Another month goes by —

I know we often start a blogpost with the words "where has the month gone?"....well I can tell you exactly where the last month or so has gone - 

- on July 13th we started calving here on the farm. In New Zealand, we have seasonal calving -for us that means Spring calving - haha not that you would call July spring but that's what it's always been called!

Because our cows are outside all year long, it means we time calving so that when the cows need the most feed it is growing the best.....

I like to think of myself as the chief (one and only) calf rearer. Now that our son-in-law is working on the farm, I'm not called on for a lot of the other calving related jobs I used to do. I used to think I would miss having my finger on the pulse but (hehe) I don't that much!!

So cuteness overload —

After coming off their mum, they go into the calf shed —

When that shed gets full, they go to the Old Pigsty —

From there they have access to some outside paddocks —

Their first time outside is always entertaining!

And then I start moving them around the farm so they get lots of yummy grass as well as their daily milk —

And I  end up taking a lot of scenic photos of calves feeding with the farm in the background!

So far I have about 100 calves of various ages and stages. It won't be long until we form a weaning mob. About 70 calves have been sold as week old calves to a couple who raise them from then on.

At this time of the year we feel that we're indispensable, but the family rallied around and gave us 24 hours off the farm as a Fathers Day gift recently.  We went up north to Russell, a lovely spot we escape to from time to time.

Going over by ferry-

It was really windy while we were there so there were no beach walks but we were okay with that.

The view from where we stayed - 

And a cool tile floor outside the old restaurant - 

It was a great time away - a lovely (belated) Fathers Day gift!

On that happy note,

See you next time,

Raewyn

Winter Woollies ---

While I was down at Mum's, my sister's and/or the hospital, I kept any idle hands moments at bay with some knitting. 

I'd been given a couple of balls of wool which didn't/wouldn't really go with anything else. I thought they would be good for beanies for the kids but wasn't sure if there was quite enough in each skein for a full sized one. I hunted around and found a pattern that started from the crown. That way, I could just cast off at the brim when I ran out of wool.

The first little bit was a bit tricky with few stitches, 4 needles and lots of stitch markers, however as it grew, it got easier and easier.

It was hard to get an idea of the colouring of the yarn from the unopened ball. I fully expected there to be a lot more turquoise  than there was (only some at the start) so it was an 'interesting' knit!

I ended up making two 'short' beanies. 

While the design was fresh in my mind, I found some more yarn and made two beanies with a fold over brim. 

The pattern was 'Top Down' by PurlJam/Kevin Haggerty - found *here* on Ravelry.

If none of the kids claim/need them, I will be happy to donate them to charity.

Last winter was a funny old one for me; I got little crafting done but really enjoyed spending my time crocheting a jersey.

I used 'Highlander Heathers' wool from Skeinz, in the colour Scotch Mist. I loved the smell of it - it still smelt like real wool - and it was lovely to use. And the motivation was spotting the design, Low-rider jumper by Iron Lamb. As soon as I saw it, I KNEW I had to make one.

This was a well written pattern that started from the top so that you could easily fit it as you went.

I learnt some new techniques - yes, the 'ribbing' is crochet!😲!

And it fits perfectly. I was a bit concerned I might overheat in it but the open weave style of crochet must help and I find it a comfortable cosy wear.

Once I finished the jersey I was still in crochet mode. Inspired by Miss Tammy's cuteness and her love of things cosy and warm - 

-and also by friends in blogland making Afghans at the time, I decided that Miss Tammy needed her own blanket. In a moment of brilliance, I decided to make it yellow to match her colouring, and contrasted it with a blue. I didn't purchase anything new for this, I went through odds and sods that I had accumulated over the years (including some from when Mum cleaned out her cupboard - Oh how good it is to have a daughter who also crafts!!!). 

(Helping Ganma make her afghan)

I finished the blanket at the point where I was having trouble finding enough of the right coloured remnants to use, and it turned out to be a perfect size.

(There was one yarn that could have been made for heavy duty carpets (!!) which was really horrible to use - after finishing the round, I decided it could be biffed - that's very unlike me, so it must have been bad!)

So it's a fun little rug to have on the floor in front of the fire for Tammy Cat to sleep on.

While I was in oddment using mode, I found some acrylic yarn which I made into peggy squares for the blankets kiwikid Sue puts together for the Kogo organisation. I delivered those in April when I went over for Scrub Stitching.

Well I think that is my knitting and crocheting caught up with for now 😀

See you next time, 
Raewyn

A quilt show and a bit of rambling

I was lucky to be in town when the Tauranga Patchwork and Quilting Group held their show in June. It was a beautiful day, in a beautiful setting with beautiful quilts and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'd been staying at my sister's and the show was just a short drive from her house :-) 

There was a great variety of quilts and of course I took far too many photos so I'll share just a few here. (And in no order of favouritism, sometimes it's a case of which photos turned out better!!)
I was pleased to meet Ali Honey (of quiltingorchardist) who had alerted me to the fact that the show was on. Here's her piece Fancy Flowers - 

I love the wee real feathers sewn in —

Below is a clever FPP piece by Karen Livingstone - trying to work out the actual blocks was a challenge - I think they were triangles.
I thought it looked great in these fabrics —

There were several versions of Sarah Fielke's Coming Home quilt - a group of (at least) four had sewn it together and each quilt was different to the next. I really liked this version in Tilda fabrics.

(There were two more 'Coming Home' quilts around the corner I didn't photograph.)

Sound Waves by Jackie Southam (from the book Simple Modern Patchwork Quilts) —

The Rowdy Flat Library Book by Helen Purllant —

For the Love of Hexagons by Julie Brittain —

Gossip in the Garden by Ruth Couch —

Moody Blues by Julie Brittain —

A Skitch a Day by Chris McIntyre (Gourmet Quilter BOM) —

Unscrappy Windmills by Lynda Warn —

Also by Lynda Warn, 'Orange Into Vintage' —

I said it was a beautiful day in a beautiful setting. The venue, The Tauranga Yacht Club, is on the water's edge and I don't think you could have had a better setting than this......

Enjoying a cuppa and a piece of slice.

That mountain (Mount Maunganui) was in my view for part of June/July as I stayed for a bit while mum was in hospital (and then home) healing from a nasty leg infection. 

The area was a place of many happy childhood memories as my grandparents had a bach there. A lot of Mum's family (and my sister) live there and it's always comfortable visiting the area.

(This blogpost has been in the works for nearly 6 weeks!) 

I flew home and was really delighted to get some decent photos from air (I seem to always be over a wing when I fly so I don't see much!) which showed the Mount, the township, the harbour and the ocean off really well —

You see the ships in the above photo; back in March bloggy friend Janet, roguequilter, was visiting NZ on the big cruise ship below (in the same harbour) —

Julie, mythreadbearlife and I met her off the ship. We walked around the base of the Mount —

We talked, drank coffee, talked some more, splashed in the harbour - 

We had a fabulous day - my life has been so enriched through blogging- events like this remind me how special this whole thing is - and why I have to keep blogging!!!!

We exchanged gifts (of course).

Here is the special package from Janet —

The pineapple mug rug is amazing and showcases Janet's legendary small piecing beautifully!

And a couple of her handmade soaps —

Julie and I decided not to swap gifts. 

Here is what I made for Janet; a kiwiana themed pouch —

(As we are both Coeliac, I did some Gluten Free baking for her, wrapped in the tea-towel)

Okay, enough rambling, thank you for reading along!!

Happy stitches,

Raewyn