Deb's Doodlings

Block envy!

2012-02-06T20:38:00.001+13:00

Well, just got back from a long weekend at the beach again to find one of my blocks has been featured on Cut to Pieces blog. Angela is one of the designers in the 99 Modern Blocks book. I am doing 2 bees that use the designs from this book. With one of them, Modern 99 we get pre-chosen fabric sent to us each month and the other, Modern Minx, we use our own stash, but with guidelines from the bee member as to colours etc.

The first block for the year in the Modern Minx bee was Envy by Angela and I used Hope Valley fabrics by Denyse Schmidt for it. The solids are Kona Green Tea and Snow. It was easy to make and her directions simple to follow.

In the Modern 99 bee, the first block was Mondrian by Jamie Moilanen. The funny thing is that the angel block I made for a member in the 3x6 bee group that didn't receive a block turned out to be for Jamie. I had no idea when I made it and I nearly picked the Mondrian to make for her. How funny would that have been!! It wasn't until I had mailed it off and was looking at making the Mondrian for this bee that I twigged that the name I had written on the envelope and the designer's name in the Modern Blocks book were one and the same!!

Endings and beginnings

2012-01-18T21:23:00.001+13:00

From this on 28 October 2011.....

To this on 10 January 2012

Sarah has finally been given the all clear to start walking so this is her first day without crutches! Yay!!!
What a great start to 2012....

I am now back at work...what a shock to the system that is after 2 and a half months off looking after Sarah! I am enjoying being back at work, but have noticed I don't have near enough computer or quilting time now! I have joined several bees this year as a way to try different types of quilting and to challenge myself. Doing small blocks will be more achievable than trying to do a whole quilt too. This year will be busy, as along with working fulltime, I am also doing the last postgraduate paper in my Masters degree in Nursing.

I signed up to do an angel bee block for Jamie on one of the Flickr bee groups. Her request was bright colours with a black background. Hope she likes it!

And I have booked our next holiday...having listened to all the suggestions from my giveaway, we have decided to go to Hawaii. So all booked and will head off there for a couple of weeks in June. We thought after the stress of the last 3 months we want somewhere relaxing and warm, somewhere where Tony and I can just enjoy one another's company and spend some time together and somewhere that won't cost a fortune!

I love summer

2012-01-05T20:09:00.001+13:00

I am definitely a sun lover. I hate the cold and look forward to the spring blossoms and lambs as I know then it won't be long til summer is here. We have a permanent caravan site at Mount Maunganui and spend a lot of our summers here. I wondered whether we should come over this summer given that Sarah wasn't that mobile but she insisted on wanting to come over. So we all came over on Boxing Day for 2 weeks. Tony went back to work on Tuesday and I go back next week which will be a shock to the system after 2 months off work caring for Sarah. I just love being close to the sea and the beach...there's something about walking along the beach with the waves crashing around you and a gentle breeze blowing.

It certainly is a little more challenging but Sarah is pretty mobile on her crutches now over short distances. She was determined to go to the beach and swim today so off Hannah, Sarah and I trotted with the beach towels, sunscreen and a good book for me. She is such an independent wee girl and so crutches all the way to the water's edge then her big sister helped her into the water.

Nick came down later and just chilled for a while with us.

I haven't done any quilting at all for over 2 weeks. I have joined a couple of quilt bees though...looking forward to getting started on them. This time at the beach is all about family and relaxing and looking forward tithe year ahead.

Christmas baking

2011-12-22T14:39:00.004+13:00

All the shopping is done, presents bought, wrapped, and under the tree. All that is left to do is some Christmas baking. I love baking at this time of the year as I love leafing through all my Christmas books and deciding what to make. One of my fav books is Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, so I whipped up these Chocolate Christmas Cookies and Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies yesterday from her book.

Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
150g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
75g rolled oats (not instant)
125g soft butter
75g dark brown sugar
100g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g dried cranberries
50g pecans, roughly chopped
150g white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180oC/ 350°F/gas mark 4.

Measure out the flour, baking powder, salt and rolled oats into a bowl.
Put the butter and sugars into another bowl and beat together until creamy — this is obviously easier with an electric mixer of some kind, but you just need to put some muscle into otherwise — then beat in the egg and vanilla.
Beat in the flour, baking powder, salt and oat mixture and then fold in the cranberries, chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into a ball with your hands, and then place them on a lined or greased baking sheet and squish the dough balls down with a fork. You may need two baking sheets or be prepared to make these in two batches.
Cook for 15 minutes; when ready, the cookies will be tinged a pale gold, but be too soft to lift immediately off the tray, so leave the tray on a cool surface and let them harden for about 5 minutes. Remove with a spatula to cool fully on a wire rack.

Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/8 cups soft butter ( 2 1/4 sticks, 18 tbsp)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Topping

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

candy sprinkles or sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F Line a cookie sheet with parchment or Silpat.

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Sift 1/3 c cocoa powder into the mixture and beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder, and add to mixture. (Optionally, combine everything in a food processor and mix until combined.).

Form 1 tbsp sized balls. Place on cookie sheet at least 2" apart, pressing down into fat discs. (The dough will be very sticky; gloves may be a good idea.).

Bake 15 minutes. The tops will develop a cracked appearance. Cool 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled. (Placing a sheet of newspaper under the rack will help catch drips in the next step.).

For the topping, combine 2 tbsp cocoa powder with confectioner's sugar, boiling water and vanilla in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat and whisk until smooth. Cool 10 minutes.

Drizzle 1 tbsp of glaze on each cookie, spreading lightly with the back of the spoon, then sprinkle with sprinkles or sanding sugar. Work with 6 cookies at a time so the glaze doesn't dry out before applying the sprinkles.

I also went blueberry picking the other day and with the help of 2 ~~willing~~ bribed teenagers, we scored ourselves loads of fresh blueberries. I think they ate more than they picked but not to worry. then whipped this Blueberry Cheesecake up for dessert.

SMS Giveaway Winner

2011-12-18T12:07:00.000+13:00

Wow, whose fingers are numb from all the blog hopping this week? I have had so much fun and found lots of new blogs to follow. There is so much talent out there in blogland!

I loved reading all your answers. I tried to reply to all comments, but some people are still no-reply bloggers which means I have no way of getting in touch with them. It was fun reading about all the places that are special to people for whatever reason. I now have a few more places to add to my list that I hadn't even considered....who knew Oregon would be so popular! The favourites that kept popping up time and time again were Italy, Paris, NYC, San Francisco, Canada, Hawaii and Oregon. Lots of you had many happy memories of those places.

So without further ado, the winner of the Bliss fabrics is Kath who was lucky number 47

Will send you an email Kath...Congratulations and I hope you have fun with the fabrics. Thanks for entering my giveaway. I am planning to have another one in the New Year, as I had so much fun with this one.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

2011-12-13T08:07:00.002+13:00

Yay, it's here. I love Giveaway Day. I have met so many amazing people through Giveaway Day in the past and found so many new blogs. If you are new to my blog Welcome, and I hope you stay around for a while.

I am giving away some of the leftovers from my Bliss quilt. There are 7 pieces of fabric with most of them measuring about 11" x 22". I just adore this range and it is probably one of my fav ranges of all time. There is also a limited edition pack of silk thread from Dinky Dyes, an Australian hand dyed thread designer.

All you have to do to have a chance at winning this is to tell me
where one of your favourite places is and why?
I love travelling and am always on the lookout for new places to go. We try to go overseas every year...sometimes twice a year!

If you are a new or regular follower you get an extra chance, so be sure to leave a second comment, letting me know if you are. I will post internationally as well.

Have fun blog hopping!

Christmas Wallhanging completed

2011-12-05T09:57:00.001+13:00

I started this wallhanging last year and ran out of metallic thread, so put it to one side until I could get some more thread. It was after Christmas when I finally got more thread and I really didn't feel like making Christmas themed things after Christmas had been and gone, so put it to one side and completely forgot about it. With the silly season upon us now, I thought it was time to drag it out and complete it.

This was my first attempt at FMQ, so please don't look too hard at the background! I then quilted stars on the gold speckly border. Once I got into the FMQ, I really enjoyed it. Got caught a couple of times losing my train of thought and it got a bit pointy or strange shaped!! I didn't want to quilt over the tree so it probably would be a lot easier if I had picked a quilt to just go wild over without having to worry about avoiding bits of fabric.

I have put little Christmas lights and gold stars over the tree, which don't show up that well in the photo, but actually look really cool on the actual wall hanging.

Christmas is here a little earlier...

2011-12-01T10:22:00.000+13:00

With the price of fabric in NZ, I try to take advantage of the US online sales and nearly always buy from Hancocks of Paducah when they have their free shipping sales. The postman dropped off a package today that was postmarked Nov 25, so how is that for fast service!! I only received notifcation from Hancocks on the 27th, so wasn't expecting anything for another few days.

So much loveliness....Terrain by Kate Spain, some Tula Pink and some Joel Dewberry. And a non-stick ruler. It was all on sale so with the free shipping it was an absolute bargain. With fabric here at NZD$28 a metre (USD$22), I paid about a quarter of what I would in New Zealand for the fabric.

I have been wanting an extension table for my sewing machine, so my wonderful hubby decided to make me one. He is an engineer, so has lots of odd things left over from jobs. He just happened to have some plexiglass and some feet so whipped up this table for me.

I am about to quilt my Christmas wall hanging I started last year so will give it a test run (once I have cleaned his grubby fingerprints off it!!). He is one of those guys that if you happen to just mention something, consider it done. I have learnt never to say, "I wonder what it would look like without that fence there" or "I wonder if I should chop out that tree". It can be handy, but I have lost many a lovely tree as a result!! I turn my back for a minute and it's gone!

It does have its good points though..."I wonder how difficult it would be to make a light box" and he had it done in a few hours. " I wonder if I should dig over my garden" and its done. "I think I might wash my car" and its done!!!

Kitchen Window and At the Beach

2011-11-17T14:31:00.001+13:00

I have finished the top of Kitchen Window and am really pleased with how it has turned out. I will do a pieced back from some of the fabrics that I have used on the front and hopefully quilt it his weekend. I am going to FMQ it so wish me luck...it will be my first effort.

It is also Hannah's 15th birthday today. I can't believe that she is already 15. Sarah and I got busy in the kitchen once Hannah had gone to school and made her a cake. She is always lying outside trying to get a tan, so we thought this cake summed up her existence very well...complete with book, iPod, phone (which I believe may have to be surgically removed from her one day!) and her water.

Decadence

2011-11-16T08:15:00.001+13:00

My daughter, Hannah, decided she wanted to make a little something special for dessert last night for her little sister. She found a recipe in one of my magazines White and Dark Chocolate Cheesecake. Oh my gosh, my hips automatically put on 5 kilos just reading the recipe! It was very easy to make apparently and she whipped it ip very quickly. The hardest part she said was resisting the urge to dip her fingers into the mixture and keep tasting it.

My strawberry plants are abundant with strawberries at the moment, so we decorated it with a few strawberries from the garden. The verdict....scrumptious.

Guess what I bought today....

2011-11-12T14:05:00.001+13:00

Anyone that knows me knows I love technology and gadgets. I especially love Apple!! I started with an iMac and an ipod nano, then bought an iphone 2 years ago. When I went to Vietnam I bought an iPad. My husband rolled his eyes and I could see he was thinking "Oh just another toy" and he referred to it as a silly little ipad. Well, he uses that silly little ipad more than me now!!!

The iphone 4S was released here in NZ yesterday, so I popped into town this morning and am now the owner of a new iphone. Siri is fun, but there are obviously issues in understanding my Kiwi accent!!! Oh my, it's a hard decision whether to sew or play with my new toy!!

Source: geeksfever.com

I have found a couple of quilting applications that I use on the ipad...BlockFab HD and the Robert Kaufmann quilting calculator. Does anyone have any favourite apps that they can't do without? I find I use my ipad a lot in the kitchen if I have found a recipe online. I also store pdfs of quilting patterns and photos look great on the ipad, so it becomes a virtual photo album. If you have an ipad, what do you tend to use it for?

Kitchen Window

2011-11-10T15:51:00.001+13:00

A little bit of Anna Maria Horner and a little bit of Pat Bravo mixed together with Kona solids in the first 4 blocks of Kitchen Window by Elizabeth Hartman. I have her book Practical Guide to Patchwork and I like all of the designs in this book. Her instructions are simple and easy to follow and her diagrams make sense! This is stitching up really quickly and hopefully I will have the top finished tomorrow. Wow! That's got to be a record for me.

We are home from the hospital and Sarah is doing really really well. Each day she surprises me more with what she can do. She is transferring independently to and from her wheelchair now and I can hear her rattling around in the kitchen making something to eat!! That girl sure has got determination. Still gets very tired though and needs to have a couple of sleeps a day. That is my "me" time (aka quilting time).

Bloggers Quilt Festival

2011-11-05T13:26:00.005+13:00

My entry into the Blogger's Quilt Festival this time is my Bliss quilt using the Wild Things pattern by Thimble Blossoms. I love this range of fabrics and wanted to showcase the whole range. The aquas, reds and greens look so lovely together and I find them quite restful.

I finished this quilt last night sitting beside my daughter's hospital bed. I had started the binding before her accident and all it needed was to be handsewn down. So the quilt is covering her in bed. I had strict instructions from her that she didn't want to be in the photo!! I think this quilt will always remind me of this ghastly week now.

I had really wanted to do FMQ on this quilt, but ended up chickening out. Didn't feel confident enough, so I straight line quilted it. I pieced the back using my fav fabrics from the range.

How quickly life can change...

2011-11-02T08:03:00.004+13:00

Right now I am sitting at the hospital next to my little girl. Last Friday I got the call that every parent dreads...."hello, There has been an accident and your child is hurt". I was on my way to pick up Sarah as she had been away at school camp for the week. The parent who was driving the car turned into the school driveway without seeing an oncoming car. Sarah was the rear seat passenger and took the full brunt of the impact as the car hit her directly. When I got to the scene, she was trapped in the car and was unconscious. She needed to be freed from the car by the fire service and was air lifted to the hospital. She has sustained a subdural haematoma with a head injury, facial and nasal fractures, fractured pelvis and fractured femur along with more bruises covering her little body.

I can't get any photos to upload at the moment but there is a pic of the car on flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/61671915@N02/6302961567/in/photo stream

It has been a roller coaster these last few days but she is making progress now. She is such a brave little girl and so strong. I can't bring myself to leave her side and when I do, all I think about is getting back to her. It is going to be a long haul for the next few months...

I did go home last evening for a couple of hours and brought back my Bliss quilt to finish the binding on. She sleeps an enormous amount as a result of the drugs and the head injury so I will make good use of the time she is asleep!

Four years ago today....

2011-10-24T17:40:00.002+13:00

Tony and I got married in Rarotonga....

Back from California...

2011-10-19T11:21:00.001+13:00

Oh well we returned to reality yesterday. Had a fabulous time, but it's always good to be home in your own bed. It's a little cooler here...we had temps in the 30s (C) every day, so a bit of a shock to come back to 14 degrees C. The first couple of days we just cruised and shopped and looked around. We were staying at the Hyatt in Anaheim so there were lots of things within walking distance. It seems a lot cheaper there in the supermarkets, but meals out aren't once you add in 20% for the tip. Took a while to get used to tipping, but we eventually got the hang of it. I never knew who to tip and who not to tip, so we just winged it. Didn't get any rotten fruit thrown at us, so we must have done it ok.

Janet and Clara (2 fabulous women I had met online through a quilting board) picked me up on Sunday and we went to M & L Fabrics in Anaheim. What an amazing store and so cheap. I picked up a few bargains ;) Actually after my shopping spree here, I needed to buy another suitcase to get the fabric home!

Clara ready and raring to go with her trolley

Janet hunting for bargains!

The 3 of us after the shopping trip

The next 3 days were taken up with Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Fastpass is fantastic...certainly saved queuing for hours. So many fabulous rides and things to see, but exhausting.

Just before the fun started!!

Pluto was gorgeous and really acted his part well

World of Color Show...amazing!! All done with lights and water

Just inside the entrance

On Thursday, we headed up to LA. Certainly had a different feeling to Anaheim. Our hotel was right behind the Kodak Theater so perfect for just strolling down to Hollywood Boulevard. Everyone there was just trying to make a buck. Michale Jackson's star on the Walk of Fame was certainly the most popular by far. We went to Universal Studios on Friday. I preferred this to Disneyland and will never view movies in the same way again!!

Hannah's new boyfriend

Just resting up under the famous sign!

Chilling with the Simpsons!

From the set of Desperate Housewives. They were filming while we were there.

On Saturday and Sunday we shopped. Just happened to stumble into a little shoe shop...

A few purchases...Thought we were quite restrained.

So goodbye LA...

Blissful times

2011-10-05T19:55:00.001+13:00

I have had my Bliss quilt all basted and ready to quilt for the past couple of weeks but have just not had the time to do it. I really want to FMQ it, but am a little worried I will make a complete disaster of it. This is one of my favourite fabric ranges, so am not willing to settle for second best with it!!

On another note, in 3 days time we are heading to Disneyland, CA for 10 days!!! Well Disneyland for 4 days and LA for 4 days, but with the time difference we are away 10 days. I am taking the kids and they are SO excited. I have never been and they are old enough to appreciate it now so I can't wait. Already mapped out a couple of quilt shops around Anaheim that I will visit, much to the kids disgust (aaawww mum, can't you go anywhere without looking at quilt shops!!!). I am not going all that way without adding a few purchases to my suitcase!! Fabric is so expensive here compared to the USA, so I have already warned my hubby we need to take an extra bag!!

I also have a new job which has been keeping me busy...still nursing but am now the charge nurse of the High Dependency Unit. Still nice regular hours...Mon- Fri but I do have to make the move back to shiftwork within the next couple of years :( And I thought I had done my last ever night shift...

Ok see you when I get back in a couple of weeks....

Spring is in the air!!

2011-08-30T22:06:00.000+12:00

Our babies have all been born. We had 4 ewes that were pregnant...3 had twins and one had triplets so it is a real nursery in our field at the moment.

Just a couple of days old

Sarah with the youngest one. Mum won't feed it, so we are hand rearing it

Hannah, my oldest daughter, with a set of twins

Sheep kisses for Hannah!

Isn't this so cute!!!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-05-21T13:03:00.001+12:00

This is the first time I have participated in the Blogger Quilt Festival. I have had so much fun admiring and looking at all the quilts on display so far. I just can't pick a favourite though...there is so much creativity and talent in the quilts displayed.

This quilt came about as I wanted a Kiwiana (things unique to New Zealand) wall hanging. I had had a long break from quilting due to bringing up a family and work committments, but a visit to a craft show last year got the quilting juices flowing again! This was the first quilt I made on my return to quilting.

Initially it was supposed to be just a small wall hanging but I just couldn't decide which charm squares to use. I wanted to incorporate designs that held special memories for me, so it is now a very large wall hanging!! I have used all NZ fabrics in this and came up with the design myself. I straight line quilted it mainly because I have never done FMQ, but I think the straight line quilting is perfect for this quilt.

It is now hanging in our family room. Lucky, we have a very big wall!!

Thanks Amy for hosting this fabulous festival.

Back from our Vietnam adventure

2011-05-14T21:26:00.001+12:00

Woman off to set up her food stall

Wow, what an interesting country. It was hot, humid and smelly, but the culture and history is incredible. We hit Ho Chi Minh City at the beginning of April and what an assault to the senses. The noise was all around us. HCMC has a population of 10 million and 5 million people have scooters to get around. They toot as they go past other vehicles or pedestrians so there is constant honking. So once you adjust to the noise levels, you try to adjust to the heat...it was mid 30s (100 fahrenheit) and humid. I spent a lot of time having cold showers! And then there is the smell of sewerage, cooking, fumes and goodness knows what else!

Barge on the Me Kong Delta carrying rice husks

We travelled out to the Me Kong Delta, the Cu chi tunnels and then went up to Dalat in the highlands. It was lovely up there...much cooler and very green. Spent a night there and then headed over to Nha Trang, a beachside city via the central highlands. Didn't enjoy Nha Trang at all....very touristy, agressive hawkers and the beach wasn't very clean. Plus it was incredibl;y hot and humid here.

Hoi An fruit seller and local in the traditional ao dai

Headed up to Hoi An after this which I loved! It has a French feel to the town and is very old. Could have stayed here for the rest of my holiday! Hoi An has over 400 tailors here and you can get clothes made very cheaply. I bought some silk here which has the most beautiful fondle factor. We drove from Hoi An to Hue via the Hai Van pass. The scenery along this route was some of the most beautiful and spectacular that we saw during our entire holiday.

Our Hanoi Kids guides outside the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

We then flew to Hanoi. I loved this very old city with the Old Quarter. One of the highlights was taking a trip with Hanoi Kids, a volunteer organisation made of of university students that wish to show off their city. They also use it as an opportunity to improve their English. We had 2 amazing guides who spent the entire day with us showing us around Hanoi. We certainly had an insight into their lives and culture doing this. The service is entirely free and they will not take any financial recompense at all.

Halong Bay

The highlight, though, for both Tony and I was Halong Bay. We spent 3 days and 2 nights doing a cruise on Halong Bay, a World Heritage site that has over 3000 limestone karsts. It was a great way to finish the holiday. We took over 2000 photos, and I have put a few of my fav ones on Flickr.

The food was amazing. I did a cooking class there at the Morning Glory cooking school. It wasn't just about cooking...it was also about their culture and customs and why they eat what they do. Fascinating. My fav food had to be the fresh spring rolls and the Cao Lau noodles, a local specialty in Hoi An.

The other highlight of my trip is that I bought an Ipad 2!!! Yay!! I just LOVE my new toy. They had sold out in NZ as I had tried to buy one before I left so I could keep in touch with the kids etc while I was away. (All the hotels have free wifi which is fabulous). Anyway, found one in duty free on my way out of NZ. How lucky was that!!

A finish of a different kind...

2011-04-02T16:52:00.001+13:00

My baby turns 10 in a couple of weeks, but since we head to Vietnam for 3 weeks next Friday, we are having her party today. I can't believe she is 10! Yikes, where have the years gone. Anyway, the house is full of squealing girls and the cats have gone into hiding!

She asked for a make up bag as her cake, so I have been spending the morning modelling fondant. All of it is edible so I better warn all the parents that they will be on a sugar high soon!!

A finish, a spend-up & a fun afternoon!

2011-03-27T19:11:00.000+13:00

I have finally finished my postage stamp quilt. I went with some of the suggestions and quilted it on the diagonal. I am really pleased with how this turned out and have been snuggling under it on the couch watching DVDs today. I coupled some of the left over blocks with a vibrant red for the back and bound it with a spotty fabric to match the greens in the quilt. My egg of a husband would not behave while I was taking this photo so unfortunately you have to look at him too!!

I took advantage of Pink Chalk Fabric's sale too and bought a bunch of Central Park (I love this range) and Amy Butler fabrics. And Hancocks is offering free international shipping so I just had to go and grab the Central Park designs I still needed, along with a few other goodies.

I had such a fun afternoon yesterday. I signed up for a Free Motion Quilting class at Donna' s Quilt Studio as I really want to be able to feel like I can tackle FMQ on my quilts. Up until now I have been straight line quilting. Donna is such an amazingly talented quilter and she makes FMQ seem so easy. I can see I am going to have to practice, practice, practice.

A dark, dark day for NZ

2011-02-23T18:37:00.000+13:00

No doubt many of you have heard about the Christchurch earthquake yesterday that has destroyed a beautiful city and taken so many lives. It was bad enough Christchurch suffered a devastating earthquake in September and then we had the mining tragedy where so many lives were lost just weeks after. Now, Mother Nature has shown us her ferocity again and attacked without thought or regard....a mother killed as she clung to her baby in her arms, people crushed as buildings fell on their cars or the bus they were in, office workers trapped in their buildings, unbearable pain and sadness amongst the tragedy.

Our iconic beautiful cathedral in the heart of Christchurch, before & after

Photos courtesy of the TV 3 news website

The government is reporting that it is our worst national disaster. Stay strong, fellow Cantabrians. our thoughts are with you.

A surprise and a finish

2011-02-16T19:50:00.000+13:00

Finished the baby quilt a couple of days ago, so just in time for the baby shower on Sunday. I just used the blue print from the front on the back as it is kinda cute for a kid with all the bugs and butterflies. I just did straight line quilting along the seams and around the outside of the small boxes. Since it was a gift I didn't want to stuff it up with FMQ as I have not had much practice with that.

And today when I got home from work there was a package waiting for me. I won a giveaway a couple of weeks ago at Canton Village Quilt Works. Nine luscious fat quarters of Pat Bravo's Paradise. This really is just beautiful. To tempt me more Pat enclosed a catalogue of Art Gallery fabrics. Oh my, such lusciousness to drool over!! I guess this is what my hubby feels like when he opens a Repco catalogue or Supercheap Auto catalogue lol

Baby quilt top done

2011-02-07T21:42:00.001+13:00

With the hot weather this past weekend, it was much cooler to stay inside and sew. Remember my friend who is pregnant...well her baby shower is in 2 weeks time so I pieced and sewed the top to the quilt I am going to give her. As I don't know the sex at this time I wanted to make something in bright primary colours that would suit either a boy or a girl.

I used Elizabeth Hartman's Frames baby quilt as a base and just mixed it up a little differently. It looks lovely and bright in real life. The photo seems to pick up the lime batik more than it looks on the actual quilt top and has washed out the other colours. I hope to get it finished this weekend.

Can it get any hotter?

2011-02-05T13:35:00.000+13:00

It is so hot and muggy here at the moment. It's kind of weird knowing that places like Texas are even getting snow and we are in such a heat wave. What is going on with the weather in the world?

Even the girls are hot...

So we got a shearer in to give them a haircut!

Yay, much cooler. Thanks Mum!!

That giant triffid you can see in the background of the photos above is a self sown pumpkin in my compost bin. It has totally taken over all 3 compost bins and the back yard. Covered in pumpkins!

Postage Stamp Quilt top all done

2011-02-02T21:21:00.000+13:00

I have been enjoying the Postage Stamp Quilt Along that Rachel has been hosting from P. S. I Quilt. I used Keiki Tweet Tweet and Kona Snow. It didn't take too long to sew all the blocks together and I love how this has turned out. Now I just have to decide how to quilt it. I have several blocks left over that I will use for a pieced back.

It was a great ad filler-in!! I was watching a movie on TV and was pinning and matching my squares while the movie was on. As soon as the ads came on, I would hurtle out to the sewing machine in the next room and there was just enough ad time to sew a block together! It was one of those quilts that I had to do "just one more block", so I ended up going to bed about midnight last night!! There is a lot of crap on TV after 11pm if you don't have Sky TV, I have realised. Was a little hard to get up at 5.45 am this morning, I must admit.

Kayaking on a cake!

2011-01-29T14:05:00.001+13:00

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks now my holidays have finished and I am back at work. Doesn't take long for that holiday feeling to disappear, does it!!

A good friend of mine asked me to make a cake for her daughter's 21st. She is a very sporty girl into all sorts of outdoor sports and adventure activities...certainly not into traditional cakes at all. One of her favourite activities is kayaking so I thought she would love something along that theme.

I spent my nights this week fashioning a kayak, rocks, a sporty girl and making the cake. It has been so hot over here though that within the space of a couple of hours my poor little kayaker had gone from being a very upright smiley gal to a slumped adventurer with no expression!! I ran it past the quality control officer and he reckoned it still looked ok so I hope she doesn't sink any more otherwise she will be under water!!

The party is tonight so I hope she likes it.

Postage stamp quilt along Part 1.

2011-01-14T20:42:00.000+13:00

Kona Snow and Keiki Tweet Tweet

Well it seemed too good an opportunity not to do the Postage Stamp Quilt-Along since a bunch of jelly rolls have just arrived in my mailbox from the Fat Quarter Shop. I have chosen Keiki Tweet Tweet by Moda as I like the colours in this range and I think they contrast well with the Snow. So the last couple of days have been spent sorting and sewing into strip sets. My eldest daughter did come into the room while I was sewing and comment that I seemed to be taking over the house with fabric and my sewing! Sound familiar, anyone??

I have 2 days left of my 3 weeks holiday and am not sure how on earth I will be able to get up for work at 5.45am on Monday. I haven't been waking up until 9.30 - 10ish every day! Anyway, the thought of work is all very depressing, so I am planning our next holiday already!! Tony and I are off to Vietnam in April for 3 weeks. Neither of us have ever been there, so we are looking forward to exploring a part of Asia that we have both read so much about. He loves war and history books so is very excited that he gets to drag me around all the war memorabilia and museums. Yawn! I am more interested in the beaches and food!

Was sorting through the paperwork in the office a couple of days ago and Dinah, the cat, came and plonked herself down beside me (as they do) right in the middle of all the paper. There's no show without Punch, so Max the dog came and made himself comfortable on the cat!

And lastly, my thoughts and prayers go out to our neighbours across in Queensland with their terrible floods. We watched the news tonight and the devastation is incredible. Thankfully, my friends over there are all safe, but I know many families are grieving for loved ones. A terrible tragedy.

Postage stamp quilt along.

2011-01-10T15:31:00.001+13:00

Rachel from P.S. I Quilt is having a postage stamp quilt-along that I have decided to do. All you need are 2 jelly rolls, one plain and one whatever, and some fabric for the backing and binding. I love the look of postage stamp quilts and quilt alongs are always fun. I love seeing what other people come up with. I love Rachel's blog too. She is another quilter and blogger with lots of great tutorials on her blog.

I took advantage of the Fat Quarter Shop's sales before Christmas and picked up a heap of jelly rolls, so this will be perfect for them. However, I really wouldn't mind Central Park or Sunkissed in a postage stamp quilt, and of course I didn't buy them at the time!

Perhaps I could do the Blogger's Block-a-Palooza as well as this looks like it is going to be fun as well, and I could use either of these 2 ranges in this. Oh, decisions, decisions...

Giveaways
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict has been blogging for a year. She has a fabulous blog and is an inspirational quilter who has formed a quilt ministry and dedicates many of her quilts to those who are ill or in need of comfort. To celebrate her anniversary she is giving away the most gorgeous pillow cover.

Ryan at I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts is another talented quilter with a fabulous blog. He is having a giveaway of 10 FQ of Denyse Schmidt's Greenfield Hill.

Summer holidays, quilting and giveaways!

2011-01-09T23:06:00.005+13:00

Well, I have just had 2 glorious weeks at the beach which is why I have been very quiet on posting comments to blogs and on updating mine. Free wi-fi on my iphone was all I could manage and those times were few and far between considering I had to traipse to the mall every time I wanted to do it. The only thing to spoil it was Sarah getting an ear infection on Tuesday, which of course is a public holiday so it cost a small fortune to take her to the dr and get antibiotics ($64). They didn't work, so it was quite a palava to get another antibiotic without having to pay the casual rates of the medical centre over at the Mt. We got there in the end and she is much better now, poor little poppet. My own GP was away on holiday, and none of the other doctors at my medical centre would authorise a prescription without seeing Sarah, and I wasn't going to hike an hour and a half back home, nor was I going to pay another consultation fee at the beach. So I pulled the nurse card, which I hate doing, and hey presto, things began to happen!!

So apart from that little hiccup I relaxed and read and sewed and swam and walked along the beach and did not a lot else. Something to be said for the Kiwi summer at the beach.

I cut out the fabric for the 4 blocks I have so far for Down in the Garden and sewed the blocks. Will start the stitcheries on them this week. Lighting is not the best in the photo, sorry. Was taken at night.

I also cut out my Bliss fabric for Wild Thing.

And I had a bunch of goodies waiting for me from The Fat Quarter Shop when I got home!! I took advantage of their Christmas sales. Got a bunch of fabric and 3 very cool books....Simplify by Camille Roskelley, another of Carrie Nelson's books and a Sew Scrappy mag. Love Camille's book. I can see it will become a fav along with Elizabeth Hartman's one that arrived a few weeks ago.

Giveaways
And, of course, I came back to a load of blogs to catch up on and there are so many giveaways out there in blogland at the moment!

Check out Kaelin who has reached 10,000 hits!! Woohoo!! She has some gorgeous fabric up for grabs and a book that I would love to own.

Jo at Bear Paw does the most amazing mini quilts and is having a giveaway of one of these, a ball of yarn and 10 FQ of fabric. The mini quilt is incredible...

Linda at Stray Stitches has an amazing giveaway of 25 fat quarters and 5/8 yard of black fabric as well as a beautiful pattern "Flying Colors" that you could use this beautiful fabric for. I really enjoy Linda's blog as well and there is always something interesting of fun to read on there.

Inch Worm Fabrics has the yummiest, richest looking red fabric in "half a jelly roll" with a lovely pattern to go with the fabric. There will be just enough time to whip it up for Valentine's Day.

The Jolly Jabber is giving away a new range of delicious looking fabric by Amanda Murphy. I say delicious as it is called Swiss Chocolate and it looks good enough to eat!!

Ann at Renegade Quilter has a lovely French General jelly roll to give away "just because"!!

Reflections...

2011-01-02T09:27:00.001+13:00

Well, doesn't it feel strange to be in a new decade. I can remember when everyone was panicking with Y2K, and that just seemed like a couple of years ago. Now 10 years have gone by and there have been so many changes in that time....

My father died nearly 6 years ago and I still miss him such a lot, but time is a great healer of easing the pain. I still think of him so often and there is so much I want to share with him....

I completed my family of 3 gorgeous kids who drive me demented at times, but I wouldn't swap them for anything....

I started a business Countrystitch which specialised in hand-dying cross stitch fabric. Back then there were only 4 stores that did this and they were based in the US and Canada. Ironically, most of my sales were to the US though as our exchange rate at the time meant that my fabrics were cheaper than in the US. However, I created a monster and it was too successful which meant I worked long hours and wore myself out, leaving no time for my family and ME! So sadly after much contemplation, I sold the business and it is still going strong now with its third owner.

I left my husband, because of many reasons but his drinking and violence while drinking was extreme and then I found out he also took illicit drugs, and he was not willing to stop, so I made the very difficult decision for me and my family to end our marriage. He still has not forgiven me, despite having remarried and is supposedly very happy as she lets him drink, smoke and take drugs to his heart's content!

I remarried as well to a wonderful man, Tony, and am incredibly happy. We have been together 5 years and married for 3. We had a lovely wedding with all our kids in Rarotonga. We complement one another so well and are so in tune with one another it is spooky at times. And we are always laughing and laughter is such a good tonic.

Our wedding day October 2007

We gained a dog, Max who is the most adorable thing when he is not rolling in sheep or hen manure, dragging disgusting old bones around or pretending he is a Great Dane!

Look Mum, I made a hole in the garden!

We bought a lovely old house in the country. just outside of town. Here, I potter around in my vegetable garden, talk to the sheep, entertain friends, lie under a tree and read, sew in a sunny room or generally relax. It is my sanctuary as it is away from noise and hustle and bustle (apart from when the 5 kids are here!).

I returned to nursing after a long time away and am loving being back. I was originally doing shift work in an ICU, but took on an educator role 18 months ago that is clinically based on a cardiothoracic and vascular ward. Lovely hours, no night shift (yay!) and a great team of nurses to work with.

And I returned to quilting after a very long break away. I started quilting when I was in my 20s, but then went travelling overseas for several years, then family commitments took over and I got into cross stitch instead. Anyway, I got bitten by the quilting bug again earlier this year and am loving it. I treated myself to a new Bernina 440 QE and have so many quilting plans now!!

New Year's Eve 31 Dec 2010

Vignette Giveaway

2011-01-01T16:42:00.001+13:00

I was very excited when Leanne Beasley released her magazine Vignette. She had mentioned a block of the month quilt that would spread over 8 issues, with each month featuring 2 blocks. This is what caught my eye initially. I am enjoying Down in the Garden and I like Leanne's designing style, and of course, she uses those yummy Rosalie Quinlan fabrics. The more I see of this quilt, the more I want to make it!

Anyway, I missed out on getting a copy here, so was chuffed to see a giveaway for it on the Vignette blog. Go and check it out if you haven't discovered Vignette already.

Source: http://vignetteinstitches.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T16:11:00.000+13:00

To all my readers and followers

Happy New Year!

May 2011 be filled with happiness and laughter for you all.

It's all over for another year!

2010-12-26T07:57:00.001+13:00

Well, I don't even have a photo to share from Christmas Day, sorry. This year, the kids went to their dad's on Christmas Eve. My family is very small...I only have 1 sister and her family and she was off to her in-laws for the day and my mother was spending the day with her friend who is also on his own. This happens every second year and last time Tony and I went to Mellow Manor which was absolutely divine. Mellow Manor is a fabulous old house that has been done up to cater for wedddings and functions. It is just beautiful inside and the grounds are well manicured and perfect for lazing around on after one has gorged on too much Christmas pud!

So we booked ourselves in again and it was just lovely. I am surprised by how many families go out for Christmas lunch. It's got to cost them a small fortune as it is $90 a head for adults! Anyway, it's always fun people watching!!

It is a smorgasbord type lunch with the usual Christmas foods and I gorged myself, I must admit. Oh my, I haven't eaten that much in a very long time. I was going to get my money's worth, that's for sure!! So we headed home 10kgs heavier and had an afternoon sleep to recover!!

Because I was in no shape to tackle anything physical after such a lunch, I continued with my Christmas tree wall hanging. Too late this year I know, but it will be all done for next year now!

Still got 2 boxes and the pot to stitch but need to get some silver and metallic blue thread

Santa has arrived!

2010-12-20T17:28:00.001+13:00

I finished him a couple of days ago. He was very easy to make. Yo yo makers are the best invention!!!

Anyway, he looks like he has had a little too much eggnog in this photo!! But I think he is kind of cute.

We have a winner!!

2010-12-18T11:06:00.004+13:00

Firstly, a big thank you to all those who have entered my giveaway. Some of you I already know, but I see lots of new faces. I am looking forward to visiting your blogs over the next few days. I loved reading all the comments and have learnt so many new things about my quilting friends around the world.

Anyway, without further ado....I used Random.org to pick a winner. For the life of me, i could not figure out how to paste the random number generator thing here. I am on a Mac, so not sure if that is why, but I have spent far too long pondering and wasting time.

So, the lucky person is

Missy

Missy said...

I'm a follower from the US. I'm in South Carolina and this part of the state we call a black hole for rain and snow. Everything parts right around us.

Congratulations Missy and I will send you an email to get your address.

Giveaway Day!

2010-12-13T19:58:00.005+13:00

Sew Mama Sew is having its fabulous annual Giveaway Day on December 13th. I will participating this year with some lovely New Zealand fabrics. Up for grabs are 3 luscious fat quarters named after our New Zealand flora and fauna.

Source: http://www.paua.net.nz

Paua, also known as abalone, a univalve shellfish, famous for its irridescent blues and greens in its shell. The inside is also edible and is often made into fritters. The inside of the shell is glorious in its colours and is often used for jewellery, ornaments and trinkets.

Source: nzalpineplants.co.nz
Tussock, found throughout NZ, in alpine regions, forests and sandy dunes.

Source: nzpublishing.co.nz

The bush weta is about 4 inches long and is only found in NZ. It is so old it has outlived the dinosaurs! There are 5 different types of weta in NZ and about 70 different species. They are one of the heaviest insects when they are fully grown. They have ears on the front of their knees and can feel the vibrations of noises around them. They live in the forest and in dark damp places like the inside of rotting trees. My son has a fascination for them much to my disgust!!

Anyway, the giveaway is for this....3 fat quarters of Paua, Tussock and Bugs in the Undergrowth! Don't worry, I won't send you a real weta!!

Now that you know a little about my country, I would love to know a little about yours. To enter this giveaway:

1. Become a Follower

2. Tell me something interesting about your state or country.

This giveaway is open until December 17th and I will ship internationally. I will draw the winner randomly on the 18th.

Please check your blog email is set to receive replies. I am receiving a lot of comments that are set to No Reply and therefore will not be able to contact you if you are the winner. If you are unsure what this means go to your Dashboard, select Edit User profile and select Show my email address. If it is not selected then you are set to No Reply. I reply to all comments via email so if you do not receive a reply from me, it more than likely means you are set to No Reply.

Good luck!

Giveaway!!

2010-12-09T22:05:00.002+13:00

Sew Unique is offering this amazing giveaway of a wonderful bundle of 28 fat quarters from the Shelburne Calico Garden fabric collection. Pop over there before December 16th to enter this fabulous giveaway!

Melbourne!!

2010-12-07T19:11:00.001+13:00

Well, I have just returned from a fabulous 4 days in Melbourne. We left early Friday morning and I crawled into bed at 3.30am this morning. Yawn! So that meant 4 very full days of shopping, eating, drinking and sightseeing. I lived close to Melbourne back in 1991 and spent a lot of time in the city, so I was looking forward to going back. However, it has changed immensely and there has been a ton of development. I didn't recognise some parts of the city, but other parts haven't changed at all.

On Sunday we went to St Kilda on the tram. Trams are such a great way to get around Melbourne and we caught the tram just about everywhere. St Kilda is a fabulous wee seaside suburb about 15-20 minutes from the CBD. It that used to be famous for its red light district that developed after the war and then it developed a slightly alternative lifestyle with many bohemians and artists living there. In the 1990s, as more and more people decided it was a great place to live due to its proximity to the sea and the CBD, the image of St Kilda changed and the lower socio-economic group was pushed out. It has lots of fabulous old buildings and architecture and I had fun wandering around exploring. It is well known for its markets on a Sunday there and I managed to find some lovely gifts for family back home.

It was incredibly hot there. The temperature got to 31 degrees Celcius and the humidity was terrible. I don't know how these people were managing to lie out and bake in the sun.

Every day was hot with temps around 30 degrees C. Here we are trying to keep cool in the shade of a tram stop!! It wasn't working.

One of the little shopping lanes sprinkled throughout the CBD. I spent lots of time shopping. Managed to find Material Obsession One and Two by Sarah and Kathy at a great price. These books were on my Xmas wish list so I bought myself an early Xmas present! Also managed to pick up some quilting mags that I have never seen in NZ and the latest edition of Australian Homespun. Didn't come across any quilting shops though, which really didn't matter as there was so much else to look at.

Anyway, back to work and reality tomorrow...sigh

NaBloPoMo Day 30: Yay!!!!

2010-11-30T17:32:00.002+13:00

Yay, I did it...30 days with a new post every day for National Blog Posting Month. And very appropriate to finish today as I finished the binding on my Kiwiana quilt last night. I love how this turned out, and as it's my first finish since I have gotten back into quilting, it's even more of an achievement.

I am off to Melbourne in 3 days for a long weekend. I am counting down the hours. Can you believe this is my first girl's weekend ever. And we are hardly "girls" as all of us are well past girl years!! Still, it will be fun to get to spend a few days with some good friends, shopping, eating and drinking.

I popped by Elizabeth Hartman's shop last night. Even though I have ordered her book, I do like her design style so ordered 3 more patterns as she had 25% off...New Wave, Rec Centre Picnic Quilt and the Simple Baby Quilts. Will use this last one to make a quilt for my friend who is expecting a baby that I mentioned a few posts ago.

NaBloPoMo Day 29: Breast Cancer and Pink Cupcakes

2010-11-29T11:00:00.003+13:00

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among New Zealand women, with more than 2500 new cases expected this year - also approximately 20 men will be diagnosed.
More than 600 women will die from the disease this year - making it the leading cause of cancer-related death in females.
1 in 9 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime.
90-95% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.
Getting older is the most common risk factor: over 70% of new cases are among women 50years and over.
Women of all ages, especially those over the age of 40 years, need to be ‘breast aware'.
Early detection of breast cancer increases a woman's chance of survival. Today, close to 85% of NZ women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive 5 years or more, and the death rate has decreased by nearly 24% between1995-2005⁴.
New Zealand's free, nationwide breast screening programme, BreastScreen Aotearoa, checks women with no breast cancer symptoms - ‘well' women - for early breast cancer between 45-69 years of age with a screening mammogram every two years.

Source: NZ Breast Cancer Foundation website.

I am sure most of you have been affected in some way by breast cancer whether it is from personal experience or you know someone who has or has had the disease. The Breast Cancer Foundation does amazing work and raises the profile of breast cancer in NZ. It relies totally on grants and donations so we try to support them each year by having a pink cupcake week. We have no problems selling them at work...the hospital is a pretty big place and there are always hungry staff!! In fact last year, we had so many pre-orders we couldn't keep up! All proceeds go to the Foundation.

I have been baking cupcakes all day and here is a little sample of what they look like.

NaBloPoMo Day 28: Giveaway at Stray Stitches

2010-11-28T11:15:00.001+13:00

Linda at Stray Stitches is having an amazingly generous giveaway of a year's worth of Thimbleberries BOM. Head over to her blog and let her know what your favourite movie is to enter.

Image source: straystitches.com

NaBloPoMo Day 27: Summer vegetables

2010-11-27T11:05:00.002+13:00

With all the gorgeous weather we have been having, the garden is flourishing. I grow all my own vegetables as you can't beat going and picking a fresh lettuces, aromatic herbs, sweet tomatoes and tender cucumbers to throw together to make a quick salad.

Unfortunately, we are in dire need of rain. Being on a lifestyle block is awesome, but it means we rely on our own water supply which consists of a large water tank and nature being generous with its rainfall! Last year, I forgot I had the sprinkler on the garden and it drained our tank dry overnight. Yikes!!! Had a fab growth spurt in the garden though !

My zucchini plant goes into overload every year. I have become very inventive in the use of zucchini...Zucchini Chocolate cake (moist and so so delicious). stir fries, zucchini and feta fritters with freshly made salsa, grated and added to meat dishes, zucchini and potato soup that I freeze for the winter months ahead. And if they suddenly turn into marrows overnight, then the chooks love pecking at them.

Mmmm, strawberries....it's a race to get to them before the birds do. They only have to have a hint of pink and them and that pesky starling can spot it from a mile away! Lots of flowers on the plants and a few green berries...a few more days and I will be eating fresh strawberries and home made ice cream.

Lemon thyme and marigolds

Broccoli...my favourite vegetable. So good for you too with its high level of vitamins and antioxidant properties. It's been regarded as a superfood as it has so many health benefits.

A new type of telegraph cucumber I am trying this year. I swear it doubles in size every day!!

NaBloPoMo Day 26: Yay, Kiwiana quilting done

2010-11-26T18:06:00.002+13:00

I thought this would never end!! Because it was black I found I couldn't do too much at night on it so it meant having to do it after work. I am pleased with how it turned out. Will do the binding tonight and over the weekend. Each square represents something from NZ that is uniquely New Zealand. It was supposed to be a wallhanging but might be too big for that now!!

NaBloPoMo Day 25: Giveaway.

2010-11-25T18:06:00.001+13:00

Samelia's Mum is hosting a giveaway on her blog to celebrate her 100th post. A gorgeous Bronwyn Hayes tote with fabric and 3 Christmas fat quarters.

Image source: http://sameliasmum.blogspot.com/

NaBloPoMo Day 24: RIP Pike River Coal miners

2010-11-24T20:27:00.001+13:00

Image source: lisaglanville.com

Today is a sad day for New Zealand.

29 miners lost their lives after a second explosion today at the Pike River Coal Mine.

I know we were all hoping for a miracle after the first explosion last week and that these miners would be able to be rescued. The youngest, just seventeen, at his first day on the job and the oldest 62.

My heart goes out to all those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. Such a catastrophe and so, so sad...

RIP

NaBloPoMo Day 23: Nearly done!!

2010-11-23T18:06:00.001+13:00

Oh I am so close to finishing the quilting on my Kiwiana quilt I am not even going to post anything tonight. I am so wanting to finish this as I have just ordered a ton of Bliss form a couple of online stores and want to be able to tackle my next project when it arrives.

Back to the machine.....

NaBloPoMo Day 22: A house without books is like a room without windows. ~Heinrich Mann

2010-11-22T18:51:00.002+13:00

I love books and reading and cannot resist buying books. I seem to have a weakness for cookbooks, quilting books, and good novels. So when I saw this below on a friend's facebook page today, I had to nick it for myself and just see how well read I really am!! I was very surprised...there are so many books I have not read. I often buy books at the op shops or second hand stores and pop it in my library for a rainy day!! I have shelves of books I need to read

And if I start a book, I stick it out even if it is boring the pants off me. The Time Traveller's Wife was one of those books. All my friends raved about what a fantastic book it was, but I just kept persevering as I thought it's gotta get better!! It took me like THREE months to get through that darn book!

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

Instructions: Copy this and bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (I have this in my library to read!)

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (haven't read any of the HP series yet)

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (Have this on my bookshelf too!)

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk (also in my library!)

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (have this in my library)

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (in my library)

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

NaBloPoMo Day 21: Orzo Salad

2010-11-21T10:12:00.001+13:00

You know summer's coming when friends start dusting off their BBQs and inviting people over. It's kind of a mystery as to what will be lurking under the BBQ cover when winter finally disappears and the days start to get longer. We haven't had our first barbie yet, but I think Tony is planning to attack the BBQ tomorrow and see what awaits him!!

We went to a friend's place last night and as in the Kiwi tradition, we were asked to take a salad or a dessert. I almost went the lazy way and piled up a plate of strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce, but thought probably half the others going will have the same idea, I'm sure!! Delicious but there is only so many strawberries a gal can eat. So I decided to go with an old faithful dish that always gets rave reviews and I always get a heap of requests for the recipe. Orzo Salad is a bit like the frittata, where anything goes and it changes every time I make it.

Orzo Salad

1 cup of dried orzo pasta

½ cup finely diced salami, finely diced

1 red capsicum (or yellow), finely diced

1 avocado, sliced or diced

big handful of cherry tomatoes. halved

spring onions, chopped finely

100g feta cheese, crumbled

½ cup toasted almonds

handful of coriander or parsley, chopped finely

I also use vegetables such as asparagus, cucumber, zucchini, peas, grated carrot, red onion, broccoli etc. Just depends what is in season or in the garden. I don't always add the salami. I also might add pumpkin seeds, pinenuts or sunflower seeds instead of the almonds

Cook pasta until al dente. Mix some olive oil through it to stop it sticking together and when cool, add the remainder of the ingredients.

Dressing

1 garlic clove, crushed

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbsps lemon juice

1 tsp sugar
splash of sesame oil

Shake well and stir through salad.

NaBloPoMo Day 20: Mining tragedy

2010-11-20T18:10:00.001+13:00

Dominating the headlines in New Zealand today is the terrible explosion in the South Island at the Pike River Coal mine. The explosion happened yesterday and there are 29 miners and contractors trapped underground until conditions are deemed safe for rescuers to start the rescue operation.

NZ Herald has a good summary and time line of what is happening. My heart goes out to anyone affected by this terrible tragedy and thoughts and prayers today have been with the miners and their families. This is such a tragedy. I am holding hope that there is a miracle and that they all make it out safely. Chile gives us hope....

NaBloPoMo Day 19: TGIF

2010-11-19T22:17:00.001+13:00

Image: http://www.onlyfunnyjokes.com

Oh I am so glad it is Friday and I can have a sleep-in tomorrow. Weekdays, the alarm goes off at 5.45am and I can barely drag myself out of bed. What are the odds though that tomorrow I will wake up before my alarm goes off, I will be all bright eyed and bushy tailed and won't be able to get back to sleep.

Murphy's Law!!!

NaBloPoMo Day 18: Ric Rac Jazz

2010-11-18T18:24:00.001+13:00

This is one of the patterns I picked up at Calico Christmas a couple of weekends ago. It also featured in the exhibition in more pastel colours and was one of my favourites from the start. (Katrina, if you're reading this, it's the same designer that designed the bolster cushion).

So I have been playing tonight with fabrics and have found a few that would work well with this design. I thinkI do need to go fabric shopping this weekend though to get a few more greens ...

NaBloPoMo Day 17: Fourteen!!

2010-11-17T21:06:00.001+13:00

Fourteen years ago today I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Look at her now!!! She's 2 inches taller than me, and the same size as me. This was taken just before we out to tea tonight with her younger brother and sister.

We always celebrate birthdays with a tradition of going out to tea at a restaurant. When the children were younger we used to cook a special meal at home and have a birthday cake. They would get to choose their favourite meal and we would make it a party atmosphere. As they have gotten older, (and their table manners have gotten better lol) we now go out for a meal. Tonight we went to a local Indian restaurant and I can hardly walk now due to eating copious amounts of butter chicken and lamb korma!!

Does anyone else have anything special they do as a birthday tradition??

NaBloPoMo Day 16: Eggs-cellent idea!

2010-11-16T21:25:00.001+13:00

The girls have been extremely diligent in their egg laying lately, so much so I just cannot keep up with the production!! Over the last few weeks we have had omelettes, eggs and soldiers, poached eggs, scrambled eggs, egg korma, gado gado, quiche, egg sandwiches, stuffed eggs, scotch eggs and lots of baking! Unfortunately, Tony is not a big egg eater, so I need to make meals appear like they don't have eggs in them!! However, last night I was in the mood for something easy for tea and remembered a roasted vegetable frittata that he actually loves. That would also use up a great deal of my eggs.

Roasted Vegetable Frittata.

Dice a selection of vegetables cut into 1-2cm cubes and coat them with a tbsp or 2 of good quality olive oil. I used potatoes, golden kumara, carrots, and pumpkin. Bake at 180 degrees C until soft. Add onion chopped into wedges about half way through the cooking time, along with softer vegetables such as broccoli, capsicums or cauliflower. I sometimes roast a couple of garlic bulbs and squeeze out the cloves as well.

Break eggs into bowl. I used about 12, I think. Depends on how many I am feeding!! Whisk eggs together.

Add 500 grams of cottage cheese and 2 tbsps parmesan cheese to eggs and mix well.

I also added some gruyere I had floating around and sometimes I add feta.

Add fresh herbs. I use whatever is in the garden so last night it was parsley and lemon thyme.

I also added a tsp of sambal oelek for a bit of heat, but you can leave this out. Add seasonings such as salt and pepper if you want.

Once vegetables are cooked, spread into dish and pour over the egg and cheese mixture. Flatten it out and sprinkle with a couple of tbsps of parmesan cheese. Add a handful of pumpkin seeds sprinkled over the top as well. Bake for about 45 mins.

NaBloPoMo Day 15: Summer strawberries

2010-11-15T20:47:00.001+13:00

Take one bowl of strawberries

Add a splash of Heilala Vanilla Syrup

Finish it off with a scoop of vanilla icecream.

Mmmmmmmm!!!

NaBloPoMo Day 14: Melbourne

2010-11-14T17:07:00.001+13:00

Image: http://www.sydney-australia.biz/victoria

In 3 weeks I am off for a girls weekend in Melbourne, Australia. I love Melbourne, and used to live about 3 hours north of there, so spent a fair bit of time in the weekends down in the "big smoke". I haven't been there for years and years, so I am sure it will have changed somewhat. I guess out of all the Australian cities, it probably remind me of NZ the most.

Anyway, does anyone have any recommendations for good shopping or quilting shops in Melbourne?? We are going for 5 days so should be able to fit in some shopping amongst the drinking and eating!!

NaBloPoMo Day 13: Christmas Projects

2010-11-13T20:59:00.002+13:00

Someone told me today that it is only 6 weeks until Christmas. Yikes!!! Where has the year gone? I had great intentions of being very organised this year and having all my Christmas decorations done by now. All I have done is sew 26 yo-yos so far for my Yo Yo Santa!

I have several Christmas projects I want to do before December and I have a feeling unless I get a wriggle on, none of them will see the light of day. I bought this Christmas kit at the Craft Fair in September from Tirau Quilt Cottage as I loved the glitzy festive look of it. So I will start this tomorrow...

I seem to get waylaid by spending far too much admiring other people's work on their blogs and perusing and drooling at the online shops! I wonder if anyone else has this problem??

NaBloPoMo Day 12: Rosalie Quinlan Giveaway

2010-11-12T17:40:00.001+13:00

I just adore Rosalie Quinlan's fabrics. Leanne Beasley uses them in the Down in the Garden design that I am working on at the moment and I was VERY disappointed when the store supplied different fabrics for the BOM. It was the freshness and cheeriness of Rosalie's fabrics that drew me to this quilt in the first place and I do like the antique pastels that the store supplied, but I really, really wanted Rosalie's fabrics.

Anyway, just guess how excited I was when I found this Rosalie Quinlan giveaway of Sweet Broderie fabrics.... Oh my, how luscious are those fabrics???

NaBloPoMo Day 11: Guess what I have bought...

2010-11-11T18:55:00.001+13:00

A new toy......

NaBloPoMo Day 10: Baby Quilts

2010-11-10T20:09:00.001+13:00

I just found out a very good friend of mine is having a baby. She has been trying for two years so it is fantastic news. So, I have been wasting lots of time looking for appropriate baby quilts. She is not finding out the sex so I need to make it so it will suit both genders. He is a typical Kiwi bloke so if it is a boy, I couldn't even have a hint of pink in it I am sure!!

I love Elizabeth Hartman's quilts so her blog was one of my first stops. Nice clean lines with modern colours and simple designs. Found a couple there that would be suitable. Then I remembered Melly & Me. I love the clutch diaper change pad she has in her video...And her stuffed toys are adorable. I think a quilt and something from Melly and Me would be perfect!

Now off to look for fabric online....I am so out of touch with baby stuff. My youngest is 9 going on 19, so I haven't looked at baby stuff for years!! Hope I don't get too clucky :-)

NaBloPoMo Day 9: Quilting magazines

2010-11-09T18:26:00.001+13:00

After Calico Christmas the other day, I went to Borders, which is a fabulous bookshop. I can spend HOURS in there, and I usually do. I love the fact that it has a cafe in there as well, so you can sit with a nice latte and peruse books and magazines at leisure. Heaven!

Anyway, I spotted a Fons and Porters Magazine

And there were lots of quilts in there that I loved! I *had* to have this mag. Well, then I looked at the price. Gulp! NZD$25 (which is about USD$20). OMG!! Hmmmm, but there are 3 I would definitely make and most patterns are about $25 here, so with the rationalisation that I was now getting 3 patterns for the price of one, I quickly handed over my credit card before I changed my mind.

I have since been to their website and seen how much this retails for in the USA. Crikey, I can't believe I paid about 3 times as much as it sells for there. I am now thinking about subscribing to a magazine, but wonder what magazines you all think are worthwhile.... Any suggestions?

NaBloPoMo Day 8: Calico Christmas Part 2

2010-11-08T19:15:00.001+13:00

So here are a few more of the quilts that were on display at Calico Christmas....

Margaret Reid made this giant dahlia with Judi Schon doing the quilting.

A giant scrappy quilt made by Robyn McKenzie-Dobson

Pam Groube made this gorgeous quilt from American Civil War fabrics

Patricia Durovich made this eye popping quilt. The camera does not capture the colours at all.

Sally Smith made this to showcase Kaffe Fassett's cabbage fabric. I loved this one.

Donna Ward made this using Judy Neimeyer's pattern "Tumbleweeds"

Maree Duffelt's Floral Fantasy. She won second prize for best Amateur Large Bed Quilt.

Jane Bennett was inspired by a Chizuko Crazy Patchwork bag when she designed this scrappy quilt.

Heather Sokol did this quilt at a class in Te Puna. It was adapted from Fractured Crystals Simply Quilts by Fran Cameron.

This is an original design by Robyn Croft. Gorgeous! The colours were amazing. I love quilts like this as orange is a colour I would never use, but am inspired once I see a quilt that uses it so well.

NaBloPoMo Day 7: Calico Christmas

2010-11-07T16:17:00.002+13:00

I am home again, albeit several hundred dollars poorer!! Calico Christmas was amazing. It is the first time I have been. so was not quite sure what to expect. It was an absolute feast for the eyes and even if you were not a quilter, you would have to admire the creativity and inspiration behind the quilts. I have loads of photos, but won't put them all in this post as there are about 200!!

I had several favourites and these appealed to me for their use of colour and their design. There were others that were gorgeous. and I could admire them for the work that had gone into them, such as the Baltimore quilts, but they are not "me". Some of my favs....

This was designed by Wendy Oswin at Quilter's Dream. It was called Ric Rac Jazz and she also had the pattern for it in her store in turquoises, hot pinks , purples and limes. I just had to have this! It was gorgeous.

A close up of the ric rac around the petals.

This was made by Joanna Baynes using Kaffe Fassett fabrics from his book Quilts in the Sun.

This was made by Gea van Holst. I loved the colours in this and how she had pieced all her hexagons. The points all matched so perfectly as you can see below.

A mystery quilt by Natalie Murdoch and made by Jean Ramsay.

Justine Jones made this quilt for her daughter who stated quite firmly she didn't want anything traditional. I got talking to both Justine and her daughter and the inspiration came from a postcard and the daughter picked all the colours to go with their bedroom. It was quite stunning up close.

Carol Mahoney made this circle quilt. There were a few circle quilts there and the more I see these, the more I want to make one.

"Judith Bremner made this called "My Bedouin dress no longer fits" The fabric had been bought from the Spice Market in Istanbul and the dress from the Old City in Jerusalem.

Glenys Quinn made "Sawtooth Cats". It took me a while to figure out where the cats were!! Duh!

Sybil Lightbourne took a class with Hazel Foot and this was her first amazing effort in machine embroidery and free motion quilting. It is called Pacific Themes. A close up of the middle panel is on the right.

This is a design from Kaffe Fassett and won Best Use of Colour. It was made by Alison Haines and quilted by Susan Trendall.

I can detect a wee purple and turquoise theme going on in the quilts that I like. Will post more piccies tomorrow.

NaBloPoMo Day 6: Saturday snoozing

2010-11-06T17:16:00.002+13:00

One of my cats looking very sleepy and relaxed in my strawberry planters.... just the perfect way to soak up some Saturday sun.

NaBloPoMo Day 5: Yo Yo fun

2010-11-05T07:02:00.001+13:00

I have hunting for a yo yo maker ever since I saw them at the Craft Fair a couple of months back. I found this fabulous Yo Yo Santa pattern that I just had to have. Of course I could have been Miss Industrious instead of Miss Lazy and made them the conventional way, but, I love new toys!! I finally found one last week. Still hunting for an extra large one.

I got the fabric when I was in Tauranga a couple of weeks ago. Nice and bright for Santa Claus!

NaBloPoMo Day 4: Calico Christmas

2010-11-04T19:05:00.001+13:00

Have a busy weekend coming up. Off to Auckland tomorrow night for Calico Christmas on Saturday. It's a quilt show organised by the Auckland Patchworkers and Embroider's Guild. Lots of amazing quilts on display and of course...SHOPPING!! Then catching up with friends in Auckland before heading home for a work Christmas party on Sunday at Viligrad's. Christmas parties already!! Yikes, what is that about??

NaBloPoMo Day 3: The Oooooh-Aaahhhh egg

2010-11-03T20:21:00.001+13:00

We have a few hens in our back yard. The brown shavers we have had for ages and we inherited 3 little bantams a wee while ago. One of my daughter's school friends had some bantams that kept flying out of their coop at dusk. Unfortunately, they were flying into the pigpen and getting all comfy and settled there and roosting for the night. What they didn't realise is that they had just become a little midnight snack for the pigs!! So to save the rest of the hens from undergoing a similar fate, they gave them to us.

Anyway, I collected the eggs tonight from the girls and oh my.....there was a couple of cute little bantam eggs, 3 normal sized eggs and an oooooh-aaahhhh egg. What is an oooooh-aaahhhh egg, I hear you ask? Well, as my dad used to say, it's an egg that is so big that when the hen lays it she screws up her face and she goes Ooooooooohhhhh- Aaaaahhhhh cos it must hurt so much coming out. I am just hoping that it wasn't one of the little bantams that laid this! Yikes!!!

NaBloPoMo Day 2: Schnibbles!

2010-11-02T23:09:00.004+13:00

This is such a cool word! I only heard of it recently on a blog post and of course had to google it to find out more info. Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co coined this term as a scrap of fabric; a leftover bit of cloth; a small piece. From these wee scraps, charm packs and layer cakes, she designs gorgeous quilts that just caught my fancy immediately. So off to a couple of online bookstores to find the best deal. Of course, I then happened to stumble upon another great book that I just *had* to have and today look what arrived in the post...

I love both these books. I know I will get lots of use out of them. Now if I spent more time in front of my sewing machine, instead of online....

NaBloPoMo: Day 1

2010-11-01T06:39:00.001+13:00

No, I haven't gone insane! I have signed up for National Blog Posting Month where I will attempt to post every day in November!! My husband said it shouldn't be a problem as I love to talk. Hmmmm, I think that was a double edged compliment there!

Image: www.easymix.co.nz

We went to see Ian Grant last night at the Founders. He is a guru of relationships and parenting and had a seminar on 40 Hot Tips for Parents. It was a great evening and he is a fabulous speaker. His key points throughout the evening were "Rules, Routines and Ridiculousness", which is what will define a functional family from a dysfunctional family. Throughout the evening he peppered his presentation with anecdotes and real life stories that helped to make it more real. It did make Tony and I realise we are on the right track with the kids and we aren't the meanest parents in the world (according to my teenager!). So Kiwis, if you get the chance, go see Ian. Well worth it and I think it cost something ridiculous like $14!!

Sunday baking

2010-10-31T16:16:00.001+13:00

With 5 kids every second weekend, I invariably find that I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. However, on the alternate weekends we don't have the kids, I do not go near the kitchen to cook dinner and I eat out every day! I love baking though and don't count that as a chore, so most Sundays I generally bake for the week ahead for the kids lunches. Of course, it usually only lasts til Wednesday if I am lucky!! I always try to make something I haven't made before and since I have a whole bookcase of cooking books, it is not hard to find inspiration!! It's a bit of a standing joke with my family and myself. Whenever I buy any books they always know it will be either a cooking book or a quilting book at the moment!!

Anyway, one of the scrumptious delights I made today was Annabel Langebein's Magic Chocolate Cake
I enjoy Annabel's style and her recipes are always so easy. I haven't made this before and the addition of pumpkin intrigued me. However, this made it extremely moist and it was very flavorsome. The kids have already demolished half of it and given it the thumbs up! What I liked about this cake was that it was so easy. Just throw everything in the processor and that's it! I used some cooked, mashed pumpkin I had in the freezer, but you couldn't taste the pumpkin at all. I had a competition with the kids to see if they could guess what the secret ingredient was as they all vow and declare they just *hate* pumpkin!! Well, none of them guessed and they all came back for seconds once they did find out!

Yummo!! How does that look for fudgey decadence....

I'm "crushed"....

2010-10-26T20:57:00.001+13:00

Well, guess what arrived in my mailbox today all the way across the seas.....A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win 11 fat quarters of Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush Charmed from Pink Chalk Fabrics. Well they arrived today. I was running late for work so I had to wait until tonight to open the package!! What agony!! Kathy had packaged them beautifully and they are just stunningly gorgeous!

Now to decide what to make with them. Any ideas???

A weekend of R & R

2010-10-25T19:22:00.001+13:00

Well what a glorious weekend it turned out to be. Hot, sunny days that made you feel like summer is really here. Labour Weekend is always wet, so 3 days of sunshine was blissful. The photo above is of the Main Beach at the Mt. So Saturday Tony did "boy's stuff" around the caravan and I went shopping in Tauranga. Specifically went there to go to the quilt shop in town, but I got there at 1pm and they asked me to leave as they were closing. Never mind, they missed out on a sale!! Guess they wanted to hit the sun and the beach too!!

Luckily a couple of other shops down that street caught my eye and I found some Steam a Seam that Barb had mentioned in a post a couple of days ago!! And then a fabric shop was having a sale, so I spent up large there and stocked up on a wee bit of fabric ;-) Wandered around the shops for a bit more and then walked back to the Mt which is about 7kms. That bag of fabric felt like a ton weight after an hour's walking though!!

Sunday, Tony had a great idea in that we would climb to the top of the Mt. It normally takes about 45 mins to an hour depending on which way you go up. I suggested brunch first, so we went to the Tay Street Beach Cafe which is now my new favourite cafe. It always looks busy when we drive past, so that is usually a good sign. Exceptional service, awesome food and great coffee. Will definitely go back.

We then meandered at a very leisurely pace towards the Mt, taking in the Busker's Festival on the way. And then we were there. I looked up...

Now this may seem like an innocuous set of steps, but suddenly the warm brioche with roasted bananas, freshly cooked bacon and roasted walnuts with maple syrup didn't seem like such a good idea an hour previously!! So deep breath, and off we went.

Ok, the first rest stop 10 minutes into it!!

Now we come to a fork in the path...the sign says we can either go left and take the difficult track or go right and take the moderate track. Tony actually asked me which way I wanted to go. That was such a no brainer. Without a moment's hesitation and gasping between words, I managed to say let's go right!! I think secretly he was hoping I would choose the difficult path!

Not too far to go now. A little rest stop on the way. That is Matakana Island in the background.

Yay, made it!! This spectacular view made it absolutely worth every aching step of the way!! Look at that beach. Just gorgeous!

Made it back down to my second favourite cafe in the whole wide world..The Deckchair!! A smoothie each just hit the spot nicely!

All about ME!!

2010-10-22T18:20:00.003+13:00

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict posted this list today on her blog. I thought it was fun and a way of getting to know me a little more. Would love you to play along too. Copy the list and mark it about yourself - Things you've already done in bold. Things you want to do in italics. Things you haven't done and don't want to, leave in plain font. Let me know in the comments if you have played along!

1. started your own blog

2. slept under the stars

3. played in a band (I am sooo not musical)

4. visited Hawaii

5. watched a meteor shower

6. given more than you can afford to charity

7. been to Disneyland/World (in Tokyo though)

8. climbed a mountain

9. held a praying mantis

10. sang a solo (I so can't sing....would scare spiders from their webs if I sang!!)

11. bungee jumped (even tho NZ is the home of bungee jumping I am never going to do it)

12. visited Paris

13. watched a lightning storm at sea

14. taught yourself an art from scratch

15. adopted a child

16. had food poisoning

17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. grown your own vegetables (all the time)

19. seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. slept on an overnight train (from Bangkok to Chiangmai in Thailand)

21. had a pillow fight

22. hitch hiked

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. built a snow fort

25. held a lamb (just today! Got 8 babies bouncing around the paddock at the moment)

26. gone skinny dipping

27. run a marathon

28. ridden a gondola in Venice

29. seen a total eclipse

30. watched a sunrise or sunset

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise

33. seen Niagara Falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. seen an Amish community

36. taught yourself a new language (lived in Japan for 18 months and learnt Japanese)

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied (is it ever enough??)

38. seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen Michelangelo's David in person

41. sung karaoke

42. seen Old Faithful Geyser erupt

43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant

44. visited Africa

45. walked on a beach by moonlight will be doing this again tomorrow night :-)

46. been transported in an ambulance (after a bad car crash)

47. had your portrait painted

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the Sistene Chapel in person

50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling (in Malaysia...amazing)

52. kissed in the rain

53. played in the mud

54. gone to a drive-in theatre

55. been in a movie

56. visited the Great Wall of China

57. started a business (used to own Countrystitch, NZ online fabric store for cross stitching. Sold it 5 years ago.)

58. taken a martial arts class

59. visited Russia

60. served at a soup kitchen

61. sold Girl Guide cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood

65. gone sky diving (OMG, this was so scary!!)

66. visited a Nazi concentration camp

67. bounced a check

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy (some of my dolls)

70. visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. eaten caviar

72. pieced a quilt

73. stood in Times Square

74. toured the Everglades

75. been fired from a job

76. seen the Changing of the Guard in London

77. broken a bone

78. been on a speeding motorcycle

79. seen the Grand Canyon in person (in a couple of years maybe)

80. published a book

81. visited the Vatican

82. bought a brand new car

83. walked in Jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper

85. read the entire Bible

86. visited the White House

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. had chickenpox

89. saved someone’s life

90. sat on a jury

91. met someone famous

92. joined a book club

93. lost a loved one

94. had a baby

95. seen the Alamo in person

96. swum in the Great Salt Lake

97. been involved in a law suit

98. owned a cell phone

99. been stung by a bee

Have fun!!

Down in the Garden

2010-10-21T20:14:00.001+13:00

Well, here is the first block from Down in the Garden. I am going to piece it together tonight. It is a long weekend in NZ this weekend and we are off to Mt Maunganui tomorrow. I will do the stitchery over at the beach. I'm am planning on doing nothing but shopping, eating, reading, walking and stitching. Brunch at The Deckchair every day (my favourite cafe in the Bay of Plenty), walks around the Mt and maybe a bush walk, walks along the white sandy beach, take in a bit of the busker parade which is always amazing, meander through the shops, snooze in the sun and maybe stitch a little...sounds perfect!!

Need blogging help....

2010-10-19T20:41:00.000+13:00

Can anyone tell me how I can set my comments to send automatically to my email? I tried looking in the Help, but I couldn't find it. Thanks :-)

Q is for Quiet

2010-10-18T21:00:00.001+13:00

A few months ago, my husband and I decided to work our way through the alphabet and do something related to that letter for the weekend. The idea came out of a fabulous book Growing Great Marriages by Ian & Mary Grant. An easy read with lots of practical tips and fun ideas to keep the spice and fun in your marriage. As this is the second marriage for both of us, neither of us want to experience a failed marriage again so we are both dedicated to making this an amazing, lifelong relationship. We have 5 kids every second weekend and none on the next, so on the weekends without kids, it is much easier to get away and do things.

So we have eaten Butter Chicken, gone for a Drive to the beach, been to an Ecological Reserve, soaked in mineral Hot pools, eaten cheese at Over The Moon cheese factory and loads more fun things. This weekend it was Q. We have lots of fun deciding what to do for each letter and as it was our weekend to have the kids, Quaffing fine wine was out of the question. I thought Tony could just treat me like a Queen. However, he said he would rather rub my Quadriceps!! So what else could we do that started with Q, that involved all of us?? Quilting seemed like the perfect solution, albeit a little selfish, so we agreed on having a Quiet day at home where we all took time out for ourselves and did something we wanted to do.

So I managed to get all of Block 1 cut out for Down in the Garden by Leanne Beasley. I love the colours in her design...vibrant and cheery and when my first BOM pack arrived, I must admit I was a little disappointed as the store I purchased it from had substituted all those fantastic colours for antique pastels. However, with a bit of creative licence, I am happy with the colours I have substituted now. Piccies to follow tomorrow.

Oh my gosh!!

2010-10-15T17:14:00.003+13:00

Well, I have been spending a lot of time looking at various fabric stores online. I definitely have found some fabulous stores that I can't wait to order from. Even with the price of postage, it seems so much cheaper to order from Australia or the USA. Ok, I don't get the fondle factor, but I'll get twice as much fabric!!

There are also some very inspirational blogs. I seem to spend a lot of my free time oohing and aahing over some fantastic creations and it's always great to make new online friends.

I entered a giveaway at http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/ and to my absolute astonishment won the Tuesday Fat Quarter Giveaway. It's 11 FQ of Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush - Charmed. Gorgeous colourways and they are so my colours so I am very excited!! And funnily enough, I was going to place an order from them for this very fabric!! Well, I will just have to order something else now instead!! Kathy emailed me today to say they are on their way. I can't wait.

A new passion!

2010-10-09T17:26:00.004+13:00

Well, it's time to resurrect the blog, now that life is not so busy and I might have time to actually post again. You know, life just gets in the way sometimes!! lol

I have a new passion...well actually it's a renewal of an old passion. I took up quilting years ago and then had kids so it has been gathering dust for quite some time now. I got inspired to pick it up again when a Facebook friend posted some images of quilts she had been making, so out came the sewing machine. I decided I may as well treat myself to a new one since I was getting back into quilting, so I splashed out and got a Bernina Quilter's Edition machine. OMG, it is beautiful and magical to sew with. Is it wrong to want to spend more time with your sewing machine than your husband? lol

Anyway, I bought some Kiwiana charm squares at a recent Craft Fair in Hamilton and have made the front of a quilt. It's going to be a rather large wall hanging!! I have a very bare wall that I need to cover and this is the perfect size for it. Well I would love some ideas on what kind of designs to use. I have thought about stitching in the ditch around the designs and then doing a kiwi design on the black, but I am thinking I should quilt over the whole piece, I don't want to take away the effect of the charm squares tho. Any suggestions or ideas???

One year ago today....

2008-10-24T18:15:00.005+13:00

It's hard to believe that one year ago today we were saying our vows in gorgeous Rarotonga. To celebrate we are going out for dinner tonight. Kids have gone to their dad's and then we have the weekend to ourselves. Don't bother calling me this weekend ;-)

This is called avoidance...

2008-10-16T10:07:00.006+13:00

Should be writing my last assignment for a paper which is due in next week, but instead my fingers just took upon a mind of their own and went surfing to sites that are certainly not related to confidence intervals and p values!! There seems to be a pattern here, doesn't there. I am very good at procrastination. Would definitely get an A+ in that paper!!

Anyway, I have just booked a holiday for Tony, myself and Hannah on the Gold Coast in November. She turns 12 next month, and has had a crap year so as a special treat we decided to take her to the Gold Coast. No brothers or sisters, just us. So I have been perusing accommodation options, riding the rollercoasters, swimming with dolphins, and shopping up a storm.

While the cat's away, the mice will play...

2008-09-22T12:31:00.007+12:00

I am beginning to dread going to work on the weekends we have the kids. Some kind of accident is usually just waiting to happen or invariably there will be some sort of mess to clean up. Is it because I never had brothers and am just not used to all the dare-devil stuff, rugby and mud or have I just got an adrenaline junkie for a husband?

I came home from work yesterday to find this...

Okay, the kids were bored so he made them a Burma Bridge. The fact that they needed a ladder to get onto it meant it was reasonably high off the ground! The kids apparently had a blast and showed me all the photos they had taken.

All of the kids had a go except Nick who was a little scared, but he did try later on after some encouragement from his stepbrothers. Actually it was more along the lines of "Nick ya big pussy. Even Sarah did it!!"

And when you are done walking across it, why not just hang around for a while....

And even the youngest member of the family had to give it a go...

Metamorphosis

2008-09-15T16:55:00.004+12:00

From this.....

to this....

Spring is sprung

2008-09-09T13:44:00.011+12:00

Spring is sprung

The grass is riz

I wonder where

The birdies is

Spring is officially here. The daffodils have finished blooming, fluffy white lambs are bouncing around, and my cherry tree is in full bloom.
Had a burst of energy, attacked my vegetable garden and planted some more vegies. Replanted my bedraggled old pots at the front door with nodding pansies, sprawling petunias and upright snapdragons....spring colours of yellow, pink and blue.

You can feel everyone's mood lifting as the days are getting longer and the weather warmer. Scarves are gone, jackets left at home and more people out walking.

And look at our new addition...

His name is Casper and he is 10 days old. It is Hannah's lamb for Pet Day. Madam Sarah wanted one too, but only if she didn't have to do any work or feed it. Sigh! Needless to say, she hasn't got one. Anyway, he is very cute and already following Hannah everywhere.

You never know what's around the corner....

2008-09-02T08:43:00.004+12:00

Source: Peter Drury, Waikato Times

literally....

Was on my way to meet Tony for lunch yesterday and wondered why traffic had slowed to an absolute crawl. I soon saw the fluorescent glow of the police vests and figured there must be an accident on this very busy roundabout. Oh well, I had time to spare, so wasn't too bothered. As I got round the corner, this was what I saw!! Apparently, a van had accelerated into the side of the bus for no obvious reason and it had ended up on top of this car. Luckily there was no-one in the car, but wouldn't you pissed off coming back to your car and finding it under a bus!!

Mud, mud, glorious mud!!

2008-08-24T20:25:00.004+12:00

Boys, rain, mud, rugby ball...need I say more. This was the sight that greeted me when I came home from work today. The other two were off getting cleaned up before Mum got home!!!

Wellington was fun

2008-08-22T08:56:00.008+12:00

Source: glutnix

I have always liked Wellington with its diverse culture, great cafes and restaurants and unique setting. A mix of old and new. History and modern side by side. By world standards it is a very compact city. The central city is easily walkable and Tony and I spent many hours walking, trying new cafes, drinking coffee, taking in the city and watching the world go by. Such a varying mix of people from the bohemian to the business workers.

Found some fantastic second hand bookshops that were very conducive to plonking oneself down in a comfy couch and lazing the day away with a book. Managed to score a couple of cookbooks by Nigella Lawson that I have been hankering after for a while. Tony came away with an armful of books too, much to his delight.

Unfortunately, I had to go to my university course on Monday and Tuesday, so my days became filled with confidence intervals, p values and ratios. Tedious stuff, but all very necessary in understanding medical and nursing research. Managed to break the tedium one day and met Lisa for lunch. Stayed the night with another friend Cath and her family which was loads of fun.

Tuesday was my birthday and Tony gave me 4 new charms for my Pandora bracelet. He has good taste that man! Better than the concrete smoking frog my ex husband gave me one year. I am sure some of you remember that!!! No wonder we divorced lol. The four new ones are the money bag (cos I am always shopping), the ball with the hearts (cos he lurves me), the hedgehog (cos I am such a prickly character at times!) and the handbag (cos I love bags and shopping)

Rain rain go away...

2008-08-14T13:57:00.005+12:00

Source: Giuliag

So this is kind of what our front door looks like now...It seems to have been raining non-stop for like forever. However, I am not complaining...it was only a few months again we were in the stages of a drought and having to buy water in. How ridiculous is that? The one good thing about the rain means that I have finally been able to get some computer time. That coupled with the fact that we now have wireless access (OMG, how did I manage without it before?) means that I have been spending loads more time on the computer.

Cooking is my new stitching. The poor old needles have been gathering dust for the last 3 years and it is unlikely I will ever get back to it as much as I was. On the other hand my other passion is cooking, so I have been trying out lots of new recipes and finding new blogs to get lost in. I get so inspired by posters and new recipes and have got lots of willing tasters, so try to make something new every day. I have now made a new blog dedicated to all things food related.

Off to Wellington for a few days with Tony. I love Wellington and could easily live there if it wasn't so coooold. This is as far south as I get. I am too much of a sun bunny to ever move further down the island. Anyway will be great to go there for a few days. Tony thinks we won't be leaving the hotel room, but I have got news for him. There's some serious shopping I intend to do!!

Procrastination

2008-06-10T08:26:00.002+12:00

I am very good at delaying the inevitable. I have an assignment to write for one of my post-grad papers and it is due in tomorrow. I don't think my house has ever been cleaner. Went shopping yesterday. Made pumpkin soup. Caught up on some blogs. Now updating my own blog. I don't usually procrastinate so much but this is a research paper and it really is tedious. Unfortunately it is one of the core papers for my Master's.

Took the bull by the horns and went back to points counting to lose a few kilos. Don't want to get as skinny as I did 3 years ago (that was too skinny and I looked gaunt) but would like to move about 10 kilos. It just kind of creeps on. Tony is a big choccie and licorice eater and we got into a bad habit of sitting down with a coffee and a block of choccie and a bag of licorice for supper every night. I'm not talking little block....I am talking king size!! Anyway a friend popped by the other day and has been going to Weight Watchers. She looked fabulous. She inspired me to get off my chuff, stop buying choccie and get back into sensible eating. Not that my eating was ever unhealthy...i just like to eat lol. So I have been very good this last week. Weigh in is tomorrow, so will do that then go meet a friend for coffee and a big hunk of mud cake afterwards!! LOL

In the ICU where I work, there is an acting charge nurse position for a year to cover annual leave, time off etc. I applied and got it for the coming year. Looking forward to it. Love working on the floor and the good thing about being a charge nurse in ICU is that you still get to work on the floor. In many other areas, the charge nurse spends more time doing admin work and is removed from clinical work.

No photos as my memory stick is full. Need to buy another one.

Two posts in 6 months

2008-05-07T13:54:00.007+12:00

Not bad huh!! Oh well, I just am not destined to be one of these bloggers who can blog every day! I do read a bunch of blogs every day, but again am one of those lazy readers who never posts a comment. Anyway time for an update....

Work has been incredibly busy for the last 5 months, but has quietened down over the last 2 weeks. I have changed to 12 hour shifts so work from 7am to 7pm. It's great...sounds like a long time to be at work but those extra 4 hours actually go pretty quickly. It has cut down on my travel by 1 day a week and I get to spend more time with the kids. On the days I work it feels like all I do is work and sleep but it is great having 4 or 5 days off in a row afterwards.

Doing a couple of post-graduate papers this year and got to go to Wellington a few weeks ago for 1 of them. Caught up with Cath who now owns Countrystitch. Great to see my baby still living on. Still didn't inspire me to stitch though lol

Max is our new baby and it is just like having a new baby too! We started puppy pre-school last week and it has made such a difference. He can now come, sit and go down! Now if he could just learn the command for stop eating slippers and shoes he would be perfect!!

Feijoa season is upon us again and I found this wonderful recipe by
Linda...a divine chocolate feijoa cake. It has just come out of the oven and I am about to tackle the feijoa chutney next. I just wish the season was longer.