Flights $300... Accommodation $200...
Happy little faces on the small people, giggles from the babies, hugs from a big teenage boy (one who is allergic to hugs), laughing with a gorgeous teenage girl, braiding a beautiful little girls hair..... PRICELESS!
Not to mention catching up with a wonderful little mum and a fun dad!
More of it today then tomorro we'll head over to my little sisters place - shes got baby lab puppies... 'nuff said.
Catch up again in a few days :)
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November 23, 2011
November 21, 2011
Collecting Lavender
...for a few little projects
It's such an intricate little flower head with so much to offer
It's the inspiration for a new range of bits n pieces... just a few snippety peeps for now because there are more to come in the next few weeks
I'm really enjoying this process.... drawing directly onto my linen rather than fine tuning the design on paper first. It's full of flourishes and tiny dots and beautiful threads. The variegated blue you can see here is one of the cosmo marble range... I've heard they are to be discontinued so grab them when you see them, they are just delicious!
Yesterday was a big day for me. It marked the end of a five day quilting marathon to finish Kath's quilt. It's a biggie... 118" square. Kath's instructions were to keep it simple, no patterns, no swirly stuff, just ditch quilt the whole thing. We looked at the design together and decided that echo quilting was the better option, with a feathery leaf border to give it a grown up finish
At the beginning...
and at the end
the border design, one I often use... I love the way it flows, it adds interest without overpowering the quilt
Finished, trimmed, wrapped and delivered... then it was time to play with the girls and Monty in the backyard. Monty had a shower/bath to freshen up for the photo shoot
They're so good, just pottering around on the grass, grabbing the odd bug and fluffing their bums all over the place... they really do have gorgeous fluffy bums!
And when I call 'here, took took took...' they come running. Funny :) Milli and Vanilli - the fluffy bummed ladies of the backyard manor. A bit of grain, some kitchen scraps, a few bugs and fresh water - and in return... 2 fresh eggs every day with the most golden yolks. Gotta love that
A few blooms from the garden...
teeny tiny cuphea flowers
and guess what this one is.. a weeny flower head of allysum
a tibouchina flower growing along the southern fence. Looks like an upside down spider in the middle... freaky.. hate spiders...
Wherever we live, I want to grow lavender... so does Ratty...
and these
but my favourites of all in the garden right now are the beautiful 'Mother's Love' roses... they are the most gorgeous shade of creamy rose pink with the deepest perfume, just beautiful :)
Lots of photos today! The gardens are looking lovely so I had to show off a little bit...
Funny Little Man headed off for a few days of golf this morning so I'll be playing in the quilt room preparing the next quilt... it's a little bit French...
Tomorrow I'm flying to Townsville for a couple of days to see some special peeps. I'll visit with my sister (who has six baby labrador puppies, just one day old today... I know, she thinks we're coming to see her but really, it's all about the puppies) and we'll visit my niece and her family. We get to catch up with some small people we haven't seen for a few years and we also get to play with the 8 month old twinnies! And we get to swim in their pool... good thing, I hate 'hot' almost as much as spiders
Seeya next time
Cheryl xx
November 18, 2011
bits n pieces...
A couple of quilts...
this one was made by Bev B
and from another perspective...
the freeform feathery leaf is one of my favourites for outer border quilting... never fails to add that grown up finish
I finally finished this little bubby quilt, it's been sitting waiting for it's binding for about 8 months! A sweet friend is due to have her second baby in a few days... maybe she'll have a little girl and this gorgeous little quilt will have a new home :)
Lord Harvey the Rat has a sixth sense when it comes to sussing out a soft, squishy, sleepy hidey hole
and as I sit here typing, he's found another pusscat sized sleeping spot in the tub chair beside me... I think he's almost forgiven me for checking him into the pusscat resort last week
Sometimes I think I'd like to come back as a cat in my next life... then I start to consider the whole self grooming thing...
Seeya next time :)
Cheryl xx
oh, I almost forgot... thistimelastyear... twilight at the Tower of London...
November 16, 2011
Back into the swing of things
Vacations are great... and isn't it always nice to come home again..
After a week of dipping our toes in the ocean
we're home again...
Had the most relaxing time. I even resisted the urge to sneak to the craft store and pick up some sketching supplies :)
There was waaay too much to do... sitting around on the balcony looking at this by day
and by night
It really was a beautiful spot. We spent a day exploring Fraser Island
That was a fun day...
and did lots of strolling along the Urangan Pier, checking out the locals
This guy put on a real show for the camera!
The sky always seems more blue at the beach...
However, we're home and I'm already in the swing of creating some new stuff
Show you some of them next time
Seeya
Cheryl xx
November 11, 2011
November 03, 2011
Wash day and 'Love Doves'
A bundle of Mum's hankies have been sitting in a bag in my drawer since June... and Tuesday was Hanky Wash Day
Mum was from an era where ladies carried hankies. One in the handbag, one in the pocket and another just in case. Pretty hankies, practical hankies, well loved hankies. Then there are the really special hankies. They're the ones that have delicate hand embroideries, the finest cotton lace trims and are made from beautiful - almost sheer - hanky linen. Mum had lots of those...
Some of the pretty ones were printed with roses
Nisey had a birthday last week... and this afternoon she arrives at our house for a sisterly/brother-in-law visit. (New big boat is ready for pickup - photos next time)
They're on the road today - a 7 hour trek through the Queensland countryside :)
Her special birthday gift awaits...
I think our Mum would smile if she could see the journey a couple of her hankies have taken...
seeya next time
Cheryl xx
November 01, 2011
This time last year...
Lunch at a cafe
before exploring for the day
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Doings...
the standard rose is flowering... non stop for a month now and it's beautiful
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Stitching stuff - in an upcoming issue of Homespun magazine, you'll find a project by me. If you have some of these in your stash put them aside and wait for your mag to arrive... it's a sweet little set that I loved making. In the next little while I'll tell you more about it and how much of the fabrics you'll need to make a set for yourself :)
Homespun magazine is available as a digital subscription for those who prefer online stuff - read about it here
...and to find out what's in the current issue, have a look here
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And...these came to my house... just because I liked them...
Lots of favourites in that lot... especially the breakaway on the bottom left :)
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We're getting ready for visitors
Nisey & The Wayne will be here for a few days at the end of this week, can't wait to see them. A quick trip to the Gold Coast to pick up their new BIG boat (photos later) and a few days of fun before we run away for a beach break next week
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If it was a year ago, tomorrow we'd be heading off for a stroll around the coastline to Villefranche-sur-Mer to drink red wine from plastic cups and eat chips from a packet by the waterfront... if it was a year ago... we'd be looking at things like this
seeya
Cheryl xx
