Interesting fruits

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/fruits_region_frameset.htm

While trawling the Net trying to identify that red fruit I stumbled on "Fruits around the world" 2 comments  

Do you know the name?

 
This is the photo showing comparative size of fruit and leaves with a match-box. 

Unknown fruit...forbidden fruit?

 

Today we met with our daughter and son-in-law on Bribie Island;In the area where we stopped for a picnic, across the park from Koolamara Resort was a tree bearing an unusual red fruit!
I've included a match box for size comparison,and a couple of leaves.
The plant was a lovely bush with leaves similar to a Moreton Bay fig leaf and when leaves were removed from the bush a white sticky milk was exuded.
Even though I had my camera with me I never thought to get a pic of the bush.
I've cut a slice out of a fruit and the white stickiness is evident there also;as well as what seems to be a largeish stone or pit like a peach.
I didn't notice any open blossoms,but there did seem to be some buds similar in shape and size to Mangrove blossoms.

Actually,the fruit ,foliage and sap make me think of guavas,but they don't have the sepals on the base like a guava or pomegranite.

I'll harass the shire botanist/gardener tomorrow, and also the Ag Dept in the hope they can identify it for me 

It's all Neefer's fault

You go perfectly innocently to check out Jennifer's Blog and get side-tracked.......
so,colour me PURPLE!!

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Do go and have some FUN,finding yourself!

Shell ginger

We drive up to Tinbeerwah today to look at a property offered by Boystown as a Lifestyle Lottery.Forget about the house,the gardens were worth a visit though:
Down in the
back-yard" was this magificent Shell Ginger (Alpinia Speciosa).Already past it's blooming prime ,it was nevertheless a clump worth admiring:Over six foot tall,lovely glossy leaves and tall canes ,perfect in a sub tropical garden! 

Saturday morning nap

 

As my friends know,a lot of native birds visit us on a regular basis;Here is Joe(named for Joe Cocker) having a nap in a Fiddlewood tree!
He lies along a branch and partially wraps a ring over the branch to stabilise him while he has a snooze 

The fifth step

 

Trying to balance the rear with the front of the bag........I really need to change that central loop! 

Step 4 "gardening"

 

Time to start adding flowers,vegetation,beads and buttons.
Ive used chain stitch whorls over top pocket,twisted basque stitch in purple on the
pocket edgings;some feather stitch and wheat ear stitch and also a double row of lazy daisy stitches interlaced with contrasting thread 

Step 3: the rear view

 

I don't want "too much" embellishing on the back as I feel it will be worn away by brushing against the body.
I've just positioned a few motifs and (soap) drawn possible lines to curve around to the front of the bag.
I like the idea of the red braid through the waist loops,but am not sure if it will stay there:maybe a broader braid?? 

Step 2

 

I've started the curves..... rather stark looking at the moment isn't it!t 

Step one----playing with positioning

 
I liked the ideas of curves that (vaguely) echoed the lines of the front pockets,so I've placed the motifs over chalked in lines;the chalk in this case being slivers of dried soap that I keep for marking dark fabrics 

A Bag of Fun

Link

[http://www.flickr.com/groups/72125064@NOO/pool/]


When I started my first BoF I had in mind a confection of soft pastel colours featuring butterflies super imposed on a background of flowers and stems which would comprise embroidery,beads and buttons.
However,somewhere along the way I decided to flaunt my "growing old,disgracefully" tendencies, and with the help of a machine embroiderer friend who constructed the red hats,umbrella and Miss Maude on the back pocket with her magical machine,my tribute to the Red Hat Society took over!
I kept as far as possible,to a red and purple theme and embellished flowers and vines in curves that echoed the pocket shapes on the front.I've used crewel wools,polyster punch needle threads,DMC Madeiras and even DMC stranded cottons.
Being a cat lover,who has at least one cat lurking somewhere in each of my CQ pieces,if you look closely,you'll find three on the front of the bag.

Because I was aware of how the rear of any bag rubs against the body I didn't do much work on the bag's back: Only a feisty lady peering out of one pocket,a red hat on one pocket and a basket on the other.
A few vines and flowers relieve the bareness of the remaining panels.
Some red braid goes through the waistloops and the lining of the bag and straps is a Red hat fabric from a chain-store.

I used a small rectangle of Timtex to stabilise the base of the bag and added a couple of internal pockets in the lining.
I have found it a most convenient bag for general use,and not as heavy as I thought it would be.
I must now complete the "butterflies are free" bag and make 2 others,but,trust me,they wont have as much handwork as this one did!

Christmas Ornies and Bags of Fun update

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At latest count the Xmas Ornies I've completed is 10.I still have two bells,one heart and two punch needled shapes to finish off.
In a local "trash shop"( an el cheapo type)the other day I chanced on a beaded trim that I can use in place of the "icicles" that went AWOL....I hope it works as I planned.

On another front,one bag(see Bags of Fun) has been completed and christened.I must write up my journal to submit to SharonB.Somehow I don't think that my "Butterflies"bag will be completed by the deadline.

One thing about deadlines:they sure pressure you into finishing by due date instead of languishing indefinitely as WiPs.
My problem is I get too many "bright ideas" that just have to be pursued down beckoning sidetracks leading me away from the main game.

Next year I must try and be firm with myself and complete at least half of those UFOs;After all,that was the excuse I gave for commencing this blog:journalling the completion of UFOs,and what happened????

Christmas Ornies

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Over the last week I've been slowly working on that pile of Xmas Ornies I'm committed to making for two Ornie swaps.
The punch-needled ones are a little smaller than my usual circular ornaments,but there is no doubt that they are BRIGHT!
Just need to add a few beads and tiny bells to them and then I can back and hang them.
Am very disappointed though---some icicle beads I received in an Aust/U.S. swap some 3 years back and which would be perfect for myoff-white and silver heart have gone AWOL! I "hid" them so carefully so that they wouldn't be used before the right inspiration hit,that I can't find them.Looks like I'll be using crystal beads instead.
On a lighter note,the list below came in one of my newsletters this week;I think it's applicable whether you're a dress maker,crafty person,or a quilter.
Enjoy!

If I Don't Buy That Fabric I'll Surely Faint!
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Few true sewers, quilters or fabric crafters need an excuse to buy more fabric. We are hooked on cotton. We obsess over silk. We daydream about calicos and ginghams and plaids. But just in case you need to explain to others why you have a million yards of fabric at home, but still need a few more fat quarters and just have to buy yardage of the newest prints ... here's a handy list of reasons you need more fabric! Copy this list and tuck it in your purse for quick reference!

It is a patriotic duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills and fabric shops.
"Oh, it's not for me! I'm buying it for a friend!"
It's on sale.
I need extra weight in the trunk of my car for traction on snowy, icy roads. This is important, even in Florida and Southern California, as you never know when the weather will change.
It's non-fattening.
Like dust, it's good for protecting previously empty spaces in the house.
Because it's there.
It's much cheaper to cover the floor with fabric than new carpeting.
The devil made you do it.
It's the only remotely artistic thing I have ever done.
I can't live without it.
I have new shelves for fabric storage.
It will go with some I bought last year.
It's so pretty, and I'll use it some day.
I want my daughter to have a proper inheritance.
Without fabric, I would have nothing to do with my rotary cutter and my mat and my sewing machine.
It does not promote tooth decay.
It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and makes one feel good.
If I don't buy it now, I may never see it again.
A large fabric stash is the sign of a creative mind.
I owe myself a reward for that half-pound I lost last month

That Craft Fair

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I ventured down to Brisbane today to the Craft Fair.
What a disappointment for this hunter/gatherer...
(I think the one in April?May had far more appealing wares)
I went with a LIST and was disappointed to come home minus some of the goodies I was chasing---
amongst the items high on my agenda were Angelina fibres.........seems like the ThreadPlace in Perth or (forget who) in NZ are my only options.
Then I was on the look-out for Sculpey Art-doll moulds--------nada,zip,zilch!
Sculpey,Jovi polymer clays...........nil;
Fabric for my punch-needle with silk ribbon?? At least I could count on Pamela Gurney and her Dancing PunchNeedles(http://www.punchneedleembroidery.com/pages/default.cfm?page_id=4697) to supply the threads and fabric,AND a quick tecnique brush-up for the silk ribbon punch-needle )
Next on my list was a book on Fabric Bowls by Linda Johansenn...........YES!!

and a couple of mini porcelain dolls to grace my 1/12th size beds and cot....yes!!
Tatting edging,crochet motifs.....The Lace Place
Cotton broder edging and sumptous cotton laces...Starrs Lace.Worth visiting just to listen to HIS banter!! VBG
I checked out the Quilt Show section.............only found one CQ!
But the postcards from Alaska!!! Loved them!!I have a few ideas now for that Postcard swap next year with Mary-Frances'group (in Oregon??)
Maybe it's my sick SoH,but the postcard featuring roadkill was most memeorable!

My fifth fan

 

This is the fan that danced through another RR with another group who I'm working on getting obsessed with CQ.
As I'd started piecing blocks for the SCCs RR I thought I'd continue with the fan theme.
I'm looking forward to combining all my fans..............but i think that at least one more will be required! 

Four fans dancing

 

These four fan blocks arrived home this morning after four or five months travel to and from five other "southerncross crazy" members.
I mentioned that
"I love flowers,birds,bead and button trails and I generally have at least one cat somewhere on my block!"
Apart from that I just wanted my fellow RRers to play and enjoy themselves.

I really am happy with what has been done for me and must now decide how I'm going to set the blocks,and whether to add more blocks.I have also shown these blocks on the blog CQCrazy,as I had yet another fan block doing the rounds with a Craft Forum group at the same time as this. 

A new generation

 


----of feathered free-loaders has started arriving.
This one is a young "blue-browed honey eater" 

Another avian visitor

 

This adult Blue-browed honey eater is verbally abusing me,because a younger bird is higher up in the Fiddlewood tree ,waiting to have his turn at the feeding bowls 

Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie!

 

Tuesday breakfast with the birds features Double bar Finches.
(I wish I had a better set of lenses to do them justice)

These little birds measure in at about 8 cm and generally live in open grassy woodland.
The dish they're in is 30 cm (12 inch) in diameter.

Whenever they descend on one of the feeding bowls I always think of the old nursery rhyme of the 4 & 20 blackbirds baked in a pie!