Friday evening

 Today I had a quick trip to some op shops and picked up these treasures from the Salvos in Tyabb Road
Mornington.

Beautiful hand made and embroidered doileys: especially love the cross stitch Christmas one.

They also had lots of pieces that had been commenced but not completed.

It is difficult to take a good photo of these.

This one looks particularly interesting.  

I cannot help wondering who started these pieces.

 

Of course I had to have these gorgeous hankies.  Some of them have exquisite fine lace while others are beautifully embroidered.

In addition to these lovely things I managed to find some other bargains while I was out.  Some mirrors for downstairs, a dolls house for the twins (for their second birthday) and a small weaving loom.  These items are still in the car but I will photograph them some time.

I am beginning to accumulate lots of stuff so some will find their way to ebay eventually to make room for the things I most want to keep.  Selling the occasional item on ebay means I can buy some more things for my textile adventures.  Win Win.

nectarine - thread painting

I have been sorting through my stash of stitching and supplies and today I came across this thread painted nectarine which I did some years ago. Unfortunately I cannot remember who designed this but I think it was a project in an Inspirations magazine.  Now I have to decide what to do with it.

back to basics

After a day of sunshine and time spent outdoors it is raining again now.

We are watching an old episode of Miss Marple and I have been sketching some ideas for a new creation. 

 It is a simple design that I will probably paint onto some evelon and then stitch and embellish.

Well that is the plan at the moment.

I find sketching to be really relaxing and it helps to keep a record of what I am thinking about.

 

A lot of what I sketch doesn't

make it out of the sketchbook but it is still useful as an exercise.

As spring approaches there is plenty in the garden to be inspired by.

purple pieces

 I have been away from my blog for a little while but am back again now.

At last I have finished the 40 day creativity experiment piece.

Although the challenge was to work on a piece for at least a minute each day for 40 days, I didn't manage to work on this everyday.

My time and enthusiasm was somewhat curbed by several visits to doctors and a short stay in hospital over the past few weeks.

Fortunately there was good news at the end of it all but the uncertainty did take a heavy toll.  If it wasn't for a very understanding doctor who understood my anxiety and my dear friend Linda who listened to me when I needed to talk I am not sure how I would have coped.  It is times of great stress that you know who you can truly count on.  Thanks Linda.

As a result my creative urges have been pushed to one side and although I have been reading blogs I haven't felt much like commenting.

Today was a beautiful spring day and it is amazing how a little sunshine can put the smile back.

Anyway the second pic is of  prostanthera ovalifolia native mint bush which is in bloom in our garden at present.

Kookaburra

paper roses

this looks like a lot of fun.

I thought you might like this link.  Enjoy 

spring