Art2Mail Group18

Received this week from SpringW in Utah......."the greatest snow on earth" 

Another Art2Mail card

This bright cheerful card arrived today from Pat Essex in "snowbound NW OHIO" The iridescent vertical and horizontal stips resulted from Pat's first time use of Angelina;
don't you like the pinked edges!
And at the top is the saying:

" On the road between the homes of friends,
Grass does not grow "

Norwegian proverb

 

My work area!

This pic might help explain why I haven't blogged lately!
We have relocated..........two weeks ago;and I'm still trying to unpack boxes.
This area had been designated as my studio,but a spare bed and other things snuck in when I wasn't looking.........
Maybe I'll have to claim the garage after all!
Hopefully when I find new homes for all the above I can use my Janome Xpression and play!
(I feel the need) 

Cats' revenge

Vicki wondered how my cats would react after being released from their "cat park"-------
Totally cool Vicki !

Here's Cadbury,yawning her head off on her new bed!
Jesse my "black panther" has been on antibiotics due to cystitis and a jaw infection,and Possum----
does Possum things! Not much at all! 

Art2MailGroup18

Basket of Simple Branches from Shauna Griffiths
Aloha from Hawaai
"Working on my Tan" Carol Heck
"Work!Love! Dance" from Janet Moran

Great little pieces that brightened my days...........thank you ladies! 

Art Meme 2006

Some time late last year Jo N promised me an Art Meme Swap..........this delightful little piece arrived in the last fortnight.
If you're aware of the TAST in which Jo and many other of my CQ contacts have involved themselves with,you'll probably agree with me that this landscape evolved from it.
Thanks Jo! 

I'm back!

It seems like an eternity since I had time and internet connections to Blog our doings---in reality it's only been two weeks!
We've made the move (lock,stock and barrel) and here are pics of how the cats were "imprisoned" whilst removalists and tradesmen breezed in and out of the house with deliveries.
Needless to say the three cats were less than impressed with their confinement,but they've settled down and the prison has been removed from the yard........

I hasten to add that Jesse,Possum and Cadbury were brought inside at night and if it rained.
I'm still deciding whether to add "tunnels" around the yard with direct house access for them;will revisit that after patios,rainwater tanks and revamping of garden occurs.

As for stitching.........what's that??
Must be nearly two months since I've done any,so I've been really happy receiving fabric postcards from my Art2MailGroup18 swap,and an Art Meme from NZJo and some gorgeous dyed fabrics from my dear friend Catherine. 

Cyber Black Holes

I'm still "here"!
Just a case of real life interfering with cyber...................
This weekend,after 23 years in the one place,the stone has decided to roll and relocate the moss

Mr Blogger/Picasa will not co-operate and let me share pics of the disaster zone that used to be
KenMaursCorner (aren't you lucky)

I haven't put a needle and thread to fabric for about a month.......................it's a horrible feeling!
All I can access at the moment is tatting shuttle and thread...and they don't enthuse me!

Hopefully by Wednesday
(move over superwoman! )
LIFE might start regaining some balance.

Until then.........
Tschuss,Au Revoir; Auf Weidersen! Sayonara....................................................
or as Arnie so often says:
I'll be back!!

It came in the mail

Friday's mail delivered the "Class & convention" program for the upcoming "Australasian Quilt Convention" Feb 22-25 in Melbourne.
And there on page 16 along with three others was my "Dying Forest Wetlands of Murray River" Journal Quilt.
From memory,35 members of the Australia_New Zealand_ArtQuilters online group
each submitted five A4 sized quilts/quiltlets for exhibition ,not only in Melbourne,but also at the Gold Coast and Townsville in March and April.

The above pics were scanned from the program:
The top quilt is mine;
followed by Jan Cotton's "Flanders Poppies"
Ros Ward "Great Divide"
Christine Goonrey "Dark Sacred Night" 

Art2Mail

Today's mail brought me these three cards,making it truly a red letter day!
First up,is the Paisley Posies from Mari P: It travelled "naked" and no damage was sustained by the free standing flower petals and leaf.
Doesn't the paisley fabric provide an excellent contrast to the solid colours of the petals?
The second card arrived from Leisa F ,in Utah,the "Beehive State".
The lower pic on the Bee card features the drones clustered around the Queen,and she tells me that the water colour of the bee (upper right corner) is used on the labels.

Finally,the refreshing "cuppa" comes from Jo Reid who invites me to join her in a cup!
(I'd love to Jo,especially as it's a black tea!)
I found the green background fabric,the corner of a lace d'oyley peeping from under the saucer and the spring flowers to make the invitation hard to resist. 

Anyone for a cuppa?

Because she is addicted to pincushions,this is for Gerry (sewing-southpaw.blogspot.com/ )

You should visit her and read yesterday's posting. 

Relocation blues

I'm still trying to organize my sewing -----between sorting,discarding,resorting and packing,"things" are a little chaotic!
So here's two views of one chaotic MESS that is driving me to distraction. 

Happy Australia Day

from me and our regular visitors!
I could not let today,which we celebrate as our National Day slip past without reference:
And what better than true blue dinky-di Aussies to say "Gidday"! 

Punkin Pincushion

Way back January 9th,this lovely bright "punkin" Pincushion arrived in the mail box from Gerry !
I KNOW I emailed Gerry to say that it had arrived after a visit to MaureenB,but in the kerfuffle of checking out the house we had signed a contract on,I forgot to post pictures and acknowledge Gerry's gift. So,here you go..............Thanks Gerry!
 

Postcard for Gerry

 

The mail got through!

">Link
It was so good today to receive an email from Gerry that the postcard I'd mailed to her as part of the Art Meme Swap actually got through!
So much of my international mail seems to go MIA these days,that I feel fortunate that a card I just popped in the local mailbox rather than at the PostOffice got through!

Once a year Day!

Meet Possum, an elderly (about 15 years) overweight,sweet natured puss.
Because Poss has a very thick fur coat,which appears to have outer and inner layers so thick you can never find her skin,she has an annual visit to Mandy of Doggie Hair Dooz to make life more bearable.
I do attempt to help Poss by using a stripping brush,but it's not enough.
These are "after " shots! Mandy leaves the face,tail and paws relatively untouched to preserve Possum's dignity.
With Poss being such a sweet natured puss (luckily) no tranquillisers are used;
There is no hissy fitting,no yowling no display of unsheathed claws...........how good is that!

And when today Mandy declared the cut to be complete,Possum ambled up to Mandy,nudged her on the chest and settled down leaning against her for a purr and a cuddle!

Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera with me,so no shot of that! 

Second Anniversary

Would you believe!
I missed the second anniversary of KenMaursCorner...........January 7, 2005 .

"Life" has been so hectic with the upcoming move:
house-hunting;
soul searching over what to keep and what to discard-----
commencing packing the important things..........fabrics,fibres etc
Escorting Ken to his various medical appointments
and starting to plan how to decorate our new home---------

that January 7 slipped under the radar!

What have I accomplished in two years of blogging?

Firstly: the wonderful people I now have regular contact with! Thank you all for your friendship,help and encouragement.

Secondly: (red face time) I really dont think that my blogging skills have improved as much as I hoped they would.
(I'm definitely leaving the switch over to the newer blog format until after we have relocated,when just maybe I might be able to think more clearly.)

UFOs........more have been added to the pile instead of lessening!
Blame that on dabbling in Journal quilts and fabric postcards,
AND.......joining Fibre Art Traders ,
TextileChallenges
Needle felting and several other similar groups.

Still I did get five journal quilts completed and forwarded for inclusion in the Aus_NZ_Artquilters display that will be part of the AQC in Melbourne next month.

Enough already!
Happy anniversary to me and KenMaursCorner!

A tale of two cockies

">Link If you also visit my http://kurliskottage.blogspot.com/ you'll know how much I love "cockies"/Sulphur-crested Cockatoos,
so when the following Link came to me via an Email,I just had to share............

This is a delightful story of a sulphur- crested cocky in Australia -- Amazing photos.

Don't forget to click on "Next Page" at the bottom of the page each time as there are several.

Click on the following link:

http://www.juliusbergh.com/cocky/

Picture this.............

Today we drove down to Woody Point for an in depth look at what will be our new home come February10/12.
(For "in -depth" read "armed with tape measure & notebook" !)

On realizing that the kitchen did include a "you beaut" M/W oven,my comment was :
"My old M/W can go in the laundry......................."

Stunned expressions from current owner and the realtor.............
until I explained that I would be using laundry M/W for dyeing silk ribbons and fabrics in the laundry rather than in the kitchen.!!


MEN!!
Can't think outside the square can they!
Maybe I need tea bags & mugs in the broom cupboard VBG!