lovely to look at

there are always things we love to look at
these are some of mine recently

this water view in hobart











this is the causeway at midway point, tasmania and i never tire of driving this area and there is always something lovely to look at here

signs of spring

the joy of other friends finished projects

playing with fabric and starting new things

big blooms and spots

out with the scissors and i'm working in my inside garden

well it is raining outside

where have i been ???

where have i been? not paying attention to this little bit of my life and when i was in hobart my computer was not doing what i wanted it to do and i was very lazy basically and on holidays !
i was shopping and cooking the dinner and meeting the school bus and loving it all.
we all did a bit of sewing, but life at the 'ranch' was in slow motion really !
and i did not really take many photos ! but here are a few . . . . . . . .

no we didn't play tennis, but this is where you queue up to enter the new gallery in hobart, on the derwent river . . . . mona

the mirrored wall a changing art piece in itself

of course we had some coffee and cake, though the sun was out and the sky was blue, waiting in the queue was a bit chilly !

and this very vocal young macaw was a local at a paper supply shop that we visited, he was very well looked after and also had a very large cage and was happy to chat !

and lucy was pleased to see me, i think some other family members were also pleased !

the top of paula's lovely half square triangle quilt is almost finished, looks gorgeous, but she has also finished her spool quilt and plans are underway for the next one.
i will take some more photos to share !

may has become june

and winter is here with its icy blasts !
good time to be at home, cosy and stitching !

these little ceramic tags from my friend in hobart, on the keyboard, remind me of all the home made goodness that comes past my eyes these days

here is thelma, an old friend (also turned 80 recently) and now a grandmother for the first time !

so exciting !

thelma stitched all the cross stitch alphabet some years ago, before she got parkinsons disease and with some help from barb machining the quilt top together, it is now all finished for lola !

it was machine quilted with a large meander just to keep it simple

hopefully lola will love this quilt made by grandma and a couple of friends for many years

lola will be two next month

this is a new little red corner in the room i live in

and

some of the things that friends have been sewing

dianne, who has just visited tasmania for a week or so, is making a lovely soft rosy hexagon quilt

sharyn is making the last stitches in a quilt top for a grand daughter

marlene is doing some cross stitch, just one of the things she is doing, always has a bag full !

this was finished off recently, though i had hand pieced the squares whilst house sitting last year in hobart, i sent it off to have it machine quilted with just a large meander again and though i like it, i don't really love it ! here is a bit more detail

oh well , it will keep someone warmer

and simone has finished this quilt top, a block of the month programme that she has been doing

and lavina and her sister have just finished this quilt for a grandson, this 12 yo's brother, is studying in america and he wanted an 'american' quilt, so stars and stripes and red, blue and white look good

and i will be in hobart soon with camera, taking photos of what we get up to down there and also as promised some of the sewing my cousins have been doing

quilting, the queen and hot dogs

in hobart there has been quite a bit of sewing going on i believe !
i am heading down there in a few weeks for a visit, i will have camera with me, so will post about what i find. at the moment i can only rely on what i am sent, so will share with you.

paula has been busy and finished her spools quilt, all hand pieced and then quilted by hand with perle 8 cotton. i know it now has a different binding, so i will zoom the camera in on it when i am down there.

caught on camera on a previous visit some time ago playing with a bird feeder as a crown atop my head ! the bird feeder is now in this garden, in hobart, belonging to my friend !

lots of birds come to visit here ! look at the lovely autumn colours !
winter will be with us officially in a couple of days, but the days have turned very brisk already! my cousin has a new pup, a jack russell / ????? (i know, but i could not spell) cross and could not find her recently in the house !

where the big logs for the fire usually sit, there was chloe, prime position, keeping very warm !

and during this month here at my home, my friends and visitors have been raising funds for the cancer council 'biggest morning tea' promotion. we have had a little 'things for sale' basket at all our gatherings. it is not too late, i am off now to make some of my scrappy dilly bags, everyone wanted them !

the circles of life

i have a problem with my heating here at my place in melbourne ! it has got quite chilly and it reminds me of the days before central heating !
so i am using some of my quilts to keep me warm !
here are a couple of views of 'camelot' on my bed, it is fun because the look changes depending on the way i fling it on the bed when making it.

and also interesting when sitting up in bed having 'a nice cup of tea'

it's mothers day tomorrow, so i hope many mums get a cup of tea in the morning and have a warm quilt to cheer them also

and some new bits purchased yesterday while out with the girls




















and these fabrics were sent to hobart for paula and barb

a layer cake
and
a charm pack












and these bright cheery socks will keep some feet warm soon

such fun to knit
with this wool

a post for april

it is the middle of april already and there has not been an update here for sometime, but that does not mean that nothing has been happening! lots of sewing has been going on in both states !
barb has been sewing up a 'cafe' almost with layer cakes, and some sewing for me, and working on her hexagons, and some sewing for me, also her spools and some sewing for me.

here are two in the process
and this was some work to help me out with some of my things in the cupboard that needed to be dealt with

this alphabet has been cross stitched from the fairytales mango publication, available in our etsy store and made into a quilt for little lola

and this is barb's spool top being hand pieced, i will have to tell her to take the photos square on, so i can play with them, and yes she did do some more for me, made me some night dresses, but i will spare you a glimpse of me in either of those, the nighties are lovely, but i am not jennifer hawkins ! ok !

paula too has been sewing for me and also catching up on some of her own

a giant pincushion, they are so good when machine stitching and hand piecing

and her spools !


and i also have been quite busy

and me, lizzie, these are my spools, but i need to cut up some more white, i have lots of blue bits ready to go.
plus i have been cutting blue and green tumbler shapes for my next scrappy quilt, i have heaps, and heaps of these !

and i will show you in the next post some other bits that have been filling my days.
see you soon !

at this table

at this table in my home in melbourne, over many years, as well as hosting many wonderful meals shared by family and friends, it has also been the spot where creativity has taken place.

recently, when the girls were over from hobart, we spent many hours round the table

making some paper boxes, using magazine pages, as well as hand piecing and some machine sewing

most recently we were plaiting fabric strips and making bags of all shapes and sizes
then there is this, each piece has been drawn from a template, then cut out with the scissors, then handpieced, hand quilted and now the binding is done

there are spots and dots, fruit and florals, stripes and little chirpy birds and, and, and

and every colour of the rainbow, but it has worked and i am pleased with this finish !

and i have just had a phone call from the hobart girls, they have been making me some things to wear !
SPOILT !!!! I AM !!!!

happy birthday to barb tomorrow, march 15th !