A Jones Sewing Machine!

My dear friend Myra has an old JONES sewing machine and it is beautiful.  I keep telling her it's mine because it's got my name on it!!! 

Today she spotted one on Trade Me and bought it for me!!  

".... gorgeous little machine is circa early 1900s as it says on it 'approved by Her Majesty Queen Alexandra'.

It's a Jones brand, from Manchester UK.

It is in great condition and comes with a cover, a key and an instruction manual.

It's a beautiful piece of history." 

I can't believe anyone would do this for me.  Isn't it a work of art?  

So now Myra you'll have to come and visit so you can see it for yourself. 

I am absolutely thrilled and can't go to bed yet .. I'm a bit wired up haha. 

I can't wait to visit Myra in 11 more sleeps.  A week of fun and laughter, sewing and sewing and a visit to the Waikato Craft Show.  And I'm going with Myra to see her oncologist - I'm sure she's going to say "I got the results muddled with someone else".  

When I'm at house group meetings I can't take my machine so lately I've been trimming up these Jinny Beyers charm squares that I was given a few years ago.  I found patterns in a magazine from 2001 but I'm not sure what to do with them.  I think they're lovely colours and patterns even though they are plain.  I want to do something with them..triangles... florals... stripes... Any ideas? 

Two close ups, zoom in and see the detail.

I've seen a couple of patterns in old magazines.  I quite like this but no pattern so I might have to draft it out myself...

In the meantime I am preparing my 1930's blocks to finish them at Myra's.  I pieced all the blocks when I visited Myra in June. 

So now I have to sew some beautiful embroidered doillies on calico to go in between then I'll put it together 'quilt as you go'.  Hopefully it will be finished within the week.

Second hand flowers

Last year I gave some of these succulent cuttings to my sister in Wellington.  She's not a gardener so these are great because they love to be neglected. 

Well blow me down, but it flowered!!! 

And I've had them for 10 years or so. 

I love the colour and the shape.  It's spectacular in my garden!

My neighbour was tidying up their garden and decided to put his succulents in mine. 

And it's flowered!! 

They have had them for many years

but no flowers!!!  



Tall and majestic. Beautiful colours for a quilt I'm thinking?? Batiks maybe??

o I've decided they're second hand flowers. 

I only noticed it on Tuesday when it snowed. 

I am thrilled. 

Does anyone want a cutting haha!

Grandchildren Pride and Passions

Alwx 6 yrs with two of the Magpie team and his Medal

 Grandchildren make you so proud and the love you have for them is like nothing else!   Last week my baby grandson/grandchild was voted as the best player in his ripper rugby team and went to a presentation held by the Magpies where 150 primary school kids were presented with a medal and got to meet the team. 

Alex standing under the Magpie Icon in Napier

Alex and proud Dad Simon at the World cup roadshow last month

The Magpies are Hawkes Bay's Provincial Rugby team and Alex lives in Taradale.  He looks a bit stunned in the photos (maybe its his TOUGH look) but he's ever so proud!  Most games he scores a try or two or three.  He turned 6 at end of June but is very tall and broad for his age.  And very strong.

Alex's big sister Olivia, my one and only granddaughter loves gymnastics and tells me she's now doing Bars!!   She is a very slim, adventurous girl and has no hangups about walking on beams or hanging from bars like her Nan did as a child.  (I was always afraid of heights because I couldn't see??)  Here's Olivia posing for me a few months ago.She seems to like sewing too when I visit so fingers crossed.



Olivia 7yrs

 My second grandson Cameron, (Alex and Olivia's cousin) has been learning sewing at school this year.  He's always loved making quilts with me when he was young and is enjoying sewing. 

I caught up with him a few weeks ago and he asked me to alter a hat he'd made.  It seems ear muff thingies and plaits are all the fuss on hats these days.  He's asked me to knit him one now.  .  He had appliqued letters on the back.. something to do with motorx says a dum Nannie!! haha. 

Cam the Man 11 years old

But again Cam isn't a stay at home and sew boy.  His passions are rugby, biking and motorcross.  Since he was 4 years old he's been racing at motorx.  Dad is now in the veteran cross country league so it's a family thing.  Cameron loves the rough and tumble and has no fear.  Isn't it great to be so innocent. 

This was Cam's old bike 2 years ago.  My Pictures is not as organised as I thought.

And then my eldest grandson George who's nearing 16 and is big brother to Olivia and Alex is passionate about mountain biking and is now racing in Rotorua, Taupo, Napier regularly.  He works at a bike shop after school and at weekends and saves every penny for a new bike.. you can never have too many evidently.  Mind you I think a car might be a priority over the next couple of years so he can transport himself to the races!!! 

I'll just have to sneak in a photo of my baby who is now 32.  He doesn't have much time to get involved in anything socially.  His job starts at 2am and finishes between 11am - noon.   So poor Fred is in bed by 6pm and his body clock is all over the place.  He is looking for a daytime job now but a job is a job here in New Zealand and you're lucky to have one.

A few weeks ago we were watching rugby at Mum's and I sneaked a photo of him sitting in my Dad's lazyboy 'concentrating' on the game the same pose as my Dad always had.  It really gave me a smile.  Isn't it amazing how many little intrinsinc actions we pick up off our parents or grandparents. 

Concentration ??

I guess the grandchildren follow me because I have a Passion (for quilting that is)...

My children and grandchildren really make life so wonderful and make my Heart SING!!

What a beautiful day at my house

So awesome.  I'd never have imagined snow in Lower Hutt.  My house looks so pretty.

One big kid but the guy on the camera (my 32 year old son) had a smile from ear to ear too.

/The car haha Not sure if Ken is going to get to work at 1.30am.

No happy Tui's in the camelia's tonight.

And surprise, surprise, My succulent is flowering at last.  I gave cuttings to my sister in Wellington last year and they flowered.... I'd been waiting 10 years to have flowers!!! 

 A pretty picture for a Christmas card from my front porch

Room for Santa's sleigh on my street

They expect this will carry on tomorrow too and I think I'll be over the 'cold' by then.  It's down to 1 degree tonight.. so I'm sitting by the heater.  Hehe I can't imagine what it's like on the other side of the World where my friend Martina lives and they have 5 feet of snow and make snowmen! 

Finally our photo of our vocalist and SNOW in Lower Hutt?

Every morning at this time of the year I am woken by the harmonious sounds of Tui in my camelia tree.(It's the only reason the tree is still standing.. they make such a mess.  My son who's staying with me at the moment has been trying to get a photo for weeks.. finally yesterday he caught a couple.  I say caught because they move really fast around the tree and seem to know when you want to take a photo haha.

They're a bit fuzzy but they're good close-ups.  There's only one at a time and they seem to have a nest over the road in the Pohutakawa trees. 

When I've raised $100 from weight loss for my layby fabric I will start saving for a new camera.

And tonight its SNOWING in Lower Hutt.  My neighbour has lived here all his life and never seen snow.  It's not settling because its been raining for awhile but I wish it would.. just to get a better picture.

Bad Girl, Bad Girl, what we gonna do...

Every time one of us does something wrong at work (it's not that often) that one sings "Bad Girl, Bad Girl, what you gonna do.. what you gonna do when they come for you".. hehehe just a bit of fun.  But I AM REALLY A BAD GIRL THIS WEEK.  When I was sick the week before I ate whatever I felt like and I didn't track what I ate so I was very SURPRISED that I lost weight and such a huge loss 1.7kg. 

Well I didn't get back to tracking and so I put that loss back on.  In face 100g more!!!!   GRRR.. but I'm tracking too.  I also bought a Pedometer so I can count my steps.... In one day at work it was over 2000 steps.. incredible ah.  I think you're supposed to do 10,000 a day???? But I am feeling fitter and walking further than I used too, so I have noticed some difference and feel great about that.  AND ON THURSDAY I WAS BACK ON TRACK! 

So I have decided to unreward myself for a weight gain and hence lose $15 off my fabric layby.  The ladies at the shop know what I'm doing and they're happy to hold on to my fabric for me.