Lovely to be home in the Springtime

 We spent five days in Melbourne last week. We spent two nights in Carlton with Brita and met dear little Frida in the weekend. We went and saw the film of Patrick White's The Eye of the Storm. Brilliant acting, fabulous sets, lots of humour to make a bleak story bearable. We also went to the Tutenkamen Exhibition, very crowded which was annoying at $35 per head. We went to Patchwork on Central Park's 20% off sale which was very exciting too. And to L'uccello's vintage haberdashery where I couldn't stop swooning everywhere I looked.

 My second most favourite Beatrix Potter character, Mrs Tittlemouse. She LOVES Julie Whitmore pottery.

 I think I will have to buy more of this in the orange colour way, I beyond love it......

 This cheeky little person spends all his days fighting his reflection in the windows, I do wish he wouldn't , for his sake, much as I could look at him all day long.

Woke in the night for ages and just feel like doing this today........ but onwards and upwards........

More WA and home.......

 The surrounds of the old Bussell homestead.

 The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse.We climbed to the top. It was very windy, like it nearly always is apparently. Quite scary. The most SW point of Australia. Where two oceans meet. You can see the waves coming from two different directions.

Quilting again......

 I finally worked out how to do this one. It's nice to be quilting again. Sar bought me the liberty scraps from Libertys in London. I bought the Heather Ross FAR FAR AWAY unicorn fabric from Patchwork On Central Park in Melbourne. A lovely girl there was making one the same, with unicorn heads at the centre, hers was in more apricot tones I think. she also advised me to handstitch quilts, it is then more portable and you also have more control and it is amazingly fast to do with just a running stitch. Most of all though, it is just very enjoyable and fun! I am making the quilt for Sarah's bed here.

Rainbows and things

A most amazing double rainbow...........

I finished my crocheted scarf and wore it to WA.

Framed Kit Hiller print Jonathan gave me, very beautiful!

I am this far with Pete's scarf.

This quilt is stumping me, very mathematically challenging for me and I don't think my instructions are quite right.

The Inner Sister island from Palana beach.

Finally got this print framed that Brita gave me years ago.

White swans in Australia, Northam, WA.

My latest spring flowers in my new, old jug.

More WA

We drove for miles through beautiful forests like this.

The Bussell's old family home. There is a bark roof under the corrugated iron.

This is a Southern Right whale feeding her calf she has recently given birth to, in the estuary at Augusta.She is lying on her back and the calf is lying on her stomach feeding. The calves have to come up very often for air. We were watching from a whale watching boat. The adult whales are as big as buses under the water which is very shallow here. Some of these whales can probably remember being hunted in these waters, the whaling here only finished in the 70's. The whales are very unpeturbed by being watched from the tourist boats now, the boats do keep a respectful distance from them though, so as not to disturb them.

Holiday in Western Australia

We had a wonderful holiday driving around the South West of WA. This is my favourite type of garden! Garden, collections, trash to treasure. A very Australian thing. Full of humour and joie d'vivre. Although I think the person who created it is no longer there, or else is very old now, it is looking abandonned but not quite.

more dolls!

Here is the waldorf dolly I made cavorting with some of my daughters' old toys. All of which were bought for them in the 'late 70's and the 80's by my mother. The cat, the rabbit and the mouse were made by someone in Launceston area. Mum made the raggedy and I am going to make her some clothes sometime soon, her original clothes long lost. The doll I made is in Sweden with her little mother now. She was presented just before the flight and was christened Hayley but is mostly called 'darling' apparently. And they were both angelic on the flight which was anticipated with much trepidation, a 3 year old on such long haul!

Staffordshire and Toile

I have always love French toile and in our previous house we had glorious pale blue toile curtains in our bedroom which I really miss. I love these cushion covers Sar sent me so much, they add some softness to the dark browm leather. One cushion insert is too big and the other too small but I kind of like them like this.

Another of my all time loves is Staffordshire china so I adore Julie Whitemore's pottery to bits, from California to Flinders Island! 

Scarf, pincushion and puss with catnip

Olive is enraptured with the catnip I planted. How does anyone who has cats ever get it to survive? Both our cats have been scratching at it and rolling on it since I planted it.

Here is my second pincushion, top and bottom sides. A great use for old quilt scraps.

I have also started on a scarf for Pierre in the softest wool and cashmere, photographed on divine Cabbages and Roses toile cushion, from darling Sarah for my birthday.