broderie

Strange Times we are all in ........

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying this slower pace of life that the majority of us are living, thinking so much about those on the front line doing what they can and all those amazing health workers, without any of them, we could not manage covid19

here are some photos to make you feel better from my little corner of the world and thanks to you all who have been in touch, I’ll get back to you 

these were the last of my rose, I say rose because I only have one, grows in a pot, but has just produced so many beautiful blooms this year, love it 

this is a quilt, very nearly finished by Melissa who comes to my group of friends who stitch with Margaret Sampson George. It’s Melissa’s version of Out of the Blue, pattern by Marg ! It’s a very soft palette and it’s beautiful ! 
her friend Sharon who also comes brought this to show us all at our last class last year. I have known both these girls for over 20 years and they both doing some work

both Melissa and Sharon live in country Victoria, Australia and we’re on alert during our fires recently, both their homes were not affected, both own local businesses and now this present situation, but with good humour they have survived ! 

Sharon made this a little while ago, but just look at the detail, it’s just gorgeous ! 
and the photos below is the work of another very talented stitcher, Jenny, who now lives in Tasmania, but we still catch up when possible, all done by Jenny’s clever hands, all the embroidery and hand quilting 

over all the years I’ve been been posting here, many, if not all of the wonderful array of our finished embroidery was done by the extremely talented, unassuming, quiet, disciplined lovely Sandra. I have worked with Sandra for many years, she never disappointed me when I would present her with ideas, she always came back with a beautiful finished piece, a cushion, a bag, many bags, 100’s of stockings, probably 1000’s, etc. Sandra had been sick for 6 1/2 years and I sadly received the news that she died last Wednesday, April 1st ! Taken far too soon from her family and our community of stitchers, bless you Sandra, you will be remembered by so many for all the beauty you have left behind in our homes and lives 

my last roses of summer ❤️ Sandra ❤️

 

 

It’s Christmas again 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

it has been many months since I posted, nothing since August, the time goes by so quickly because we are all busy and it’s good to be busy ! Christmas time always brings a bit of slow time for me and I love it ! There will be lots of photos of things I’ve seen and been doing, so get a cup of tea and settle for a moment !

  

I went down to Hobart at the end of September for six weeks to house sit and be with my dear ‘god dog’ Roly ! It’s always such a lovely time, I love him to bits ! The succulents in the garden are ways so wonderful and all the colours are very christmassy I think, love them !

Here he is, Roly, I suffer quite a bit when I come home and have to leave him with his mum and dad, I’d like to think he misses me ❤️🐶

This is my backyard when I’m in Hobart and it’s so special, so calming and interesting on the river Derwent in all its moods, changes with the light and wind conditions on a regular basis, always something happening ! This was a beautiful mood !

And then over with my cousins on the other side of the river, all the dogs are the centre of attention, Chloe, Archie and Roly all just get along without too much intervention from us and as long as they are with us are happy, very spoilt dogs ! 

And the miniature horses are well looked after and loved by my cousin Paula ! Zac and Prissy know when it’s about 4pm and that they will be fed, they come to the gate and wait for their special brew, both have diabetes sadly from the lush grass. Prissy has to wear a muzzle to stop her getting too much ! They have the best career to look after them !

I love the hydrangeas in my garden, they are a wonderful summer flower in our gardens in the Southern Hemisphere and they bring me great joy ! I started all these plants off from cuttings given to me by a friend and a couple of years later they are very productive and the flowers are all pink, the plants that they all  are from are all blue ! Different soil in different areas ! 

One of my cousins has a pianola and I could not help taking this pic of all the rolls in his shelves, such a pretty picture with all the colours of the labels ! Just like a patchwork quilt

This quilt above is ‘Wish Upon a Star’ by Christine Vlasic with a pretty edge, it’s in my Etsy shop if you are interested 

i downloaded and prepped other stitching pics to show you but now don’t know where they have gone, I’ll find them ! And publish them soon !

Some Christmassy corners in my home and from my friends Christmas tree the closeups of her wonderful collection of ornaments

I’d like to wish all a very happy Christmas, be safe, merry and bright ! 

 

 

 

fabric, friends, flowers and fun

lots of f words that all paint a great picture if you are a 'material lover' !

recently the no vacancies sign was up here at home, three friends came to stay and play and on the first day, i had already organised one of our regular catchups, so with a few more invites, we had a sunday gathering

beautiful parrot tulips

pink with a bit of green roses

just love the flowers !

one morning of the week was taken up with me giving a tutorial, yes to the experts staying with me, of how i line and make up a bag. the bag was maree's work, brigette giblin's nundle bag pattern, available from her website

it was given the seal of approval ( thanks margaret, it's a tape measure )

we shopped each day, taking all the interstate visitors to the melbourne shops on their lists, we covered a fair bit of ground, but still had time for some sewing and having a bit of fun with friends

this was my stack to add to what i already have, so naughty i know ! we visited gail b's in bayswater, gj's and cuttingcloth in fairfield, day two it was off to amitie, day three it was back to gj's and via auburn village to collections on central and then day four to treehouse in mornington

i was resting my crown here, thanks so much dear friends for the lovely gift, they know who's queen in my home

we were all busy sewing and showing our fabrics, having some refreshment and relaxing too, it was a lovely week

i've been stitching some more margstars, love these, i'm handpiecing mine though, i find too much paper piecing is not kind to my hands these days

you will see soon how they will connect .............................................................

i am so fortunate to share my love of fabric with friends i have known for years and am able to share with you the patterns they are producing ! recently i have been doing lots of cutting and prep for my time of being a resident of hobart in tasmania for almost 2 months a little later in the year

this is 'carousel' by sandra boyle, sixteen of these circles pieced into a background form the quilt (pattern is in the etsy store)

and then there was four, i've cut lots of blades, but its hard not to stitch them up also

there is also 'flying by' from christine vlasic, cutting lots of geese, using lots of little bits of fabric i've been saving, saving for what, to put into 'flying by', taking a leaf out of christine's ideas book, because that's what she did and i love the quilt. if you too love scrappy quilts, then these patterns are well suited

there are also the quilt patterns from margaret sampson george and trish harper, go and browse the shop !

here is a little of msg

oh yes ! there's a pear in there !

and the embroidery girls have also been very busy, lots of things 'in the hoop' !

'two birds and a nest' a mrs sew & so pattern, yes it's in the shop, over there on the side bar ! lavina is nearly there, finished and it's so beautiful

oh we love a good linen teatowel

all recently started, i will show you the progress

marie's beads matched her sewing, you should have heard the noise from these 10 embroidery ladies on tuesday, not to mention the saturday girls yesterday !

and that's all there is in this post and update from me, back soon ! if you are looking for a new project, check out the shop, as i said before, over there on the side bar ....................

autumn sailing !

tasmania bound on board the 'spirit of tasmania' day sail. i drove the car on and joined my cousins on their way back home after a visit on the mainland of australia

before we left there was a busy day here at home, here are the construction crew helping me !

this is going to look wonderful one day !

i drove the car onto the boat on a beautiful melbourne blue skied autumn day and enjoyed the trip with my cousins

the engines started and we were off leaving the pier with melbourne city in the background

the water beneath us was churning

something in the water was exciting the seagulls

i took note of where the lifejackets were, but fortunately they weren't needed

we made our way down the bay and out the famous heads of point nepean and port lonsdale

this is the tip of point nepean

the captain navigated the channel through the heads and we were bound for bass strait 

first glimpse outside the heads

and along the coast to the east

then about half way across bass strait we saw our mirror image, it was the other boat that had left devonport as we had left melbourne

we had arrived on the apple isle and i said goodbye to my cousins for a few days and stayed with maree, a friend who has just moved from sydney to live in devonport. this apple was from one of her trees in the orchard and was delicious, a coxes orange pippin ! yummy !

and walnuts from the walnut tree in the garden, brought back memories of the huge one we had in our suburban garden in brighton and the collecting of the nuts as they fell at this time of the year

i soon felt at home and loved the views from the windows onto the garden the next morning, after a very good nights sleep in the old maid's room ! however this old maid was spoiled !

the garden is beautiful, lots of lovely spots and little garden houses along the way

then we went exploring devonport, i started school there and this is the house that we lived in, provided for the manager of the g j coles store and his family all those years ago. and it still stands 63 years later after we came back to the mainland to live when i was 7

a visit to the lighthouse at the bluff and then some lunch at 'drift' on the beach where we spent lots of time as a family

and while we ate our lunch this old sailing vessel went by

a wish in the well in maree's garden and we were home again to the master of the house

this is the beautiful rocco, living the life so well deserved now ! rocco is 4 years old, and was rescued from a life chained to a ute in sydney, either living on top of the ute or underneath it by someone who 'loved' him ! well along came maree's son one day and eventually rocco became a member of their family and is now maree's much loved and very spoiled constant friend

love this woodpile !

and these mad birds, cockatoos on the gate to the vegie garden and orchard

the lovely gardens of this beautiful old home are wonderful, lots of large trees and plenty of places to plant some new bits which we discussed as we wandered

christmas trees just ready to light up

the wonderful trunk of this old magnolia, i'm coming back in the spring to see the blossom

and look at the size of the old pear tree !

and that's a good place to leave you, lots more to come, but i will return in a couple of days

 

 

good friday and things

good friday to me is always a bit like boxing day, a time just to slow down and reflect and just do what you feel like (there are some productive chores happening in the background) ! i also have the television on with the royal childrens hospital appeal going on here today in melbourne, australia and millions of dollars are always raised so that they can carry out the wonderful work that they do treating children from all over australia and other parts of the world. it creates a great community spirit, well done to everyone.

it was so good to see beverley arriving for sewing last saturday with an umbrella, our first real rain for so long, send alot more down please !

jan was very happy to see her completed cushion makeup of her parrots she embroidered, a design from teacher Gail 

and keeping the bird theme going, finished her next piece of embroidery which we all loved

and the other jan had almost finished this, i love it, little by little i'm showing you its progress

i was preparing lunch and these avacados were just so perfect !

i have uploaded some new patterns into my etsy store (you'll find it on my side bar) two friends that i have known for years and who have always done such beautiful quilts are now producing patterns and so i'm offering them to you ! this is one of Sandra Boyle's

here is another of Sandra's patterns, there are quite a few more in the store so take a look at what you may like

and Christine Vlasic also has four new patterns, she also has made some wonderful quilts over the years, we both worked in well known needlework shops in melbourne years ago and so know lots of people in common who were customers

and this one too

my favourite quilts a scrappy quilts and both Christine and Sandra have patterns to make them, they both teach in melbourne and so if you can take a class with them i would recommend that you do

there is also another pattern from 'mrs sew and so' in her series, take a look at it also

good clear instructions and how to are in the patterns

so daylight saving is about to end, the cooler weather has arrived and it's only going to get cooler, so a good time to start a new project maybe ! as well as the new patterns there are those from Margaret Sampson George and Trish Harper

happy easter to all, keep safe and enjoy a bit of chocolate on sunday

this gorgeous bunny couple were given to me by the lovely Jenny who bought them at the oxfam shop

 

 

on christmas eve

these are just some visions from the last few weeks, a trip to sydney, a drive to kyneton, some christmas parties and gatherings with friends, sewing times and sharing.

a visit to the crewel gobelin in sydney took me back to my working days at bustle and bows in east malvern and also my own shop broderie.

many new projects to stitch, along with many that i already have

at john and jean's home things were starting to look like christmas

a robin is always christmas to me, a family tradition !

a comfy and inviting spot on the couch with pretty cushions

we hired ourselves a bus and it turned out to be a brand new one and eight of us headed for the mountains with this trusty and all round good bus driver

we visited some very creative gardens

it was a very hot day, 45 degrees in sydney, supposed to be cooler in the mountains, supposed to be, but we all survived

a great spot to spend 'time' in the garden

even 'patchwork' with rocks in the garden

this was bus for the day, a very comfortable ride it was

in the next garden, the zebras had all left home for the day, cleaning stoves obviously

and we visited the sisters !

some of the clever sydney girls showed us their sewing, very patriotic

a lovely visit and a cool drink on another day was to a lovely nursery, this new hydrangea 'you and me' was just so beautiful

back to work from the sydney girls

this gorgeous piece of fabric the inspiration for a quilt

 

lots of stars

a little christmas at a friend's home

the man in the garden at kyneton

some embroidery from the group, nearly finished

some christmas at my place, simple but twinkling !

and we have all flown off to our different families and friends to spend another christmas, we are so fortunate ! i hope that you all have a beautiful christmas and a safe and happy new year, let us all pray and wish for only good news

thanks to everyone who follow me on this blog, over all the years, you let me know that you appreciate my efforts and my musings and the pictures i share, thanks for your comments and emails that i receive and i know that some just look ! i'll be back in 2016

 

it's all about me ........ well mostly !

august 2015 was the year destined for me to turn 70 and i made it ............. happy about that

some of those who i spend alot of my time with gathered at a friend's home to celebrate the birthday and it was lovely thankyou ! it was going to be a surprise, but there was a leak

this was delivered on the day before from a friend who was not with me to celebrate, it is so simply beautiful

then there were the colours of the gathering organised

a beautiful table set, this old girl, a friendly title, goes to such detail and everything had to be colour coordinated, there were strict rules to follow

 

this was all about me and for me !!!

trish and annie

denise and carol

jenny in her new red glasses (envy) simone and sharyn

gina and carol ( so many hands needed to light the sparklers )

marlene

and me the birthday girl !

gloria and marilyn

and there was very weak tea !

and some beautiful gifts, so many made by my clever friends and others too, just so pleased about for me to play with ...........

 

 

queen of many things including making a nice cup of tea ! the crown is on a pillowcase

back to my childhood and love of colouring in, so beautiful 

colouring in crochet ! a really gorgeous rug !

beautiful flowers

and more pressies in the mail

i did mention the queen thing, i must have a reputation 

 

this lovely orchid, i was spoilt, thankyou so much everyone for the good wishes, lets hope there will be many more to celebrate

if you didn't make it in the photos, i was being kind and did not publish any dodgy ones, didn't want to be in the bad books

back soon !

 

 

its in the hoop

while i have been preparing the photos to publish, i noticed embroidery hoops were making quite a few appearances

suzanne has completed her poppies, pattern by gail bett, mrs sew and so, which was featured a couple of years ago in marie claire idees magazine. this is now being quilted and then made into a bag

jan has been clowning about with a new blanket for a grand daughter

and gail found this oldie, but still a goodie, simple but so effective

just a little corner at home

and some graceful tulips

from all angles they are beautiful

i did mention hoop, embroidery in the hoop, jenny makes a start on something new

lavena's is looking beautiful, building the nest !

and cynthia is really going well in her hoop ! and so is margaret !

it's been really good to welcome some new embroidery girls to our sessions with 'mrs sew and so'

full new moons in the black winter skies, there was only one of course, but very bright

and winter sunset skies out the kitchen window have been a joy while i am still 'looking after' that leg i mentioned before ...............

i have started the quilting process on this quilt inspired by margaret sampson george, it is always a slow process for me ..........

and i have been dusting and preparing for a visit from my two friends jean and marg for a workshop this weekend. we always have a happy time ! so i moved the pears .............

and now i've come to the end of this post so it's goodbye for now ......... but i did forget to include this at the beginning

 

the aftermath of the exhibition !

well life goes on and it has, but for me personally it has been an 'interesting' couple of months ! it's a long story and it has plenty of very colourful pictures, which i won't be showing you !!! too much information .........

my dear friends jean and marg and their husbands packed their bags and the cars and headed back up the highway on their way home and i was left alone in my home with the aftermath of the exhibition, lots to do and things to work out !

that word OUT, a small word, but everytime i use it ................ you see on the monday night after the exhibition, rubbish tins to go out, i have a long driveway and took the general rubbish wheelie bin out (very heavy and full) i've done it for so many years, its just a part of what you do ! in turning it to face the right way on the street, it over balanced and fell and grabbed my left leg on the way down, i thought that will be a nasty bruise ! then i looked down and saw that half my lower leg was hanging over my shoe !

time for something pretty

thanks anna !

i walked back along the driveway and into the house, got myself and my leg back together again as best i could and called an ambulance, they came and also a good friend annie and we went to emergency at boxhill hospital where i received 19 stitches to the wound and was sent home. three weeks passed attending my gp and i was getting no where and two nurse friends thought i needed some more action ! so we presented to Cabrini hospital emergency one night and i was admitted, two trips to the theatre and ten days in hospital and with a skin graft i was sent home with the home care nurses from the hospital attending three times a week for dressings. its a slow process, but i'm getting there now ! sitting elevating my leg are the orders to follow and so that is what i'm doing most of the time, sewing time, thinking time, contemplation ! so lucky thanks to caring friends ! sorry to those who follow me on instagram 'lizatbroderie' for the repitition.

but a WARNING !!! just BE CAREFUL of the wheelie bin ..... mine bit me like a shark !

time for something else

my clever embroidery friend sherene makes these wonderful banners for organisations and schools and when she came visiting she had this newest one with her almost finished

carol's sweet clambshell cushion was also a pretty makeup

and jan's beetle bag was also finished

look at those eyes

a very gorgeous beetle bag jan, done is our workshops with gail bett , mrs sew & so !

and thanks marion for these beauties, enjoying them !

visitors came with sewing and knitting

trish was quilting this new colourful quilt, wonderful scrappy sectioned hexagons and was also sewing this old design which is a favourite 

trish also brought me a template and some scraps to start cutting my diamonds while i was in hospital, and so i did start drawing and cutting out ........ what was i thinking ...... i love this but came to my senses and decided to finish some more before i start something new ! blaming that decision on the aneasthetics, i do so love a scrappy quilt.

and with a bowl of pears and also cherries on another quilt top completed

and a request from her husband to darn his socks, sent mitali into producing another pair for him from this wonderful colourful wool. she thought a much easier option !

the wonderful wools that are available these days are so colourful and clever, this self striping ball just makes you want to knit !

being confined to the house, with leg elevated for all these weeks it has been lovely to watch autumn take over the crepe mrytle outside the kitchen window. from green to this gorgeous gold and then to red 

thanks to all of you, my friends, who have cared for me and helped me over these last few weeks, it's getting better, but still some way to go ...............

one more border to go on this medallion quilt, an older pattern by Margaret Sampson George that i have recreated using a collection of provincial fabrics plus a few others, easy hand stitching, lots of straight lines that i could manage.

see you soon with more ..................

 

after christmas catchup !

catching up after christmas and a holiday, coming home to the house still decorated and lots of sewing to get on top of has left me little time to write a post ! it was after i got an email from denice in the united states to ask if i was alright that i thought it was time and with january quickly dissapearing, so here it is !

our embroidery hands were busy at the christmas party and there was plenty of joy and laughter

i was busy cutting squares and joining them, more about this later ............

there was a full house, so lots of hands

and then there were these little young hands, and a beautiful little face concentrating so hard .........

our youngest member of the 'mrs sew & so' group was in town for christmas and so it was lovely to have lily come and join us with her granny !

i think she may have been teachers pet

concentration, all busy, but you can't hear the noise we all make and some were missing, maybe they are the noisy ones !!!

i was very spoilt by friends and father christmas, loooved my suculent wreath made by 'mrs sew & so' and its still going well

loved my dear sweet dove, a sign of peace and hope, that i will keep on my twigs all year .........

and at christmas i do love a robin, this is the top of a little round box ! a family thing with the robin !

i spent christmas and and three more weeks with my family in hobart, there's far too many of them to show all the pictures and they will be pleased about that !

we did have a picnic at campbelltown in the middle of the island state to meet up with the others in the north of the state and we set up our spot under the spreading branches of what turned out to be a pear tree in the public gardens

i kept on stitching squares

it was growing .........

out the window when i was sitting inside, this family of ducks kept close together at all times, the kids were nearly as big as mum and dad !

and i know one looks very cute here, just right on the other side of the glass, hopped up into one of the window boxes, this bunny was just one of hundreds everywhere...... never seen so many before all over the years !

and 'life is just a bowl of cherries' so the saying goes !

we all gathered last saturday for our first sewing saturday for the new year and while we sat round the table a phone call came to tell us that one of our 'oh so sweet cherries' , who was missing at christmas too, had died ! marion will be missed by the group, her conversation and wit and her gentle ways and her love of family and friends and her generosity to all. lots of bits in my garden are from things marion would bring each month, they will be a lovely reminder through the seasons ! so sad !

marion had only just recently completed her fish for her daughter emma, we all loved your mum emma ! marion will always be with us on our stitching days ............. to her husband michael amd emma our love and special thoughts of a special lady !

a collage of some views of my favourite kingston beach, tasmania and some roses and hydrangeas enjoyed recently ..................

and remember this

the squares i'm stitching are part of the raffle quilt, proceeds to beyondblue

it now has a centre and borders to be added soon then hand quilted ............

want a ticket $2.50(aud) contact me