Friday night stitching

I signed up for Friday Night Stitch-In  for the first time for the first time and as I buttonhole stitched, watched some telly, enjoyed a cuppa and chatted to my husband it was lovely to think of others doing much the same. Many of us will never meet but all of us are linked by our love of creating.

This is the project I'm working on - it's a cushion design by Anorina of Samelia's Mum. (Oops, knew I should have ironed it before taking the pic!)  I always mean to start crafting for Christmas around this time of year but this is the first year it has actually happened!

What did you all get up to? Thanks to Wendy for running the show and making things happen.

Happy holiday

The Mister and I are  back from a very happy holiday in Queensland, still pretty relaxed from our time away but missing blue sea, blue skies and warmth (although today's temperatures in Ballarat aren't too bad, unlike the 10 degree days here while we were away enjoying balmy 28s and feeling warm and rather smug).

My niece Nicola's wedding in Townsville was lovely - informal and friendly and celebrated outdoors against  the most beautiful backdrop of sea and sky.  It was great to see her and her brother Andrew again and so special to spend time with her dad (my brother Alistair) and his twin Gary, who lives in Wellington, NZ.  Gary brought his daughter Olivia, who is nearly 7 and lots of fun. I had books for her and her young brother Tom and for my three little great-nephews (golly, those last two words make me feel so old!) I'd made her a skirt, too - the first bit of clothing I'd sewn since I can't remember when. It fitted her (phew!) and she likes it (double phew!).

We hadn't been to Townsville before and it will always be memorable for the wedding plus the fact that it was our 38th wedding anniversary the night we arrived and we were able to celebrate sitting outdoors overlooking the sea (unthinkable in Ballarat at this time of year, let me tell you).

Just because we could, we continued driving up to Port Douglas, where we stayed in a small complex a short walk away from everything. We were really impressed by the friendly, laid-back attitude of everyone we met (but not by the fruit bats across the road which woke us early each morning with their loud screeching!)

We enjoyed mooching around town on foot and spending some time in the bush at Mossman Gorge and in the Daintree, where we were very glad not to meet a cassowary (according to all the warning signs on the pathways at the Daintree Discovery  Centre, they're very fearsome birds indeed!)

Seeing another fearsome beastie, the crocodile, turned out not to be that much of a goer either. We enjoyed a  river cruise, all of us on board the dear little paddleboat hoping for a promised sighting, only to see two quick appearances in the middle of the river turn into two quick disappearances, thanks to an idiot speedboat driver. Apparently crocs are scared of speedboats. Can't say I was disappointed as I probably would have had crocodile nightmares. Our trip was in the late afternoon and the sunset over Mossman Gorge was spectacular.

We splurged on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef - I don't have a bucket list, but if I did, seeing the reef would have been pretty high up. The photos we took from the semi-submersible boat we went on are pretty crappy but being so close to those wonderful underwater coral forests and their fishy inhabitants is unforgettable. The Mister had a fabulous view from a helicopter while I sat on the deck of the big pontoon our boat was moored to, gazing at all that blue water interrupted by the white caps of the waves breaking over the various reefs. It is such a fabulous, precious place and so deserving of protection at all costs.

We drove back to Townsville for our last night via the Atherton Tableland, which would be worth a trip in its own right. The countryside is beautiful and there are lots of waterfalls which unfortunately we had to miss for lack of time, along with tea plantations and other attractions.

The warm weather, the crops (sugarcane, macadamias and all sorts of others which to us were quite exotic) the mountain ranges and the signs at beaches warning of crocodiles and stingers made it all seem like another world. We were away for just over a week but it seemed longer - in a very good way.

Can't wait for the next little adventure - whenever and wherever it is.

Away

I have no idea how to post pics to blogger from my tablet but I would love to be able to share my view of palm trees and ocean with you - and send some warmth to my friends in Ballarat and Melbourne too. The Mr and I are in Townsville for my niece's wedding this afternoon,  the ceremony is in the beachside park over the road from our hotel.
Lucky us!

April so far ...

 Yikes, it's the middle of April already - where has the time gone? This month has been a bit of a mixed bag so far - mostly good, I'm very glad to say.

The bad - my SIL died early in the month after losing her battle with stomach cancer. So sad. She was in her early 70s, the eldest of a family of four in which my husband is the youngest. Their younger sister died almost a year previously of brain and lung cancer. Life can be so cruel.

Daily (retired) life is good - long chats with the Mr, having fun with our dogs, pottering in the house and garden, coffee dates together or with friends; generally nothing remarkable but very pleasant. Uneventful life is often under-rated.

And last weekend was lots of fun. On Saturday I attended the first class offered at Cotton Factory, a gorgeous little patchwork shop recently opened in Ballarat. Claire Gee from Matching Pegs was the tutor and let me tell you there is nothing she doesn't know about needleturn applique. She showed us her method, we discussed other methods, we did a practice piece then set to work on the project, a cushion cover appliqued with 5 gorgeous butterflies (Claire's pattern). I achieved embarrassingly little (we all did) but learned such a lot so I was very satisfied (that feeling of satisfaction might also have had something to do with the good coffee and lovely lunch laid on by Alison, the owner).

After class I raced in to Melbourne by train, walked for what seemed like miles, hopped on a tram, worried about where to get off  (can't you tell I don't often venture into the big city) then found the hotel where I was staying the night with a group of lovely ladies from Launceston and Adelaide. It was great to catch up with Cathy and Leanne and Loz again and to meet Claire, Alex, Meredith and Kate. We all enjoyed our dinner in Lygon St and the icecreams afterwards were delicious. Being a bit of a mucky pup, I ended up dripping chocolate icecream all down the front of my cardigan. Next time I'll colour-match my clothing and chosen flavour (although I don't know if any flavour of icecream comes in a mustard shade!)  At home in Ballarat the Mr and I are real homebodies and hardly ever go out at night and to be walking around in Melbourne where the pavements and restaurants were crowded and everyone was friendly was refreshing and enjoyable.

We went our separate ways next morning, after a chatty breakfast - I headed off to AQS and the others were going shopping before catching their planes for home. And yes, there was lots to see at the quilt show and I did make a few purchases - more than I intended to, but at least I bought the applique paper I was interested in; the other things are for various projects and the table topper kit was a bonus (and a bargain). As for the quilts on display - colourful, quirky, inspiring and just plain wonderful. There is huge talent in the quilting community.
The exhibition building is beautiful inside and out and I spent quite a bit of time admiring it and the surrounding gardens.
Now back to stitching and sewing - I haven't finished anything this month so I'd better get my skates on (and learn how to place pictures properly in blog posts!)

Little things

I LOVE little projects. Whether I'm making something for myself or for a gift, I'm more likely to finish what I've started if it's small. If it's big, or becomes a bit tricky, it's a UFO, likely to be shoved in a cupboard and ignored till the end of time. Naughty, naughty - and I know I'm not alone.
These are my latest little things.

 Little Bluebird Pincushion - designed by Leanne Knell of Petals and Patches. Sweet. It's stuffed with crushed walnut shells, my favourite pincushion filling.

 After making lots of these little bags from
  the Spoonful of Sugar tutorial as gifts, this one's for me.

And yes, I know what's below looks like a cover for a miniature hot water bottle - actually it's a jumper for a little penguin. It seems a bit quirky but it's useful - it stops penguins affected by oil spills preening their feathers and becoming more contaminated. Here's the link, if you're interested - click on the wildlife rehabilitation section. This morning I've been playing with selvedges, making a scarf from Jodie's pattern and loving sorting through the selvedge pile and reminiscing about where I bought some of the fabrics and what I made.

Lots of colour

It's rather grey and sort of blah in Ballarat today but there's been lots of colour in my life lately and lots of gorgeous fabrics and quilts to admire.
We spent the March long weekend at home and took in some of the activities on offer. Top of the list, and so close to home, was the annual Begonia Festival in the Botanical Gardens. Begonias aren't my favourite flower but the display was amazing - so many colours, sizes and shapes of blooms.
The gardens are among our favourite places in Ballarat and always look good but this time looked even better. There were special displays, stalls selling all manner of horticulture-related goodies, interesting talks from garden experts, entertainment and food stalls (alas, too few of the latter and we were too hungry to queue for long so ended up having ice cream for lunch, Life's tough). And people, people everywhere. It was lovely.

As was the Begonia Quilters' exhibition I'd gone to the previous afternoon with my friend Jeni. It's a fairly small group (22 members) but their output is phenomenal and so is their talent. There were some truly amazing quilts there. And the venue makes any exhibition attractive - Ballarat's Mining Exchange dates back to the late 1880s and during the gold rush, miners would go there to exchange their finds for cash. These transactions took place in the little booths on each side of the main open space and during quilt shows become little shops for patchwork supplies retailers and others. I went back on the Sunday to catch up with my friend Annie Flowergarden, who is a member of  the group and had several quilts on display as well as some lovely bags for sale.

Last Friday Jeni and I caught up with Annie and Jodie and others at the official opening of a lovely new quilt shop in town. Lovely fabrics, beautiful quilts and other projects on display makes this an inspiring space full of temptation. I'm planning to learn needleturn applique with Claire Gee of Matching Pegs (hi Claire, it was lovely to meet you properly) at a class there later this year. I had the camera in my bag but forgot to take photos.
On Saturday, Jeni and I went to GJs fabrics in Melbourne; she was hunting for fabric for a project and I was along for the ride. I did a little shopping - some linen-look cotton, a mini charm pack (Boho by Urban Chics, gorgeous) and a little pattern which I plan to use in the next few days (but don't hold me to that, okay?)
And yesterday my lovely patient husband and I went up to Castlemaine for an exhibition of appliqued quilts that was just oh so inspiring. There were a few colourful quilts but mainly they were in reproduction fabrics and I realised that despite my developing interest in modern styles and clear bright colours it's those muted tones that still capture my heart. So when we got home I pulled out a pattern I bought after seeing the quilt hanging at another quilt show in the same town a few years back and got the seal of approval to make it (I figure that since it's for our bed, the Mister should have some say.) The pattern is Old Glory by Bon Bon Designs and it's going to have to wait till I learn to needleturn but I'm happy the decision has been made - that bed has been waiting for a special quilt for a long time.

Sorry about the overload of words and pictures - now I need to press publish and go and make something (or at least pat fabric and dream.)

Little gifts

My friend Nyssa in Tassie has just had her first baby, so these gifts were sent on their way yesterday.

Isn't that little boat cute! It's the first taggie I've made and I'm so pleased with it. Having not made a softie for ages, I'd forgotten just how much stuffing they take; thought I'd never finish filling it. It was a free pattern online; sorry, I don't remember what blog it was from, or when I found the shape for the bookmark (which I included just in case Nyssa ever has time to read, which is probably not at the top of her to-do list at the moment).

The little boots are a 3-6 month size (don't they look HUGE!) and are from  Hadley Fierlinger's fabulous book Vintage Knits for Modern Babies. And the bag is a  free pattern from Lisa and Sarah at Spoonful of Sugar Designs. This little bag is my favourite quick gift and with the addition of some nice smellies (Cath Kidston hand cream in this case) or other goodies it's a lovely present. I've made so many of these but still haven't made one for myself (or at least when I did I gave it away). The next one's definitely for me!

I love making and giving little gifts and these were all products of my wool and fabric stash, which made the process even more satisfying. I hope Nyssa and her precious little boy are as happy to receive them as I was to make them.