Hello Teddies

 The teddy cushion panels have finally received the last of their big stitch quilting.  Not at all difficult, but this project got put aside more than once while I worked on other things.  I do find hand quilting nice and relaxing, especially doing big stitch quilting.   These pretty cushion panels came from the  Sew Wots who often bring along items looking for a new home to our get-togethers.  I gladly picked them up to take home, they will be perfect for cushions for the foster kids, I decided.  

I outlined the teddies with big stitch quilting

Then it was a simple matter to add a lining to cover my stitching, then add an envelope opening for the back.  I had recently purchased some cushion inners so they were all ready and waiting to be stuffed inside.   The teddy cushions will be donated to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and will be  handed out  as a Christmas gift for someone to cuddle.

Two teddy cushions

We all know that bears, and teddies too, are very fond of honey.  I wonder if they would like a taste of my lemon honey I made in the microwave this morning?  Mmmm, it's delicious!

Lemon honey, freshly made

 

A little purple stitching.

 I had a rummage through my "bag of bag bits" to see what I had tucked away in purple, I was sure there were a couple of suitable pieces of fabric just waiting to be found.  What's this, two orphan blocks in shades of purple, a small piece of alien fabric and a stripey floral.  So I gathered toning fabric for the backs plus some lining fabric and started cutting and pinning.  The bags turn out to be different sizes, depending on how big the piece of focus fabric is.  The orphan blocks were stitched first.  One was a leftover block from my Batik Beauty quilt, and I think the other one was sent to me by my pen-friend Carol, quite some time ago.  So it was good to use them both up.

A new life for left over blocks

Aliens came next, and I'm sure a young boy would like this to put his treasures in, then I completed the final bag, a pretty piece of lilac and yellow stripey floral.  Luckily I had enough suitable cord for these bags so didn't need to go out and buy extra.  So that is the bags done, nice and early  for September.

Last two purple bags

And keeping with the purple theme, I spotted these pretty little flowers growing outside in a pot.  I'm not much of a gardener and think these may be hyacinths.  but I could be wrong.  I'm pleased that they pop up and flower each year without any help whatsoever from me!

A pot of purple pretties

Trip to the Vet

It was time for Gemma's trip to the vet for her annual vaccination.  She has been very healthy all her life so this is the only time so goes for a visit.  I had to be a bit sneaky in the morning.  Gemma has her usual routine, get up, have breakfast, then a morning snooze.  I didn't want her getting in to her hidey hole in the cat tower since we were going out.  If  I went to pick her up by reaching right into the tower and she didn't want me too, she has been known to get rather hissy.  Cats always seem to know when the usual routine is different don't they.  So I shoved a couple of cushions into the tower to keep her out, and shut the sitting room door to keep her in the room - that should work.

Tricking the cat, keeping this area cat free

She settled down on the dining room chair, and was soon scooped up and put in her carry cage.  Then off to the vet we went, just a short drive.  She is no trouble in the car, and barely makes a sound.

Ready to go

Once inside the vet clinic, out of the cage and onto the consulting table, Gemma was not very brave at all, and buried her head against me while the vet checked her over, and gave her the vaccination.  "Would she like a treat?"  the vet asked, and put a couple down for her.  No way, Gemma wasn't going to be bribed, and couldn't climb back into her carry cage fast enough.  She is in excellent condition, with a great coat, I was told.  I commented that Gemma was now 8 years old.  Eight years, four months, and so many days, I can't quite remember the actual number, I was informed.  Obviously there is a running total of her age on the computer screen.  The consultation was quick, professional and went very smoothly, so we returned home in no time at all.  She gave herself a quick groom, and settled down, not too bothered by her trip to the vet, and happy to be back home again.

As Gemma now goes into the cattery if I go away. I need to show proof that she has been vaccinated.  She always has been,  of course, we would never have compromised on her health.  But I guess not everyone takes pet health care seriously.

I noticed there was a sign on the clinic door not to bring dead birds inside and had asked if this was a problem.  Not so far, I was told, but because that nasty bird flu had reached New Zealand and killed some birds, it will surely get worse over time.  The public have been advised not to pick up sick or dead birds, and also to stop feeding them in the garden, as that brings birds into close proximity.  I had recently put a seed cone outside for the birds over winter, but will not be repeating that till I have heard it is safe to do so again.

No more feeding the birds for a while

I have been spending a little time at the sewing machine, and knitting too, but nothing really to show just yet.  And made some more soup for lunch, broccoli and blue cheese soup, delicious.  It's rather green, so it's got to be good for me!

Slow Stitching, and Birthdays

 Today was a lazy Sunday at home, and after I had dealt with a few chores, I settled down with some slow stitching.  It's been a while since I worked on my teddy bear cushion covers.  It was nice to sit down and do some big stitch quilting around the bear, with a cuppa at hand.  Luckily Gemma didn't want to jump up on my lap, there wouldn't have been much room for her as well.  But she was quite happy having a nice comfy snoozy nap on the sofa.  That cat certainly knows how to while away the hours while she is snoozing!

Teddy Bear cushion covers

Both of my adult children celebrated their birthdays this week.  Son Michael lives in Christchurch, in the South Island, so I didn't see him, but had a nice telephone call to wish him happy birthday.  My daughter Nicky takes the whole week off work for her birthday, good on her.  I wouldn't have thought of that while I was working.  I took the bus up to Palmerston North and met her for lunch on Monday, so that was nice, and grand-daughter Emma has Sunday and Monday as her weekend, so joined us as well.  We went to Cafe Cuba which has been recently refurbished, great food and coffee.

Emma and Nicky

Nicky and me

My children were born way back in the mid 60s one year and four days apart, so I was a very busy young Mum indeed.  Some years ago I wrote a poem about this time, and would like to share this with you.  If poetry is not your thing, we'll say goodbye now.  

The Toddler and the Baby

With a toddler and a baby, going shopping's quite a feat

I tuck the baby in the pram and strap the toddler in the seat

With a heavy bag of shopping, food items that we need

I walk on home and then, it's time for baby's feed

With a toddler and a baby, I'm busy washing all the time

I hand wash little jumpers, and hang the nappies on the line

They both wear bibs at mealtimes, so there's plenty in the wash

Shirts and shorts and dresses, and little cotton socks

With a toddler and a baby, there's not a minute free

One is up, and one's asleep, I'm as busy as can be

With just twelve months between them, I'm on the go both night and day

But though my days are hectic, we still have time to play

The toddler and the baby, they fill my heart with joy

My precious baby daughter, and my handsome little boy

Do they know how much I love them, my little blue eyed pair

These children of my body, for them I'll always care.

Yellow RSC Sewing

I've been busy stitching yellow.  These  little drawstring  bags for foster kids were completed last week, but then I had to go and purchase some suitable coloured cords.  All done now.  The top two have motifs declaring "winner",  with a gold cup and laurel wreath, that's certainly different, and I received this fabric together with a whole heap more from my former neighbour Dorothy.    Then I stitched two bags for boys featuring trucks, tractors and diggers, and the last one with cute farm animals - these fabrics were donated to me recently.

Five yellow draw string bags

String blocks were also stitched, using a handful of assorted yellow strings.  Not quite enough, so I had to go hunting and cut a few more to give me the number I wanted.  I had decided on 20 blocks, to make a small cot quilt.  These were stitched on left-over tracing vinyl,  so I was pleased to use some more of that up too.  

20 blocks stitched

Once the blocks are trimmed they look so much better, don't they.  

I've just finished reading a book which I rediscovered tucked away in the book case, "There and Back" by Barry Crump, which tells about Sam Cash.  Sam is a teller of great yarns and tall stories, as he travels around the country finding a little work here and there to keep him in beer and before moving on to more adventures.  Barry Crump was a well known and much loved  Kiwi icon, a hunting, fishing, shooting type of bloke, and his writing career started in 1960 with his semi-autobiographical book "A Good Keen Man".  He continued to write 24 novels about the rugged New Zealand outdoors. 

There and Back, by Barry Crump

Sew Wot Tuesday

 There was another Sew Wot birthday to celebrate on Tuesday, this time Heather was the birthday girl.  We gathered at Carol's home, two of our ladies  couldn't make it, so it was a group of five this time.  Mmmm, I wonder what is in all these interesting parcels - we watched on as Heather duly opened each one.

Happy Birthday Heather

She received some bulbs and a plant for the garden, fabric, ironing spray, chocolate, a wind chime, and a pretty little plastic bin for the kitchen.  It's always so much fun to see what comes out of these wrapped gifts.

Only one show and tell item this time, it was my yellow dinosaur quilt made from an Op Shop duvet cover, with a cozy grey fleece backing.

My show and tell

There was a pile of quilt magazines brought along for us to browse through.  These were English mags, which I hadn't seen before, so I took a few home to peruse.  In the meantime we chatted away, most of us were knitting, I was working on my pink socks, and enjoyed each other's company.  

Morning tea was set out on the table, and look, a cream sponge with candles!  We all sung Happy Birthday to Heather.  The table was set with a very pretty soft blue quilt which Carol had recently finished.

Morning tea is served

Another lovely Sew Wot morning, many thanks to Carol for being the hostess this time.  Carol's husband arrived back home just before we departed, and he was reassured that we hadn't eaten all the food, there was plenty left for him to enjoy for lunch!

Heels - Done

 I always feel there is something quite magical about knitting heels on socks.  On my warm and cozy 12ply socks, these  heels are knitted in three stages.  First the reinforced heel flap, then turning the heel, and finally the gusset, picking up stitches each side to do the heel shaping.  Somebody really clever obviously worked out how to do do all this, and I'm in awe.    I have to sit quietly with my pattern, knit one row at a time reading the instructions, and carefully marking off each row in my notebook.  

Heels, done

I like to knit my socks two at a time, flat, on two needles, because there is no way I would even attempt those tiny double pointed needles, that seems much too hard for me.  And because both the foot and the leg parts are just straight knitting, it's really quite simple.  

Our weather has been quite nice recently, and there was a sprinkle of snow on the ranges behind us last week.

A sprinkle of snow

And then it all changed, with Mother Nature reminding us that it is still winter, and don't you forget it!  What a morning, rain blown by strong winds and cold temperatures.  Reports came through of wide spread power outages, not in my area, thankfully.    Strong winds and lightening strikes caused downed power lines in the South Island, with flights cancelled, and the interisland ferries maintained their sailings in the very rough sea conditions.   I always worry about our Arch Gola when the wind gets up, as I can hear it rattle and moan in the wind.  

It was a wet, windy, miserable day today

The storm seems to have passed by as the day wore on, hopefully it will be a much better day tomorrow.  It was a good day to stay hunkered down at home, luckily I didn't have to go anywhere.  I was nice and cozy, with tasty homemade soup for lunch, while the wind and the rain did their darndest outside.  Did a little stitching, some knitting, read some of my library book, a nice quiet day home, safe and sound.

Second RSC Dinosaur Finish

 My second funky dinosaur quilt is finished, this one has touches of yellow, the RSC colour chosen for the month.  I'm quite pleased how it turned out, and used up the last remaining pieces of dinosaur fabric.  I pinned it all together for quilting using some grey fleece for the backing.  Although the sandwhich was quite thick, I just took my time and didn't have and trouble with the stitching.

Machine quilting

There was a Stitching Day organised by the quilt club last week, and I decided that stitching down the binding would be a good job to do on the day.  The binding clips were all in place, and Gemma decided this was a comfy spot I made was just for her.  She certainly looks happy and content, doesn't she.

So cozy, thanks Mum

So then on the Stitching Day I sat and stitched the binding into place.  I do enjoy sewing the binding down, sitting quietly and stitch by stitch working away, turning the corners, and then, all done.  Mind you, it wasn't really quiet on the day, there was plenty of chatter going on, and wandering around the hall to see what the other ladies were working on.  Such a pleasant day, member Susan always makes some home made muffins to share for morning tea, and we take our own lunches too.  The day usually finished about 2.30pm.

Binding time

And here it is, all finished.  The quilt certainly is nice and snuggly with the fleece backing, and will be donated shortly.    

Dinosaurs with a touch of yellow

I got a real bargain at the Op Shop when I found this dinosaur duvet cover, these contain such a lot of fabric, and I only paid about $6 for it.  I cut it into blocks  to piece my original dinosaur quilt, and because I had so much fabric, decided to use it for the backing as well.  Plus there were enough pieces to stitch this second quilt too.

The original dino quilt

What's gone wrong now!

I have to admit that I have a problem when things go wrong in the house, such as appliances, or the computer.  Yes, I do tend to panic, probably because after many years of Robin tending to these sorts of blokey things, it now all falls on me.  What to do, who to call?  On Sunday I noticed a big puddle of water under the tub and washing machine,  after I had done a load of laundry earlier in the morning.  So out came a couple of towels  to mop it all up, and I wondered if the washing machine had died, or maybe it was a plumbing problem, who knows?  Everything came out from the tub cabinet, and the shelves were mopped up too.  What a mess, water everywhere.  On Monday morning I phoned the local appliance centre, they have a good name, and we have used them before.  A workman will be around at 2.00pm I was told, whew, that's quick, I thought.

Very prompt service

A nice young man came and checked the washing machine out.  It turned out there  a worn and damaged seal on the pipe which goes from the machine to underneath the tub which was leaking, and was easily replaced.  That's better than being told I needed to purchase a new washing machine.  So all my worry was for nothing, once again.

I peeked under the tub

After the pipe was replaced I gave the tub cabinet a wipe down and replaced all the bits and pieces which live there, laundry powder, cleaning products, that sort of thing.  The knitted selvedge mat which lives on the floor in front of the tub was sodden and needed washing, no problem, I've got a second one.  But...... it had a hole and I'd never got around to mending it, why didn't I repair it straight away, I asked myself.    So now was a good time to get on with fixing the hole, better late than never!

How did that happen?

Mmmm, what to do here?  This would be a bit difficult to knit the partial rows together.  So I found another selvedge strip, attached a safety pin to the end, and wove it in and out pulling those loops together.  There, done, and hardly noticeable.  It is now sitting in place on the floor in front of the laundry tub, the hole repaired, and looks fine.

 Selvedge mat in place

I checked back through earlier blogs to find that I started knitting  the selvedge mats in 2014 - that's quite a while ago!  It wasn't easy knitting at all, quite hard on my hands, but I persevered and made two.  And used up an awful lot of selvedges.  I got the idea from the very talented Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts. I loved seeing  all the different colours coming through, offset by the various neutrals.  I used up long lengths, and shorter selvedges too, whatever came to hand, stitching the ends together and wound it into several big balls.  

I started knitting these back in 2014

After all the excitement of the flood in the laundry, which is situated in the garage so didn't really do too much damage, it was nice to get some unexpected visitors pop in after the serviceman had been.  My niece Lisa, my late sister Kathleen's daughter, and Lisa's daughter Kate had come down to the Kapiti region for a long weekend, and called in on their way back to Hastings.

Lisa and Kate

The girls presented me with such a pretty little posy too.  Written on the card was "Dear Aunty Jenny, a little something from us to brighten your day".   Such a lovely thought, and yes indeed, my day certainly was made all the brighter.

A pretty posy of flowers

Baby Hats and Christmas Stockings

 Baby hats are great for evening TV knitting, and I finished these a wee while ago. Then they sat  till they were finally sewed up.  At last they are completed and have been donated to the church where I attend a monthly knitting group, for the Nest Collective group.  There is a Columbium refugee family with a new baby the church supports, I was told, and would I mind if the hats get passed on to them instead?  Not at all, whoever needs them.  One of the other knitting ladies had several pairs of knitted booties which will also be gifted to this family.

These little hats were knitted in acrylic I found in the Op Shop, but I'm not very happy with the results.  I'll use wool or wool blend next time, I think they will turn out nicer.   But I rather like the pattern with the little top knot, so will be knitting that again sometime.

Three little hats

I received a bag of Christmas Stockings from Jo (ButterZ) recently, so that was rather exciting.  The stockings and bands  were all cut out,  and the motifs have been fused on.  One stocking was almost complete,  and three others had the motifs partly stitched, using stranded cotton.  So I've done a little work on these four.

I don't have stranded cotton to finish the stitching, so I improvised and used sewing cotton (machine thread) instead.  I just needed to finish stitching around the bottom of the band on this one, and added a button. Doesn't that Christmas Pudding look delicious! I'm so pleased this one came almost complete so I will know how to attach the band and finish all the others now.

Just needed a little stitching on the band to finish.

The Peppermint stick had been started to be stitched down in the next one, so I found some similar red thread and got stitching, then did running stitch around the leaves and berries.

 This is a nice seasonal motif too

And lastly, I found two Gingerbread men who had been partially stitched down.  They are now completed, and I added eyes and mouth to each with my Pigma pen.  Mmm, don't know about those expressions, they look a little manic to me.  Are Gingerbread Men usually naughty or nice?

Two Gingerbread Men

This stitching whiled away a winter  afternoon at home.  I think my alternate threads used blended in well enough.  As my Mother used to say "A blind man will be pleased to see it".

I'll be using Perle No.5 thread from now on to work on the stockings, I've got plenty of different colours in my bag.   Some of the other motifs have already been stitched down, while the others have just been fused.  Guess I'll work on one stocking at a time, wish me luck.  I'm not planning to have them all finished  by this coming Christmas though, they will be done when they are done!

Fleur and Quilt Club Meeting

 Fleur, the Co-ordinator of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren was the guest speaker at my Quilt Club meeting the other evening.  It was interesting to hear about her role in this group, which she took on after she started raising her own grandchildren.  Fleur does a wonderful job and spoke about the challenges grandparents face, as they navigate the changes in their households when they take on their own grandchildren to live with them.  And supporting them through the legal and benefit issues too, which can be daunting when you don't know what to do, or what government department to go to for help.  She also arranges monthly social get togethers, I'm sure that would be very helpful to know you are  not alone.   Sandra, President of our quilt club, Town and Country Quilters, presented Fleur with six children's quilts to be passed on to her families.

Fleur, from GRG, with Sandra

 I've often mentioned GRG and have met with Fleur from time to time over several years, to give her  quilts and draw string bags I had made for her to pass on to children.   As Fleur was leaving with her big bundle of quilts, I took along some more goodies I had out to her car for her, which were my own personal donations.  Two quilts, and a bunch of bags, all stitched during RSC this year. 

Quilts and bags

And do you remember the Snow People I was trying to make earlier this year?  I rather enjoyed stitching their felt clothing, and then the project came to a standstill.  My daughter Nicky made and stuffed the body parts for me, but then I had no idea how to attach the head and arms.  I was all set to dispose of them and a lovely lady from my craft group took them off my hands, finished them, and passed them back to me, I was so grateful.  Mother, Father, and Baby Snow Family went home with Fleur too, she will pass them out to children at Christmas time.

These happy faces will each have a new home with a child very soon

Several months ago I completed a quilt for each of Fleur's grandchildren, after she told me they didn't have one of their own.  I felt that they really deserved their own special quilt each.

Our quilt club members were so impressed with Fleur and GRG that we have decided to gather up some suggested items in need over the next few months,   such as colouring books and pencils,  toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpaste, hankies, that sort of thing.   Then Fleur can distribute items to the children at Christmas.  There are about 90 families that she helps, many more than I realised.

A lot of us quilters all over the world make charity quilts, so it is nice to know these things are going to children in need, and are appreciated.

Sew Wot Tuesday

 I welcomed the Sew Wot ladies at my home on Tuesday, with one apology.  The heat pump was going, to keep us nice and cozy.  Gemma was on the welcoming committee too, checking out all the interesting bags placed on the floor and beside the seats, and enjoying all the pats she received.  Quite often, she can be stand-offish with visitors, but this time she was really lapping up all the attention she was getting.  

Gemma with Sandra and Carol

There was quite a bit of knitting for show and tell.  Mary had been knitting up a storm and had made a pair of socks, and two sets of fingerless gloves.  Her hands were really feeling the cold this winter, she commented, so those gloves will certainly do the trick, keeping her warm.

Mary's socks and gloves

Carol had completed another baby set to be donated to the Neo Natal Ward, comprising of a vest, hat and booties knitted in teal coloured wool, with lemon details.  

Baby set by Carol

And there was more donation knitting by Sandra, a pretty blue jumper, and a cozy red cardigan.  Both very nice indeed, and will keep some youngsters nice and warm.

Sandra's knitting

And I had my recently completed donation quilt to show, string pieced blocks with burgundy batik sashing.  This will be passed on very soon.

My donation quilt

Heather had brought along a pile of quilting magazines, so we spent a little time checking them out, and taking a few which appealed to us.  I offered to take the left over mags down to the Op Shop the next time I go, to save Heather taking them back home again.  Mary was doing some blanket stitch, so I had a look at how she did it, for when I get started on the donated Christmas Stockings.  Will I remember though?  I will probably need to sit down with her again, thread and needle in hand, to make sure I know exactly how to go about it.  Maybe at the next Sew Wots morning.

Morning tea was served, tea and coffees made, thanks Sandra for your help.  As usual, we had plenty to chat about, as the morning progressed.

Morning tea time

It was so nice to welcome everyone, and be the hostess for the morning.  Then in two weeks time, we will meet up again.

Waving the Flag

 This little corgi is waving the flag for Great Britain.  I had stitched three of these, and made two into place mats for my corgi owning grand-daughter as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago.  Why I stitched the third one, I've got no idea.  But I found it hiding in a basket full of stuff recently and thought it was time  I did something with it.

So I decided to make myself a new apron and use the corgi stitchery as a pocket.  I've got lots of aprons, but some are getting rather tatty and should be replaced, so a new one is a good idea.  Full disclosure, I'm a messy cook, and always use an apron when I'm cooking.

Included in a recent parcel of donated fabric was a length of red and navy checked fabric.  I would have preferred to make the apron a little wider, but was working with what I had.  A simple sew, with the pocket stitched on the right hand side, and purchased red tape for the straps.

My new apron

Another recently finished project was a winter cowl neck top, made from cream stretch fabric with a little wool in the mix.  Many years ago I used to do "Knit Wit" stretch sewing, it was very big here in New Zealand and Australia in the 80s and early 90s.  I'm not sure if  this franchise made it's way to overseas countries as well.  There must be former Knit Wit ladies out there, I'm sure.  Luckily I had some stretch machine needles to use, and remembered to pull the fabric slightly while sewing.

New winter top

When my grand-daughter pulled down some crates from the loft for me a wee while ago, there were two full of stretch fabric that I had almost forgotten about.  Some I will use, there are a couple of pretty lengths to make new summer nighties, some I have already sent to the Op Shop, and goodness knows what I will do with the rest.  Years ago I got rid of most of my patterns, just have a couple left.

The Polar blast has moved away, the temperatures are slightly warmer, but it is still winter here, of course.  Rain is forecast now.  Winter weather is not so bad for retired people who don't have to brave the winter weather too much, and at much more civilised hours than workers.  But I can remember my working years, out of the house by 6.30am, travel by bus and train from Upper Hutt to Wellington, work all day then repeat the trip home.  Always traveling in the dark during the winter months, and coming home to a cold house, light the fire, cook a meal, and repeat.    Life is certainly so much simpler now.