May

Here we are at the end of May and Autumn - my favourite season..... though, with Winter just around the corner - and the weather having turned rather chilly - this beautiful tree is still wrapped in it's Autumn coat as I pass it on my way to work each morning! 

Along with May came Mothers' Day and another family gathering in Sydney....unfortunately my sister Linda couldn't make it this year due to a bad back which a 4 hour drive would not have helped.....but.... Hayley flew down from Queensland for the weekend..... I knew she was coming but it was a surprise for Mum & Dad with Mum saying it was the best "Grandmother's" Day present she could have had!  A few snapshots of another memorable day....

Afternoon tea on the verandah - everyone's favourite spot at Mum & Dads

Mum, Hayley and myself....

....and being entertained by my sister Vivien who has taught herself to play the harp - purchased only about 5 months ago! ...... she made it look very easy!

We all shared "Face-Time" (I think that's what it's called) with Megan in England and she followed up with one of her "custom made"  Mothers' Day signs for me..... this time not from some interesting travel destination but from the kitchen of the restaurant where she works.....

A little bit of stitching has been done over the past  month..... a very slow start to "Gossip in the Garden" quilt ..... and a few more stitcheries from "Stitch Therapy 365" completed....

A crochet blanket - which only seems to be worked on during the cooler months and hence seems to be taking forever to finish - has re-surfaced and am slowly making further progress on it.... will it be ready this Winter? I somehow doubt it! .......

One of my regular "haunts" on a Saturday morning is an op-shop called "Rally for Recovery" where you never know what you will find........like an old sewing basket for $2!

A bit of reading has been done over the past month..... an interesting story.... one critic describes it as "funny, touching and unpredictable" which just about sums it up....... 

And that brings me up to date with May...... we could get some showers over the weekend which may lead to more "creativity" happening or a new book being started.... we'll see...

Winter is closing in so time will be spent being cosy inside! 

Happy Stitching till next time....

Asta

Easter

It has been a very quiet Easter weekend here..... time to relax after the last couple of months of rehearsals and shows at the theatre.....

Once the show was over I had a week during which time I had decided to make some little bunnies for both my sisters and mum for Easter - the same as my Florence seen here checking out the Easter eggs..... 

Well, I had quite a production going on each evening after work and at times wondered what had possessed me to even think of making 3 of them in a week (and 1 weekend) before they had to be posted to arrive in time for Easter!

 And all ready.... about to be packed for safe travel to new homes! 

All arrived at their destinations on time and were very well received - am now waiting to see what their names are to be.....something old-fashioned - classic??

I spent some time pottering in the garden which led me to think it was about time I should get back to Anni Downs's "Gossip in the Garden".....started a couple of years ago (?) - note my favourites (hexagons) were made first!....And that was as far as I got! 

Am now planning on starting this again....maybe will try and get one block done each month...let's see if that works! 
A book has been read over the Easter weekend....finished this afternoon over a cup of tea and a piece of Irish Tea Cake....made myself!! Loaded with cranberries, prunes, sultanas and apricots which had to marinade in Irish tea overnight....quite tasty with a good spread of butter added! ....the book ("Belly Dancing for Beginners") was another good read from Liz Byrski. 

No photos but there was some stitching done on "Stitch Therapy 365" ......next time will update on that.....Off to find a DVD to watch for the night and finish off the weekend with a bit of knitting! 

Happy Stitching

Asta

March is nearly over!!

Well, here we are nearly at the end of March! And....before the month does come to an end I'd better do a bit of catching up!! 

The Easter weekend has come and gone...... pottered around home doing a bit of de-cluttering, a spot of reading & another reading challenge ticked off - " a classic from the 20th century" .... a sewing project has re-surfaced after being shelved when I started Nature's Journey quilt.... I feel this one could take a smidgen longer than NJ!! ....a small (secret) new project started so not too much to show there..... one (or more!) hot cross buns enjoyed..... a visit from a friend..... theatre rehearsal to attend.... a visit to a friend........

another "challenge" read

 a project revisted and .......

a new (secret) project  using pattern from Gossip in the Garden.......

and in between a few little goodies......

The weekend before Easter and a trip to Sydney was on the agenda..... time to celebrate my sister Linda's "special" birthday with a family dinner at La Botte - great Italian restaurant - the special day was in February but it took till March to get our (small) family together on the same weekend..... the disadvantage of living so far apart from each other :(

And..... my favourite season has arrived!!! Yes it's Autumn - the early crisp mornings were the give away as these 2 decided to find a sunny spot and discuss what they were going to get up to for the day......

Will be back in April with - hopefully - some progress on my projects and any other news of the day! 

Happy Stitching

Asta

The house is all quiet over the next couple of weeks as DD2 and a couple of friends - a Danish and a Dutch girl she met on her US travels last year have headed off on a road trip to Victoria ...here they are working out how everything is going to fit into their car! The 2 OS girls came down in their rental car with all their worldly belongings!

So what have I been up to?..... well finishing off this......

..... our January "homework" for Stitch-a-long 2015... 

February is just around the corner and then the real work starts as we have sections of Anni's wonderful pattern Nature's Journey to complete by the end of each month! .... My fabrics have been sorted....

I'm also working (very slowly) on Gossip in the Garden quilt so have filled this basket with both projects - the one on the right is Gossip in the Garden the one on the left is Natures Journey......hopefully this basket will empty out during the year!

Have also once again joined up with OPAM 2015 - it certainly encouraged me to complete projects each month - no matter how small they were! 

And.... so another year begins "stitching with friends" 

Happy Stitching

Asta

OPAM and My Week

Oops...nearly forgot the end of the month - it seems to creep up so quickly! 
Sadly, once again only 1 project finished for the month (though I have been working on some others)......

 ...another fabric basket but this time in Xmas fabrics as it was for our embroidery group's Xmas gift swap.... a couple of smaller suprises were tucked inside.

A few highlights from my week ......

A couple of new projects have been started... both are gifts so am not giving out too much information here...

 

 All the hexagons are finished for "Gossip in the Garden"... now to start putting them together....

And our local patchwork shop, 

Steph's Fabrics, celebrated 15 years with champagne and a sale  - both of which were enticing and led to these fabrics being purchased - the cream ones for "Gossip in the Garden" and the other three "just because"........

Finishing off the weekend with breakfast at one of our local restaurants On the Pier with my 2 daughters, one with her partner....... all home, if somewhat temporarily, till the travel bug hits again so making the most of every minute!.....

Hope you have all had a productive week

Happy Stitching

Asta

FNWF & A Quilt Exhibition

FNWF and I was stitching again - had lost the momentum since my holiday - must have been too relaxing... more hexagons being created for "Gossip in the Garden".... I did say it would be a slow WIP!

Saturday and off to Gerringong to catch up with a couple of long-time friends and see the Gerringong Quilt Exhibition.... a snapshot of some of the quilts....

A Xmas tree made with prairie points..... 







and a beautiful quilt based on the colour wheel....



Then Sunday arrived and it was time to do some gardening - but no photos - I was too busy planting out and potting up plants purchased from the Bundanoon Garden Ramble from a couple of weeks ago.

Will try and get some stitching done during the week but Daughter No 1 and her partner have arrived back home from Canada and are staying here for a while while they ponder their next destination and with Daughter No 2 here as well till she departs for her next adventure I have a full house with lots of catching up happening!!

Happy Stitching
Asta

FNWF

Well, here I am - nearly 11.30 Friday night and as I'm only just having a cup of tea thought I'd sit here at the computer and let you all know what I've been up to tonight.... 
Disregarding the projects I have already under way I thought I'd start another!... Gossip in the Garden... an earlier post saw me deciding on fabrics - so what better time to start than FNWF!
Getting started.....

....and a few hours later 21 hexagons are finished (only another 50 or so to go!).... and finally a cup of tea! Just got into a rhythm, you know -  just one more and I'll make that cup of tea.....maybe just one more.... 

We have a long weekend here in NSW so with an extra day, minus 1 hour when we put our clocks forward for daylight saving,  I may sit and do a few more hexies! Otherwise will be catching up with a few friends, finishing the spring clean of the house and starting to pack for my holiday in Hawaii - just over a week to go now! A busy week at work coming up first so am trying not to get too excited yet.....  

Will pop back before the weekend is over.... 

Happy Stitching

Asta

OPAM

Well, here it is the end of another month!... And I have 2 finishes for the month....

...have been working on a couple of other projects but unfortunately they are still UFOs :( 

This last weekend was spent spring cleaning the house and entertaining unexpected friends dropping in both days... but did manage to find time to start gathering fabrics together for this project.....

...it will definitely be a work in progress for some time - think I'll approach this project by getting the hexagons together then I can discard any fabric choice I don't think will fit in before I start using it on another block with more fiddly work - such as the applique ones.

Am off on holidays in a couple of weeks and will be busy at work getting everything up to date and at home.... well, trying to keep a spring cleaned house that way till I return.... so in other words not creating a mess - sitting quietly making hexagons sounds like the way to go!

Will be back soon to show you what progress, if any, I have made on my projects!

Happy Stitching

Asta