Playing with the embellisher

I have been playing a bit with my embellisher and this is what I came up with using varius bits and pieces, mostly wool roving. I dont think it is actually anything but I quite liked the way it has come together. Not sure which way up it should be!
Yesterday Wendy and I and varius members of my family got together and wound rayon thread, Wendy and I had bought between us this great stuff and the idea was to divide it between us. Well the first couple we did we made an awful mess of tangles and snares, after that we got sensible and the two of us did it and wound from one reel to another and it was much faster too. A great amount of giggling and hilarity was in place when the fellow from the bank walked in to discuss us transferring from one bank to another. He probably thought we were quite mad, oh and Oscar (the cat) got into the act too which didnt help.
Rained in the night again which is lovely because the wind yesterday nullified the good the last lot of rain had done. All smells so beautifully fresh and clean.

Last night at about 8 pm

It drizzled last night, about 5 mm all up, not nearly enough but something. It is now hot and very humid. We went to the Zonta needlecraft exhibition in Victor last night and left at about 8 ish and ordered a pizza from the best pizza place in town where we can get Tandoori lamb pizza, sounds bizarre is wonderful.
Any way while we waited for the pizza we went up onto the Bluff and parked and looked at the scenery and I took these photos with the drizzle coming down of the view towards Kings Beach.
I thought the light was interesting and wasnt sure how they would come out on my little digital but am really pleased with them.

The odd things my hairdresser has.

While waiting for John to finish having his hair cut yesterday I cast around for things to sketch, these were within sight of where I was sitting, a strange candle holder, a ceramic angels head, a sign and the wrought iron corner holding up a shelf. My hairdresser has the oddest assortment of stuff, but he does cut well and although it was sort of airconditioned it was hot. Hot and sticky this morning, I have just done the shopping and it was surprisingly cooler here than in there. We are hoping to get some of the rain that is flooding Western Australia but it has had a habit of missing us lately.

Vase of flowers

It has been very hot so I have been trying to find stuff to sketch while I was inside, this is supposed to be white agapanthus but I managed to get the green a bit green! I had a small bunch of them inside with a left over angel from Christmas. Oh and the odd thing in front is a leaf shaped pottery plate.
I am doing this late as we went to Adelaide today, the 40 degrees didnt quite make it, I think it was 38 but still awfull hot so we cut short doing anything but the essentials, seeing my mother and having our hair cut.
Done with pen and derwent watercolour pencils.

Stonyfell House

John has been doing a lot of research into his memories of his family home, Stonyfell House and this is a photo of a painting done by his Aunt Pat.
It shows the lilacs all out in flower so was Spring time. We dont own this photo a cousin does but it is one of my favorites and a great memory of a house I didnt know very well but enough to be very impressed by it. Now out of the family sadly, we have never gone back and after an article in a local mag dont want to.
I first went there aged about 16, and the aunts were really very old and most intimidating. Aunt Pat lived to see our oldest and adopted son before she died.
There were 3 maiden aunts, Aunt Lou (Lucy), Aunt Het (Harriet) and Aunt Pat (Martha) and a maiden uncle who got lumped in with the aunts, Uncle Tom. The oldest born in 1868 and died around the 1956 with the others going up until 1970 ish.
Aunt Pat was well known in the art cirles of the late 1800 and early 1900 but I never saw her paint, but we have many of her paintings here. Something to look up to.
John is the only son of the youngest son of 12 and his father was in his mid fifties when he was born so a huge generation gap. After John's mother died when he was 11 he was sent to boarding school in Adelaide and spent many happy week ends at Stonyfell getting to know it and his aunts as perhaps none of the rest of his generation could.

Textile Tag

I am doing a tag swap with one of the groups I am in and this is the one I have finished. The theme was friendship so there is a shrink plastic hand, I couldnt find a suitable charm, or rather enough of the charms I had so I made a few. The base fabric has many layers of paint, fabric angelina etc with some burning back, FME and using my flower foot on the machine. They were fun to do but have been sitting on my table waiting for me to finish them since before Christmas.
I have been generally tidying up, watering and watching my new foal in the heat, not that he seems to care about it.
Friends in tonight to eat prawns and the fish John caught.

Oscar and the trevally

Happy New Year to every one. I do hope that this year is better than the last one and brings rain and high milk prices and good health to us all.
John went fishing yesterday and amongst other fish he caught these trevally which I hope to sketch as well. Oscar LOVES fish and he nearly went berserk trying to get them. He usually stands up to his full and not inconsiderable height and tries to hook them off the draining board. Unfortunatly the photos of him doing this were blurred as he was in such a state. He did get fish, John usually brings home for him the ones that I wont eat.
We had a lovely night last night over at friends place at Parawa, although there was a lot of smoke in the air. Not sure where it was from as it was old smoke but John said there was a fire in the South east so maybe that was it.
We all contribute to New years Eve dinner and as I said I made cold cucumber, leek and mint soup, followed by a wonderful smoked salmon and egg pie with salad and an equally lovely panne cotta with fruit.
We sat around talking until well after midnight and I dont think we got home until about 1.30, by which time I was very sleepy.
I dont think I am planning on any specific New Year promises but I hope to keep communicating and sketching and photographing as well as doing textile work through the year.
My best wishes to all who read this blog.