The days have been flying by: Mike is working away from home a bit lately so the weekends are extra special. We have to do the usual chores as well as catch up on family & neighbourhood news. We try to go out to lunch on Sundays. Today we went to the Rocks at Mornington. We had a really lovely relaxed lunch although the weather outside was very windy and rough.
The Rocks restaurant and cafe, Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne
Yesterday I went to the football, Australian Rules,at the MCG, with my daughter Rebecca & her daughter Ally. We all barrack for Melbourne and our team beat Richmond Tigers. It was a lovely outing - just us girls. When we arrived back at Rebecca's house her husband had cooked enough dinner so that I could bring some home for Mike and me.
As if that wasn't good enough: our neighbour Keith filled the trailer with prunings and took it to the recycling centre and came back and took our old fridge away as well.
That's what I call a great weekend.
Oh, the pic at the top shows the books I am using to find inspiration - thanks for all the suggestions.
I am a member of the Embroiderers Guild in the UK (so I can belong to their forum) and we have a lot of swaps and challenges throughout the year.
At present some 10 of us are participating in a round robin traveling page: each person starts their page with a doodle and a theme and then it is sent on to the next person to add their interpretation of the theme. Once it has been to all other 9 participants it arrives back to the originator complete. It really is a great challenge. We are about half way through this one and I am looking forward to seeing my page when it arrives home.
The other activity we are doing at present is a goody bag swap. Each person sends a bag of fabric & embellishments to another member (as decided by the person running the challenge). There are guidelines regarding the amount of fabric etc and we can add batting, thread etc from out own stash. The idea is to make something to keep with the bulk of the goodies provided and then to create a postcard to send back to the person who sent the goodies. The picture above shows what I have received and I cannot seem to build up any kind of inspiration at present. I love the fabrics and the trims & gemstones etc but cannot seem to make a start.
Please feel free to let me know if you can suggest what I could do. I feel nervous about cutting into the fabrics (which is quite out of character for me).
The forum is available to members of the Embroiderers Guild UK and it has a wonderful gallery showing the work that the members have done throughout the years. Take a look if you can.
The weather has been cold here on the Mornington Peninsula and so I have spent quite a lot of time indoors. Now you might imagine that would provide me with an opportunity to catch up with my housework, but no, I have been sorting through boxes of "stuff" that I haven't looked at in quite a while.
I was surprised to find this little doll's jacket which I made when I was about 8 years old. We had a dutch family living next door and the daughter of the house took an interest in me and decided I should learn to sew.
Some old calico was produced and some threads, and the lesson began. I do remember making this and also some other small garments for the two dolls I owned. The design and the stitching is pretty rough but it always reminds me of the kindness of the young woman next door. I have no idea how old she was - perhaps 16 or 18 but I do remember spending time in her home which was always spic and span and yet very welcoming.
This next piece of embroidery is something I made for my "hope chest". I was engaged at 19 and we didn't have much but I was determined to have some pretty things. It would have been a semco kit I think and I did several of these and also embroidered some pillowcases.
My stitching was really quite neat in those days: good eyesight helps.
I do like looking through those boxes containing memories and treasures.
It is always hard to decide whether to keep old cards and scraps of wrapping paper - or that flower I pressed when on my visit to the uk. (I know I should not have brought it back with me). I hardly ever look at them and sometime my children will have to sort through it all.
What do you keep?
For those who are interested in my visit to the Peninsula Hot Springs: it was sensational! I had been nervous and a little self-conscious: swimming in the surf is one thing - sitting still in the mineral baths is quite another. Then there was the thought of taking my clothes off for the massage!
Well, the whole atmosphere was so relaxing that I was comfortable from the moment I arrived and to be honest didn't want to leave. The mineral baths are soooo relaxing and the massage was just what I needed.
It is funny how we often we let a lack of confidence spoil something special. The visit to the springs was a gift from my neighbours (for babysitting) and I really do appreciate it.
Today has been a lovely sunny day: cold but sunny.
The little babies I mind each day are such fun. They are becoming aware of each other and spend time "talking" to each other. Very funny and sweet.
The camellias are blooming now and promise a lovely show.
I just love the way the back petals on this one are so pink.
The other bushes are really coming on too.
The rest of the garden is improving each day.We have managed to make good use of the logs that were cut up from the trees we had taken down. Some we have kept for next year's fires and some we have used to separate parts of the garden beds.
The smaller pieces were shredded up to make mulch and we have spent many hours spreading it around the plants. I am sure we have been making safe places for the lizards and other crawly things that live in the garden.
The fish pond is settling in well and is ready to for the pump to be installed. By the spring it should have some plants in it and some fish as well.
There is still lots of planting to do but I am very pleased with the progress so far.
This is the view from the top of our driveway. I just love the shape of our eaucalyptus trees. They are so unruly and interesting.
From here we can see Mornington and across to Mount Martha. It really is a lovely place to live.
Tomorrow I am having a day out: visiting friends for lunch and then I am going to have a massage and a bathe at a luxury day spa about an hour's drive from here. I am looking forward to it: it is said to be one of the best in the world. My neighbours (parents of the twins) have given me a voucher for a bathe in the mineral pools and a massage and although it sounds strange to be going somewhere like that in this cold weather I am sure it will be relaxing.
Peninsula Hot Springs - Welcome - Day Spa on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula Victoria Australia
Thanks to everyone who made kind comments on my last post. Fortunately I woke up feeling a lot better and decided that I should really try to tap into my creative side today as the practical side wasn't working for me.
So I spent about 2 hours playing around with the embellishing machine. I created some strips from silk tops, wool tops and some white sparkly synthetic yarn which turned out really well. The black & red strip on the side was made from sari silk waste.
It is great therapy to just relax with fabric and machine for a while.
The weather here is continuing to be extremely cold and wet. Last night was particularly horrible with thunder, lightening, wind and hail as well as lots of rain. Today has been a bit better and I have not needed to be out so much.
The little girls I mind each day are growing up quickly and are nearly crawling. I do enjoy this time: little babies have so few expectations - a bottle or cereal when they are hungry and some cuddles and then play time.
thanks again for your comments and support - it is always appreciated.
I just don't know where the last week has gone. Not much achieved: very disappointing really. I feel quite overwhelmed by the things that need to be done lately. I know I have nothing to complain about: a nice home in a beautiful place, a loving family, great neighbours, freedom to do pretty much what ever I like each day. I think it must be the sudden onset of winter that is getting me down. Never mind: I did manage a visit to take pics of sunset at Canadian Bay. I will post one here to share and hope I have something more to say soon.
