Essence of Australia

Well, I feel pretty chuffed.  I've finished a 12" X 12" auction piece for SAQA.  I joined about a year ago, and this year decided it was time to get doing not just thinking.  So I've DONE something.  Ideas are NOT the problem for me - sticking with one to completion - now THAT'S the challenge.  So here's the inspiration - the tree out the front of my place -

 and leaves.  I just adore the shape of gum leaves.

As luck would have it, I found a great piece of fabric to echo the tree's colours...

Now - I hope you enjoyed this teaser - there will be a blog post coming up with more details about the steps I took... and the final reveal!

Circles

I was going around in through circles the other day.  Some time ago I'd punched a whole heap of circles out of magazines and other coloured paper before throwing them away.  I'd seen garlands made with them.  So I decided it was time, and I set up my machine at the dining room table, Bonnie on Quilt Cam on the computer behind, and did mindless sewing.  I now have a whole lot ready to go for wrappings....

Chick Pea Tagine

Following the success of the lamb tagine in my slow cooker I repeated the recipe, doubling it, and replacing the lamb with chickpeas.  My reclusive son was tempted out of his room by the delicious aroma and we each had a serving for lunch.

Spotted ...

...outside Pleasuresew.

Way Out West

I had a drive on Sunday - hot!  On my way home I stopped at Peak Crossing for lunch.  It took a while to explain that I wanted a hamburger AND bacon AND egg.  The lass behind the counter was keen to help, but English, and the Australian way of life, were new to her I think.  I got what I wanted though - and very nice it was too!!!

New Farm

I had a coffee at the New Farm shops on Saturday - and this caught my eye.

Such Selflessness!

Sue shared some good news the other day - so without any thought for myself, I toasted her with bubbly!!  Well done Sue!!

 And as she's off to France any day now, I added a French twist as it were - such altruism!!

Cream

After hearing about Cream for many years I finally got there.  Yum! sums it up.  What a gorgeous place to meet and indulge.  Well, I think we were being healthy, as our choices all had fruit!

Sue is off to France very soon, and so we helped with a decent send off!

Wynnum

Just over a week ago we paddled along the coast near Wynnum Manly.  We first saw one bird, then 2, then finally 5 on this one dead tree!

 Nest in the middle of the water.

A place to dry off.

Mangroves near the boardwalk.

Type-In

A small but enthusiastic group of us gathered at Brekky Creek Hotel just over a week ago.  We each brought our treasures - I only have one now - a vintage Royal I bought in the US.  My uni companion (a bright yellow Tippa that I carried everywhere) is no longer part of my household.  Scott organised the meet, in honour of Robert's visit.  It was so much fun to try the different machines, to learn more and to hear stories.  Scott and Robert were extremely generous with their time and knowledge.  Scott did some surgery on my Royal and Robert donated a ribbon, so now it makes marks on paper.  So cool.  Passersby stopped and had a chat and a few pecks at the keys.  A really lovely way to spend an afternoon.
Scott and my Royal.

A beautiful Hermes 3000.

Meetup Paddle

There are heaps of Meetup groups in the area.  Pick an interest, and there's bound to be a group you can join.  We signed up for a paddle on the Gold Coast.  The starting time was 8am, and we would have been there had we not taken a wrong turn that led to a huge circuit via the freeway.  Oh well.  As we pulled up, the group was already launched and on the move.  We broke speed records getting unpacked and paddling furiously to catch up.  It was a gorgeous day, followed by coffee and chat.

 Me, working hard as usual.

Second Brisbane River Evening

Our second foray onto the river for the evening left from Kangaroo Point - who knew there were so many ways to launch onto this marvellous expanse of water?  The white pole on the back has a camera and a light setup.  

We could smell dinner being served in waterside restaurants (we were tempted to order a takeaway...), see runners and walkers on the shore, and watch the Citycats glide past.
While marking time near Southbank (Citycats tying up DO take precedence over small craft lol), we were serenaded by a busker who made up a song just for us.

Kayaking Catchup

It was in February - yikes! - that I did my first kayak along the Brisbane River on a Wednesday evening.  We launched near where the dragon boats take off from and went to check out the cruise ship - Princess something or other.

It was awesome seeing the city from a different perspective.  As the darkness deepened, the city changed into night mode.

Google Reader/Feedly

Last week came the announcement that Google Reader will be dead by 1 July 2013.  I was thrown out of my comfort zone.  Reader has been a huge boon to reading all the blogs I love.  I flatter myself I can deal with change, but perhaps not.  At least I didn't sign the petitions.  So I've had a few days to think things through.  Sure I can wait and see what happens.  But today I heard about Feedly (again) and CNET was positive.  So I downloaded the app for Chrome (literally less than a minute).  The app politely sought permission to access Google Reader.  And it was DONE.  Insanely simple!!!

Q1

We watched our ascent to the observation deck through a camera mounted on the top of the lift.

 The awesome view.

A group suited and buckled up for the Twilight Climb.

The sun set and the lights came on over the Gold Coast.

 A drink reflects the golden glow in the sky.

 A helpful reminder.

Kirra Hill

This wonderful metal sculpture on Kirra Hill looks out over the coast.

MOB Day

SAQA is an organisation of art quilters, with an Oceania sub-group and a sub-sub group referred to as MOB  - Members of Brisbane.  A few of us gathered at Kirra Hill on Saturday.

We had a full day of show and tell, conversation and play!  I took some stencils I'd made with hot glue - I wanted to see what I could do with them and how they would stand up.  I was pretty happy with the results.

I played with commercial stencils, and also used an orange bag I'd had for a while.

 Glad did some ice dyeing - we observed the change in colour as the day wore on.

Business Card

Over the past few years I've had 5 business cards for the different paid work I do. But to date I've not had an artistic one.  At the first SAQA MOB meeting last year Linda had cards that were quite artistic - I thought about getting some printed, but then decided to make my own.  Here is the result.  First I made "fabric" by stitching interesting threads onto black homespun, and stitching THAT onto thin black card.  Then I cut it to size and zigzagged the edges, and made a little "door" with a handle.

 This is on the back.

New Nails

OPI colours are wonderful.  I got 4 minis from the "Touring America" collection.  French Quarter for Your Thoughts; A-taupe the Space Needle; Honk If You Love OPI; My Address is "Hollywood".

I decided on French Quarter.

Life.Cycle

Sometimes names for quilts jump at me, sometimes they don't.  I had this quilt in mind for a long time, and I've been worrying away at a name.  I think Life.Cycle works for me.

It started with a metal pencil case, a challenge was set to "do something" with it.  I thought about the creativity inherent in a box of pencils - the latent energy that is there waiting to spring forth.  I was thinking of my own creativity and how I'm inspired and supported and encouraged by others.  I had seen a concertina scrapbook "journal" stuck inside a metal tin, and liked that idea.  I liked also representing the members of my art quilt group.

So - I made 8 nine patches, of fabrics that had been buried/hung as part of the "Integrate/Disintegrate" activity.  I added some others which had meaning and stitched leaves on the finished mini-quilts.  The leaves had been soaked in glycerine/water to make them pliable (and long lasting I hope).

The centre mini quilt is "me" surrounded by the group.  We are all individual, but connected.

Each mini quilt has its own pocket in the "concertina"

 partially opened

the whole piece.

Enlighten, Canberra

It was cold out but it was worth it - the projections on major buildings int he Parliamentary triangle were fabulous.

There were torches for playing with as well...

Pie Face

I've walked past these shops in Brisbane, but in Canberra decided to try one - a mini one - what a good idea!  It tasted yummy ... and cute....

Honestly...

...sequins?  On a bed?

Singer 201K

I do love vintage machines.  I bought this at the end of 2011, so I'd have a machine at Mum's in Canberra.

It was $15 from ebay.  We picked it up from the street next to the one we used to live in in Evatt - spooky!!!  1957 model - one year older than me.  I had it serviced - $97.  So it cost me less than $120 all up.  It sews like a dream.  Only forward and back, mind, but superbly.  I was on a mission to complete a challenge quilt - here in progress.

Addicted to Fabric

I tried to stay away - as I have tons of fabric - but I needed a cutting board.  Wandering around this shop is like a lovely holiday - very relaxing...