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.

Temporarily, Otherwise Occupied.

Seems like I've left my blog. Not so !
Life has just taken over somewhat. Time for any sort of Sublime Pastime has been non existent of late.
I'm looking forward to being back to all things creative after the end of June.

First New Moon Tusal Check In.

My efforts so far are very small. Just the left over threads from frogging, on top of the jar, where I miss counted by one thread. Let's hope it is not an indication of "Reverse Stitiching" for the year to come.
From the PS chart in the background, the start or should I say reverse start, was with the one in the top right of the photo. Check back at the end of the month for my progress.

2014 Tusal.

Here is the link, let's hope I get it right http://itsdaffycat.blogspot.co.nz/

Can you guess that I plan to do allot of stitching this year ? My Ort jar is a large one, to accommodate all the
odd random threads leftover from embroidery, cross stitch, patchwork clippings & other random threads. I've joined the 2014 Tusal again this year, so I'm hoping to actually participate somewhat more than the last couple of years.

I also plan to do more of the ornament a month designs, for my wonderful new tree, made for me this season, especially for such items..

Time to Enjoy the Christmas Cake.

My Christmas Cake needs to be cut today, otherwise it will seem like Christmas did not happen. We have enjoyed Christmas cake this Christmas, although it has been in the form of gifts, from other folk. Either a coffee or a cup of tea will go well this afternoon, as we wait for the rain to stop in the Venus Williams match, being televised from Auckland.
Maybe a start on a 2014 Christmas ornament could be the way to go while waiting, or perhaps I could make a start on this Fritillary. The colours I've chosen are some of my favourite shades.

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Welcome 2014.

Happy New Year..

The New Year has just arrived, here in New Zealand. We watched many fireworks across the city, mostly domestic varieties, as our local council has been the original Gringe with Christmas decorations & festivities this year. Nevertheless, I'll chose to be joyful, grateful & uplifted, with all my blessings.
To all who stop by this blog, I wish a Very Happy New Year to you & yours.

A Special Gift.

I'm delighted with my Christmas gift from my very dear husband. It is a lovely side table, in the French style, which opens to a card table. I' know I'm very spoilt and love being  so. Thank you, my very dear  husband.

A Few More Gifts.

 Stitching efforts of late have been limited to a gift or two for Christmas. I managed to make another ten covered coat hangers, all in all, a dozen in four days. I'm looking forward to different stitching over the next few days Patchwork & cross stitching are calling, it seems such a long time since any of that kind of pastime.

Christmas Celebrations.

This year we celebrated with a very late lunch - early dinner. It was a warm day, in spite of the predictions for a miserable Christmas Day, with rain along with low temperatures. We managed to get to 28C.

We started with a first course of Champagne Jellies & berry fruits. They were delicious and just the right starter on a warm  evening. We followed with sliced baked ham with a garnish of greens topped with glazed, sliced almonds, also a turkey, pomegranate, toasted Israeli couscous, & broccoli salad, along with a warm choritzo, pecan, feta, fig and mesculen salad.

 

Our sweet course of Creme Brule, was made by our competent, 11 year old chef. What a scrumptious way to end a Christmas dinner Nicholas, well done.

A New Ornament Tree.

 
A small ornament tree, which has served me well for over a decade or so, has been upgraded for a larger model. My very DH, constructed a new pine dowel tree for this year. There are several spare hooks for new exchange additions along with any new ornaments I choose to stitch.

Christmas is Approaching

 

Christmas gifts are being sorted & wrapped for loved ones, friends & helpers. I made these coat hangers recently for a very dear friend, along with a jar of shortbread. Shortbread, although usually a New Year's  gift, for us it has been a traditional family gift for decades, from our home to others at this time of the year.

The tree is up & decorated & our home is dressed ready for this wonderful time of the year. I found this year my small ornament tree could not handle one more personally made & hand stitched ornament. My very Dear Husband made me a lovely new wooden dowel tree, especially for these much loved treasures. It is  looking resplendent with all the wonderful pieces I've collected over many Christmases. He wants to "tweek" it for next year, however I'm enjoying it for now. Some gifts are still to be sorted along with a little more baking to complete. Five and a half days to go, so I'm sure all will be ready before the big day.

Helicopter Flyinging.

Good Afternoon Bloggers,

We had a flight over the city & environs this morning. I thought I'd have some pictures, however the weather was somewhat misty, very windy, raining & not good for taking photos.  I was a tad apprehensive about the flight, to no avail, we are back on solid ground & better for the experience.
No stitching this week, just playing with some stitching completed last year, for Halloween . Pictures soon.
I'm hoping to start some regular stitching over the next few days & it can't happen fast enough. How I've missed my regular needle & thread in hand.

Good Morning Bloggers,

Just checking in to say 'thank you' to those folk who have kindly left me comments, they are much appreciaited.
Things have settled somewhat, still allot of pressure, however I've managed two small stitched pieces for exchanges. I'll show them when they reach their destinations. I've had so much enjoyment doing these , I can't wait to get back to daily stitching.
See you all soon,
K.

Otherwise Occupied.

It seems I've not had time for months to engage in any of my favourite pastimes.
Life is forever changing, well it has for me as far as stitching is concerned. I have another commitment, a responsibility, which is taking allot of time. I'm enjoying it, and learning allot, while at the same time missing stitching time.I've missed checking all the wonderful blogs I had time to enjoy. However, this won't last for ever so I'll be back to stitching & posting, as soon as I can manage.   

Latest, free Chart Stitches.

The April monthly, free chart was a fun stitch. It was a free choice for colour & fabric. I managed to complete the stitching in a few days. That inspired me to catch up on the January & March pieces I had not managed to complete at the time.

Below is April's, a  play on words,"Ewerphoria",
Varied colours all DMC threads, an extra hill on the left from me & stitched before I found a corresponding sheep button in my button collection, although the sheep is not leaping.

It is stitched on cream Linen, with multi coloured floral patchwork fabric from my stash, as the surrounding completed pillow shape.. I stitched the sheep's wool with blended threads.
I printed my own label, from a free design of a leaping sheep & added  my details. 
















Next, I quickly stitched up the March "Dandy Hare."
Once again, a  free choice of colours & fabric. Cream linen again, guess it is a favourite, while I used similar themed fabric & a cotton reel button for the decoration of the small pillow. I also used DMC threads, along with a hot pink Marlitt, I also added a small  thimble to the design. A sideways view, I've just about aborted blogger, I'm really quite over the latest system.

I printed the label with my computer, then cut out a cotton reel shape, applying it to the back, anchored with buttonhole stitch.

This is "Silly Flake" the January design.

I stitched it on white  linen I dyed blue. I added a silver flake type decorative piece. My DH drilled two tiny holes in it so I could stitch it to the piece, after it was made into this small pillow. DMC thread, & label as per the same procedure  as the others.
I'm now up to date & keen to see the May chart.

 Here they are all together I hope you enjoy seeing my efforts..