Forget-me-nots

A while back I purchased at auction this lovely Victorian dove vase. It's a piece of great beauty, the pink ribbon although porcelain, gives the appearance of velvet. The detailing is superb.
My initial thought when I first clamped my eyes on it was - that would look fabulous with forget-me-nots. Fresh picked from the garden this morning, albeit white, I'm sure they are the choice the creator had in mind for the dove.
Perfect.

Oscar's imminent 2nd birthday

 

 

It's amazing to think it's been nearly two years since our first grandchild was born, time has flown and yet he's been here for such a long time. Oscar is so delightful, he makes your heart swell. He is like a sponge, takes it all in and amazes you with his knowledge.
Before he was born I started working on this quilt, we knew he would be a boy so selected 30's fabrics avoiding flowers and pinks. As Imogen (his Mum and my daughter) has always loved flying geese quilts it was an easy choice. Being the procrastinator I am I only had the top finished by the baby shower, but did manage to have it quilted and bound soon after he arrived on the scene. And what an arrival; he managed to be born at home (not planned) and delivered by his Papa!

Winter sun

The winter sunlight streaming through the bedroom window was a draw for Aff.

Arts and Crafts

This lovely label is on the back of an old painting I purchased recently. I love the Arts and Crafts style. There is so much going on in such a small label. Wearing a peasant blouse and a lavish headband the artist is holding her brushes and palette and leaning on the easel. Behind stars in a dark sky are viewed through the arched window that is surrounded by decorative timberwork. The lettering appears hand drawn as you can see variation in repeated letters. Note too the phone number, three digits!

Seahorse

I think this bath toy belonging to my grandson is so cute. Whoever designed it was inspired. What joy!

Retro wallpaper

Came across this graphic wallpaper in a holiday house that's for sale not far from ours. I think it's from the '70's. Reminds me of my days as an art student, black ink illustration.

Amish round-robin

Here are the four rows of 3 x 1" squares (known as postage stamp) that I stitched together for a round-robin quilt for my friend Irene. Just amazing colours, chosen to echo the Amish style centre.

Long weekend

Stevo and I headed to our holiday shack for the long weekend. As I often do I raced outside upon arrival to capture the magical view. Not long after that the rain set in.
On Sunday evening I was lured outside by the glimpse of pink in the eastern sky - also there was a break in the rain.

I started taking photos of the flotsam and jetsam on the beach (NB the smooth burnt gumnut and angels wing shell). The previous week we had had extreme weather conditions as well a king tide,  so there was a  lot of debris washed up on the beach.

I noticed a couple of folk dragging something along the sand and asked if they'd like Stevo's assistance (even though he was lying on the lounge reading a book). 'A great opportunity to use those muscles of yours' and he was putting on his shoes. He helped them drag a sign that had been washed out in the storm back to it's original location.

Then they removed an old rusted trap of some kind from the water.

I admire Zac and Shannon for their community spirit and it was good to be able to help (or in my case be the suggester of help!)

Stained glass light

Aren't these beautiful light patterns?

Pincushion

I made this for our quilt group Christmas challenge last year. Everyone was asked to create a pincushion of their own choice, so long as it was not just two squares sewn together! I tend to leave projects to the last minute and this was no exception, frantically stuffing, stitching closed and then wrapping it on the morning of our final meeting of the year. Names were drawn out and parcels chosen, with Jennie being the recipient of mine.

Skyspace

Last year my entire family and I went on a lovely trip to Canberra to celebrate Tess' birthday and visit the NGA.

The gallery has an amazing installation, Skyspace, by the American artist James Turrell, which in my humble opinion is certainly a highlight of the collection. 

As the artist himself said "...close to the sublime". It certainly is.

Bold quilt

I enjoy creating quilts for my family. The part of the process I love the most is choosing the combination of fabrics. Sometimes you strike it lucky and the juxtaposition just sings! Lately I've been working on a quilt for Tess and Joe, it's going to be bold and fun, hope they like it.

Delightful Daughters

I'm very fortunate to be the mother of three adult daughters. They are all beautiful creative human beings (or as Tess would say when she was little "fumin' beans") and are thoughtful in their gift giving. So recently on Mother's Day I received yummy presents. Adorning my bedroom mantlepiece are the Matisse (from Tess) and Margaret Preston (from Aym) cards and a vivid kantha Imogen found at fabric-a-brac a few weekend's ago. I think I would have enjoyed that event, hopefully I'm not busy next time it is held.

Celebration

Nearly nine months ago we held a party to celebrate our first grandchild's 1st birthday. The dining table groaned with delicious food, coloured lanterns graced the archway and glorious weather let us spill out into the garden to sing 'Happy Birthday'.

Gigi's Beginnings

Pictured above is a dresden plate cushion stitched by myself in the early 2000s and the old tin was an ebay purchase.