block 1 - quilt one

block 1 - quilt one
Originally uploaded by susanriddell33

I have joined the Fat quarter stars Quilt along with Konda  http://moosequilts.blogspot.com/  Every 2 weeks we do a new block with different designers, it's lots of fun then post to the flickr group  http://www.flickr.com/groups/1726536@N24/pool/ Check it out

This is my ist block for FQ stars QL. I am going to make this into a
sort of eyespy?scrappy quilt for my nephew, Chey, he is 7. Then I thought I might as well do 2 at the same time and do one for us. I am going to use just what is in my stash except for the borders and backing which i will buy at a later date.

"It is growing slowly".

We are waiting for the arrival of my nephew's ist baby...it's a boy! It is due today saturday....I will keep you posted when the big event happens.

I have managed to get a few more rows finished on my ripple blanket. It is growing very  slowly.... Most nights i seem to get about 4 rows done ...that's if I don't make any mistakes and have to undo it.!  I hate undoing it when you find you have made a mistake when you are half way through the next row!!  It all has to come undone and it just feels like you are never going to see the end of that colour!   I have learnt to reconise how the stitch should look when you increase or decrease now, so I know if something isn't right. This blanket is just randomly picked colours just what takes my fancy at the time. I have quite away to go yet so will keep you posted as I progress...just got to remember to take a pic!  There are heaps on the flicker page of these blankets. http://www.flickr.com/groups/1802262@N23/  Lucy has started the group along with little tin bird.  So have a look and you might get inspired to if you like crochet.  It's abit addictive!

I have done a few more rows on my ripple blanket.

I got 2' huge' eggs again last week.  The first one weighed 94 gramms  the other weighed 102 gramms !  They are so tall I can't shut the egg box properly!  We ate one each with our dinner tonight...They were both double yolkers too!  very yummy!!  I will try and put a pic up.

the egg on the left is a normal size ...these others were both double yolkers!

This weekend is a long weekend too.  I am going to try and work on my sscs as time is counting down rather quickly. October is nearly gone!  I know exactly what I am going to make  so I just have to get my A into G and do it.

conor's chocolate log. 

My youngest son has just had his birthday and requested a chocolate log cake so we bought one unfilled and filled it with fresh cream...it was yummy!  I got told off because I put the wrong number of candles on....I forgot he turned 15 not 14 !!!  lol! (sorry the photo has loaded funny again) ??

My new crochet project.

Well I have already started my next crochet project....another blanket for next winter. I think I will definitely get this blanket finished by next winter as there is no joining required, so making it much quicker.  I have undone a few rows as I was watching our team "the warriors" playing rugby league last week and not really concentrating properly...it was so exciting!!   yer we won and now I can't wait to see the outcome this week for all 3 teams as they are all in the grand finals!  So go "the mighty warriors" (as the mad butcher would say).

my ripple blanket.

The other day when I went to feed my 'girls' ,I found no eggs, not one to be seen!  Usually there is about 4 or 5 on average.....I was cleaning out there trays banging a bit and next thing one chook shot out from under the chook house...Aha! ,.I found there ' hidy hole' and...... 15 eggs !  I took them away and thought that will upset them and  they would lay them in there nest boxes but no ....they decided that a nest between the pongas and bush ferns would be a better spot,  so now that is where they are laying there eggs each day.  It is much easier than having to forage around underneath the  dirty old chook house in the dirt.

15 eggs from the chooks hidy hole

We have  also been cleaning  Shirley's apartment out...done about half i suppose....it's a big job to pack up a person's lifetime possessions ...lots of little things with sentimental value and little memories of how  they came to be there. The glass in one of her  wedding photo's got broken...we will get that fixed  when we get this other old pic of her as a baby restored too. It is a beautiful old picture.  The picture really looks a lot like my oldest son, Gene.  He was about the same age (18 months approx)  We need to get a few copies of it but will have to send it to a professional I think as the glass is rounded ,not smooth and flat as normal ones and it is dirty on the inside. I took a pic but you can see the dirt and dust on the inside.   I have never seen this photo before as it was tucked away safely in the wardrobe as the hanger had broken I think.

Shirley's baby photo 

I have been doing some stitching on my Henrietta Whiskers blocks but will save that for next time.                                                                      

African flower hexagon blanket. finished

Taa-dah !.... My African Flower Blanket ...it is finally finished!!

African flower hexagon blanket. finished 015
Originally uploaded by susanriddell33

Taa-Daa ! I have finally finished my african flower blanket...it has taken me about a year to get this completed . I stopped pretty much in the summer as i found it to hot and sticky to crochet much....so it was put aside for a while. I am so glad to have it finished! When I first started this I never knew how to do the join-as you-go method for connecting the hexys ...but now I have mastered it thanks to attic24 blog (lucy) She has a really good tutorial on her blog and i made a cushion cover to learn how to do this. On this blanket it joined with single crochet ,throughout which went quite quickly as to sewing them . I still feel like making something else with this pattern everytime I check the flickr group for these...They are really addictive things! I still have a few extras over so might have to make them into something ...??  Maybe a bag for my crochet...hmmmm....

Daylight saving

Daylight saving starts this weekend here in New Zealand.....I hate love the start of it...coz it's cold...dark...and i don't want to get out of my bed!  AND it takes about 2 weeks to get use to the hour difference.  They started it earlier last year and finished it later too ! It goes too long at the end for me.

The rugby world cup 2011

our lovely black flag, matches the grey sky!

Well it's the rugby world cup here in New Zealand.  Everywhere you go you see heaps of cars with flags on supporting what ever country they like.  We have just put a new zealand flag up on our house on top of the old tv ariel.  I don.t have pic of it yet as the weather is stink!  might try tomorrow.
Last friday my mother in law, shirley,  passed away in north shore hospital. she has had breathing problems as she suffered from emphaciema  quite bad  and died quietly in her sleep as she was totally exhausted,  . We had her funeral last wednesday  and it was a lovely service, lots of good memories , lovely photo  slide show of her life , no dry eyes anywhere, it was really nice.    She was a true warriors league fan, she would have got a real giggle from seeing the streaker in fridays game , lol !   we put little momentos in with her.Conor, my youngest son,  put his warriors flag in,  and I made a dragonfly with a message attached,  and chey, her very youngest grandson, put his little penguin and a cute wee teddy bear.  We really miss her heaps..but now she is at peace with her hubby again. R.I.P. shirley....never forgotten.

These flowers were from shirley's  sister barbra, they are beautiful too!

and these beautiful orchids were from one of her care givers. (sorry the pic has gone awry..dont know why)

p.s.  I will try to add sme pics of shirley's lovely flowers later as I'm having trouble uploading them...again ,sorry.

"Poppy"---- R.I.P.

Poppy on the couch.

On the 20th of august we had to have our dog 'poppy' put to sleep.  She has had nasty old tumor on her front leg, on her elbow. It never seemed to bother her ,she still ran and walked....and chased the cats and the chickens... as any dog does. She has been on pills  since xmas time but it just kept growing and looked ghastly!!  She piled on the weight due to her medication which made her hungry quite abit. She would steal the cats bickys when she thought we wern't looking!!  She has been gone 14 days and I really miss her heaps and so do  the 5 cats!!  She use to sit with me sometimes when i was sewing and never miss anything  you did. She has lovely big brown sad looking eyes too.... She was my youngest son's dog and has had her since she was a pup about 8 weeks old, he was really upset about losing her, but will be ok.  We won't get another dog for quite a while but will in the future no doubt.  He made her a lovely cross to put on her grave and covered it with ferns from the bush. I told him to take lots of photos's,, which he did.. (300) Lol!  Time will heal .

R.I.P.   POPPY

african flower hexagon blanket

african flower hexagon blanket
Originally uploaded by susanriddell33

I was trying to add this pic but blogger just kept stuffing it up! The pic was the frilly cushion cover I am trying to make , you can just see it to the right in the pic....rather slowly though, It is a bit wobbly as i have added to many increases ...that is why it is going to become a cushion cover.. got to add a few more rounds yet ! I got this idea from lucys blog attic24 and thought i would give it ago.