Saturday 14 January 2012

Bay of Islands, here we come!

Paul and I grew up with the tradition of a summer holiday at a beach and it has been a tradition that we have carried on with our kids.  Usually we go to one of the beaches nearby (1-2 hours drive) but this year we are travelling 4.5 hours up to the Bay of Islands and we are staying in a cabin rather than our usual tenting.  We are so looking forward to Monday, the start of our holiday!  The family went to the library today to sort out their holiday reading while I sorted out my holiday sewing!

My first project is my Vignette quilt, I have finished the appliqué and am halfway through stitching the vines, then I need to stitch the hundreds of little berries!


My second project is Charlie's quilt, I have finished block two and tonight's job is to prepare the appliqué for some more blocks once Charlie has chosen the fabrics.  Here are the first two blocks.

Did you notice my cute little scissor keep?  I received a lovely Christmas card and the scissor keep in the mail yesterday from Melody at The House on the Side of the Hill all the way from Australia.  Thank you so much Melody, I love it and I appreciate that you sent it to me!

My third project is a new one, I have had the Farmers Wife book for about six months and I have finally made my first block.  I paper pieced the block and I have the next three ready for hand stitching.  After thinking about this quilt for a while it feels good to have finally made a start!

I have a fourth project too but I can't show you that one yet!
I have done a little baking to take on our holiday too, this one is a lunch box favourite so I thought it would be perfect for when we are out and about ...
It's good with milk for afternoon tea too!  It is a Flapjack, apparently a Scottish slice and it is made with oats so very yummy and, I tell myself, very nutritious!!  I have put the recipe on my recipe page if you want it.
See you in a couple of weeks ... think of poor old me having a stressful time, with nothing to do but swimming, sightseeing, and stitching!!  Life's hard sometimes!
Happy stitching, Wendy

18 comments:

  1. Such beautiful blanket stitch... so neat and tiny!
    You have some lovely projects to work on... enjoy your holiday :O)

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  2. Ohhh, sounds like fun! Hope you have a great time with your family. :o)
    Your appliques are gorgeous!
    xo
    Kelli

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  3. you have some lovely projects to take with you.... and Charlies quilt will be awesome... I agree with Michelle, your blanket stitch is so neat... and it is looks great in that variegated thread - as for food... I love food... I always knew those as 'crunchies' and here it is closer to Anzac biscuits.. my English family call them flapjacks too. Have a wondeful holiday.. I hope we get to see a few pictures...
    Hugz

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  4. Your slice looks delicious. Glad you liked your little gift.

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  5. Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy all that stitching. Your Vignette Blocks are looking great .. watch out for al thoses berries as I felt they were multiplying ... I stiched one and I'm sure two more appeared! Welcome to the "Farmer's wife Family", he demands a long commitment but he will be worth it! :o) hugs, Sharon

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  6. Have a great holiday Wendy. Im getting rather inspired by all the Farmers Wife Quilt blocks Im seeing around... hmmm maybe I should get started on mine..Ive had the book for so long... oh and that slice looks tasty and your creations are too... take care

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  7. Have a great holiday. All your projects are looking wonderful.
    Hugs Tanya

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  8. Your vignette quilt it just amazing, I love seeing the progress on it. Charlie's blocks are sweet too!
    Will love following your farmers wife blocks too, The fabrics are lovely.
    Have a great holiday, make sure you do plenty of all the things you bragged about :)

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  9. Have a great holiday and enjoy your stitching. You have such lovely things on the go.

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  10. I hope you have a very nice holliday. I like your projects of course especially the Farmers Wife because I am making this too.

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  11. Have a wonderful holiday! I will definitely be thinking of you. YEAH on starting your Farmer's wife quilt...I can't wait to see your progress. Your Vignette is just amazing, absolutely so. Such inspiration. I can't wait to see Charlie's quilt too...I'm envious of your holiday time...enjoy, and I will pray you have safe travels and a great time spent with your family!

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  12. Have a great holiday up north - I hope the weather is kind to you -us Northland farmers can do without rain for a week so that you can enjoy the sunshine! Glad to see you have your priorities right and have lots of stitching packed ;-) Love how your Vignette is looking. Love your first Farmers Wife block.

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  13. Your Vignette blocks are soooooooo beautiful !! Bravo !
    And Charlie's quilt will be great too !
    Florence

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  14. The Bay of Islands is beautiful, have a great holiday,and happy stitching. Vignette quilt looks gorgeous!
    Michelle

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  15. It sounds like you're all ready with your craft, it's nice having something to do at night when you're relaxing after a day of exploring. Have a wonderful holiday Wendy. I'm going to check out that recipe too, looks very yummy. I like having slice with milk too. xx

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  16. Your Vignette applique is fantastic Wendy! I hope you all have a terrific time in the Bay of Islands, somewhere I hope to take my family one day too.......... See you in a couple of weeks!

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  17. Hello Wendy,

    Hope your holidays is going well. So sorry to hear about Charlies broken arm. The Bay of Islands is a beautiful area,enjoy.
    Happy days.
    Bev.xoxo

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  18. Hi Wendy, hope you are having a wonderful holiday. Looking forward to seeing what you got done when you get back..

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