New Zealand - Christchurch

We started our day in Christchurch by taking a guided tour on an open topped bus.  The weather was quite warm, so the perfect way to see the city.

After that we just had a general wander around.

I think I am glad I didn’t see the city when it was in the initial stages after the earthquakes.  The first earthquake was in 2010 and the second on 22 February 2011.  It’s hard to believe so much time has passed.  The first stage of recovery was assessing the damage, then the demolition and finally the start of the rebuild.

The earthquake was the largest vertical earthquake ever recorded in the world.  It is also the earthquake with the biggest repair bill, being the biggest restoration happening in the world.

There are still lots of building to be demolished, or still being assessed to see if they can be saved.

This is the ruin of a historic picture theatre.  Nothing has been done since the earthquake, this is how it landed.

Lots a facades are being held up by containers full of ballast.

The power went out in the earthquake and the stairwell of the below building collapsed, so all the people had to be rescued by abseiling them down the building.  It is to be demolished.

The police headquarters are currently being gutted before the building is to be demolished by explosives.

The Anglican Cathedral is a bone of contention at the moment.  There are differing views as to whether the building can be saved.  The Anglican Church want to demolish it, and even started doing so until  an injunction was put in place.  It is a case of watch this space as to what ultimately happens.

In the meantime, there is a Transitional Cathedral, more commonly known as the “Cardboard Cathedral”, as the roof structure is made up of cardboard tubes. The side walls are shipping containers and the roof is polycarbonate, which lets the light in.  The coloured windows are pictures of the rose window from the original cathedral.  It is quite stunning. 

The Catholic Cathedral was also badly damaged.  It had only been recently restored and they are still assessing if it can be saved or not.

There is a rather moving temporary memorial called the 185 Chairs to remember the 185 who lost their lives.

But, now to the future….

It will take many, many years to recover from the destruction, so initially the city will be rebuilt on a smaller footprint.  Some vacant land has been sown to grass to create a green perimeter.  More residential areas are being created within the inner areas, to create a vibrant city.

To brighten the vacant areas there are many art installations, called Gap Fillers.

There is so much construction taking place.  Every second vehicle seems to belong to a tradesman.

Christchurch was built on a swamp, which is not ideal for an earthquake prone city.  Some buildings are having pylons dug 30 metres into the ground.  No new building is to exceed 7 stories.

A wonderful place to visit is the Restart Mall.  This is a shopping precinct housed in shipping containers.  Very innovative and a great place to wander around and grab some lunch.

One of the first areas restored was New Regent Street, which is a lovely old shopping precinct.  It has come up a treat and it is great to see some old buildings retained.

And the iconic trams are back on the rails, be it on a shortened route.

There is still so very much to do, and I guess as a tourist we are given the positive spin on things, but it worked, as we came away with a positive outlook for this wonderful city.  We would love to visit again in about three to five years time to see what has been achieved in that time.

New Zealand – Our Latest Adventure

Way back in 2007, when we were on the Isle of Man, Mick announced that he wished to return for his 50th birthday in 2009, which we did.  At that same time, I declared that I would like to go to New Zealand for my 50th. I was so confident that I even included it in my Some Kind of Wonderful suitcase label in 2012.

Well, we are now sitting in Christchurch! 

We arrived yesterday afternoon.

We had a good flight and saw Mt Cook peeking through the clouds.

So as not to miss anything we went for a walk to the Botanic Gardens yesterday afternoon. They are huge, and just beautiful.

We spent over an hour wandering around.

A thorn between the roses?

Christchurch is just starting to really get into the rebuilding stage after the earthquakes four years ago……yes, that is right….it is four years.  However, there is still a long, long way to go and there is still a heck of a lot of vacant land.

In the meantime, they are being creative with containers, caravans and busses to provide cafes etc.  We stumble upon “Smash Palace”, a rather cool bar, so settled in for a cool ale and cider and burger. 

A great, relaxed way to start our stay.

Bathurst Swap Meet

We were very busy on the weekend with the Swap Meet that the Historic Car Club runs.

There were a good number of stalls, the weather was perfect and numbers were up.  We were all very happy.

Mick had a small stall selling real good rubbish (that was going in the skip at the end of the day if not sold) and people actually bought nearly all of it.  The prices were cheap, but he ended up with more in his pocket than if he had chucked it, and now has more space in the storage unit. Win Win.

Meanwhile, I sat and stitched while minding the stall.  I have all the embroidery done for February’s blocks of Nature’s Journey.  Just the appliqué to go.

I did go for one brief walk around the stalls, but only saw a small section. 

As for purchases, I wasn’t going to buy anything, but ended up buying 4 soft drink bottle labels. Mick bought a model BMW bike…….and then bought a real BMW bike, sight unseen.  Oh well, there go the profits….and the space in the shed.  He will have fun turning it into a special when he gets a chance…..and a new shed.

We had taken a back seat with organisation this year, but will be back in the swing of things next year.  Let’s hope it is as good a weekend as this year.

Sew Together Bags

While I was deciding on a project for the Christmas Swap I saw lots of Sew Together Bags in blogland.  They looked very useful, rather cute, but on all accounts were a little fiddly to make. However, there was a rather good sewalong with lots of pictures that made it all look achievable.

So, I bought the pattern and had fun going through my stash finding suitable fabrics.

And started work.

Here are the colours of the outsides of the pockets.

And the insides.

Then lots of quilting of the outside panel.

Join all those zips together, after shortening them.

To create one very cute Sew Together Bag.

 

I sewed the outside of the binding down by hand, as I couldn’t get a nice finish by machine with all the bulk.

 

The pockets.

And the insides of the pockets.

It was a lot of work, quite fiddly, but the tutorial really helped.  I think I would have struggled without it.  I just took it nice and slowly and didn’t have any dramas.  It was a little hard to give this one away.

As I showed earlier, my gift in the Christmas Swap was also a Sew Together Bag, with a completely different look.  The workmanship is beautiful, something you appreciate after making one yourself.

Quite a different look to the one I made.

My sister in law celebrated a significant birthday earlier this month and had admired the version I made, so I got out the pattern and made another version.  Quite a few different fabric options were auditioned.

Here is the finished product.

In the end I kept the colours fairly simple. Purple is her favourite, so was ideal for the lining.

It was well received….Phew!

I had planned on making one for myself for taking travelling for chargers, cables etc, but the one I received at Christmas will be perfect for that.  I would like one for my sewing bits and pieces, but I think I will need to psych myself up to make another one, but not just yet.

This was my first finish for the year.  Off to a great start.

Christmas Cushion

As a Stitch Along introductory project, while we were waiting for the pattern for Nature’s Journey, Chooky asked us to make a little stitchery that Anni Downs had put on her blog in December.  We could then make it into whatever we liked.

I made a little cushion. It is only 12 inches square, as that is the size cushion insert I had to hand.  The fabric is all from stash.  I sewed a bit to the stitchery and then kept adding, making it up as I went.  I then just did a simple envelope opening on the back.  I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. 

At the start of each year I say to myself that I will make a Christmas item each month, but it never happens and then I have a mad rush at the end of the year, and not much gets made.  This year I have actually made a start.  Woo Hoo!

Christmas Tea Towels

Recently Jenny of Elefantz shared a tutorial to pretty up some tea towels.  It is a quick and easy project, so I thought I would give it a go.

At Christmas I bemoaned the fact that I didn’t have any festive tea towels.  I had ditched my old ones as they were rather dated and getting worn. Next year I will be ready.

Jenny used ric rac on hers, but I just kept these nice and simple. I was really happy with the results, so a few more may be created.

Best of all, everything came from my stash, including the tea towels.

Another finish for the month.  I’m on a roll.

Natures Journey Stitch Along

Three years ago I signed up for a Stitch Along that Chookyblue was organising to make Anni Down’s Some Kind of Wonderful quilt.  To my delight and some surprise, I finished it.  It was the most detailed quilt I have made and something I would never have achieved without the commitment and encouragement whip cracking of being part of the group.

In 2013 I joined again, this time to make several smaller projects.  I completed a few and then reluctantly pulled out, as life got in the way.  Last year life got in the way for Chooky, so there was no Stitch Along.

This year there is a new Stitch Along with a new pattern – Nature’s Journey by Anni Downs.  It is perfect, as the pattern has only just been released, so no one has had a chance to already have made it. Once again, it is a quilt I would never attempt without being  a part of this group.  Thanks for the encouragement Chooky.

The plan is to start in February and finish in September.  It is a lot of work, but hopefully achievable. 

I was lucky enough to have a sneak peek at the original in Anni’s shop the other day. 

The colours are lovely and vibrant.

I had planned to use some Denyse Schmidt fabrics, but after seeing Anni’s I do love her colours, and best of all, I can make it completely from my stash, right down to the backing and binding.

I think there may nearly be enough there.  

Colours similar to Anni it is.

I have cut the background blues for the main panel and appliqué blocks and am ready to start stitching February’s blocks.  Looking forward to the process.

Looking Back at 2014 – November – Bathurst Blog Meet

After our flying visit to Launceston I still didn’t get to start packing to move as I had another busy day ahead of me.

Chooky organised another annual Blog Meet at Bathurst.  This time it was held from Friday afternoon through to Sunday at “The Vale” at Perthville with a two night sleepover. 

As we were travelling from  Sydney Airport to Bathurst on Friday we brought Cheryl with us. She had flown down from Brisbane earlier in the morning. The first event I went along to was Friday dinner at the pub.  No pics, too busy talking and eating.  Just believe me it was a good night.

When I arrived on Saturday everyone was already hard at it stitching away and talking ten to the dozen.

Lunch was yummy, followed by our swap.  Make it, bake it or fake it.  I faked it. I forgot to take any pics too, slack me.  I received a lovely gift from Kerrie.  It was a skinny pincushion and plum pudding.  Both very well received.

During the afternoon my camera was kidnapped.  The poor thing caused some strange reactions among the girls.  I don’t know how that happened…….

I didn’t go along on Sunday, as I thought it was about time that I actually did something at home towards moving house.

I really enjoyed the short time I spent with all the girls.  Everyone was having a great time and I believe will be back again next year.  Hopefully I’ll be able to spend more time then.

Thanks Chooky for getting us all organised.

Looking Back at 2014 – December – Moving into Town

December disappeared in a blur….to say the least.

Contracts exchanged on the sale of our home on 19 November, with settlement to take place on 19 December.  That is shorter than usual, but suited us all.  Mick called the removalists to book them in, only to find that the only dates available were 4 & 5 December, so we had to really get cracking.

The priority was to pack everything that was in free standing furniture.  We could pack built in cupboards after the removalist had been.  We filled two 20 foot containers, and that was without the car loads of boxes we were bringing in each day.

I couldn’t get out of going to work on the moving days, but that was probably not a bad thing.  There wouldn’t have been much for me to do and I would probably have stressed too much.  Mick did a fantastic job.

After they had finished, Mick called me at work.  He told me there had been a breakage.  I told he to show me at home.  I fully expected a breakage of some sort, and what will be will be.  When I arrived home I asked him to show me the worst.

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

I laughed……and breathed a huge sigh of relief.  Mick has a rather sick sense of humour.

Our main issue when moving is what I call “The Grown Up Cupboard”.  It is an antique display case that came out of a local jewellers.  When it was delivered to our old place the removalists suggested we don’t take it with us if ever we move…………it is so big and heavy that it takes 6 men to move it.  Here is a sneak peak in its old position.  It is now stored in our garage, as it won’t fit into the house we are in now.

We actually did nearly have a breakage………Mick was putting the glass shelves in the cabinet when one of the doors swung closed.  Mick banged the shelf into the glass door.  It made a huge noise, but didn’t break…Phew!!!!  The poor removalists….. they have to move it again when we move into our new house.  We are designing it to provide easy access to install the cabinet.

The move went remarkably well, considering how much “stuff” we have.  We just brought a car load in at a time and put it away as we went.  The house is affectionately known as “The Tardis”, it has so much stuff crammed into it.  The removalists wouldn’t believe that everything would fit, but we had it all worked out.  One bedroom is “The Box Room”, as it is chock-a-block full of boxes.  Another room is “The Jungle”, as it is piled high with furniture.  Joey the cat loves climbing around in there and finding cubby holes to have a nap in.

We have done this moving stint all back to front.  You are supposed to have the big de-clutter before you move.  We just boxed up everything and brought it with us.  Once we have our new home built we will decide what we do and don’t need or want and will do the big cull then…..that’s the theory anyway.

So that brings us to the end of the year.  We had a quiet Christmas, which was very welcome.

2015 is shaping up to be another big year for us, but we are ready for it.  Bring it on.