The end of 2012

The end is nigh...but it's another year tomorrow.  I won't be staying up - the New Year is coming anyway and it doesn't need any help from me.

While in Christchurch over Christmas, Sophie took me into Restart, the container city that's been set up in Cashel Mall.  (For overseas readers, much of the inner city was destroyed in the February earthquake of 2011).  While there have been myriads of photos published,  I hadn't been into the city and seen how it looked for myself.  These photos were taken with my phone.

 We had coffee upstairs in a container cafe.  This is the view across the mall....

 ...and down to the outdoor seating on the ground.

 Here's Sophie engrossed in her phone.  It was a lovely warm day.

 Looking across to Ballantyne's lounge area - now in a  container, though most of the original building is still there.

 More clever use of containers.

 Somewhere down Lichfield St I think - many of the landmarks are gone.

 Most of the damaged buildings have been demolished.  Sophie told me that Clarendon Tower, the highrise she was trapped in, has been pulled down.

The shell of Knox Presbyterian Church on the corner of Victoria St and Bealey Avenue.

It's a time of renewal and regrowth in Christchurch, and my son Cass and girlfriend Cat will be moving here in the New Year to be part of this.

Best wishes to all my blog friends and readers for a happy and productive year.

A lot of water under the bridge.....

Yes, dear blog friends, it's been a long, long time since I last posted.  This has been quite a tough year, especially the second half, when I found myself doing 7 papers which was a heavy workload.  There have also been some ongoing health issues that I won't bore you with (because they're not relevant) but which have also contributed to the lack of blog activity.

I spent Christmas once again with my daughter Sophie and her partner Mark in Christchurch, fortunately without the accompaniment of strong earthquakes this time.  Sophie had requested a quilt (again) and this time, I obliged.

The top was made from a jelly roll of batiks, combined with my own hand dyed fabric that was dyed to co-ordinate with the batiks.  The borders were quilted with leaves and flowers, while the pieced windmill blocks were just outlined.  Sophie pronounced it suitably tasteful.

While I was in the mood, I also quilted this top which I made many moons ago.  It's lap quilt sized and I really like it.  It's just made from bits of hand dyed and tie dyed fabrics.  I also made 2 quillows for my friend's sons but didn't photograph these.  So the lead up to Christmas was pretty busy with all that stitching.  

It's summer here, so this is what's in the garden at present :