Our New Year's Launch

About this time each year we get busy at The Country Yard, sprucing up the shop and announcing new programmes and classes. On Saturday we had our New Year's Launch; our day to introduce all that we've been working on lately.  We had spent Friday hanging new quilts, freshening up areas and reorganising the shop. 

At the front door, this is the sight that greets you.

Although it had poured all night and it was still raining on Saturday, we had lots of keen ladies visit to see what we'd been up to.

Every time we change the shop around we think it's the best it's been...but then next time we do it, we think the same!

Below is the work room. On these walls are some of the classes we'll be offering and works in progress.. we didn't get everything sewn up that we wanted to but we have made a good start on most of it.

You may remember some sneak peeks of cute applique from my previous post.  Here is a little more of what I was doing —

And below shows the 'block' (row, actually) in its entirety. It's forming part of a Row By Row quilt. I completed the applique using iron on Applique papers, a glue stick and invisible machine applique.

My row is just one of many in the quilt, and the only applique row.

There is a much loved and faded old quilt we used to hang at the front door of the shop. For years we have said we'd like to re-make it and finally we have made a start. I volunteered to make this one, I figure it's right up my street.

Here is the cow block... you can see part of the original quilt to the right.

I just love her 3-D ears...and had a lot of fun getting them right!

The pigs were next.

I think I'm going to change those snouts and make them a little more pointy
and pig like!

I'm looking forward to working some more on this quilt!

I mentioned the rain earlier on ... this February is surely going to be remembered as one that had plenty of heat, humidity and rain. There's been flooding in several regions but we are thankful nothing severe has happened here. (It's not often NZ dairy farmers say "we've had enough rain" in the middle of summer!)

At the start of the month we were spending time in the river; all of us cooling off.

Lately we've been able to see the same river from the house..which
is not normal.... here at least 5 metres above the usual level!

Cooling off now consists of paddling in the 'floodwaters'.
You can just see the wooden railings on the right leading to the bridge.
The bridge itself is completely covered by water! 

It's great fun being a dog when the river's up as there are all sorts of smells not normally found.

I wondered what was going on here —

Two dogs trying to climb the tree......

Ahhh... there's a wee possum just out of reach.
It wasn't there the next day -  it had found a safer hiding spot!

So there's plenty keeping us out of mischief at the moment. More rain is forecast for later in the week and I see more sewing on my horizon too!

Until next time,

happy stitches,