TGIF

- no not really! I have survived my first week in a new job. I'm not exhausted by it, I've learnt new procedures, new names and have 3 new work colleagues. It's a community library in a military housing area and even though it's still the school holidays and most military personnel started back at work this week from the Christmas break, it's moderately busy. My boss is relaxed and there's such a good atmosphere working there. I'm doing 20 hours a week, which is 4 hours every day, and this still allows me time for the 'farm' and quilting.
What a pleasant surprise to find this waiting for me to find.

A Surprise Family!

If you look really hard you can see 2 little chickens in the grass! Mum had been missing for a while and I was hoping that she would appear with a little family - 4 Blue Andalusian chicks (one dead). They will have to be shifted though, because the nest is not in a safe place.

A Real Swiss Fondue!

Yesterday was a miserable day, weather-wise. But Rebecca's friend, Sheryl, who lives in Switzerland, came around and with New Zealand made Swiss cheese, we had fondue!

Retro fondue pot, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, vegetarian hot dogs, baguette, emmenthal and gruyere cheese plus riesling, we made Fondue Neuchatel from my 1975 Fondue Cookery book by Alison Burt. Sheryl reckons it was the best fondue she'd ever had!
And look at how yummy this is!

We did not need tea after eating fondue all afternoon and drinking good Merlot!

Last Entry for Symposium

A piece of my final entry for Symposium this year in Wellington. This is for the New Zealand Quilter Small Suitcase (Made in New Zealand) category. It is a Monarch butterfly, but I have painted with setacolor the orange sun rays from the Edmond's "Sure to Rise" logo on the wings. The body is layered scraps of fabric, thread and chocolate papers trapped under black tulle. The whole butterfly is heavily quilted and a few scattered crystals for further decoration.

Digital and photograph entries need to be in Wellington by Wednesday, mine will be posted today, hurray!

Another Symposium Entry

Here is a portion of another small quilt I finished last night. It is a whole cloth, with a silver (feathered) fern in the middle, and with words stamped with paint or stenciled with gel pen, saying things that I think wearing the silver fern means to New Zealanders'. For example, "To Be The Best", "Family", "Blessing" and others. It is also completely quilted 'to death', but it needed something to make the words stand out. I was also inspired by the website thisisnotajersey.com which has quotes from the All Blacks (national rugby team). I stitched the silver fern with silver thread and it shows up beautifully on the black fabric.
I'm struggling to get the 'right' title for it though :-(

New Additions to the Family

Four little Blue Andalusian chicks hatched on New Year's eve - 2 black, 1 silver and 1 will be grey. 2 bantam mothers.

This is about the only time this chicken will be able to sit on mum's back - soon they will be too big!