It is the last day of Winter and look who came to school today. He or she is only 5 days old.

I am feeling very smug with myself as I now have a Kiwi driving licence. Passed the theory test this afternoon.

Peter has fixed both the oven and the washing machine and the sun is shining.

All we need now is for the shower to magically cure its reluctance to give us hot water and things will be brill.

Some tall Napier palm trees.

I have finished the top of my sampler quilt at last. Remind me never to do one of these again. Not my cup of tea at all. But it has been an interesting experiance and I have learnt a lot. Mainly measure 2 or 3 times before I cut. I had to redo the sashing as I had miscounted the number of strips I needed, which meant the sashing ended up very very thin. I think in total the sashing took longer than the blocks themselves. Just need to find a backing and get the quilting done.

Nice sunny flower from the beach at Napier. I have no idea what it is, but there were tons of them.

No picture today. I have just accepted a job offer. So I have 6 more weeks of being the happy housewife and frantic quilting before I disappear back into the workforce.

It was a bit cold
here this morning.

Just had our bamboo cut down. Looks a bit of a mess now, just waiting for the excavator to come and dig out the roots.

Finished my three stainglass daisies. The next step is to find some thin chain to chain them together.

Lovely scented dafodils at the front door step.

New blossom on our plum tree.

Just finished last three blocks for my sampler quilt, possibly! I would like to do some little blocks for the joins of the sashing. Should use up some of the left over fabrics.

Had a brilliant day at a Daizies quilting class yesterday with the Hawkes Bay patchworkers, taught by Roz Lusk.
Remember she did the beautiful amish quilt. The first pic is Roz's finished Daizies quilt top. The pattern is a Daizies by Star Gazey quilts. The second pic is of the blocks I finished on the day. Only 57 blocks to go.

Some Irises in Napier. The first I have seen flowering this year.

Norfolk pines on Napier's marine parade. They are the most beautifully architectural trees. I just love them. But as you know I just love all trees. Draw the line at hugging them though!

The sun is always shining in Hawkes Bay.

Pansies and Forget-me-nots from our front doorstep.

Saw this fabric and could not resist it. I just need to figure out how to use it now. I need to finish some of the projects I am working on. Here is the list its not long but I like to do one at a time:

Sampler quilt with the Keirunga Quilters
$25 doller quilt from the Cabin
Thimbleberries quilt from the Cabin
Niall's quilt which is still in the planning stage
Robin's quilt also still in planning stage

And I am off again on Thursday to do a dazies quilt with the Hawkes Bay Patch Workers. Still have not decided on the colour scheme. I would like to use reds, oranges, golds and browns, with a bit of blue for interest. Will let you see the results soon.

Had lunch out in the garden yesterday, still a little chilly but nice to be outside. We had some lovely olive and rosemary artisan bread from Boldersons, very nice with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. While I was getting the bread I tried some Lime and Chili Shoc chocolate, a strange combination but boy does it work well. After lunch did some gardening. Got a bit carried away and I think I may have pulled a muscle in my chest or cracked a rib! I better stick to doing some quilting today.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to vist the Rothmans building in Napier with a bunch of my friends. One of Napier's finest examples of Louis Hay's Art Deco architecture. These are a few of the pictures that I took on that day. I really wish I had taken more, the building was stunning. The level of detail is astounding. Right down door hinges and screw heads. I would like to try a copy of the leadlight window to replace one of the panes in our lounge. I have already used the rose design as a basis for the quilting pattern for my Napier Rose quilt.

What is it with my cats and this bowl. The other one tried to squash herself into it today.

My first copper foil daisy. Do not look to close the soldering is not too good. I want to make a chain of three daisies to hang in the window.

Japanese fabric hung in the hall. Sheer luck that I cut the panels in the right place, I did not realise that the flowers curved both ways!
The hall still needs to be decorated, yuccy heater removed and new lights put in. The original putty colour is not my personal taste, but it does hide the kids dirty fingerprints very well. Eventually I would like to paint it the same blue we have in the kitchen.

A trio of sunny daisies.

Peter was busy while I was out doing my turn at the Quilting Exhibition. When I got back he had removed the boring old mantle peice and replaced it with a lovely chunky old piece of Rimu.

Keirunga Quilters have an exhibition on for the next two weeks, at Keirunga Gardens, Havelock North. This amish quilt by Ros Lusk is my favourite in the exhibition. I really like this particular block.

Japanese Kimono fabric I bought from the Napier shop, Raku. I originally was going to put it on the wall in the kitchen. But it looks so much better at the end of the hall. Will post a pic of the finished wall hanging soon.

The aliens have landed in Napier! Poor trees they have tarmaced right round the base.

Moth eaten daisy that lives in front of our mail box.

Had another washing disaster yesterday. I really should learn to read labels. This cardi used to be coat length and very very comfi and nice. Now it would fit a 6 year old.
:( The kids thought it was hilarious and it kept them giggleing for hours.

Here is the final stage of the woodcut as promised.