A Stressful Couple of Days.

As  mentioned in my profile, we are owned  by two Chocolate Point, Burmese, felines.

They have been part of our family for 15 + years. We brought them with us from home, when we came to live in New Zealand. In less than a week one was missing for over five days. She was in a good condition at the time & only eight years old. When she returned, she had naturally lost some weight & had what we thought was grease down here back. We thought she may have been locked in a garage & under a car, at that time. Below is a recent photo of Holly. We have been told & agree, she is a very pretty looking cat.

 One morning earlier this week, we awoke to find no Holly.That is very unlike her as she is always keen to eat, sit on a lap & wants to be part of whatever is happening. She is a very nervous & very cautious of  new folk.   She does seem to suffer some separation anxiety, when we are out for a day or, when DH is not around.  We searched the property, the street, and called for her during the day. DH was not too worried & suggested she would be back the following morning. Not so!
I was very unhappy all day. One does not think one is so attached.  We circulated our neighbourhood mail boxes early the next day, with missing cat information. As we sat down to dinner there was a call to say a cat was under a home, further along the street. The caller said she would not come out  & had gone further under when approached. DH  immediately went to the home returning an hour later without the cat. The plan was to let her settle, leave some food, then call us again if she appeared  closer to the door. An hour later we had a call. Both of us went out in the pouring rain & wind, took the cat carrier & fresh meat from home in her own dish. When she heard our voices she cautiously moved out of the shadows, to eat familiar food in her dish. DH  made a quick grab & we had her in our arms.I might add she had that same black  grease? marking only more along her head, shoulders & back. It was soot! I had one of those "ah ha" moments.
Hopefully she won't be missing again, although I will know where to look in the first instance, if she does.
A quick trip to the vet for re-hydration & she was back to herself. She has stayed very close to us over the last couple of days. I'm so grateful she is back home.

Perhaps you can see some of the soot in the photo below, she does look a tad bedraggled. K.

Paper Piecing Items as Promised..

Speaking of paper piecing, this is one of two European sized pillows to match my hexagon quilt from 2011
which is featured way back in a similar dated post on this blog.

                                     


I  started these smaller hexagons, along with the small stars for another quilt, early last year. With last year's   hiatus in my stitching, very little was accomplished.

                                       

 I've started doing more hexagons & stars over the last month, so I'm anticipating faster progress as I 'm able to return to my stitching groups. The finished quilt is still a long way away.

                
The stars are smaller than the hexagons & I've not made as many. I can almost make both without concentrating. I find it is easier to charge ahead if I have a cutting/preparation day prior to stitching day.

I'm needing to have a prep day as I've not many ready to go right now.
                                         

                                         
That's all for now, call back to watch the progress.
K.
                        

A Quilt Exhibition.

I visited a quilt exhibition the weekend before last. This was the Stonestead 7th Annual Festival, an event  which I always enjoy. This time was no different, with many different quilts to view, in the picturesque outdoor setting.

 It was a tad windy, keeping it somewhat cooler than  at other times. Behind this line of quilts were the items below. They were three dimensional, some clothing type designs, which featured copper mesh with fabric, laces & other trims.

                   These were very cleverly put together, although more than likely, never to be worn. I'm ever thankful for such shared creativity.

The quilts were displayed on lines in another area. All the different styles & colours making brilliant patterns in the wind. It is no secret I'm very much a lover of patchwork quilts. I love to see what other quilters have accomplished & I'm very grateful to be able to enjoy their work at such exhibitions.

A hexagon star quilt & below, a Christmas Tree Skirt.

 

  Below are a few photos of a Dear Jane Quilt, one of my particular favourite designs.

I'm told this quilt took 4 + years  to complete. What a wonderful quilt, congratulations to the maker.

 

 I hope you have enjoyed these photos even if you are not a quilter, until next time,

K.

English Paper Piecing.

Hello Bloggers, I've been reading blogs this evening, both cross stitching & patchwork.
I've just linked my blog to an English Paper Piecing post on  the blog, http://lifeunderquilts.blogspot.com.
For those who are visiting from that blog, you can find one of my hexagon quilts on a post from 2011. I hope this provides the correct link. I've failed to do the link correctly, please just scroll half way down the page to find the quilt. http://sublimepastimes.blogspot.co.nz/search?updated-max=2012-12-24T15:31:00%2B13:00&max-results=12&start=12&by-date=f
I will photograph the ones underway, then post them in the next day or so. K.

More Stitched Ornaments.

As promised, here are a few more of my stitched ornaments, not previously shared. I hope you enjoy the assortment. If so, you might like to leave a comment & let me know, I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

This is my duplicate ornament for the 2013 exchange. I stitched a quarter section of a circular repeat freebie pattern, from My Aunt's Attic. This is a particular favourite, probable because of the shape I chose for the subject matter.

This one is the duplicate for 2014. I love the whimsical in Halloween, so this one below really appealed..

 I was thrilled to receive this one, from my 2014 partner.

 The last one is a small hat from a larger pattern. I purchased the surround a couple of years ago & stitched this small piece sometime later.

 

  

I hope you have enjoyed these small cross stitched ornaments. K.

Time to Return.

To all who have stayed over the absent months of posts, checking in along the way to see if I'd return, thank you.
Although I've been absent for some time, some of my Sublime Pastimes haven't been neglected. Not that there are innumerable completions. Some of those of the stitching kind, are no longer on the "to do" list. I've stayed up to date with the two regular annual cross stitch exchanges, Halloween and Christmas. The Halloween one I joined five years ago, while I've been exchanging Christmas Ornaments for ten years.

I'm ever grateful for those needlework skills taught to me at my Mother's and Grandmother's knee. Those skills have provided joy, delight, solace, satisfaction,  achievement, reward and even on rare occasions, even frustration. Thankfully at times the concentration required for certain applications, can banish all manner of distraction.

Let's get underway with afternoon tea and a savoury snack. Two more of my Sublime Pastimes in the photo  below, cooking & gardening.
I made these this morning, they were enjoyed by all & they were very tasty. The decorative mignonette lettuce, nasturtium, pansies, heartsease, lobelia & parsley, all came from our herb garden & hanging baskets. Enjoy.

Now for a selection of  stitched items.

My Christmas Exchange Ornament 2014, was like the red strawberry on the right. I usually try to stitch an identical ornament for myself. I had a small, extra piece of linen, so I stitched the green & red one on the left, to add to my collection.

This is my ornament from my exchange partner. The photo does not show the beautiful sparkling cord surrounding the decoration.

I stitched more than one Christmas ornament last year, a couple of extras for me, below.
The first one a freebie from LHN, titled Seven Pines. I stitched it to commemorate a family visit prior to Christmas, which was very loving & gave great pleasure.

                                               I printed the details on the reverse.

The next stitched ornament was also a freebie shared, from the French blog, 'Jura Point de Croix.

The next ornament was a copy of the one I stitched for my 2013 exchange partner, except for an alternative  trim. This is another LHN  design called "It's Snow Cold."

I hope you have enjoyed this small collection, I'll post more items next time.