Tiny Christmas Stockings, and Darning

 I've completed stitching three pair of tiny felt Christmas Stockings, which were handed out at last month's quilt club meeting.  Each set of stockings came with an extra strip of felt.  These will be hung on the display of Christmas Trees in December, our club's entry in the Avenue of Trees.

Red, white and green

After putting my thinking cap on, I had worked out how I wanted to decorate them.  They are tiny, so keep it simple, I decided.  Sadly, I failed miserably with blanket stitch, so just did running stitch instead.  I'm sure it's not that hard, but I just couldn't get my head around it.  Maybe I'll ask the Sew Wots to show me sometime.  With a bit of simple stitching, a couple of buttons, and ribbon hanging loops stitched on, they were done.

White, green and red, and I found one tiny Father Christmas looking for a new home

I can't remember when I last did some darning, but I had a hand knitted sock emergency.  Most of my cozy thick socks are knitted with 8 ply wool, ply 4 ply sock yarn, and these are hole free, so far.  But I did knit a couple of pairs using 12 ply wool in the early days,  and one of these pairs developed a hole under the heel.  There was only one thing to do, try to darn the hole up

That's no good, is it.

I had a very small ball of grey acrylic which toned in quite well, and  used that.  No darning mushroom though - I can remember these from my childhood when my Mother expertly darned socks.  I improvised and slipped a glass into the sock, and started working.  I don't think I'll win any prizes for my darning prowess, but it did the job, so I'm pleased with that.

Finished is better than perfect!

I've just finished another library book, Fallen, by Karin Slaughter.  I've read a lot of her books, but missed this older one somehow.  It features one of my favourite detectives, Will Trent, together with Dr Sara Linton, Will's partner Faith and boss Amanda Wagner.  This was such a gripping story, and I hadn't worked out the who and why as the tale progressed, as it hurtled to the climatic ending.

Just finished, I could hardly put it down

I have seen the Will Trent series on TV and was quite disappointed with the casting.  According to the books, Will is white, tall and lean, with a runner's body shape, and the TV show featured a darker, maybe Mexican character.  Rather like casting Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, readers all know Jack is a big, powerful, strong  man, so I refused to go and watch the two movies featuring  the much smaller Tom Cruise.  Guess I like things to stay the same.

A Finish - String Blocks of many colours

 This project resurfaced after my great wardrobe malfunction last year, and I was determined to work on it once I had completed my secret quilt sewing.  It started out like this, a bunch of multi-coloured string blocks, which I had started sewing burgundy batik sashing strips on.

String blocks

The top was completed in June, then it was  layered and pinned up ready for machine quilting.

Pinning up the quilt outside on a sunny winter day

The quilting took me ages, with stops and starts along the way.  Some days I was busy doing other things, and some days I just  couldn't face it.  The quilting was finally completed last week.  Then I settled down to stitch the binding on, always my favourite part of quilt making.  

Binding time

And here it is, finished at last.  It always makes me smile when a non quilter asks, "how long does it take to make a quilt?"  The answer of course is, "as long as it takes!"  Some of my finishes are very long winded indeed, in fact years old, while others are relatively fast from start to finish.  All sorts of reasons about the time taken come into play,  and for my projects, they are often put aside and forgotten about for no particular reason, and other things can take priority.  No apologies or excuses, that's just the way I am.  I had one string block over, so made a little draw string bag to go with the quilt.

A little draw string bag to go with the quilt

This project was practically free to make.  The string blocks were stitched from left over strips from years ago, and the sashings were left over strips from a quilt I made one of my grand daughters way back.  The blue border fabric was left over from the memory quilts I recently finished for my niece and her daughter.  The batting was "frankenbatting", leftover pieces stitched together, and the backing was a large floral piece I received from my neighbour Dorothy.  So all in all, a great lesson in using up what you have.

This will be donated to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.  The co-ordinater Fleur will be the speaker at the next quilt club meeting, so I will pass it over then, together with the dinosaur quilt.  It will be so nice to see her again, and to hear about the special work she does with families.

There was another project bag tucked away with the string blocks - chickens.  I would like to get on with that one next.  As I used to tell Robin, I'll never run out of things to do!

What's this in the Mail?

 It's always exciting to get unexpected mail, isn't it.  First to arrive was a postcard from France, showing a beautiful mademoiselle smelling the roses.    This was sent to me by my daughter's best friend who is having a marvelous long holiday traveling around several countries with her husband, they are currently enjoying a River Cruise.  It is so nice of Heather to think of me.  In fact last year when they were in USA, she sent me a postcard of Elvis from Gracelands!  I know I'll never get to Gracelands, so that was really special indeed.

Postcard from France

The other exciting mail was a bag stuffed full of quilting fabrics from blog reader Karen from Christchurch, for donation quilts.  There are smaller pieces to make drawstring bags, and yardage to turn into quilts for kids.  It was so exciting opening the courier bag, and checking out each piece.  Thanks so much Karen, I really appreciate you kindness.

So many goodies here

I haven't told you what I've been reading lately, as you know, I am an avid reader.  First was a book by Karen Rose - I've always enjoyed her writing.  Cold Blooded Liar debuts a new woman detective, a couple of phycologists and a sneaky serial killer.  I'll certainly be looking for the next one in this series.  The Final Diagnosis is written by Palmerston North Pathologist by Cynric Temple-Camp and relates some of his interesting cases using  the science of pathology.  This author has written two more books so I'll be ordering these from the library too. 

Interesting reads

Being mid winter, the temperatures have been c hilly, so I've been enjoying making even more soup.  My latest has been a crockpot full of ham hock, veggies, split peas and lentils, so yummy and filling for winter lunches, plus some tucked away in the freezer.

I do love soup for lunch

Bus Drama and Embroidery Exhibition

 It was another  big day out yesterday, when I boarded the "free for seniors bus" and traveled to Palmerston North. The weather was a nice sunny winter's day, and I hopped aboard with about a dozen others.  I noticed that most of the other passengers were all wearing winter jackets, I had decided not to as I would be spending most of my time indoors.  But I did wonder if I had made the right decision - Palmerston North is well known for it's wind, but I didn't really want to be lugging a coat about with me all day, if the weather stayed as mild as I hoped it would be.  

On our way

The bus ride took us through plenty of farmland, and after a while we could hear an alarm buzzing intermittently, mmm, I wondered what that's all about?  Then the alarm was going non stop, and the bus driver started looking for somewhere safe to pull over.  He really didn't want to drive the bus anymore, so put a call through to the supervisor.  A replacement bus for the passengers another driver and a mechanic were on their way, and we all sat tight for half an hour while we waited.  Then at last a new bus and a car pulled up behind us, we could finally get on our way again.

On our way -  again

The remainder of the trip was drama free and we all went our separate ways at the bus depot.  My first port of call was to a nearby cafe, to have a coffee and relax.  I don't remember being on a bus breakdown before.  Robin certainly had, he spent several years as a bus driver after being made redundant from his corporate job, driving in Wellington, Wairarapa and the Hutt Valley, and often came home with interesting tales to tell.  Like the time he ran over a metal tool left behind by the roading crew which pierced the fuel tank, and the diesel flowed all over the road!

I was making this trip to Palmy especially to see an embroidery exhibition I had read about.  "Threads of Connection", a national exhibition by the Association of NZ Embroiderers Guilds was showing at Square Edge Arts Centre during the month of July.

This is the place

It certainly was very interesting, comprising of three sections.  Stitched Art, both modern and traditional, created by members, Challenge entries, and works by young embroiders 18 years and younger.  I certainly don't consider myself a "proper embroider" as I only do very simple stitcheries, so it was nice to see these beautiful works of art up close.  Let me show you what took my fancy.

First glimpse of the entries

I enjoyed looking at the entries in Te Wero Tuia - The Stitch Challenge.  Embroiders had the choice of depicting the given rose design exactly, in whatever technique or colours they chose.  Or - be creative, using the design as a starting point, and creating their own work.

This rose in red

And this one in gold

I liked this creative one, with stitched borders

There was such a variety in the Stitched Art section.  This one was lovely, showing the flora and fauna in the life of an "English Kiwi", with the beauty of butterflies, birds,  plants, and flags  from both countries.  

Two halves of a whole

And what is more Kiwi than a Kowhai tree in bloom

"I stitch, therefore I am",  we can all relate to that

How about a pair of embroidered boots?

There was a local club member, Robyn,  on duty so I stopped and chatted for a wee while.  I told her I do quilting, and  that the only embroidery I do is with the thicker number 5 Perle thread.  Look at this, she said, showing me what she was working on.  Robyn had found a length of damask type fabric in the  Op Shop, and she was embroidering over the design.  How clever, I would never have thought of that.

Robyn and her embroidery project

I really enjoyed the exhibition, admiring all that gorgeous tiny stitching.  And entry was free, so that was certainly a bonus.  From there I went and had some lunch, then pottered around the shops till it was time to board the bus.  And you wouldn't believe it, there was drama on  the homeward journey too.  A very large young man got the bus, and part way through the journey, the driver braked heavily, and the young man fell on the floor!  Not only that, but his seat was  twisted from the fittings and completely broken! He wasn't hurt, but I wondered if he had not been sitting straight, grabbed the seat, and wrenched it off when he started slipping off?

Christmas in July

 My Quilt Club meeting had a theme of Christmas in July.  We were shown how to make a folded Christmas Star, it seemed rather tricky to me.  And there was a special supper provided, that was much appreciated by the members.  The highlight of the evening to me was the special Christmas themed show and tell.  We were asked to bring a couple of Christmas items and talk about them - I took a Christmas table runner, and a Christmas quilt which had a particular memory for me.  What I found really interesting was that some of these things were made quite some time ago, and hold a very special place in the hearts of the now adult children in the family.  And if the Christmas items were not out on display each year, the visiting family wanted to know why!  It was so interesting having a close up look at everything on the tables and see exactly how they were put together.

Hand made Christmas items - I remember stitching one of those  fabric wreaths many years ago

 

I was intruiged with the white cable knitted wreath, never seen one like this before

There's plenty of bling on this Christmas tree

We were asked to help out with a Christmas project, stitching tiny Christmas felt stockings.  These will be hung on our club entry to the Avenue of Trees in December.  And as a really nice gesture, the pretty little stockings will then be removed from our tree, stuffed with a small chocolate bar, and then donated to the Food Bank.   We can decorate them however we want, and I took three sets home to work on.  

Red, white and green stocking to decorate

I've been thinking what to do, and made a start, but first I had to go to the LQS to purchase some red Perle No. 5 thread.  Luckily I already had green and white thread.  My idea is to buttonhole stitch around the stockings, but I really haven't had much experience in that.  Hopefully it will work out fine and I'll have more to show next time.

Ready to stitch those tiny stockings

And lastly, we were given a challenge, to stitch a bigger Christmas Stocking, and bring it back to the December meeting.  This will not be donated. but to keep for ourselves, or family.  Any colour, ideas, decoration, whatever we want to do, but it must be lined.  I'm looking forward to this challenge, and will make one for myself, as I've never had a Christmas Stocking.  Yes, I've been thinking about a few ideas for  this, and as it is a club challenge, it must be kept secret till the big reveal.  I'm looking forward to working on my very own Christmas Stocking.

Manawatu - Two Outings Today

 I did really well combining two outings to the Manawatu today.  Always a good thing with the way the price of fuel is these days.  So up SH1 I drove, turning off at Foxton and continuing along the road to Foxton Beach.  I was a little early so went down to look at the Foxton Estuary.  You may remember that I came on a bus trip here for senior citizens here recently to celebrate Matariki.  My little car did a good job of getting me there safely, as I looked out over the estuary.  I spotted some gulls paddling about on the water's edge.  This area is protected sanctuary for wading birds.

My trusty little Toyota Corolla

Manawatu Estuary - Ramsar Wetland of International Importance

There were several groups of people fishing, and I didn't think to ask what species they were hoping to catch.  Of course, fishermen take their sport very seriously, don't they.

How's the fishing going?

The real reason I was in the area was to catch up with the caravan club members for morning tea.  They were holding a weekend rally at the Manawatu Caravan Club grounds.  No dogs allowed at this camp, but as there was no mention of cats, we used to take Gemma caravanning here with us.  Not that she ever ran free, that wasn't allowed, but she was always happy to relax inside the caravan and snooze the weekend away.  It was just as well that I had the code number written down to lift the barrier arm up for entry into the grounds.

Manawatu Caravan Club 

It was quite a cloudy day, and morning tea was held inside the roomy hall, so we were nice and cozy.  It was a special occasion indeed as club members Maureen and Russell were celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary!  Seems that plans were in place for special celebrations in the evening.

Congratulations to Russell and Maureen

The club has gained several new members since my caravanning days.  But there were still plenty of friendly faces from earlier years, and it was nice to catch up with them all.

Maureen, Jenny and Dot

Then it was time to move on, saying goodbye, I got on my way.  The next outing was to meet up with my daughter Nicky for lunch.  And both granddaughters were coming too, so that was lovely.  I drove back from the beach to  Robert Harris Cafe in Foxton (town).  This is always such a busy place.  I was a little early so arrived first and grabbed a table for us all.  That gave me time to check out the menu, and look at the cabinet food - sadly I'm a real procrastinator in cafes!  What looks the nicest, I'm thinking.  I eventually decided on salmon roulade, Nicky had her favourite Eggs Benedict, and I can't remember what the girls ordered, as I forgot to take a photo of the food.  But we all managed to clear our plates, so the meals must have been rather good.  

I asked the nice young waiter if he could take a photo for me, and was he OK using a camera?  Lots of young people only use phones for photos and I've had someone before go and get an older person to help.  It was no trouble at all, he said, he knows all about cameras and has a business taking wedding photos.

Megan, Emma, Nicky and Jenny

We had a lovely lunch, the conversation covered lots of topics, horses of course, as both girls are keen riders.  And remembering Robin, which was so nice, Robin was their step-granddad.  After our rather long lunch we went out to the cars to swap what we had.  A small carry on bag for Robert, and a brand new "still in the package" fat quarter bag for Nicky that I had found tucked away in my sewing room.  And there was home grown citrus from Megan's trees for me, oranges, lemons and grapefruit, and an individual  pumpkin pie from Emma.

Oranges and lemons

More farewells and we went our separate ways.  There was just one more stop for me, Foxes Cottage was just down the road.  I was after some red Perle no 5 thread, for a slow stitching project.  Luckily they had what I needed, no need to browse for anything else, and off I went, heading homewards.  A  customer in the quilt shop stopped me to comment on my Scottish jumper, wasn't that nice.  

My only purchase, I was very restrained

So it was a lovely day indeed, catching up with caravan friends, and then enjoying a family lunch.  

Sew Wot Tuesday

We were out in the country this time for our Sew Wot Tuesday, meeting at Helen's home. Up the internal staircase we climbed, into the cozy sitting room, to find the log fire glowing nicely.  It was a fine, but chilly winter day.

That's a nice comforting sight

There was Sandra's birthday to celebrate, and the wrapped parcels were placed on the coffee table.  Don't they all look interesting?  Come on Sandra, time to get these gifts open so we can all  see what is inside!

Lots of goodies here

One by one, the cards were read, and the parcels opened.  Such an exciting array of gifts.  I know that the rest of us always get so much fun seeing the birthday girl open her gift packages!

And here they all are, plenty to admire

There was a lot of show and tell as well, those knitting needles had been getting a real work out.  Helen had knitted some baby garments in green and white for donation, and we oohed and aahed over the size of those tiny booties!

Made by Helen

Sandra had recently finished a pretty little apricot coloured baby jumper.  I like the double opening, making it easy to get over the baby's head.

Baby jumper made by Sandra

And Carol never disappoints, there is always her nicely presented baby knitting sets to show us, before they are sent away to the Neo Natal Ward.  Carol does most of her knitting in the evenings, she commented.  I can't manage that, as Gemma insists on jumping up and settling down on my lap in the evenings.  It's difficult to knit over the top of her, and keep those moving needles and wool away from her.  And of course, I wouldn't push her away, would I?

Carol's baby donation knitting

As well as finishing up those baby sets, Carol also had two donation quilts to show us.

This one in pretty 1930s fabrics

Simple blocks make great quilt designs

And I took along my recently completed teal draw string bags for foster kids.

My show and tell

Morning tea was extra special and Sandra was presented with a carrot cake cupcake with a candle.  She wasn't expecting that!

Happy Birthday, Sandra

Morning Tea is served

It was a lovely morning indeed, and we all enjoyed sharing Sandra's birthday celebrations.  We all went home with a little gift too.  Mary is very green fingered, and brought us all several baby lettuce plants all wrapped up nicely,  to take home and grow.  Thanks for that, Mary.  And many thanks to Helen, our hostess of the day.