Stitching update

Hello again, it's been nearly two weeks(again) between posts but rest assured I haven't been sitting idle all that time..... here is some stitching I've been working on at nights while watching cricket and tennis, loving the Aussie Open, some great games and very entertaining.  I just wish we weren't 2 hours ahead of Melbourne as it was after 3am when I dragged myself off to bed last night!  (I have to confess there may have been some dozing in the chair at times though.)


But anyway, back to that stitching, this chart and fabric are a late Christmas gift to myself ........ I've made a small start, because of course starting is what I do best........lol.  This is Christmas Garden by Blackbird Designs, I think I am going to omit the wording at the bottom, and make it more of a family sampler than an exclusively Christmas piece.

Below is Secret Egg Hunt by The Trilogy, not much to go on this little one, just waiting on a couple of thread colours to arrive in the mail and I'll be done!

I have also started stitching those hexie flowers down on Janis' Stitching Round the Block, not as difficult as I imagined, the seam allowances stayed nicely creased under and I just used some tiny drops of Roxanne's glue to hold them in place while I stitched............ 4 done, 4 to go!

I think I mentioned a couple posts back that I had done a little Butterfly Garden stitching at Christmas time and here are 5 more little miniblocks done. .................... check out Fiona and her Butterfly Garden stitching, she is on fire, so is Josie, she is now working on her final block.   Oops I've just remembered I still need to get pics of my Gardener's Journal top now that the borders are on - next time!

Tonight I'm going to stitch while watching some more tennis ............. hope you're getting some stitching time today too............. till next time ..................... Nicky

If I'd known it was that simple ........

.................. I would have blogged about our 'drought' a lot sooner!  Thanks for all your kind wishes,  because late this afternoon it started into a nice steady rain, we've had about 12mm by this evening and it's still going - Thank goodness! 

During our trip north last weekend, we visited Riverstone Kitchen restaurant/garden/gift shop near Oamaru.  The gift shop is incredible, but I was most taken with the amazing vegetable gardens and chook domain.

Now that is a real palace for chooks ......................

If anyone can help I'd love to know what the cane type of support growing in the last three pics might be.  It is growing in the ground, and doesn't seem to be trimmed in the stem part, but is all leafy at the top.  The screen type ones have been woven into a super strong support/shelter.  I don't think it is bamboo, it has more of a woody stem than that and has a different habit, could it be some kind of willow maybe?  In the bottom pic it is all trained into the cone shape for beans etc to grow up......... I should have asked, but there were no staff around the gardens that I could find.......

Well thanks again for all the good wishes regarding some rain, now the grass and crops can begin to recover ................... so until next time...........take care ........... Nicky

What happened to the lazy days of summer?

Happy(very belated) New Year!!   

I hope you've had a great start to 2012 and that everything is going your way.......

I had visions of a long hot summer, spending time with the kids, in the garden, on the farm, and hopefully lots of long evenings stitching....... but so far it's been anything but lazy!  Not too much time for gardening or stitching yet and the kids have been spending time with us, helping out on the farm........

We had New Years Day off farm work, so I added the borders to my A Gardeners Journal,(sorry no pics yet) while the kids played on their motorbikes with Dad, and their uncle and cousins.  Since then there has been three days of sorting lambs, drenching, weighing etc, 4 days back at my off-farm job, two days this last weekend travelling to Oamaru for a quick overnight visit with friends, and a fair bit of time worrying about the drought situation we have developing. 

We have had about 6mm of rain in the last 7 weeks, compared to our average 150mm or more for that period.  The rest of New Zealand has been experiencing a terrible summer, flooding in some place and lots of rain, but down south we have had a truly old-fashioned summer.  While it's been great not wondering how I'll ever get the washing dry on the clothesline, we are starting to despair.  We have a load of 750 lambs leaving tomorrow, just the smaller ones, they are heading north to Canterbury for finishing, who ironically are usually sending lambs to Southland by this time of the season ...... how the tables have turned!   I've already bought one truckload of water, and will probably need another 25,000lt within a few days.

You know it's dry here when the lambs would rather come in a slightly ajar gate and eat the lawn than stay in their paddock........lol .... and this was taken on the 29th of December, things are a lot worse since then. You also know you're a blogger when you go and get the camera before you chase them out.  lol

I have managed a couple of quick stitchy starts though, this little freebie from Lizzie Kate .........

........ and a half-finished little bag for me in Nicey Jane fabrics.... my current favourite.  Back at Christmas time I did get some more Butterfly Garden miniblocks done too, but need to take some pics.

 

Today I have started excavating in my sewing room, it's been a dumping ground for everything recently, and I've sorted out a few projects that need some urgent attention.  There have been so many wonderful SAL's and new and exciting stitchy projects starting online, but for now I am resisting the urge of joining in anything else for a while...... we'll see how long that lasts though!     In the interests of full and open disclosure I have to confess that I have been gathering fabrics for My Favourite Things, the new Stitch-A-Long project for 2012.  I put my name down for this SAL last year, and I'm not meant to start it till my Gardeners Journal quilt is all finished, but I am 90% sure I will be getting that quilted professionally, so I've done all I can on that one for now!  I won't be starting that for a week or two though.   

I've also updated my WIP list for 2012 on a new page at the top of the blog.......... and will try and post to the Sew It's Finished blog in the next few days. 

OK - if you've lasted through all that, thank you, you deserve a medal!  I'll be trying to catch up on my blog reading and emails tonight and tomorrow, so till next time .............. happy stitching ....Nicky