Are We There Yet?

Are we there yet?

Or

Is This The Last of my Birthday Presents?

This is a very long line.

There is still this long a line inside ?

Am I Really Here?

Yes a two hour drive to Canberra and the Masterpieces of Paris Exhibition was my Birthday present from DD#1. We had a lovely day viewing the artworks. Both of us are Art Teachers. A real Mother daughter day.

My Birthday presents started arriving 3 weeks before the 13Th of Feb with my very own laptop from DH.

I've been learning to use it and learning to blog all at the same time. Multi tasking

The little blue button pin and the lavender filled heart are from Kaite and her Mum. Kaite drove 2hrs plus from Bathurst to lunch with me.

I've had a month long Birthday and enjoyed it all.

Terry

Hearts and Memories

Hearts and Memories

A tiny quilt with lots of memories.

The hearts on this quilt were my first foray into applique. Knowing nothing about the process I basted the hearts onto cardboard and then needle turned sort of in place.

I now know the process I used was similar to using freezer paper.

Freezer paper did exist at this time but no one was using it for quilting.

The pink fabric in the second row was used by my MIL to make a baby dress that both my daughters wore.

The rose floral print fabric was from a dress I made in my university days.

My father carried a photo of myself in the dress with the young man who became DH.

The dress is long since gone but not DH.

A very little quilt with a BIG heart.

Terry

A Day at the Cricket

A Day at the Cricket

A fine day with possible showers was predicted for the One Day game against West Indies. I packed the lunch and rain gear and DH and I trained and bussed to the Sydney Cricket Ground.

All went well for awhile. A brief shower and the covers were rolled up as play continued with Australia all out at tea. A one day cricket game starts early afternoon and finishes at about 10:00pm. Sort of like a double header if your a baseball fan. Tea is the break for supper half way through the game.

Just as the teams left the ground for tea the skies opened up. We made a dash for cover . A quick assessment of the weather and we decided to head home.

As things go a game half seen turned into a game seen in full. There was no resumption of play and we didn't get drenched through to the bone.

All in all a good Day at the Cricket with DH.

Happy Valentine's Day

Chocolates for Quilters

Why do quilters need chocolates ? or New uses for empty boxes.

The chocolate lady bugs are trying to find a home in the empty Christmas chocolate box. They are out of luck I got there first. All quilters save useful boxes. Those that used to contain chocolates are particularly welcome if I got to eat the chockies Yumm.

This box now holds the cut strips for a fence rail blocks which are part of a Featherweight Challenge

by Natima at Notjustnat. I am using scraps from a clean out. Some pieces are just too small to keep. The cut size of each strip is 1 1/2"x 6". Anything smaller was sent to the paddock. translate bin.

The fabric scraps were saved from quilts and garment construction any cotton was hoarded in the early days. The stars are off cuts from a pair of shorts made in year 8 textiles by my DD in the 80's.

Wattle Blossoms

Wattle is a common small tree that blooms in late winter brightening roadsides and backyards alike. Acacia Balliana or Cootamundra Wattle has the strongest colour and is the most desirable as a dye.

A photo of a pot full of wattle blooms appeared in an earlier post. The liquid obtained by boiling those blooms was used to dye some raw silk for my stitched wattle.
The silk was re used from a silk skirt. The blooms are yo-yo's gathered circles attached to the background with a seed bead. The leaves are machine lace stitched on wash away and attached.
The piece was made for an exhibition in honor of May Gibbs. May was an early 20th century cartoonist with a social conscience. Wattle Wattle Happen to Australia as a result of climate change is the question posed by my 21st century work.

Thank You Cookies

Home baked goodies have traditionally been a way to say thank you.




Today was my day to say thank you to the team of nurses and physios who have been doing their bit to help me recover from a hip replacement done in late November.

A double batch of peanut butter cookies. Yumm







These are the cookies ready to be wrapped.

The recipes are standard peanut butter and chocolate chip.

I delivered them this morning after my finale session of physio.

My hip is great and that I can get up and down from the oven is proof.


















The last of the chocolate chip ones. The family requested I save them a few.

It's been a while since I've baked on this scale


Hope no one thinks it's going to happen all the time.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE at Minchenbury Rehab.