Happy Birthday Bruce

 Happy Birthday Bruce - I am sure you really enjoy all that biking - this was the best photo I could steal from you - all the others would not play ball. And I am sure you will look so much better tonight!

 Just so you remember your heritage - a little kiwi pressed into Modeling paste for a bit of depth

and the beautiful city of Wellington where you were born just a few years ago - the cable car took us up to to the university where you and Grant enjoyed your time at the varsity creche while your mother worked hard.....

This is better

 Catching up on my errant ways. I like to blog but time has simply slipped off the radar. We have bought ourselves new chair covers for our favourite little corner - bought them from a place in Sydney but I would never deal with her again. When they arrived (despite sending measurements) they were too narrow across the bottom but do you think she had the manners to reply to my emails? She could have replied and told us that they would stretch into place after a few sittings instead of having us cross and panicking. The other ones we have had for over 30 years and while they still were basically okay, were starting to tear in the corners. So now we are recoloured and revamped. See the chillie plant in the foreground? Very very hot little chillies and many of them.

 Friday night we went to the opening of the Fringe Festival - this was outside the Gardens of Pleasure looking down into town. Plenty of people around - we didn't go to any shows - just checking things out.

 We also went into the Cultural Centre - big queues - best avoided

Back at the Pleasure Gardens

My big desk still awaiting action but loving the transfers onto Evolon  and before anyone asks - that is a boab tree or two. Printing off info about Broome for transferring and colouring with Starburst Sprays. Thinking it might turn into a little book or something. This is such a great transfer idea - simple and easy.

If you like following my recipes, I have added a couple more on my recipe page.

Yes I am still here

 As we have continued to have plenty of hot weather, there is always one person who finds the right spots
This is one Harley found this week

 and a very comfy closeup - good excuse not to make the bed I guess until her ladyship is ready for a move

 Last Sunday we went to the new markets at Leederville and very impressed - we stocked up on lots of lovely fresh fruit and veggies  and prawns and coffee - we will be back early tomorrow. Aren't these flowers glorious? They fit our Indian Summer theme to a t

Last Monday - Ian bought me lovely roses because he knew how cross I was going to be - on Tuesday I had to report for jury service - you cannot get out of it in WA - even though I am not an Aust citizen. I see it all as a bullying sort of thing and don't lecture me about how we all should do it - I didn't see a single person looking excited. About 1000 people in a holding pen - I took winding - knitting - words to write - books to read and ignored the very important people bossing people around. People got called for 3 day trials - others got sent home and suckers like me got called for an 8 day trial - all 50 excited people I could see. I didn't have a chance to talk to the judge because I wasn't called but I can say that I have taken the interest to note that the trial has gone 8 days and will be on again on Tuesday. Poor suckers. So the flowers were gorgeous and on Tuesday night we went out to eat at Cocos in South Perth - not been there for a long time.

What have I been doing in my studio? Making a lot of mess - as you can see. Lots of lovely Magical Micas in this picture - they work on every surface I have tried. In front is a laser printed photo transferred onto Evolon - part of my family research stuff. Really enjoying this technique - not crisp like TAP but even looking at this image you can see it has worked pretty well. I have sprayed it with a Moonglow Spray for that silvery effect.

 Bruce's bike room - very neat and tidy - I remember a child whose bedroom drove me nuts.....

Good breakfast made by me - corn fritters - mushrooms and a salad  - much better value than what we had after the markets last Sunday if I may say so.

Is it hot today? YES

 It is very hot here today - 44 at least and a record - okay inside but between the house and the studio you wouldn't want to linger. Silly Harley, who is usually sleeping in her box under my desk in the afternoons, decided to lie outside in the sun but even when birds came close she didn't budge. Finally saw some sense and came back inside. I have been very busy this week working on a variety of things as well as proudly having all the clubs away by 10th (a miracle for me) and I finished this book cover for lots of my Kimberly Dreaming pieces.

 

I had a lot of scraps over - I keep everything when I am stitching and embellishing and as I am working with letters and words quite a bit at present I embellished lots of scraps on a flimsies and laid some scrim over the top then cut out a k and a d and crudely stitched them to one of the pieces I am working on. Lots of potential of ideas on this front.

 And look what turned up yesterday. A lovely gift from Shelagh - so wonderful - Unison pastels.

Lots of playing coming up - and dirty fingers as well. Love new toys.

I am working on another project as well and trying to coax Evolon to shrivel for me. Of course it burns and carves but this is something else for texture.

it's 2104 and moving right along - already

 When you go away you work very hard before you go and then start all over again when you get back - but it was a lovely break and our brains did have a holiday. Because it was about the 40th year I hadn't made my pavlova for Christmas, I decided to make it for the new year and very nice it was too. We paced ourselves with a helping each for a few days. We had a nice new year's eve in the back garden with a bbq and amazingly it has been quite cool at night although I think all of that is about to change.

I have spent all weekend working - surprise - packaging loads of Maori carded wool - it takes for ages and tomorrow I will do the last lot. I have more than enough things on my list but I am very pleased with myself becasue I have sent out all of the POMs - even though they are no longer on the web we still have a heap of people receiving them every month. Plus I have got quite a few of the clubs ready to post - and for me it is only 5th of the month. Plus I have a new club ready to announce as well.

 I have only been up to the studio late in the afternoon this weekend - bit of a swizz but I cut up lots of fabric for a project and have a big basket full up for tomorrow's action.

 The newspaper I was working on - I have now started on hand dyed fabric - added extras and twin needled it all. This is just a small section of something I am hoping to get done in time to enter it for an exhibition - if I don't finish I have other plans.

 I also cut and rolled our new hand dyed hessian - love stitching on this surface - and these are two of the little stacks. Ian has had the naming rights for the stacks. - http://www.thethreadstudio.com/catalogue/fab/hessian/stacks.htm

Tonight we took ourselves down to the river for fish n chips.