a butterfly brooch
I've joined a choir - a capella - barbershop style!!!

It's so funny because I only sing in the car. I used to sing a lot but when the boys were toddlers and I was singing to them in the car one day, they said, 'mummy no sing!' and like an idiot I stopped when they were around.

But I've always sung to rock music and opera and my family joke specialty - singing stupidly to 'Oklahoma'!!!

Anyway, this new choir of 70 women is having a concert next month and we've been asked to wear a butterfly to represent transformation and 'free women'. I had a look around last week but could only find tacky ones, so I'll try a jeweller next week. In the meantime, I made this today just in case I can't find one I like.

8cm across wings

click to enlarge

The outline was drawn onto a layer of solvy over layers of blue and charcoal organza. A piece of silk velvet was inserted into each wing, then backed with washaway and stitched with charcoal thread. I'd intended burning out some holes within the circle shapes, but now that it's finished I quite like it just the way it is.

houseboat holiday
This is the real celebration of our anniversary - just the two of us, himself and moi, for 3 days and nights on a houseboat on the Blackwood River from Augusta, in the south-west of Western Australia. Bliss.

On the first day we trekked right up the river to the most distant mooring near Alexandra Bridge. It was so beautiful, quiet and peaceful, we decided to stay there for all of the next day and night! We both read, talked, and I sewed ... made quite a lot of progress with True Colours - it's now past the halfway mark to being finished, yay!!!

a section of hand quilting

some river reflections ... and more below

two curious ducks

Himself forgot his fishing gear (don't ask), but he was happy to read and just sit enjoying the view - something he doesn't do often. Stopping, that is.

Our friends Ros and Steve [click to see more of their gorgeousness] live nearby and they visited in their own boat one day. Ros brought scones with homemade apricot jam and cream. Yum. It was such a hoot being visited!

There's a bit more to it than the basic instructions which were 'stop, start, forward and reverse'! We had to work as a team to position ourselves into the wind and hook the mooring rope from the buoys on to the bollard (without losing a thumb) each time we stopped ... then releasing again, once the engines were cranked up properly.

We did have trouble on the last day with engines refusing to start ... and himself had to go off in the dinghy to collect the owner to rescue us!!! It was a bit scary waiting for them to come back ...

off to the rescue

We thought we were way beyond civilisation ... but as it turned out, the bridge was only just around the next corner (above), LOL!

final evening

stairway to the moon ... sigh

heading back to base with another

houseboat behind us

pelicans and swans

Augusta in the distance

So if you've ever thought you'd like a houseboat holiday, all I can say is *do it*.

anniversary
Yesterday. 3 March. Lots of years ago.

beginning the celebrations ...

a Japanese card and vintage postcard swapped

It says:

Everything is silent, nature in repose,

Not a note from e'en the little birds;

Hush, then, happy voices, the wind that silent blows

Wafts to heaven the thoughts too deep for words.

We had pizza on the foreshore in the evening, overlooking the ocean. How beautiful is this? 

roasted pumpkin, feta, spinach ... and a chilled white

a fisherman, a lazy gull

ships in the distance

gulls' night out?

she looks hot!

more pizza please ...

But the best celebration is yet to come ... back soon!

workshop
... two blog posts in two days??? You can see I've had this week off work!

On the weekend I attended a workshop with inspiring textile artist and author, Gloria Loughman from Victoria. I LOVE her quilt, Canopy, and now I can say I have physically *touched* it!!! I'm sure you will recognise more of her amazing work HERE.

Gloria with her quilt,

Canopy

But that wasn't what we did, LOL! Our workshop was Escape to the Rainforest and this is Gloria's teaching sample [with permission].

Escape to the Rainforest

Gloria Loughman

click to enlarge

My inspiration was this pic from a book called Australia The Beautiful Wilderness. Less technically rainforest and more treetops than actual tree trunks and ferns ... but I was attracted to the gorgeous yellow grass tussocks and rocks in the foreground. Can't wait to hit it with machine and hand stitching!

First, we painted the wet fabric to create our background, then played with highlighting some features ...

background wash and sponging

more paint, tree trunks and

foreground fabric added

auditioning blobby treetops

I have started stitching but there's not a lot to see yet. Will post again once I start quilting it.

The workshop was truly stress-free and we had lots of fun and laughs, along with a decent amount of achievement ... and coffee! Thank you so much for coming to Bunbury, WA Gloria.

lunch at Studio Bistro, Yallingup
Mr Non-foodie Himself had a recent birthday and wanted to go here for lunch. Food is my thing, not his, so I was in the car before he could change his mind! We had a great day - you can see why we love it here. And I want a wall just like this ...

and this

and a garden like this

in fact, I could just move right in here ;-)))

farewell to journals
These four fabric journals were packed up and sent off to Buffy, the coordinator of online group Australia New Zealand Art Quilters, in Canberra last week. They will be exhibited along with lots of other people's I hope at AQC, Melbourne in April.

This year's theme was Countries Outside Australia. I was inspired by China, Turkey, New Zealand and Japan.

top left China tea (of course!)

right Turkish ikat chapan/coat

bottom left New Zealand koru/fern symbol

right Japan fans

miniature watercolours
Although I forgot to take progress pics, here are the results of Saturday's workshop with watercolour artist Marguerite Aberle, held at Lyndendale Gallery.
Marguerite showed us how she prepares the paper into small segments ready for the background wash to be applied.

background wash

this one looks a bit oriental

before and after mounting into card

I like the one on the left ...

my favourite

As always, every person's work was completely different - with more than a few stunning results!  I finally got the hang of it towards the end!

Thank you Denise and Marguerite for such an enjoyable, productive day. It was great to come home with several finished pieces.

new hexagons
On Friday I ordered two more packs of pre-cut hexagons for paper piecing (and why would you cut your own???), from The Quilt Fairy in Midland, WA. Judy is so efficient - they arrived yesterday. What brilliant service!

finished 2" hexagons

Here are the ones I've finished. A little way to go ;-))) but I'm stopping at 500 hexagons which will give me a top about 72 inches square. I will probably applique the edges to a border ... or maybe I'll get some filler shapes to square it off. Not sure yet ...

Tangled Up in Blue
This week I've been working on another Stash Cupboard Quilt. I needed a no-brainer after the exhaustion of Beneath the Southern Sky exhibition quilt!!! Most of these fabrics have been in the cupboard for at least 10-15 years. 

The top is loosely based on Gee's Bend style - wrong fabrics and proportions, but I love the effect. The name comes from a Bob Dylan song, also performed by The Whitlams. Love it!

auditioning blues

and yellows/mustard

I just have to add some extra borders around the outside to bring it up to a useable size. It was a bit tricky getting similar, slightly muddy shades because most fabrics around now are much brighter. I found two muddyish pieces and one slightly brighter, but I think it will work OK.

coming together

Once again, I have pieced the top into 3 panels so I can quilt it myself. More soon!