What's been happening?

We now officially have one more day of school holidays, then the weekend, then back to normality.  I have discovered that my grand idea of catching up on cleaning during the holidays (now that I am working during the normal school week and do minimal cleaning during the school term) - just does not work.  I think the problem lies with the actual act of cleaning - which I have never been that good at.

I have one more seam to complete on my log cabin stars quilt and it is ready to layer/quilt.  Wow!  I have batting in the pipeline, but no backing fabric at this stage.  I could buy something really nice.  But because the quilt is mostly made of Spotlight fat quarters, the quality of the fabric is quite coarse and I don't want to spent an enormous amount of money on it.  So I could do a patchwork backing from my stash - I just need to get over the fact that it won't "match" - I cringe because my work is not real matchy matchy - but I do feel that the back should be just as beautiful as the front.  And the front will be fun and contemporary - so shouldn't the back also be fun and contemporary?

I have registered for 2013 Taupo Symposium and booked our accommodation.  Another Wow!  I have missed Ms Lottie (get back and write a post!) and look forward to catching up on her adventures at Queenstown Symposium.

Today is the second time we have lit our fire so far this year.  Today is actually quite cold and wintery.  The morning was spent doing groceries... and mundane household stuff (wow, not!) - but I feel I am building up to doing some sewing - maybe that last seam, and I think I've decided what I am going to do about the big layer cake border situation.  Do you want to know, or wait until there is a photo?

I am feeling quite self sufficient at the moment, as we eat kumara's and pumpkins, onions, beans, beetroot, lettuce and capsicums from my little garden and every now and then we still get eggs from the chickens.  Due to not doing any grocery shopping last week, we have actually eaten mostly produce which we have grown at home.  At the moment, I have cabbage and brussel sprouts under a netting tunnel to keep them free from caterpillars.  I also have a "winter tomato" (no, I hadn't heard of such a thing either) which I have in a big pot in my growing house.  Hopefully there will be some tomatos over the next few months.  I have a spare bed and some seed potatos waiting for the eyes to bud and then get planted.  My grandparents on both sides were good vege gardeners, I don't know whether I have inherited any genes, or whether it has just been luck this season.  For the first time I have noticed that I don't need to buy things because I have grown them!  I am superior!  Great feeling.