Thinking pink

I am starting to think about quilt no.2 in the bazaar series.

Phoebe, (our 3and 3/4 yr old granddaughter) is

requesting a pink and green quilt. Yesterday she chose some fabrics from my stash

and I am starting to play around a little, pulling out fabrics and fat quarters all over my studio floor, which is always the fun part.

A Quilt in the Garden

There's is nothing like the satisfaction of putting the last stitch in a quilt for a sweet little girl.

Here is Esmae's quilt finished and hanging in the garden for a "captivating" photo.

The back of the quilt. I just need to make a label for it now.

As I was sewing the binding on, I was thinking that the combination of colours were like a tropical fruit salad, with papaya, mangoes, pineapple, peaches,melons, bananas, oranges with a kiwifruit or two thrown in the mix. What do you think ?

For the series of quilts that I am making, I am using the design Tabestry Garden Quilt from the book Kaffe Fassett's Kaleidoscope of Quilts. The reason for this is that the design is very simple and showcases the fabrics perfectly...and the quilts don't take long to make ! I have used a combination of fabrics from my stash and for the large squares some KF florals. I quilted diagonal lines in each block using an orange thread.

A Tasty Treat

Bazaar 1

Last night I put the finishing pin in the quilt top from the series I am making for my granddaughters.

I am calling this series "Bazaar", because the colours I am using remind me so much of colourful flea markets and bazaars around the world, some of which I have been lucky enough to have visited.

Then, today I baked.

These neenish tarts are Ian's favorite, so I thought it was about time I gave him a little treat, he has been so good to me since I have been feeling "poorly". They are a little bit fiddly to make but do make a nice sweet treat to have occasionally. Ian's Mum used to make a plate of these for him now and then, I wonder if he will think mine as good ?

The sausage rolls I made because I just felt like eating one...you know..as you do !

Pills and Potions and feeling Poorly

Since my last post I have been poorly ! Don't you just love that expression "feeling poorly". It always conjures up for me images of being in bed when I was a child with mumps or measles, and my Dad would bring me a big pile of comics to read. My Mum would fuss over me with lemon and honey drinks, and I would feel special.

This infection has seemed to go on forever and with three visits to the Doctor and three lots of antibiotics, I still feel poorly !

Last night I soaked my aching body in a friend's spa and then she gave my back a massage with lavender oils, it was divine, and her kindness and love did more for my mood than all the pills I have been swallowing lately.

There has not been a lot of activity on the creative front, so I thought I would post some more pics that I took in New Plymouth

These photos were taken in the gardens there..a magical place.

Taking it all in

I have returned from an amazing and wonderful week in the North Island. We spent most of that time in New Plymouth. On the last morning of our stay there we biked around the coastline here.....

and came across the wind wand erected in 2000 as a memorial to Len Lye, the artist, film maker, writer and kinetic sculptor.

We had a delicious lunch at the Big Wave Cafe, a great spot for all the walkers and bikers on the boardwalk there.

We walked through spectacular bush , and visited some well established gardens,

This beautiful rhododendron is named Watermelon Dream and we found it here at the Pukeiti Gardens.

I loved New Plymouth for lots of reasons, but mostly because everywhere you go there, you are watched over by majestic Mount Taranaki.

The Monet exhibition at TePapa was a highlight for me. The paintings were luminous and glowing with light and colour. I could have stood and gazed at each one for hours and I felt while I was looking so intently, a great rush of love for this artist who gave us a small taste of his glorious world....very inspiring. In my hands in the car I was working on this....

which I was compelled to start after reading this.