Home from a week in Ballarat

My friend Wendy and I left for Ballarat last saturday week to do some classes with Fiber Arts Australia, a great 5 days of interacting with friends, making new friends and generally having fun with like minded women.
My class was with a young lass called Jade Pegler who makes the most wonderful 'things' out of paper.
We folded paper but we also made a lot of paper mache which I really didnt ever play with as a child and boy I wish I had.
My small selection of 'things' is in the bottom photo.
I have trouble getting an idea of what I want to do, no imagination! But once I started ideas began to flow.
Basically Jade gave us a list of how to and we went off and covered rocks and made hollow tubes etc and then began to put it all together.
Something I hope to go back to soon.
I got terribly tired as the class rooms etc were a long way from my room and I did a lot of walking which my knee didnt take terribly kindly too.
Of course sleeping in a strange bed doesnt help either, so I sat and did some sewing at night with my knee (leg) up and also a little bit of painting.
Autumn is more advanced over there and I picked a tiny bunch of cotoneaster berries and leaves and that is the first photo.
I was awake very early one morning, daylight saving happened to end while we were there, and this tree was in the car park and the early morning light yellowed one side of it. I dont thini I got that yellowing terribly well but, well that was my tree.
It is a good 8 hour drive over and we came back on Friday, leaving early but stopping at the odd op shop and having a coffee and a lovely lunch at the bakery in Keith and were back at Wendy's by about 3 and I was home a bit before 4.
Such a great class and such great people, it is lovely to make new friends and catch up with old ones.
Then of course there was the unpacking, the washing, cleaning the house (not yet finished!) shopping for food and not sleeping agian because I was excited to be home!
so the things I was going to do today have sort of got done, but I fell asleep in my chair a little while ago and woke up cold.
The weather is changing, the vine is going red, but so far not much rain, about a mm if we were lucky this morning.
It is so dry and dusty, I would love the rain to start.
Double click on my beasts to see them better.
The two little boats were because I had a stone I had covered with paper and then didnt know what to do with them!
I know they probably dont make sense to you, but I love all of them.