Celebrations!

Much cheering and whooping here – and that’s just from me. Not only is it my birthday -

and all the family came for dinner last night, including our littlest member, The Princess -

and I’ve received the loveliest cards, flowers and gifts - and enjoyed an al fresco birthday morning tea today… but this arrived in the mail this morning…. my Senior’s Card! It took me almost a year to get around to applying, but now I’m set to enjoy the perks of maturity (and there have to be some), as I flash my card that officially declares me “a valued member of our community”. So there.

A tale of two teas (Part 2)

A little known sub-clause of Murphy’s law says that if you plan to throw your home and garden open to an entire church congregation for afternoon tea the chances are pretty high that the Lord will decide to bless your garden with rain.  Lots of it.

Yep, you guessed it.  The heavens opened the following Sunday when we farewelled our Assistant Minister Ben, his wife Michelle and children Chas and Coco as they prepared to fly out to a new parish in Perth on the other side of our vast country.  Undeterred we simply moved the proceedings inside.

These poppies on the table were the closest we came to sunshine, but everyone crowded in and we had a great time, sad though it was to see our Undies family leaving after almost 5 years here.

A tale of two teas (Part 1)

The last time you heard from me I was leaning from my upstairs bedroom window photographing a dust storm that had turned Sydney a demonic shade of red, and choking on airborn particles of grit.  From the ensuing silence you could be forgiven for thinking that I’d been blown away in the storm, Dorothy-like, with Toto (aka Chester) tucked under my arm.The truth is I’ve been rather busy cooking and serving up teas – lots of them.  First there was our Stitchin’ Mission information afternoon when Chris Legg and Pam Macrossan from KU Children’s Services showed us graphics of the new KU Marcia Burgess Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre in a Powerpoint presentation and answered lots of questions about this cutting-edge new Centre. They confirmed for us the wonderful therapeutic value of quilts for autistic children - and yes, we had plenty of Stitchin’ Mission quilts on display for inspiration!

It’s not too late to join us at St Mark’s Darling Point (Sydney Australia) for 5 weeks of beginner quiltmaking classes conducted by Linda Hungerford, starting on October 25.  There’s an online registration form here.

Orange you glad I woke up early to take these photos?

Gale force winds, an eerie orange glow and a gritty atmosphere you can touch and taste. Sydney's turned sepia this morning.

We've woken to extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime weather conditions. A fierce dust storm has blown un during the night bringing red dirt from hundreds of kilometres away in the inland.

In an effort to bring you the news as it happens I snapped these photos out of my bedroom windows (through the insect-screens).

Visibility on the roads is reduced to around 500 metres, a mere 2 metres on the harbour they say, and ferries have been cancelled.

The airport is diverting planes to other cities, athletics carnivals are cancelled and medical authorities are advising older folk, asthmatics and children under 5 to stay indoors.

I don't think I'll be hanging out the washing today. Or having my once-white car washed.

To make things even worse bright sparks have been phoning into breakfast radio with every pun imaginable.

Of course I'd never sink so low.

A Friday Flaunt

I'm making slow progress, but steady, on my version of Emma Jansen's beautiful Snowflake Medallion quilt, and this week has seen the completion of the hand applique on the central medallion, and the addition of a double mitred border.

I've begun work on the next border, saw-tooth stars in shades of yellow. Gosh I'm loving yellow in a quilt!

The striped leaves on the raspberry-coloured buds are actually a stronger shade than they appear here, and I'm very happy with the overall appearance of the quilt which I'm making in parallel with Linda.

We share notes, techniques and tips (though mostly I learn from her, rather than the other way round!) and while she's halfway across the world, the internet and Skype mean that she could be living right next door.

Take a look at Linda's version, using a completely different but gorgeous palette of purples, teals and greens.

Winners are grinners!

Not even a bad hair day could wipe the smile from my face after I received a phone call today telling me I'd won the Christmas quilting hamper at my local Spotlight store!!!

Since my friend Di had been kind enough to pop my entry in the barrel it was only right that she share the glory, so here we are just an hour ago, grinning like a couple of Cheshire cats with our prize, a padded trolley full of fat quarters and quilting tools, many of which will be mighty useful for our Stitchin' Mission.

Hey, isn't that a Stitchin' Mission notice Di's holding up? Not one to miss an opportunity to promote our free beginner quiltmaking classes, she managed to sign up another class participant on the spot! Love your work, Di.

(You can be part of the fun too, if you live in Sydney. Just leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.)

Educating Chester

He's only 14 weeks old, but already Chester is learning to become a "courteous canine". He's a bright little guy, as this clip of him with my daughter shows (those liver treats are a powerful motivator for a labrador pup!)