Tag Archives: quilting

post cruise & post covid! – Owl Hare & Hollow

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We had a great time in New Zealand and it was so nice to be back on board a cruise ship again. The weather was perfect, it’s a beautiful country and we enjoyed having a balcony cabin so we could just watch the views from our room. Sydney Harbour put on a good show  for our sunset sail-away.

We had a few days scenic cruising starting in Milford Sound – it really is a beautiful place, reminded me of Alaska. It wasn’t as cold as last time we were here but there was still snow on top of the mountains.

Here’s me in the pink.

 

Of course everywhere you go in New Zealand its just filled with picturesque scenes of old lovely old buildings like this church perched on the side of the hill and its just green everywhere!

The highlight for us was visiting the Whakarewarewa  Village. The steam pools were so hot the geyser was spraying quite high and the ground is hot under your feet. It’s not a tourist village but a real home to the people who live there. Unfortunately I can’t upload the videos I took but I have a couple of pics.

Overall we had a great time, but near the end of the cruise we had a bit of a cough and a sniffle and tested positive for Covid. Fortunately we were not too sick at all but as we did not want to bring it home to DD we decided to stay away until we both tested negative. So our holiday was extended another week or so while we lay around at a house at the  beach just resting and recuperating.  We’ve been home a few days now, still not 100% but pretty good.

I took my Owl Hare & Hollow embroidery panels with me on the cruise and I really enjoyed doing them – it’s so relaxing – and I was glad to have them with me when we extended our time away.  I just love this quilt pattern. I think its going to be a long term project though as I’m not so good at English Paper Piecing which I’ve been putting off but I was able to complete five more panels while away.

and I’ve started on some of the easy blocks:

On the home renovating front we’ve been ‘ghosted’ by the tradie who gave us a quote for some work so we have had to start again – finding a new person to come and quote. It’s so frustrating, this is the second tradie who has done this, given a quote then ghosted us when we ask for details to make the deposit. I wish they would just tell us if they don’t want the job and with Christmas coming up that will probably slow them down as well.

Bonnie Hunters Mystery Quilt starts today so I am planning to do that over the coming weeks. I need to pick our my colours so I can get to work on the first clue and finish up a donation quilt thats almost done.

Linking up with:

Winding up the year

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 Before Christmas we had a few days away visiting DS and helping him get some new blinds installed. It’s so nice to visit now and not having to rush back in time for work. We can take 3-4 days, relax, unwind and just enjoy the time together. I’m looking forward to visiting more often in 2023 as we make plans to update the kitchen and bathroom in his unit.

In the evenings I worked on my embroidery and I have only the bees left to do. 

I’ve already picked out my next embroidery project, a lovely Val Laird wallhanging which also uses quilt blocks. I just love her patterns and have a few more lined up in my wishlist.
Since we got back we’ve been busy with the decluttering, with a few more trips to the tip and I have more to go to the op-shop soon. We are going to move my sewing room into DS’s old room. I have just the wardrobe left in DS’s room left to move and then (fingers crossed) I can get DH to paint it – (he hates painting) before I move in. Once thats done we’re going to expand DD’s room to include my old sewing room. It’s exciting to start seeing new spaces appear now that a lot of ‘stuff’ is gone.
So with my sewing, I’ve mostly been cutting down scraps and sorting out all my old, unfinished projects. This drawer sits on my sewing table and as I sew I add any scraps to it. I’ve already emptied it once and then refilled it with bags of scraps from years ago. I just work on it each day for 10 – 15 mins at a time.

I cut my scraps into strips and keep them in clear shoe boxes in the different sizes. Anything smaller than 1.5″ or an odd shape that I think I might use for applique or collages I toss in the basket.

I’ve also been making lists and deciding on which projects I want to do in 2023. I have found lots of great 3 yard quilt patterns which are just the right size for donation quilts. I really need to use up some of my fabric stash so I plan on using the 3 yard pattens to make lap quilts for Comfort Quilts against Cancer as they accept tops and are looking for volunteers.  I used to be an oncology nurse so its a cause I can really get behind. At the moment I’m making the blocks for a Jacobs Ladder lap quilt in between the decluttering.

I’m excited about 2023. I remember this time last year. I was just so exhausted and knew I only had three months until retirement. This year feels so different and I feel so much happier and healthier with time to just enjoy myself. My plan is to actually finish some sewing projects in 2023 lol!
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Comments – I am still having problems commenting on many of the blogs I read regularly which is disappointing but it seems many others have the same problem and there isn’t a solution that works. So unfortunately I just can’t comment on a lot of your blogs anymore, those that I can I will. 

– Sluggy, Kim I have read your blogs every day for many years and I can’t comment on either- I was so shocked and saddened to read about Joel, my condolences to you both and big hugs & prayers Kim xx

Busy Busy Busy!

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 We’ve had a very busy few weeks since I last posted. 

A family get together for a 65th wedding anniversary, our 40th wedding anniversary and DD & I’s birthdays. It’s been lovely to catch up with extended family, some we hadn’t seen since before Covid. I also had the Share the Dignity collections and drop offs to do which are all completed now.

DH and I have also been very busy at home with lots of decluttering going on, and trips to the op shop and the tip each week.  We have also replaced all the blinds on the windows at the front of the house and down one side. I was able to get the double blinds at 40% off at Spotlight which was a good saving. They didn’t have enough in stock to do the whole house so I will get more when they are on sale again. We also bought a new lounge which is SO comfortable to nap on!

When I last posted my plan had been to get ready to do Bonnies Mystery Quilt, but I  got sidetracked by deciding to cut down years of scraps while waiting for the first clue to come out. Well I was enjoying cutting them so much – its quite relaxing -and I have way more scraps than I ever realised, so I decided to skip the mystery this year and cut all scraps instead. I’m hoping to get them all done before the end of the year.  In between scraps and decluttering I have been making my 5″ scraps into lap quilt tops
to donate. 


Today we are putting up our Christmas decorations and next week we will visit DS for a few days to help organise a bathroom and kitchen renovation for his unit. 

It feels good to have the time and energy to get so much done.

I’m still having difficulties commenting, but now have a few ideas so will try and sort that out this week.