Quilting with a House under Renovation.

Hi Everyone, This should be a WOW link to Esther, if I finish in time it will be but it is already Friday in NZ and time is running out. This was last week, I ran out of time !!!!
The last week has been DH doing the major renovation work as he has to start back at his other build next week and our place will take second place once again.
DH tells me I should be in my new sewing room by the end of next week. There will be no carpet on the floor but I need to move out of my now very dusty and cramped sewing room for his work to continue over the next week or so.

Window in and looking out. New sewing room faces NE so by early morning sun is streaming in and in summer it is going to be hot, have already mentioned I will need an awning for next summer.

My Current sewing room.

A new window added as this room will become our office, a passage to the new room and a 3m storage cupboard on the other wall.. Doorway in place to new room
Quilts with no where to live at present sit on my sewing table and I have to work around them

Looking back from the new room you can see what I have to work in at present

DH does cover everything while I am at work, thank goodness!!!

Around the house work continues as well.

Our new ensuite is finally gibbed and the window has been changed to double glazed etched glass.

From the exterior. Made to fit our brick cladding 

All bricks removed from the new spare room / ensuite front wall.

New spare room window and cladding in place.

From inside, this smaller room in now light and airy, private with the bottlebrush and tree in front

but full of more excess everything that we need to find a home for!!!!

Cladding also across the front with our smaller ranchslider which was the first to be in stalled

You can see the size of the trunk of the bottlebrush and how big a tree it would be if it had not been cut back many years ago. it is not the prettiest from the road, but it's new growth is perfect for privacy so I keep saying it stays. 

And finally to my sewing. Before work started on the house I managed to stitch the last poppies on to the background. They do pop off the fabric once they are stitched down.

This photo I still had the right side petals to stitch.
Because they are padded I stitch with them only pinned into place.
I could add bonding web to the back of my padding but I like the extra "puff" I get by not using it.

Now pinned over the current wallhanging in our lounge, one of the least dusty rooms!!!
 I need another couple of leaves on the right hand stems but this along with the final trimming and a
2 inch dark border have to wait until my sewing room is moved and I have space again.

In the meantime I have started Esther's 12 Days of Christmas wallhanging, I can just manage it on the space I have left on my sewing table. Have made six of the 12 foundation pieced blocks for the tree so far.

The true colour is deeper greens but it did not photograph well.

Still not sure the fabric with writing was the best choice but the more blocks I make the better it works,

it was also the only fabric I could find to make the other's work together.

This morning I made the first of the baubles - A Partridge in a pear tree

These baubles celebrating the song are going to be so much fun to make.

I  padded the bauble before doing my applique stitching as for me this gives a more 3D effect.

If you would like make this wall hanging the pattern is available for purchase from Esther's on line shop and she has all her blog posts about it on her blog site. They are great to read along with all the comments of those that made it along with her. 

I am no good at adding links so just go to the post links at the top of Esther's blog. 

I am either making another bauble now or adding the backing to this one.

Cheers's Jenny

Welcome 2015

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year to you all.
I hope you have all had a wonderful festive season with your family and friends.
As usual I worked over Christmas, with no children it seems only right to allow those that have children and grandchildren extra time to share with their dearest ones.
In the the days preceding and following Christmas I spent much time on the phone with my family and friends in Christchurch, catching up and sharing our news.
Xmas day we spent with friends, after my DH had spent the morning concreting the piles in for our new spare room- or more truthfully - my bigger sewing room!!!
Over the last week our room has taken shape.

Clad with building wrap you can still  just see my sewing room window.
Luckily our cycad garden doesn't have to be touched, when the room is finished this garden is already mature.

Looking into my sewing room from outside, bricks stripped and a window soon for removal.
New Years day I finished work at 2pm so we were able to clad the front of the room.
Steve needed someone to position the other end of our rustic timber boards while he nailed them up.

With a helping hand from our neighbours the new window is now in place, a few New Year's beers afterwards sealed the deal for the rest of the windows as well.
Double glazed, these windows are far beyond my strength to either move or lift.
For those of you who don't know, rusticated weatherboard is a cement board designed to look like timber, very popular in the 1980's 90's but not  popular today. Our house was built late 60's so we feel using this product is in keeping with the era and my DH doesn't have to become a blocklayer as well!!!
We have used it around the ranchslider at the front of the house and it will go across the rest of the front so we will end up being 50/50 bricks and weather board.
Today, which is a beautiful summer's day, Steve is cutting into the existing roof and completing the roofing.
The existing house has a hip roof but doing the extension as a gable is quicker and easier. It can't be seen from the front and as we put a gable roof on our new garage  the back area matches.

I did ask DH  for a very special present for Xmas, and I got it.
Esther's pattern for 12 Days of Christmas. I joined Esther's yahoo BOM group after this pattern was released but have always loved it - but I only remember it at Xmas - always too late to make it for the current year. Now I have a whole year to find the perfect fabric's and make it for next Xmas.
If you want to make it, it is available for purchase from Esther's Web Store.

This is a larger version of Esther's pattern that Glenda in Australia made.

More presents plus Candles. It is truly beautiful, 

Thank you for sharing this photo on your blog Glenda, I have saved it as my inspiration

Although my sewing room is very dark at present, thanks to the new room covering it's window, with the aid of electric light I have been able to continue working on the leaves for my Poppies wall hanging.

Pinned on the lounge wall with the flowers also only pinned in place .

My stems are straight, the bottom of the hanging is draping over the couch.

Not too many more leaves to add now but they have been a major for me

and progress has been slow.

Adrienne's pattern only had 5 stems and I have 8 in a very different placement.

Mirror imaging them, plus a mix and match approach is getting me there.

I meant to post this blog last week but ran out of time to link it to Esther's WOW so it has been sitting waiting for this week.

Cheer's everyone, Jenny

WOW Dec 18th

Hi Everyone, thankyou for visiting my blog.

Summer finally arrived in Whangarei, temperatures climbed to the high 20's Celcius and humidity is 90% +  not anywhere like it was in Rarotonga but we have adjusted and feel the heat anyway. Lovely to work in air conditioning and have customers say " it's so nice in here, I don't want to leave"
However this week we have been back to heavy rain, thunderstorms and very humid. Not what December a week from Christmas shoud be.
A couple of weeks ago we decided to buy me another run around for going to work as after my foot issue proving to be only trauma to my foot from using the clutch pedal with wrong seat position in a manual drive car I dodn't want it happening again as it has taken 6 weeks to come right.
A 1998 Volkswagon Golf has joined our fleet - now giving us 5 vehicles for 2 people. Something will have to go in the new year!!!

I love it, although the drive home from Auckland left me thinking we had bought a dog. We bought it off Trade Me, the NZ version of Ebay and it was as is where is. It did have a new WOF and Rgistration so couln't be too bad - could it!!!
It coughed, it spluttered, it lurched through it's low gears and had so little go I worried I would not get up the Bryndewen's, a hill range south of Whangarei.
Luckily Steve stopped in Wellsford, last town before the Bryndewen's and asked why I couldn't keep up with him - he drove it  from there - but - I still couldn't keep up with him once we changed cars - maybe it was only me!!!
Next day he gave it a full service and now it runs like a piece of clockwork - it is all it needed.

Have worked all week but have found time to complete all the poppies for my wall hanging.

Adrienne's poppy, stitched and padded, ready to place on my background

This poppy is from Esther Aliu's "Forget Me Not"  wall hanging BOM.
I have increased the pattern size so it is similar to Adrienne's poppies and reduced a few of the curves so it looks more of a match in style.
With 16 applique pieces this was the most complicated of the flowers to put together.
The second of Esther's Poppies.

I added an extra petal and a base behind so it is more similar in style to the other poppies.

Seed pod from Esther's BOM, has not photographed well, the green is the same as the bud below.

I have already edge stitched the center of the bud as I don't want to stitch this once the bud is in place as it will flatten the bud too much. Will be doing this to several of the petals on the poppies as well before they go into place.

Now I can play with them on my background.

This photo will be my guide for finally placing my flowers as am close to happy with placement and they have to come off while I complete the background stitching.
I am getting there. There are stems and lots of leaves to make which will fill the dark area's at the bottom of the wall hanging. I know that an uneven number of flowers is better with applique but my even number seems to be working.

Our new double glazed windows and ranchslider arrived last Thursday after DH had rearranged the garage to make room to store them. Saturday with the forecast for days of rain it was time for the new ranchslider to go in.

Old one out

 Time to build a new wall. 

New slider is smaller as we had found we had to keep the drape drawn behind the tv to be able to watch it. so  full width was not really practical.

Even more interior work to complete now.

I now have a couple of days off so once I link to Eather'sWOW it will be back to my poppies.

Enjoy what ever you are doing,

Thanks for dropping by

Cheer's Jenny

December Already

Hi Everyone,

Thinking if I am quick I can link my blog to Esther's WOW this week.
Have found my next quilting project, another wall hanging for our renovated house.
Well, hopefully will be renovated house. My DH has promised me he is taking January off and concentrating on finishing our many started but not completed projects - yes, he is a builder which explains everything, Lol.
But, I think it may take longer than 4 weeks so my fingers are crossed, especially as we got an email last night to say our new doubleglazed windows are ready for delivery - and we are no way ready for them!!!
Anyway, with my Faberge hanging for one wall finished I started thinking about another lounge wall.
I had made an inpulse purchase at The Warehouse of this lovely decor arrangement which fitted vases given to us as a wedding present 14 years ago perfectly.

The colours worked so well with the new wall hanging  that I realised deep reds would be the perfect foil on another wall and the only wall hanging I have ever sold came to mind.

Adrienne Walker's Papaver Pizzazz. or "Poppies"

I first  made this wall hanging about 5 years ago and it is the only one I have ever sold as my neighbour fell in love with it and wouldn't let me just give it to her as I wanted to.

The only photo I have of it. I was in a very metallic stage then and all my backgrounds had to shimmer and shine. It is still  the header on my blog although half the header has disappeared and I don't know how to get it back!!!

Thinking of the colours of our new lounge walls this is my background for my new wallhanging.

A deep black/blue that links to my faberge wallhanging. Fairy frost cream that gives me a wonderful shimmer and dark mottled red/black for the contrast

This wallhanging will go behind a 3 seater couch so I have added an extra panel at the left end and shrunk the depth, more Poppie's will be needed but I can mirror image or I am thinking of including some from Esther Aliu's Poppie's from her "Forget Me Not" BOM I have already enlarged her pattern as I think they will work very well.

Today I went and bought my 5 shades of red for the poppies.

They haven't photographed true as the dark areas are really wine reds not just dark as they show here.

The fabric on the right will be the predominate colour. 

Adrienne Walker designs are interesting, before I add my applique I have to bat, back and quilt my background fabric, in this case just simple diagonal lines stitched across the background fabric which gives a wonderful result. Being a wall hanging I have used Vliesline H640 iron on as my batting.

I used the deep red diagonal as my width so not to have a quilting line on it, but have had to adjust my widths to keep the matching diagonals also free of stitching. 

Half stitched and ran out of thread. A couple of days worrying can I still buy it as it is a gold/silver/bronze mettalic that I bought several years ago. Yay, Mettler still make it and my local shop had it in stock.

In the mean time I started on my first Poppy.

It's a while since I used this technique which I learnt at a Mary Transom course.

I felt like a beginner again but after reaching this point it all came back.

I traced my pattern onto fusible web, cut out and put my poppy together on baking paper. 

I fused it to a lightweight vilene so that I could machine embroider my vein lines and stitch any edges I want to keep raised once stitched to my background. I had to unpick all the veins on my light petal and restitch them as the thread I used on the deeper petals was just to dark for the bright petal.

The next stage was to trim and then pad my flower.

My first poppy is now ready to be appliqued to my background.

Linking now to Esther's WOW.

Enjoy your quilting or your Wednesday, whatever you are doing,

Jenny

Work on Wed 12th November

Hi Everyone,
Where has the year gone? I have no idea, but it is disappearing so quickly!!!
My foot is slowly getting better. I should probably have taken more time off work but as I feel fine in myself  it doesn't seem right to stay at home. However the longer days "9 hours on my foot" are a struggle.
My days off I have my foot up more often than not and have never watched so much TV, but when I ventured into my sewing room last week I came across this fabric that Glenda in Australia sent me.

A Ginny Beyer border fabric that Glenda thought might work for my LE coverlet, but it was not quite right.
I have loved border prints since making my Faberge wall hanging and thought what can I do with this fabric' and my left over strips from my wall hanging.
Again a Ginny Beyer table runner pattern was my inspiration and yes I had enough fabric to cut my center.

I reduced the centre pattern to 75% as I didn't have enough fabric if I wanted to use the narrow border fabric in the design as well.
This was a quilt as you go pattern, first time I have tried this technique so had no idea what I would end up with, coffee table or dining table runner. A trip to Country Dawn padded out my fabric's as I was looking at the pattern's requirements, in the end I didn't use them all. There should be 7 diamonds, not 6.

The original pattern trimmed the runner to the edge of the center diamond after seam allowance.
I added length back into the next two borders so that I could get maximum width but still use my narrow border fabric. These fabric's apart from the binding are my leftovers from my wall hangimg and at 53" by 15 1/2" fits perfectly on our buffet cabinet. Thank You Glenda your fabric is perfect.

I have carried on photographing the life of my one Gazzinia Flower, taking photo's every couple of days the black center is dissappearing and in the last photo she is finally starting to droop but she has given me pleasure for two weeks.

Finally the other day my DH decided Kelly should be the model for a new cap he had been given.
Kelly likes to oblige us, so patiently tried his cap for fit while I took photo's

this one looks good, I think it might suit me

I'm bored with this now - but I do love you Daddy.

Closing for this week as I will run out of time to link to Esther's WOW

Cheer's Everyone, Jenny

What's happening for me.

Hi Everyone,

Have not blogged for a few weeks as life and work seem to have taken over from my quilting which is what I tend to share most. However many of those who follow my blog have become close friends so todays blog is more about where I am it at this point in time.... it has become a long blog gradually written over severally weeks as I never seemed ready to end and publish.
It's now three months since mum passed away and my dealing with her estate is nearly over, the time spent answering lawyers emails and signing so many documents, I have lost count of how many but it will soon be part of my past.
My younger brother is buying the family property which was mum's greatest wish as he has never married and has lived there all his life. At the end of this month it should all be finalised and I will then be able to move on. Hopefully back to my quilting.
Before I go further I now feel ready to show the beautiful healing heart blocks I received from members of Esther Aliu's yahoo group. When each of these arrived I was so moved and could really feel the love they were made with, they are the only blocks on my design wall at the moment as I think about how I can work them into a memorial quilt for mum.

I have no children but have one niece who is very family orientated and in time these blocks will be part of a quilt for her. A Huge Thank You to the makers for caring and sending them to me.

An update on my work situation. A few months ago the company I work for went "Under Administration", the first stage of a NZ Company liquidation. A stressful time with finally a happy outcome as the company was bought by a South African company which owns retail chains in several countries but had no presence in NZ until now.The company purchase occurred at the same time I had to go to Christchurch after mum passed away.
In recent weeks I have been offered the deputy manager's role for the Whangarei store. This will mean a slight increase of hours and a bit less time for quilting, but I think it is a good thing for me at the moment.

The only quilting I have done recently has been to finish my Faberge wall hanging. I ditch stitched all the sections and borders, that seemed to be enough. It is now - sort of in place in our lounge, waiting for my DH to raise the hanging rail to the right height - not sure when this will happen as we are planning on finishing our renovations after Christmas - so I might be waiting till then !!!

I had several pieces of the border fabric left and found a Ginny Beyer placemat pattern using her border fabric's. I lengthened the long sides to make a small table runner for the coffee table.

The fun part of this was that as I had cut all the borders apart into seperate lengths for the wall hanging,I had to sew them together again, adding fabric to recreate the half inch black space between the borders and also align the wide and narrow border designs. I had just enough of the black eyelash fabric from the hanging and I think it looks better than the plain black would have.
Have followed this up with 6 mug mats from the last of the wide border strips, 4 still to be completed.

A trip to visit my quilting group last month saw me come home with several pieces of furnishing fabric that had been donated to the group, a small contribution to our group kitty secured these lovely pieces for me

As you can see they all have the metallic sheen that I love and I was thinking of new cushions for our lounge,
the embossed diamond pattern may become a table runner though.

Used both right and wrong side of the one fabric and have two very different looks for simple cushions which work well with the new wall hanging.

Last Sunday, I developed a sore foot and could barely walk. Had been standing at work all day with no problems. Drove home thinking I should have adjusted the seat a little more this morning, car is a manual and my DH had last driven it but I could still depress the clutch pedal so thought  -  no problem!!!
Got out of the car and could hardly walk, my left foot was so sore. Could only manage a half day at work on Monday so off to the doctor on Tuesday morning, I had also found a lump I had never noticed before on my foot on Monday night. She thinks a ganglion cyst between foot  joints is putting pressure on nerves, now waiting to have xrays and see what comes next.
As it has been pain killers and rest my foot the last few days I started playing with Photoscape my photo editing program and following is the result of recent photo's from around home.

A few days in the life of a beautiful Gazinnia that I was given when Mum passed away.
On it's second flowering it has produced this one flower and I am amazed at how it changes from day to day.
Center flower is the latest, it is still changing and I am taking more photo's.

This little lady came to visit the other day... Well I thought the framing looked good initially, now not so sure.

Chinese Quail are widely established in NZ but normally are very rural. I heard her call and was thrilled to get this photo of her in the tree by our front deck, too late to also capture her mate who was perched on our letter box.

A collage of photo's of what is happening in our garden at the moment, you can tell I like my yellow.

Spring is definately here. It has been wet and quite windy on occasion but plants and weeds are now all thriving. In the above photo the Gardenia is the first flower on a plant I was given by my workmates, again at mum's passing. It has been hardened off and now really needs to go in the ground.
The hen thrush was so keen to make a meal of her snail that she was not worried about me at all, you can see the shell on the right and her dinner on the left - she is very welcome as I have never known the volume of garden snails like we have in Northland.
Kelly, well she woke up for long enough to check out why the deck gate was open!!! Our bottle brush should have been pruned - but wasn't so it will now have to wait until after this years flowering which is just starting.

October 14th was Steve's and my wedding Anniversary, 14 years for us now after we both had 20 years in our first marriages. I went through our wedding album last week and these photo's I found now bring me so many happy memories.

Mum refused to look straight at the camera but this is how I best remember her, not in her last days.
You can also see my love of mettalics in my dress overlay

Mum finally smiled for the camera and this photo is with my Aunt Esmie who did the most beautiful hand embroidery and passed away in 2001 from Motor Neurone Disease - on my 1st wedding anniversary.
I am sitting on Lawrie's knee, one of my four brothers. His daughter Maria is in the background alongside her husband Noel.
Looking at these photo's I do wish I had not grown older, but time does not stop for anyone.

Thursday I took the opportunity to accompany my DH to Pahia in the Bay of Islands, one of NZ's most beautiful tourist spots and only an hour's drive from home. Steve had to photograph the final work on the house so a camera was at hand for me. These are taken from the deck

South African tulip tree, no leaves yet but Oh such beautiful flowers

NZ punga or tree fern about to unfold a new branch

I could touch this from the deck, it has hairs which are so soft.

Overgrown and beautiful.

The house has not been lived in recently and is on the market.

The Tulip Tree again.

You can just see the flower/seed heads of the palm in front.

Steve and I had time for lunch in Paihia before heading home, this lovely over water extension recently added to a long established restaurant.

Original resturant in the background this new addition is fabulous and we could have stayed all day.

DH  would not take his sun glasses off for the photo.

Only a small part of the view as reflected light through the glass walling ruined my other photo's

Now Saturday, I worked yesterday and managed 5 hours before having to give in to my foot and come home. Today, I am being covered for by a workmate. I will work tomorrow Sunday,  it is only a 6 hour day and will sort out Monday then, as not sure if I will be able to manage 2 days in row.

An update for my link to Esther's WOW this week. I spent Tuesday morning at hospital having xrays and blood tests as my foot was so sore after working on Sunday. Would have gone on Monday but DH said don't be stupid, it's Labour Day - which is a public holiday in NZ. Hospital confirmed that it had been chaos for them. The hospitals verdict, they think I am having a Gout attack but can't confirm it as impossible to get fluid samples from the small foot joints. Two days later with rest and the right anti inflammitories the pain and swelling has decreased considerably. I'm comfortable now that with a week off I will be fully fit again.

This has become a bit of a diary so am closing now and pushing the publish button.

Cheer's everyone.

Jenny