oh dear my bad!

oh dear confession time, and I am feeling so really really bad about this!!!!

I have had a really BIG oops with some recent swap parcels. Oh Dear!! And I was so organised and all.

Tim and I have been tripping up and down between Dunedin and Twizel (3 hr drive on a good day) very frequently, sometime together sometimes alone,

I stayed in Dunedin the other week (that I was to post off several (3) swap gifts), but left part of one of the gifts behind in Twizel, I should have just posted it off anyway, but I decided to wait 'til the Friday evening for Tim to bring it down with him, and I wanted to wrap it nicely, well.... oh I am hanging my head in shame and horror!! - I had stayed in Dunedin for the week to pack up our house as we were moving all our belongings the following week,

When parcel man Tim (AKA Rowing Man), arrived on Friday evening as planned, but too late for the post of course, I duly nicely wrapped the gift, and put it with all the others, and 2 other swap parcels to head to the post, well I got waylaid by my mother - who fractured her arm some months back but is having awful problems with it, and was making the most of having me in town, and heeded to go off to attend to help her with a few errands, the parcels got left on the stairs at home in my haste. Oh all the best laid planes!! ooohhhhh I just cannot believe this...

Anyway - to cut a very long story short so you can read it tonight,... all 3 swap parcels got packed - somewhere in with all the other stuff being packed... and I have been tearing every possible box open, and my hair out trying to find them - but so far no luck, I could have sworn that I left them all together in one corner of the dining room - not to be touched, so that this would not happen! Oh NO NO NO..

So what I am going to do, is tomorrow send off some bits of parcels so that each of the three swap friends (if I can still call them friends) have something, and then start all over again, and get what I can done over the rest of the week and weekend and mail that too on Monday - oh Quelle Horreur!!!

There is no way any of this sounds good at all, and I just don't know how to say sorry enough to my swap partners,



so off to get into gear!

Have you ever done anything like this??? Please say yes, so I don't feel a total "duhhead" all on my lonesome!

We live in Tiwzel now

.....look what arrived at our new home (previously our holiday house) on Wednesday - containing most of our furniture and worldly goodies. (still all the outdoor furniture, garden pots etc to come yet). We packed our home up most of the day Tuesday, loaded up truck, trailer and car, and tootled off to Twizel later on Tuesday afternoon, followed by this truck early on Wednesday morning

The moving men were so fantastic, and just so organised, they had a safe place for everything, and I was amazed at how tightly packed, and well protected our "things" were. So now we have lots of these to unpack and sort, and sort, and find homes for... anybody out there good at this??

although I do not know why I say we, as it is very much a "me" thing. Rowing has very kindly excused himself from the task, and headed off to work. Well someone has to earn a dollar I say! Bring home the bacon, and all that other stuff that breadwinners do so very well - now that I am unemployed, not working, a SAHP - which is really a very good thing as that gives me lots of time for ... you guessed it! Quilting 'n' stuff!!

but slowly getting there, one corner of the lounge is starting to look a bit more organised, and that is more then just wishful thinking on my part.

CAn you see the dress hanging from the doorway top right, (well skirt and bodice), that is what I am wearing to the Oamaru Heritage Ball this evening, we go every year with a small group of friends, and it is soooooo much fun, will post about that next week.

But wait! There is more....

yesterday, Rowing man brought this parcel home from work (current postal address owing to the fact that we do not have a letter box in Twizel - on the list of things to do along with garden shed, trellis to screen off the hot tub, and sundry other tasks which just seem way to many to mentions ... or contemplate ). Anyway, I digress...

inside the post box were these delightful goodies... which are from the Advent Swap, my swap buddy, Betsy, has forwarded over all these delicious pretty parcels, all numbered, and one a day to be opened beginning on Dec 1st. Look at the delightful way that Betsy has numbered all these parcels... isn't she just the cleverest

Oh what fun and anticipation!!

BUT.. I am not so clever, I was so totally organised and had everything sorted, BUT 2 of my swap parcels which are to be posted, have been packed, and I am pulling my hair out as well as stuff out of boxes to find them!!! HRRMPH!!

They gotta be here somewhere.....

have fun!

it' on it's way!

last Friday I received a piece of tea dyed calico from Carole,

she has decided to make a "quilting buddies" quilt, what a fantastic idea!

so I have stitched this, and popped in the mail today,

Deb has done one also, pop over and have a look at hers,

Carole's quilt is going to look just ever so gorgeous!

A day in the country

Early Saturday morning we were on the road, and what better reason you may ask, then a Quilter's Meet in the country. Yipppee!!

5 of us headed off from Twizel in 2 cars, to drive almost 2 hrs to Lowburn (close to Cromwell/Wanaka) in Central Otago where the Wanaka Patchwork group were hosting "A Day in the Country Meet".

There were a rather small number of quilts in the competition, which was themed "from the grape to the vine". This was one ladies interpretation of this;

and a closer look...

this is a thru the window peek,


and I do rather like this one...

and this is a rather humourous take, this quilt was copied from a metal sign in a cafe in Arrowtown,

and this (below)was the Judge's overall winner, AND Voter's choice, this photo really does not do it too much justice, it was rather spectacular with a very clever 3-D effect. Some of the fabrics used in this quilt were very good at depicting the schist stone that is so prevalent in this area.

I thought that this quilt, which was part of the show 'n' tell, was very well done, in rather pretty soft colours;

and these ladies from a group down south (Invercargill way), had a New York Beauty workshop, again really great to see all the different interpretations of the same quilt,

Friday's mail brought these lovelies from Friday from Carole, a piece of tea dyed calico for a little stitchery, Carole is going to put together with other quilters/stitchers pieces that she has sent out pieces of calico to, the idea is we all complete a little stitchery and send them back to her, and she will make them into a quilt. Isn’t this an absolutely fabulous idea? When Carole sent out the request recently on her blog asking for people to do this for her I thought, I’d love to...

I see Deb has already completed hers, so I better get a move on huh...

have a fun week everyone!

well, a time of busyness indeed, you will have to turn your head sideways to look at this one, the way I usually do to the usual things that I do on this lappie (Rowing Man's new toy) just aren't the same, and I cannot for the life of me turn this around.... but I finished this little stitchery last night, it is from an old Homespun magazine, looks like a Bronwyn Hayes design to me (I do hope that I am right about that!!)


.. these goodies (below) are winging their way across the waters, these are what I sent my swap partner for the Stitcher's Angel Swap, so if she hasn't received these already, they shouldn't be too far away from her post box.

these goodies are from Jenny's Stitchery Retreat, a few weeks ago - I have taken a little poetic license, and "done it my way" - I just love the little needle holder with one of Theodora Cleaves buttons, are they just so wonderful, she has such an amazing collection of these little charmers,

and this design was also one from the retreat, this is a Red Brolly Design by Bronwyn Hayes, it was part of a much bigger design, a lovely table runner, but I have just taken this small wee part of it for a little needle holder ..

to go with this lovely little dilly bag, for a dear friends birthday gift. She is a Halloween baby (yep her birthday is October 31st!), but she is currently holidaying in Melbourne, she headed off there for the Melbourne Cup races - lucky thing. So these goodies will be waiting on her doorstep when she gets back.

... and I have finally pieced Gail Pan's "A Christmas Wish" BOM, hmmm I wasn't too sure about this fabric, it is really lovely adorable fabric, but not sure how I feel about it beside the stitchery,

however, it does look better when you see the whole picture, or rather quilt...

which apparently, I am not showing you that block again... OOPS! and that gold block may need to be amended also! Hmmm... The things that you do not notice when you are busy stitching away, talking, and doing one or two other activities simultaneously...

Rowing man is busy constructing too, we went to the local (old local in Dunedin) garden centre on Sunday - and saw an "amazing just what we needed" planter box. So yesterday (back in Twizel now), we trotted of to the local building supplies (my my country town people are just so so helpful!), and came back with this (or rather it was delivered). Watch this space, 'cos I will show you the planter when it is finished. I plan to grow our veges in this (lettuce, silver beet, celery, herbs etc) for summer salads etc I even managed to coerce Rowing Man into bringing a trailer load of compost (very good soil now) from Dunedin - far too good to leave behind! You may well ask why I didn't just buy more here in Twizel, BUT I have been growing that compost now for several years, and it is just so so ready for MY garden! I have still left plenty for the new owners, not that I even know if they are keen gardeners or not...

and these goodies - well they will be goodies, when I have completely finished, they look quite different now, but this how they started off, are for the Christmas Advent Swap, run by Jo and Fiona. I cannot show you any more 'cos I know that my lovely swap partner Betsy, is hovering over this blog from time to time, and I just DO NOT want to spoil the surprise for her.

so this is all you get to see just for now, this all goes into the mail bag, maybe tomorrow otherwise I will wait 'til I get to town and post it Monday. Should take about a week Betsy, and then you shall have it, BUT you cannot start opening pressies until December 1st Betsy!!

catch ya next time, have fun!