A wedding!

It's all excitement here amongst the madness and mess, our son Michael is getting married to the lovely Rachel this weekend.

I thought I'd make them a special handmade card to go with their present...

we wish them every happiness and know they will always have our love and support.

See you soon...
Carole :)

Thinking of coming to Taupo 2013?

If you are thinking of coming to Taupo, New Zealand in 2013 to take part in National Quilt Symposium, you might like to listen to this.....

You've got plenty of time to practice.

Thanks Cait for sharing the fun :)

Very clever students

Thought you might like to see Gill's finished wall hanging. She was doing my class on free motion stitching called 'The road to my house', you can find the details by scrolling down the side of my blog and clicking on the link.

I think she's done an excellent job, well done, I think I could sit and look at all the bits and pieces she has added for ages!

You can visit Gill here and congratulate her if you like.

two days in Wellington

At the end of last week I had to spend two days in Wellington, for work.
This was the view from my hotel window on the first day.

This was the view on the second day.

I did manage to get out for some fresh air and a short walk before it rained, thanks Wellington.

Carole

sometimes life offers so many choices

Sometimes life offers you lots of pathways.

Sometimes you find a pathway that's safe and help is available just in case you need it.

Sometimes the path is obvious and right in front of our eyes, but we struggle to see where it's leading us.

And sometimes we only get a glimpse of the path, but it's that one glimpse that holds excitement and  mystery and promise and although we are unsure of our destination we can't help but take that path.

I know which path I'm taking, how about you, which path would you take?

Carole :)

Fussy cutting

Isn't it a darling print!

The cake's cooled

It's almost finished, yay! But before I rush off and press it, I think I'd like to include some words. 

What about - "A day in the life of Miss Maude the house mouse"?

 I thought you might have some ideas?

Someone's been baking...

Trying to finish these stitcheries, nearly done, just waiting for the cake to cool....

Have you managed to get any "started long ago" projects finished?

Enjoying summer treats

picking fresh peas and eating them straight from the pod

Time to share some exciting news

National Symposium is coming again! That's right so you'll have to keep the week 18th to 23rd July 2013 free.

This time it's being held on the shores of the beautiful Lake Taupo, in the scenic central North Island,
and not only is it being held in Taupo, but it's going to be a Fabric Art Festival! How exciting is that?

But the most exciting news is that I'm going to be a tutor at Symposium! And are we going to have some great fun!

With registrations well over 800 so far, it's going to be a week of challenges, ideas, inspiration, and classes that you can create with wild abandon - and all with food and friendship thrown in.

Here's a peek at the classes I'm teaching...you'll be the first to see!

'Open your Door' a journal class using mostly recycled items that you have at home.

A wall hanging, 'The road to my house' a class with loads of free motion stitching and hand embroidery.

And for my 3rd class I'll be teaching a one day class called 'Embellishment Fair' where we'll have some fabric fun embellishing ourselves and our lives.

If you'd like to read more about the Symposium check their web site, www.tauposymposium.co.nz
where you'll find a list of international tutors along with tutors from Australia and New Zealand.

Are you ready for some fun? I am! Mark the date in your calenders now :))

Have a great week,
Carole

On a sunny summers day

I'm playing with the new app on my phone....

while the fabrics for my next quilt dry in the summer breeze.

What are you doing today? Started any new projects?

Can you tell...?

I love the beach? 
I have just had a brief stay at Waitarere Beach, which is 40 mins south of where I live. It was only a night, but I got to go for some long walks and enjoy the beach, the sea air and the sun and the sound of the waves on the beach at night.
I also got to play with a new app on my phone. Thanks Linda, it's lots of fun and I love the images :)

Now that I've had a nice refreshing break it's back to stitching.
Carole

2012, here I come!

Dear readers,
Hope you all celebrated the New Year in your own special way, with friends or family, or doing whatever pleased you. It was a very quiet one here with the weather so bad that New Years Eve concerts were cancelled all over the country, including the one here in Palmerston North.
However an evening indoors with the rain pelting the roof, meant I could catch up with some blog surfing, and visit with some friends I haven't had the chance to visit in a while.

I have decided to make a few changes to my blog, hope you like them. One of the main changes I'm going to attempt is to write more. I am usually very visual but intend to make it my goal to include more text. We'll see how that goes.

How are the New Year resolutions going? I made a good number of them this year. Normally I make one or two, but when you've got so few to follow, I am sure you set yourself up for disappointment. I figure if you have a whole list of them, then the chances of you being able to cross a good number of them off are pretty high. You are setting yourself up for success. 

Of course I had to start the New Year on a positive note and got to add a few fat quarters to my collection of florals. As you will know if you follow my adventures, I am always on the lookout for floral fabrics and think a new project is brewing...

During my holidays I also wanted to work on the stitching of my Maude the House Mouse stitcheries which have been waiting for me to finish them, and perhaps get my garden nice and tidy.

I've got several larger projects happening this year too. One of them being a special quilt for a special person, as in June I will become a first time Gran! We are all excited about the new arrival and I am sure you will hear much more about it as the arrival time nears.

You might remember I bought a copy of this book a while back and picked it up yesterday to read. Now I can't put it down! I'm not sure why, I don't think it's a memorable work of literature, but I think on reflection I would call it an Enid Blyton book for adults :) it's a mystery which seems to suck you into it's pages, and who doesn't love a good mystery/fantasy? As the author's first book, I think his ideas have been really clever. Well worth a read.

Miss Peregrine's home for Peculiar Children written by Ransom Riggs.

I'd love to know what your New Year resolutions are for 2012! Perhaps you will inspire me to add a few extras to my list!

I hope that 2012 brings you happiness and health and above all lots of creative inspiration!

Carole

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I will be absent for a few days over Christmas while I enjoy the Christmas season.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas, 

whether you are spending holidays with your family, or relaxing quietly on the beach, or tucked up warm inside with the fire going,

may you enjoy what the day brings and keep well and keep safe.

Merry Christmas my friends!

I look forward to seeing you all again soon and I'll be back with some very exciting news!

Carole x

A mysterious package arrives from afar...

Oh my goodness! 

A box full of the most amazing trees arrived at my house!

The trees in all sizes and colours came with a wee note...

What happiness.

Now, what shall I do with them? 

I think I love them.....just the way they are :)

Thank you.

Carole x

A touch of colour at Christmas

I love all the colours of Christmas, don't you?

Carole :)

The QB girls have been swapping again

The QB girls have been swapping again.

This time the Christmas swap could be whatever we wanted it to be. 

I love surprises! 

(The links to these wonderfully clever girls are all on the right of this blog)

The above wee hanging was made by the talented Patty S and as I'm particularly enjoying birds at the moment, found this wee bird delightful. I think she'd make the best Christmas bird ever!

I love the pretty lace that Patty hand dyed. Thanks Patty.

The next little surprise was this gorgeous wee pin cushion made from an antique china leg! 

This was made by the ever resourceful and clever Nathalie T. 

Visit her blog and while you're there check out her Etsy store for more interesting resources. You never know what you'll find.

Thanks Nathalie, it's a very special wee treasure.

Sparkly and very pretty -a snow globe for Christmas!

This was made by the very busy Linda R. 

What a fabulous idea and how novel, it hangs in pride of place on my Christmas tree.

And I have to shake it each time I walk past. 

Thank you Linda!

The next Christmas treat to admire was this lovely wee Christmas themed 

matchbox full of Christmas wishes.

Made by the brilliant Margaret W, I am always inspired by Margaret's lovely art work.

Thanks Margaret!

And lastly I made each of my friends a Christmas snowman.

I got the pattern and instructions from this wee booklet by

Australian Rosalie Quinlan. He was very cute and took my eye.

Hope you are all full of Christmas spirit!

Carole :)

Come on a visit with me...

Last weekend I was invited to have High Tea. 

It was to be at Oruawharo Homestead, a large double-story wooden homestead built in the 1800's.

The homestead is in Takapau in the Central Hawke's Bay and originally was the heart of the 17,726 acres it sat on.

The High Tea was for a friends daughter who opted to have tea and cakes rather than the more traditional bridal shower.

This is the homestead not long after it was completed in 1879. Twenty years later the owners built more bedrooms on plus a large billiards room on the left hand side.

A contemporary reporter of the time described Oruawharo as having “everything that administers to domestic comfort and convenience”, “baths with hot water apparatus”, “culinary departments with apparatus of the most approved kind”, and three staircases.

(I can actually hear that being said)

So, let me show you around. 

When the current owners bought the homestead, it was in a bad state of disrepair. The outside of the house was covered in thick ivy, there was little paint left on the house and many of the wooden timbers were rotting. Some of the out buildings had collapsed and the grounds were overrun. 

In the early days the family kept 12 domestic staff and 8 gardeners and in 1886 over 28,000 sheep were shorn.

Today the servants wing has been removed and there are only 12 bedrooms, and it costs $70,000 to give the outside of the house a paint. Several million dollars has been spent on it so far, and there is still a lot of work to be done.

Inside the front door the ceilings had been restored. 

All but two of the photos have been taken without a flash using the natural light.

The above ceiling panel was painted in pale green and pink.

The ceiling panel below had been beautifully restored too.

There were large fireplaces in most rooms, including the bedrooms and two were blazing and not at all out of place.

When we arrived we were greeted by the owner and given a short history of the building. He also told us that we were welcome to explore the rooms in the homestead while we were waiting for our tea and cakes.

I peeked into this room which was the billiards room. It was often used for balls and special functions and has the most amazing wooden ceiling. The owners bought a specialist in from Europe to restore it.

And when we are invited to explore the house, and a grand sweeping staircase beckons,

well, what's a girl to do?

This was the main bedroom. It had 3 rooms off it, one which was a nursery complete with cots and a passage way which led to a back bedroom and a wee bathroom. 

Oruawharo belongs to the International Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) Association and is a frequent destination for its members from all over the world.

I noticed a slight slope on the floorboards. Imagine all the dusting, and sweeping that would need doing!

Nice views, I could see Miss Elizabeth Bennet crossing the lawn, 

-not quite up to Mr Darcy's standards tho.

In 1965 the homestead and 62.5 remaining acres were gifted to the Catholic Church so that

the house could be used for a Preparatory School for boys. However, it was deemed not suitable and

it passed into several different hands, none that could afford to repair or restore it and so

  was eventually left for ruin.

In 1911 the homestead got it's first telephone.

I was pretty impressed by all the quilts. One for every bed.

When the Catholic Nuns left the building in the 1970's they had a huge sale and sold off anything and everything. All the chandeliers sold, the brass door plates and handles, all the furniture and fittings. 

The building was left bare.

The present owners have collected pieces of furniture for a long time. This piece interested me. Does anyone know what it was used for or called, with this little padded seat in the middle?

I passed by this passageway, it was dark but the light from a window highlighted a rocking chair and a wee basket for a dog at the far end.

But then it was time for tea. So into the dining room we went.

And I'm sorry, I got totally carried away by all the lovely china, there were huge sideboards full of stacks of plates and cups that I snapped only this one photo. This is the top plate of three tiers. 

Then it was time to take a walk outside and explore the grounds.

This is the stables. It has been restored and has several bays inside and a couple of rooms. At the moment it is used for storing timber.

The vege garden is new and laid out beautifully. 

I was taken by all the seats. 

The Dannevirke Hunt Club uses the property twice a year to hold their hunts, complete with hounds.

It also holds lots of functions, vintage car club rallies, weddings.

There were peony gardens and rose gardens and a fence-line of beautiful lavender.

And the rich pink of this rose invited one to walk further.

A very happy situation indeed.

Beautiful.

And here we all are getting ready to say goodbye to Oruawharo after a lovely afternoon.

If you get the chance to visit, it's well worth it.

Hope you enjoyed your visit.

Carole :)