A fairy fine weekend indeed

The spring long weekend in Sydney never fails to lift the spirits, but mine was bookended by visits from my two darlings, Mr J and the Princess, making it extra special.

Hairdo by Mr J himself

Mind the gap!

Throw in a stroll around Circular Quay in the sunshine, a Gourmet Food Fair right across the street from my little pad, Chester’s entry in a doggy fancy dress competition, and a barbecue on a balmy evening, and I call it magical!

With the Australian Navy Fleet Review happening Sydney had such a festive vibe. It was fun to spend a few hours on Friday afternoon playing tourists in our own city, taking selfies with the Opera House framed between us and sending them to Sarah’s friends back in the USA.

These giant plastic snails, in various fluoro colours, can be found all over the city right now and are part of the Art and About Festival. We had to wait while a family of children clambered all over this fellow, clinging to his feelers and hanging from his neck. Couldn’t persuade Sarah to climb up and pose though.

Meanwhile, back at home our local park was being transformed from this…

…into this, for the East Village Gourmet Food Festival.

Joynton Park was the place to be on Saturday (if you weren’t sitting on a picnic rug beside the harbour watching Prince Harry and the Fleet Review), with local restaurants, cafes and food providores selling samples of their delicious food and drink. The day was warm and clear, and market umbrellas and gum trees provided plenty of shade to sit and enjoy an icy glass of wine.

This month is Dogtober, a month of fundraising activities – with the emphasis on fun – for Assistance Dogs Australia. There are almost as many dogs as people living in my neighbourhood, or so it seems around 5 o’clock in the afternoon when everyone congregates in the park for playtime and a chat. So it wasn’t surprising that the Dogtober Fancy Dress Competition attracted plenty of crazily dressed canine entrants.

This was one of the craziest

I could try to blame Sarah, but must confess I was a willing co-conspirator in sourcing Chester’s lolly-pink tutu at Target and his sparkly fairy wings at the two dollar shop.

Chester fitted comfortably into the stretchy dress and was very relaxed about showing his inner feminine side.

He paraded beautifully in the circle, and was rewarded with a lovely prize package - porcelain doggy bowl, some treats, poo bags and holder, a certificate and a medal for 2nd place!

His certificate says he was the Best Fairy. (Shhhh! Don’t tell Chester, but he was the only fairy.)

He spent the rest of the afternoon happily being led around the food fair on his lead, dressed in full fairy kit and basking in his newfound notoriety, sniffing and kissing poodles and puggles, and posing for photographs with dozens of strangers.

It’s hard to believe this was the same Chester who only months ago was so wary of small, jumpy, yappy dogs and prone to lunging unexpectedly in the direction of one of these high spirited little pups if he felt threatened. I think the secret lies in the increased contact he now has every day in the park with dogs of all breeds and sizes. Perhaps he’s come to realise they’re not so scary after all. (Hmmm…one might draw a parallel with humans of different races)

At the end of the day we enjoyed our dinner on the balcony, being entertained by the rainbow lighting and the music from the $150 a head dinner in the marquee below, and watching the stupendous fireworks, sound and light display on TV celebrating 100 years of the Australian Navy.

Magic!

So how was your weekend?

Di

Anticipation

Walking Chester in the park yesterday morning I enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my skin, and with it the promise of summer just around the corner.

 

The prospect of spending the day ahead with these lovely ladies* from St Mark’s Quilters put a spring in my step too.

…and birthday girls Di B and Sue (below)

* In addition to Kirstin, Perdita, Margaret, and Cath who somehow eluded my camera this time.

As our finished quilts pile up there’s a happy sense of anticipation of the day when they’ll be handed over to the two organisations we support – RPA Hospital’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit and the KU Marcia Burgess Autism Specific Early Learning & Care Centre (known as “The Marcia”).

This month’s finishes make great eye candy!

Three kindy quilts by Barb

 

Three kindy quilts by Sophie and Susan, who like to work as a team.

 

A kindy quilt (on the left) by Gillian and a Blanket of Love by Di C

 

A kindy quilt made by Margaret from a charm pack, and two sweet little Blankets of Love made with hexies that she cut with Paddington Patchworkers’ new Go! Baby cutter.

 

A kindy quilt by Perdita

 

A kindy quilt by Susie

You might recall Kirstin’s knitted patchwork quilt, started last year, in softest fine cotton using delicate shades of lemon, green, tangerine and blue.

We had helped her lay out the squares into a pleasing pattern some time ago, then taken a photo of the layout and wrapped each block’s pieces in plastic wrap and numbered them. So even though the project had been put on hold for a little while it was a relatively easy matter for Kirstin to take up where she left off.

Another slow-burner (you know I’m a huge fan of the slow-burner myself!) is this pretty quilt Amanda’s working on. Today she added the first of two borders and I think this yellow is just perfect (being a huge fan of yellow in quilts too!). I can’t wait to see the final border soon.

We’re also eagerly anticipating the induction of our new minister, Michael Jensen, on 10th October. It’s been a whole year since Boak died and with the dedication of a beautiful plaque to his memory in the church on 1st September it’s now time for us to look to the future.

Finally, on a personal note, I’m anticipating two exciting arrivals this week. This little person, my new grandbaby, is due any day now, and I simply can’t wait to meet him/her!

And my daughter, Sarah, is arriving home from the US for a holiday. We’re going to have the best time!

Yes, that is a snake

Di

Laurel’s Stars and Princess Plenty

Remember how excited you felt starting out, at the beginning of the school year, with new exercise books and folders? When Paddington Patchworkers invited delightful Blue Mountains quilt designer and teacher, Lynne Alchin, to come and teach a class Di B decided her besties needed folders to keep all our cut-out pieces and applique shapes organised.

The concept is simple, a loose leaf ring binder filled with zip lock plastic pages that can hold all those tiny pieces that seem to get left between the cushions or on the floor under the chair. You could just use ordinary household zip lock bags, but these are made specially to fit in binders and are more robust.

For the covers Di picked a fabric she knew each of us would love – and she certainly hit the spot with my Kaffe hot pink fans!

Gail

Di B with Rae

If you’ve been following my blog for several years you might recall this quilt made by my friend Anne a couple of years ago.

It’s Lynne Alchin’s design, “Laurel’s Stars”, and was the quilt that first sparked our determination to have Lynne come and teach us. When Gail successfully secured her Lynne brought her original “Laurel’s Stars” along to our class and oh my, this quilt is exquisite.

Di B chose this quilt to make for her mother, Margaret, and since she’s such a machine applique whizz she had it finished to this stage in no time. Go ahead, you may drool now.

Rae’s more of a handwork lady, and her starry borders are coming together steadily, piece by piece. This is the only photo I have so far. [Does anyone else use their pants as a pincushion? I confess I do]

Desley’s put her own quirky spin on Laurel’s Stars by using only fabrics from her scrap stash to complete her applique – and I love it!

My own choice is Lynne’s “Princess Plenty” quilt (seen below), with a centre star surrounded by huge feathers, a pieced border and then …. (be still, my heart) … a deep border of applique vines, flowers, fruit, birds and cornucopias.

I’m using some of my treasured Robyn Pandolph florals, along with Lecien Flower Sugar fabrics, so mine will look very different from Lynne’s.

Already I’ve made a rather cheeky design adjustment. I wasn’t happy with how the centre points of my star met (or didn’t meet!).

My solution? A tiny applique dot to hide my sins. Have you seen my tutorial for these babies?

It’s so great to be embarking on another major handwork project along with my quilting friends, and seeing their variations on the designs really gets all our creative juices flowing.

PS. I’ve had a few requests lately for advice on how to assemble the Joseph’s Coat/Orange Peel blocks I used to make my “Daisy a Day” quilt, and I’m preparing a tutorial on this. I’ll post it as soon as I’m able.

 Di