as you go," before the hexagons are sewn together in strips / rows.The rows are then sewn to each other.When the final strip is sewn on that's it - finished! ( no sandwiching or squaring up or binding ). ( click on photos to enlarge )

So mission accomplished with 12 days to spare! I have a relieved smirk on my face.

Something Different.

The rain has gone....good....but there now seems to be so much to do. Variety is the spice of life...even in work I guess. I can't work on the kiwifruitvines too many hours in the day or I will suffer ( sore neck and aching arms ) so I do it for 2 or 3 hours then change, to gardening or housework or even sometimes take a break like now; coffee beside me at the computer. DH is cutting firewood trees for next year. Even If we worked all 24 hours in the day there would still be things to get done around here so I pace myself( turn a blind eye to some jobs ) to what I can manage and stay fit and well at the same time. ( Surely we can't be getting slower as we age ???)

Todays' photos show more Spring pretties from the garden and also a Cherimoya from our new tree. We had a tree before but it had to be cut out, so we purchased a new one and this is one of it's first fruit. The previous tree had much smoother skinned fruit ( like an armadillo skin )...so we are intrigued by this ones very pointy spikes. It got knocked off by the mower so is ripening on the fruit bowl so I will show you a pic of it when we cut it. The previous one was very tasty vanilla custard flavour - it is sometimes known as a custard apple. Want to know more go here.

I'm on the last long seam...32 zigzags....as I sew the final strip to THE QUILT!

Penultimate Row of Hexagons.

I want to catch up on lots of topics.

The photo shows the 2 piles of finished hexagons for the final 2 rows of the Blue Hexagon Quilt. If all goes well I will begin sewing them into strips tonight....so the end is in sight! I thought I would leave the very last one I am hand sewing there with my glasses to show cause I really like the fabric. Yes, its a Laurel Burch on a blue background. The other day I raced into the shop to get some velcro to make the hanging sleeves ( I'll tell you about those when I sew them ) for my quilts and couldn't go past the fabrics without having a quick look. I found 2 I really liked and didn't have so got them to be the final 2 I could fussy cut for this quilt.

We were in the city that day to both have our Eye Examinations. Glad to report my eyes are healthy but the sight has deteriorated a bit, over the last 3 years, which meant updating my glasses. The pair in the pic are my present ones that I love. They have all sorts built into them for different tasks - ( sewing reading ) ( computer ) ( TV ) and ordinary over the top.( plus a stigmatism in my left eye. ) it's amazing that all that is built into those tiny lenses. The optician and I decided I should probably start wearing them to drive in too. Consequently, with both of us needing new specs we paid a rather heafty bill.

> $2000. The good thing is I splashed out and got a whole new pair cause then I will have a spare; besides I didn't want to be without my old ones right now....not even for 3 or 4 days. The new ones will arrive in about 2 weeks. [I think they are a bit like swim suits ....the less there is, the more you pay ] That all leads on to another subject.........

Sheila has been trying so kindly to help me with difficulties I have been having here on my blog to get pics or awards onto my side bar........maybe the failing eyesight doesn't help...being careless with the typing certainly doesn't, but then today I find I am not seeing the same things when I go to Blogger Dashboard that she is and maybe some of you too.( So I'm not going loopy after all! ) Any way I am not giving up but will find a quiet time soon and give it all another try. Perseverance is one of my middle names luckily, so is Patience ( usually )....hence I can do things like sew hexagons by hand - ha!

I think I am sick of Winter, certainly of rain and stormy winds! I have been a little out of sorts, morose this week, but maybe with Spring being in the air, between the showers of rain it will lift. A little excursion around my garden found pockets of colour and promise amid the last fallen leaves and debris from yet another stormy day yesterday. Spits of rain on my lens sent me back in....but don't these Velthemias ( like big lachenalia or small pokers ) look bright. The little clumps of Hellebores (or winter roses ) are always understated but I love their wee faces. I have Daffodils out now too and the first coloured Freesias, some Polyanthus, lots of Camellias and Magnolias. They don't last well when it's stormy and wet. At least there is nothing on the Kiwifruit that can get damaged right now. Probably the Avocados are getting rubbed or are falling off.....I hate to see them on the ground at this stage...such a waste.

Last Thursday my copy of Australian Quilters Companion arrived ( with Tracey's Heart's Compass quilt and other great reads . ) It is about 3 weeks since she mentioned it on her blog...takes a while to get to NZ. It arrived on the same day as NZ Healthy Foods mag. So I am in a position of having too many good things to read - that's a great problem to have. While on the subject of reading I am pleased to say for once I had read the book that won the fiction section of the Montana Book Awards - "Mr. Pip," by Lloyd Jones. It's a great read - I'm glad it won. I just finished reading "A Spot of Bother," by Mark Haddon - wasn't my sort of read really...too over done! Now for some light relief I am reading a Phillipa Gregory one "Wildacre."

Enjoy your weekend everyone!