A great giveaway

Here's another giveaway! Go enter...


http://die-steppdecken-des-quilter.blogspot.com/

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Give away!

Sue Daley is having a give away on her blog. It ends tonight. Tell her I sent you!
While you're there, have a look around. Lots of nice stuff!

Reflections

Cool video

Found this elsewhere and had to share it with you. It brightened my day and brought joy to my heart. Hope it does the same for you.




Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Scatterdaisies Photo Challenge

The end of the month...so here are my 3 photos for Di's challenge. The topic for this month was "Frame Your View".




Di wants us to do these as a mosaic, but I have never got around to learning how to do that. Perhaps I should ask someone.

July's challenge is "Reflections".

End of a busy busy week

Friday...finally!

Regarding our visit to Dad last week: it was beautiful. Dad had been taken to Palliative care that morning, so we went straight from Coolangatta airport to the hospital at Lismore, arriving about 7pm.

After we had seen Mum and Dad, the nurses showed us a room where DD could get changed. She then walked down the corridor to the delight of the nurses and a couple of patients.
It was a lovely time. Tears, laughter, hugs, stories.

Dad told her that the dress was exactly what he would have wanted her to choose.

I took lots of photos, which we can't show anyone yet. They will be a wonderful memory for her.

Dad looked so bad, we didn't expect him to survive the night, but his body is hanging on.

He is not at all well, but would you believe the hospital sent him home yesterday?!

It seems Palliative Care (where he was) is not an Hospice. The difference? An Hospice is where you go for your final days/weeks. Palliative care is where you go to get well enough to either go back home, or if unable to be cared for there, to go to a Nursing Home.

There is no Hospice up there, where Mum and Dad live, so even though he has only been shuffling to the toilet for a couple of days with a walker, he is apparently well enough to go home - to be cared for by Mum, who is currently on chemo tablets and is not well herself.

When I left, it was to assurances that he would be in Palliative Care for at least another 2 weeks.

I will fly back up next week sometime, probably on the 6th.

Meanwhile, I came home to lots of medical appointments for my DMIL. She had to have scans this week to see if the cancer they recently detected in her lymph gland has spread. The results today show no sign of it being anywhere else, thank goodness. She will have surgery a week Wednesday for that.

I have also been taking her to another specialist this week. She had to see an Opthalmologist and is now scheduled for cataract surgery next week on one eye. She will need both eyes done, as well as having surgery later on her lower eyelids, as they have drooped considerably and the tears just run out. Poor thing is in for quite a time of it!

At least it was welcome news that the cancer hadn't spread further! A good birthday present for her 85th Birthday!

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Bitter sweet moment

Today, I picked up my DD's beautiful Wedding Gown.

The wedding is not until the end of September, but on Thursday, she and I are flying up to her Grandparents' and taking the gown with us.

Mum and Dad both have cancer, and while Mum is doing ok on chemo tablets at the moment, Dad does not have very long to live. We expect it will be quite soon, so we are going up with the gown, for her to try it on and show him his only Grandaughter in her wedding dress.

He has always been very proud of his Grandchildren, and always said he would make a speech at her wedding. I expect this to be a very tearful occasion, but it is something she wants to do, and so do I.

We only pray that we will get there in time for him to wake long enough to see her.

Please remember us in your prayers.

Dijanne Cevaal's Teapots

I love the work of textile artist Dijanne Cevaal, so I was ecstatic when I was able to purchase one of her small works, which she had shown on her blog. It arrived in the mail a few days ago.

Here is a photo of "Teapots". Isn't it exquisite? The colours glow like exotic jewels, the quilting is amazingly intricate, and the design reminds me of all that is mysterious about the Middle East. Pure magic!

Thank you, Dijanne, for allowing me to show it off on my blog.

BTW, Dijanne has other works for sale. I also like her Pomegranate series.

Sydney Scquilters Challenge ctd...

When my sister and I were children, my Grandmother used to make the most delicious drinks for us. One of our favourites was what she called a Lime Spider. She would put a scoop of icecream in a tall glass and pour in lime cordial.

When I saw the fabric Pennie had sent me, I immediately noticed the piece with the little green spiders and their webs. I loved the fabric and it didn't take me long to remember the Lime Spiders Nana used to make.

And so, I give you my challenge quilt....




LIME SPIDERS' REVENGE!

Detail from Lime Spíders' Revenge:

gotta love those Swarovski crystal eyes! The large spider's fangs are pieces of a kite tail. The straws are pieces of one of the white fabrics, appliqued on, then orange stripes drawn on with texta.


and that lovely bright green fabric with happy children playing? yep. right here! lol The "foam" is made from bits of clouds on the green fabric.



So, Pennie, do I pass the challenge?

Sydney SCQ Challenge

A while ago, Pennie, from Sydney Scquilters , ran a competition on their blog. Lissa was the winner, and I won a special prize, as I came in equal second, but had never been to a GTG there.

Our prize was a Challenge! (Thanks, Pennie!) We were sent a lovely Sydney SCQ mug filled with black and white fabric scraps, and we had to make something using a bit of every piece of fabric, plus one other fabric of our choice.

We were supposed to have it finished by the first of June, but as I was called away to my parents for 2 weeks, I am running late. I hope to have mine finished by the end of this weekend, providing nothing else gets in the way. (I had almost finished it when I left for Mum and Dad's)

Here is what Pennie sent us (the photo is from Pennies site, which shows the wrapped gift, the gift unwrapped, ie the mug and contents, and the fabrics layed out.)




I promptly chopped the fabrics up into two and a half inch squares:


and chose my extra fabric:



Nice and bright, don't you think?

As soon as I finish my little quilt, I will post it on this blog, and, I dare say, Pennie will post it on the Sydney SCQuilters blog.

Photo Challenge for Scatterdaisies

Thanks to Di, there is now a new game for Scatterdaisies to play! Each month, Di will issue a subject for us to photograph. We can post photos all month if we wish, but in the last week of the month, we post our 3 best photos.
If you want to play, (and to see Di's great examples), go to Di's Snippits.
June's subject is "Frame Your View".


Here's my first photo, taken off the end of Nobby's Breakwater.

Do I ever actually MAKE anything?

Well, yes, I do sometimes get time to make things.

At the moment I am fiddling around with strips from Moda's "Sweet Baby Jane" Jelly Roll. I was going to do a log cabin, but decided at the last minute (typical) to do a variation on that. So this is where I am going, so far...

I was also reading somewhere (I wish I could remember where! it was on a really good blog) that if you want to use fabrics from a co-ordinated range for a quilt, it's a good idea to only use about 85% of the range, and 15% from outside the range. This will add some wow factor to your quilt.

Makes sense to me, so I am going through my stash to see what I have, that I can include. I have a few candidates, but I'm not ready to add them yet.

I am such a one for co-ordinating colours, that initially, I had a challenge using the green and aqua together, in the same quilt. They look wrong together without the other colours. However, I am persisting, and just trying to avoid them being side by side.
Iknow, I know, I know ... scrappy quilts are all about anything goes and the overall effect, but this isn't a scrappy quilt. I know it will all work once finished, but like I said, it's a challenge for me!

...and if you want further proof, here is a picture of most of my WIPs. See that Sabco Stakka Drawer on top of the desk? That is chokkas! (I must get another one.) ...and all that fabric lying around...well they're WIPs too.

The basket holds all the patterns and fabrics and stitcheries for a BOM quilt that I subscribed to last year. It went for 10 months and finished last October. I think I'm half way through block 3. Hmmmm, might get some stitcheries prepared to take away with me next week.

In the News

Prosecution over nude child photos urged http://au.news.yahoo.com/080522/2/16z32.html?f=mv

Police quiz photographer over nude shots http://au.news.yahoo.com/080522/21/16z28.html


These 2 reports appeared on Yahoo news this morning, and I suspect there will be a lot of debate over the topic.
I haven't got involved in debates on my blog before, but this is something I feel very strongly about.
Being an artist myself, I can understand the stance of the "art community" that feel the photos should be allowed, but, I question their arguments about these particular photos.

I have only seen one photo (the one in the article) but it doesn't look like "art" to me. I can see no difference between it, and photos taken by predators setting up their victims. To say there is no sexuality in the photos, is beside the point! What is sexual to one person, is different to another.

"Michael Reid says the naked body has been the subject of art for thousands of years" Well, yes, Mr Reid, but not as photographs! These have been done as paintings, and are not usually of naked 12 to 14 year olds. Apart from that, even if it had been, that doesn't mean it should be a continued practise. We clear felled land for hundreds of years. Should we continue to do it?

The fact that the photographer exhibited a body of work similar to this 10 years ago, without an uproar, is incidental. It merely points out that we as a society have become more aware of the problems associated with adolescent nude photography, and the repercussions of it on the children. And that's a good thing!

I feel that we have a responsibility towards our children. Even if permission was granted, how can we expect 12 to 14 year olds to make rational sensible decisions that may have long term repercussions? Would you let your daughter at that age, pose for a nude photo that was going to be displayed to the public, even if she wanted to, and even if it wasn't sexual? I know I wouldn't. How would she feel at 17 or 18, if someone came up to her and said they had seen her nude in a photo? Embarrassed, I'm sure.

I am not a prude. I enjoy some adult pornography from time to time, and there is something very lovely about sensual photographs. But let's keep children out of it!

What sort of message is it sending our kids, if we accept this? What sort of legal argument are we letting loose in our courts if we allow pubescent nudity in photographs in the name of art?

And more importantly, what are we subtly saying to kids who have been abused in this manner?


I have been told i am a prude and I'm over reacting, by a couple of people. Do you agree, or disagree, with my opinion? I welcome your comment.

Squishy from my Angel

Look what my wonderful, darling Angel (in the SCQuilters Angel/Mortal swap) has sent me! How lucky am I? She made this especially for me in 2 of my favourite colours. (Well 3 actually if you consider the lining).
I am so stoked and spoilt.
I love it, love it, love it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear wonderful Angel!

Here to There and Back Again!

I did not think it would take me so long to get back to blogging!

I have had so much going on, I was totally snowed under. Then the cold miserable weather hit and I had the "Winter Blues". On top of that, DH brought a very bad strain of ye old cold home, and promptly passed it on to me!

Enough to give anyone the miseries...

Fortunately, nothing lasts forever, and I am back on the scene. All that remains now, is to decide what to post.

Scatterdays has finished and Michelle and Dy haven't come up with anything to replace it, yet, so here's some photos to get back into the swing of things...

Our beautiful Liquidamber tree. Leafy, green and shady in the summer, and glorious and magical in the autumn. Here, it was just starting to change colour and lose its leaves.

In the next photos, Autumn is well and truly under way, and the leaves are yellow, gold, orange, red, hints of purples and still touches of green occasionally, although not the bright fresh green of spring, or the cool stately green of summer. More the wearied and understated tones of green. Eventually, they fall and become crinkled, brown, and grey. That's when I love putting on my shoes and crunching through them. There's something very satisfying about stomping around in circles and loops, crunching dry leaves underfoot!

Look at that brilliant blue sky! Doesn't it set the colours of the leaves off beautifully?


And lastly, we have a selection of leaves which I have placed in this large creamy bowl, so I can enjoy the signs of autumn, indoors.