Saturday 17 July 2010

A trip away........ a finish, a WIP and a new start

It's nice to be home after a few days away in Wanaka, staying with my lovely in-laws, being waited on hand and foot!(Thanks M & B!) Hubby had to stay at home and look after the stock, but the girls and I had lovely relaxing time, enjoying some beautiful crisp winter weather, lots of walks, movies, reading and a little stitching for me too.  Neglected to take photos while there, but got a couple around Lake Dunstan and Cromwell on the way home.  This is beautiful Lake Dunstan, with the mist starting to lift off the lake.
And the iconic fruit sculpture at Cromwell.  Central Otago is New Zealand's home of summer stonefruit and of course yummy NZ pinot noir.
I'm very pleased to say that my Lizzie Kate Christmas Spirit Flip It is now finished. 
It's getting hard to get a pic of the whole piece - so sorry for the blurry effort below!  I will sew the little charms for each word just before I get it framed.
And, I'm also happy to say that I have not forgotten about A Gardener's Journal SAL.  I am well through the orchard, just the apple basket by the ladder, and some more grass left to complete.  Just pretend that it is only the middle of June not July, and I would be up to date!  However, it really is July and I hope to get some more done on these blocks over the next few weeks.

And finally after about three years of collecting fabrics, planning and dreaming about starting Leanne Beasley's "Butterfly Garden" quilt, I have done it.  This is my very first miniblock from Block 1.  One down, eighty to go...................  at one block a week, I should have it done by next Christmas..........no, not this Christmas............the one after that!
The green floral with the hydrangeas is my main fabric, most of the other fabrics I am using are shown below.  They are very.......... Oh I don't know..............me!  No apologies for that!
Have been without computer for most of the week, so I will catch up on reading blogs over the weekend, and some more AGJ stitching.  As ever, thanks for all the kind comments, and also to those who don't leave a comment, but still manage to make it to the end of my ramblings, I really appreciate you stopping by.  I know before I started this blog I used to read lots of blogs, but never felt brave enough to leave a comment. I can say I have received nothing but kindness and lots of inspiration from the crafty blogging community, so thank you one and all! 

Have a great weekend.........................Nicky

16 comments:

Pat said...

Love your photos. Your work is so pretty, my dear friend.
Happy Quilting!

Christine S said...

Congrats on your finish! It turned out so well!

Raewyn said...

Glad you had a great week away; the scenery down your way is stunning! Your stitching is beautiful too and I love the fabrics you have collected for your Butterfly quilt. I look forward to watching your progress.

Kiwifruit-Shiree said...

Hi Nicky,
I love your Lizzie Kate Christmas runner, it is stunning, and yeh I can see those colours being you, did they fall out of the suitcase then?

Chookyblue...... said...

great lake photo...........I don't have any near me..........pleased you had a a nice time away.......gorgeous cross stitch.......great progress on the GJ SAL.......keep plugging away it all adds up.......
love the fabrics you have picked for butterfly garden.....next xmas is a great goal........
blogging is a great place to be......fun support place to be......

BubzRugz said...

Ooooh...... that is a giant fruit salad at Cromwell! Your stitching is lovely and I love your choice of fabrics for the butterfly quilt - looking forward to seeing it....... I'm a new blogger and having such fun - such a lot of things to see.........Hugz

Lynda said...

Hey Nicky - great start to BG!

Babs said...

Those fabrics are truly wonderfull, can't wait to see what you are going to make from it

Vinniey said...

Congrats on your almost finished Lizzie Kate project, it's already looks great before you add the charms, I think it will be very pretty with the charms. :) Love all your fabrics collections especially all those pink fabrics. :) I love pink! And thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures of Wanaka. Have a wonderful weekend, Nicky.

Leanne said...

You are so inspiring. I love all the craft projects you have picked - mmm tempting.

Hanne-Kristine said...

Good luck on your Butterfly Garden and enjoy every block on the way. It`s almost a year since I finished mine :) Now it`s hanging in my living room and I`m smiling every time I walk past it...
I LOVE your fabrics, I could defiantly make something of them :)

All the best hk

Annie said...

The LK piece is so cheerful and colorful. Congrats on the finish.

Love all your quilting photos and that stash of fabric makes my mouth water!

Leeanne said...

Oh sooo yummy fabrics!I have some very much like that waiting to be made into Hatch and Patched Angel Story quilt....Oh well one day!
thanks for the kind comments on my blog.

Sally said...

Glad you had a great time away!

Your L*K finish is lovely. Wow lots of lovely fabrics!

Anonymous said...

You are very talented Nicky. I love Cromwell and Wanaka, when we lived in Twizel we went there a lot. I just love Otago and my daughter is going to boarding school in Oamaru next year. Gives me a great excuse to visit over there often.

Theresa said...

Your Lizzie Kate looks fantastic - and quite large. Lovely fabrics you've chosen for your butterfly garden, I do like Leanne's designs - I have my eye on Down in the Garden...for some point in the future!

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