broderie

ready for christmas

the greeting on my front door and i am wishing everyone just that

let's hope that it is peaceful and calm and safe, take care !

i am just going to share with you some visions of christmas that i have snapped over the last few weeks

these are just in this house that i have called home for the last 6 years

i have enjoyed this and up to day 22 of course today !

friends have gathered 

kris kringle ! and what do you think was in this box, some people and you know who you are deidre !!! are very lucky ! but they went to the right person who will treasure and admire all the work of the very creative denise ! i offered to swap all sorts, but to no avail !

the white rabbit

the queen of hearts

tweedle dee and tweedle dum.............and there was more !

and the caterpillar ! all made by denise and with such detail and oh so beautiful !

and together in the box !

there were other lovely gifts too !

then earlier in the year i did a post 'snippets from the shoebox' at trish's home and i went back to take some 'christmas snippets' ! the shoebox is full of christmas to share with the family and friends

the entire space, though only small, is where trish creates her work that is loved by

so many, no need for words, hope you enjoyed the pictures

thankyou for reading my thoughts and sharing in the activities that we all love, merry

christmas and good wishes to those who pop in here and take part, i am just going to have a quiet time before i need to find a new place to call home ! 

time for me to do some thinking and reading and then into action

love lizzie

back to reality

as the last boat passed by and the big cruise liner left, i too had to pack my bags and head back to reality

but is life just a bowl of cherries i pondered ?

so much to do in the next little while, but it was december and christmas is coming fast, so get this house looking that way ! the last christmas i will spend here ! sadly !

there was a green tree in the garden in hobart, then suddenly one day i noticed these were little pears !

and this lovely foxglove just smiled at me one day !

a christmas corner created

our last saturday stitching day for the year

and handpiecing and quilting for this friend (over achiever) is the latest craze, been an excellent stitcher of much handwork over the years, but always used the machine for her patchwork, a new addiction !

and this hst top making great progress too belongs to another friend who is hand piecing for the first time ! i think they are both having fun and really enjoying the process

and santa in this house is off with the birds at the moment !

some bright dilly bags made for the saturday stitching girls for christmas

one of the bags and one of the girls ! thanks to you all for another year of happy saturdays !

 

and my 'broderie' (old print blocks) are now at home and that's all from here tonight !

 

stitching visitors aplenty !

in the last couple of weeks there have been lots of stitching noise happening here at the house of broderie, noise, yes stitchers are a very noisy lot when lots of them gather together

we have had lots to look at and always excitement at starting something new ! and also seeing finished works of art by the friends who gather !

following on from our weekend with margaret sampson george, so inspiring, thanks marg, all sorts of things are being worked on and lots of ooohs and aaahs are heard as we all look at each others work, we all have more than one thing on the go at a time and the birthday girl, marlene, is no exception to that, she has started two new ones of these, identical they will be for her grandsons !

and this is one of her stars for 'come fly with me'

deidre is doing hers with a christmas theme and last sunday we were treated with her progress

 and, clever girl

oh christmas tree ! that's what i like about marg's teaching and influence, she gives you an idea and you can do your own thing !

looking pale and very pretty, anna has started her 'camelot' quilt

and then michelle came for dinner during the week and brought her 'camelot' blocks that she has done so far and in complete contrast they are looking very gorgeous

such a contrast in both of these making of 'camelot' !

the pattern and others can be purchased from my sidebar, all designs by trish harper

the embroidery girls had some finishes, noelle with her scarf, and jan with her clutch purse, both really lovely, very happy embroiderers !

in all the excitement and noise, i have to blame something, the camera did not take the usual sharp picture, but jan was wearing the perfect jumper to match her bag

and i have been interviewing some fabrics for a new project, yes i have heaps started, but back to the interviewing ! after seeing another of marg's versions of an old quilt, i want one too ! very early days !

and i have been to brigitte giblin's website and downloaded her pattern for her large hexagon bag and saw these scissors, oh i do love scissors !

they are really good, as my hands are now arthritic and very sore a lot of the time, i love these !

happy days to you, i have been having lots of them ! 

 

 

 

 

stitching on a soggy sunday

another new month and the beginning of the next 6 months of the year, whoosh ! where did the first 6 go, passed in a flash !

it's only 2 weeks now to the birthday celebration stitching weekend for my friend marlene and the excitement is building ! i have made quite alot of progress on my preparation, so looking forward to seeing how it all comes together, i have the pictures in my mind, i wonder if i can get them out onto my background fabric, some linen is my choice !

i love this lozenge, it's funny how you stitch away and when some are finished i get a sense of satisfaction for some more than others, but together they all seem to blend or contrast, both is good i think

stitching sundays are popular at my place no matter the weather, often with friends as last sunday, or on my own ! and 'gorgeous' is a word that flies round the room as we look at what has been done by those who come, i am going to share with you some of the 'gorgeousness' that was here last sunday

trish had just whipped this up on the machine using lots of pretty scraps and had just finished this embroidered christmas table runner, i will share with you some of the busy little people and dogs having fun in the snow, even though we have our christmas in summer in australia, the traditional scenes of christmas in the northern hemisphere are never far away 

there is lots of snow and this worker is having a rest and leaning on his shovel !

lots of snow in the snowfields here also, good for the school holidays and those who love the winter sports

gorgeous ! gorgeous !

jenny had her hearts on and i just loved the fabric her box was made from

and inside her box of goodies (love the lining too) were these sweet embroidered floral circles

and we were goung to prune the roses, but earlier in the week, my front fence was repaired and painted and the roses were pruned with a saw almost to ground level, yikes, it was jenny who did them last year when i had my broken leg

enjoy this new month !

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 !!!

 

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 !

 

watching and waiting

as we all know there has been alot of watching and waiting happening on the east coast of australia in the past two weeks! our hearts and emotions have been heavy with the news of the terrible floods that have occured in queensland, also in new south wales and now in my home state of victoria, in some of the most picturesque of our country towns, and also in tasmania. the human spirit has been tested, reaction from the australian community has been very heartening, thousands of people ready to help one another. there is a very small minority of people who take advantage of these devasting times in this great country, such a pity we have some with such a mean spirit.

locally, just in my street, i am so fortunate to have some very good people who certainly have great spirit and are very kind to me, 'my bin friends'!!!!!!!!!!!!! it is bin night tonight and i was also reminded that i had not done a post since 7/1/11, so for you 'bin friends', at least i know that i have two readers!

this is where i have been and some of what i've been doing while i was away and since i've been home!

 
big twin boys and puppy love waiting for santa on chistmas eve

 
after christmas we headed to orford on the east coast of tasmania for a few days

 
an uncle of mine spent many a 'happy hour' or two or three at this old inn

 

 

 
 
great beach and river views

 
then a day trip to oatlands, this is the old flour mill that has been brought back to working order, the only problem, so many people around and you couldn't buy a loaf of the famous sourdough bread. the bakery was closed for renovations!!!

 

 
inside the old stable where the draught horses were rested, now it is all operated by electric power

 

 
a partierre garden

 
lots of dry stone walls, and then onto ross

 
on the main street lots of pretty buildings

 
this little cottage was for sale

 
this vintage car driver stopped for a photo while we had stopped for a coffee !

 

and talking of vintage! i was presented with this old door stop by a friend to do something with! it belongs to a 90 year old whose daughter said 'get rid of this mum' ! i agree to get rid of it off the floor, however i could not bring myself to change it at all, it was filled with sand and a heavy two hands full to hold, but so tactile and just gorgeous !

 
i decided it was 'time' for it to be left as it was, original !

 
and after handpiecing this quilt of just large squares from  pieces of fabric that i loved and collected some time ago, with so much other piecing and quilting waiting to be done i had it machine quilted just at the end of 2010 and have put the binding on to complete it

 

 

so waiting and watching ! i am off to watch the end of the tennis match and you must wait for the next post and hello to my 'bin friends' !

playing with new things

since christmas day many hours have been spent playing with new things received, i am doing this post on my new little notebook computer, great for travelling, a lot lighter than my laptop!

there are new books, new dvd's, new patterns, new stitching and more mundane things like a steam mop that paula is testing! no photos of it, but much easier than the conventional way.

 
if life is just a bowl of cherries, as they say, then life should be very good! we have been eating delicious cherries and youngberries and raspberries from my cousins garden, they are oh so sweet and the flavour compared to the shop ones, there is no comparison.

 
we went and spent a few days down at the 'shack' at orford on the east coast of tasmania. the term 'shack' is the tasmanian way of saying holiday house, it is most comfortable and very peaceful usually, however the new next door neighbour was laying floor boards and even the dog, lucy, was not liking it much!

 

 
decorated with a seaside theme, there is lots of good spaces for inside and outside stitching, hmmmmm a good spot for a sewing weekend or week?????!!!!! there is even a picture of some old bathing beauties!

 
i did say there was a seaside theme!

 
and there was a lot of stitching done, now i am warning you ............ look away if you don't want to see, but lucy decided she wanted to learn a bit of patchwork!!!

 
i did warn you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

then we have celebrated a birthday, deb made a beautiful sponge with fresh raspberries and cream for paula! it is home and on a lettuce diet for me!

 
and now to some of the stitching i have been doing down here in hobart in the last three weeks, apart from the christmas, new year and birthday celebrations and all the eating that has been done.

 
more pineapples and putting them together

 
and a start on another project for the year, spools in blue and white, they are 5 1/2 inch finished blocks and i was doing them all in square and half square triangles, but have now cut a template for the sides and tops to make it quicker!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i will be back, going home tomorrow to my place, always happy to be there, but sad too because am leaving you all down here in hobart town!