Craft and cooking

Well, I have been busy on and off completing various projects.  This is for one of my work colleagues who has gone off to have a baby...I made this quilt out of a very cute range of fabrics called "Little Apples".



I made this quilt from Leesa Chandler's "Under the Australian Sun" range for my cousin and her husband who I will be staying with when I visit Germany later in the year as a thank you.

I have 2 work colleagues having babies within weeks of each other and we had their farewell morning tea this week so I decided to try my hand at making macarons....and these little beauties were the result.  They were  a HUGE hit with my co-workers...and in the end, very easy, once I had reduced the cooking time and the temperature.  The first batch I made looked absolutely perfect, However, they were as hard as rocks....so into the bin they had to go!!! 
Here is a link to the original recipe.

Finally, one of my friends' daughter's school is having a fundraiser for the school and the Olivia

Newton-John Cancer and Wellness centre.

They are having an exhibition amongst other activites whereby students and others can decorate a "bust" for display...the event is called "Girls Bust Out" and I have decorated a bust for the exhibitions.  I had loads of fun decorating this with recycled sewing bits and pieces... I can't wait to see all of the other busts next weekend.

For those of you in Melbourne who are interested in attending, the details can be found here.

Fun Project

Here are some photos of a recent project I have been working on....I discovered an online class called "Remains of the Day Journal" through a blog called "Dispatch from LA".  The designer makes THE MOST amazing journals out of fabric scraps and papers and ephemera.  I am going on a little BIG overseas trip later in the year and decided I also needed a journal.  I am not really one to write in a diary (except for work stuff) but thought it would be an ideal opportunity to write a journal whilst I am away.

So here are some photos of my completed Journal Cover and a few of the pages I hope to write on, collect tickets and other bits and pieces whilst travelling.

The Journal Cover closed:

The Cover fully open:

 

Inside the cover: I just LOVE this fabric...Kaffe Fassett at his best!!!

 

Some of the pages/inserts for the Journal:

You may have gathered by some of the pages that I might be travelling to Europe...yep, my very first trip to Europe... I am going to Italy, Paris, London, Brugge and Germany....nearly 6 weeks away and I am so excited about this trip and the adventures I am going to have...it is still several months away...so I won't go on too much about it....hope this journal is inspiring to you....checkout this blog to see more wonderful journals.

Swap Updates...lots of photos

Thought it was time I did an update on some of the recent swaps I have been in and what I have sent and received.  The latest thing in swaps seems to be mug rugs....mini quilts that are basically fabric drink coasters...I recently sent these.....The first one I used some of the fabrics from Leesa Chandler's Under the Australian Sun fabrics

For the second one I did a Bronwyn Hayes stitchery as the person receiving these likes cats....

In return I received these two lovely mug rugs...and in my favourite colours!!!!

And from the recent ALQS5 swap I received this...

and from the Creative Colour Challenge I received this lovely package which included some yummy sweets, a gorgeous piece of fabric and this mirror which has been collaged by the designer...Thanks so much Debbie...

and this is  a sneak peak of what I sent to Debbie....she hasn't received it as yet so I hope it is still a bit of a surprise...

today it has been such a lovely day that I have spent some good time in the garden. and decided to take a couple of photos of some of my plants which are in flower..the above is a grevillea...as I was hacking into one of my native rosemary plants which have become so overgrown they have tipped over, I discovered this little treasure and its precious contents....I just hope I haven't scarred the parents off so that they abandoned their nest....needless to say, I stopped the pruning of that bush for the time being...

I then moved to an area which has become overgrown with blackberries (very nasty weed here in the Yarra Valley) and promptly got bitten by a bull ant....my ankle has swollen and it is SOOOOOOOO itchy!!!!!  I decided then to come inside to update my blog!!!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend...see you again

A new Challenge

I have signed up to a new artistic challenge where we create something in our favourite medium using Complimentary colours...and has to include blooms, leave and flora....should be fun...already I have a few ideas running around my brain....stay tuned!!!

Another Little Quilt Swap #5

Here is my completed journal quilt for ALQS5 being run by Kate....This is the 4th of these swaps I have participated in and they always manage to stretch me....a good thing at the moment as I have been very unmotivated to be doing much in the way of sewing....hoping to get my sewing mojo back soon...have a great AUSTRALIA DAY tomorrow....

How to help the people of Queensland

(Photo: Getty Images)

Well, those of you who are here in Australia who read my blog would be living under a rock if they haven't seen and heard of the news of the floods in Queensland.

So, for those who wish to help out, head on over to this blog where Toni is organising an online auction for other bloggers to donate items to be austioned/raffled and the money raised will be given to the Flood Relief Fund.

I don't really have anything ready to contribute to the cause other than a couple of unquilted quilt tops....and no way of getting them quilted in a few days....and given that I don't have huge numbers of visitors to my blog, I am unlikely to get much interest anyway.  So, I will simply direct you over to Toni's Blog where later in the week she will list all of those participating.

Please help those who so generously gave following the Victorian Bushfires of 2009 (when Queenslanders also suffered floods back then too).

Got a spare 5 minutes???

Just HAD to pop this link on my blog....it is absolutely AMAZING....I have watched it a few times now and each time it brings tears to my eyes....ENJOY.