My first Christmas Lunch

Today Tuesday 30th November was my first Christmas lunch ... if they all go on the same lines I will have to hit Weight Watchers in the new year   ....   I know I have another 4  lunches and dinners booked and I am sure there will be more ... Oh help!!!

Up Date on Fund Raiser Embroidery Show

We were amazed at our success we managed to raise $2500 over the days of the show ...

That will help our cause....we are spending a lot on rent on a weekly basis and our attendance is not covering it at present by a long chalk ... so it gives us a reprieve from having to find another and cheaper venue to meet for our Guild meetings... We know there is going to be a rent review at end of month so we are keeping our fingers crossed that we can afford to stay at the community centre we use at present ...

Our sales table was a great hit and I am sure we could have done more if we had had the stuff to sell.

But every thing was donated  by our members so it is all thanks to them.

Christmas Spirit and all that ....

On Deb's blog she is asking for some Christmas Spirit .... I know just how she feels ...life is going along so good and the out of the blue comes something to rock your world.... Why is it that that happens do people not like to see others happy and content ? ... after the disasters that have occurred in the last few months.
Also the personal stuff that is going on .... but we will survive and get over it. ...enough of that..


On the good news.....
My sister Penny and husband Paul arrive here from UK in 2 weeks I am so looking forward to showing them
 " Gods own Country "

Don't forget the Christmas Spirit .. bring lots we need it here .....

"Deck the Halls with boughs of holly Fla la la ... la la la la  this the season to be jolly Fla la la ... la la la la."

Embroidery Exhibition set up....

Tuesday evening and all day today we have been setting up for our 

Embroidery Guild Christmas Exhibition

so from this .....

This ....

 and this ......

We finally came up with this ....

This ...

and these ...

So here is hoping we get lots of visitors over the next 3 days ... to make it all worth while.

We have a great sales table all stocked with hand made goodies for the Christmas tree  and small gifts.

This is just a partial view of it.



Mine disaster in NZ

I am sure that there is almost no one who has not heard about the mine disaster in New Zealand.

Unfortunately at around 2pm there was another gas explosion ..... and it is believed that none of the miners would have been able to survive .. if they had been still alive after the first initial one..

So today we mourn the loss of the 29 miners who were trapped  in the Pike River Mine on the Westcoast of New Zealand.
The town of Greymouth  will be feeling such disbelief  and will be devastated.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families and friends of the men involved

Humbug pattern and instructions

A few people asked about  making the humbug ... so here goes This is my first time at trying to write a pattern on to my blog so hope it works.


This has to be the simplest Humbug of all   .... 

Requirements .. linen what ever count you have ..
6 inches x  4 inches ( as you become proficient at them you can use far less)
Thread DMC your choice of colour.   using 2 strands ....
Gold thread

( each square on grid picture is 2 threads)

Work Star stitch as above across 4 threads  ...  12  stars across 
 Moving each line across as picture shows ... so grid  will be first line 12 stars
second line will have 11 stars .... then repeat until you have 9 rows in all

Work blanket stitch  using 1 strand  over 2 threads into each thread ..... 2 threads above and to the side of the star stitch ( see picture )

Using Gold thread work a cross stitch over 4 threads in all  spare spaces. ( or contrast)

This is where you can add beads if desired.

To make up
Trim the fabric  down all around to 4 threads above the button hole stitch. Folding this in as you go.
Using same colour thread 1 strand  .. slip stitch into each button hole stitch  along  short sides of humbug to join them.
Now fold and do same across one long side ...... .at this point you add your ribbon or cord by tucking it into one corner  and secure and then stitching along the seam

Stuff the humbug softly not to hard.
Now fold ... so the side seam is in the centre of the  top seam ( see picture) and then stitch along the seam as before. This fold makes the humbug shape....

Once you have done one the rest are child's play..... and you can make so many variations. making them larger or smaller as desired.

Bet you thought I had forgotten to stitch

No way ... I may not remember important things but sure know where my needle and threads are, a pincushion and a Humbug Scissor fob, the fob went to Mhairi as part of her Birthday surprise.
I am in to the fobs at present  now on number three. This pattern has to be the simplest ever ..

Time management ..... more like memory going

Oh Well!!   No go crying over spilt milk....

Yesterday I had a full day .... with Embroidery Guild most of the day and then a committee meeting, going to view the shop we are to use for our Christmas Expo... then evening Guild, plus looking after Grand sons in the middle for a couple of hours after school... one would have thought straight forward . Well it was except at 9 am I had an appointment at the hospital for my finger at the Orthotics dept to get a brace to wear on it...... guess who completely forgot about it until 10am when someone asked how my finger was !!!!!!!

So now I have grovelled and apologised and have another appointment for next Monday, it is written in big letters on the fridge, in the diary and on a "post it " on the bathroom mirror.

But I did remember that my lovely daughter Kathryn is 40 today... "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

Kathryn has set herself a challenge for her 40th year check it out here

I am looking forward to a few of these seeing what the result is......

Me and my time....

Considering I live on my own or Chivers the cat and I do here in beautiful Rotorua, and don't work or should I say no gainful employment.

I am sooooo busy for the last few months I just don't seem to have a lot of time at home, and when I am here there still does not seem to be enough of it  to do all the things I want to do or need to do.

Somethings just seem not to get done, or may be I close my eyes to them, not wanting to see them, I have all good intentions when I lay in bed and try to organise my time for the day, I will do one little job that has been sat around for months...bet you know where I am coming from ... so what goes wrong with in the few minutes from rising from bed and the rest of the day....well !!

There is Patchwork group, Embroidery Guild, Arthritis Aqua group, Rotary Inner Wheel, Guide at the museum, taking care of grand kids after school ( 2 hours 1 day a week) stitching on Fridays, and various morning and afternoon tea invites ... and to top the lot Christmas has now crept up on me.

 I would love someone may be a fairy to pop in and do all the little jobs that are hanging around, there is a pile of filing in fact may be 7 months worth next to the computer nothing arduous.. just needs sometime. A larger and growing pile of repairs or alterations needed to some clothes and some of them are brand new .. some have been there months ...so did I really need them at the time...bet your life I did.

Under my desk here is the biggest health and safety issue going on with electric cables, it just needs a half an hour to sort them but not high on my list of priorities I guess.

Now ironing,  this is my very very pet hate, but I really got my act together last evening put on a DVD of Important of Being Ernest with Colin Firth and stood and did all the ironing I felt so righteous afterwards and when I walk into the laundry there on the rail is       " nothing " wheeee!

Yesterday was a good day and I was to be home all day and I felt yes! I will get somethings done...when my neighbour mentioned  they were going to Hamilton to meet up with relatives ... now this is where my Daughter and family live ...Oh! I think how about going and pay a visit taking a lift with the neighbours...so half an hour later I am off to see the grand kids and the household jobs stay undone. I am so easily distracted from the jobs.

We just won't talk about the sewing room well not a lot anyway ...  why do I just dump things on the table and beside the machine also the floor needs to be found, when I moved into my new sewing room I made a pact with myself to keep it tidy .. what went wrong? 

Every time I go there to do any thing I have to spend first 15 minutes finding the table and putting things where they belong..... I did a class a fortnight ago on Paper Piecing needed Christmas fabrics just small bits so why is the bulk of the fabric still sat on the chair.

I guess my problem is time management .....

... so if you have a solution to time management that is fool proof please send it to me. 

 What amazes me is I can manage other people and while I was working I had a staff of 14 at a Health Centre ..

 4 GP's all the Midwives and Heath visitors and reception staff, and nurses and the place ran like clock work.  So why can't I now, in my silver years just run one household   "me and the cat ".....

There telling someone all about it makes me feel better  ...  so at 10.40am and not dressed I will make another coffee and take a look at what needs doing ... the operative words being "take a look" I have to be out by 12. noon.

Chocolate cake ... cheating

This is not the cake in the blog just a picture.

Today was afternoon tea day at Arthritis Aquatic Exercise class.

Now I have just eaten the most glorious chocolate sponge with cream and strawberry filling..

The person who owned up to the cake was very sheepish when asked "how did she make it?"  as it was so light and melted in your mouth.

Then out came the truth..... it was a purchased sponge roll ready to fill from

Countdown / Woolworths

She filled it with fresh cream and strawberries and dusted it with icing sugar ....Oh my! it was to die for.

So all you ladies living in NZ off you go to Countdown and save yourself the heart ache of trying to make that perfect sponge, I know I will in future.

An Op Shop

This week has seen the opening of a new St Barnabas Opportunity Shop in the village... ( local church )
This has been an incentive to me .. I have spent all day going through my wardrobe and 2 large rubbish sacks of stuff has now been delivered to the shop ... it was great as it is so close I could uplift the sacks and deliver straight away so no time to think twice and delve in and retrieve stuff.
I also came away buying nothing  .. hows that for strength. I did look at the books but did not have the time to browse for long...so I will drop in again sometime.

Time to post

At last a few minutes to do a posting....
This last week or two has been so hectic, a lot of the time just normal day to day stuff but  the appointments and meetings, classes and outings all came at the same time.
Rotary Inner Wheel District Meeting which was being held in our town  .... so we had to organise the whole thing,  although this was only one day there was the meeting for food arrangements ... I had an Executive meeting the day before to fit in  there has been birthdays and special days for people .. meetings for the Embroidery Guild, Classes and outings and shopping.

Kathryn came for the day to go shopping ( which fell on the only day I had free lucky for her) She had bought a dress for her 40th party and the said dress has to cover 3 or 4 functions over the coming holiday period including a wedding .... she was not happy with said dress although she actually liked it ... far to see through, bra looked a mess under it, you name it,  it was wrong in her eyes, but with a few kind words  from Mum and  visiting all the dress shops in Rotorua  trying on dresses that were totally unsuitable, we soon sorted it, first you need a petticoat,  then a bolero to cover the very bare shoulders and the bra, ( she is well blessed in this area and can not go bra free) finally we had one very nice outfit and I had a happy daughter.  Now I have to get myself sorted for the said wedding.

 Then last week Whakatane here in North Island had their Embroidery Guild Exhibition and Open Day, a group of ladies from our Guild or I should say 2/3rds of our Guild took the hour car trip across to Whakatane.

We saw some beautiful work and came back with lots of new ideas. There was a lovely lunch and speaker and alot of talking done.
One thing stood out ..they had taken a class making a "Stitch Sampler Book" some photo's follow. This also had a envelope made from linen to store it in...it was so neat.

We are hoping to start a Traditional group in the new year and this would be a good first project to do, especially as some of the group will be new stitchers and some are experienced but you can always do with a memory jog.

I just loved this Hardanger Tree, and the way it was displayed with a mirror so you could see the reverse side with out having to handle it.

My Embroidery Guild are having a Christmas Exhibition this year with an extra large sales table, ladies have been working hard and have produced some amazing items ready for it ..  here are the group who spent a day pricing everything of course this is but a small selection of the stock.
We have managed to secure an empty shop right in the city centre from a very benevolent landlord he has loaned us the premises free of charge for 4 days  25th - 27th November ... who says the age of chivalry is dead.

With in this time also a weekend class was organized by Rainbow Quilters when we revisited English Paper Piecing, can you believe that from a group of 40 ladies  .. 31 people came to do it, the room looked like a "sweat shop" with all of the machines and people with their heads down as busy as can be.... we had a great day. There was also some makings of some beautiful things I will do pictures when we have had show and tell at a meeting to come.

So you can see I have had a busy few weeks, and this is only half of it, if I find a few more minutes I will tell some more.

I am really still here just had lots to do

I really am still here but life has been so hectic lately and will continue for the rest of this week

I promise will have lots to report on then ...  I am managing to read all your blogs in the odd 5 minutes I find.

So all take care