I'm hooked!

The fishing must be good to risk these conditions!  Phil took this photo over Easter when he spent some time house-sitting for friends in Auckland - do click on it to get the full impact.

No, my hooking is quite different.  A few days ago Leann put a link to the Great British Sewing Bee - thank you so much Leann, I have loved watching the competition.  Good Old Aunty BBC, it's all done in a very civilised manner, the contestants are such nice people - and what's more I'm seriously thinking of searching out the patterns and dress fabric still hiding in my sewing room - how's that for being hooked?

Right now though I have quite a few things I want to finish and I have finally got my Dreams of Venice put together to my satisfaction.    The block has several pieces and I chose it to showcase the lovely fabric my other son brought back from Italy - a few years ago I must confess.  I selected a range  fabrics I wanted to put with it, then found the block which was perfect.

Lots of auditions later I had two blocks on the design wall -

Oh, sugar-plum fairy - blogger is playing up - took me several attempts to put that photo up and it's all distorted - this block is made up of squares!

See what the next one comes out like,

At last!  I loved the pictures on this fabric,  I showed restraint and used only two, but this lady with her cats and pot plants was so appealing.

Here goes, this is how I finally sewed the top.  Originally I had all the blocks in the same orientation but it just didn't work;  I made the blocks, then started wondering about how they should be set - and then, shame on me, decided just to join them up as they were all ready.......... lazy, lazy and as my dear Mum would have said, lazy people take the most pains!  Well, it took ages to unpick one half, then re-arrange some of the pieces as they were directional - I also should have sprayed with starch as I can see I shall have some troubles with the quilting.......

I wanted the Italian fabric to surround the other units which are about my life here in NZ and hold it all together.

I have several more things I want to share with you, but tonight it's like pushing water up hill, blogger is having an off day!

I'll try one more photo, back to Wainuiomata beach for the sunset -

I'm sure there's a taniwha getting ready to leap out!

Maybe there is something in the air, new moon, old moon - I know the drivers around Petone these last few days have been paid up members of the Idiot's Club!! and as my thought for today puts it, "If shared problems lessen the burden, how come we get so upset in a traffic jam?", PK Shaw.

Welcome to my new follower; I shall return soon and hope blogger is in a better mood!
June