The Wedding

Tonight I am sitting watching the tv coverage of the royal wedding.  Goodness some of those hats are amazing and some of them are just ghastly.  The mother of the bride looks very elegant.
I hope it is a happy and lasting marriage.

Autumn speaks for itself

A present for myself

I recently treated myself  to this beautiful pin pillow: it was created by Karen at 
 contemporary embroidery
  Karen has a particular style of work that I really admire and I have lusted after several pieces of hers:  on visiting her etsy shop I decided I deserved this little treasure.  
Visit Karen's blog and I am sure you will see what it is that I like about her exquisite creations.

Easter Holidays and more computer dramas.

I just want to wish all my blogging friends and readers an enjoyable & relaxing Easter holiday.  The drama with the computer is continuing so I am coming and going when I can.  
It is a nuisance as I have pics of some things I have received in the mail that I would like to share but uploading them is not happening just now.

Never mind, it will sort itself out and meantime there is the gardening to do.

If you are traveling during the break please be careful and keep safe.

modems and memories

 This week has been a strange combination of relaxation and stress.


The relaxation included a visit to the library and then across to the op shop.

This was one of the op shops that Ann and  I  visited when she was here recently.

After that I took a little time out to take some pics at the beach.  This particular area is know as Mills Beach and there is a seat up the top where you can sit and while away the time.

In the distance you can see the yacht club in Mornington.   There is a lovely restaurant/cafe overlooking the water and Ann and I had coffee there one morning and the following week returned for lunch and a relaxing chat.

As for the stress: our modem decided it had served us long enough and finally stopped working a couple of days ago.  I felt quite lost and out of touch without my computer but we are back on line now.

I have been spending quite a lot of time in the garden lately.  This beautiful Gordonia had just dropped off the bush and is a little bit bruised but still so beautiful.  The bush is only about 30cm high but covered in buds.  Hopefully I will have a chance to take a photo of some of the flowers when they are still attached to the bush.

We are gradually making sense of the parts of the garden that had the trees removed.  It is hard work but well worth the effort.  

The stack of logs for the fire is looking good and as we have far too much we put some of the logs out the front and today someone drove up with a trailer and was thrilled to take some away.

As some of you know, I mind the little babies next door for a couple of hours each day and their daddy helps us out with tasks that are difficult for us. (we don't have to ask, he just notices things that he can help us with)  Today he climbed up on the roof and cleaned our gutters for us.  You can only imagine how thrilled I am to have that done before the winter. 
Good neighbours are real treasures.   

 

 I have been working on my embellished fabric.

 I fused some organza ribbon over the 
piece which made it more stable and also softens the colours a bit.

I bought a little carboard box at the op shop near the library this morning and it was just the thing.  

There is a bit more to be done but so far I am pleased with it.











The op shop is one that I visited last week when Anne was here from the uk.  It is a small shop with very friendly volunteers working there and there are always plenty of doilies and trinkets to tempt me.  The time I spent with Anne was a real treat and I look forward to her return next year.

I

 Today I have been messing about with my embellishing machine.

 I love the fact that I can use up so many of my scraps and make something useful.

 the machine is very user friendly although it does take time, but I love the idea of no threads & no bobbins.

The needles are very fine and rather expensive and this little play time ended up with four of the five needles broken.

 This piece of colour and texture has a purpose -   I need to add some more scraps and then fuse some nylon tulle over it before it is ready to be used. 

winter is on its way

 Winter is on its way to us here in Melbourne so it is time to break out the coats and scarves.

 I have plenty of things in my stash of course so today I started on a new scarf.


It will be so lovely and soft on those chilly mornings.

I just love the look and feel of the fleece before the felting starts.  

I couldn't resist making some odd shapes over what was left: a bit like using up the left over pastry when making a pie!  I just rolled these around in my hands with soapy water and then flattening them.  they will be useful for embellishing.

renewed life for vintage pieces

I have been colouring a few more pieces of linen for use in future projects or giveaways.

I only dye items that are in some way damaged or stained.

Goodness, I am having trouble with blogger tonight: I will continue as long as I can make this work.

The doiley on the left is one I bought recently, it is knitted (I think) and very fine.

I think I will make it into a cushion cover.
The scissors are pinking shears from the op shop.  They are not allowed to sell scissors at this particular shop but I talked them into it as I really wanted these.

Well I think I will give up now - this is so frustrating.

 I wanted to announce a giveaway for this month so I will persist with this just a little longer.

Every person who comments on my blog during April & emails me with their postal address will receive a small parcel containing a few items - lace, beads, paper, buttons or anything else I feel like putting in each pack.  I have so many pretty and useful things and would like to share some of it with my blogging friends.

Happy days and good fortune

The past week has been very busy, with extra time spent in the garden as well as the usual weekly activities.  
However, a highlight of the week was a day out with my friend Anne (Juliet Cherry) who is currently visiting her son and his family.  Anne lives in the UK and her son and daughter in law and two dear grandsons live quite near me.  Whenever Anne visits we manage to spend a day or two together.  We share an interest in needlework so there is always plenty to talk about.  This time I was not sure how much time I could spend having been laid low with bronchitis for some time now and not wanting to spread any illness.  As it turned out we managed to catch up for a few hours on Thursday.  I picked Anne up and we went for morning coffee/chocolate at a cafe suggested by my neighbour.  The cafe is at the end of the road in Mornington with views of the bay.  It was a glorious day and we could have just sat and chatted but we had places to go.  Anne usually buys a few needlework magazines from op shops while she is here and donates them back before going home, so we decided to visit some of my favourite spots.  There is a Vinnies (St.Vincent de Paul) Salvos (Salvation Army) and recycling shop all in one area so we had a ball looking around and finding bargains.

I picked up the partly made quilt pictured:  it is all pieced and has the batting and backing fabric (the backing is especially beautiful).  This was marked $4.99.  Can you believe it.  I am not a quilter but it was such a good buy.

After the excitement of our shopping expedition we rang my husband and he joined us for lunch at a nearby pub.  And so we had a wonderful day and look forward to another one in the coming week.

the garden bites back

Another lovely Autumn day here in Melbourne.  We have made a start on the replanting of the garden.  I planted 10 native shrubs which will do well in this area.  Some westringia, correa, hakea, grevillia and native mint bush.

We needed to remove some overgrown vines before the planting began and as usual I took to the task with enthusiasm:  well there was a bee that did not appreciate my presence there.  I have a very sore arm for my trouble.  It is only two weeks since a very mean bull-ant bit me on the same arm.   This is all part of the adventure.


Oh, I should mention the felt in the pic.  It is a piece I embellished and painted a while ago.  I was so disappointed in the result that I put it in the too hard basket until I came across it today.  To be honest I don't mind it so much now but will have to find a use for it.

Thanks to all those who read and comment on my blog: it is always good to hear from you.

I was grateful for the reminder about the pond, Melissa.  I had not thought of the dangers of such a deep pool.  We have little babies (twins) next door and although they are only six months old I will have to anticipate them visiting when they are more mobile.  An enclosure might be needed! Thanks again.





 

help needed please

I have a couple of questions which I am sure someone here will be able to answer.

Problem No 1.  I have bought some "vintage" mens handkerchiefs which are still in the box.  They are made of swiss cotton and unfortunately they have been kept in place in their box with sticky tape.  Over the years the tape and glue have deteriorated and now there are nasty yellow marks that I would like to remove.  Any help would be most welcome.


Problem No 2. This is more of a general question.  I have a hot glue gun which I have all kinds of difficulty with.  Should I just throw it in the bin or can it be useful.  It seems to take forever to heat up but once it does the glue seeps even when I don't want it too and it is really stringy (like cheese on pizza) and I end up in a terrible mess.
If it is a lost cause can I have some suggestions regarding the use of adhesives/glues.  They are my most problematic materials but I do find they have their uses.