broderie

watching tennis and ................

this week the australian tennis open is on in melbourne, it is a good excuse to be able to sit and watch some of it during the day as well as at night into the wee small hours sometimes !

i have been cutting and sewing and embroidering with friends of all ages, take a look at some of the pictures

i purchased and brought these young dollie girls back with me from hobart, i do have a little collection of little dollies, never too old !

but i also had the company of two nearly 12 year olds for a couple of afternoons and we did some crafting and some sewing, the first day we got the big shot machine out with some cardstock and my favourite thing, jak paper ! and we made some hanging birds, the girls chose their colours and ribbons and we went to work and made these

and this was the result, with a bead and a starred bell on the end of each

the girls then made a friendship bead bracelet from the large box of beads that victoria had, she put hers on her ankle and sophie on her wrist and we took this picture

then the next afternoon we got out the machine and neither of the girls had used one before, they sewed up the seams after a bit of show how and seemed quite confident, i helped a little with the next section, then they had to thread some ribbon with a safety pin into the channel

busy fingers, blurry photos, but this was the result 

they both had a dilly bag, sophie has a dog so we put pink stripes on one side of hers, victoria has both a dog and a cat so she decided to keep things even with them and had dogs one side and cats the other

the older embroidery girls were here yesterday and we had all been busy, some more over achievers that others, we are all stitching something that will be revealed later but here are a few finishes ready to be made up

part of a larger piece from marion, can't show you all of it and from jan

all very gorgeous !

i purchased this beautiful cotton just prior to christmas and have been putting it into balls ready for a crocheted project

i have been cutting all sorts of 4 1/2 inch squares, these will be made into aprons and will be sold at an exhibition at queenscliffe here in victoria on april 20 and 21st, 2012. more details later, but mark these dates in your diaries, the exhibition will be put on by mrs sew and sew and those of us who stitch with her and the monies raised will go to research into both motor neurone disease and kidney health ! 

and i have been cutting out some bits for my own version of trish harper's pattern, 'noughts and crosses', still cutting, i have always loved this pattern and it is a good one for those of us who love the scrappy look ! you can see the pattern in the for sale section on my side bar

and after jean from linen and raspberry posted about her big blooms quilt i have had a few emails asking about this quilt. i used the set of templates by matilda's own, 'kumo' VT968 to make mine and enjoyed doing it, as many of you know i love a good fussy cut and i am also happy that some want to 'copy it', flattered i am really !

off to concentrate on the tennis now !

he has been and gone

what a lovely time of the year this is, i went away for christmas to hobart and now just like father christmas i have been and now home to start the new year of 2012. thanks to all my good friends and family for making it all such a happy period of time and life.

lots of things to show you, mostly pictorial, with some comment !

our last saturday stitching day just a week before christmas was a good day, we celebrated the season, but also did some stitching

a great group of friends who meet monthly, share our interest in stitching and talk about life and all of its issues and have a good day, chatting, laughing and producing some beautiful works.

one of the group brought this along for some show and tell, it has a history, the details of which i cannot remember now, but it is very old ! and wonderful !

all so very cute, it is one panel with all these little characters done in appliqued felt and simple embroidery, what a treasure !

then i went to hobart on a secret mission, my family did not know, but my good friend deb and i had cooked up a way of getting there without them knowing. we met at melbourne airport, they were coming to melbourne for christmas and i flew to hobart, we had time between the flights to exchange house and car keys and it all worked so well. i drove to their new home, the old was familiar because i have housesat it before, so it was like a real adventure, but from the moment i put the key in the door and went inside i felt so at home !

and with this view of the magnificent derwent river in hobart there was plenty of changing views to greet me everytime i looked, which was most of the time as i just stared and enjoyed the serenity, calm and peace and emotion of being there.

just about an hour after arriving i looked out and this big liner was leaving hobart after a short stay, i sat with my large glass of cascade raspberry and could not believe i would be so lucky, so soon, to see a ship go sailing by

i waved to those leaving this beautiful city of our island state of tasmania, as they steamed past heading for open waters beyond the mouth of the river

inside it was christmas and gift left for me which i opened on christmas morning

some glass birds made me feel right at home and this one protecting the fruit on this wonderful peach tree just outside the river side of the house 

a couple more weeks after i was in residence, the peaches had ripened considerably, i can only just imagine a sit in the sun and further gazing eating one of these just straight from the tree and juice running everywhere !

this was the view late into the twilight one night

and this was sunrise on christmas eve

and this is where i sat up in bed and saw this magic moment ! i will write about it later sometime

a room with a view, and oh what a view !

and then the day came to leave ang go and stay at my home away from home, at my cousins, but not before i saw the boats come in, yes the two leaders in the sydney to hobart yacht race, i waited all day and was rewarded in the evening of jan 28th when loyal and wild oats made their entry into the river and i watched them sail by, oh how wonderful, something on the bucket list ticked ! i have seen the yachts leave from sydney harbour and seen them at constitution dock after they have arrived in hobart many years ago, but to be so fortunate to be staying right on the river and see them sail in was so special !

yes ! ah ! all so lovely !

on christmas day we had a lovely day at my cousin's home and it was just that extra bit special because we had all homegrown goodies, along with the turkey and the lamb and the ham, we had grown in the back garden, peas, pink eye potatoes, carrots, cherries and these raspberries all picked fresh on christmas morning. it was delicious and a lovely day spent with those i love !

all the way from townsville, steve was working the barbecue well, lee had cut the turkey, in fact the men in the family had it well under control

and these went with this and it was all so delicious and aren't we so fortunate to be able to share in the happy time of the year

and thanks to the neighbours, julia and frederick for looking after things her at home while i was away

and those of you who know the story, i have a new door bell ! whoo hoo, thanks father christmas, the bells are ringing again !!!

there is more, but too much to keep going today, i will be back with the second half of my time in tasmania. happy and good wishes to you all for 2012, i am back and must away to work out some stitching dates and my life after a lovely holiday.

 

 

Christmas in Hobart

I have not been able to do any posts until now cos I may have given away the secret!!! I came to Hobart on Tuesday evening and none of the family down here knew I was coming, surprise, surprise ! I am staying at the home of my friends, deb and rob, they have gone to Melbourne and we hatched a little plan and it worked beautifully, just like clockwork ! And I am in the most wonderful spot hoping to see the boats in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race pass by on the river before I leave. Just want to send all my friends and readers of these words and pictures on broderie a special wish for a beautiful Christmas and a healthy and happy new year and thanks for joining me as I write these pages and posts. I get some lovely emails from people I don't know and those I have known in the past and I appreciate each and everyone. The new and the old friendships are really treasured ! The order office is closed until January 8th, 2012, you can send them in but posting will resume after that date and thanks for keeping me so busy during the year. No pictures, just words and special thoughts to you all, Happy Christmas ! Love and good wishes, lizzie

some more of my christmas

i have been preparing this morning for my last christmas get together with some of my sewing friends, they will be here tomorrow to spend the day, our last gathering for this year! in the meantime i thought i would show you some more of the happenings in this house leading up to christmas this year.

about 3 weeks ago i had an interstate visitor, can any of you guess who it was, and i was so spoilt with this gift, so, so, loved but very, very spoilt !

she brought some show and tell

and we all had a lovely afternoon sewing and sharing !

i have been playing with my newest toy, my sizzix bigshot, and making lots of tags etc. and some friends have also caught the addiction, we have to try and control it, but i do love fiddling with paper and pens !

i have trimmed my stick tree with with lots of these and am very happy with the overall look and i eye each christmas card that arrives as a potential new tag to add to the collection next year

i also have lots of new birdy friends that have come to live with me, does someone out there know that i have loved birds for many years, and now they are everywhere !

and this old boy made an appearance

and another pear too, this may be a clue, as to who spoilt me, whoo hoo !!!

 

a tram ride and gatherings

to the tram ride a bit later in this post !

over the last few weeks i have seen some lovely bits passing through my hands, thought you may like to see some and share in the work that friends have been doing

my friend margery got her quilt finished, i have showed the liberty panel previously that she had embellished so beautifully !

my garden has a blue haze at the moment with all the agapanthus and blue hydrangeas in bloom, always a sign of summer and christmas in this part of the world

and i was so happy to share an afternoon with nancy and jenny last week and i was also spoilt with this lovely posy from nancy and these beautiful christmas lillies from jenny

we had a lovely chat and cup of tea and remembered past days and those who we gathered with at a different time, fond memories and happy times ! jenny left with a new project and i hope we will catch up again very soon !

then on monday morning just gone, nancy's husband and jenny's father, the one and same lovely man arrived at my doorstep with this !

and when opened !

they know what i love, and so my tree and pear corner now looks likes this

it was a lovely afternoon, please let us do it again soon !

 

then we had our last stitching sunday together and everyone was busy !

jenny brought her finished plaited bathmat and a cushion she had made

deidre was making things for the homemade christmas theme she is having this year, all the family are getting gifts she has made, lucky family we all thought 

this colourful dilly bag she had made for herself, and this cushion

oh aren't these these owls just gorgeous, and when deidre was buying the threads for this project, another customer in the shop commented that they were a strange lot of colours to buy !!! beautiful, i would say !

lavina has been stitching christmas all through the year as well as lots of other things ! i forgot to take a photo of her lovely new quilt top, you will just have to wait a bit longer !

these will all be family treasures for christmases to come !

some of the busy stitchers !

sharyn has finished her quilt for a grand daughter, it is so pretty for a 6 year old and lots of work later it is just gorgeous !

and talking of gorgeous, these are on my desk, a bunch of my favourite hydrangeas from dianne from her garden in the dandenongs !

and also these iris in another spot in my house from gloria !

lots of lovelies !

and now to the tram ride, i found it an emotional journey ! i have not been to the city for a long time, i just can't do the walking, but when i was invited to go to lunch with a group of ladies that i have known for many years ( a sewing group ) and i had to go to the 'paris' end of collins street and my local tram goes right down that way and the stop was just at the address, i decided i can do this ! so off i went, tram was diverted from collins street due to an accident and we went right to the other end of melbourne to spencer street, thanks to a very nice man from maffra (in gippsland, country victoria ) i got off the tram and onto another to travel right up to the end of collins street where i wanted to go!

lunch and the company was lovely, thanks so much for inviting me, a real treat!

back on the tram i got to make the journey home, people got on and people got off, all types of people that are part of a big city and i wondered about some of their stories, they were all ages, some may have been wondering about me, the older men dressed smartly in their suits and collar and ties reminded me about all the years my father used to catch the tram to the city in the job he had after he retired. there were people with empty eyes and sad faces, i wondered how they were going to spend christmas and i was just coming home from a special treat and had more to look forward to, school kids also with all their knowledge, but did they have the same wisdom as the people with the sad eyes or the men in suits or the man from maffra ?

the tram ride got me thinking and i still am !

i have some more lovely things to show you, but enough is enough i think now, i will be back soon ...................................

new patterns !!!!!!!!!!

the old saying is 'a pinch and a punch' for the first of the month !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well i have something much nicer, some new patterns !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'galaxy' by trish harper

 

'elephant walk' by trish harper

 

'noughts & crosses' by trish harper

these patterns can all be purchased from my side bar under 'quilt patterns for sale' !!!

 

i have been playing alot with my 'bigshot' and having lots of fun with paper, card and fabric, making and creating, oh it is very addictive !

these gorgeous fabrics came from amitie and i love these tags !

just playing, just doing and enjoying !

just being !

i think my lead up to christmas will be calm, pleasant and enjoyable !

 

somuchtoshow, somuchtosay !

at my house it has been busy lately and the christmas parties have started and so the decorating was up early ! this is my advent calendar, i will open the first door or window on december 1st of course.

and at the back door of my advent house a dear friend has left a beautiful blue bottle to help me through the hot summer, thanks dianne and paul 

our stitching groups gathered together this week to party and kris kringle and there were lots of new friends arrived here at my home !

simone was very happy

i was very happy

gloria was a very happy cushion girl

and deidre was so happy, she was hugging her cushions !

a happy night was had by all and we meet again on the first sunday in december, just next sunday for another stitching day

i have been playing with with new 'bigshot' and these are the result of recycling some christmas cards from previous years into tree ornaments that will last forever, i love them

 and i also created this little corner with my trees and pears

then on friday

i went to the airport to pick up a friend who was coming to stay for the weekend and saw the home grown christmas trees on the way there, have always liked these two houses perched up high on one of melbourne's busy roads, i was able to park opposite and kill a little time before i got onto the freeway, the traffic had been light and i was running early for the pick up in the fast lane !

amidst all the wires and the power pole and a policeman on his bike passing by stands this wonderful tree

we gathered together, another lot of stitching friends

the table was gorgeous and also the tree

and also the goodies to eat for lunch

and delicious treats

and lots of chat

and some laughs

and pressies too

and margery too

we all love margery !

the parties have definitely started, i will be back soon !

 

11th day 11th month and 2011

this day and date brings lots of thoughts to me of times and people in my life

not red poppies, but hollyhocks in a garden in a place that is special to me

my grandfather kingston died on this day

a friend's father died on this day 30 years ago and she misses him everyday, still, but we are so lucky to have these special thoughts and memories that are treasured

 

many fathers and grandfathers would be remembered today

remembrance day

lest we forget

 remember my pruned roses just a few weeks back

remember the sticks

now look at the forest ...................... of roses, they open from their buds so quickly, but are a joy of pink to look at, nature is amazing and melbourne is looking so lush and green, it is so nice after all the years of dryness we have had and the gardens have suffered, but not this year, they are lovely, beautiful and gorgeous !

and some beautiful embroidery i saw during the week, a blanket for a new baby

and some old friends i found in the cupboard in a box

i bought these many years ago and the pattern from the hawthorn market and made some too, they asked nicely so they are out of the cupboard for some time with me

a friend who has not long returned from a trip to france found these in the window of the hermes store

yes, they have used many cotton reels to make the shoe and the handbag, very clever

i also have 3 friends that have celebrated their birthdays on this day 11/11/11

to deb, deidre and pamela good wishes and love on this remembrance day and happy birthday to you all

 

galaxy of stars

this week in melbourne stars gather, it is melbourne cup week, the race that stops the nation is on tomorrow and it brings all the equine stars to the track and those of the racing industry as well as stars from all over the world !!! a great week to be in melbourne !!!

no better time to launch a new pattern from 'trish harper designs' called 'galaxy' !!!

you will notice some 'camelot' circles in there with the addition of all those beautiful stars, this pattern is a great use of all your fabrics stored in the cupboard and set into a bright white background it looks wonderful ! it is a star in its own right ! pattern available soon !

for those attending the racing week festivities, enjoy, i used to go when i was young and could walk and stand all day ! now i enjoy watching it all on television, sewing and maybe sipping something with a slice of lemon in it, lots of ice, a gin and tonic !

all the rain we have had has produced a bountiful supply of lemons, i think i have enough gin to go with the lemons !!!

i have a new toy i am playing with also ! papercrafting !

when i saw 'tickled pink', i thought...........

yesterday her majesty the queen came to my town, melbourne, australia, to open the new royal children's hospital, it was only a fleeting visit, but a lovely visit.

reporting on the day on the news last night they came up with this description 'tickled pink' which has memories for me. my dad loved the royal family and one of his favourite expressions of being pleased about something was that same expression. it would have been his 102 birthday today, he died just 6 years short of getting his 'tickled pink' letter from the queen. and just for my own recording of events on this blog i include other photos of the day, all just taken from the television screen.

the royal tram with the shrine of remembrance in the distance

the royal tram crossing over the yarra river on princes bridge

and the royal range rover waiting to take the queen and duke of edinburgh up the driveway to government house for lunch.

and i had some fun last sunday taking photos out in the garden of some of trish harper's quilts and show you some of them here for your interest and comment

for babies and young children 'the juggler'

do you want to see more of them in detail, was that yes ?

and then there is a new design using some of the 'camelot' circles with some stars !

i will show you that over the weekend in the next post here on 'broderie' !