Morning glory

A glorious morning to all folks out there who might pop by. First of all I will go back a few days to a morning I woke early and was ready to start the day. As I opened the curtains I was treated with this wonderful show as the sun rose. I'll just leave you to enjoy.

And here comes the sun setting fire to the trees.

Now what is this. No not a chocolate log dusted with icing sugar. This morning was our second frost and June is still some days away.

But for us here, just South of Auckland this is a good frost.

The birdbath was frozen over for the second morning in a row.

Across the back paddock.

Even the ponga trees were dusted with frost. Being so low this area is usually the first to be touched.

I love this winter land scene.

Almost footprints in snow.

Delicious frosty leaves.

Everything is touched this morning.

The wonderful thing about a magical frosty morn is the glorious day that follows.

I'm so glad that yesterday I put the new electric blanket on our bed and also changed the summer cover for the thick minky one. 

It is so furry and cosy feeling and was very Wellcome last night.

Have I shown you these before. My friend Janet was getting rid of them so I put my hand up. 

She kindly gave them to me for Christmas. No they are not real embroidery, but pictures of the real thing.

But I think they look so real and so do other folks who study them closely before giving in. I love them and they look just right above our bed. 

Now I am going to end this post so I can begin another and take you to a Quilt show. So stay tuned. Blessings, Trills.xx

The Joys of a new day.

I was reluctant to start today. Not for any particular reason, I was just very sleepy and enjoying a little dream time, but Kerry brought me a cuppa and opened the curtains to this picture of sunlight through the Autumn colour. Well that did the trick. Hello new day. Hello sunshine. I'm sure glad to see you.

Time to get out from these cosy covers and enjoy what this day has to offer. I am still rather lame, especially as I have now injured the right knee as well, but today I manage to hobble around without the crutches, so we have a little progress. MRI next Tues.

Meanwhile I think this sunny day calls for the rugs, cushions etc on the deck. 

And while I am able to let's take a gentle stroll about the garden. The three main trees, Liquidamber, Scarlet Oak and Awanui Cherry are displaying their Autumn beauty but are slowly losing these fine garments as they fall

About their feet leaving a carpet of colour

It is usually my job to rake the leaves and I miss this meditative task as Kerry whips around with the mower and catcher these days so this is two days since and the wind is getting up.

My little miniture woodland path is awash under the Scarlet Oak and Cherry trees.

These rather pathetic azaleas are doing their best spread a little joy and they do. I had plans to plant more so they would provide a glorious show. Maybe by next year.

I am sooo enjoying these surroundings. A sense of freedom as I walk carefully around the trees in the dappled sunlight.

The still green tree behind the colour is a common Oak grown from an acorn by a friend many years ago. One of three they seem to be late in letting go of their summer garb.

Now here we have baby Sweet peas just poking through after I had given up hope that they would ever appear. This was my Dads Sweetpea patch with trellis and I had great hopes of a grand display when I managed to plant the seeds over two weeks ago. So imagine my delight when Kerry informed me they had started coming through. There are also Ranuncular bulbs sprouting in front of them. I am so thrilled. 

I've had the mesh over them to stop the cats digging up the seeds, but the bigger problem has been not enough sunlight as early in the day the lemon tree shades them and later the trees. Soon though the trees will be bare and the sun will be able to work its magic.

I have shown you this plate flower made by a very talented neighbour. Well

Now I have a few more to grace corners of the garden. I love them and decided this one should keep the lemon tree company.

This one asked to have pride of place in a pot in the little courtyard.

And this lovely one was brought over to me on Sunday. I had collected some pieces for Vicky to use and also had found the gold dish so she and Cat had very kindly made this flower with it for me. I do sooo love them. Especially when there are not many flowers in the garden like now though there is the promise of Iceland Poppies very soon, then Fresias, daffodils and now joy of joys the promise of Sweetpeas and Ranunculars. 

After that refreshing and joyfilled wander it's is back to a seat in the sun

And some upcycled stitching. I will reveal later. I must also do the hand stitching on Bens quilt. There are also lots of ideas buzzing around in my head after our quilt group meeting on Tues. This year it is our exhibition year and I am in charge of the challenge. So far I have 3 or 4 on my mind and all sorts of other ideas vying for my attention. 

Yes! I am certainly feeling more chipper these days with lots of plans in the pipeline. And I do believe I will manage the club bus trip on Sat to the Hamilton Quilt show. Yeah!!

Oh! I almost forgot to show you these cuties I bought from the merchant at quilt group on Tues. they are called Poppets and are 75o/o wool and 25o/o nylon. Made by countrywide yarns NZ. 4ply.

Aren't they sooo cute. This is beside a 90g ball. 

I just couldn't resist them. I had to did out a smaller crochet hook to start experimenting with them. To be revealed later.

I can reveal my ironing board though with its new cover of Broomhill fabric. Yes I am very happy with my eventual choice. One project down and just a zillion to go.

So much to do. I guess that means many more hours in my studio haven. I shan't complain at that.

Hope you are finding joy in your days enough to put any trials aside. Love and blessings, Trills.xx

Jewels save the days

Some days are diamonds, some days are stones. So goes the John Denver song and my days are a mix of dark and heavy feelings punctuated with jewels that lift my spirits. I guess it's a reaction to the knee problem, having to cancel my trip etc. I have tried to avoid this reaction with positive plans for September but my mood has generally dropped after so many months of mental wellness and it's a case of PANTS, as Dotty Angel would say.

And now we have a very wet day.

But let's look at some jewels and shine a light through the fog.

I am loving this view through the lounge window of the Autumn colour of the Liquid Amber tree. I am thrilled that I am now the owner of this wonderful tree that my Dad planted over 15yrs ago. Thankyou Dad.

Another view from outside on a fine day. I do love, love, love, Autumn colours.

The lemons are precious jewels too and so prolific.

Another jewel was Mothers Day on Sunday when our sons and daughter all visited for afternoon tea. Daughter in law Louise brought delicious cakes and Jindina bakes cup cakes and Louise's Mum also joined us so it was a lovely afternoon followed by a fish pie dinner. Such a special family time, surely a very precious jewel.

The morning had started early. Yes I did get breakfast in bed, my usual banana and green tea start to the day. Then it was time to wake up the Bulldog.

It was the Steel and Wheels festival in our small town with hundreds of special cars and a variety of vehicles on show including agricultural, plus the steam train running, and stalls and entertainment.

I can't work out why this pic is on its side ,but this is the crowd of at least 20,000 , in our little town and district of 7,000. There was even a display by old Harvard planes.

Back to getting the Bulldog there. I don't know if I showed you how we start it. The blow torch is set under the bulb at the end of the single cylinder to heat it to red hot.

When it seems hot enough Kerry takes the steering wheel out and puts it in the fly wheel to crank it to start the engine, but this was a cool morning and it was not keen to get going. Every time Kerry stopped for a rest it would give a bang. Sometimes it sent up smoke rings.

Sometimes it breathed steam out from the front like a dragon

Steam and smoke gathered as the time flew. Kerry almost called a mate to help. He was hot and bothered, but one more valiant effort and it fired into life.

The blow torch was set aside to cool. Now this may seem an unusual jewel but I do love this piece of vintage apparatus . It is original to the 1938 Bulldog and I love all it's little taps and knobs etc. It fascinates me and makes me smile.

So out of the gate she rumbled

With one very relieved and happy jewel of a man in control of the beast.

Up and over the hill and on into town. It does make quite a noise which brings folks out of their homes to see what's making such a racket. I can hear it all the way down the main road in the distance.

I joined the festivities after church, there was such a crowd jostling along the streets lined with super classic and vintage cars, food stalls, and crafty stalls too. Yes I indulged in a few jewels, I'll show another day.

Back to today and what greater jewel to have on wet days than my studio. The colours and crafty eye candy in all directions is truly a joy to behold. To get my fuzzy brain into gear it has become an excersize to do some ironing. The rhythm of it seems to calm my mind and helps me find a focus.

I settled on grandson Bens quilt. Three years in the making. Not good. Didn't have a pattern, just flying by the seat of my pants with sort of an idea for the combi fabric that caught my eye. As Ben has a Combi I thought it would be great for a quilt for the van. Along with a Kiwiana strip roll and sone plain colours I just set out one day and started cutting and stitching, making it in 4 blocks for easier management. They have been waiting to be joined together since before we shifted.

I got 2 blocks sewn together and all set to hand stitch the join then turned to my ironing board which has been depressing me with its drab cover. I had this op shop fabric find in mind but it was too short unless it had joins in it. Maybe not.

Underneath was the older cover. Yuck!! Very marked from ironing steam a seam many moons ago, but it will do for the wadding.

How about this from the op shop sheets etc shelf. This is a duvet cover, then I spied the label, Broomhill, made in Ireland. That sounded a bit too good for an ironing board. We'll find a better use for this.

Back to the sheet etc shelf. What's that?

This is one of two pieces found in a throw out bin at an op shop in K'rd. well washed of course. I love the bright flowers. A possible.

But now there's this unused fitted sheet. Cotton, sturdy, pretty colours. A big possibility. Now I'm thinking about painting the shabby frame of the ironing board. After all it is nearly 48 yrs old. I'm thinking bright pink, or yellow, or coral, or lime green. I'll sleep on it.

A few more jewels from around the garden and pics saved from Facebook that give my spirits a lift.

Don't you just love this pic. Joy to the world. Let's make it an adventure. Happy days to you all and thanks for visiting. Love and blessings, Trills.xxx