I'm back with lots of photos and quilty things...

Oh my goodness, selling and moving house within two weeks is not somethng I would like to repeat any time soon.  Kerry and I have been totally exhausted. There are some plusses though as we didnt have time to agonise over the keep or move on stuff.  Mind you we still have a pile of stuff to go through sitting in a large corner of our shop building!!  However, with a smaller two bedroomed unit, there will be very little that will come here.
Today is the first day I did some sewing since the Monday after our quilting weekend which I think is the same day of my last post!  It was nice to finally start doing some stitching and planning.  I also quilted a humungous quilt this week - 98 x 104 plus two pillow cases.  That was hard work as the top was batik.
Anyway I shall start the photo parade and fill in the gaps for you....
Here is Christine's king sized quilt waiting to be loaded.

 Christine absolutely loves horses and appliqued a row of them along the bottom of the quilt.

 The pattern was Hearts and Blooms and it made a huge difference to the look of the quilt.

 I used a lovely dark green Magnifico thread on top and a Bottom Line in the bobbin.

Thanks for letting me quilt your quilt Christine.
Last Sunday afternoon the Group Leaders at Church had a Leaders Get together.  We had lunch at Subway then headed up to Napier for a mystery trip.  We ended up in prison!!!!  It was a visit to the old Napier prison up on Bluff Hill.  The old and very small prison was still operating as late as 1993.  The conditions were truly dreadful.  Prisoners were given one blanket and a mattress.  The blanket was removed at 5am each morning.  Showers were only installed in the 1980's.

My friend Kerry and I looking like matching members of the Red Club!!!

This collage shows the Hanging Yard and at the top of the concrete wall is a terrace about a metre wide where the crowds (mostly women and children) paid one shilling to watch the hangings!  The white picket fence surrounds the Graveyard.  Prisoners were buried standing up to prevent them from ever being at peace!  The blue lino floor is one of the corridors that was badly damaged in the 1931 earthquake.  It was not fixed which is amazing.  Two other corridors were badly affected during this earthquake (7.2 mag.) and had to be broken out of their cells because the doors were jammed.  How frightening would that have been - the earthquake lasted for over two  minutes and over 200 lives were lost.  My Dad was actually at school in Napier during the quake and told us that he and his classmates survived because they were outside during interval.  Their classroom collapsed on itself as it was made of brick.

Lyn from our Tuesday Chat group brought along her hexie quilt to get some advice on a border colour.  Isnt it just lovely?
Talking about hexies...look what I found in a cupboard when we moved (head a little dipped here)....lol

Umm I started these about 12 years ago and was going to make a bag.  Have long since lost the pattern so will do something else with them.
This afternoon I stitched the August blocks for the Paper Bag challenge.  This is Vivienne's quilt and she is using yummy New Zealand fabrics. It's my turn for September. We dont get the blocks til the end of the year though, but I am going to make extra and it will be Caleb's quilt (grandson no. 7).

Yippee I have started cutting out the fabric for  my new grandbaby's quilt.  The kids like the quilt in the magazine below but just want the middle bit.  Oh dear, what it is to be modern parents.  I am going to vary the size though as the strips are only an inch and a half wide finished.  I fussy cut this lovely fat eighth I got in Taupo.

This is the next quilt I need to work on.  Have been working out a plan as it needs some focus put into it to enhance the lovely fabrics.
And our post wouldnt be the same without a mention of the "boys" who have become commuter cats.  We have been taking them to work each day with us as they are used to the place and have lots of outside places to go.  Then home they come.  Last weekend they slept all weekend as if they had had a hard week at work...lol.

Clever Tyson and scaredy cat Travis looking worried.

Well that's the catch up.  Hope you are all well and have been having lots of great quilty moments.  I shall talk to you again soon...it is the All Blacks tonight against Australia....oh boy what a battle it is going to be.

Blessings
Clare

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