Happy sewing every one where ever you are in the world and thanks for dropping in. I’m happily hand quilting the sample quilt still; I’m just making up how I quilt each block as I work on it. This weeks block is been echo quilted this was how I was first taught to quilt by a Hawaiian quilter. I will be linking to
WOW with Esther 17th June 2015 http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.com//
Laura a Hawaiian quilter taught me to quilt in Tonga which is in the Pacific Islands. Before we started the lessons she told us that she would share with us how she quilted then it was up to us to practice and she warned that it could take up to 8hrs of practice to get the rhythm !!!!!! Of course it looked so easy watching her none of us believed her!!!! It took me 3 hrs sitting with her helping me then 4 1/2 hrs in the after noon before I GOT IT> Of all the 10 people that took the course only 2 of us became hand quilters LOL I have never forgotten that thrill of getting the rhythm and to this day still love to sit and hand quilt. It is the most relaxing thing I can do.
I have nearly completed this block, with luck it will be completed at the end of this week or earlier?????
Taking the tuck in before quilting another area that is very baggy.
Taking a tuck in before quilting this area that has stretched over the 10 year or may be has not shrunk as the rest of the quilt has??????
We have and so much rain the last 7 months that it is effecting the electrical and electronics, two of my big cameras have stopped working and my little faithful is having trouble opening, my iPad is only working some times, my washing machine only goes on one cycle, my son living down below his wall heater and floor heater keeps blowing the fuses, its very very frustrating, I just hope it stops soon and I can feel the sun on my face again. Of course it is also driving the creepie crawlies inside so I’m constantly on the watch for them.
One of the local flame trees has been in full flower and over the last few weeks, and has started to drop it’s beautiful flowers and there is a carpet of red all over the lawn below.
Trees around the town now flowering. If you click to enlarge the photo below it will turn up the right way?????
Giant Helaconia in flower also known as the giant bird of paradise. This is higher than a two story house and is beside our house we had 3 here but cut two of them out as they were leaning over the house. Not a good thing to land on your roof.
This shows the full fan shape of the giant Helaconia or as many people call it The Bird of Paradise
My bench flowers have burst out in to flower again; these flowers are 4 inchs across and this breed comes from the highlands of Papua New Guinea When we lived there I saw these growing under the the forest canopy high up in the rainforest of the highlands, I had been walking for about 5 hrs came around a corner and there was this Huge clearing of undergrowth and as far as you you see was this carpet of these giant flowers blooming in so many different colours. They are now used as a commercial pot plant down here in OZ.
I love walking in to my wee patio now with these beautiful flowers greeting me each time they are growing so so fast.
Our local little green lipped frog
I have just had a birthday and came home to this lovely clean and tidy walk way it was very over gown and my DS and his beautiful wife and 6 year old son cleaned it up while I was out at breakfast having sourdough pancakes at anthers sons home, I was very very spoilt.
This beautiful flame torch was another birthday present.
This is why we have fly-screens as they are called in OZ not for the flies up here but for the night creatures that can be up to 6 inches plus long plus bats?????
This is who visited me at 2am l8 nights ago for those who did not see my update on last weeks blog.
Well again not much to show sewing wise but at least the quilting is getting less and less each week now. Thank you for dropping in Glenda in stitches and Laughter.
Off to link up with Esther http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.com//
I don’t think I could live someplace that got as much rain as you have – the creepy crawlies would bother me too much LOL – I’m not good with little creatures like that. All the flowers and plants though are divine and I know you wouldn’t have them if not for the heat and the rain.
Morning Karen I was working on my blog around 1am last night and must have clicked publish instead of save draft because I saw your message early this morning before I had proof read and finished my blog LOL. We do get an excess of rain but normally it is only over 3 or 4 months but this year it has not stopped raining since Dec 2014 so it is very depressing. It is still warm around 20C to 25C but so much rain!!!!!! Only things that thrive on it are the Raintrees LOL. Glenda who does not want to go out side as it is so so wet LOL.
The trees are so pretty along with all the flowering plants. I thought we had big bugs here in Oklahoma,USA but I believe yours are bigger. You quilt beautifully
Hi Kathleen and thanks for dropping in and the compliment it is very encouraging. Yes our bugs up in the far North of Australia are big but NOT as big as the ones in Papua New Guinea I lived there for 6 years and there I saw walking stick insects are over 18 inches long you have to see how big these insects up there to believe them. Spiders leg spans over 18inchs too up in the highland rain forests. They also have the biggest moth in the world. Happy stitching Glenda
Oh heavens rain for months…. We have had a few days and I hate it but we needed it. Summer starts this weekend but Spring has bee cold and damp and we get millions if midges tiny flys that swarm and stick to screens just very annoying not to be able to sit on our balcony and it because we live so close to the water. As soon as it gets hot out they disappear. Love your hand quilting.
Hugs Bunny
Morning Bunny, Yes the rain is Bugging me, about 12 years ago we went through a whole dry with constant rain ending up with 18 months of rain, I’m sure there were lots of divorcees because of it, every one was snapping at the slightest thing, lots of bronchiolar sickness and asthma was terrible, when you are use to 9 months of no rain just perfect sunny days it takes a lot out of you. Through our wet season which is around Dec to March usually we get the mossies from Jan till March and you can not sit outside with out coils and oil burners burning around you. Of course if you have visitors you get left alone as they love new blood LOL> Hugs Glenda
Hi Glenda, just got home from a trip to California–so glad to be back. We went down to help my SIL go through the last of Mother’s things. It only took a couple of days but by then, we had a 6×12′ trailer pretty full of stuff to haul home. My SIL really liked her pillows and almost lost them to her husband for his game room. Now I have to make some for him but suitable for his game room.
Since we have been home, we have started making plans for the new part of the house we want to have built. They are almost done and now to find a contractor. As always, your hand work is beautiful–keep up the good work.
Your friend, Julie
Welcome home Julie, funny thing I have just finished the block I was quilting I have just shown and decided to give my hand a rest from constant hand quilting and pulled out my crazy quilt again and was thinking of you. Every time I see this quilt now I think of you. Looking forward to seeing the house grow over the next few months while summer is with you. As always Glenda
Hi Glenda. Love your hand quilting, makes me wish I could hold a needle for more than a few minutes at a time.
I love seeing what is around you each week and your garden photo’s are as usual gorgeous. Flame trees are so beautiful, we do have them further north but they don’t put on the same show as in the warmer – and dare I say- wetter climates!!
Our closest is of course the Pohutakawa but in Whangarei it still doesn’t reach the glory it shows off in the Coromandel as the NZ Christmas tree.
Keep dry, Keep safe, Hugs Jenny
Thanks for you love and thoughts Jenny, I’m keeping dry but it is sad not see the sun I miss it so much. My parents had a Beach house on the Coromandel so we saw them in all their glory every Xmas on holidays. They all so bloom beautifully along the coast at Whakatane and Opotik where I was from. Really enjoyed the photo’s and the tutorial you showed on your blog today it was wonderful, http://jennyhquilts.blogspot.co.nz/2015/06/wow-17th-june.html thanks for sharing that. Hugs Glenda
LOL, Glenda. You are posting the photos of those bugs on purpose as you know I have an aversion to them. I hope the weather dries up soon and the sun shines again.
Your sample block quilting is stunning. I am a novice to hand stitching myself but enjoy having a go.
LOL Hi Catherine sorry about the creepies but many of my quilting friends have hubbies that entomologist of are hobbyists of collecting beetles and such so I put them up for them to enjoy LOL But I have promised Esther I will put them at the end of the blog from now on LOL. I hope you keep practicing your hand quilting as it is so rewarding and a great way to meditate if you need to but can not just sit and meditate????? Enjoy your workshop, I will be thinking of you as I have to machine blind stitch appliqué some small lambs on to a babies quilt I’m making at present. Have fun Glenda
A belated happy birthday!
Your quilting teacher must be pleased to have got even two hand quilters out of her class. It was interesting to hear how you had her work with you to try and get the the rhythm right – wish that I had a teacher to help me, and that I could then get to stitch as beautifully as you! That quilting looks really lovely.
Thanks for sharing all your photos – hope that you dry out a little soon! xx
Thanks for the birthday wishes Plum I and a lovely lovely day with family from breakfast to dinner. My quilting teacher made hawaiian quilts for the Hawaiian royal family back in the 1980-90’s her needle just flew in and out and she made it look so easy LOL. Our sample piece was made from what we call unbleached calico down here, it is a heavy cream tightly woven unwashed indian cotton with a thick piece of nylon wadding, that was about all we could get on the Island of Tonga. So been able to learn to hand quilt that!!!!! I can now quilt any fabric LOL> we had NO rain all day and it was so wonderful to feel the dry breeze coming from across the land. Hugs Glenda
Hi Glenda!
Beautiful quilting!!!! I will need to catch up on your blog posts. My beloved dog, Daisy, passed away suddenly 6 weeks ago, and my world caved in. I haven’t felt like sewing or communicating at all, but starting to feel a bit better. We’ve just got back after 2 weeks cruising in the Baltic. Lots to catch up on! Sorry about all your rain. Electrical goods are so expensive to replace.,,and I thought England was the wettest place on Earth!
Sue xx
Dear Sue so so sorry to read about the loss of your dear wee companion Daisy; I hope the cruise helped you start to heal. I also hope you had lovely weather as by the sounds of things right across the north it has been a much cold Spring than normal. Our rain stopped yesterday and we had a lovely drying out day with the wind coming off the desert and you could just feel the place drying out, to day it is the same so I’m hoping that we do not see rain till Dec now. It is usually not wet this time of the year, from March to Dec it is what we call our dry season and usually we get no rain or very little, but this year we have had our average yearly rain fall all ready!!!! I have placed all my cameras in to a hot box and have my fingers crossed; Hubby lay my iPad on my heat pad I use for my arthritis and it has started to WORK, so we have our fingers crossed it will fix it permanently. But a washing machine is rather hard to wrap in a heat pad LOL. Hugs Glenda
I live in Houston Texas and I am really glad the drought is over, but we have enough rain to start building Arcs. We have all the creepy crawlies also. Maybe not as big as you but everything eventually shows up here. Even alligators. I test everything also, because I made a Texas Star Quilt and I ran all through the quilt the 1st time it was washed.
Hi Ann, yes I have been following the world weather and other quilters blogs who live around Texas and you have been very unusual rain falls some huge flooding as well. Most of our state is in a drought it is only in the Far North that is getting this constant rain. Like you we also get the alligators but we call them fresh ager crocs here LOL we have them in the river 200 metres below us, but I have never seen them up around the house which they could come up to if they wanted to as there are no fences to keep them out. when I use to take my dog for a walk along the river banks in the winter they would be sunbathing on the mud banks in the sun about 3 metres below us, if Rocket ( wolfhoundxboxer) went to close to the bank edge they would bark at him, he soon learnt not to go near the banks LOL. One year my brother from NZ came to stay, and one after-noon I came home to a baby croc sun bathing on the swimming pool rocks, my heart skipped a beat as I straight away thought where is the mum as they are very dangerous when their babies hatch out???? but it was a rubber croc but boy it looks real, it still soaks up the sun to scare our visitors. LOL. Happy quilting Glenda PS I hope you managed to get the dye run out of that lovely Texas Star Quilt?
Happy Birthday Glenda, I love seeing parts of your paradise through your eyes (minus the creepy crawlies). Your hand quilting is great, I never took to it, I prefer to find the rhythm of a sewing machine!
Morning Esther I had a wonderful birthday very spoilt, funny thing is I never remember my own birthday or wedding anniversary LOL but with lots of grandchildren around they remind me now. I’n the opposite to you, my brain and feet don’t go together on a sewing machine when trying to quilt LOL. Hugs Glenda