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.