How many RSC Projects? And a special birthday.

 I thought it was time for an update on the collapsed wardrobe fittings.  You may remember that I had to get a workman around when the wardrobe rails came away from the wall and had to be replaced.  But first I had to take everything out of the wardrobes.  The back bedroom/sewing room wardrobe was the most difficult, with everything from winter coats, crates full of whatever, and innumerable bags of projects.  So much stuff!  And it all spent quite a bit of time on the floor of my sewing room.  It wasn't easy, but I managed to still sit and stitch at my sewing machine, surrounded by all that clutter.

There are piles of it

Where to start?  I really wanted to check through those crates and  bags so I knew what was there before putting them all back in the wardrobe.  I started with the multitude of jackets, I had forgotten that Robin had so many tucked away.  Six were donated to the lady who deals with refugee families, and she was delighted to take the men's jackets off my hands.  A couple more were donated to the Op Shop, and Grandparents raising Grandchildren were happy to take two bright yellow vinyl rain jackets for their older boys.  Plus  I sold an oilskin, warmly lined sleeveless vest, practically new,  from Robin's 4 wheel driving off road club days.  It had been many years since he had belonged to that club, and we had  certainly enjoyed some fun trips driving up in the hills with the group.

Two crates were quickly replaced  in the wardrobe, one with batting, and the other holding quilt backings, flannels and fleece.  That was easy, but what about these other crates?  I pulled everything out and looked in the various bags, finding some long forgotten projects tucked away.  One crate now contains groups of fabrics, not yet started - you know how we often have ideas for future projects and gather things together.

Projects not yet started

Into another crate went another lot of bags, these contained block sets waiting to be constructed.  Most of these are Rainbow Scrap Challenge  (RSC) monthly blocks from previous years - Happy blocks, framed four patches, Hollow nines, string pieced blocks.  Also some appliqued scotty dogs, and another bag of appliqued butterflies I had worked on.  It was so easy to stitch these blocks each month, and then they got left.

A whole lot of RSC block sets

There were plenty of  finished quilt tops in various places  these are now residing on the spare chair in front of the wardrobe.  A couple are pinned up, ready to quilt, others have the backing folded up with them, and I had planned ahead and  made the bindings for several of these quilt tops too.  

Waiting to be quilted

You may remember that I have often stitched simple draw string bags for kids in foster care.  I found a bag full of bits and pieces to turn into bags, colourful kids fabrics and linings, pigs, monsters, lots of novelty fabrics here.  There are probably enough for about 20 small bags here.

A bag full of bag makings

So..... where to from here?  I've decided I'm not going to count up all these projects waiting for me, I really don't want to know the answer.  First of all I'm going to make three children's quilts for a special family, more about that later when I've finished them.  I've still got a quilt to make for my  great niece from her beloved Pop's clothes - I made one for her brother earlier in the year.  And I have two big bed quilts of my own I'd like to finish one day.

After the three special quilts are done I've decided that I'll start on this bag, the first one pulled from the crates and examined.  It contains string pieced blocks, and chickens, both long forgotten.  And I'll leave the bag full of draw string bag pieces out and work on two or three regularly in between other projects.  

Chickens and string pieced blocks

Then I think I'll alternate between machine quilting and piecing blocks together.  Guess the point is not to get too stressed out about it all.  

I did sell some special fabric online.  Who can remember the pretty Flower Fairy range from many years ago?  I purchased some to make my granddaughters a quilt, but they were both much more interested in horses than fairies.  I also had two Laurel Birch fancy cat panels, that was snapped up too.  And as I find it too difficult to take my heavy Bernina to classes these day, I was happy to let my Bernina trolly case go to a new home.    So at last the repair and tidy up of the wardrobe is complete, thank goodness, it has certainly been a bit of a challenge.

Yesterday was my beloved Robin's birthday, he would have been 78.  That was a sad day for me, and yes, there were tears shed.  As everyone knows after a death, there is a year of "firsts".  First Christmas, first birthday without him, and then my birthday and our wedding anniversary to come.  Friends have been kind and thoughtful with messages, so that was very nice.  It's not the same without you, Robin.

NIcky's BIrthday Quilt

 My secret sewing is completed, I've finished and gifted the birthday quilt to my daughter Nicky for her 60th birthday.  Nicky had quite specific ideas for her birthday quilt, nothing sharp and spiky such as stars, she wanted 9 patches.  And in pinks and greens.  I could do that for her.  I had started the quilt some time ago, gathering up fabrics in the required colours, cutting and assembling the nine patch blocks.  In between times of course I stitched away at other projects and challenges.

Slowly the blocks were completed.  I stitched pink nine patches with a centre green square, and green nine patches with a pink centre square.  Webbing them together, I assembled the top.  What about the border, I pondered, and decided on a curvy ric rac with appliqued flowers and leaves.  That was a bit of a disaster, I didn't have enough ric rac!  All those curves were using up much more of the trim than I had calculated.  There was nothing for it but to drive down to Pete's Emporium in Porirua and hope they still had it in stock.  Luckily they did, so I purchased some more, and stopped off at a local cafe for a coffee and cheese roll as a reward, and thanking my lucky stars it all worked out.

I'd run out of this

Then I set to work on the borders, cutting out flowers and leaves, and then machine appliqueing them in place.  Gemma checked them out for me, she is such a big help.

Mmm, what's this, flowers and leaves.

The applique took me quite a while, then at last the top was finished and I dropped it around to get it commercially quilted.  But there was a problem, Deborah wasn't happy with the ric rac on the borders and was worried that the foot on her long arm would get tangled up on it.  The weeks were ticking by, and I was getting concerned about the timing.  Luckily Jacqui took the job on for me instead, and sketched out what she planned to do in the blocks, sashings and borders, all free hand guided quilting.

One step closer, quilt top and backing

I got the quilt back in time, and got on with the binding, stitching it on by machine, then turning it to the back and hand stitching it down.  I really enjoy this part, knowing I'm almost at the finish line.

Binding time

I used a pretty doiley for the label

So here it is, all finished.  I'm thrilled with it, and Jacqui did such wonderful quilting, it really makes the quilt come alive.  It's  on my bed while I took some photos before it was packed up and given to my daughter.  There were spare blocks so I made two cushions as well.

Not too bad, she's thinking

Last week the quilt was packed up into a bag, and traveled with me on the bus to Palmerston North.  These twice weekly off peak buses are great, and are free to oldies like me.  I really appreciate them as it saves me driving up there.    Nicky had taken her birthday week off work and met me at the bus terminal.

Birthday gift for Nicky

She had a quick peek in the blue bag, then put the bag in her boot to take back home.  Morning tea was first on the agenda, I was looking forward to a coffee by this stage,  then a little shopping to get some necessary items, and before we knew, it was time for lunch.  This was a "new to me" place that Nicky sometimes goes to.  I enjoyed some yummy prawns, and another cup of coffee.

My lunch

By this stage it was time for her to drop me back to get the bus home.  It was a lovely day out, catching up with my daughter and delivering her gift, spending time together and enjoying a tasty lunch.

A busy Weekend

Saturday was quite a busy day.  The caravan club was spending the weekend at the Manawatu Caravan Club grounds, and I drove up to join them for morning tea, about a half hour drive away.  It was lovely to catch up with everyone, and as a bonus, one of the member's was celebrating a birthday so cake was provided.  The weather was fine and clear, cold overnight and frosty in the morning.

Joining the caravan club for morning tea

I left the camp ground after morning tea, and drove up to Sanson, another half hour drive away, to meet my daughter Nicky for lunch.  This time, we were trying a "new to us" cafe.  The Church Cafe, as the name suggests, was a former church, and has a lovely calm ambience.

The Church Cafe

With paneled walls, and wooden tables and chairs, it was a warm, cozy and peaceful place to enjoy our lunch.    I had some tasty leek and potatoe soup, and Nicky enjoyed a bowl of wedges.  And with coffee to follow, of course.

Inside The Church Cafe

We had plenty to chat about, what we had been up to, and our sewing projects.  Although Nicky doesn't do quilting, she is a keen dressmaker and creates one of a kind outfits for herself.  And we had things in the boot to swap over when we departed, Nicky had some fruit for me, and I gave her some fabric she had shown an interest in, plus a big bag of coathangers.

On my drive back home I stopped off at Fox's Cottage, my favourite local quilt shop.  I needed another lot of batting, it's interesting how much of this gets used when you are making donation quilts.  And I spoke to Jackie in the shop, who will be free hand quilting my secret birthday quilt for me.

Fox's Cottage

Last stop on the way home was to top up the fuel on my trusty Corolla, I don't like to let the fuel tank get too low.  It was a good day out.

On Sunday I took myself off to the local movies, I was keen to see Jurassic World.  There were only about 8 patrons in the theatre at lunch time, not that it mattered, as we were all engrossed in the unfolding story.  The storyline is "An exhibition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a ground breaking medical breakthrough".  A family group gets rescued by the exhibition when their boat is overturned by one of the prehistoric sea creatures, and they end up on the island too.  Surround sound in the theatre made the roars seemingly coming at me from all sides, as the dinosaurs wrecked havoc on the visitors to the island, tracking them, tossing them in the air, and chewing them up!  It was a lose yourself in the moment sort of movie, and yes, I did enjoy it.  

The Keeper of the Quilt

 My niece Lisa called in for a visit the other day when she was passing by on a holiday trip.  I had asked her if she would like to become the "keeper of the quilt".  This is a family quilt, one I made for my mother for her 80th birthday back in 2002.  I had sent pieces of fabric out to everyone and asked them to write, embellish, or embroider something of themselves as a message to go on the 80th birthday quilt.   It was exciting to see all the individual blocks being returned. Lisa was delighted to take the quilt into her safe keeping.

Lisa and the family quilt

There were blocks from us four siblings, two son in laws, and all the grandchildren, and a very special nephew.  The youngest grandchild had his baby hand traced.  I added extra blocks in the names of my mother's sisters.  There were several photos printed on fabric, a special one of my grandmother who sadly died when my mother was about 8 years old or so.  The largest photo is of my mother and hung in the family home when I was growing up.  And underneath are three smaller photos of her over the years.

The 80th Birthday Quilt

I really enjoyed putting this together and making extra blocks to fill in spaces as required.  We had a family get together for this special birthday, and the quilt was presented.  All those very special family blocks were inspected, oohed and ahhed over, and admired.  

Sadly, as often happens, this quilt was deemed "too good to use" and was folded up and put away.  Many thanks to Lisa for taking care of the quilt now, and she told me she plans to use it and snuggle under it.  That's a nice thought, knowing that Lisa will be surrounded by all those family members, some have passed away and all the little ones are now well grown up.

And now, 23 years later, I will be turning 80 this year.  Goodness me, how did that happen?

Six Months On, and a Poem

 Yesterday was six months since I lost my beloved husband Robin, six months of trying to come to terms with my loss, and living my life without him.  Quite honestly, I had a miserable day, tearful and upset, and thinking back to that awful day.  Yes, I have lots of memories, lots of good times to reflect on, but I still look over to his empty chair and empty pillow and wish he was still here with me.  

Friends and family have been kind and supportive, and people often ask, "how are you?"  I wrote a poem recently to express how I feel when I'm asked this question.

I met a friend for coffee, in a cafe yesterday

She looked at me and asked, how are you today?

Asking me that is a trigger, shall I tell the truth this time?

My life has changed forever, and I'm anything but fine

Can't you see that I am hurting, I think inside my mind

I'm full of grief and sadness, and I'm crying all the time

But she doesn't need to hear that, so I turn to her and say

I'm fine thanks, and you, how are you today?

So please don't look at me with pity and ask me how I am.  Any one who has suffered a bereavement, has had earth shattering medical news, is going through cancer treatment, or is dealing with any number of ongoing personal problems can't or won't tell you how they are really feeling.  I'm doing the best I can, but some days are harder to get through than others.  It would be so much nicer to be greeted with, "Hi, it's so nice to see you again".

ICA Rally, Wanganui

Lunch at Viv's Kitchen

On Sunday  I met my daughter Nicky for lunch at Viv's Kitchen at Sanson.  It was a rather cool rainy day, but no wind luckily for the drive up there, a 100km round trip.  Viv's Kitchen is very popular and has a 50's vibe.  The young waitresses are dressed in full skirts, and the cafe looks just like a version of Happy Days.  Where's the Foz?  We ordered lunch, and I couldn't go past a Southland Cheese Roll, delicious.  Viv's Kitchen is famous for their Cream Horns, not that I ordered one.  No, I was after one of the giant chocolate eclairs and took one home for supper.

No photos of the two of us, but there were several interesting ones on the walls that needed investigating.  How about this one?  Guess there has been some out of control little darlings visiting the cafe, who haven't been taught how to behave.

And this one had an interesting story.  That's a placemat from Viv's Kitchen taken to Gracelands, and look, the pink cadillac belonging to Elvis!

Going to visit Gracelands was on our Bucket List, but sadly that won't be happening now.  Can you guess I'm a great Elvis fan?  I've been smitten ever since I heard him singing "Love me Tender" way back when.

I love Elvis

We had a nice lunch together, and the place was really filling up with customers, so it was getting rather noisy all around us.  Maybe it's time to try another Sanson cafe next time, there is another local one based in a church building nearby which looks interesting.

Out in the carpark when we were ready to leave we had a bit of a swap going on.  I had a couple of items for the granddaughters, and Nicky gave me a large pumpkin.  Mmm, I can see some pumpkin soup simmering away before too long.  

And I received a pleasant surprise when a lady customer walked past me in the car park and remarked "I do like your dress".  Goodness me, how often does that happen?  What a nice compliment.

What's on the Table?

 There is a pretty hand embroidered tablecloth gracing the table this time.  Lovely floral embroidery worked on linen.  I collected this pretty cloth from my MILs linen cupboard after she had passed away.  I really didn't want it to end up in an Op shop and wanted to give it a good home.

I'm not sure who worked on this cloth.  As far as I know, Robin's mum Bonnie didn't do needlework.  I suspect it may have been passed down from her own mother, Robin's grandmother.  Bonnie already had some things from her mother, pretty plates and cutlery.  Whoever made it, I'm delighted to give it a new home, and enjoy using it, especially as it seems likely there is a family connection.

Embroidered table cloth

Day out - Mt Lees Reserve

 Not quite a caravan trip, but the next best thing.  I went to visit the caravan club who were away for the weekend at Mt Lees Reserve.  On the way  I stopped off at the very popular Lewis Farms to buy some strawberries.  These are grown in huge tunnel houses so the growing season seems to last for ages.  I bought myself a nice hot coffee too before I continued on my drive north.

Yummy strawberries from Lewis Farms

I arrived at Mt Lees Reserve in time for morning tea, just as well I remembered to pack my folding camping chair for the trip.  Delicious Easter buns were passed around, yummy, and we sat outside in a circle enjoying the pleasant weather.  It was good to catch up with everyone, it's been a while since I have seen them.

The caravan club at Mt Lees Reserve

After morning tea I asked Owen if he might be able to change the clock in my car for  me, now that daylight saving time has ended.  He called up U Tube on his phone and listened carefully while a heavy accented man told him how to go about it, it wasn't easy but after a couple of tries Owen finally got it done.  I thought it might be helpful if I could find the car manual book for him.  But it was nowhere to be seen, although I did find a bundle of petrol vouchers tucked away that I didn't know were there, so that was a bonus.  Mt Lees Reserve is a very pretty place with native forest and very popular with walkers, families and people exercising their dogs.

Lovely surroundings

Then we all drove to Feilding for lunch, to the very busy Rose Bowl Cafe, a place I hadn't been to before.  Most of us ordered from the menu, and there was a huge range of cabinet food available too, plenty of choices to suit all tastes.  I chose a bacon and avocado sandwhich, very tasty indeed.

Rose Bowl Cafe

My daughter Nicky arrived, so we said our farewells to the club members, and moved on to another local cafe to spend an hour or so with her.  By this time I was all coffeed out so ordered a nice tasty honey and ginger drink while we sat and chatted about this and that.  Before we parted company I gave Nicky a punnet of strawberries and she had a bag of feijoas for me.  Not everyone likes the taste of feijoas, but I love them.  They can be eaten raw, and are also nice as stewed fruit - in the past I have also made feijoa jam.

Feijoas are in season

It was a pleasant day out meeting up with the caravan club members again, and then catching up with Nicky.  My little car performed well, it was about 130km for the round trip.  Gemma was pleased to see me when I finally returned home in the late afternoon, and was looking for a cuddle.  Perhaps it's time for her dinner, she was thinking.  No, it was a little early, so I gave her a few treats to nibble on instead.

The Birthday Quilt

I've been working hard to get a birthday quilt finished.  It all started with a bag of shirts I received from my niece Lisa when my brother-in-law Dennis passed away.  Dennis was  my late sister Kathleen's husband, and I started to make a quilt for their grandson Adam, in memory of his Poppa.  Just a simple four patch, I decided, with red and black frames.  Then my beloved Robin passed away late last year, and this got put on the back burner.

Making a start

The birthday invitation to Adam's 30th birthday in March gave me a bit of a shake up.  Goodness me, perhaps I can get this finished in time for the birthday.  So I worked away, stitching the blocks together.

Hard at work

Gemma is helping while I added the borders

The top was finally done, but being too big for me to comfortably handle, I needed to send it away to get commercially quilted.  Would it get done in time?  Of course it did!   While it was away, I got the binding prepared, and the label.  And here it is, all finished in plenty of time.  Deborah used a leaf quilting pattern, you can glimpse it in the black border.

All done, ready for Adam

Two extra blocks made a couple of cushions

Gemma a had a trip away as well, to the cattery.  She wasn't at all impressed and did a bit of hissing when she arrived.  "Don't worry", the owner told me, "I'll spend a bit of time with her to help settle her down".  As a former traveling caravan cat, she hardly ever went to a cattery, but now there is no option.

She is not at all happy

The drive up to Hastings was difficult, as I haven't really done long journeys on my own.  Obviously, I was a bit nervous, rather tense and ended up with a sore muscle on my side!  I drove through  drizzly rain, and the never ending road cones on the side of the road.  But where were the workers, I wondered?  The road cones are set out, together with the signs to reduce speed, with not a single worker on the road side in sight.  My little car behaved well on the trip, and as a bonus, I had discovered some petrol vouchers tucked away in the caravan when I cleared it out, so that filled the tank for me.  After a couple of stops along the way I finally pulled into the motel, pleased to have arrived.  It wasn't the best motel I've stayed at, but I guess you get what you pay for.

My home for the next two nights

Adam was having his birthday celebrations at home on Saturday evening, nice company and a home cooked meal, together with a birthday cake.  I'm pleased to say that he seemed very pleased with his 30th birthday quilt, and recognised the fabrics as his Poppa's shirts.

Adam and his sister Kate

Happy Birthday Adam

It was a very pleasant evening indeed and I'm pleased that I made the effort to make trip up by myself.  My niece Lisa presented me with this lovely quilting fridge magnet, those words are so true.

A gift from Lisa