29 April 2013

Happy 90th Birthday Dad.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words ....


I think he liked his cake



27 April 2013

Scatterday - today is L

Today's post is brought to you by the LOVELY Letter L.

..and the Categories are
Sky
Purple
City
A Lap Quilt

So here we go......

A few weeks ago I went outside to observe such a Luminous SKY.. I just had to grab my camera and start shooting.
(I am sure the neighbours thought me quite Looney, but then I suppose they are used to it!)




For our next category DS#2 happily brought out his collection of PURPLE Lanyons from the events he has attended at Monash University during the time he was a student there.
(He has attended a LOT of events.)


Hmmm.. CITY was proving to be a bit of a Lost Cause until... I remembered that DD had visited Launceston.
It is the second largest City in Tasmania (after Hobart) actually it is the 9th largest non-capital city in Australia.  I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Launceston - but it is on the LIST!
This photo is of the beautiful Cataract Gorge with the City in the distance.


And once again, from the Sewing Room - Lap Quilt. 
I designed and made this quilt for the sheer fun of it!  I had the feature fabric - Bookworms in a Library -in my stash for a bit, and when I came across the perfect Bug fabric to go with it, I just had to have some.
So there you have it - A Library Themed Lap Quilt that ticks all the boxes for Long hours of play and Learning.


I hope you have enjoyed your visit.
Tune in again - same time same place to see what I can come up with for the letter V.




25 April 2013

More Flowers

This week I have been concentrating on making the rest of the flowers for Dad's 90th Birthday cake.  Whereas Dad loves his Roses - I thought they looked a little too feminine for his cake, so have decided some Australian Native Flowers would be suitable, so I made some...


Wattle - The National Flower of Australia - and just beginning to blossom at the moment.  It is a very fragrant flower and you will always smell its unmistakable scent before seeing the small puffballs of Golden Yellow blooms.


Flannel Flowers - Grow in the sandstone areas around Sydney.  I loved the look of these flowers so  had to include some in Dad's bouquet.


Pink Heath - Floral Emblem of Victoria (my home State).  
They didn't come out exactly true to the flower, but I don't think Dad will mind.
It is also the smallest flower that I have made!


I made as many blooms as I could in the time I had and then wired them all into a spray with the Waratah I made last week.

Yep... I think that will do.  
Now all I have to do is make a cake to put underneath it!

************

Now, just before I sign off for this week - I just HAVE to share a couple more photos.  
My WIP is not the only craft being constructed in our household at the moment.
DS#2 is making a costume for the upcoming CGBC at Monash Uni. which involves a lot of foam and hot glue....
which Spike decided looked tasty......
YUM ?
Blah!!!
  NOT!







17 April 2013

One week - Two Challenges

As I sit to write, I can't quite work out how I achieved what I have this week.
(Mind you, the Vacuum cleaner has forgotten who I am!)

As my Dad's 90th birthday approaches I have been thinking about his Cake and what to make to decorate it.

I have settled on a spray of Australian Native Flowers, so pulling out my copy of Making Australian Wildflowers for Cake Decorating and had a go at the feature bloom - the State Flower for New South Wales - The Waratah.
I am pretty pleased with how it turned out considering the amount of small dots of icing that were involved!

Leaving that to dry, I then set to working on my April Challenge piece for the Janome Group.

We were asked to make a Foundation Pieced Crazy patch
(well, you actually need 4 to do anything)..


So I made FOUR

well I couldn't make overly much with those either....

So I made Four More!






Now I had something to work with.  The Deco stitching started me thinking and I pulled out my pattern.

Tweaked it a bit......


... and made A BAG!
I was particularly pleased with the front pocket, which I made by binding one of the blocks before sewing them all together.

Now all I need to do is work out who is going to claim it.....









13 April 2013

Scatterdays - A

Today's letter is A - and I have listed the Categories in Red

AVIARY is a HOUSE - for Birds. Or in this case Bats, seeing Birds is our next Category.
To be precise these are Australian Flying Foxes and they are happily enjoying life in a huge Aviary at Melbourne's Healesville Sanctuary.


ALBATROSS - is a BIRD (don't think of keeping one in an Aviary) We found this one injured on the way to Apollo Bay another lifetime ago....

My DB tried to rescue it but decided that it was better for Nature to look after it once he discovered it was crawling with lice! (Urgh!)





ARRRGGHHH ! Why are my Kitchen drawers full of JUNK?

And why does it always find a way to jam itself under the bottom drawer?


and finally from my sewing space...

Aboriginal ART from ALICE SPRINGS adorns the wall beside my sewing machine.
(It's actually in the Family room - but then...so is my Sewing!)

The piece is an Original by Claire E. Hayes and is titled "Women's Ceremonial Grounds".
It was a gift from a SIL who lives in Alice Springs and works with the Aboriginal community there.


So there you have it for today...
Scatterday will be back on April 27 with the letter L.
In the meantime feel free to visit anytime!



10 April 2013

This one's for me .....


F is for

...FIREWORKS

and 
FANFARE

and 
FINALLY






and 

FINISHED!





Well, ALMOST Finished - I have done my part and now it is over to the Quilter to weave her magic. More on that when it comes back.


But before I leave this post I'll share a couple of Photos of what happened when I asked DS#2 (with a Degree in Film) and DH to help me take a picture of the finished Quilt.

"Just hold it steady while I grab the remote switch..."

"Did we get it?"

"No you've missed the top corner again"


"OK - Take 5
..... and I'll Photoshop it"


8 April 2013

Princess and the Pea?

Now there is nothing unusual about a Cat making himself comfortable anywhere it takes his fancy...

But the question we all had was...
Exactly How Many Air Mattresses
Does it take to be truly Comfy?


That would be at least Three with associated bedding and pillows.....