Christmas Blessings

Christmas is almost here. We celebrate the birth of Jesus and many of us come together as families to enjoy
Christmas festivities.
We are thankful for friends up and down the country and keep in touch with Christmas cards,letters etc.


I hope Christmas is a happy time for you.


Our thoughts are with Christchurch residents as they come to terms with more earthquakes that have rocked their world in the last day or so.

No matter what, I wish happiness for you,

Joan

Gifts in the Garden

Everyday  comes bearing its own gifts.
Untie  the  ribbons.

Elder Flower Cordial

Elderflower Cordial a Delicious Summer Drink.



I have wanted to try Elder Flower cordial for some time. I am happy to say my wish has come true.
The above photo shows the completed cordial along with fresh elder flowers and lemons from our lemon tree
We are enjoying the cordial on ice with our evening meal. Very refreshing.
Here is the recipe. Maybe you could try it if you find some elderflowers in season.

The flowers are best picked on a sunny day when they are still creamy coloured and before they fade to white. At this time they have the highest amount of pollen, which contains the yeast.


Ingredients

4.5 litres (1 gallon) of water
1.8kg (4lb) white sugar
Juice and thinly peeled rind of 6 unwaxed lemons.
70grams citric acid (2.5 ounces)
40 elderflowerflower heads. Shake well to remove live insects and only wash if picked by roadside.

The ingredients are open to interpretation. You may like to use less lemons or use 30ml (2 tblsp )of cider vinegar or wine vinegar in place of the citric acid.

Method

Bring the water to the boil. Pour into sterilised container. Add the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Cool and add lemon rind and juice, citric acid (or vinegar) and elderflowers. Cover and leave for 24hours. Stir 3 times daily for 5 days. Filter through muslin into strong glass bottles. The drink is ready after 2 weeks. Serve chilled, diluted with still or carbonated water to taste. It is best within 3 months but is known to last up to two years.

Jewells of Sunshine

More rain over the last 24hours has freshened the garden.
This little alchemilla mollis leaf caught my eye as I wandered amongst the flowers.
Jewells of sunshine resting on the leaf's edge. Raindrops sparkling in the early morning sunshine
reflecting the light of a day just begun.
Beautiful!

Thankyou to all fibre fascination friends.

I've noticed many new 'fibre fascination' friends of late. Now there are over 100 followers. Welcome to my blogging world. Its great to have your company. If you feel like it, please comment at the end of a posting. I love reading what you have to share.

Our weather is quite changeable of late. Yesterday was very warm. I was surprised this morning, to see many new flowers sharing their beauty and scent with me as photographed them. Some of these are above.


Enjoy,
joan

Happiness and a completed project.

Interwoven fabric strips, stitched and embroidered.  Pintucks and lace alongwith a 'me' label.
Quilt batting to  give it some oomph!

A Machine stitched cord to wrap around the finished book wrap.  Secured with a loop and a button stack.

Oh yes!  A look inside.
 Some thoughts to ponder over.  ♪


The thing that is really hard,
and really amazing,
is giving up on being perfect
and beginning the work of becoming yourself.

Anna Quindlen.



May your weekend be all that you want it to be!
See you soon.
Joan.
♪♪♪♪

Enjoying Spring Tulips

Hello, I'm back home from hospital and have really noticed the growth that has been happening while I was in hospital.
We took a trip to Waiamate gardens on Sunday. The day was brilliantly sunny and with camera in hand I was able to take a few photos .
Those tulips are amazingly beautiful.

These yellow tulips are in our garden. What a picture. Lovely to come home too.
Its good to be back home.

Stitched, woven fabric strips make bookcovers.

Recently I have been enjoying the simple pleasure of making these bookcovers. Fabric strips, woven and stitched to make raw edged bookwraps or covers. I love the imperfect look..
Anyway this is my last post for a while. I will give myself some time to recover from the surgery I am due to have.

See you all a little later,
Joan.

This Says It for Me

I have been enjoying Angie Hughes textile artistry. Angie is based in Herefordshire in the United Kingdom.  She is very creative. She was interviewed by RWSS (running with scissors studio)  I love her response to this question....

.RWSS:  Who would you most like to meet and how would you spend the day?
Angie:  Myself at the moment.
I love her response because it is true for me too!

You can see the interview  if you click here   Angie Hughes interview. and enjoy photos of her work as well.

 

Crochet Cotton Colour

I have been collecting crochet cottons as I have found them and now have a stack of fabulous colour.
Some of them are very vivid.
Below is a little bit of crazy quilting I have been trying my hand at. The bright yellow stitching is a cotton from my collection above.
It IS very bright. Sometimes we need extra colour to brighten up our lives. I think so anyway.

Next week I will be having surgery in Dunedin. This has been necessary for a long time. I may be fairly quiet on the blogging front for a while. I hope to do one more posting before my operation and then  I will be resting up for a bit.
Until the next post,
Joan.

♥

Words to Live By

Ask not that events as you will but let your will be that events should happen as they do... and you shall know peace.
- Epicteus -

I hope your weekend is going well. Catchup soon.
Joan.

☻

Pam Sussman's Fabric Art Journal Book

Love this!

I'm taking a peek inside Pams book. An easy read book with photos to match.
Subtle colours with simple stitching works well here.



Fabric layered, stitched and beaded on this page.



'Art' says it all!

Pam  Sussman's book can be purchased here.
It is a great book to add to your handcraft book collection or
to pop on your coffee table to browse through whenever.

(I couldn't get rid of this 2nd Amazon thingmy.  It is very persistent.  Just won't go!)

Spring has finally arrived!

It has been a long winter and not an easy year so far. I think it is appropriate to have a fresh new look for my blog. The same old same old gets a little tiring after a while, so today I went to work and now have a 'new look' blog. I love the 'Margaret Merrill' photo taken in my garden. I took this photo last summer. It is truly a beautiful rose, one of my favourites. I look forward to another season in which Margaret will show all of her downright beauty to all who 'take time to smell the roses.' I hope that you too, like the new look as we usher in Spring here in New Zealand. Here's hoping it is a good one after the tough times that many of us have been and still are enduring.

Cheers, Joan.
♥

My Fabric Journal from way back when...

Way back when this blog first began I featured this fabric journal.  (It features in my header above.)

 It has been a work in progress for a while now. So here it is again in its updated format.

 My eldest Grandaughter Chloe, who is six has spent many happy moments enjoying the pages that make up this fabric journal.

Fabric pages, threads, beads, stitches and fabric cords
draw the eye into what else lies amongst these pages!

Making the most of buttons and stitching.

Random machine stitching along with handstitching.
A paper bead wrapped in fibre is stitched onto the corner.

On the cover a variety of handstitching creates texture and outlines the print

already on the fabric. Small beads embellish the flowers.

Meaningful Words

Port Levy near Diamond Harbour

Snow Falls on New Zealand

Snow begins to fall at our place in Otago.

Whiteness begins to set in.

The low temperatures bring snow/ice to our windows.

The hebe carries snow on its branches, leaves and flowers.

Special Moments.

We all know that life is not always easy. We all have our struggles. Our ups and our downs.
I chose these photos each signifying some special moments, flowers or things that I appreciate in and
around my world. Each photo about being appreciative and thankful. Counting my blessings and enjoying them.
I hope you can too.

Colours of the Rainbow

Layer upon layer of assorted fabric pieces, sewn and then slashed form this specs pouch which I love to use.
This is the first one of these that I made. I most often find that the first attempt at anything new turns out to be better than following attempts of the same thing. Is that the same for you?

Overnight Snowfall

 Pretty flowers managing to keep their heads above the snow.
One cheeky Rooster, alias Stan, doesn't mind the snow.

The roads were quiet this morning. Snow kept many at home.

Earthquakes Demolish Lyttleton's Historic Anglican Church

Lyttleton has suffered a number of earthquakes.  Having visited there recently we observed some of the  damage to public places .Sadly, the Holy Trinity Anglican Church above  was demolished.

  The top photo has a small wooden cross placed beside the church.  I think there were flowers there also. The double storied building is the vicarage.  Although not obvious from the photo, it also is damaged.   A very sad picture and a sharp realisation of how powerful those earthquakes were.  Many businesses  in the main street are closed due to damage.  At the same time repair work is happening as people rebuild their businesses and their lives.