The Birth of a Rainbow Patch

Last night I got back into my Rainbow Quilt.  I do love its colourful nature when working with it and the memories in some of the strips.  Dearest Liz sent me some a while back for my Family Memories Quilt (the one in my side bar) and I received a few vintage fabrics from Pomona for my birthday.  Over the years I've collected fabrics from making my girls dresses and craft items as well which are really lovely to see again.

 

 Now would any of you be interested in seeing me make one of my patches?  You can enjoy the best part

without having the stress of finding just the right length of fabric in the correct colour too.  You would?  Splendid!  Come along then and we'll watch a little 9" patch being born.

 Cutting off the messy edges is lots of fun.  Lucky for me I have a marvelous cutting mat, with inches ruled nicely for me, so all I have to do is line up 9" each way and cut.

Ooooh lookie, nearly there!  Nicely squared, all ready for turning over.  Look she's crowning!  Oh ouch, yes the memories just came flooding back, sorry ladies!!  Peekie, peekie...

Oh look, it's an orange and yellow square!  And isn't she beautiful?

 Just look at her all snuggled up with her Mummy, Daddy and big sister.  What a pretty picture it makes.

How lovely, the extended family have all come to great the little poppet into their arms.

Good grief, have I lost the plot or what?!!!  Perhaps a few too many lines for my brain to cope with. 

Remember I promised some magazine pictures to give you wonderful people ideas of things to make?  Well haven't I been slack?  Here we are with a very suitable patchwork collection.  Click on it to blow it up if you are interested.  Quite nice ideas really.  I could see myself making the scarf, the apron and even the bag perhaps.

 Ooops nearly forgot about the curtains!  The correct answer was B.  The top one was too pinkish for the room and the other one has just the right colourings and sheen.  Hubby admitted to messing me around about the samples and was tricking us about liking A.  Goodness he's naughty sometimes!  So B it is, like it or not.  Thanks for your advice and wonderful opinions.  It was very helpful indeed.

A Curtain Quarrel

The garden clean-up unveils several birds nests, and there were others in Spring that weren't so lucky.  I love the way they are built from little scraps collected on the ground.  A bit like a patchwork quilt in a way.  They are both put together with loads of love and excitement for the big day.  I love how one nest has a shiny bike ribbon threaded through and another a huge Puka leaf.

Moving on to inside now.  The curtain lady returned today with another armload of fabrics.  This time she had just the thing.  Well actually two just the things.  Seems hubby and I have different opinions on the matter.  The girls are firmly on my side, just as well, they know who cooks their meals!  Well occasionally anyway.  Power cut from 4-7pm tonight meant fish and chips at Nana and Papa's was the only viable option, such a pity.

So anyway without further delay, here is Exibit A:

And now Exhibit B:

And here lies A and B, side by side, peacefully so far:

So would you like to give us your marvelous opinion?  Don't be scared of saying the wrong thing.  No one will bite your head off I promise.  There may be a little huffing if you say the wrong thing, but I won't hold it against you.  Righty ho, the lines are open.

Finished Projects

Do you think our big girls are going to be patchwork lovers too? What a pretty path to our newly decorated family room.

Now I said I had some big news for you today, didn't I? Well guess what I've been busy doing the last couple of weeks? Mmm? Remember this quilt...

Well Daughter No.2's birthday is next Saturday and she was wondering if maybe her quilt might just be ready by then. Well the guilt really set in and off I went in a mad hurry with promises to have it completed in time. (It was meant to be for Christmas!)

Turns out my free-motion quilting isn't the best so hand quilting the floral squares was in order. Yes quite freaky really with such a short time to do it in! But... I did it with a whole week to spare!!! Hurray! My second quilt is ready for gifting and I'm so pleased with it. Not half as pleased as she will be on her 9th birthday. Can't wait. Sorry, photos will have to wait. She's not seen it as I've been working on it in the evenings only.

Now take a look at the latest makeover. This is the before shot up here. The garden here has been a bit of a mess of late, with overgrown plants taking over and not looking that great at all.

Loving these leaves from the Canna Lillies!

And here, after a very hard mornings work by that fabulous hubby of mine, (gosh he makes hard work look easy!) is a very neat and tidy garden with room for the plants to be enjoyed and actually seen.

I just love the new look of my washing area now. The neighbour's cat is not quite as impressed and hubby is finding his holiday isn't that relaxing! But goodness our house is slowly becoming a very welcoming home. Makes me want to spring clean. Not cook unfortunately. That would be overdoing it a little.

Isn't our baby palm tree just the cutest?

Meanwhile, the girls and I made Peppermint Creams. Daughter No.2 thought pink more appropriate for some pretty hearts. I quite agree with her. I wouldn't say it was cleaner work than what was going on outdoors, but definitely tastier.

The recipe came from this wonderful book delivered at Christmas by Santa. It's such a lovely read and full of really simple yummy recipes for all occasions. We have our eyes on a pink cheesecake next!

Just the chocolate dipping to do. A bit messy to make and quite time consuming so we'll save some for our parties which are only one week apart. Littlest one turns three the following Saturday. Who's stupid idea was that?! The other two are exactly two weeks apart so birthday's are in clusters around here.

Right I'd better go and make a well deserved cuppa tea for a tired boy. Maybe a good time to do a little bit of house work too. Like empty the dishwasher from last night! Eeek!

Papa's Transport Day

We've been to a little girl's 3rd birthday party this morning. This is the nightie I made for her. I do love the fabric and must buy some more as it's so very pretty. It's put together like a pillowcase nightie with a bit of lace at the front and pink gingham ribbons.

A holiday tradition has started from Papa's obsession with public transport. For the past two years Papa has taken the big girls out for the day, to use as many different forms of transport as they possibly can. He's getting a bit fancier now, there were folders with itineraries, pens, worksheets and a notebook for recording train numbers etc. Honestly, I couldn't think of anything worse!

They went off with great excitement with the promise of a very exciting and special secret that Papa was hoping to pull off.

First off they drove to Sylvia Park to catch a train to Britomart (the city station) a short distance away. Train number SA5733.

Lemonade and a flat white were consumed. The first of four coffees apparently! Papa says what goes on during the trip, stays on the trip thank you!!

The Maritime Museum was visited quickly before they left for a sail on the Ted Ashby sailing ship where they participated in putting up the sails.

There was a huge cruise ship in, Dawn Princess, and their sail boat went up close to it. Unfortunately No.1 was visiting the toilets when they travelled under the bridge! Really the fascination in toilets. Someone was bungy jumping off the bridge too. Not for the faint hearted.

They saw a man standing next to the ship who looked like an ant in comparison. There's the sky tower point (Aucklands tallest structure) you can see in the photo below. The rest of the tower is behind the tall building.

They crossed the harbour by The Kea ferry boat to Devonport. There were two levels and they insisted on sitting on the top level. The toilets were not visited this time. They used this time to fill in their log books.

When they disembarked from the ferry, they came across three horses pulling a carriage. A huge surprise for all. The girls got front row seats and were even allowed to whip the poor horses. They enjoyed a ten minute ride around the block and No.1 kept looking out for places to eat for lunch.

Lunch was enjoyed at Subway, where rolls were consumed followed by Fanta. Papa had his second flat white.

They returned to the city by ferry again and hopped on the Link bus to visit the new railway station at Newmarket. It only opened the previous day so it was all very nice and clean. The train was on time unlike the first time. Then they rode another train back to the city in order to catch another ferry boat to Half Moon Bay.

Nana was there to meet them and take them home some eight hours later. My goodness they had a fabulous day and they were tired girls and Papas. Oh and that special secret didn't happen. It was going to be one of those bike and carriage rides but they couldn't find them! Never mind the horse and carriage was way better.

Updates:

I've been busy with a bit of summer cleaning this week. I've sorted and tidied our huge games cupboard to make room for some of my fabrics. (At least I have my priorities right!) Tidied the littlest girl's bedroom only to have her trash it an hour later. Why are they so annoying sometimes?! Even the sheets were off the bed. Really, I don't know why I bother sometimes.

Now about the curtain update. Sorry for the delay in news, my mother keeps nagging me about it, but really there isn't any news yet. Didn't really like anything the curtain lady had to show us. She is returning on Monday morning with more samples now that she had seen the room. I'm thinking a little bit glam is me. Neutral but stylish. I did however find some fabulous fabric for cushions. Very exciting!

Some of you have been wondering where I find so much time to do all I do. That's so funny and I do enjoy teasing some of you into thinking we have extended days over here being the first in the world to see the sun, and being hours ahead of most of you. But really I do spend hours sometimes sewing. My girls don't mind a bit (mostly) and love helping me as well. They also help each other so I can continue as they do like to see me progress, especially if it's something I'm making for them.

Also I don't often make mistakes and my sewing is pretty straight so I generally don't take very long to make something. Take that nightie up at the top, I made it before breakfast yesterday.

A big piece of news for you next time! Stay tuned. And no I'm not preggers!!!

Square Rainbows

Look what I've been working on today...

It looks a bit like No.1's custard tart she ate for lunch.

It's amazing how a day can be swallowed up when you get busy on a project. As usual there is nothing planned for dinner. Do you think fish and chips twice in one week is OK? Yeah me too!

Homemade Haven

I have had so much fun this afternoon. Yesterday I joined a string quilt group (details are in my sidebar) which got me motivated to go through all my pretty fabrics and colour co-ordinate them all. I was quite surprised just how many I had. Funny thing is, I have absolutely no purple! I guess it's because I really don't like the colour.

This afternoon I cut and put together these four blocks. I've decided to do a rainbow look with half a square one colour and the other half a different colour with a narrow white band through the middle. And I'm absolutely loving the look. I can't wait to do more but I am supposed to be working on finishing other unfinished projects. Sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day is there?!

Now just take a look at this...

The painting is complete!!! And it looks amazing. So fresh, so clean, so big and rather empty. Now the perfectionist isn't too happy with one small wall where the paint ran out, so he's determined to get another tin to sort it out. Honestly, sometimes that man is too frustrating! It really looks quite fine to me.

The girls rooms are beginning to look like homemade havens. Look what Daughter No.1 made for one of her sisters for Christmas, it's the doll on the left.

And in the littlest sister's room is a creation by No.2, a cute little jelly man. The older three girls made each sister a present for Christmas, their idea, and all were made with lots of love thrown in.

This mini quilt was my first practice piece in free hand quilting. I finally bound it in time for the big day. I love the simplicity of the squares. It would be my favourite style of quilt out of all of them I think. One day I will make a large quilt, with bigger squares, for someones bed.

I can't believe it's 5.45pm and I haven't even thought about tea yet! Guess it will be spag or beans on toast. Mmm or maybe eggs. Got to go or the girls will be complaining! Have a good day/evening.

A Big Thank You!

With the rush just before Christmas, (aren't we all glad that's over for another year!!) I didn't get a chance to post my just in time for Christmas presents that arrived from some very lovely bloggers.

This amazing parcel arrived from Selina. I became her 100th Follower and was promised a gift as a thank you. Really I wasn't expecting anything like what arrived!

Just look at all these sewing bits and bobs. Love the ric rac of course, and the fabric squares, and just look at the little stocking!

These must be the tiniest little bells I've ever seen. They are only a few mm's big and they have a rusted look. I can't wait to use them on something Christmassy. They are beautiful.

And of course a few vintage buttons are always welcome at my home. Love them so much more than new ones. Just look at the depth of colour. Thank you so much Selina!

Oh I nearly forgot, she made me this little needle case too. This will keep one of my daughter's needles out of the carpet and safely in her sewing kit now.

And my lovely commenter friend Priyanca sent me this lovely little braid for Christmas. She saw it and immediately thought of me. What a sweetie she is. I can just see is on a pretty little girls dress.

And a while ago I won a wonderful prize from Juanita. It was a mystery what I was being sent which made the wait very exciting. And just look at all the pretty goodies that arrived! WOW!!

Of course all handmade by her own fabulously creative hands too. I love the box she has printed with her own label on it. But this little cupcake keyring is my absolute favourite piece. Look at how tiny it is and it's crocheted I think too. I'm a bit worried about using it as I'd hate for it to get damaged. So for now I'm just admiring it on my bedside table.

How elegant does my hand look with the bracelet on? It really suits the gold in my ring. I think feeling a little glam today. Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness Juanita!

I don't normally post on a Saturday, but hey, in the holiday's every day is a Saturday isn't it?!! I love January so much. It really is my favourite time of the year. So relaxing and homely.

Fish and Chips were had last night at the beach. It was a bit windy so ended up having the dessert at the Grandparents house much to the disgust of the girls. And today it's meant to be really wet but the sun sure looks pretty and yellow to me. I guess I'll get some washing done after all. Any of you snowy people need any help with the drying of clothes? I'd love to be of some help. Plenty of space left on the clothes line if you need a bit of sun.