Moving on

Our month at home is over and although I have not done much blogging, I have been busy doing lots of wonderful things like ......of course it has to be quilting!

Going to the Book Boutique is a weekly fix. The ambience is pleasant and conducive to good conversation. It is a great venue to meet up with friends and to enjoy a cup of coffee. Regularly writers are present at the Book Boutique to launch their new books. I missed Peter Dirkie Uys and Tony Parks. Two writers whom I would have loved to have met and heard speak.

I managed to get to the monthly cross stitch meet up, but I do confess that cross stitch no longer interests me. I thoroughly enjoy the company and take along some other handwork. Our mouths tend to work more than our hands!! Just going along and seeing the wonderful work the other ladies do is such an inspiration.

The Post Card girls also had a get together although only three of the original group attended. The idea is that we make fabric post cards and send them to each other. Each month we have a different theme and this month is "Bubbles"! I am up to date and in fact I have completed next months challenge too, which is "Landscapes". We are looking to expanding our group and interact with other quilters elsewhere!

(these are not ours but belong to the Pleasuretime Quilters.)

 

 

Bridget turned forty a while ago but chose to have her party during September when Spring was in the air. As she was to have an "Enchanted Forest" theme and it was to be held in the bottom of her garden the last thing she needed was rain. Bridget worked so hard planning and making decorations. She also did all her own catering and made costumes for her and Peter. I assured her that according to Swazi belief if it rains on auspicious occasions good luck will reign forever. It happened to be one of the wettest weekends ever....the wind blew and the rain poured on and off. It was chilly and the enchanted forest turned into a dripping forest, but Bridget gritted her teeth and continued with all her plans, which included putting up gazebos. By four thirty, with thirty minutes to go before everyone arrived, the sky cleared, the wind calmed down and everything was ready! We had a lovely evening. Everyone dressed up and even the children had loads of fun. What a star Bridget is....and may she enjoy all the luck in the world.

(Not sure that we look like Forest Folk.)

Scottburgh Pleasuretime guild held an exhibition of lovely quilts. They too had the misfortune of rainy weather. However It stopped raining long enoughorder the organizers to go ahead with their plans. Congratulations

Spending time with my sister has been great. Her and her hubby travel away as we do! so when we happen to be in Toti at the same time we like to do things together.

 

An artist on our beach showing that if you have the heart and desire you can create anywhere!

 

Soon it was time to start packing for our trip to the Bush House. Time flies when you are having fun!!

 

I do like to be beside the seaside....

oh I do like to be beside the seaside

I do like to be beside the sea

I do like to stroll along the prom, prom, prom

Where the brass bands play!

 

Suffering from a big dose of cabin fever I was delighted when my hubby asked if I would like to join him on a walk along the promenade. I usually turn any invitation down as I am so busy in my sewing room but after nearly three weeks of non stop sewing I needed to GET OUT!

 

 

 

I really do love being home ...and although I don't often do any beachy things I enjoy pausing at the front windows and staring out at the sea. Last week we had much action here when a "micro light" went missing over the sea just in front of our flat! East Coast Radio had a minute to minute update, sirens were going off as the police vans arrived and an ambulance was on stand by and the masses were gathering. Two helicopters searched for hours!

 

Several hours later the only thing that had been picked up out of the sea was a big piece of plastic. No body had been found, no one was reported missing. Although it was a waste of resources and time it was wonderful to see that if we did have an emergency such as this, our emergency services would cope very well.

 

What do I do with all this precious free time?...I get into my sewing room and I SEW! I have the radio on so that I can keep abreast with what is happening in the world, and while listening to sweet music , I SEW! Needless to say I am very happy.

 

To start off I have a couple of U.F.Os that I need to finish and a couple of requests for quilts to make to. Let me begin at the beginning.

A friend, Anita, moved to New Zealand. Before leaving Anita had the task of clearing out her late Mother's things. She came across a quilt top and a quilt backing plus lots of bits and pieces of fabrics. Anita packed them all up and sent them to me with a request to make TWO quilts for her daughters. I looked at Granny's efforts and wasn't sure how I was going to approach this challenge. I asked the opinions of two of my quilting friends and the first one shook her head and said she would never take on the challenge. The second friend was constructive and gave me a little advice and much encouragement.

With all my travels it was a LONG time before I could actually begin on these challenges. Bless Grandma.....the whole time I was working on these quilts I tried to get in her mind and have good positive thoughts.

The back of the quilt consisted of pieces of Sanderson Linen from a book of samples. I pulled the pieces apart, washed them recut the fabrics and put them together with a lovely dusky pink sashing.

I am very pleased with the final result, I hope Anita is too. Now for the bigeye

Before....

 

The second quilt is a greater challenge as Granny had designed the top and had not got it anywhere near completion. I removed all the papers from the hexagonals, did some mending, added more hexies etc and then to cut a long story short, I managed to finish the quilt top and got it quilted to the backing.

 

After .....finished! I do enjoy the sense of achievement when the last stitch is stitched!

I asked Anita to tell me a little about her Mum and this is the info she sent.

Full names: Thora Sylvia Noome (Meyer)

Born;15August,1922 in Benoni.

She preferred to be called Grandma, loved all arts and her hands were always busy. Grandma used a Bernina treadle machine and loved creating.

I hope I have done Grandma proud and that her Grand daughters will enjoy and treasure these quilts.

I do like to be beside the seaside.....but there are no brass bands playing. There are vendors....

 

Visitors.....

and whales!

 

The Holocaust Centre.

Yesterday I visited the Holocaust Centre in Durban. I did not even know that it existed. Evidently it opened in 2008. I am sure there are all sorts of nooks and crannies of interest in Durbs that I am unaware of. My sister read in the local newspaper, that the Coffee and Gift shop at the centre, serves the best cheese cake in the land!

We went into Durbs on a mission and once it was achieved we followed it with a visit to the Coffee Shop for its famous cheese cake. True to its reputation , the cake was unbelievable.....worth every calorie!

How sad I had not put my camera in my bag! Oi!!

The Coffee shop was just the beginning.....

The Garden of Remembrance was charming and in it was a memorial to all the children lost in the Holocaust. It is estimated that 1.5 million children were killed by the Nazis. It is unfathomable!

A group of high school girls were wandering through the centre and one wonders how meaningful the experience is for today's children. It is good that there are Centres and Museums such as this one to serve as a constant reminder of those desperate times.

The following poem is inscribed on the wall of remembrance for all the children who perished during those shocking times,

The Garden.

A little Garden

Fragrant and full of roses,

The Path is narrow

and a little boy, walks along it.

A little boy,

A sweet little boy,

Like that growing blossom,

When the blossom

Comes to bloom

The little boy will be no more. Frants Bass

Therensien Concentration Camp




After the yummy Tea and cake, we took a tour through the Centre and were absolutely touched by the presentation. It reminded us of the monumental loss of lives during 1939 and 1942. Lest we forget!

A special tribute to Anne Frank and a replica of her room has been created for all to see and appreciate. The wall is adorned with "pages" from her diary. It is amazing that a girl so young could write with such wisdom and depth. On reading the debate on-line about her writings, its authenticity has been debated. However, I choose to accept that Anna wrote the pages and will get a copy and reread Anne's diary.

A quote from Anne Frank's diary, painted on the Coffee Shop's walls..

How wonderful it is that nobody has to wait a single moment to improve the world.

How true!







 

Quilts, quilts, quilts.

How lucky can I get? After spending a week in JhB. helping Oscar settle in at the French school, I got to spend the day at the International Quilt Conference - Africa. I have not managed to get one of these exhibitions for many a year so I was like a child on Christmas morning, waiting to open her gift!

 

The event was held at Emperors Palace near the airport. As I arrived, I noticed all the quilters arriving in twos and threes and was a little sorry I was on my own. As it turned out I need not have worried! The quilting world is a small world and I met lots of friends. Some from KZN, some from Johannesburg, Swaziland and Nelspruit.

 

I headed for the vendor's hall first and it was truly magical as each stall outdid itself in it's presentation. In addition to all things to do with Quilting being sold, there was Lacemaking, Beading, Embroidery, wools etc. a feast for any crafter! Look at those Kafee Fasset fabrics on the Bench.

The very first stall I arrived at was called Dot's Quilts and while standing gaping at the beautiful array of fabrics I heard a voice say "Penny Boden, I know you" it took a few moments and then I was able to place a friend from our early years in JHB, Dot Lubbe. Our children went to primary school together. The Lubbe family had moved to Cape Town and when her husband's business folded, she took over the premises in the middle of an Industrial area, followed her passion and opened her Quilt shop! Dot has her whole family involved in the business and seems to be doing so well. It was lovely seeing her again.

 

After visiting every vendor it was time to see the exhibition. It was a collection of smaller collections plus the Challenge set by the organizers. Some of the collections were Fibreworks, the SAQC Traveling exhibition, fiber Revolution Tour and the Scandanavian Collection.

The VIP of the IQC event was Ricky Tims. This is one of his quilts on show.

Not a great picture but a great quilt made by Phil Fisher, a friend from KZN and was the first person I met on arrival. The lighting where hers and Sue Stevensons quilt were hanging was SO bad it was difficult to see the quilts. This was my only criticism of the day! I hear that Sue won a prize, which means the lighting did not affect the Judges decision.

 

 

 

 

These are some of the wonderful quilts on show. I am sorry I don't have all the names of the artist but they were truly wonderful

 

This is one of my favorite quilts. It took Mari Strydom SEVEN years to complete...a lesson in itself!

 

This quilt caused a great deal of amusement.

 

 

 

I love this Baobab!

 

 

...... and the list gets on and on! I am so inspired and I hope you are too. One cannot even believe that these are quilts and not photographs! The quilting on the quilts was absolutely wonderful. I have still have lots to learn! What a feast for my eyes and my soul!