Day trip to Kerikeri

Our daughters soccer game was in Kerikeri this morning. We did our usual trip into our local Famers Market, albeit earlier than we normally go. We then drove straight to Kerikeri so that the team had time for a good warm up before the game.


The trip up was quite pleasant, there was quite a bit of fog around. However this did not detract from the beauty of the scenery of the trip. 


After the soccer game we had a little look around the place, as you do, to see what has changed since the last time we visited the area.


I always love visiting the Stone Store and I took some pictures to share with you.

The last time that we visited here, they were replacing shingles on the roof - the old fashioned way.

Here is a photo of Kemp House. The history around these dwellings is impressive and well worth a visit if you ever get the opportunity.


If you are wanting to check this place out online click Here.


We visited our favourite butcher shop while in Kerikeri and purchased some supplies of yummy meats. We also bought pies for lunch at one of the bakery/cafes and boy did we have a treat. I had lamb and kumara and the lamb just melted in my mouth. Hubby had a chicken pie which smelt delicious. It is always a pleasure to travel around our region as there are always special things to see, do and eat. We live in a great place here in Northland. 


Happy stitching everyone.
Cheers
Donna-Maree

This week...

Another week has just whizzed by - where are they going?


A friend and I went and saw 'The 5 year engagement' at the movies this last week. We really enjoyed it and boy did we laugh! If you get the opportunity, go and see it.


Wednesday was my mums birthday and we had a lovely lunch at her place that my sister and I sorted. My sister came up the day before and we surprised mum as she didn't know that my sister was coming. One of mums sisters came for lunch as well and talk about laugh. It was really neat having four women from two generations visiting together while sharing good food and having a really good time. This is the stuff that memories are made from. I don't think any of us will forget the day any time soon. Of course we had Wilson to keep us company - when he wasn't asleep that is!

As you can see here!

Here he is waking up, maybe.

I was really lucky that my sister was able to spend the rest of the week here and that we got to spend some fantastic quality time together. These opportunities don't happen very often and we appreciate them when we get them.

Until next time sis.

Happy stitching everyone.

Cheers

Donna-Maree

Introducing Wilson

I always find it interesting how things come to pass. 


For those of you who have read my blog before, you will know of Bentley - my daughters cat/kitten who was staying with us for a couple of months while his mum and dad were moving to Perth and getting themselves sorted. Well Bentley has recovered from the long flight to Perth and has settled in well which is awesome considering that it is a lot warmer over there than here at the moment. (When I am feeling cold, I wish I was there as well.)


Bentley is such a special kitten/cat and it appears that there isn't anyone that hasn't come in contact with him that their life or attitudes haven't changed. 


My mother has been catless since her lovely Bluebell - called Blue passed on, which has been a little while now. Mum has been adamant since then, that she will not ever have another cat. When Bentley went to Perth, mum was making mutterings about getting another cat, then she would change her mind. Mum changing her mind back and forth went on for about a week - maybe longer. Anyway to cut a long story short and after checking out the local petshops, SPCA and Trade Me, mum announced that she definitely didn't want a cat. So it came as a surprise the next day when mum rang me and announced that she had indeed bought a cat. That is, if she didn't change her mind in the next 24 hours.


Thursday last week saw us travelling to Warkworth where we met my sister, who had agreed to collect the new cat in West Auckland and meet us in Warkworth which is halfway from home. It was also a good excuse to meet for lunch and have some mum and daughter/sister time. So we set off for home after saying goodbye to my sister with the little bundle secure in a cat cage that we had taken with us.


The discussion of names of course was prime topic of conversation and many suggestions were made. Buster was a consideration as he had busted out of the cardboard box that he had been secured in for the trip to Warkworth.

See what I mean - here is the little guy trying to get out of the box!

But mum couldn't picture herself calling 'here Buster', so there were many other considerations for names for this cat kitten. He is a very affectionate little thing, purrs at the drop of a hat and is a very pretty wee thing - if you can say that about a little male kitten. Mum wanted something that would reflect who he was without embarrassing her when she is calling his name outside where the neighbours can hear!

After much discussion, mum settled on Wilson and so Wilson he is. Wilson is appropriate as mum's mothers maiden name was Wilson. Little Wilson has settled in really well and is definitely making his mark on my mothers household. I am really pleased for mum and are happy about her having company 24/7 now.

Of course I have to visit to see how much he is growing and to get my fair share of cuddles. Here are some pics of the little guy.

Here is mum with Wilson, he is such a baby kitty cat.

Wilson just loves to play!

I really struggled to get shots of him - he was moving so fast.

There is nothing like seeing babies of any kind growing up and developing. I am going to enjoy sharing these things with my mum.

I will keep you posted of Wilson's progress - but promise not to bore you.

Until next time, happy stitching everyone.

Cheers

Donna-Maree

Mmmnn I wonder if Wilson will come and visit soon?

An unusual week

This last week has been a very unusual week. The weather is definitely cooling down and extra layers are being worn. There has been a lot of life things going on which has led to a time of re-assessment and reflection.


My night with my stitching group was very enjoyable and I really appreciated the conversations with the discussions on rotary cutters, blades and scraps. 


It seems that everyone is indeed sick of the sight of their own scraps. Speaking for myself, some fabrics seem to be in every scrap quilt that I create and it is a great feeling when I know that I have used the last of a particular piece of fabric, whether it is an ugly or highly prized fabric. At this stage I remind myself that it allows for the introduction of more fabric (which might even require visiting a quilt shop and leaving with a purchase).


Through the generosity of one of my friends who offered a bag of scraps from a quilt that she had done with particular fabrics that she didn't think that she would use in anything else, an interesting discussion started on how we view our own scraps and how when given the opportunity to work with other peoples scraps, we find it exciting and fun. It was decided that next month we would have a scrap swap. 


After much discussion and weighing of fabric, it was decided that for those wanting to participate we would supply one 250gram bag of scraps over a certain size. This first month will be a trial to gauge interest and usability of the scraps and then we would decide where to go from there. I have to say that I am really looking forward to it. But which scraps don't I want any more?


I attended our local club day last Saturday which I thoroughly enjoyed. We had a shared lunch for Mother's Day which was really nice. It was a lovely opportunity to celebrate being women and remembering that many of us are mothers, grandmothers and caregivers. This is often recognised by the significant others in our lives, but this is the first time for me that it has been celebrated with my peers and I enjoyed it.


Our guest speaker was Catherine Davies-Colley who spoke about her recent achievement in completing her Masters of Fine Art. It was totally fascinating and it was over all too soon. Catherine's passion and enthusiasm shone through and she is an incredible lady. Her works are going to be exhibited later in the year locally here, so watch this space for more on that.


To check out show and tell from club, go on over to Leeann's blog (click here). It is well worth a look as we have some very talented and gifted ladies in our club.


Until next time
Happy stitching everyone
Cheers
Donna-Maree

Photos at last...

Good morning everyone.


We have woken to a grey dark rainy day which apparently is going to get steadily worse. You can tell it is going to be a yucky day when the cats come inside early and stay in, which is exactly what they have done today.


I hope that your Mother's Day yesterday was a good one and that you were all treated well and rather spoilt really. 


Like I said yesterday I had a cuppa in bed, a cooked breakfast and dinner cooked for me as well. My son and his friend turned up just in time for breakfast (pure coincidence, however very well timed!). I got Happy Mother's Day wishes from my eldest daughter who is currently living in Perth (Bentley's mum) which was very nice and the youngest daughter helped dad with the cooking all day which included a chocolate and ginger tart, that was to die for!


My mother joined us in the late afternoon and stayed for dinner, which was very nice. We got a chance to just chill and visit with each other which doesn't normally happen when I am the one doing the cooking when she comes over for dinner.


The best Mother's Day gift that I got yesterday (sorry family if this offends you - it isn't intended to) was the receipt of an email containing my registration details for the Taupo Symposium 2013. Check out this link for more information - Taupo Symposium 2013 it is definitely worth a look.


I have only recently registered for this while most of my friends registered last year. Anyway I am still very pleased with my registration number. Definitely lower than I had anticipated. So yes I have made a commitment to receiving more information, have checked out the tutors from here in New Zealand, Australia and those from further afield. A group of us have already booked our accommodation - so it is definitely in my diary for 2013.

Okay here is a photo of the first scarf that I have knitted and it is just beautiful, both in the colours that it contains but also to feel. I have to confess to being extravagant and spoiling myself. The yarn for this scarf is kid mohair and silk - it is just gorgeous. The yarn is so fine, it took me quite a bit longer to knit this than what I had anticipated. However it was definitely worth the wait.

This is the scarf that I am currently knitting (that I mentioned in the earlier post). Again the colours are just gorgeous and with the blue you can definitely see the difference of the two balls, however in places when the colours on both balls are very similar it gets a little more difficult. These scarves are incredibly warm, not that I have had a chance to wear them yet, although with them sitting on my knee as I am knitting them, it is just heavenly.

Anyway until next time,

happy stitching everyone.

Donna-Maree

Happy Mother's Day everyone

Happy Mother's Day to you all. I hope that you are being spoilt today. 


So far I have had a cup of tea in bed (where I still am, to be honest), a handmade card from our youngest daughter and a dvd which was placed in a large box and then wrapped just so I wouldn't guess what it was. 


When asked what I would like for Mothers Day, my response was not to cook all day. "So then what do you want us to make?" My response was "surprise me". Isn't that the best part about not cooking, the not having to decide part.


Did I mention that both of the cats are curled up on the bed keeping me company. I won't be able to stay in bed long as it looks like a beautiful morning outside and at this time of the year it would be a crime to waste such a day.


Anyway have an awesome day and I will update this a little later.


See you then


Donna-Maree

Change of name...

Just a little update today...


Don't know if you noticed but there has been a slight change of name. 


I realised this morning that quilting isn't the only stitching that I do.  Bit of a light bulb moment, I know, but I have been doing more knitting than sewing just lately, and have requested even more knitting books from the public library - just to have a look through, you know how it is. So I thought it only fitting for the title to be 'Stitching at my place' as opposed to 'Quilting at my place', that way it covers everything.


We received a txt message from our eldest daughter early hours of this morning, to let us know that Bentley arrived in Perth without any mishaps. He was very eager to use a litter box after all of the hours that he was in a crate and on a plane.


Bentley grew a lot while he was with us as only 5-7 month old kittens can and Kelsey was surprised at just how much he had grown, especially his fur as he is starting to look like more of a cat than a kitten. Apparently he hadn't stopped purring either and probably won't for a while now that he is reunited with his mum. We had a peaceful sleep after that knowing that everything was as it should be. 


Anyway check back soon as I will have the photos of the scarves up. Plus I have stitching group tonight and club day this Saturday - so watch this space!


Happy stitching everyone


Donna-Maree

Wednesday already...

Well I just can't believe that it is Wednesday already.


Little Bentley is flying out from Auckland today, with a ten hour flight to Perth, Australia to meet up with his mum and dad. Have a great flight Bentley and stay safe little one.


I haven't been doing much stitching of any kind just of late. Although I have finished knitting my scarf, I just need to tidy up the end threads. I will post a photo a bit later. I have started a second scarf which uses two different balls of wool in two colours and I am finding this very interesting. In the beginning it took a bit to get my head around what direction I was going in, but once I got that sorted I was away laughing. I will post a photo a bit later of that as well.


Anyway off to do some jobs around the house and maybe I just might be able to squeeze in a little bit of stitching ..... I seriously need some today.


Happy stitching everyone
Donna-Maree

A little bit of sight seeing...

We delivered our eldest daughters seven month old kitten Bentley to a cattery just south of Auckland on Sunday, to allow for him to be ready for his flight to Perth on Wednesday. This is Bentley about a week ago playing under the stairs to the kitchen garden, he is so cheeky but a real sweetheart. We are really missing him already.

After getting Bentley settled at the cattery we stopped not far away at the Auckland Botanical Gardens at Manurewa for a breather and rest stop before continuing on with our day. We had a quick look around, promising ourselves that we will return another time and have a better look around these fantastic gardens.

There are some amazing pieces of sculpture in the gardens. This one was just outside the doors from the visitors centre and cafe. There were lots of families enjoying the gardens meeting friends and family.

I thought that this was amazing, I was going to crop the photo so that you see it better, however when I did that you lost the impact of the scale and proportion. This is an amazing sculpture that has been purchased for the gardens. The impact of this piece was impressive.

This photo is in front of the building. I loved the way that the planters look like boats emerging from the water.

These palm shapes are the fountain heads that the water for the fountain comes from. Approaching the building you can hear the water well before seeing it. You come around the corner and see this impressive sight. These palm fountain shapes are echoed on the other side of the entrance with the palms along the wall which you can see in the previous photo.

This sculpture is of a Huia which is a bird now extinct. This one is out in the parking area. We are really looking forward to another trip to Auckland and checking out these gardens when we have more time. The smells coming from the cafe were fantastic and judging by how busy they were, it is obviously a favourite place to eat. Might need to check it out when we visit. If you are ever in Auckland and enjoy the outdoors, gardens, and sculpture make some time to check this place out.

Until next time, happy stitching everyone.