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

January stitching

Here in New Zealand, January means summertime, warm temperatures, sun and beaches.

It is always a time of reflection and evaluation for me, what worked last year, what I achieved, what I want to achieve this year and the opportunity to have a good clear out. 

I am making good progress on my January challenge which is number 6 on my list for the APQ 2017 challenge, 6 being the number drawn for January. Especially considering that I have been sick with a horrendous headcold for over a week now. I have pushed on whenever I could, making the most of precious moments to sit and stitch.

Auditioning fabric placement 

Getting it all laid out.

The quilting has begun.

Letting the fabric do the talking. 

I constructed the quilt into four pieces and are quilting it in the four pieces and then will join them together. All of the stitch in the ditch has been done and now some detail is being added. I am just chipping away at it, bit by bit.

Hopefully I will get more done tomorrow, check back and see.

Happy stitching everyone

Donna-Maree

Strings are moving along

There was no sewing over the weekend as we were too busy with family visiting, which was nice to spend quality time with them over the ANZAC weekend. 

I received a lot of comments on my poppy for ANZAC Day which I made it last year and have been wearing lately.

Sunday saw drizzle turn to rain but before it did we managed to get in a visit to Memorial Park for a look around. I am always impressed with this fountain, it is pretty big and children play in it during the heat of the summer. While we were there a Great Dane stood and drank out of it, the smaller dog that was with the Great Dane didn't stand a chance of getting a drink.

Friday saw all of the blocks completed for the string quilt but I didn't get a chance to start sewing them together until yesterday and here is my progress.

I just have two seams to attach the traming over and the binding can go on and then this quilt is done. 

What a fantastic feeling it is getting close to a completion. Catch you later as I have some stitching to do.

Happy stitching everyone

Donna-Maree

Some strings are happening

I have been working on some of these to bust some scraps, however it appears the more I use, the more I end up with!

I have been working on the quilting for Home Coming Lane lately but decided to work on something else over the weekend at our UFO weekend at club as I need to concentrate too much for machine quilting, especially as this quilt is going on the wall. Some easy stitching while chatting with friends was what I was after, and QAYG strings are just the ticket.

Since the weekend I have decided I need just a few more to get enough squares for a decent size throw or lap quilt. 

So I have been sewing away and the end is in sight and I am looking forward to joining these squares together.

Oops, nearly forgot these blocks weren't the only thing that I did over the weekend. I found this UFO from a class at my first ever Symposium, Auckland 2005. These were from a log cabin with attitude class with Janice Gunner from the UK where we were encouraged to cut fabric without a ruler. One square was complete while the other two just had the centres completed. I decided to get these squares completed before making a final decision as to what to do with them.

However more on that soon, but in the meantime some stitching is calling my name. 

Happy stitching everyone.

Donna-Maree

Retreat ...

Wow ... what a fantastic weekend with some special friends. I took off on Friday afternoon to Auckland to meet up with a bunch of girls for a quilting weekend and boy did we have some fun.

In March of this year some of us attended a retreat at the St Francis Retreat Centre and we loved it so much that we booked this last weekend so we could repeat the experience. It is so quiet and there is a feeling of peace and tranquility at the centre, the food is exceptional and everyone has their own room, you can check it out HERE. 

I worked on a quilt as you go quilt project that I am making through The Apple Basket at Kaiwaka. (You can check Apple Basket out here).

Here is one of the four blocks that I made with this block design.

Here is one of four blocks I made with this block design.

I was able to attend a Monday class today at The Apple Basket with Ngaire and Teagan where I learnt to join the above two blocks together, very impressive. I spent a lovely day there working on my project and I also have to say that Teagans Chocolate Biscuits are to die for! Thank you so much Teagan for making them for us.

I am really looking forward to getting this quilt together. There is probably a little more planning earlier on than I am used to, however once you have the individual blocks sorted it comes together quite quickly.

That is it for now so until next time - happy stitching everyone.

Donna-Maree