Day 14 of Lockdown in NZ

Well here we are day 14 and we are beginning to establish a routine within our new normal. Hubby often worked from home pre lockdown, however working from home for days on end is a different ball game altogether. Previously he would normally have to go to the office at some stage for something, either printing or a meeting and so we have both had to adjust to being constantly around each other.  While having coffee and lunch together is nice I am used to being home on my own with no interruptions and no stupid noises which seems to happen when his train of thought wanders, lol.


Due to lack of availability of flour I made the decision to throw out my sourdough starter. However I have managed to get some bakers flour and have set up a starter again, such fun. Will let you know how that develops as we go forward.


I have to confess that I haven't been very productive in the sewing room since my last post. I made up a little piece so I could practice freemotion quilting, I wanted to start getting back into the groove and this is the result. After a little while I found myself relaxing and then I had more control over what I was doing. I thought I would try out some different patterns and scale. While I like some patterns when they are smaller I don't necessarily like them bigger - not hanging on the wall anyway, it may be different lying on a bed. But that is exactly why I like playing with these practice pieces, I find out what I like, what works for me and what doesn't. I also have the pieces for reference later as my memory isn't what it used to be.

The other thing I have been working on is some older quilts that I had previously only done stitch in the ditch on as I was scared I would stuff them up and I had no idea of what to do or where to start. Here is some of the quilting I have done so far...

We have been working in the gardens trying to get vegetation under control after 7 years of not living here. This is our view looking across the harbour towards Onerahi. Loving the light on the water - this was just before the tide turned.

We were going to be camping this Easter Weekend until this lockdown, so instead of stitching my heart out in the caravan I will be stitching my heart out in the comfort of my lounge room. Pics to follow.

Until I post again, please stay safe, stay home and be kind.
Donna-Maree

It has been a While - Day 5 Lockdown in NZ

It has been a while since I have written a blog post and used the laptop, so here goes. I wrote a blog post this morning, saved it, checked it and yet somehow deleted the whole thing - so this is version number two.

Last week our government decided that we would go from Level 2 on our risk rating levels to Level 3 giving us 48 hours before going into Level 4 - which resulted in lockdown for everyone except essential services. Some of us had been self isolating as much as possible and using the social distancing of 2 metres  between yourself and anyone else. In our bubble is hubby, myself, Milly the dog and Ruby the cat.

Ruby having her afternoon nap in the guest bedroom

So today is day 5 of four weeks of lockdown - that is the time frame we have been given so far. We haven't needed to leave the house by car yet but will probably have to tomorrow to get a few more essential supplies and only one of us is allowed to go to the supermarket. Hubby is working from home throughout all this, so it will probably be me.

Day one was a little sureal and freaky and I sewed most of the day. Day two I found hard mentally about not seeing my family for the next however many days and not having any physical contact with them. We have been video chatting and messaging however it isn't quite the same but is better than no contact at all. Then we had the weekend and did normal weekend things around the property and got quite a few things crossed off the to-do list, which feels really good. Today is day five and hubby is at work upstairs where he has setup his home workspace for now. 

I have been sewing as much as I can as it calms me down, I have alot of projects that need attention plus I want our time in lockdown to be as productive as it can possibly be. The first three days saw me working on quilt as you go blocks, sewing them together and then binding them so the quilt can be gifted once we are out of lockdown. It feels so good to get a project completed and the blocks out of my project cupboard.

Today I am feeling as if I am getting into a good headspace about all of this and are tackling some of the jobs I have been procrastinating over for the last couple of days. It is almost an acceptance that this is our reality until the lockdown is over and we might as well just get on with it. I can't say that it hasn't affected me because it has, I'm having trouble going to sleep at night and if I do then I wake early in the morning and can't get back to sleep. I am hoping that will settle down as we go along.

I have recently become addicted to making QAYG pouches, I really enjoy the process and the result. I have gifted these two...

This one we are using in the kitchen for pens etc

I enjoy using scraps that would normally go in the bin to make useful items and I think they are cute.

The other thing that I am having a go at while in lockdown is sour dough starter. There have been a few people that have been sharing how they go about their starter and products from the starter. I have started mine and was disappointed and thought that I was going to have to throw mine out, however I checked it just before and it is looking promising. So watch this space.

That is it for today, I am off to feed my starter. Please - stay safe and be kind.
Donna-Maree