Pincushion and baby gowns

A group of Embroidery guild ladies went on a day trip to Wahi on Saturday to visit with the Thames District Embroidery Guild

They put on a lovely day for us, we were asked to bring along something made by our Grand mother, I took along these gowns that my Grandma made for me before I was born.

The first one is a day gown full of lace and pin tucks so small it is difficult to see them and the other is a night gown they are both made of a delicate lawn cotton.... of course they are older than me.

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This pincushion is on it's way to a secret swap partner..

I designed it from the new book I bought a couple of weeks ago using the designs in the book but adapting them for myself.

I am so pleased with the outcome I have started another using the same technique.

Cats and Stitching

"Chivers "( English Marmalade)

Chivers is my rescue cat and he is approx. 5 yrs old, I have had him since January, he is soft and clean thinks he is human,  very docile, will only drink from the kitchen tap and sleeps on his back with all his manhood showing to the world....everyone who comes in contact loves him because he loves them and needs to be within  a few inches of them....

so what is the problem you should ask?

Well, he has decided to become a kitten, he is acting like one,  he is climbing up shelf units to the top and cupboards, every surface is a game and is chewing up anything he can get hold of just like a puppy,

I have had to clear ornaments and sewing items away ... my pin cushion collection has had to be removed as these are fair game of course.

If there is anything he can knock over he will and he is delibrately aiming for stuff....

My answer at present is to put him outside as he is off the walls and beginning to do damage...

I have made him toys and play with him.

Answers please!!

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Stitching

When I visited Ribbon Rose in Whakatane a couple of months ago
I saw a lovely book by Effie Mitrofanis cost $40

There was only one copy and my friend Beth decided to buy it before I could even think about it.

I decided to look for it on the Internet and there were not any copies available locally... but Amazon had 3 copies all second hand, ranging from $3.50 to $8 ... whee I thought another bargain.....and started to order one but then fell into the trap ...SORRY DO NOT SEND TO NZ ... now I know we live at the base of the world but we are quite responsible and tame.

 we do not still live in mud huts or eat our fellow man... well not anymore that is.

We all have bank accounts and even credit cards.....

Come on Amazon buy a world map and check us out.

So a friend in USA was emailed and yes! she would receive it at her house and post on to me.... thank you Pat I am indebted to you, don't forget anytime you want me to do something for you,  just call.

Meanwhile here is my first trial run at some of Effie's designs.

I like to make my prototypes into something so this one will be a pin cushion, I am in a couple of swap groups and I have to have one by the end of the month ready to go so this will be it.

I just love the colour of this The Dyepot variegated thread, in the skein it looks nothing at all really and quite bland, but what a difference when used in stitching.

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RAIN, yes! rain we had a wonderful full day of rain yesterday here in the North Island, you could almost here the farmers sighing with relief, people were out walking in it and I heard no one complain about it, in fact everyone was so pleased to see it....... but the down side is it came with strong gales further down the country although we had high winds last night no real damage.... but Hokitika on Soth Island did and that is where my email friend Miche'le lives... I hope you had little or even no damage Miche'le.

Sun is out again today so short lived rain here in Rotorua.

What a lovely day ... Mothers Day

I expected both of my children to be at home today celebrateing with their own families ... but some times something wonderful can happen.

These two lovely people my son Iain and daughter Kathryn arranged that they would meet here at my home armed with a complete dinner for both families and myself  .....9 in all,

it all went with out a hitch and the  chaps cleared away after wards

So a big thank you so much for the pressies and dinner to:

Kathryn and Steve, Ben and Alex...........Iain and Claire, Ellis and Harvey

Also a big thank you to Steve for cleaning the filters on the heating.. a job that was waiting to be done.

It was great to have them all here together

It was also lovely that we  now have 3 Mums here in NZ to celebrate 

Sunday Already

Today is Mothers day here in the Southern hemisphere and this is Google's heading for today, I just love the way they change their heading to suit the day, well done Google.

I had such plans for this week, most of them came to fruition some went by the way to be looked at, at a later date.
I did manage to do something  to my applique, not a lot but some is better than nothing. I finished a couple of outstanding jobs in the house, and what a satisfying feeling that gives you, now I just need to get around to the windows, wash a few net curtains,clean the outside of house removing all the cobwebs and trout flies that have gotten caught in them over the summer, this is one of the downfalls of living by a lake of course... but one I can live with.
 You can spray the house that deters the spiders etc. I do do this but they are persistent little !!**^ er's  and I believe they are beginning to be immune to the stuff.

We had our first frost this week, it was a bit early but not to much damage the Dahlia's did not survive it so they are now ready to cut down, and it seems to have made the leaves fall so we are knee deep in leaves every where and no wind to take them away.

I managed to finish a couple of small projects on the stitching front, this was a band of linen that someone was passing on to a good home and I could just see it in my minds eye as something... it did not end up as the item I had first thought about ...but became this "Pin Keeper" for the uninitiated a pin keeper is a flat pin cushion ...you place the pins in along the edge that is formed by having a back and a front joined together thus a place for the pins to sit in.

Also this small pin cushion that has been hanging around for years, it was a small kit that was already started from a donation,  some times people pass on things to me when they know my hobby and say

" this stuff is from my relative that has died we don't want to throw it away can you use it ?"

I love finishing things from this source, I wonder if the original

owner knows some how that it has been finished.

To Mothers Everywhere

Here in New Zealand today is Mothers day ... Yes!
 we celebrate it along with a few other new world countries I am not sure how it got out of sinc with the original Mothering Sunday of the Church... but then there are many questions like this that can only go unanswered.
So CLICK ON THIS LINK for my best wishes to all Mum's everywhere.

Back from My Class

I am back from my applique class and I am all enthused so hopefully I will try very hard to get some items on to the main body of the wall hanging in the next few days.

Yeah, I know you have heard it all before !!

Sunny Day in May

Today is one of those glorious Autumn days, the sun is bright but not a lot of warmth in it, the garden is beginning to look a little sad but dotted around are still some lovely flowers ... which the first real frost will see off... so far we have not had any frosts but they will start in the next  few weeks.  Although we do not have snow or real bad winter weather here in Rotorua we do have morning frosts normally for about a month around June and July, even then not many, but it is enough to see off the remaining summer flowers... then we look forward to the Camilla's, chrysanthemums and Polyanthus.

I managed yesterday with the help of Keith my neighbour who did the hard graft, to organise the garden on the end of the new deck extension so there is now  a Rhododendron and a Jasmin plus a re-sited Azalea all planted.... as soon as the garden settles I will weed mat it and put down some gravel to discourage the weeds.

Here are some of the lovely flowers still blooming at the moment in my garden.

This Heather which is almost a bush was in the garden when we bought the house it is always lovely at this time of year

Quite a few Hydrangeas are still in flower

Chrysanthemums are doing well

A few Cyclamens that were left in the pots last year I clumped altogether in a pot 

Dahlias that will sadly finish when the frosts arrive

Hard going with the Applique

Update on the applique, this does not make good reading.

I have finally stitched on all the stems to my applique, just started the leaves and flowers it is not that I am having trouble, it is just time that has been the main factor, each time I try to spend time .... other life things get in the way, it is also difficult to work on in an evening as it is on black.  Most things are cut and papered ready to go, these I have managed to do in the evenings, so you never know this week may see a few attached ... So my best laid plans of working on it three times a week went straight out the window ......I have to go to the class this evening,  I will have to be cap in hand and I am sure everyone else will come along with theirs half finished.

Mind there is nothing to say you have to have a finished project at the end of the four months...Oh my goodness already 3 months  and this is all I have to show for it.
So may be instead of fiddling with this infernal machine I should be stitching.
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