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Another finish is always good, especially at this time of year when things are so busy with pre-Christmas things to do.  This one is one of the two Little Bricks projects (many thanks to Silvia for the pattern) I had been working on during the year.  I decided to make a zig zag version of the  bricks, just to see how it would turn out, and it was started in July 2022.  And yes, I’m very pleased with it.  I added a striped fabric as a border.  This will be a donation quilt.

Zig Zag stacked bricks

I have ...

Where have we been since we last chatted?  Moving on from Christchurch we traveled south to Ashburton, a nice straight drive down SH1, and we drove over the longest bridge in New Zealand at 1.7km over the Rakaia River, another braided river.  What is a braided river, you may be wondering? A braided river consists of a network of multiple shallow channels that diverge and rejoin around  braid bars.  This gives the river a resemblance to the interweaved strands of a braid.  This part of New Zealand, Canterbury,  contains 60% of the braided  river habitat in New Zealand.

Driving ...

There is an awful lot to see down here in the South Island, as we are traveling around.   We spent several days in Blackball, an old mining town.  The most famous building here is undoubtedly the pub which has an interesting story about it’s name,  called “Formerly the Blackball Hilton”.  Built in 1910 it was named The Dominion.  In the 1970s the owners changed the name to The Blackball Hilton, as the main street is called Hilton after one of the early mine managers.  However, a threat of legal action from the overseas Hilton Hotel chain caused the name ...

There’s no doubt about it, as we drove past this cute little shop on the way to Greymouth, towing the caravan behind us, I remarked that we would have to return to this shop the next day.  Bright and colourful on the outside, I was sure it would be just as nice inside.

Pink Possum Quilt Shop

I was after some backing fabric for my second piece of traced out stitchery.  Yes, Sue had some of that and cut me a piece, then I had a look around the shop to see what else took my fancy.   There were ...

It’s been much too hot and sticky lately to do any hand stitching or knitting, so nothing to report on that.  But we have been having a great time driving around and exploring on our South Island Trip.  Here’s an update of our adventures.  Boxing Day at the Beach is a Kiwi institution.   The day was hot and sunny, but the cool sea breeze cooled the temperatures down while we were sitting on the golden sand at Marahau Beach .  There was plenty of action happening off shore.  Several people were enjoying para-sailing, with the wind carrying them along ...

We are away on another caravan trip, this time for three weeks, from Urenui in New Plymouth down to Waikanae with the ICA (International Caravan Assoc) group.  I’ve found time to do some handwork, stitching a little more on the tea towels I’m making for my grand-daughters.  I’ve got this far on the pink one, and still have the boy fish slice to stitch.

Tea towel stitchery

I’ve got my knitting bag with me, and thought it would be a good opportunity to start stitching up a pair of burgundy socks I completed a while ago ...

Summer time is a great time to travel – or at least dream of traveling! That’s why I’ve come together with some of my quilting friends to share with you a series of travel-themed quilt blocks. The block I created is the Erasmus Bridge. I knew I wanted to make a bridge block, and the […]

I’ve taken both knitting and stitching projects away on the trip.  Must admit I often do knitting in the car while we are traveling, and have finished two little sleeves on the toddler cardigan I’m making and have now started on the back.  I’m not in any hurry with this project, and I’m using up left over wool from my own jumper finished recently.

Knitting in the car, and two sleeves finished

After the Covid scare in Auckland we changes our travel plans are have been moving slowly southwards. We drove along the Desert Road and ...

The year has rolled around and it’s my birthday again.  This weekend was spent with our caravan club buddies at Kaitoke   Regional Park in Upper Hutt.  Instead of birthday cake we supplied some lovely light sponges with fresh cream and jam for afternoon tea on Friday.

Happy Birthday to me

It was a long three day weekend and the park was full to bursting with hoards of happy campers.  Some in caravans and campervans like us, and lots of people in tents too.  The area is classified as a rain forest and the hills are covered in beautiful native ...