Bunny babies at Windyhill Farm.

I would have updated you earlier but my internet access packed up yesterday.  Five little baby rabbits have joined the fray at Windyhill.  Mama is black, Papa is fawn.  And so we have three little black ones, one pink one (who will probably end up fawn) and one splotched black and pink (we'll have to wait and see).  They are all a decent size and, for a first time Mum, five is a good effort.  Hopefully she'll cope well with a smaller number and they'll all get fed.

And if you've got a moment, check out Little Grubs.  She has a bunting giveaway on her blog.  Yay!  I love bunting, but have just never quite got around to making any.

Beautiful Blogger Award and a little bit of useless info.

Abi at Little Grubs was kind enough to award me a blog award.  You're supposed to nominate other blogs and tell everyone ten things about yourself.  I've done one of these before so I had to look back and see what I've already divulged about myself so I could share something else.  But then I had a real time thinking of things.  So I asked my husband.

1. The first thing he said was,"That you're a mad, crazy, chicken lady." (I'm sure he loves he, really.)  I said that everyone knows that already. 
2. Then he said,"You're totally obsessed with quilting."  Come on - give me something nobody knows!
3. So he said, "Tell everyone you've a tattoo on your back."  Ok - I have a small tattoo on my lower back and I forget it's there because I can't see it and sometimes it startles me if I'm checking to see if my bum looks big ;)
4. Then we got silly.  He reckons he's better at making gravy than me.  He's probably right.  We never really had roasts when I grew up and so I can't ever remember learning how to make gravy.  But I'm getting better at it.
5. Here's one we came up with: I proposed to my Hubby on a leap year.  (And he said yes!).
6. I bite my nails and am totally unaware that I'm doing it.
7. As I go about my day, I often wonder how I would have done what I'm doing back in colonial times.
8. My first full time job when I left school was at the first Spotlight store to have opened in Wellington - but I worked in the Manchester department.  Maybe if I'd worked in Fabrics, I'd still be there?  Instead I hated it and left go to 'Tech to get some qualifications.
9. Looking at my fabric stash, I'd have a guess that my favourite colours are blue and pink.
10. And the last one that my Hubby came up with.  He thinks it's totally ironic that I'm a midwife and that I don't do tiredness very well.  (I told him I do tiredness just fine when I'm in public!).

I love this pic.  My son took it in May on a morning walk (yes, early enough to be still in their jammies).  My daughter is complaining that it's bright and I love that the shadow of my son is in the pic too.

Now the blogs I'm passing this on to if they want to take it up.  There are many I love and read regularly but here are a few that I think are particularly beautiful:

MaeheGirl - always lovely photos and a talented knitter.

Cabbage Tree Farm - a local bloggy find for me.

QuiltPorn - told you I was mad about quilting!

soggy bottom flats quilting and stitching - gotta love a blog with a name like that.

Our Wee Farm - very lovely pictures and a great sense of style.

Apron Strings - beautifully honest about life.

selina's vintage - if you like chenille...

So if it's rainy and miserable at your place like it is at mine, and you have some spare time, check them out.

The interrelated to-do list.

Unexpected arrival but I'm grateful nonetheless!  This is the wood for fencing our waterhole.  And it was meant to arrive next week, but hey, I'm not going to complain because...

Once the waterhole is fenced, I can plant all around it.

Once the waterhole is fenced, I  Hubby can build a duckpen using the fence as one side.

Once the waterhole is fenced, we can continue from it and fence the top paddock.

Once the waterhole is fenced, I can use the electranet for it's original purpose - a movable run for the chickens.

Once the chickens are in their movable run and houses, we can demolish their current house, affectionately known as 'the abomination'.

Once the chickens are in their movable run and houses, I can plant WHEREVER I like and not have the cheeky sods dig it all out/eat it.

Look at him!  Sneaking under my chook deterrent wire netting!  Grrrrrr!

And here is one of my rabbits.  She looks very relaxed doesn't she.  She shouldn't!!  She's meant to have had babies today.  Ah well, maybe I'll get up in the morning and be pleasantly surprised.

Work in Progress Wednesday - Medallion Swap

This is sort of an 'epic' work in progress.  More than a year ago (I know that because I remember making the centre when I was in our old house), my sister and I decided to do a swap/challenge kind of thingey.

She lives in Australia and I don't get to see her all that much so it seemed like a nice way to keep connected.  And she quilts too of course!

We both started off making a centre medallion however we liked, using whatever techniques appealed at the time.  Then we sent our medallion to the other person to put the next border on.  Once that border is done, we swap again for the next border.  And we take turns at picking a theme for each border too.

Apologies for my cropping efforts!

So this is the centre medallion that I made.  It's done using a papercut method of folding the fabric then cutting it so the designs are symmetrical.  Then I heat bonded the shapes down and machine appliqued them down.

The next theme was 'curves' and this is what my sister sent me back.  Fun to see what you get back - totally different from anything I would have done and so it makes you really think for the next border.

The next theme was 'traditional' - pretty broad.  To be honest it stumped me for a while.  Then rummaging through my projects a month or so ago, I pulled it out and was hit by instant inspiration (love those moments). 

I decided to turn it on point and add setting triangles as the next border.  I added a slim brown border first, then drew a design for the triangles and blocks out on brown paper to get my measurements.  Then I searched for traditional blocks at Marcia Hohn's Quilter's Cache that would fit a five grid, as my blocks needed to be 10 inches finished.  This block was called Broken Dishes Variation and I love how it's turned out.

Now I'm debating as to whether I put another slim border on it before sending it off.  What do you think?

(And if we all nag ask my dear sis, she might post pics of her one on her blog - shhh, don't tell her I said that!)

Flood Memories

Thank you everyone for the kind words about my Father in Law.  He has had some good news yesterday, but will have to have more tests and some surgery.  But for now we can breathe a little easier. 

The rain is lashing down here,  absolutely pouring.  It always makes me a bit nervous when it rains like this. 

In April 2007, Northland suffered terrible floods.  It had rained and rained, but I went out to Playgroup anyway.  I shouldn't have because I ended up hiking home, with my son and husband, through the wet and slippery bush, five months pregnant with my second child.  The roads washed out, slips came down and we were marooned at home without power for three days.  But at least we were at home, some people couldn't get home that first night.

When you got to the end of our road, you turned onto State Highway 11.  This was heading south.

I don't think my family ever saw these photos so I'm posting them now.  Lets hope the rains stops soon (ungrateful wench that I am, I've been moaning about the drought, now I'm moaning about the rain!).

This was State Highway 11 heading North.  We couldn't get through either direction.

My waterhole is almost completely full.  The driveway is like a little river and we have a creek in the cow paddock where there wasn't one before.  The ducks, however, are in heaven!  (And it's perfect weather for staying inside and quilting till my heart's content).