Jingle Bells and Quilter's Eyes

I went to a Garden Centre recently with a friend and couldn't resist this as my 2011 Christmas decoration - which will probably stay up all year.

I love the rather tacky look of it, bells and big beads or crystals hit the spot with me - I have sun catchers up at most windows and love the rainbows that move across the room.

We also bought some plants, on impulse for me which is my usual behaviour - used to make my late husband roll his eyes when I came home with more purchases - "And where am I expected to put that?".

He loved a very planned and ordered garden, and I still miss all the beautiful fresh vegetables he grew - even though it made the summer extra stressful bottling and preserving all the produce.  I still have a pot of jam I made in 1979!

My friend and I shared some of the multibuy 4 for $20 specials, which wasn't really a saving as I hadn't planned to buy any - but I got a beauty - a Helianthemum Wisley primrose - never heard of it before but it's for dry places which increases its chance of survival as it is in a pot on the kitchen hatchway.........

Thursday evening was the meeting of the Wellington Quilters' Guild - on the way in to the Church Hall I  had to admire the painted door -

Great to have a sense of humour about these things...

Our speaker for the evening was Claire Regnault, Senior Curator History at Te Papa who gave a slide presentation - is it still called that ? - on Unveiled, 200 years of wedding fashion.  Now that's an exhibition I shall definitely be visiting.

Members were asked to bring along their wedding dress on a hanger, which several did.

Such a great variety and some lovely stories were shared.

More tidying up in the sewing room and I found I had several fabrics with dragonflies featured -

No idea as yet what I'll do with them, but no doubt something will occur to me....

I came across this old brick wall in Petone recently, part of a building that had been demolished perhaps and immediately it reminded me of a quilting design, free motion, like stones.

And here's a close up

I wonder if there is anywhere I can find out whether these are individual bricks and when they were used.

Now, here's the second of the three tops I have made using the blocks presented to me at the end of my two years as President of the Wellington Guild.  As I said last time, I sorted the blocks into colour families and had great fun placing the blocks.  I must say the measurements were many and varied! so I decided to sash them all, with a different fabric on each of the four sides - I did wonder at first whether I would have enough appropriately coloured, I needed 72 ........

Here's a close up showing a little rocking horse button a friend put on her block.

And here's the back, ready and waiting.....

Thanks for stopping by, and for your emails.    I love the thought for today, "Many a false step is made by standing still."

June