A New Shirt,meet "Graham Thomas"and a Vegemite Recipe.

Hello,

I made this shirt out of stretch material late last week. I bought a renmant at Good Sammy's during the winter. There was enough material to make one of my favourite patterns.

I have used the Butterick pattern for a while now. It is a great pattern because the shirts are both for summer and winter. The cross over style is so easy to make. When I was washing out the material I found two price tags one was for $2.50 and the other one was for $3.00. I don't remember which one I paid but it certainly was a good price for a shirt. There was about a metre left over and I have given this to a lady in town here who makes quilts and clothes for children in Botswania. The roses are loving this great weather we have been having. I went out this morning and enjoyed the scent from "Graham Thomas." Graham is another David Austin rose which has fully double cupped blooms. It has the most beautiful strong tea rose scent. I have this planted at the end section of our back lawn. From a distance you look through another rose covered archway to this rose at the end. Red and Yellow roses show up in the garden. Other roses tend to blend in.

You may be wondering why the Vegemite jar is out in the garden next to a gardenia in a pot. I will let you into one of the best gardening secrets/tips I have been given. If your gardenia is looking a bit yellow and is in need of a boost just do the following. Mix about a tablespoon of vegemite into about a litre of water and mix until disolved. A little hot water will help this along. Then when the mixture is mixed add this to a nine litre watering can. Pour this over your gardenia's and you won't believe the transformation of good health in your gardenia. A day or so later you will be blessed with the most healthiest plant and certainly more blooms than you thought possible. I have never been given the exact amount of vegemite but I found that about a tablespoon does the job.

The other week at a Garage Sale I spyed this lovely wooden wheelbarrow. It had to come home with me. I have several wheelbarrows spaced around the garden. This one is a more decorative one but others are old and are great for growing strawberries in. We had our last gathering on Saturday for Garden Club. We will resume again in about March,hopefully by then the worst of the summer heat will have been and gone. Thank you to everyone who expressed concern regarding David's accident. Hopefully no more motor cyclists will be landing in his back seat again.

May each new day bring you sunshine and flowers.

Bev C

Some Sewing and New Arrivals.

Hello,

After a couple of weeks of looking through my magazines and patterns I have finally decided what to make for my swap partner in the "Santa's Festive Honeypot Swap." I found a pattern I think my partner will like. Of course I had to change it slightly. I sorted out my Christmas material and found I had enough to make my item.

Last week after several tries I finished a nightie. Three times I made the yoke wrong,I had the shoulder straps connected to the bottom of the yoke instead of the top. Thankfully it was easy to unpick and now I have my Strawberry Nightie.
I have had this book from Kwik-Sew for many years now. I like using this book because the patterns can be used either for stretch material or cotton. Very versatile.

I had on order from my local patchwork shop for a bolt of cream Homespun. I got the call the other day to say it had arrived. Yay. Chris also sent some more patchwork books from "Scavengers" and I was pleased with the material Lesley sent to me. I especially liked the brown floral.

I have been visiting C&T Publishing blog for a while now. I have found it to be an interesting and informative blog to read. I was extremely lucky to have a win of six patterns from Kim Schaefer
They are all applique patterns so I am in "Applique Heaven". Thanks guys.

On the home front we have had a bit to deal with in regards to David's car. On Sunday night we got a message to say his car had broken down about 20 minutes out of town. He had worked in the city on Sunday and was coming home for his day at the accountants here in town on Monday. After organising for the RAC to attend to him we booked his car in for a check up on Monday. It needed a new alternator. This was put in on Tuesday. He was supposed to work in the City on Tuesday but called in sick. There just wasn't enough time to get there after waiting for the car. He left home here mid afternoon with a car that had a new alternator and had been serviced the week before. Just after seven we got a phone call from him. "Mum I have been in a accident,but I am OK" I couldn't believe it. He and two friends were going out for dinner and a motor cyclist ran straight into the back of his car pushed all the rear end in and the riders head came through the rear window. They had no idea that the motor bike was coming to them. So they were in a fair amount of shock. Some of them had glass embedded in them but an ambulance was called and fixed this. The motor bike rider just had a sore ankle. Unfortunately we think David's car is a right off. We haven't seen it but have spoken to the tow truck driver who said when he drove it onto the truck it didn't sound very good. So we had about two and a half hours of phone calls back and forth to insurance company's police etc on Tuesday night and then again yesterday. We are just waiting to see if the car is a write off before we can do anything else. David took public transport to work yesterday and was getting a lift home. We may have to lend him a car to get to work though ,as he has to get up here for work on Monday's. David has been working about 45 and a half hours the last couple of weeks and it will be like this up until Christmas so it couldn't have come at a worse time. Thankfully no one was seriously injured but I do wish Motor Bike riders would be more considerate. I hate how they weave in and out of traffic. The funny thing about all this is that David had gone one block too far and was coming back to go the right way,if only he had taken the right turn he may never have come across this motor bike rider. Now we are wishing for a quite couple of weeks!!!

Happy days.

Bev C

Over the Top Blog Award.

Hello,

I hope you all had a great weekend relaxing or having fun. Not long ago I received my first ever blog award from Pauline. Pauline has a great blog with such wonderful photo's . Pauline also has the gift of writing and I think she thinks I could write a book like her. I have to answer 35 questions then pass this award onto six more blogs. 1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen

2. Your hair. Brushed

3. Your Mother. Gardening

4. Your Father. Deceased

5.Favourite food. Liquorice

6.Your dream last night. None

7.Favourite drink. Tea

8.Your dream/goal. Happiness

9. What room are you in? Family room

10.Your hobby. Gardening

11.Your fear. Snakes

12.Where do you want to be in 6 years. Here

13.Where were you last night. Home

14.Something that you aren't. Bilingual

15.Muffins. Blueberry

16.Wish list item. Holiday

17.Where did you grow up. Jennacubbine

18.Last thing you did. Breakfast

19.What are you wearing. Nightie

20.Your TV. New

21.Your Pets. Chooks

22.Friends. Happy

23.Your life. Full

24.Your mood. Cheerful

25.Missing someone. Elvis!!

26. Vehicle. Kia

27. Something you aren't wearing. Showercap

28.Favourite Store. Dymocks(Bookshop)

29.Favourite colour. Pink

30.When was the last time you laughed. Yesterday

31. Last time you cried. Winter

32.Your best friend. Ian

33. One place I go to over and over. Garden

34. One person who emails me regulary. Lyn

35.Favourite place to be. Kainga

So to pass this onto six blogs was very hard. Everyone I visit on blogs and visits here are friends I never had a year ago. So this was a tough decision. I chose the following blogs in no particular order.

Vickie from Vickie's Crafting Vickie is a real down to earth person who joins in a lot of swaps. So I have been able to find lots of new blogs from her swaps. Vickie leaves such quick witted comments it makes me laugh. Thanks Vickie.

Bobbie Lynn from Why I love to Garden I found Bobbie Lynns blog after I googled the words I love to Garden. I found a fellow gardener on the other side of the world who has much the same gardening climate as me. Bobbie Lynn I very much enjoy visiting your blog. Thank you.

Simone Simone and I have been blogging about the same time. We have exchanged some wonderful emails and I have gained so much information about her country that I didn't know before. I think this is one of the wonders of blogging. Thank you for your friendship Simone. I truly treasure it.

Dzintra , Queen of the Armchair I think I met up with Dzintra after reading her comments on Simones blog. Well I think I have found another friend here along with JoJo, Dzintra's beautiful daughter. Dzintra put me onto a place I would just love to go to one day. I did buy the book so that will have to suffice for the time being. I love reading your emails Dzintra I know my cooking skills will improve if I keep reading your food blog as well.

Lyn Moore I have been reading Lyn's blog for a long time. I enjoy reading her updates on things like the latest book Lyn has read to her knitting. I cannot knit(I have tried) and Lyn does the most beautiful knitting. I was extremely lucky to win one of Lyn's patterns earlier on in the year. It was such a beautiful stitchery about gardening. Gardening is something I do enjoy so to get to stitch it is even better.

Janelle from Threads of Friendship Last year Janelle sent me an email before I was a blogger and asked when was I going to start my own blog. This was the nudge I needed. I did what I was told and here I am today. I have since met Janelle and she is a beautiful lady. Plus she works in a great handy shop that I need to go to sometimes. Thank you so much for the email and our friendship since Janelle.

Happy days.

Bev C

The big reveal---The "Beach Quilt" has arrived.

Hello,

I can give the full reveal of the "Beach Quilt". I got the call that it arrived in New Zealand safely this morning. My sister Chris wanted a gift with a Beach theme for Roger and Lucre who had a housewarming back in the middle of the year. Chris sent some of the material to me,this is used in surfboards that Roger makes.

I used patterns from this great site, I spent several hours drawing cutting and appliqueing the seahorse. I purchased the yellow for the seahorse and when I walked into the patchwork shop I eyed the lovely sea material that is used in the background. This is a nutex material originally from New Zealand. Chris sent me the paua shell material which is from nutex as well.

Being a "Beach Quilt" we had to have a palm tree. Originally this block was much larger but to suit the size of the quilt I reduced this to 12.5 inches.

I included sun fish,angel fish,dolphin and a turtle. All these have been done with button-hole stitch around the edge. I even got to use my "Wavy Edge Ruler' which has been so handy.

I wanted to add a personal touch to the quilt. So I sent Pauline and Chris on a search of lighthouses that are near Lucre and Rogers. With Cape Reinga being the closest and being white I got them to search further afield in Argentina where Lucre hails from. Lucre grew up in an area that was landlocked so I chose one that was black and white as I already had the block together. So I chose to name if after the one that is at "Querandi". For the border I had purchased the "Surfy" type material as a remnant at Textile Traders. I left it for a day or so to see if it really went with it. Chris loves this material. The final measurements of the quilt is about 1280 wide and the length is 1380. This in inches is about 47.5 wide and 51.5 inches in length. I thoroughly enjoyed the planning and making of the quilt. As Chris wanted it for a wall hanging I added a sleeve to the back of it as well as a label. I did use a cotton wadding so it can be used to snuggle under if needed. The backing material has different types of sea shells on it.I bought this quilting material a while ago at Good Sammys. I knew one day it would be handy for a backing material at least. I machine quilted it myself and surprisingly it only took a couple of hours.Roger has a blog,you can see some wonderful photo's of the surfboards being made. I loved the one with paua shell in it. Lucre is presently on holiday in Argentina and will be back next week. She sure is going to get a great surprise. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Happy days.

Bev C

Redwork designs,new light,buttons books and movies.

Hello,

I recently downloaded these Red work designs from Paula. I changed a few elements in the designs. I changed the summer block. The flag had stars etc on it and I made it to look like The Australian Surf Living Saving Flag. This flag is red on the top section and yellow on the bottom section. I also changed the "Fall" block to "Autumn". I even managed to find some watermelon material to put on watermelon block. The instructions and designs are very clear. Thanks for designing this Red work Quilt Paula.

I heard a knock on the back door today. It was the courier and I had a parcel to sign for.
My light had arrived. It was the "Duet" two light Floor Lamp in beige. Thanks to buysterlighting.com.au I will be able to do a heap more stitching at night time.

It was quick and easy to put together and since we took these photo's we have found an extension cord to connect it to the power point at the back of the lounge.This light is available in several other colours if beige doesn't suit you. The good thing about this light is that you can have either both globes on or just one,very economical. Thank you so much Maree for organising the quick delivery of our light.

I recently won some buttons from Sonya. These are made from porcelain and are just so beautiful. I know I have a cross stitch design of Noah's Ark somewhere in my books. These buttons will look great on the cross stitch. Thanks so much for the buttons Sonya.

On Saturday Ian Lucy and I made a quick trip to the city. Lucy wanted to watch
The Time Traveller's Wife. Ian went off to the Hardware store to spend some vouchers while Lucy and I went to the Movie. I really enjoyed this movie,although I didn't know anything about it beforehand. Lucy is part way through the book. I will have to read it after. Lucy has finished school for the year. We are planning to start walking together. I will be back in a day or so,I have won my first blogging award from Pauline and I have some decisions to make as I have lots of questions to answer and have to choose 6 people to pass the award onto.
Until then.

Happy days.

Bev C

The "Beach Quilt" has left the building.

Hello,

I hope everyone is well. I put the final stitches onto the "Beach Quilt" today. I managed to find a small drill bit and drilled holes in the pegs so I could stitch them to the quilt. I will reveal the finished quilt when it arrives at its new home in New Zealand next week.

Now I will have to work out what I will do next. Our internet has been slowed down as we have used our usage (thanks teenager!!!) so hopefully will be able to get back to looking at blogs and doing some blogging more tomorrow.

Happy days.

Bev C

Books and Roses.

Hello,

I hope everyone picked the winner of the "Melbourne Cup". I spent the morning wrapping and packaging the parcels from the giveaway. They have now been posted. So look out ladies you will have some mail shortly. I love reading and are always visiting the local library as well as the Bookshop Cafe. With little on television lately and some programmes we have watched for years getting a little silly I have taken to reading in the evening. The only problem with this is the family room we sit in has a cathedral ceiling so the light fittings are up high. I will have to fix the lighting problem with a new lamp. Then I may be able to see to do some of those cross stitches I have in my stash.

Ian and I love going to garage sales. Sometimes we can go for weeks without getting anything that is suitable for us. Although other people seem to always find something. A few years back we got this wrought iron gate then not long after at another sale we managed to pick up the old white verandah post. We used this down the front of the garden. I managed to pick up the cast iron bird at Target. I had been eyeing them off and waited until they came on special.

I went out in the garden this morning,everything is coming into bloom. Although I have a massive amount of aphids the Ladybirds have arrived so I think I will leave them to eat the aphids. The rose above is a David Austin rose by the name of "Abraham Darby" 1985 It has large cupped blooms of apricot-pink paling on petal edged with soft yellow reverse. It has a wonderful fruity fragrance. This rose always has plenty of blooms when in flower. When I was taking the photo the bees were having a great time collecting pollen.

This is "John Clare" 1994 also a David Austen. This rose has clusters of softly cupped.semi-double blooms in a warm shade of pink with a yellow centre. It has a slight perfume and is free flowering.

This rose is called "Mermaid" 1918 R. bracteata hybrid. When I saw this rose in its pot at the nursery I was attracted to the lovely soft yellow bloom. I read the first bit of the label. Unfortunately I didn't read it all until I had got home. Mermaid is a vigorous climber growing to 7 metres plus. I then put it onto a side fence and left it growing without interference for a couple of years. I pruned it down to a very small stump and thought I had killed it. It grew back and is blooming . I reckon if you had a castle this is the rose to be growing on the castle walls. So I guess the motto is "Always read the label."

Happy days.

Bev C

Winners are grinners.

Hello,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I managed to get a small amount of sewing done today on the Beach Quilt. I am up to putting on borders around the blocks. Lucy and I have just finished cutting up the entries for the giveaway. I decided to offer two consolation prizes of a half metre of material as well as the first prize. Lucy drew out the winner then I let Ian draw out two more entries.

First prize goes to Vickie. Who left a comment on Wednesday October 21 at 3.37pm.

A prize also goes to Simone. Who left a comment on Wednesday October 21 at 2.09am.

And the final prize goes to Illene. Who left a comment on Saturday October 10 at 5.28pm

If you are wondering what will happen to all that paper, it will be put to use in my compost bin.

Thank you to everyone who has visited "Kainga Happenings" during October. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year of blogging. If you are thinking of starting a blog ,please do it is great fun and a real learning curve. I can't believe that the race that stops a nation is being run tomorrow. The Melbourne Cup is a great Aussie tradition. I hope everyone backs a winner.

Happy days

Bev C

R B and S Challenge

Hello,

The Stitching Challenge with Anita and myself for this month was to make a cushion with R S and B.
It took a while for me to work out what I was going to do. I knew R had to be for Roses so I started with that and after a while it all fell into place.

S was for Sunflowers and B was for Butterfly's. Three of my favourite things. I was tempted to add some ric-rac. I even had it cut and pinned across the top but I didn't think it went together.
Anita will be putting her cushion on her blog over the weekend. It is different to mine. For next months challenge our theme is "Love" we can make it into whatever we want.

I had to share this photo of a ceiling full of roses. This is one of the theatres in the cinema at Matakana Cinemas in New Zealand. We were surprised to see how these cinemas were done up. We were actually in the wrong room. The movie we saw in another room had a beautiful chandelier and the most amazing ceilings.

I will hold off drawing the winner of the patchwork material until late Monday 2nd November This gives everyone a fairer chance due to different time zones.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Bev C

Charmed.

Hello,

Not a lot of sewing has been done here at "Kainga" I have been busy with family. Although the postman has been extremely nice to me,look what came in the post yesterday.I was certainly smiling and doing the "Happy Dance" when I realised it was the charm that I won on Amanda's lovely blog. Amanda's friend Missy made this as the prize. It was personalised to suit me. I chose a "Rose"themed charm. I am so happy with this it is just me down to a T.

How beautiful is that rose on the front. I wish I could be talented enough to make this kind of jewellery. Even the other side has a beautiful floral arrangement. Plus I do love the charm attached to it which says "Live." Thank you so much Amanda and Missy.

As I had to wait about 20 minutes for my prescriptions at the chemist yesterday I decided to take a wander down to my favourite shop "Good Sammy's." Gosh,they were very busy. I managed to take home only two items. Two brand new,unopened cross stitch kits. The boat themed one is on 14 count Aida cloth and the Fir Tree Sampler in on even weave linen. I haven't stitched on this before but I am sure once I get started it will be just the same.

I have finished stitching my Monthly Stitching Challenge with Anita. I will be back tomorrow with the finished items and the theme for next months challenge.

Happy Friday.

Bev C