My quilting thoughts and inspirations sprinkled with a glimpse of life down on the farm

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Coming up for air.....

Gosh it really has been head down and tail up the last few weeks.
Here I am now, taking breathe, trying to determine what I have got to show for my efforts and my time away from blogland ... Luckily my camera is a (fairly) constant companion so a quick look through that reminds what's been happening.
WARNING this post is pretty photo heavy but I haven't babbled too much so I am hoping you will cope with it all..... I guess you know where the delete button is if it's too much for you!!
Ok why not start with a spring photo? Exciting to see the garden take
on a new look!
Spring also brings finicky weather. A bit of rain flooded the river.
Somewhere to the right is the bridge and access to half the farm!!
Actually more of a swollen river than a flood, really.
Still plenty of these critters to look after.
These ones are having their last ever feed of milk...
...before being taken right 'out the back' to be weaned. Cant hear them bellowing
out there, plus there is lots of grass for them to wean onto.
Two bulls heading out with them in readiness for mating with the heifers.
Oops another spring rose.
One I got for my birthday, it's going to be lovely.
While 'out the back' it was a time to have our yearly visit to the Kowhai Trees.
Pockets of yellow scattered throughout the bush.
Always an interesting adventure to get down to them.
This shows the size of the trees. Would hate to guess at
how old they are?
Such beautiful flowers. We were maybe a bit early to visit them, before they had opened
properly but we knew bad weather was coming so thought they might be storm
damaged if we left it any later.
The Kowhai were my inspiration for the postcard I made for Sunny.
(If it looks familiar, I showed the original hexie-flower a few posts back).
And this really happy one arrived from Sunny.
I am loving these postcard swaps :-)
Thank so much for swapping with me, Sunny.
Wild pigs can be the bane of our lives as they dig up the pasture with their
snouts, ruining whole paddocks, then hiding in the thick bush.
 Hunters' paradise.
This one is likely to have been orphaned and has taken to living with a small
mob of cows 'out the back'. Affectionately known as Ralph, I guess he
won't always be this cute.


I've done a bit of sewing lately.
I made this pin cushion as part of the Sewing Essentials Club for
 The Country Yard. It's got crushed walnut shells in it - I love the feel of them!!
And how do you take interesting photos of a Block Roll?
Hopefully the bear my YD made me earlier this year does a good job of
 showing it off.
I made this for Mum for her birthday.
I bought the fabric possibly 2 years ago; every time her birthday, Christmas or
Mothers' Day comes around I tell myself I will make it up...finally I have!!
I lined this with iron-on pellon which made it twice the size of my other block
rolls but it will keep all her embroidery blocks well protected!

Congratulations if you have got to the end and thank you for taking the time out to visit!! There's a bit more sewing to share with you but I will save it all for another time or two.
{By the way, last post I guessed at the layout of Pam Buda's sewalong; yes, my guess was the same as her's, I'm so pleased, I cant wait to get it together properly :-)}
See you all another time,
Happy stitching,

28 comments:

  1. lots of gorgeous photos Raewyn!
    always great to see your farm pics too.
    your pincushion is really lovely as are the postcards..

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  2. Lovely pics,love the farm ones and well done with your stitching.xx

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  3. Love the walk over the farm with you. Ralph looks like a real character!

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  4. Lovely spring flowers.....and Ralph reminds me of a goat(it just arrived!) we had that followed our milkers around the farm...quite cute. Pin cushion looks great also.xxx

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  5. Great post Raewyn. I enjoyed the spring 'walk' on your farm. The kowhais looked spectacular, they are one of my favourite native flowers.

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  6. A lovely post. You've obviously been busy. Your farm looks like a beautiful place. Great pincushion and postcards, and gorgeous fabric in the roll.

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  7. I always enjoy lots of pictures on a blog post! Yours were fun to see. I find it fascinating how things can be so different from where I live. We are in the midst of fall and the leave are turning and it is cooling off nicely. Have a great day!

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  8. Wow!! Springtime across the big water!!! And we're so thankful that it is cooling down with chances of rain also!!! No flooding for us, but Colorado got some bad flooding a while back. The flowers, trees and countryside are lovely!! Calves are doing well!! Are you all done calving now? I see Emma is doing her job!!

    Hugs and Blessings!!!

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  9. Photo-filled posts are my favorite ones, especially from another part of the world, showing daily life. The Kowhai flowers are gorgeous and unlike anything I've ever seen.
    Thanks for sharing your stitching and your farm.

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  10. Thanks for sharing the photos with us. I really enjoy seeing them.. How cute is that wee pig for now.. Beautiful flowers and trees. Your country is so pretty.
    Nice pincushion and I also enjoy making and swapping the postcards.

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  11. enjoyed the pictures show of what is happening where you live. Love the flowers and the cattle.

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  12. I enjoyed my walk round the farm with you and seeing the start of spring whilst we are going into autumn, the cold is forecast for tomorrow, they say the temperature will be down by about 10 degrees so thermals will be appearing from the drawer!!
    Good to see you had time to make your Mum her gift, very pretty.

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  13. can't believe you have a little pig running with the cows......boy wonder could take care of that for you..........wishing for some of your rain...........

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  14. It was a lovely post.. so funny to see
    'ralph' amongst the cows... and loved the kowhai tree flowers.. not seen those.. how pretty
    Hugz

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  15. Glad to hear you are getting some sewing time! Loved all the photo's, especially the wild pig with the cows! My boys would love to be farming where you are right now! Raining in the Naki, fire going,enjoy your day.
    Michelle

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  16. I enjoyed the tour of your farm. And I appreciated seeing the flower that inspired my postcard flower! thanks again.

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  17. Loved the visit Raewyn. It is always a pleasure.xx

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  18. This is a stunning post Raewyn, I love your flower and farm pics too, you have been a busy girl.... take a deep breath and enjoy it all!

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  19. Hi Raewyn, gosh I can see how busy you have been, you will be glad to send that mob of calves out the back I am sure. Your creations are lovely as are the Kowhai trees. Your rose seems early, it is a gorgeous colour. Take care & hope you catch your breath, Julie x0x

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  20. Too funny that we are both coming up for air! Your flowers are so beautiful, ours are getting ready for winter, and the leaves are starting to turn.

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  21. Enjoyed your tour of "out the back"! So funny about the wild pig. I wonder if he thinks he's a cow!
    Love how you quilted the postcard for Sunny and that fabric you used for the block role is fabulous.

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  22. Gorgeous post Raewyn, it's lovely seeing glimpses of your farm. The weather has been pretty wild here at times too. Your pincushion and roll are beautiful.

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  23. Oh, yes I do understand that you are rather busy! Love all your pictures, little miss pig, the dog eager to watch and it :-)So glad you have time for some quilting as well. Happy Sewing, Raewyn.

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  24. Ralph!!! Too cute (and might be tasty later instead of cute?) Love to see your annual kowhai trip.

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  25. O lugar onde mora é muito lindo! Seus trabalhos são perfeitos, parabéns! Beijos

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  26. love seeing the photos. I just love the one with the trees. The white ones are very fascinating.

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  27. Wonderful nature photos, thank you for sharing!
    Love your postcard and pincushion :)

    Hugs,
    Tatyana

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