Still here

Yes I am still here, just been so busy reading everyone else's blogs.
For those who have been emailing me asking when am I going to be updating, the answer is soon. I just have to get a few things sorted first.

Catch you all soon

Well, what a month it has been.

Bella has grown considerably but she has had a rotten time. After we sent her in for a simple girlie op, she had a reaction to the pain killers they put her on. The long weekend turned into hell for her as she had difficulty breathing and was not able to eat or drink. We thought she was a goner at the emergency vets and so did they but come Tuesday morning, she was handed back to our vet and her life became so much better. He noted the problem, and she was leaping around the lounge again with full energy by the end of the week. Here she is in her relaxed mode. I so wish I could sleep like that …

And here is my big boy Raoul.

He is not happy having a kitten in the house at all but he is not the brightest either. Have a close look to see who is sleeping on the other side of the heater. Can you see the white paws?

Yip, he never noticed that Bella had claimed the other side.

And why were they hugging the heater? Well it might have something to do with the snow.

Well I have been busy with a little sewing here and there. First, I am involved with a Row Robin. There is 6 of us from around the world and we have just started on our rows. Mine is somewhere in the USA at the moment and I get to see it again sometime around Christmas after everyone has made a row to go with it. I made this row for one of the Marty who is creating a Butterfly Garden Row quilt. Sorry, but the camera couldn't get the whole row, but I think you get the idea

I am now waiting for the next row to arrive so I can make something to go with it. I think it is the Wizard of Oz.

I was involved with Karen’s Christmas in July swap. I had a special friend deliver it for me as I was a little busy with other things. If you pop over to Deb’s blog and have a look at what she got and who delivered the present for me.

Well it was the wedding anniversary and DH and I decided a wee while ago that it was not necessary to buy a gift for this occasion. Instead, we disappear for the weekend.

We take off to here and as you can see, there is no one else around. It is a quite little bay and there is only 4 people living there. Complete quite. No TV, No internet, No cell phone coverage, just bliss

The only problem with this weekend was I arrived with the flu. Oh bother. So I sat on top of the fire all wrapped up with blankets and waited until it was time to go home on Sunday. I spent the rest of the week at home in bed. Not a stitch was stitched.

So I am now back at work for this week and then I am on holiday for 2 weeks for school break. I have a lot of stitching to do.

DD1 went to Thailand with her partner for a lovely holiday. They did there own travel arrangements and decided to book accommodation when they were there. They had a wonderful time and I think they are planning on doing again soon.

DD2 had her birthday. It was a quite day as she is pregnant with grand daughter number 2. She has had a few worries. They have found 3 tumors on her uterus. At the moment they do not appear to be interfering with bubs but it did slow down her progress. She was rather tiny and was reading 9 weeks behind on development but with a good midwife and a specialist involved, she is catching up and should be with us on time. August 17th is the planned date

DD3 has been competing in the regional Big Sing competitions. She is in a school choir called Bel Canto from Burnside High School. She is in this photo somewhere on the right but this is all the choirs that were competing for this region and as you can see, there was many beautiful voices

Last week, she was told they have made it into the Nationals and will be competing in Dunedin at the end of August. The good thing is, that the cost is only $300 for her travel, accommodation and food for 4 days. A great bargain I am thinking. But of course last month she was told that she had been accepted for School tip to Greece and Italy next year. Well the cost for that one is nearer the $9,000 mark. Still a bargain she is telling me but I see that my fabric days are over for a while. Oh well, I guess that is why we have fabric stashes.

So if you have any fundraising ideas out there, let me know. The sooner I get the money for her trips, the sooner I can buy new fabric

Till next time, happy stitching

Birthday Girl

During the weekend, it was my granddaughter’s birthday. She is now the big old age of 2.

We had a wonderful day. Here she is with the quilt I made her to keep her warm this winter. If the autumn was anything to go by, it is going to me an icy cold winter this year.

Blowing out the candles was no effort at all for her; I think her mother has been making her practice the week before hand.

We even had cupcakes

At the end of the day, you could tell she had had enough

Happy Birthday Ava

Now, where was I

Yes, where was I before I was rudely interrupted by life?
First things first, here is a few snips of the swaps I have sent away during the last month.

This is the lovely rabbit I made for someone who will not let me know if she has received her or not, and as I read her blog comments, lots of people have sent her things that she is not claiming she has so I wont tell you who she is as that would be rude but I can show you the lovely rabbit I spent hours making for her.

Here is a the Spring swap I sent away but I have just found out that it never arrived, so I am putting together another to put in the post so I am only showing a sneak peek so as not to spoil the surprise

Here is a bag I sent for a bag swap I was involved with through Snickerdoodles. It was full of little surprises. Just as all bags should be

Here is a sneak peek of a Redwork cushion I made for another swap. I can't show you the whole thing yet as I have not been told if it has been received

So as you can see, I have been rather busy stitching getting my swaps completed and sent on their long journeys.

Which brings me to a little something that upset me in the weekend. I received an email telling me that as I had not updated my blog in a while, I was being pulled from a swap that I had joined that is happening in a couple of months. As you could imagine, I was blown away. To think that I have been black listed because I am so busy with my life and family that I can not be trusted to do a swap. What really got me was the person who wanted me removed was the person who was sending to me, not the same person that I was sending too. When I commit to something – I do it, no matter what is going on. Stitching fits in the handbag but the PC, well it just won’t. So when I am sitting at the doctors waiting to hear the news of the problems my daughter has medically with her pregnancy, or while I have my 30 minute lunch break at work, or while I am concerned about my daughters wedding being cancelled because a richer person wants the venue we booked for that day and they get it, I still continue to stitch to complete my projects.

I am flabbergasted with how people believe they no what is going on with me and assume they have the right to change things on me. If only they asked?

So I apologize to you all for not updating you all with my life and I am sorry to the lovely lady I had started making the swap gift for. I am sure you will get something nice from someone, just not me.

Please note that due to the privacy act here in NZ, I have not mentioned the swap or the names of the people involved. Now that would be bad of me!!

Sorry if this appears to be a little negative but I needed to get it of my chest. Next posting will be a happier one as I am getting together some photos of the lovely swaps I have received. And then I will show you what I made at the Symposium

Til next time, Happy Stitching (and less bitching)

New people, New friends

Well I said earlier today that I had someone new to introduce you to but now I have 2. And just to make it clear, I only had to pay cash to one of them to be my friend.

First, let me introduce you to Sherry. She just joined Blog land today so she could join my PIF. Isn't she wonderful. She is a manicurist my day and a quilter by night. I wonder how much she would charge me to do my nails? It's only a 17 hour flight. I'm sure it will be worth the trip. Pop over and welcome her.

Now for the friend I did have to pay cash for. Well DD has been asking for a puppy for quite some time and we managed to tame that want of a puppy to a canary in a cage. Well that worked for awhile but the want came back. But this time it wasn't for a puppy.

Let me introduce you to Bella


She is 12 weeks old, and as loopy as they come. She has found spaces around the house that even I didn't know about. However, Raoul our 4yr old cat, is a little put out. He is not that thrilled about having an excitable kitten in the house who wants to sleep in his spot, eat his food and try to disturb his peace and quite. Poor Raoul, I am sure he will get over it.

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend of loud music and entertainment. On Saturday, DH and I packed a picnic and our chairs and headed of to Waipara (about an hour from home) to the Pegasus Winery

to attend the Main Divide Concert. It was an 10 hour outdoor concert. The grounds were fantastic. But don't you feel sorry for the opening act? She was great but as you can see by the crowd, there were very few of us there.


But as the day went on, the crowds arrived and by night fall, the place was packed



Then on Sunday, we had our annual Street Party here in Lyttelton.

They close of the main street and set up a stage were there is live music all day and stall holders selling everything from food to woolen socks. I don't think many socks got sold, it was a stinking hot day


Well back to work to have a rest I guess. Hopefully a little stitching during the lunch break
Later today, I will have a new friend to introduce you to. Any ideas as to who she is?

Missing in Action

I am so sorry for the delay in updating my blog. No I haven't really been missing, but I have returned to work. After a wonderful 6 weeks holiday (can you guess what my career place is?) I had to return to work. I thought I would still have plenty of time for everything, but the start of a new school year is always messy.

So, I have got myself sorted out and I think I am back to normal, well as normal as one can be. Over the next few days, I will be doing some house cleaning on the blog and bring you up to date with my going ons. eg, stitching projects on the go, purchases of new quilting items, my daughters wedding coming up, a new grand child on the way and presents received in the mail. Yes, it has been busy and I do have a lot of thanking to do

Well Cheryl wanted to know what does the harbour look like today compared with my header of years gone by, well I have taken some photos of something you would not have seen in the harbour all those years ago.


This is the Regent, she was in port for 24hrs. Normally the cruise boats only stay for 12hrs. She looked lovely during the night with all her fairy lights on. She was in the Inner Harbour.

And on one of the outer wharfs, we had the Dawn Princess

During the summer season, we have on average, a cruise boat a day. Sometime 2 or as we had the other day 3 in at a time. The sight of watching them come in at 6am is just so lovely.

Till next time,
Happy Stitching