August 18, 2009

Two more cupboards

A couple of years ago for one of our little grand-daughters I made a wall-hanging in the shape of a Kitchen Dresser. It has removable plates, cups and saucers, teapot etc and it became one of my favourite projects. It was subsequently published in Country Threads magazine. There is a picture of that one here.

Then the cupboards just started reproducing!!! It wasn’t long before there was also a gardening cupboard, a tool cupboard and a laundry cupboard.

And they’re still appearing! Two more have just been published. The refrigerator appeared last month in Country Threads. You can see how much I love appliqué as there’s plenty of it in this project. The grandchildren especially like the spoon sitting ready to eat the Sundae.




The refrigerator’s friend came out last week in Patchwork & Stitching magazine. This one is a Pantry, with jars, bottles, packets and cans full of goodies!



I think there must be a lot of the child left in me because I get so much pleasure from making things for children. I have so many more ideas for my Cupboard series that I’m getting itchy fingers to get back to the sewing machine!

Happy stitching!
Val

August 5, 2009

The Grey Nomads

What a wonderful country Australia is! We are having a fabulous holiday in stunningly beautiful north Queensland. This was our breakfast view while we camped on the shores of Lake Tinaroo.



I just love the rainforests – lush, green, dense, ferns, palms, birds. Of course, we’re visiting in the dry season so thankfully there isn’t much rain to spoil our fun. We did a very rugged trek over a ridge to find this gorgeous waterfall – then had the spot all to ourselves to just luxuriate in its beauty.



Some of the spots we have found to camp have views to die for. Most of the creeks and rivers have water in them, such a change to dry South Australia and the water is so crystal clear that you can see native fish and turtles swimming around.



A cruise to the Great Barrier Reef was spectacular in more ways than one. The little bit of the reef that we were privileged to see was just magnificent. I couldn’t believe the incredible variety in the shapes, textures, colours and types of coral that are there, not to mention the very colourful fish that abound. Then we were able to spend some time on Michaelmas Cay amongst the nesting birds with their chicks. The other spectacular side I could have done without – 3 metre swell, up to 45 knot winds and a VERY rough trip. Needless to say I was very seasick in spite of taking tablets. Loving husband enjoyed every minute of the cruise without feeling squirmish for one second!



Still haven’t done much stitching – too much to see and do in this wonderful place! I hope to put the next block of the BOM on the website soon.

Happy stitching!

Val