Tuesday Treasures

One of my favourite crafts is crochet. I learned when I was fairly young from my Grandma. She did beautiful work which I admired as a child. As a teen, I asked her to make me fashionable clothing and her efforts included a crochet bikini and a dress which I hardly ever wore as I decided once it was finished that the colour wasn't me. (Bright orange! What was I thinking!!!)

Of course I no longer have those things and don't remember what became of them. Luckily I came to my senses before it was too late and asked for something a little more genteel and ladylike. These two treasured doilies are all I have of my grandmother's work, but, thanks to her I now have the ability to make my own, which is certainly something to treasure.

She also fostered and encouraged my life-long love affair with books and reading, but that's another story!

Go on over to Melody's to see who else is sharing today.

Heritage Week

This week has been National Trust of Queensland Heritage Week with all sorts of events around the state celebrating The Heritage of Water. Ironic I know considering recent happenings, however, the theme was chosen months ago. Anyway those who follow my blog will know that I volunteer at Wolston House, Wacol, a National trust property.

Tomorrow is our Heritage Week Open Day where you can visit for only a gold coin donation (normally $8 for adults). We are having displays of colonial dancing, vintage and veteran cars and a string ensemble from the local high school. There will be hand- crafted and home-baked goodies for sale, as well as a huge trash and treasure stall. We will also be having a sausage sizzle and serving devonshire teas.

If you're in the neighbourhood, drop in and say hello. We are open from 11am- 4pm.

At last- some craft

I have certainly been a bit distracted by non-crafty things recently so it was good to be nudged in that direction by #2 sister, a fabulous quilter and dressmaker. #4 sister will be turning 50 in June and it has become a bit of a tradition ( if twice qualifies) for us to make a quilt for the birthday "girl" on that special birthday. We share out the tasks according to our tastes and abilities. I enjoy the sewing part and B ( #2 sister) is a great machine quilter although we each do a bit of both.

The pile of fabric is my share of the cutting; I'm doing the lights and B is doing the darks. Can you guess what block we're doing? That's right- it's a Log Cabin variation. We are on a bit of a tight schedule as B works full time and I am about to start a 4 week stint relieving in a school library, but we both work better with a little bit of pressure. Hey, we've done it before so we can do it again, can't we?

The quilt is based on a design in one of B's many quilting magazines so you will have to wait until it is done to see it. I may post updates once I begin piecing.

This is a picture of the quilt we made for #3 sister's 50th. We named it "A twist of lime"; my sister is a chef.

PS I only have 4 sisters so this will be the last 50th quilt. I don't have a good picture of the first quilt we did as that was back before I had a digital camera. In case you are interested, I am big sister, all the rest are younger than I am.

Beautiful Bella

Joining in again with Melody to share my treasured pet. I have always been a cat person rather than a dog person, not because I don't admire dogs but I was brought up to believe that dogs don't belong in towns. My parents were country people and kept working dogs only when they lived on farms.

Over the years I have had many cats and this is my latest.

I have had Bella for about a year now and she is about two years old. I rescued her at RSPCA and took my granddaughter with me when I went to choose. As I was walking past all the cages, Bella spoke to me as if to say I'm here, I've been waiting, where have you been? GD was very happy when I chose her over a cute kitten. Her kennel name was Mabel but we didn't think it suited her, GD was pleased with my choice of Bella as she is a bit of a Twilight fan.

When we arrived home Bella came straight out of the carrier and began to explore, I have never known a cat to settle in as quickly as she did. She is very affectionate and great company.

What would we do without our pets I wonder?

In bloom

I spent most of today working in the yard; nothing glamourous, only mowing so that I don't have to brave the jungle just to get to my car. I gather there was a bit of rain while I was away.

Anyway I thought I would share some of the lovely things blooming at the moment. Nothing to compare with all the beautiful spring flowers we saw in France, but still pretty.

Tuesday treasures

I decided to join in with Melody today for my first post since returning from my holiday. It has been hard to come back to reality, particularly since my body clock refused to cooperate and my sleep patterns have been unusual to say the least. My treasure today is the French village of Viviers, a place I had never heard of before my visit. The buildings at its heart date back to the middle ages although it has been around since Roman times. The tiny lane ways and cobbled streets are very romantic, apparently attracting people from all over Europe to buy and restore houses as holiday homes. (They are probably relatively cheap also as Viviers is a bit out of the way). The present population of the area in and around the village is about 4 000, according to our guide.

This building dates to Victorian times and while it once was an elegant villa, in its present incarnation it is a ceramic studio.
This cute little bowl is something to remind me of an absolute treasure.

Hello France

It's goodbye to my little cottage for a couple of weeks so that I can cruise up the Rhone River in France. My daughter and I leave tomorrow and it is finally staring to sink in that the trip we have dreamed about and planned, for simply ages it seems, is about to begin. For me it is a return to a country I didn't see enough of first time around, for my daughter, a first. I'm looking forward to the slow trip through Provence and Burgundy, followed by a few hectic days in Paris before coming home.

So I won't be blogging for a while, but expect lots of bragging when I get back!