a 70th Birthday

HofM's brother celebrated 70 years on Christmas Eve - cake tends to look like  bonfire - he didn't have 70 candles but it certainly looked like it!

Christmas Day!

The xylophone drew a smile and like everywhere - the food was great.

New local park

The new park was once the site of Qld Tennis Association so there is a lot of 'tennis' themed items around the park - it is proving popular but a cost of $12.6 million seems a tad excessive - even for our Council.

A couple of firsts for Benny

Dad bought Benny to visit & we went to the new local park - so first time on a slide and then this great swing - I even had a go in the swing.

Busy Times..............

I was asked to quilt this Marimekko panel - just outlining - so it was minimal - still takes time.  Interesting experience.

BVAC @ Mt Coot-tha

This is what's on offer at the Qld Quilters' tables at BVAC Pop-up Shop today & tomorrow at Mt Coot-that Botanical Gardens' auditorium from 9.00am - 4.00pm.  Come & see what all the other artists have on offer - leatherwork, ceramics, pottery, felted pieces, jewellry, hats, handbags - so much - you'll buy everything you need for Christmas!!!!

BVAC Pop-up Shop

I have made a few of these to sell at BVAC's (Brisbane Visual Arts Community) Pop-Up Shop at Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens Auditorium from 9.00am - 4.00pm on Saturday & Sunday 22nd & 23rd November.  Hope to see a lot of friends over that weekend.  Sculptors, leather workers, quilters, textile artists & lots of other artist will be showcasing their work.

Latest quilt

Nearly done! This one might be entered in SoTA15 juried exhibition of Qld Quilters or I might get time to submit another one yet to be started....................

The Backyard is in bloom

It'll be great if these all grow big - time will tell.

The New House

No: 3 son & wife moved into their first home last week - their dog, Roxy was firs across the threshold!
She has a big backyard now & will settle in & make friends with the neighbours' dogs.

Water Iris

We have 3 different coloured water irises in each of the ponds.  This lemon one, a deep purple & a lilaccy one - note to self -must take photos & post them too.

No:1 egg

First egg - one chook laying daily - only small but very precious - she's doing well and we are looking forward to the other two joining her in laying regularly.

HerShed from a different angle

Our current Airbnb www.airbnb.com.au guests are from China & Xin took these photos - makes my pin cushion look really great!  I showed her Mum, Lisa (she doesn't speak any English except for 'Hello, Good-bye & Thank you') how to use an electric sewing machine.  She only has a treadle machine.  She is going home with two strips from a jelly roll sewn together & a few more strips to add on when she gets home & buys a new machine!  We didn't even need an interpreter!

We forget how interesting our stuff is until we see it through another's eyes.  Thank you Xin for these lovely photos.

In the front yard

Lorikeets visitng the bottle bruch in our front yard - the flowers are beautiful his year.

Visiting Family

No: 1 son lives with his family at Mt Nebo - just a little west of Brisbane - they have visitors every day - wildlife - beautiful birds and they entertain the little one.  She loves them.

Qld Quilters Quilt Show

Qld Quilters' members outdid themselves this year - over 200 entries - below is a taste of what was only display. I didn't take a lot of photos - not sure why - but I did white glove duty (walking the floor & keeping an eye on the general populace, making sure they don't touch the quilts) on Saturday & sat on the 2QAQ table talking & demonstrating on Sunday.  It was a great weekend - said "hello" to friends I had not seen in years & talked to ladies from western Queensland.  Some ladies travelled over 6 hours to get to the show - they were great to speak with.  Congratulations to all who participated. Winners can be seen on the 2Q site https://www.qldquilters.com/index.html

Broadstrokes

Six of my very talented friends form the group - Broadstrokes - they each received a length of cactus silk fabric and were challenged to produce something.  These are the results - so varied & all so lovely.

More of Calendar challenge

Here are more of the challenges - 2 members managed to do one postcard for each month of the year & they were brilliant as were the others produced.

Calendar Challenge

2QAQ members were challenged to produce something on the theme of 'calendar'.  I had great plans to make something each month - January was as far as I got.  I used 2 diarys - pages from each diary came together to for this month.  It was all I managed to get done..............

The Schook Villa is occupied

HofM finished the Villa for the girls and we now have 3 housed comfortably. They have settled down & now we wait for them to lay  - about 3-4 weeks time.

Wish he lived in my yard

This green tree frog lives in my sister's letter box.  He disappears sometimes but always comes back.

Colography

I was invited to a Broadstrokes meeting where we played with colography (think that's how it's spelt!) - we made pieces with corrugated cardborad, string, lentils, lace & lots of other stuff.  We glued on to cardboard and will at some time use paint to transfer these designs on to fabric or paper of whatever we choose.

2QAQ Meeting

More of the work of the talented members of Qld Quilters Art Quilt Group - this was shown at our last meeting.