armistice day

11/11/2018
100 years since the end of World War 1.
Two great uncles killed in the war.

finished!

Finished!
On reflection, I realise it is 3 years since I last finished a quilt - Iggy's second birthday quilt. To say I'm not very productive is an understatement. No wonder there are so many things I forget. Eventually, it comes back to me but it can take a while - like how to adjust bobbin tension when machine quilting this quilt. There's another one to go and finish now - hopefully a bit faster this time.

flowers & crownlynn

re-visit

The next New Zealand Quilt Symposium is in Auckland in 2019.
https://www.quiltsymposium2019.nz/
I have never attended an Auckland symposium as Auckland is 'just up the road' and the traffic is horrific. Usually, I use symposia as an excuse to visit other parts of the country.
But as I now have a daughter living in Auckland therefore free accommodation, I have enrolled for this one and am excited by the quilt exhibition categories.

I feel a quilt coming on. It's been an extremely long time since I even considered entering a quilt show! No pressure.

fabric.com

I'm not usually a promotor on retail outlets but am excited to discover fabric.com as it has this amazing design wall feature. If you sign up you get to keep your design wall. You can add fabrics to it and them move them around to see which goes with what. Extremely handy tool when shopping for fabric online and just a place to play with colour generally.

where's you mother when you need her?

When she was 83, I asked my mum to teach me to crochet. I kinda left it a bit late considering the plethora of crochet hats and ponchos fashionable in the 60s. The requirement was to make a crochet blanket for my first grandchild which I diligently achieved. But lately, I've been fantasising about a crochet throw for my sofa. Like I need another blanket? This reminded me of the Granny Square Book I purchased on a whim during that crochet phase. I hunted it out, finding Mum's instruction book tucked inside it. I had hunted for that book when mum passed away last year. Turns out I had it all along.  I chose the flower centre square I would like to use - oh so confident! Then off I went to Knitworld and purchased a selection of the most delicious coloured pure NZ wool ready to begin. But that's where progress ended. The afternoon was spent on the sofa willing myself to remember how on earth to do this? Youtube to the rescue. Gradually the synapses began to connect and it started coming back to me. I'll keep practising the simple granny square for a while before attempting the 'intermediate' flower pattern I fancy. Let's face it, a knitter and a crocheter I am not!

reunited

I have just been reunited with an 'old friend' - a quilt I made apparently in 1991! Just seems like yesterday. I collected purple and brown fabrics for two years to make it and still love the colour combination.  I haven't actually seen it for 13 years as it got left behind when I left. Have often wondered why I did that?
Anyway with my ex's passing, we have been cleaning out his house - that's a whole other story. I really believed it was gone but... in the last box in the very last corner - there it was. In good condition other than in need of a good wash which has been duly done by hand in the shub. I knew I kept that shub for a reason. And it has dried in the warm autumn sun.
Welcome back Tyrian. Approximately 150 fabrics, wool batting, hand quilted.

japanese anemones

My kind of flowers, Japanese anemones. They grown like weeds and look wonderful when just plonked into a Crown Lynn vase. 

I have acquired a new high end lens for my camera also and attribute some great shots to this 24-70 2.8L Canon lens. Enjoying getting to know it. 

fig and ginger jam

This is the taste of my childhood. I made it for the very first time and it tastes just like Grandma used to make. She had her own fig tree, purely for the purpose of making this jam.

bud vase with statice

Crown Lynn bud vase with blue statice.

crown lynn with cosmos

I love this vase, and the texture of the cosmos in it.

crown lynn love - the swan

This obsession with white Crown Lynn vases is a new thing. But they are fascinating. Some I do not like, or think I do not like, as everyone had one on their china cabinet when I was growing up. But there are so many more that I had never seen. It started with the swan. Where will it end?

crownlynn love 2

This is called a float vase. Just the right size for one good sized hydrangea or a selection of smaller flowers. Such a pleasing form.

underway!

I am finally underway with quilting my Kaffe Fassett quilt that was finished two years ago and basted last summer! I began with some ditch stiitching - something I have always intensely disliked as it's so hard to do accurately but I invested in a 10D Edge Stitch foot and now ditch stitching is a breeze.
Next I had to do some straight lines - horrors. So I purchased a Hera tool - there seems to be a solution available for every problem! It works well by leaving a crease on the fabric although you need the right light to see the line. Once I get all this precision quilting finished I can move on to the free form stitching which is the part I prefer.

crown lynn love

I have developed an interest in Crown Lynn china - particularly the plain white vases. There is just so much range/styles and colours I'm going to (honest) stick to just this one category. For now:-)

This is a small shell shaped (if somewhat elongated) trough vase. I always wondered the sense in trough vases but they are great for displaying just a flower or three. 

beachie snapshots

Snapshots from this summers beach time so far. 

Kairakau Beach, Hawkes Bay

 Very different beach landscape to what I am used to 'up the Coro'. No bush?

 Boating with Brian, whoever Brian is? Friendly local, bought us crayfish for Christmas dinner.

Waihi Beach, Bay of Plenty
Mayor Island at dusk.

 Daniel in the waves.

Owharo Falls, Karangahake Gorge