Milford Sound, Lake Te Anau - and more scrap quilts

Last week with snow expected to low levels, my son [who is a cast driver with the Hobbit somewhere in the South Island] had a couple of days off and he drove three of the cast for a cruise on Milford Sound, two and a half hours out to the sea.

I have forgotten how high he said the cliffs were with the waterfalls but they look wonderful, don't they?

I have had a very busy and enjoyable week - office, family, friends - what more could I want?

I have been trying to go for a walk every day, I do so need the exercise and my Inner Brat has woken up and keeps prodding me.  The first few days it was not a pleasure, I am so unfit!, I flopped into a chair on my return just thankful that the torture was over.  However - by the end of the week, I couldn't believe how good I felt after that walk - really full of energy.  Then I let it slide for a couple of days, but the brat started nagging today - 'a little bit of gardening yesterday is not enough - get moving those legs'.  Do you have a conscience [or brat] like mine?

Anyway, one of the many plusses today were the flowers in bloom and the bird song, and this hedge that had no flowers yesterday -

Such lovely old fashioned roses and the bumble bees were having a great time, but they appear to be camera shy!

Did I mention earlier that I had a few small pieces from a quilt one of the women is making in the prison?  She didn't think they were worth keeping, so I played around with them -

I tried out various sashing fabric

The pale greeny fabric was interesting with the squiggles on it, in the end it is pinned ready to quilt with a flannel backing

It is just the right size for a cot or pram cover and will go to the hospital or Bernardos - after I have shown the Shut-in Stitchers what can be done with small pieces.

I showed the yellow borders quilt, well it is now quilted, and that one too I backed with flannel

I have almost finished hand sewing on the binding, I quilted in the pale yellow sashing using a decorative stitch from my Janome

I used variegated thread to add a little interest - and talking of interest - silly me to put it on the floor to take a photo, because Basil just had to come along for a look-see -

I had a bit of a tidy in the sewing room the other day, and came across a packet with some beautiful panels of  hand batiked cats - I think I bought them in the UK on my last trip

So I had a quick look into one drawer and came up with some compatible fabrics

Then I will have to put on my thinking cap and come up with how best to show off the cats...........

Having mentioned Lake Te Anau I will finish with one of the photos my son sent, this was taken on one of the days that Windy Wellington lived up to its name - and beyond!  Boy, even my little low slung car was rocking in the wind.

Thanks for your comments, it's such a pleasure hearing from you.

The thought from my diary is, "Unpunctuality is slackness - nothing else." - My unpunctuality usually happens when I am ready early and think I have time to do something, which takes longer than the time available.  Me slack? never!

June