Out and About

 I've been out and about lately, going here, and going there.  I was at a craft group last week, and we meet in a beautiful old property called Thompson House, home of a former doctor who lived and worked here.   I believe it has been gifted to the community and groups can hire the rooms for meetings.

Thompson House

 One of the ladies there that afternoon teaches bobbin lace.  She had all sorts of exquisite samples on display.  It's such beautiful fine work, but not something I would have the patience for.

Lace samples and bobbins

Melanie had been working on signs of the zodiac and had one for Libra, the Scales of Justice.  That's my sign, I told her, so she very generously gifted it to me.  Here it is at home, pinned up on one of the spools on my thread spool wall hanging in my sewing room.  

Libra, the Scales of Justice

I'm a member of Age Concern, and go there weekly for my easy balance and exercise class.  They also hold meetings about various subjects of interest to older people, and last week held a movie afternoon, free for the members.  That was fun, there were decorations and balloons galore in the room, and we were treated to bags of popcorn or chippies, tea, coffee and juice was available, and we were presented with  small bags of liquorioce allsorts and jaffas.  The film was called "Thelma" and told the story of an elderly lady who was scammed into sending money, supposably to help her grandson, and the police couldn't help her.  So Thelma took matters into her own hands, and with the help of an elderly friend and his mobility scooter, tracked the scammers down, got into their computer, and with telephone help from her grandson, managed to transfer her money back into her account!

Don't mess with Thelma

And to help with me getting out and about, I'm pleased to say that I passed my 80th driving assessment, I was able to apply a couple of months early.  Here in New Zealand drivers have to get a medical clearance to keep driving at 75, 80, and every two years after that.  I went to have an eye test at the opticians, then had an appointment with the doctor, who asked me questions as he filled in several pre printed pages.  "I know you don't have diabetes, and your heart is good", he said as he worked his way through the form.  That was good to know.  Tick, tick, tick, he went through the questions, then, "all done", he told me.  At my 75th assessment, our previous doctor had asked me all sorts of questions, including counting back from 100 by 7, and other general  knowledge questions, so I was a bit worried about what my current doctor would ask me.  "I know you", he said, "and I know there is nothing wrong with your memory".  Whew.... all that worry about nothing!

I've had to do some car stuff this month, things that Robin used to take care of.  Such as apply for the annual car registration, get a Warrant of Fitness, and the car insurance is due as well.  And last time I filled the car up, I wanted to use up some of the petrol vouchers I have, so called into one of the local service stations.  When I went in to settle up, the attendant was rather worried.  "Did you know you've just filled your car with diesel?" he asked.  I assured him that everything is fine, my little car runs on diesel, which is quite unusual here for small cars.  Although Robin used to top my car up for me, he impressed on me not to put petrol in the tank, which would ruin the engine!  Just as well I took that lesson to heart.

50th Birthday Bash

My niece Lisa was turning 50 and decided that she needed a party to celebrate.  And why not?  The birthday bash invitation was waiting for us when we returned home from our South Island trip - we checked the calendar, and yes, we were free.  In fact, the travel plans worked out well, we will go to Hastings for the weekend, then move on to Hamilton to get some urgent work done on the caravan.

So a gift was needed, and quickly - I decided to make a lace cushion for her bed, knowing I had some lace pieces tucked away somewhere.  But where?  Searching high and low, through one basket and another I wondered if maybe it had been packed away in one of the plastic crates.  And wouldn't you know it, I found what I was looking for in the very last plastic crate I looked through.  Plus even more long forgotten projects, but that’s another story.

I knew it was in here somewhere

I added  the lace pieces crazy patch style to cover the front of the cushion until I was happy with it, deciding against a lace ruffle as I didn’t think Lisa would like it that frilly.  With a simple envelope back it was all done.

The lace cushion

Happy Birthday, Lisa

Lisa’s Birthday Bash had a 50’s theme, with the guests dressed in their rock’n’roll inspired clothes, ready for a night of music and fun.  Older ones, like us, had lived through these years, and reminisced about  our dancing days when full skirts and stiff petticoats were all the rage as we rocked the night away.  The candles were lit, the birthday cake was cut, and the gifts were opened.

Lisa and her daughter Kate had fun putting the photo board together, and I found several photos with my own children too.

Three sisters – Jenny, Karla, and Kathleen (Lisa’s Mum)

It was a lovely night, catching up with far flung family members, listening to the  music of my youth club days, and joining the youngsters on the dance floor.

Treasures from Firth Tower Museum

There’s something about linen and clothing from earlier times.  All that beautiful work, painstaking stitched by hand from colonial times, when women really did have such busy lives.  I really admire all that beautiful work, and got to see some at the Firth Tower Museum recently.  Both the homestead and an adjoining  cottage had rooms furnished as they would have been, and cabinets full of lovely things.

Colonial bedroom with yo-yo bedspread

Hand made lace

Children’s bedroom with quilts on the beds

The old mangle and water pump reminds us how physical domestic life was back in those days.  And make us appreciate all of our modern labour saving devices.

Ladies who Lunch, and Pete’s Emporium

The Caravan Club ladies met for lunch yesterday at Denny’s Restaurant, in Porirua, nine of us, so it was an excellent turn-out.  This was a first for several in our group who had not been to this establishment before.  I wasn’t the only one who had trouble making up my mind in choosing something to eat.  Mind you, the menus were quite extensive, and by the time I had read right through from from to back, I had forgotten what there was.  So I had to check it once again, and try and decide if I would perhaps like this dish more than that one.  Or what about over the page?  After a lot of umming and ahhing we all finally made our decision, and our lunch orders were taken. 

The Caravan ladies all ready to eat their lunch

My choice was Salmon Benny – Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, and a couple of others chose the same.  Very tasty it was too.  Several chose the roast pork, and what a huge serving that turned out to be.  Dot decided that her pork crackle was much too soft and nowhere near crackly enough, and asked to have it replaced.  I took her original pork crackle off her hands and ate it up, no trouble at all.

Now that’s more like it.

Those huge roast meals proved much too much for our ladies to finish, and a couple asked for doggy bags to take the left-overs home.  As well as the polystyrene box to put the food in, they were also given a branded fabric shopping bag to carry it in.

Lorraine and her left-overs

After the meal I had a visit to Pete’s Emporium, an Aladdin's Cave of crafty goodies.  You could spend ages in here, there is so much to see.  I was after 10 metres of  heavy cream coloured cotton lace, and found just what I wanted, at a very reasonable price too.  This is for a project I’ve been planning for a while, so I’m keen to get started.

Lots of sparkly lace and braid

Tiny dolls in jars

I don’t know about any one else, but with what I would like to make, plus my generous number of UFOs and WIPs, I need to spend a lot more sewing than I currently do.  Seems to be a problem for most of us,  I feel..

From sunshine to winter

I’m quite sure it wasn’t winter in Picton yesterday, the last day of our South Island holiday.  The sun was out and the temperatures were quite warm really, as we waited on the wharf to board the Inter Island Ferry.  But once we crossed over Cook Strait to arrive in Wellington  the temperatures have dropped indeed.  Here we are, all rugged up in track pants, woolly jerseys, and our toes all nice and cosy in warm socks and slippers.  The gas heater in the lounge has been blasting out the heat, and my electric blanket is switched on before bedtime. 

I didn’t set out to do a “Shop Hop” during our South Island holiday, and only managed to get to a few patchwork and quilting shops while I was away.  Special thanks to the lovely Miche’le of By Hoki Quilts who welcomed me (and Robin too) to her shop with hot scones and coffee during our visit to Hokitika.  We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours talking about all sorts of things, quilts included, and I had a good poke around this lovely little shop.  Miche’le is a fellow blogger, and it was lovely to meet her in person. 

Miche’le of By Hoki Quilts

Sadly, the last shop I visited on our trip (no names) was not a good experience at all.  After having a look around the shop, and standing by the counter for five minutes, the owner was still talking on the phone, so I turned away and walked back out the door.  Not good customer service at all.

One of the textile highlights of our trip would have to be my visit to Lillia’s Lace Museum in Geraldine.  Jean Hall named the museum after her grand mother Lillia who was a lace maker, and there is an amazing collection of (mostly) hand made lace on display. 

Lace maker Lillia

And then there was an invitation to come and see a collection of quilts while we were staying at a motor camp in Manapouri.  It all started when I noticed a wall hanging on the office wall and mentioned I was a quilter too.  The camp owner proudly showed me her vast collection of quilts and wall hangings.  Out they came from one bedroom after another, on beds and out of drawers, the linen cupboard, and her sewing room.  Needless to say, I had a lovely afternoon!

Here’s a clue, she must be a quilter!

Marie of Ashburton contacted me and invited us around to her home for an evening meal, such a lovely gesture to make to a couple of strangers, and after Marie had done a full day’s work too.    We had a lovely meal, a very pleasant evening, discussed all sorts of topics, and I had a private quilt showing too.  Thanks so much, Marie and Murray.

Marie of Ashburton

I love old textiles and saw quite a selection at various museums.  There’s something about those lovely hand made, pin tucked, lace embellished undergarments and babies clothes from earlier years, they are just beautiful.  And a real bonus was finding a quilt show in Dunedin – how lucky was that.  Talking of quilt shows, I’m off to view one tomorrow, so I’ll be getting another “quilt fix” then.  You can be sure I’ll report back. 

Singer - I grew up with one of these

We visited the Coaltown Museum in Westport, and as usual, I looked around for any old textiles hidden away.  The first thing I saw was a display of old sewing machines.  I just love this old Singer.  Like so many of my generation, I grew up with one of these in the household.  I can remember treadling away as I stitched many a dress in my early teenage years.  Sadly, the family didn’t think our lovely old Singer had any value, and it was replaced  by one of those more modern electric sewing machines.  What a shame we didn’t appreciate what we had back then.

So many of us learnt on a machine like this

Vintage quilts were no where to be seen in a museum that tells the story of West Coast coal mines, but I did spot some pretty vintage underwear, lengths of lace, and a dolls dress tucked away in a cabinet.

Pretty vintage lace items

You have to wonder what sort of story these items could tell.  Did the articles survive because they wear only worn for “best” and were therefore tucked carefully away most of the time? 

Lillia’s Lace Museum

There was no question about it, we just had to go and stay in Geraldine on our South Island trip.  All because my handy book “Museums to visit in New Zealand” listed Lillia’s Lace Museum as an attraction in this town.  Dot and I called around to the museum while Robin and Derek checked out the Vintage Car and Machinery Museum.  Jean Hall welcomed us to her small museum and gave us a potted history of lace making through the ages.  She explained the different types of lace and showed us  many beautiful examples of lace, bobbins and clothing.

An overview of the lace museum

The museum is named after Jean’s grandmother, lace-maker Lillia Landridge.  Lillia was only 18 years old when she made the piece of Torchon bobbin lace on display with her photo.

Lillia Landridge, lace maker

Jean is a lace-maker herself and collects pieces from all over the world.  Most of the lace displayed is hand made but there are also examples of machine made lace.  Jean discovered that the patterns for these pieces are often destroyed after a run of items have been made, and felt that the commercial pieces also need to be preserved.  The New Zealand Centennial lace piece is such an example, featuring a kiwi, ferns and New Zealand flag.  I can remember my mother telling me that she went to the exhibition in Wellington. 

Lace piece from the NZ Centennial

Cabinet of French lace

There are many beautiful lace collars on display, and Jean explained how they can be dated by the fineness of the work.  The amount of hours needed to make these beautiful decorative collars ensured that only the wealthy ladies could afford to buy them, I expect.

Lace collar from Brussels

As well as more examples of beautiful lace, this cabinet also contained several other associated items.  Such as a collection of old vellum parchment patterns used for bobbin lace.  The candle on the right of the display is known as a “lace makers lamp”.  The glass ball was filled with water, and the light of the candle is magnified as it shines through the glass ball.

An interesting collection

Made in NZ – blouse featuring different bands of lace

Jean is an expert lace maker herself, but also works in wool.  She spun the wool from her own flock, drew up the pattern, then worked the design in bobbin lace to make her fan.

Jean’s fine wool lace fan

Her beautiful long evening gown was an entry in the first “Wearable Art Show” held in 1987.  Jean spun kid mohair wool, then hand dyed it in several shades of navy.  Using her own design, the beautiful dress was hand knitted and is so fine that the wool used weighed only 5 1/2 ounces. The strapless grey wool dress is also an original and was knitted in 2 ply wool.

Beautiful fine wool dresses

It was a delight to visit the museum, there was so much to see, and I can really recommend a visit to any who love textiles and are passing through Geraldine.