BLACK 'N' WHITE

 Well.... today is going to be all about BLACK 'N' WHITE... Braid Runners.

You know, the one colourway I was NEVER EVER going to do!!!

Ha ha ha.

They were a best seller at the last market, along with the Kiwiana Braid Runners.

So, obviously I'm going to make more.

And I have to admit, they are rather lovely.

I had to find a new fabric for the centre piece, as I'd run out of what I'd used before.

I finally settled on this:

ABOVE: It will stand out nicely.

I thought about putting a little black Kiwi/Fish or Fern on it, but I really don't think it needs anything else.  It's quite 'loud' enough!

ABOVE:  These 4 that I have laid out already all have NZ Ferns as one of the strips.  So a little bit Kiwi-fied.

ABOVE:  A lot of backache went into cutting all those freakin' strips out!

But... now it's done and I can just get on with sewing them all together.

I will have to take a trip to Spotlight some time today, I'm just about out of Batting and backing fabric.  

Last day of AUGUST!  The months are just speeding by!  Before you know it I'll be hitting my birthday in October, and officially becoming 'OLD' !!!  My God I don't feel almost 65.  

It's kinda weird remembering my Dad passed away at 66, and I thought he was old back then.

Now days OLD is 80+.  I hope I'm still here, blogging away, when I'm 80+.  Can you imagine that?  lol

And that is me for now.  Catch ya later.

ABOVE:  Our little girl Marley, doing what Marley does.  She's rather adorable, and silly.

REALLY BAD HEADACHE ... had one for three days now.  So not doing anything much.  Even hurts to move me eyes!  Lack of sleep. A bit of stress.  Nothing major.  Just life and what it throws at ya sometimes.  Just feeling sad.

4.50 pm:  Well after taking 6 Panadol over the course of the day, I'm finally starting to feel better.

I ventured into the sewing room this afternoon and did this:

ABOVE: One Black 'n' White runner top made.

It can wait until tomorrow to be quilted and bound.  I'm done. 

Oh and yeah, I ain't got any more black fabric for the binding, and no way in hell am I going out on the roads now!  It's far too late to get to Spotlight before they close, with the rush hour traffic out there.

Well the headache has not really gone, so I'm going to take some more Panadol and just have the usual quiet evening.

Catch ya tomorrow.

DAY 22 DONE AND DUSTED

It's getting easier and easier,

though I am looking forward to PIZZA 

on my Birthday!

THIS IS GOOD

 

ABOVE:  I've seen this doing the rounds on Facebook.

It did make me smile, cos I have staff meetings ALL. THE. TIME.  

Today's is gunna be about what to make next.

Probably 3-4 Black 'n' White Runners.  I have to work out what to put in the middle because I've not got any of the fabric I used for the first 4 left.  

But before that, we (the staff and I), are off for a lake walk with Lacy.

I was told by Christine yesterday that the pace we do (10 km per minute on average) is very good!  I thought it was a normal walking pace.  But nice to know from a girl who walks most days, and RUNS too, that I'm not too slow.

I was very happy with my weigh in last night at Weight Watchers.  Something I'm doing is working!  The numbers are slowly dropping again.

But even better is the way my body shape is slowly changing.  The belly rolls are slowly going, which was one of my big problem areas.

I just need the boobs to follow suit faster.  They are reducing, I had to stitch in the front of me bras the other day.  It's all progress, good progress.

Today's walk photos:

ABOVE:  The main entrance to the lake/playground/walk.

ABOVE: The beautiful flower beds in the middle of the road and roundabout at the lake.

ABOVE: The rose beds... not any roses yet.  This sign said 'Absolutely Fabulous'... so of course I  had to pose there, cos I AM ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS... right?  😂😅😏

ABOVE:  I just love this sculpture!

ABOVE:  not looking too shabby today.

Note to self:  Stand well back from the person taking the photo and ya look smaller.  LOL

But in all seriousness, I am feeling so much better and fitter now. I almost look normal.

ABOVE:  Today's walk stats.  Another very good time!

5.32 pm:  I've been in the sewing room all afernoon.

Prepping fabrics for making Black 'n' White Braid Runners.

To think I was so against making them!  Now, I must make more because I've sold all of them bar one.

*sigh*

My back is KILLING ME from leaning over the table all afternoon, cutting strips.

It's definitely time to head out of here and take a break.

It's been a nice quiet evening.  Looking forward to Coronation Street shortly.  Catch ya tomorrow.

DAY 21 DONE AND DUSTED.

It really is getting easier!

SCORED THIS

 Yesterday afternoon I went out to the letterbox to check for mail.

And noticed my neighbour opposite had put something out at the road with a 'FREE' sign on it.

So I wandered over and talked to him... and scored this:

ABOVE:  A lovely smallish bike for grandkids to ride when they visit.  

It's in very good condition too... so yaaa!

It will be perfect for the likes of Dante, Liam and Keera.

I remember putting a bike out at the roadside about 3 years ago!  Swings and roundabouts eh?  lol

Today's plan is to sew most of the day.

I've got one runner ready for quilting, and another partly put together, so I've plenty to keep me busy.

OH something lovely!  One of my dear FBG girlfriends is visiting me this morning!  I can't wait to catch up with her.  She's a real darling. 

Yesterday I mentioned something sad had happened.  Its nothing to do with Bex or Baby. All is well with everyone in our family. 

I just wanted to clear that up.

Last night I came to the conclusion that my Heat Pods have a shelf life.  Mine were still heating up, but nowhere near as hot as when I first got them.

And so I decided to change direction... and buy a heated throw.

Because it's the end of the season, they are half price (or nearly) at Briscoes.  So yep...

ABOVE:  I went out first thing this morning and bought one.  I got one of the last three in Hamilton.  LUCKY.

And OMG, it's so lovely!  It WARMS up all of me, not just my lap like the heat pods.

I love it.  I wish I'd thought of it sooner.

Of course, now I don't want to move.   I do have the heat pump on, so the house is reasonably warm anyway, but OH MY!  I'm so cosy right now.

1 pm:  My friend Christine arrived and we had a lovely long catch up.  So nice to have a visitor from Cambridge.  I really should make an effort to go over there sometimes!  So many lovely ladies in our FBG group that I miss.

After Christine left I headed into the sewing room and so far, I've done the quilting on the latest runner.

Now ... lunchtime!  What shall I have?   Might be ... cauliflower cheese and a pork chop!  lol

3.48 pm:  Meh.  I didn't have lunch after all.  I've got a nasty arse headache, so took some pills and laid down for a while.  Still got it.

Comes from getting little sleep last night.

Shit happens.

It's  a glorious day weather wise.  I should have gone for a walk.  Oh well, I will tomorrow.

Weight Watchers this evening.  I'm thinking I'll actually stay the same, or even go up a smidge.

I SHOULDN'T go up, cos I've been ever so good.

But time will tell of course.

8 pm:  I've been home long enough to have my dinner, cos I was a bit hungry.

WW result:  I lost .400 grams.

I'm happy with that.

Almost half a kilo.

Next week I vow to do even better.

Our dinner of Cauliflower Cheese 'n' pork chops and onions was delish.  Stew really loved the pork chops.  

And now... it's time to relax, and look forward to Coronation Street.  😊

DAY 20 DONE AND DUSTED.

Just over 1/4 of the way through my Challenge.

TRYING SOMETHING NEWISH

 I've got a runner on the table right now, about 80% finished.

Once it is finished, I'm going to make another one, but instead of having 'pointy' ends, I'm going to square them off for a change.

I hope it looks OK.  The pointy ends can be a right shit to make them sit right.  I'd love it if squaring the ends off looks good, cos I'd far rather do that!

This week is an exciting one.  Bex goes for her Anatomy scan on Friday.  They will be finding out what baby is... HUMAN OR ALIEN.  😂😅👶👦👧😇

Of course GENDER.   But sorry, they will not be telling anyone as far as I know.  Except Stew, Me and a couple of other very close family members. 🙊

So of course, Friday can't come soon enough.

Until then, I will keep myself busy in the sewing room, and walking around the lake.

ABOVE: There's a couple of these signs around the lake.  Warning about water quality.  It's on ALERT right now, which means no one should enter the water.  Yet we see people on kayaks and canoes etc on the lake all the time!  Seems they are taking a health risk. 

And the sign says don't feed the ducks bread as it's not good for them.  EVERYONE is feeding them bread!

ABOVE:  BTY, the correct name for the lake is Lake Rotoroa.  I think most people call it Hamilton Lake like I do.

It is fed by rainfall and runoff from surrounding hills, and then spills into a pipeline under roads near the city centre and into a gully system that flows behind the FMG Waikato Stadium, and spills into the Waikato River near Fairfield Bridge.

That is information I never knew until I looked it up.  I always wondered how it got water flow through it.  Now I know.

Years ago when we left Hamilton for Palmerston North  (shit that's like 22 years ago!), I told Stew I never wanted to live in Hamilton again.

Primarily because it's a friggin cold hole in winter, and a steaming, humid hole in summer.

But yesterday I told him I'm now enjoying living here again, primarily because of the lake!

That lake is so lovely and it makes me so happy being there so often.  I'm going to be lost over summer when it's too hot to go there for my walks. 

*  I suppose I have to say it.  I also love living here as it's where quite a lot of our family live too. * 

And family is everything at the end of the day, to me and Stew anyway.

WORTH NOTING.  

Righty ho... time to make a start on my day.

It's gunna be a lovely day, I'm sure of it.

11 am.

Am feeling rather proud of myself.

Lacy bailed on our walk this morning, so I went on my own!

I don't really enjoy walking on my own, and usually just stay home.  But as it was a lovely morning, I went.

ABOVE: Signs of Spring.  New bullrushes coming up.

ABOVE:  Pukekos nesting on a bullrush 'island'.

ABOVE:  If I could choose any house to own on the lakes perimeter, it would be this one.

It's gorgeous.  Has stunning views.  And the public walkway does not go right in front of their lawn.  There's even a 'moat' in front.  LOVE IT.

ABOVE: This piece of land juts out into the lake.  It's where all the model boat enthusiasts launch their boats.  It's had a major overhaul the past few months.

ABOVE:  It has a lovely new path out to the jetty.

ABOVE:  So lovely and new.  

ABOVE:  selfie.  As ya do. 😂

ABOVE:  Today's walk stats.  Another very decent time.  And no Lacy spurring me on either.

 I've had some very sad news today.  

But I won't talk about it.  It's too soon. BEX AND BABY ARE FINE.

I'm feeling really down now, so am going to just chill out this afternoon.  I really don't feel like doing much.

I made a dish of Cauliflower Cheese for tomorrow's dinner.  Kept me busy.  

And I've pinned up the next runner for quilting tomorrow.

Maybe I'll even start the next one.

As for Rounded Ends ANON, yeah nah.  Messy. Putting binding on curves is a right shit!  Might give that a miss.  😊

Well it's been a bit of an up 'n' down day.  But life goes on, and I'm thankful for so much in my life.

 

DAY 19 DONE AND DUSTED.

I worked out we are saving hundreds of dollars a month doing this challenge!  That's great eh?   I do miss our Indian Restaurant THE MOST.  Stew reckons they won't even recognise us by the time we go back!  He misses the takeaways too... poor man.

SUNDAY AND A PICK UP

 Well there is no sleeping in today.

I'm expecting a lady to arrive mid morning to pick up her Wonky House Runner.

After she's been, Stew and I are going for a walk around the lake.

ABOVE:  We  had an unexpected visit from Steve, Bex and the boys after dinner last night.

That was lovely, as we hadn't seen them in a while.

A couple of days ago Steve felt their baby move for the first time!

So exciting.

The boys are sad they haven't felt him/her yet.  But it will happen soon enough.

They are nearly half way!

And that's all I have for now... catch ya later.

8.59 am:  I came out to the sewing room early today.

I thought about trying using more blues in the Kiwiana Braid Runners, so I wanted to see how it could look.

Luckily I've got plenty of blue fabric already cut into strips (for the 'Wavy Runners'), but as I laid them out I could see pretty quickly that it just wasn't as good as with the fabrics I've been using.

So, I've decided not to mess with a good thing, and stick to what I've been doing.

Our weather is looking decidedly iffy this morning.  There's some very dark, menacing looking sky over to the west.  Hmmm... a walk might not be on the cards ... but we shall wait and see.

We only need an hour block to get it done in.

Right, pick up is done, so we can now go walking.

But... I will leave you with a question:

ABOVE: Someone suggested I put a blue border on these runners.

I've laid out some blue... it's not stitched on yet.

STEW says HELL NO.

I am teetering on agreeing with him.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

YES, OR HELL NO! ????

DOGSTARS:  Yes it was you who made me contemplate the blue!

I did try earlier today to add more blue into the body of the runner... but it just didn't look as good as the predominantly green fabrics.

DON'T be sorry for saying  "HELL NO" by the way, I already felt it wasn't right.

ABOVE:  The weather held so we got our walk in.

We did it in 37.11 minutes, so a decent time.

I had planned on going slower, you know, to have a more leisurely walk with Stew, but no.   I'm very competitive with myself, so did my usual pace.

ABOVE: Spring is in the air, we have flowers  starting to bloom all over the place.

This tree was beautiful.

ABOVE:  So was this Whippet? Greyhound?

Very fetching I must say. (permission granted to take photos)

 

ABOVE: This was the colourful dog's companion.  Another very pretty dog.

ABOVE: All hot 'n' sweaty after me walk.  

I don't often have sweat running down my face, but lately after my walks, I have!

ABOVE:  Once we were home, I whipped up a small batch of cheese scones, which we had with a Chicken Casserole I'd cooked a couple of days ago.

That is our main meal of the day taken care of.

Now... Stew's headed out to the Hamilton Cemetery to tend his parents grave.

I am staying home to relax for a while.

The ball of my foot, where the blister was, stings a bit after a walk.  But there is no sign of any more damage.  It's just a bit sensitive still.  I'm sure it will come right soon.

Right... it's the end of the day, we are happily watching the telly till bedtime. Catch you tomorrow.

DAY 18 DONE AND DUSTED, and it really was driven home to me today.  We spent most weekends eating out!  I miss it.  I'm dreaming of the 21st of October, when this Challenge is over.  But I'm sticking with it, cos I'm not a quitter.