Last Days

I'm heading off tomorrow and although I am planning to keep in touch via internet cafes I am not sure if I will be able to send photos or not so there may be just text entries instead.

It has been so cold over the last couple of weeks - well it is supposed to be winter, but it has been a prolonged cold. We often get nice sunny days after all the snow and frost but there hasn't been much of that lately.

I have been putting out bread for the birds. I save old bread in the freezer and bring it out on cold days. Not the best of shots but this is a group of Wax Eyes feeding - the bread will be gone within the hour. There are Sparrows, Blackbirds and Larks also hanging around but they are shy feeders compared to the Wax Eyes. Around the back of the house the Swallows are doing their aerial aerobatics - they are wintering in by the spa pool which obviously keeps the worst of the cold away for them. Fantails are flitting through the garden looking for insects and driving the cats crazy as always - thankfully they are never caught. And I have seen a large flock of ducks coming in to land down on the pond. The pond is full and the neighbours paddocks are flooded and swampy which they are loving.


I have managed to sew some blocks together for a future quilt. I will leave putting the top together until I get home. I have a mixture of lighter shaded blocks which will shade down to some darker blocks. I have used mainly paua colours again, blues, purples, teals with hints of greens. I am thinking it might be the sort of thing that a Kiwi living abroad might want to remind them of home. Just a couple of piccies of some blocks below to show the variety of colours. Very simple piecing but I thought very effective.


 

Getting Ready

I am wanting to bring some fabrics with me to give to quilters that I meet on my trip. What else to take but some NZ themed fabrics. I have been cutting and folding squares and of course peeping out at the bottom are some sheep - have to have sheep. I am also going to take lots of dyed fabric with me but I am yet to make my choices as to what to take - probably lots of greens to promote NZs clean green image.


I have also been covering notebooks. These ones are covered with dyed fabric but look nothing at all yet the fabrics by themselves are fabulous. They probably need some embroidery/stitching to bring them up more but I am in a hurry and this is all there will be.


I also did some in NZ fabrics to bring along as give aways - I am quite pleased with how they turned out. And when the notebooks are finished the fabric can be taken off them and reused for something else.


I still have some more notebooks to cover (hopefully I will meet lots of people to give them to) and a couple of goodie bags to make for my surrogate grandchildren. And of course I will have to go shopping to find some goodies to put in the bags.

After that the only thing I really have to think about is a bag for my camera. It is currently in this huge bag that my husband bought for it - way too big to be carting everywhere. I thought I would make a double padded carry bag for it that won't look so out of place for me to carry about. Hopefully I can get myself organised and get all this done this weekend. Next weekend I hope to reserve for packing and then it is off on the aeroplane and winging my way to Portland Oregon for the start of my trip. 

My Weekend

I hate when things disappear into blog heaven and have to do it all again - it is never the same.

Our club had their biannual exhibition and invited me to have a sales table ( there were only three other merchants). This is the only time I go out of my way to sell fabric and was happy to sell my fabrics. This is my entire stash of dyed fabric (for now). I figure that I can replace anything that I sell with more fabric. It was a great day and worth my while being there.


Shirley from Dyeing 2 Design was there as well. She has a new range of fabrics that she is selling (check out her blog). I had to buy some for some blocks that I was making over the weekend - they are wonderful blendy colours. I will put up a photo when I am a bit further ahead with the project. I am not sure when Shirley will be putting them up for sale on her web site but they will be worth buying - the photos on her blog don't do them full justice - wonderful blendy colours.

This quilt won Viewers Choice - the workmanship is amazing.



This is one of my quilts - I started making it during our last exhibition. I have never seen it hung before and thought it was amazingly vibrant. I plan to bring it to the US with me and give it to a friend's young son for his bed.



I had to take a photo of this quilt. I think it is a real snuggle quilt - warm and inviting colours. Of course I am biased - I love 9 patch.


All in all a wonderful weekend (though cold) and I loved the wonderful display of quilts, the inspirations and wonderful colours.

I think off to the spa soon for a hot soak - brrr Winter is not my favourite season.