WHERE DID JUNE GO??

I can't believe that July is already here-what happened to the last month?
I am still settling into my new house and life here in Invercargill so the time just zooms by. Fitting all the organising around working fulltime-and more-means the weeks have just zoomed by. Work has been very busy and we have been short of staff so I have been working on the floor rather than in the office. I love it but it is a shame no one does my paper work.
I decided to enrol in a fabric dyeing class in the hope of meeting fellow quilters but in the end it was a personal class for my friend and I. No one else enrolled but the teacher was prepared to hold the class just for us. Boy did we have a great time and produced very different fabrics.

We could use whatever colours we liked and both were happy with what we ended up with. It was more about learning the technique than the results-the true colours are brighter than in this photo but this gives a general idea.
This was my favourite piece-

It is going to become a table runner and is basted ready for quilting-the blue is also one that I dyed. Am loving it.

Even though the sewing machine is taking a while to speed into action this is a book that I ordered and boy am I loving these designs. I have seen it around Blogland so some people are familiar with it. The book is by Cherri House and the quilts are inspired by urban views-simple but dramatic.

Have enjoyed reading all the blogs and admiring the wonderful projects that are being created. It's good to now be back.

BACK AT LAST.

Well that has been a longer than I expected blogging break but I am back at last.
I won't bore you all with the details but I ended up staying in the motel for 6 weeks and the internet connection there was dreadful so very few emails were even sent.
I am now the owner,and resident, of the house I spoke about in the last post. After yet another delay in the settlement of my house in Australia the money finally arrived in my bank account and I was able to put in a pre auction offer for this house which was accepted.I have been in the house for three weeks and am still unpacking boxes and trying to find things. I paid to have professional packers pack up the house but boy I do wonder who trained them!! Things that go together are not in the same box and some things -like a wheel that stabilises my sewing table-I still haven't found!! What I have found is a fabric stash that is far bigger than I thought and I almost embarrassed to see how much is sitting in what will be the sewing room-some serious sewing needs to take place to use up some of that fabric!!
You would think that if you were packing a cordless kettle that both the kettle and heating element would be in the same box-wrong!! And that has how the unpacking has gone with each box. I have been busy buying furniture to fit this house and it's starting to come together. One more week and my new sewing table will arrive-can't wait.

  My new house- Invercargill has alot of these character homes mixed in with more modern homes. I am so lucky to have found a character home that has been modernised.

Just had to show you my kitchen. Even though I love cooking I have never had a house with a nice kitchen but I love this one-it's not quite this tidy now! These are the advertising photos from the real estate agent.

I am loving it here in Invercargill-it reminds me alot of England-the houses, the weather and the countryside. Everyone is so friendly and would do anything for you which is great. My job is great and I have a lovely lot of staff that I manage so what more could you ask.
On the sewing front not alot has been happening with all the unpacking and settling in but one simple quilt has been finished for a very special baby. One of the women who does our data collection has adopted a little boy which is so exciting. They had a little boy a few years ago who only lived seven months and have been trying to have another baby since, without success, so have been on the adoption list for only a short time. This lovely little boy joined their family last week and this is a quilt for Sam.

Very quick to put together and I know there are Kangaroos and Koalas in the quilt but there are also sheep. It was a matter of what fabric I could find in the stash. I'm sure he will love it as he grows old enough to play I Spy.
A friend and I are off to a fabric dyeing class on Friday which I'm really looking forward to. My friend is not really a quilter but a lover of fabric so I have talked her into joining me.
Well that's a quick summary of the last couple of months. It's good to be back and I've enjoyed reading everyones blogs and keeping up with what is happening.
Keep well everyone and happy sewing.

Kia Ora- Greetings from New Zealand

No photos yet sorry.

To all of you who posted your good wishes to me for my move from Australia I want to say thank you. I never got the time to send you all a personal thank you but your good wishes were greatly appreciated.
I arrived in Invercargill, which is at the bottom of the South Island,this week and have been slowly finding my way away the place. I am in motel accommodation that the hospital has arranged and  hopefully I will have a home of my own to move too in a few weeks. I have been looking at houses and have fallen in love with one that is going for auction.I am waiting for my house sale in Australia to settle and will make an offer prior to auction if someone else doesn't beat me to it.
Have found a great quilt shop and chatted to the women in there about ways of meeting fellow quilters. There is a retreat in June so hopefully I will be organised to attend.
Will be back soon. It has been great to be able to read everyones blogs and be inspired by so many projects even though the sewing machine is in storage. The knitting needles are busy now making warm jumpers-things I haven't needed for a few years.

HICCUP

On Friday I was in a local quilt shop, The Quilters Corner, owned by lovely Llisa, and was so lucky to meet Christine from Once Upon a Quilt while we were both at the counter. Llisa has just had her shop website updated and I had seen some patterns I wanted. If you haven't checked it out it is worth visiting.
Unfortunately we did not have long to chat as my phone went and it was the solicitor to say my house sale had fallen through due to lack of finance. 10 days until settlement and in my mind it was all sealed and I was on a roll with organising things.
It was a quick trip to the Real Estate Agent and the house was back on the market and I was so,so lucky to get another offer on it on Saturday-not quite as good as the first but acceptable. So the moving company has been put off for two weeks, the cat has a reprieve and can stay home a week longer and we wait with fingers crossed that this contract does not fall through. It felt like the plans had halted and I wasn't going anywhere but the head is back into it all again and the cleaning has begun!!!
I was so excited when I arrived home after the news to find a parcel waiting for me at the front door-I just love the service the Book Depository gives.  I'm sure you're all glimpsed this in blogland if not in person but I have to share it as I loooove it. My favourite has to be the diamond quilt that you can see in the top right hand corner.

Happy stitching everyone.
I am off to clean-I did have a round of golf this morning after weeks of not playing so I really enjoyed it and could still manage to hit the ball reasonably well. Hopefully I will get one more game in before the clubs and cart have to be scrubbed clean for shipping to New Zealand. Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries are really tough on anything going into NZ being free of all grass and soil so don't want to upset them!!

Update

Firstly thank you to everyone who left comments on my last post-your best wishes were greatly appreciated. I am sorry I have not had time to answer you all but as you can imagine life is a little hectic here.
The good news is I have a contract on my house and providing all is well with the building inspection tomorrow the sale settles on the 24th March. I am so glad that it only took two Open Homes as keeping the place like a show home was a little tedious. No sewing as yet but maybe this week.
I have a friend from NZ staying the weekend so we are off to the markets today if it doesn't rain. She arrived yesterday and it rained the whole day, so so much for the Sunshine State. She nearly missed her plane, as when she went to check in she had her South African passport(which would've required a visa) rather than her NZ passport. It was a very unlawful speed back home to get the right passport and by the time she returned the plane was ready for take off, so she was escorted onto the plane. I know I nearly missed my plane in NZ but at least I wasn't escorted on as 'that person everyone is waiting for'. Her flight was via Sydney and half the plane had their luggage left in Sydney as 'the carousel broke'. It was supposed to be delivered here between 6.30-9.30pm last night but by 10pm there was no word so it was off to bed. At quarter to 1 this morning the bell goes and it's the suitcase -the van delivering the cases had broken down hence the delay!! Lets hope today is a better one.

At least these beautiful creatures graced the garden last evening for us.
Have a good day.

Still Here

Yesterday was the first day I have turned the sewing machine on in weeks and it still purrs beautifully. Although the machine is still on the table the rest of the sewing room is packed away and with the house now on the market the room has to stay spotless. I am not a tidy person in the sewing room so it is better not to enter!!
However the postie delivered Block 5 of Sue Ross BOM and I thought well that won't make alot of mess so I couldn't resist,even though I haven't finished Block 3 or 4 yet.

 

The Prickly Pear Block with these great fabrics. So I set to and cut the fabrics before going to work yesterday afternoon and this morning it is finished and I love it. It has been the easiest block so far in this BOM and can together so quickly. There are not even any threads on the floor which has to be a first!!

The photo is a bit crooked and the colours in reality are a bit brighter but I do love it.

 

 The sewing room is back to it's tidy state so I have to stay out- at least til after open home on Saturday.

I am over tidying,cleaning,sorting, making trips to the tip and keeping everything like a showhome at all times. The house has been on the market for the sum total of 10 days and I am over it already so I hope it sells quickly-got to be realistic I know.

The moving company are coming this morning to do a pre move survey-I am getting them to do the majority of the packing so at least I don't have to stress about that. Then once they have been it's out to do the lawns which decided with all the rain this week that they would grow tenfold.

Am enjoying reading all the blogs and getting my buzz from seeing all the wondeerful projects that are going on.

Have a great sewing day.

Addit:

OOps just noticed that I have sewn the top row on the wrong way -so Chris it's not perfect unfortunately!!

Off now to fix it.

Lurking

Thought it was long past time to write a post. So what have I been doing- well I have to admit it has not been sewing.The mailman did deliver something quilty for me though so my nose has been in this book-I do love the service the Book Depository gives.

When I have not been working it has been tidying and packing. I am putting my house on the market as I am moving back to New Zealand in a couple of months. My sewing room has been packed up,although the sewing machine is still sitting there. I now need to get some handwork sorted-my Josephs Coat is very slow in progress so I need to get a few blocks prepared ready to sew.

A very good job came up for the midwifery manager of the Southland Maternity Unit and I was encouraged to apply,which I did and have been offered the job. On my trip back for mothers birthday I actually spent more time in the air than on the ground as I flew down to Invercargill for my interview,then back to the middle of the North Island to my mothers party. I am just waiting for the contract to arrive but it should all be ok and if so I will start in the middle of April. The second position I started here in Brisbane is a short term contract that finishes at the end of March and I wanted to honour that which they have been aware of the whole process.

Invercargill is right at the southern end of New Zealand and so will be fairly cold and windy but is a lovely small city which will offer a new way of life,and I am looking forward to it. There are two quiltiing shops and four golf courses so I should be fine!! It's a  part of the country that is close to skiing, lots of bush walks and coastal areas. I do have friends and a brother and sister in law who live there as well so that is good. It is all a bit of a whirlwind and what makes it worse was that I had started to paint inside my house before this all happened so the paint brush has been working overtime.
The great thing about blogging is it doesn't matter where in the world you are as long as there is access to a computer then the friends are there. So if I don't post alot over the next few weeks I will still be here but busy sorting out the transfer.