Busy stitching

 

Busy busy week or two.....
Last weekend I attended a class to make a Kina.... ..I can just hear all the sighs and blank looks " what the heck is a Kina ?"

KINA, a common sea urchin or sea egg considered a delicacy by Maori,

Here is picture of New Zealand Kina or Sea Urchin, as you see when alive it is covered in spikes but when dead it leaves a beautiful shell, here are a few shells.

NZ Kina Shells all sorts of sizes and colours.

 

A lovely member of our Guild Eileen made a Kina quite a few years ago ... photo here

Mine is still in the construction stage .....

So just watch this space  !!

At Christmas we have our  Christmas Embroidery Exhibition, a lot of work goes on all year to make items for the sales table ... this last couple of weeks I have been helping to construct

these Christmas trees ....

Yesterday we had a Regional Day for the Embroidery Guilds of Waikato and Bay of Plenty, lucky for us it was held in Rotorua so we did not have to travel to it.

One of the main attractions of the day was Ribbon Rose Embroidery shop who came with may be half his shop from Ellersley ( near Auckland) ... this was a great treat for the folks in this area as we do not have a shop now that stocks threads especially silk and speciality threads, everything has to be ordered by phone or Internet.... so to have all these threads here,  to be able to touch and feel them was a present in it's self. So 100 embroiderers had a great day of buying up big time, including me...... but I was very restraint and only bought what I needed...

Last week I received my Santa Sack plus 2 gifts from Cheryl my swap partner ... the gifts are wrapped and I must not open them until Christmas morning ..... each month I will receive 2 more gifts which I have to add to the sack ...  I think I can manage to not touch, not even squeeze or shake them ... well not to much anyhow ... I am getting excited already and its 176 days to go to Christmas.

So now you have caught up with what has been going on here ... although I have only told you the interesting bits ... on top of this I have been to  Arthritis swimming exercise classes twice a week, swimming at the hot mineral pools at least every other day,  a couple of committee meetings, looked after the grandsons, managed to fit in a bit of laundry and housework, sewing group and embroidery guild  ... in between times have managed to get my hair cut, collect new glasses and a bit of shopping to hold body and soul together.  I also managed to remember to feed the cat, who is not talking to much to me as he feels neglected ... I don't blame him either.

Oh! being retired is such a busy life ......the old saying that you wonder how you ever had time to go to work before ......is so so true.

AND

"I love every minute of it"