Saturday, October 27, 2012

Making Pincushions, Removing Trees & a Thank You :-)

Hello there friends & readers,

Last week was another busy one in my funny ol' threadbear life.
I travelled to Kawhia one morning to teach a small patchwork group to make pincushions.
Kawhia is situated an hour 1/4 from me out on the coast.
The day was organised by Lois whom I met a couple of years ago when she came to my cottage.
 I well remember meeting Lois because I was in the middle of painting my dining room when she arrived
& I was sooo pleased for an excuse to down tools!!
Lois is one very creative lady & we found we had alot in common.
I had been trying to get out to her group - (which meets every Wednesday) - all winter, but things kept preventing me.
Finally I headed off to an area I had not travelled to for about 20 years or more.
I stopped along the way to photograph the sea from a Lookout

  

Eventually I arrived at Lois's -
it felt like I had travelled to "the back of beyond"
but when I saw the views from her lounge window it made me catch my breath

This is what they look at as they sit & sew each week
Lois also has an amazing garden so we had a wander

Her perenial border - full of cottagey flowers

Iris's are one of her favourites
& she had some stunning colours of them


But it was inside I was speechless (unusual for me!!)

The Roman Blind she had made & appliqued with gollies, in her spare bedroom! ! !(when do I move in??!!)

wooden golly cutouts dressed in fabric on the wall

And in her bathroom . . . 

          On one wall Lois had hand cut out diamond shapes from old copies of glossy N.Z. Gardener magazines
Glued them on & then laquered them many times

she had bordered the wall with green squares of ferns etc
the effect was stunning alongside the rag rug she had made to complement the wall . . .

Made from old t-shirts bought from Op Shops ! !
(& chopped into strips to be woven)
Wow - that is one very talented lady  :-)

The group was down to 3 that day due to some of the ladies being required to help on their farms with docking, shearing etc
they missed a fun day
first we made teacup pincushions -
the ladies had all bought along their own teacup, fabric etc

 Sue had lots of fun getting glue everywhere! !


 the finished articles
 Sue had done a beautiful piece of cross-stitch to match her lovely cup & kidney-shaped saucer
Hers looked stunning . . .
the extra room will be handy for scissors, thread etc
Next we moved onto "flower pincushions"

before shaping the "petals" with ribbon
the finished articles complete with pins :-)

This was our afternoon tea-
I told the ladies I think I will come out every Wednesday
if this is what you sit down to . . . 
Sue, Pauline & Lois - 3 VERY talented ladies
As Pauline is due to move across to the other side of the country the ladies had pooled their fabrics awhile ago
& all made their own version of the same quilt pattern
here are the results - all quite different
Sue, Pauline & Lois - very clever ladies
      All quite stunning friendship quilts!!
  I had such an enjoyable day out
I didn't leave til 5 o'clock to travel home
such lovely, clever, friendly, talented ladies
a pleasure to spend time with them all
& of course I didnt come home empty handed
being country folk, I came away with baking, cuttings & punnets
of tomato plants  :-)

Early the next morning we had the Power Board coming
we needed to have some trees removed that had gotten too big


some were under power lines so it was a job for the big boys
"somebody" thought it was wonderful to supervise this work

Yes this is WAY more exciting than being stuck at home with boring ol Mum all day
& made quite a "nuisance" of himself (as usual)      
First they trimmed all the branches off
then tied a rope to pull on it
before cutting a wedge out to "fell" it
it made a huge crash as it hit the ground

"someone" had been growled & told to stay well back
as you can see . . We do as we jolly well please!!
 I now have some lovely piles of mulch for the garden
I have 4 piles this size
    Guess what I will be doing over the next few weeks??!! 

Finally friends, just wanted to say a big ThankYou to all of you
it means a great deal to me that you take the time to read my blog
that you comment on my ramblings
from my little corner of the globe
your comments trully do brighten my day :-)
& especially to Sophie of Fading Grace
she so very kindly gave me a "mention" in her last post
the friends I have met in "blogland" are very dear to me
Thankyou Sophie - you are a very kind soul
& I enjoy your blog immensely


Wishing you all a lovely week
& little tin prams filled with red geraniums! !
Hugs/ love/ friendship,
Julie & her disobedient dog X X x x
Hiding from that grumpy ol Mum - who does she think she is??!!
      
       

18 comments:

  1. What a journey you have been on.
    It is always so lovely to getaway and enjoy friends with like minds for crafting.
    Those do look to be some very talented ladies.

    Oh you make me laugh with that dog of yours. So funny!!!

    I wish I could grow flowers around here. I just love your pram with the flowers. I have a vintage full size pram just sitting in my garage that I desperately need to do something with.
    Take care
    Amy

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    1. Hello Amy - thankyou - yes Mr Wolf definately has a mind of his own - obedience was never his best asset :-)
      You could maybe buy some potted flowering plants and sit in your pram like I have - they are just pots sitting inside a dish in the bottom so when I water it doesnt rust the bottom of the pram. Plus when they stop flowering you can change them for something else :-) Julie Xox

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  2. What a fabulous post and so much creative talent! I love everything - your friend's gollies and rag rug would be welcome in my home! Your garden pram, patchwork - everything is superb.

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    1. Hello Betty - thankyou so much, yes they were VERY creative ladies & I really enjoyed their company. Felt a bit of a "fraud" teaching them pincushions really, they could've taught me so much more. Still, we all had a fun day, Julie :-)

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  3. Wow... Julie a stunning post! A day to remember. The bathroom wall and pin cushions are beautiful!

    Love Sandy xxx

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    1. Hi Sandy, thanks so much. It was a most enjoyable day & you would've LOVED the setting & gardens etc... Yes the pincushions turned out great & all so different. Hope you are all good, Luv Julie Xox (p.s. thanks also for all your encouragement with my blog Sandy Xx)

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  4. love the photos, that bathroom is so different. i remember when i was young my grandmother had pages from magazines stuck to her walls.

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    1. Hi Raylee, Thankyou ! My camera is old & a bit "past it" so I am lucky to get some good photos. Yes Lois's bathroom wall was amazing & she had cut them out sooo perfectly too :-) Julie (p.s I am tempted to try it myself on my loo wall!!)

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  5. What clever lovely ladies, and you dog is gorgeous like a big huggable bear!
    Daisy J

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    1. Hi Daisy, Thankyou - the ladies were very clever, & lovely & funny & friendly too. My dog Mr Wolf, well he is rather naughty too, but I do so love him & give him big hugs every day - much to his disgust!!! Julie :-)

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  6. Hi Julie, loved your post. The pincushions look lovely.What a wonderful day you had with the Kawhia ladies in such idyllic surroundings.Their quilts were wonderful. Hugs Shirley

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    1. Thankyou Shirley !! It was a great days outing even tho a long trip - was nice to go to the coast for a bit of a change of scenery. We miss the water over here a bit - Julie :-)

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  7. Hello Julie...you look like you had an a lovely time, those quilts are stunning. the veiws also are beautiful I'd love to visit one day.

    And I know you shouldn't have favourites but you are one of my favourites! are all New Zealand ladies as lovely as you and catherine (an angel in my garden) I wonder? xx hugs from over here xx

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    1. Thank you Sophie !! That is sooo nice of you - yes I too love Catherines posts & her photography is amazing. If you ever do get to N.Z. in the future, you could come visit & we could go thrift shopping together :-) You would probably be appalled at the prices over here !!?? :-( Thanks again, Hugs, Julie Xox

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  8. Hello dear Julie..I have come & read & wandered off & now returned! Ohh wouldn't that just be the bestest thing to catch up with Sophie one day all together!! I'd forgotten just how crafty, clever & convivial the Waikato ladies are..I'm still got my mouth open over the tea shirt rug!! Extraordinary! I meant to say too... that unusual plate is from a "tennis set" some king or other decided that he wanted just such a thing so that he could hold his tea & bikkie on the one plate while on the tennis court! That is quite major tree work...& what a fabulous lot of mulch. I adore your dolls pram. I spotted one of those at the last Church fair but I couldn't figure just where I would put it & managed enough self control to leave it behind..but they really are so charming aren't they. Pretty, pretty irises too. Much love & thank you so much for the parcel! Catherine x0x0x

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    1. Hello Catherine - so glad the envelope arrived okay. Yes I am sure we could show Sophie some great "adventures". Thanks for the info on the saucer - I knew there would be a reason for those unusual shaped sets. I am slooowwly putting the mulch on the gardens, been hot here lately, watering already - not sure ready for all that yet. Take care dear heart, Hugs from Julie :-)

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  9. What a wonderful way to spend a day in such beautiful surroundings, in and out - all gorgeous things. I love the little pram and your wonderful dog... what a treasure.

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    1. Hello there - thankyou so much - yes it was a great day - we all need to do that every so often I feel. I have passed your comment on to Mr Big Fat Fluffy (dog).
      Have also just popped over to visit your blog - what beautiful photos you have taken - I look forward to following along with you. Thanks for visiting, Hugs, Julie :-)

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