Whispering hearts

I am doing one of Jude Hill's on line workshops callede whispering hearts and this is the beginings of an idea. I had done the background ages ago and felt it needed something, now it has hearts, and perhaps a bit more in time, mostly using hand dyed stuff or second hand fabric.
I have finally had a little bit of time to relax, but have suddenly realised it is a granddaughters Birthday next week (two this week end) and I have no money and nothing for her so I had better have a search and see if I can find a speccy looking bracelet I can make she might like.
We are going through a very bad patch money wise so I am trying to keep a low profile on spending and using up what I have.
It seems worse this year, not sure why, but this is always a low time for income as the cows have mostly been dried off and those calving are a bit slow coming into full production.
Dont forget to enter for my give away and spread the word.

Give away

I have decided to have a give away, I may add a few more bits and pieces, depending on the response I get, or I may make it into two or three gifts. there are some old doilies, a doll, a house, a heart, a bag and a cuff and a beaded bead.
Just let me know if you want to be in it, and pass it on to others if you like. I will draw it on Friday evening the 6th of May, I am in Australia so please work out when that is.

Walking Pt Elliot

I made this collage yesterday as I thought I would be too tired to do much after even half a day in Adelaide. I am, we had haircuts, I bought a couple of acrylic inks to try and we came home. Had a Hungry Jacks lunch overlooking the sea.
It has been a lovely day but some how I think I need a few quiet days to get over the last week or so.
I loved the walk yesterday, bright skies, families fishing off the beach, the end of the 5 day Easter Break and we could relax and enjoy the scenery. I even found quite a lot of nice sea glass to play with later. It was in amongst the bits of shell where the crab claw was.
We are so lucky to live so close to scenery like this.
Watch out in the next few days on this blog as I am trying to get together some stuff for a give away.

Sunday night dinner Monday lunch

The family or part of it in for a roast on Sunday night, not enough room inside so we had to rug up and eat outside, it was a lovely night and Millie and Mason had a lovely time stirring up Tabby as you can see.
We had friends in for lunch yesterday and again as the weather has been so lovely we sat outside and had lunch. This is the table set before they came, then I was too busy.
A simple meal, fish and salad and fresh stewed quinces, a last minute decision and it was lovely.
I have had my friend P staying for a couple of nights and it was lovely to see her relax a bit and interact with the children.

Cas Holmes class

This is a small snippet of some of my work at Ballarat, none of them finished, first the pieces I isolated from a slap down bit of collage to go a bit further with, second the original collage and then two other pieces to work on later using paint and dye and stitch and paste.
I am leaving these two pieces to think about a bit more.
Today was another magic day, blue skies and sun but we do need more rain.
An impromptu lunch with friends.
More tomorrow.

Sellicks Beach Collage

I am so far behind with my photos I think there will be a few collages coming up so you can see what I have been doing and where. John went fishing here yesterday and came home with a nice number of fish. We walked here on Saturday.
Still trying to put away stuff and finding things from Ballarat. I hope I am back to normal soon!
The weather has been so lovely I have also been clearing up and planting a few things in the garden, it doesnt do my back much good but if I wait for John things are a bit late.

First collage of Ballarat

Just a few photos into a mosaic from last week, there will be more to come. I am too busy still trying to sort the house out and yesterday we went out for lunch and all had far too good a time!
Enough said.
Most of these photos are of the college grounds, one of Cas showing us how to make a biscuit into a book cover and the mad table that we all had to add to each day.
During the night 'fairies' came and altered things by the dining room, the shoes were part of the fun things that happened.
The barb wire baskets and my contribution to the book we made for one of the students whose grandson had suddenly died and had to leave without finishing a class she was so obviously enjoying.
This has been one of the best years for autumn colour in a decade.

Home from Ballarat

I am still recovering from a great few days and workshop with Cas Homes from the UK.
First the class photo, not the best, some had their eyes closed.
Then Cas playing the fool on the last night at the class table. She was an absolute hoot and yet a great teacher with it.
A shot of part of our display table on the last night, a great crush of people and it wasnt easy to get photos of anything.
This was a fascinating class with so many new ideas to try out, I cant wait to have some time to myself.
Finally the view that I saw when I got home, leaves of all colours everywhere.
I hope tomorrow when I finish unpacking and tidying up I will be more coherent, although as we are going out tomorrow maybe I wont be.

Away again

I am off for a few days, to Ballarat and Textile Forum and classes with Cas Holmes, It should be fun and interesting.
the car is packed and I have a large casserole on which I hope will keep John fed for a few days.
The house is cleaned, and what I dont have I will just have to make do with what I have.
Not sure about all this gallivanting off, I need a week at home to relax.
An early start as it is a long drive.
I will have the little computer but probably very little time to use it.

I am back

I had a few problems working out what photos came out best and I am not sure if these were. I will try again tomorrow when we are not so tired. The first photo is of the Jill Maas dolls we made at a class, mine is on the right, the colourful one is one of Jills one of us bought (Jaslyn) and one of the dolls was shrunk.
Next is Tiddy Widdy and the views from the house and what we made! Love making these crazy fellows, draw up a pattern, go the the op shop and create. I thought I had more I will look tomorrow.
It was a fun laughter filled few days , the weather at Tiddy Widdy was cool except for the first day but we were happy with the view good food and madly sewing, with as I said the odd foray into the op shop at Ardrossan.
More tomorrow.

flowers, fake and real

Here is my lovely fuchsia , I have found and uploaded it.
The second one is part of an online class I am taking, the large flower is a paper naplin bonded to felt and then run through my cuttlebug with the center flowers made by cutting them with my new Tim Holz dye cut using Beryl Taylors method of paper and paint on fabric then all put together with a flower brad. Such fun.
I wandered around the garden to see what was happening and the golden ash at the bottom of the orchard is begining to turn into its lovely buttery yellow.
The colchiums are all out and flowering, they always give me so much pleasure as we really cant grow crocus well but these fellows are really easy and are always there in autumn, I really must remember to transplant a few around the place, of course I never remember when it is the right time but they may not mind being lifted a bit later.
Uh oh I seem to have lost the fuchsias which are still blooming like mad and growing to great heights in the prunus outside my work room window, I will try and get them back.
I am off for a few days, John is home looking after everything but I will be in Adelaide for a night and then off to York Peninsular at the wonderfully named Tiddy Widdy until Monday morning,

Finally back to the beach

I havent been walking nearly enough and my hip didnt much like the slope on the beach but my heart and soul did.
Not terribly long but enough to blow the cobwebs away.
I think the cooler weather is making my joints ache, but we have to overcome that.
Back home to a late lunch of stuffed baked mushrooms and a very welcome coffee.
I have finished what I can do of the bracelet I am making and am now back in the pink workroom trying to sort things out so I can find them, and collect the bits and pieces for next weeks workshops.
Still having problems with my photos, not sure what happened but when I export the edited ones from picasa they go back to un edited when I load them from my pictures.
The cockle train photo should have been edited but wasnt, still you can still see it roaring above the walkers on the beach.
Day light saving ended today, hooray, it goes on for far too long, end opf Feb as I have probaly said before is quite long enough. Now my body and the dogs have to get used to being an hour out, tummies on hungry dogs dont know about daylight saving and my old pug is telling me he is hungry!

Birds and eggs

I found some really pretty hand made wool felt and made up the four eggs using bits and pieces of lace, embroidery, trims and beads, I love the way they look a bit like those sugar easter eggs one got as a child. Then I decided to play with it further to make a bird shaped needle case, I really had fun with that and just to fill the basket a small chook became part of the lovely colours.
I am just back from a lovely session cutting up and sewing together the lovely prints we made on silk last week with India Flint. Silly me I didnt take a photo, although we were at this stage just getting them together, tomorrow they will have the fun of making bigger pieces out of the three patches we sewed today.
Enjoyable but tiring. India's mother Arija of Garden delights blog was there and it was lovely to meet a fellow blogger who I have followed for a while.

The garden and Sarah's puppy

I had a busy couple of days and managed a small walk down to the stables this evening, On the way I photographed a few of the flowers that are out, not a lot but a yellow crocus, I always associate them with my sisters birthday, early March but they are a bit later here. Still some roses and the fuchsia is smothered in flowers.
Sarah and Isabelle were taking the weaned foals into the stables and Sarah's new little Cairn terrier puppy Fern was sitting waiting patiently for them, tied to the back of the ute.
She is so cute, shame they have to grow up., not that she wont be sweet when she grows up, but they are adorable at this age.