HAPPY NEW YEAR & HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I have had a lovely day today although the weather was very hot: 39 degrees and a hot northerly wind.

I spoke to Linda http://billabongs2bling.blogspot.com  
and she reassured me that they are safely high above the flood waters.  

Our neighbour kindly took a load of rubbish to the transfer station (tip) for us.  It means a lot as we are unable to do it ourselves.

I was able to do some sewing so I made this bag for my youngest grandson.  He turned 8 today.

It features eary model Holden cars and maps of Australia.  Inside I have put some pens and pencils and a book I made for him.  The book contains sheets of pictures for him to colour in.  He is mad on Scooby Doo so I printed the sheets off the internet.
I do hope he likes it.  It was fun to make and I had the fabric & the zip in my stash.  We will visit him tomorrow for cake & candles.


Altogether a lovely day.


HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT COMMENTS AND ENCOURAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THE PAST MONTHS.

Endings & Beginnings

 As the year draws to a close and the new one awaits it seems like a good time to review past achievements (or not).  
Some of you will know that I resolved at the beginning of the year to use my stash instead of buying more "stuff".
I was surprised to find that it wasn't too difficult: the stash is substantial!!  

Of course by the middle of the year I "needed" to buy a new machine: the pfaff embellishing machine that I had coveted for some time was very well priced and had to come home with me.  Besides that I bought some stabiliser and other necessities to finish projects, some doiley's from the charity shops and some fleece and some fabric dyes on line.

I intend to continue along this way until the stash is less overwhelming.  

You can see one of the doileys in the first pic, it was badly stained so I dyed it for a future project.  In the second pic I have attached a piece of embroidery I did several years ago to a table mat that went into the dye batch:  this is a work in progress which I shall show when it is finished.
The last pic is of some felt I made today with some merino & silk tops: it has a lovely sheen and feels really soft.   I don't  know what I will do with it yet - maybe a scarf or the base for something else all together.


I am very aware of the wastefulness of our society (yes me too) so am hoping to do a lot more recycling in my textile work in the coming year.  There is so much fabric out there in the charity shops to choose from and quite often embroidery threads, buttons, zips etc as well.  

In the meantime I should just leave this computer and do the dishes. 


Before I finish I would like to recommend two blogs that I really enjoy.  
http://retromummy.blogspot.com



 http://dosfishes.blogspot.com

take a look when you have time.

ARAWATA

The Christmas socialising continues:  today we visited some friends who recently moved onto a small rural property.

They have a lovely home on about four & a half acres:  Arawata is about one and a half hour's drive east of our home - in East Gippsland. 

The country-side is beautiful, with rolling hills, lush grass and cattle grazing.

It is an area that produces quite a lot of milk and associated dairy products.

Our friends have a couple of chickens and also allow their neighbours the use of the paddocks for grazing.  The gardens around the house are lovely, featuring kangaroo paws, and lots of other shrubs.


This is one area of Australia which has not suffered from the recent drought or the current floods.  


So many lovely places to visit:  I hope you enjoy these pics.

Images

It is cool outside so I am playing with photos on the computer.

The first pic is of some flowers I received some time ago,  They are so pretty and bright.

I added some texture to the pic first.

This is the "cling wrap" effect.  I love this look.

And I can never resist a spiral.   Isn't this interesting.

I really do have lots of other things to do - for instance 3 baskets of ironing but today is a kind of day off.
We are out visiting friends again tomorrow and as I find socialising a bit of a strain I need today to relax.  

Christmas Eve

It is early evening on Christmas Eve and we have enjoyed a delicious lobster salad with champagne and are now just relaxing.

 I thought I would just show a few pics of my garden.  It seems so simple after all the bright and brash colours of Christmas.

 For many this time of year is tinged with sadness, memories of loved ones lost, illness or other misfortune.

I find comfort in nature at times like these.  

T

The birds that visit our garden, the plants that colour our world, the nearby beach all bring joy.

Thanks to each and every one of you who have visited my blog and left words of encouragement.  I really do enjoy reading other blogs:  thanks to those who share their creative lives with others.  


My wishes for a peaceful, joyful and loving Christmas time, and a creative new year.

A LITTLE BIT OF STITCHING

I have made these little book covers as last minute gifts.


They are quick & easy to make and use small scraps of fabric.

This is a phone pouch with two sections: one for the phone the other for glasses or note book.

This is the back of the phone pouch: the fabric is designed by an aboriginal artist.  I have several pieces of this type of fabric and it is great for this type of project.

The back of one of the notebooks.

This is a larger version and covers a sketch book.  I dyed the fabric and the doiley myself:  I quite like the earthy colours.

Wednesday evening

Last evening we missed the lunar eclipse.  It was too cloudy.  

At has been a beautiful day today so we decided to take a drive to Canadian Bay beach.
 

We picked up some fish'n'chips on the way and had a picnic, which was so lovely.

The sea was so peaceful and the sun was shining.

I took all of these photos into the sun and of course couldn't see a thing so it is such a surprise that they turned out so well.

We have had lots of rain lately: I was surprised to see
the obvious erosion on the cliffs by the walkway to the beach. 

The local council has been doing a lot of remedial planting to try to preserve the cliffs but mother nature always seems to win.



I hope to post some pics of needlework tomorrow.  In the meantime I hope you like these pics.