broderie

hearts of hope

on the eve of good friday and the 'good friday appeal' for our royal children's hospital here in melbourne, australia, (known well for the amazing work and care they provide, worldwide) i thought i would share this story with you all.

it is the story of a special little boy called hamish, i know his grandmother kaye, she has been a long time friend of my cousin, paula in hobart.

here is a recent photo of him, his big brother in the background.

but this is a photo of him last year, at the end of november, in the children's hospital, where he is a patient. the family often have to come to melbourne for treatment. hamish suffers from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a complex congenital heart condition.

hearts of hope australia, is an organisation set up to help and assist families of these children. kaye nugent is a director of the organisation and hamish is her beautiful grandson. www.hearts-of-hope.org is a link or you can contact kaye at her email address kaye.nugent@hearts-of-hope.org 

hearts of hope is a non profit organisation set up to support families of these children born with a heart condition that cannot be cured through medical intervention.

please support the 'good friday appeal' financially if you are able, or to support the 'hearts of hope' cause directly, maybe you could make and donate something that would be suitable for them to sell to raise some funds. if so, you could contact me via my email and i can discuss with you the options.

the latest news of hamish is that he is unable to have any more surgery and a heart transplant is also not likely due to the many treatments he has had in his short life. there will content on the television programme '60 minutes' in australia in a few weeks about children born with this and other congenital heart conditions and hamish will be featured.

in the meantime, hamish and his family are enjoying all the special moments in the life of this little boy. i urge you to help 'hearts of hope'.

it's teatime here with his teddy !

footnote: the links are not direct for a reason, but please, those of you who are interested, i know, will take the time to follow this up.

 

 

'march'ing on

a colourful day was held at my place over the weekend, lots of fabric strips, a gathering of friends, something to eat and lots of chatter and laughing !

this to this

soft colours and then strong classic combinations

it would look great with a black and white stripe lining

we were plaiting fabric strips and making little bags !

my bit of plaiting that i started about 5 years ago and all the strips fell out of the cupboard and i started sewing and did some more plaiting and by monday night i had this little basket made, think i will keep all my various glasses (that is another story) in it !

mine is quite chunky (like me) and not perfect but once i got started again i could not put it down, so don't leave your strips around here at the moment or they may become plaited. trish harper teaches this method in her classes at amitie if you live in melbourne ! 

this is just a sneak peek at a new quilt, trish is working on at the moment, for big or little girls it is very gorgeous, once again, classes at amitie and there will be a pattern, so watch this space!

and these new little scissors will add to my collection and live in my cutting implement draw. i purchased them from country stitches when i was looking at some of their cross stitch patterns! me buying cross stitch patterns!!! yes i know, but i still like to keep up with things cross stitch and get some of the patterns that really appeal to me, there was a bit of a lull for a while, but the interest is coming back! i think it is something to do with economic times, more time spent at home and the need for amusement etc., you can always get lost in a bit of cross stitch and be happy, as you can with a bit of fabric!

today, march 2nd is always special to me and my family life and the things that have happened along the way. my brother was married on this date and many years later it was also the date that my dear mum died and this year it is no different, except that it is 25years this year. it takes you on a bit of a mind journey and it has today! remembering the time and what was happening in my own life and what has happened since. 25years, a long time really, but not so long! mmmmmmh, good and bad, happy and sad, things that happened that mum was spared from and so, so many others that she would have loved to have been part of and would have enjoyed. time changes all things and now of course i am 25 years older, yes many things have happened.

i was fortunate, she was my mum and a great friend x o

reflections . . . . .

this is a photo i took a couple of weeks ago, i was wanting to just take a photo of this cross stitch family, the design 'a rose for grandma'. one of my bedrooms was reflecting in the light from the window, but i liked the effect.

there have been so many natural disasters happening in australia and now in new zealand, things we have no control over and so many families and lives will once again be altered forever. it is all so sad and unbelievable. i have been in a very reflective way of mind.

once again the light reflections from another window was shining on some of my boxes of treasures, so many people have lost all their treasures but are happy just 'to be'.

thinking of you . . . . .

i have been spending a lot of my time preparing things and finishing some things

the duckegg colour is to be the background fabric, still adding and taking, this was just the start !

this is the first tapestry done by a new young friend, saskia, she is only 15 and very keen to learn all sorts of handwork, stitching and dress making. very well done so far, look how even the stitches are!

some glimpses of some embroidery, i can't show it all to you, sorry !

and this little cardigan for a friend's grand daughter, harper !

sending love to . . . . .

anyone who needs some . . . . .

 

hobart shopping

today, after some rain and a cooler change in the air overnight, (yes it has been very hot and humid here in hobart) , a little shopping was done! my comment about the weather is for all of those who say so often when i make my way down here, 'oh it will be cool down there, you will need your warm clothes'!!!!!

i went to a couple of my favourite spots to buy some more supplies and some bits you just have to have.

 

and then i went to the quilted crow , where i met leonie and deidre and added to my recent interest in reproduction fabrics and a few others bits and patterns. the birdhouses above came from there, i just put them with the ribbons from a wholesaler that i visit down here.

so if you are visiting hobart, tasmania, our island state ( for those of you who don't live in australia) leonie and deidre are very welcoming and their shop is well worth a visit. we had a happy day and certainly were enjoying the lovely cool breeze blowing off the river derwent. catching up with a good friend tomorrow, lots of you know her from our past days working together in melbourne, she now lives down here! then it is time to get on the plane and home again on thursday. another really good nine days spent down here with the family, thanks for having me again, but i will be back!!!!!

those we loved

this is a little verse that my mother always used to write in the old 'autograph' books! remember them!

'here's to those that i love,

and here's to those that love me,

here's to those, that love those, that i love,

and to those, that love those, that love me.'

i have been reminded during these hot days in such a simple, ordinary way, of someone that i loved, we loved, who twelve months ago today, died. i know he would have loved this memory, without telling you the story, every time i have a 'robbo's raspberry' i can hear him laughing. it is a good memory, loved his sense of humour.

my christmas 'oh yes i was spoilt'

on christmas eve, you could say that i am a bit unsociable, but i love being at home and just quietly watching the carols on television. this is a tradition in melbourne, it is a live telecast from the music bowl and has been going for years and years. i always enjoy it!

this year it RAINED in melbourne on christmas eve, alot of the crowd would have been very wet, but 'carols by candlelight' goes on regardless.

father christmas sent me some lovely parcels and i was spoilt by so many friends and family.

these are very yummy, thanks father christmas!

thanks again father christmas!

get the derwents out for this, lots of fun with this!

and this lovely book from a good friend

lots of lovely hours and treats from this book will be enjoyed, i hope that you and your families enjoy 'joie de vivre'.

some other gifts from friends, can you see a theme at all, or do they all think i am 'away with the birds'!!!!!!!

thanks to these two friends, the 'partridge in a pear tree' card and this lovely little tree. as i said at the beginning i was very spoilt, very spoilt, lots of other bits to make me look gorgeous, smell gorgeous, gorgeous things to eat, chocolates! a plum pud from the family in hobart! pear bags! and this gorgeous pear cushion!

this was from my valet driver and his wife, both are good friends and as a 'pair' you have made my trips back and forth to hobart so much easier this year. i am so very grateful for the help of getting to the airport and back at the melbourne end. you know that i am, but i just wanted to say so here, so everyone knows! thanks sharyn and noel.

we sewing girls said goodbye yesterday to one of our 'dear old girls'! marlene's mum, olive o'leary, passed away just prior to christmas. olive often sat in on our sewing days and nights, she had a great spirit and i personally had alot of fun with her over the years, would sometimes 'grannysit' her and enjoyed her company. farewell to you olive and i hope that 'somewhere over the rainbow' you have a good time.

and i   

 
you all a very happy new year. i look forward to 2010, let us make it a year of friendship and caring, of happy times, of good health, of enjoyment, of sharing, of having time to smell the roses. 

and time to pursue the pastimes we enjoy, i have enjoyed the cricket, been quilting while watching, now it is time to get started on some new projects and add to some already started and maybe finish some too ! i will be back next year !  
 
 

always at my feet

when i visit hobart,my family are always please to see me ( well i think they are ) !!!!!!!

but there is a very faithful friend who is always at my feet !

meet webster!

a contented looking dog!

there was also a visit from jamieson, an airedale, just wanted to be cuddled in his mother's arms. he looked like a great big teddy bear!

his lead said 'it's a dogs life' !!!!! for this dog life is very good i think, he was very cute.

his mum is in melbourne for a few days for the paper arts fair, he was just being spoilt !!!!

and in the background you can see lucy on her mum's knee! it was just that sought of a day!

i will show you some stitching bits later today after i have had some sleep!
 

  

 

life's circles

i have been cutting some more circles in red, blue and white/cream!!!!!

my other circles are nearly finished, the quilting that is, not long to go now!!!!!!!!!

i am doing the fussy cutting and choosing the fabrics of these and a friend is stitching them, to probably go on this bed, in the new house i showed you in the last post.

earlier this year i told you that my dad shared the same birth year as the famous tasmanian, errol flynn! well today my dad would have turned 100, being born in hobart on the 27th october, 1909. i picked these roses out of the garden just to remember the occasion and their old fashioned sweet smell reminded me of the gentle ways of a dear old man who died six years ago. he always said 'if i die', not 'when i die', but passed very peacefully at home in the end, he was content and ready! another of his regular comments, when he was old was, never to say goodbye, he thought that sounded too final, he preferred au revoir!

i will tell you later how i spent the day!

 

 
 
 
 

dusting the mantelpiece

i have a mantelpiece in both my main bedrooms and today it was time to get the duster out and do a reshuffle and get rid of the dust of course. it is funny how such a menial task can take you on a different journey and it certainly did !!!!!!

this letter is framed and on the mantelpiece! it is the letter that my grandfather wrote to ask if he could marry my grandmother on september 8th, 1904. such a formal and well written letter, happily he got a positive reply.

and this is a miniature sampler on the mantelpiece! the words speak for themselves really and there is seldom a day that i don't read it to myself and try to live by them.

and there is the other miniature sampler on the mantelpiece! my birth sampler, done by a dear friend, many, many years after my birth. both these samplers are very small and stitched on very fine linen, but the magic of the camera eye and a close up shot makes them very easy to see.

i know of a young couple being married on sunday in the garden of the bridegroom's parents home and the weather forecast is for a lovely day, sunny and blue skies. i am not attending the wedding, i was involved in a small way with the preparations! i wish them good wishes for a long and happy life together.

one of the guests at the wedding has made these hearts for christmas! louise's mother, nance, stitched the little cross stitch pieces many years ago and were left amoung her bits and pieces. there were lots of little motifs stitched quite closely together, but there was also this gorgeous red linen!!! superb colour!!! why can't we buy it today?  as louise often says lovingly and it is so true, 'these have my mother's dna on them' !!!!!!!

so dusting the mantelpiece was really quite entertaining! i went on a journey of love and of family, of friends and realised that there is lots of 'dna' on my mantelpiece !!!!!!

oh! and quite a bit of dust !!!!!!!!!!!

it's gone now though !

time for every season

as august comes to an end, here in the southern hemisphere we look forward to spring! at 'jack's house' there is a new garden, lots of planning and planting has gone on over the last 12 months or so and most of the trees are now ready to show there 'stuff'! lots of buds and blossom and signs of new life. there has been some lovely sunny days here in hobart as well as lots of lovely rain (we victorians are so jealous - rain), everything is growing well. some views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

 

 

there are homes for some of our feathered friends if they choose to stay

 

some more doors of these old boat sheds on the river and the end of the of the street

 

 

 

this old boy has closed his eye and gone to bed and i must follow!