Two posts in two days ...Wow!! Forgot to mention.....

 

 

I did mention in a previous post that I had been put forward to join the

National Governing  Body  of Arthritis NZ

 

To my surprise I have been elected and join the Board in February 2014

This will mean trips to Wellington for a couple of days about 6 times a year.

 

If one is allowed to be excited  ... I am excited and looking forward to the challenge.

 

 

I am still here ...

So Christmas is just about over and the New Year is almost upon us.

 

I hope you all had a  peaceful and blessed Christmas.

 

It has been awhile again since I blogged ...  lots of water has gone under the bridge  over the last couple of months ... a few hospital visits nothing to serious and all on the mend.

Been busy sewing and not a lot of quilting but did make a few items for swaps that I joined.

 

Unfortunately I lost a couple of friends over the last couple of months ... I guess it is that time of life when one should expect this but it is always very hard when it happens especially

when it is sudden and unexpected.

 

I have also been busy getting things done maintenance wise on the house, the drive and cobbled yard have both been relayed not by me of course  ... some trees removed from the garden and all the rest have had a good hair cut again  by Bruce the lovely garden maintenance man.

 

I have spent some time sitting in the garden stitching since the break up  of all my activities for the summer period this is where I was sitting ... unfortunately I had removed the table when I remembered to take the picture.

 

 

Pictures of what I have been doing in the next post ...  promise  

 

So every one take care have a lovely Summer if you live in the South of the world

and

 a cozy winter for all you who live in the  North

Made from a swap stitchery and fabric

I have been busy this week with all sorts of things other than stitching .....  but what I did manage to do was use the "Stitchery and fabric " sent to me from Peg in the Once a Season Swap.

I have a work pouch sent to me from USA in a Xmas Swap  a while back ....  and always thought I would make one ... but no pattern!!  So it got put off which is so easy to do ....

When the lovely Fabric+ Stitchery arrived from  Peg I knew directly what I would do with it ... so out with the tape measure and extra fabric and low and behold  here is what I have ... I am so pleased with it ... I even put in a see through pocket so you can look for threads with out pulling them all out. I may even make more for pressies.. . But I should  have pressed it before I took the pictures.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Peg once again. xx

Progress on the Weekend piece and other stories

Progress on the "Trees"

 

I have actually done more than I expected I would in the last few days the fern is may be a trifle big ... but hey we grow large ferns here in NZ.
There is still more forest floor to do and also a bit more canopy for the trees.


I had some news today ... I have been elected on to the Governing Board of Arthritis New Zealand
I take up this position mid November ...... then the fun will start a few trips to Wellington in the year and also other places when necessary.  Looking forward to the challenge.

Embroidery Guild Regional Retreat

This weekend saw me at the regional retreat 60+ ladies gathered for 2 days at Tui Ridge in Rotorua.

The classes were varied and I chose to do an Anne Brocass class, I loved the piece but also because this lovely tutor is going to retire in December this year and this would have been my last chance to do another  class with her.

So here we are the "Tree's Class"

 

 

 

 

This is the project for the weekend by Anne Brocass

 

Work in progress Day 1

 

and here is my work in progress Day 2

It was a great 2 days ... the weather was abysmal but we were tucked up in a lovely room with a great wood fire burning away merrily,  there is still a lot of work to finish but I am determined to complete it with in the next few weeks..... I would like to say days but I know that is not going to happen.

  Tui Ridge Park ... it is found in a 420 acre reserve which contains all the facilities that your group will need to make the most of your time there. The Park has numerous outdoor facilities and activities as well as quality indoor facilities.
This park is owned and run by Seventh Day Adventist Church thus the catering  is  vegetarian ... but I can say we had the most amazing meals, very tasty and an abundant amount of food and I did not miss the fact that there was no meat at all or alcohol.

Hello again and please don't faint on me.....

Pizazz ...  an in house class we ran at Embroidery Guild  ... will finally be a cushion  

 

 

As I said please don't faint on me ... now you are seeing a post from me.

Life has gotten in the way a bit over the last 3 months, looking after grand kids while my daughter had an op, Embroidery courses and exhibitions , Inner Wheel ( Rotary),  a couple of jobs on the house and garden  you know the thing just life in general really. 

 I could wish for 8 more hours in a day and a couple of extra days on the week sometimes... but I guess that would just get full up and we would be back to square one again... so will manage with 7 days and 24 hours.

 

But I have been stitching a few birthday gifts and a few swap gifts ... my Daughter in Law will get her birthday gift in a couple of weeks  ahh! now her birthday was last March,  so we are a little late but she has seen it in progress ...  better late than never as we say. Here is a glimpse of it is so far ....

 

 

Sue Thompson's Ladies ... not far off completion just some arms and legs and a few embellishments.



 

 

 



Life does not stand still here .... I am still tutoring Hydrotherapy Exercises for Arthritis and I have been put forward to may be join the Board of Arthritis NZ ... will hear about this in November. I still try and swim everyday ... hate to walk and run so feel this exercise is just as good.

 

Inner Wheel ... I was the Editor of the magazine for the central North Island until June this year and now some how I have moved to the position Secretary for the Central North Island District ... as with all groups we are finding the getting officers to stand on the various committees is harder and harder ... lots of people love to join groups and partake in all the activities and programme but that is as far as they go ...

So at 10am on the morning of our District meeting in June  I was happy to continue as Editor and by 11.30am I had been voted in as Secretary ... rather a lot more work on an ongoing basis,  where the Editors job was really  just a twice a year  mad rush. 

But I am happy to take a turn the first year to learn the ropes and the second should go like a breeze ...hopefully.

 

Looking out from the window the garden is a blaze of colour with all the spring flowers, so here are a few.....

 

 

I will post about the courses I have been on and the  retreats etc in due course.

So now I have signed in and you know I am alive and kicking .... it is back to the computer ... or should I say the other programme to get some IW stuff done.

Remember this ...my Birthday Challenge for Embroidery Guild

Well ... I feel so annoyed with myself .. You will never believe the silly mistake I made.

The centre item which is a "scissor keeper" I did not want to attach to the canvas permanently so I pinned it to the reverse side ... meaning to add a stitch to it  which could be removed after the show.

BUT .... bet a lot of you can guess !!!  I forgot to do it and it was judged and was in the final 2 items  the judge had to make a choice and low and behold she had to look so so closely to get that final decision on a winner .... YEAP she found the pin... and that was my chances blown. I could have kicked myself. At least she told me why it did not win .... a very important lesson learnt.

Never mind at least it was almost there.

Here I go again apologies !!!

Here I go again apologies for my lack of posting .... my computer and I have not been together much of late, I seem to manage my emails and there it stops on the personal side ... I think this has something to do with the fact that  I have also been very busy with other side of my life ... Embroidery Guild Exhibition and Rotary Inner Wheel, Family and all the other  things that call for your time.
Like,  I have taken on the Secretary's position for our District Inner Wheel Executive Committee so this next year will see more and more time taken out of my stitching time. But, I have  passed on being the editor of the magazine to someone else so no more pressure  twice a year to get it out, not that it was an onerous job ... it is just getting articles from all the clubs sometime took an awful lot of persuasion on my part. As I speak the magazine is at the printers ...Wheeee!!!

I am still on the run and will be for a couple of weeks yet then hopefully life will calm down a bit and I can hibernate for the winter and stitch and play with this infernal machine a fair amount of time, which the secretary's position will call.

So stitching ....  I have managed to start another project ( can always fit in one more ) here is the start of it,  this is just a preview .... not the best of pictures but you get the gist... will keep the final  finished article a secrete.

So please forgive me if I am not around to much ...but I will try and get back into posting because I miss it. Although I do keep up with reading all your posts, just not doing it myself.