Knitting and Mending

 I've got three things on the knitting needles at the moment, no socks though, but I'm concentrating on a light summer top I'm making for myself.  For this I'm using some pretty pastel knobbly sort of yarn I found in the local op shop (thrift store). 

 I only have four balls so it's been a bit of an adventure to see just how far it was going to go.  Not too far at all, as it turned out, so I had to purchase  some balls of pale pink cotton yarn to eke it out in stripes.  After knitting part of the back four times in various widths of stripes, I've settled on two rows knobbly and two rows plain, so I know I will have enough to finish this project.   Finally I'm on the right track with this project,  so will just keep on knitting.  

Soft and pretty for summer

And after such a long time of procrastination, I have finally dealt with the mending.  First up was a small lumbar cushion which had a hole in the corner of the velveteen cover.  Not actually a hole, as it turned out, just the seam had come undone.  So that was an easy fix, the seam was restitched, the cover was washed, and it is now looking as good as new and I'll be able to use it again.

Then I had to fix the neckline of a summer top, which was too loose, which  I can't abide.  I threaded some shirring elastic through the top of the back neck band to pull it in a little and secured it.  Now it fits so  much better and doesn't slip off my shoulder.  And it didn't take too long to fix, either.

The last one was an alteration  - I had a pretty dress purchased ages ago from Hilo Hatties in Hawaii, which was also much too loose in the top.   I was heavier back then.  This dress has been residing in the back of the wardrobe for quite some time, lonely and forlorn, and needed a new lease of life, I decided. Out came the scissors, I chopped the bodice off,  made a simple elastic waist band, and now I have a new summer skirt to wear.  I've got a couple of tops I can wear with my new skirt.  Once again, I wondered why completing these simple fixes took me so long.

All the way from Hawaii

Gemma doesn't care much for mending, although she will happily jump on my lap when I'm knitting, and I have to quickly gather it all up.    Luckily she settles down to snooze and so I can get on with knitting a few more rows.  Here she is after I disturbed her looking out the window - she's always on the lookout for birds.  When she sees then hopping about on the lawn she focuses on them, making funny little chirpy noises.  I'm sure she is saying, "I really, really want to catch you, but I'm stuck inside  and you are outside hopping about".

Don't bother me, I'm busy trying to look for birdies.

A Week of Blues

 With blue being the RSC colour for January, there certainly was plenty of blue in my week.  I have  added another RSC to the mix.  You may remember that I stitch up draw string bags for foster children from time to time - they use them for toiletries, pencils, or to keep treasures in.  There is a big bag sitting by my sewing machine on the floor, stuffed full of small pieces of fabrics, lining, and cords.  Any interesting small pieces of fabric which I think might be suitable gets put away, as well as random quilt blocks.  Why not use the RSC monthly colour prompts to get stitching bags again, I thought.

A bag full of bag makings

So I went looking for blues, and found pieces to make 8 bags.  They were mainly dark blue, but that doesn't matter at all.  There are trains, baskets, fish, sailing ships, a random happy block, colourful rectangles, and nails of many hues.  When I purchased this fabric quite some time ago I thought it was full of pencils, but no, they turned out to be nails, which just goes to show that you see what you expect to see.  And not forgetting the jandals - summer beach footwear, also known as thongs overseas.  Not here in New Zealand though, thong is the word we use for those rather skimpy undies! I'll continue making these bags each month if I have fabric of the selected colour.

Eight blue draw string bags

My favourites, the jandal bag, and Thomas the Tank Engine's friends

I've done as much as I can on my secret heart project - need to purchase some border fabric next.  So I've shifted my attention to the second half of this project, the stars.  These need sashing, I've made a start so I'll keep stitching away.

Blue stars

And how about this for a beautiful blue creation?  Vicky from our Creative Crafts group  has finished her gorgeous blue coat, a one of a kind original.  She has done couching, and applique, adding all sorts of beads, threads, ruffles etc to show an undersea wonderland with the seagulls circling in the blue sky above.  She is happy  for me to show the photo on my blog.

Wow, this coat is amazing

I've been to the movies again, this time  to see "Song Sung Blue".  This tells the true story of a pair of out of work singers who meet and become a Neil Diamond Tribute band.  The music was amazing, I was sitting engrossed enjoying the story, their stage performances,  and the songs, when bang, tragedy struck them.   I won't tell you the rest of the story in case you want to see the film.   If you love Neil Diamond music, I certainly recommend this film, it is the best one I've seen in ages.  

Song Sung Blue

There was a sadder "blue" happening this week.  Robin's brother Gary had died just before Christmas and I attended his memorial service mid week.  That was certainly sad, Robin's passing was mentioned, and there were family photos of him in the photo tribute, so there were plenty of tears seeing his image up on screen.  Gary was four years younger than Robin, and they died twelve months apart.

A Rainy Day in Summer

 I awoke to rain, rain and more rain today.  It's the middle of summer so why so much rain?  But as everyone says, it's got to be good for the farmers, and the home gardeners too.  It was raining so hard that the rain drops were running down the window, and Gemma was fascinated with the movement.  Perhaps she can catch one of these things, whatever they are.  But try as she might, those little critters, as she thought, just kept rolling down the window, oblivious to her paw batting away, trying to catch them.  

She can't catch the raindrops

I went up town to have morning tea with an old friend, and yes, it was still training hard.  When I had just parked the car, there was a knock on the window.  A lady informed me that my petrol cap was open.  Oops, I had put fuel in the car the other day and obviously had forgotten to close and lock it.  Over the last year, I have been using petrol vouchers for fuel. Robin had been given quite a few in appreciation of a voluntry  job he had done for a number of years, and for this fill I had just used the last of them.  So it will be back to paying with  the credit card from now on.  

Just used the last of the vouchers

I went inside to the cafe and awaited for my old school friend Robyn to arrive.   There was plenty to catch up on since I'd last seen her, and we enjoyed a hot coffee and something nice to eat.  Not that I needed anything to eat, and I keep reminding myself that when I'm out for coffee.  We said our goodbyes and then the next stop was the adjacent library.  What's this - quilts on display.  My club, Town and Country Quilters, had a display of smallish quilts, there wasn't any space for any big bed quilts here.  Hopefully, this display will attract a few new members, our membership had fallen during Covid and lock downs and hadn't recovered.

Members quilts at the library

Time to head home for lunch, and the rain was still falling.  If it's raining, I tell myself, it must be soup time.  I always have some tucked away in the freezer, for a soup emergency, and I had defrosted a container that morning.  Yummy soup for lunch. this one was creamy cauliflower, zucchini and golden kumara.  Just what I needed.

Soup for lunch

It will be a quiet afternoon for me, tucked up snug and cozy as the rain continues to come down.  Maybe I should get on to the job of mending a couple of items needing attention.  Why oh why do I keep putting these small jobs off?  I know it won't take to long once I get started.  Perhaps you are the same?

Blue for January, and Fred Dagg

 Blue is the colour chosen for January for those of us taking part in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC).  As I've got a multitude of UFOs from taking part in previous years RSC I was in two minds whether to start any new blocks this year or not.  But we all know how that turned out, I just couldn't help myself.  I had seen a scrappy quilt top on Lou's blog, and thought, why not.  Just a simple square, bordered on two sides, so it makes a zig zag line when the blocks are stitched together.  Thanks Lou.

I had found several long strips of 5in wide white fabric scattered with tiny pale blue flowers.  That would make a pretty little baby quilt, I decided, so found some blue floral scraps to edge the the blocks with.  

Baby blocks

But why stick with one block set when you can  make two?  This one utilises a rescued duvet cover featuring rather cool looking dinosaurs with sun glasses and head phones.  These blocks are cut larger, and I stitched four in blue.  I plan to  use solids or near solids for this one.

Dinosaurs

That didn't take me too long, so then I got to work on the blue heart blocks I'm making for a secret quilt, and stitched around each block.  That's one step further on, I'm pleased to say.

Hearts all stitched down

I had a trip to the movies last week to see all about the life of comedian John Clarke.  Kiwis and Aussies know all about his character  Fred Dagg, the iconic Kiwi sheep farmer, but I'm not sure how far his fame had spread world wide.  His signature clothing of black singlet, shorts, floppy hat and gumboots are forever enshrined in Te Papa Museum in Wellington.  He left New Zealand at the height of his fame to live in Australia and became a well loved comedian, writer and satirist over there.

Fred Dagg

The weather has been quite hot lately, and will get even hotter, due to high temperatures wending their way  from Australia.  The Met Service is giving heat alerts for some areas - I don't remember this happening before.  This is what Gemma thinks of it all - there is nothing for it but to stretch out full length on the carpet and try to cool her tummy down!

Gemma says "I'm so hot"

Chookshed Challenge

 The Chookshed Challenge is up and running again for 2026.  As I had quite good success with this challenge last year, I decided to join in again.  Can I find 10 projects to list?  Of course I can!  Here's what I've found to work on this year.

1.    Strings.  I've got bags full of strings, sorted into colours plus a whole heap of neutrals.  I want to get rid of some of them at least.

2.    Frilly apron - my adult granddaughter had asked for one of these sometime ago.

3.    Blue/lemon 9 patch baby quilt.  Top done, ready to be quilted.

4.    Play mat panel.

5.    Baby animals cot quilt.  Top done, another awaiting quilting.

6.    Strings.  Yes, again.  If I don't deal with these strings they will be chucked out.

7.    H S Triangles - there is a bag of these from another project waiting to be dealt with.

8.    Pillow cases.  The fabric is ready and waiting, I've been wanting to try making these for ages.

9.    Blue Rail Fence - some blocks done, so it's a start.

10.   Burgundy Log Cabin.  This stalled project was on my list last year and never got worked on.

That's my list of 10, let's see how it goes.  Number 3 has been chosen this month.  The top is completed, layers pinned, and the binding made.  Let's get stitching!

Ready for quilting, baby quilt and binding

Blue Hearts and Stars, and Contentment

 Of course, I'm keen and eager to join in with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC)  once again.  Blue is the colour for January, I must have known that as I've made a great start on sewing blue blocks already during the last month.   This is another secret project, and I don't think the recipient reads my blog. but maybe she does.  So I'll keep the details close until I have the grand reveal sometime later.

Blur hearts and stars

I've made a good start, and have completed all the star blocks.  The hearts have all be traced, cut, and fused, and now need to be stitched onto the background.  There was lots of rather old visoflix in my stash, which I was pleased to use up.  But of course, not quite enough, so now I've purchased some new stuff, which isn't coming away from the backing paper as before, so much easier to use.  I'll continue working on these blocks during January.  Still a way to go, but I'll get there, one step at a time.

I'm sure some of you watch Kate, from "The Last Homely House".   I really enjoy her vlogs, and she has such a nice way of chatting away, talking about this and that, as if we were friends together.  And in a way we all are, as we sit together on her lime green sofa, which goes right around the world.  Regular viewers will know exactly what I'm talking about.  

The reason I'm mentioning Kate is that in her New Year Vlog she decided that instead of wishing all her viewers a Happy New Year, she would wish us contentment instead.  That thought really resonated with me, as I don't feel at all happy with losing the love of my life, and I never will.  I'm not happy that my life has changed so drastically either.  But maybe I can work towards feeling more content - in my home, doing what I enjoy, being in the company of good friends, and reflecting back on happy times the two of us shared together.  Yes, that might be the answer.