Spring time

We seem to be past the worst of winter - which admittedly isn't very bad at all with daily high temps 15+degC and no night time frosts. Here in Northland, our climate is classed as oceanic/subtropical, which means winters are pretty wet so nature is very green (most of the native vegetation are evergreens). The magnolias are more or less finished blooming, as are the invasive Taiwanese cherries. I am looking forward to the temperatures just rising a little more so I can get the veggie garden started.

On COVID-19, after 102 days without any cases in New Zealand (bar some citizens returning from overseas who were tested in managed isolation), August saw a new outbreak in Auckland which brought with it a swift Level 3 lockdown for Auckland, and Level 2 restrictions for the rest of the country. Locking Auckland down (1.5 Mio people - or there abouts) has had considerable impact on other parts of the country, especially up here in Northland, the only region north of Auckland. Some people described Northland as an island, and while the economic impact is hard for many businesses, the swift action also means that our communities up here are kept safe. The restrictions were partially lifted as of Monday, and we have had many travellers return to Northland, so I am checking the news daily, hoping no cases are being exported out of Auckland into the regions. Sadly there were two more deaths this week, a total toll of 24 cases for a country of just over 5 Million.

Masks are now 'a thing': They are compulsory on public transport - except there is very little public transport in our region. For other places, they are recommended when you can't socially distance. Just prior to the official announcement coming out, I started a bit of mask-making, just in case, and I have since added a few more to the collection:

These were made with a pattern by Tea Rose Home

DH has to wear masks in his teaching so the four on the right are made from the Apple + Fig Got you covered pattern

The Apple + Fig pattern seems to work quite well for wearing glasses when you include the wire (in this case pipe cleaner).

Neither the younger boys nor I have needed to wear masks just yet, but oldest DS apparently wears his away at uni, I'm rather relieved about this as he has T1D therefore is immunocompromised.

Batiks and #patchworkcity2018

There is a lot I like about batiks - the colours and patterns, the tight weave, the fact you can (almost) equally use the back and the front... However, over the last few years I have gotten out of using batiks though I still have quite a bit of it in my stash. In February 2017 I came across Hoffman Me & You batiks, to my mind mixing modern patterns with the beauty of batiks, so I had to have them lol

View this post on Instagram

When you look at your stash and want to say "Hello my friends, it's been way too long..." love #batiks @hoffmanfabrics @brisbanemqg

A post shared by Monika Kern (@himmelgartenquilts) on Feb 17, 2017 at 6:48pm PST

In 2018 I finally made use of them, first in the Baby Quilts, then I joined the #patchworkcity2018 SAL on IG where I decided to use a mixture of my batiks, including the remainders of Me & You. I could be really obsessive and list every single block used, but if you want to know, just follow the link above, @manhandledthreads has got the names listed in his weekly SAL blocks.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

'bonus block' 2

'bonus block' 1

Week 11

The SAL took a break over Christmas so Suzanne and I sewed a few bonus blocks in the meantime. My black & white Me & Yous are seriously depleted, so I am trying to get some more. No one seems to carry it locally, so sadly I will probably have to order from the US despite the high freight cost - but it would look strange to change it all around now. I have started to add in some black Quilters' Muslin which I am using for the sashing, but I want to keep that to a minimum. Using a non-batik for the sashing helps a lot in getting the blocks into the right shape - much more forgiving :)

I don't have that many more colours to go from my original selection, I think I will go back and do a few more transitions - and then there is always the option of buying more fabric...

My selection for #patchworkcity2018; well, I obviously have quite a few batiks...

Happy Sewing!