Monday, March 30, 2015

completion


This play mat for my granddaughter isn't a fancy quilt. But I'm sharing it with you because it's finished and it's the first thing I've made in ages. I whipped up the whole thing in a day - using what I had. The top is made from left-overs from a giant duvee cover that I cut down to fit. The backing and binding is a purple cotton that I'd had in the cupboard for years just waiting for the right moment. And the wadding is a quilted mattress protector - doubled for extra thickness. Everything is machined and simply quilted "in the ditch". And I rounded the corners so I wouldn't have to mitre. (Why doesn't everyone make quilts with rounded corners? It's so much easier). But the binding needed to be folded over and hand stitched on the back. For months I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Finally I worked on it while watching the semifinals of the ICC cricket world cup (New Zealand vs South Africa) on television. It was such a thrill. New Zealand won. And I finished the quilt. Mexican wave!

Reading: French milk by Lucy Knisley and Not my father's son by Alan Cumming
Viewing: Billy Apple: the artist has to live like everybody else showing at the Auckland Art Gallery

Friday, March 27, 2015

Monday, March 23, 2015

pink rabbits


This is my granddaughter looking at some board books I bought for her - Counting and Colours by Finnish illustrator and designer Aino-Maija Metsola. See more of her work here. We love these books. We love the brilliant colours and funny drawings and there are loads of flaps to lift and close.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Monday, March 16, 2015

a perfect swim


It's already mid-March - officially Autumn - and I had my first (and, probably, only) "summer" swim on the weekend at Omaha. It was glorious. But why did I wait so long when I love swimming in the ocean so much?

Reading: Wild : from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Friday, March 13, 2015

Monday, March 9, 2015

daisies


Some recently bought Crown Lynn plates from the 60s and 70s -  exotically named Boutique and Arizona - all in earthy mustardy colours.

Reading: (the graphic novel) How to be happy by Eleanor Davis

Friday, March 6, 2015

tuhua


I'd like to post here more often so starting today I'm going to try a regular (weekly) post of one of my favourite photos. This one is of a little cloud floating above Tuhua (Mayor Island) taken from the beach at Whangamata.

Monday, March 2, 2015

adventuresome


- Whiritoa beach
- Ohope at dusk
- White Island/Whakaari from Ohope beach
- White Island - New Zealand's only active marine volcano
- Tarawera - dormant volcano, last erupted in 1886
- Rotorua lakes

I think I spent more time this holiday in a helmet or a hard hat than I did in a swim suit. It was thrilling.

Reading: (the excellent) What lies beneath : a memoir by Elspeth Sandys.