Happy Mother's Day

How lucky I am to have a kind, loving and creative mother. I am twice as lucky to have a wonderful, kind and loving Mother-in-law as well. Today I would like to honor my Mother-in-law Soula Lymbery. I wish her a Happy Mother's Day and happiness always. I also like to thank her for the kindness and love she has given to my family and I for almost 40 years. 

Soula Lymbery 16 years old

At the age of just 17 Soula got married and had my husband when she was 18. In 1954 her family migrated to New Zealand from her birth country, Greece. Her children were young and the journey to NZ took 7 days by air and ship. Not speaking a word of English she not only had to look after her young children, but she had to try to adjust to a new life in a foreign land. She was desperately home sick and missing her father and brother. In the days of not having easy access to telephone and mail, communication could take months. I cannot imagine how hard life must have been for her. Soula was strong and for the sake of the children's future she had to make it in her new life and new country. 

Make it she did. It's now more than 50 years since she moved to New Zealand. She is still living there and calls it home. I thank her for bringing her family to this part of the world where I've met and married my husband and started a family of our own. 

Soula has been kind to me ever since we met. She has never said one word to upset me. She is always there to give support. She's a mother of three, a grandmother of five and a great grandmother of three, two of them being my grandchildren. Soula and I are meant to connect and I'm glad and lucky. Thanks Mum, I love you.

Coastal Colour and QLD. Floods

Before I begin I would like to join many bloggers calling to give a hand to help the Queensland, Australia floods appeal. Click on the above button to visit Daisy Quilt and read more on how you can help QLD floods 2011. You can also help in other ways by clicking on the list below:

- Oz Comfort Quilts

- Make sewing kit

- Support an Auction or Raffle

- Bake Relief

I will try and make a sewing kit this weekend to send off. Thanks everyone for your emails about us here in Australia. 

Today I just want to share some photos from our Christmas and New Year holiday with you. It was a very low key holiday where Mr N and I spent some peaceful time together. We went to the coast near Seabird, our retirement property we purchased in 2010. We couldn't of cause stay at Seabird, it is only an empty plot of land at the moment, but we did stay close enough to be able to take a swim on our beach! I am so excited to say the word 'our beach'! In the not too distant future I will be swimming there everyday. 

Apart from relaxing and visiting many beautiful beaches in the area I was also looking out for any potential plants and flowers for dyeing. I was reading on kaite yarngarden a while ago about Coreopsis flowers so when I spotted them all over the road side I had to stop and gather some to try. Kaite also told me that sea water is mordant. The recipe for this eco dye batch is 2 bottles of sea water, 48 Coreopsis flowers boiled together for 30 mins. I drained the liquid into a jar and stored it in an ice box until we got home. The Coreopsis flowers also gave out a beautiful aroma while boiling. 

 

I was eager to try my concoctions when I got home. I wrapped some vintage silk around eucalyptus leaves and branches hoping to get some imprints on the fabric. I boiled the fabric  for about 30 mins. I threw one ball of pearl cotton in there for good measure. The result is as you see above. 

Beautiful day at Bawley Point Beach. With my newly acquired camera I was so happy snapping away at it. The upward view of eucalyptus trees with crisp blue sky above. Eucalyptus trees are a common sight everywhere in Australia. I have learned to love everything about the tree from its smell, the shapes of the leaves etc. You can use every part of the tree for dyeing. Eucalyptus trees are used in many famous Australian paintings. 

On the left hand side of the Bawley Point Beach is a beautiful rock structure you can climb and walk around it. From when I was young I loved walking on rocks and searching for interesting creatures or drift wood. I found this star flower caught in between rocks. Simple and peaceful place for it. 

Rocks that lie closer to the water's edge get washed over by waves. The algae covers and gives the rock a vibrant green colour. Bawley beach is a surf beach and you can spot some surfers waiting to catch the big waves at the top of the photos. 

Rock formations give patterns that I can transform into stitching. I was looking out for patterns and lines on rock that inspire me to create a sea cloth. More on that later. 

Well holidays would have to come to an end sometime. We are back and started work for another year. Stitching will have to fit in with my daily routine. Completing projects is getting harder. I am looking forward to my online workshop with Jude starting on Jan. 19th. 

Thimbles and Bag - Happy 4th July

Blogger power! That is for sure. Everything in this post resulted from blogger power. I get inspired by many blogs. One in particular is Quiltsalott by Janet. Janet does not only make beautiful quilts, but she also shares links, tutorials and patterns with everyone. I only take on a little bit that I have time to do like the bag and thimbles below.

Apart from not having the sunlight to take good photos I'm also busy preparing for another online workshop 'patchwork beasts' with Jude Hill. I found that because I can't attend any patchwork group or social sewing to get some stimulation, the online classes are good for me to interact with other quilters and artists. I have also been working on my CWB quilt ha! Yes, I'm still plodding along with that quilt. Only a few berries to appliqué on block #5 then I can show it to you.  

In the meantime I made this little pochette inspired by Janet. She also has a link to the original pattern.  If you want to make one for yourself just check her blog. It's easy to make.

This is the back of the bag and I must tell you about the fabric I used to make this bag with. It's a meisen silk, vintage kimono fabric I got from Ziguzagu I just love this piece and they didn't have a lot left so I got a meter of it as you would do!

Remember this pincushion kit I got from Ma Mercerie. I made it up and can you see how cute it is. Again this was inspired by Janet. This was the original kit, but I have gathered some supplies to try and make one from scratch.

This is the Japanese thimble yabinuki I made from scratch. I made my first one from a kit that I got from Ma Mercerie and then with some links that Janet sent me I found the way to make the base. Using trial and error I finally made a few of them, but still with a very basic design. 

A few bases waiting to be stitched. I must tell you that these kind of thimbles work well for hand stitching. It stops you poking yourself with the back end of the needle. 

These are the men-sized thimbles. I made them for my students who do a lot of hand stitching. They told me they love wearing them. 

They look so cute wearing them so I had to take photo to show you. On the left in Dennis and one the right is Peter. Aren't they so cute? 

Happy 4th July to all my friends in the US. 4th of July always reminds me of our time in NYC sitting up on top of World Trade Center waiting to see the fireworks back in 2001. This year though DD Kit is there enjoying her NY experience. She is having so much fun that I don't think she wants to come back. Enjoy the rest of your stay in NYC Kit...!

Happy Mother And Grandmother's Day

Happy Mother and Grandmother's Day to all my blogger friends and visitors. I'm pleased to say that this is my second Mother's Day post since I started blogging over a year ago. I feel quite sentimental each time I post something that I did a year ago. Today I would like to honor one mother in my life. My mother, a great strong lady. A bread winner in our family. My father said he was the brain of the family, he was a ship's captain and my mother was everything else. She was a hard working woman, a very smart woman. My mother was a sewer, basket weaver, a gardener, a great cook, a barber and she was also a singer. My mother was a gentle and kind woman. I can not remember my mother ever getting angry. She was a beautiful mum to us 5 and was a great grandmother to 7 grandchildren. The only regret I have is that I wish you had met my children Mum...!

This is my Mum. A copy of a black and white photo taken when she was in her 30s. 

Mother's Day hearts. I made a few more hearts for this year's Mother's Day. They are made from a vintage doily  that I tea dyed. It was quite a small doily and I didn't want to lose any embroidery from it. So I added Liberty prints to the back, and this way I also saved the crochet edging. There was a little piece from the doily left over, I made fobs for my scissors. Waste not want not, that is me. 

Another photo with a vintage doily in the background. Another doily waiting to be cut up for more hearts. Maybe at Christmas time!

These hearts are made from a round doily. A doily with a folk kind of pattern on it. It was enough for four smaller hearts. I also tea dyed it before I cut it up. I quite like these ones too.

I used a check fabric for the back of these hearts. I do love making hearts and hope that I will have enough to fill my tree at Christmas. Do you like making hearts? I have a pattern of these hearts, so if you would like a copy, just leave me a comment. 

Enjoy your Mother and Grandmother's Day everyone. It's your day. 

I brought you back Cherry Blossoms

I'm home! I missed everyone on blogland. I checked in whenever I could. I can see that you have been busy doing wonderful stuff. I did a little bit of stitching too, but it was totally different than I planned! More on that later. I'm still in a vacation mode so I would like to show you some Cherry blossoms. Sakura is the name in Japanese. We couldn't have gone there at a better time for the Cherry blossom season! The first week in Kyoto the blossoms were about 30-50% in bloom, then in Tokyo they were 90-100% in bloom, and then at Kanazawa 80-90%. All in all our timing was perfect. I fell in love with the cherry blossoms. I suddenly like pale pink and their smell is so gentle and sweet. The Japanese use cherry blossoms in so many things. For instance in cake, tea, juice, cooking and in air fresheners. Our friend Lesley even had cherry blossom printed toilet paper!
Cherry trees grow all over the country. Some are growing wild, but mostly they were planted many many years ago. There are many species of cherry trees in Japan. They come in all shades from pink to white. I took the photo above at the Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa.
I decided to group the photos into postcards, please double click on the photos to see the larger images. The photos in the postcard above were taken at Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa. It is one of Japan's great three gardens. If you have a chance please check the links above.
I hope you noticed the snow on the mountain? Yes, it was snowing in Kyoto the day we were there and it was colder than we expected. I found that it's not easy to take photos of cherry blossoms. You need a contrasting background against them to get a better effect. I'm pleased with how they turned out. I hope you enjoyed them too.
I like how they use the cherry blossom shape for a drain hole on the road. The bottom left corner photo was the first tree I found in a small lane in Kyoto. I was so excited that I sent them off to some of you, but unfortunately my iPhone so called roaming service decided to stop working just after I did that. Anyway, here they are and you can all enjoy them at your leisure.

By the way, I totally fell in love with Japan. I already thought about going back there for our next vacation. If you have not been there please consider Japan for your next holiday. You will love it too...!

Postcard from New Zealand

Greetings from the Land of the Long White Cloud, New Zealand. I must tell you that a holiday is good for you. I can't believe how relaxed I am being here. I didn't have anything planned before I came here; just visiting DH's family, so I'm take things as it comes and to my surprise, I am enjoying it!

Thanks everyone for your comments on my last post and best wishes for my holiday, but I'm so sorry I didn't have a chance to thank you individually. I can assure you that I read all of them. One more day here before we leave for Japan. While I have access to the Internet I thought I would post some photos to share with you from NZ. Please enjoy...!

Silver fern is a symbol of New Zealand. It's the symbol of the All Black NZ's national rugby team. When we visited our friend Carol and Paul they just cut a branch of silver fern for their kitchen and I thought it looks appropriate as a symbol of NZ.

MIL's lives on the North Shore of Auckland and this is the view of Auckalnd city from the harbour bridge. I snapped this photo from the car so it is not the best. This is the harbour that hosted the America's Cup yaght race.

I even have an antique quilt to share with you. This antique quilt belongs to Carol. It is made from 30's fabric. It was hand pieced and quilted. It's a lovely quilt, but in a fragile state. I have seen this block before, but for the life of me I can't remember the name of the block, please help?

I took a close up photo of the blocks to ask if you know the name of the block and how to construct it. I want to make one the same for my DD.

Here I'm relaxing on the back deck of our friend's house. Their stray cat was checking my lap out, but I don't think she was happy there.

Carol and Paul are a great collectors of all beautiful things including these cushions from Afghanistan. Lovely vibrant colours.

These cushions have hand quilted stitches all over them. They look like Sashiko stitching.

DH and I drove to Hamilton to deliver my quilts to Donna for machine quilting. Donna has been machine quilting for me for more than 10 years now. Without Donna I wouldn't have finished any quilts. Donna used to quilt from home, but a few years ago she opened her own shop called Donna's Quilt Studio in Hamilton. Donna is a fantastic quilter and won many awards for her quilts. I'm so lucky to have her quilting for me.

Donna stocks a lot of NZ designed fabric at her shop, but I was a good girl and didn't get anything!

I really like the pink prints above, but didn't get it. I wished I did now...!

Next stop Kyoto. The first 5 days we are spending in Kyoto then 5 days in Tokyo and the last 5 days in Kanazawa. I'm armed with the apps in my iPhone. I spent a few hours this afternoon studying it. I wonder how I ever traveled without it!

Two More Sleeps Till....!

Only two more sleeps till we leave for New Zealand. I have been gathering some hand stitching projects to work on in the next three weeks. I can say that I'm an experience traveler, having lived and worked in several countries before. We were in the United Arab Emirates for seven years before we returned to Australia. The Middle East is one of those areas that you need to leave in the summer otherwise you will toast. Each summer we would go on leave for seven weeks, so we did a lot of travelling in seven years. In those seven weeks I did a lot of hand stitching. I quilted, embroidered, hand piecing, usually creating something inspired by the places we were at. Travelling is always relate to my stitching and happy times.
This mini thimble quilt top is a perfect hand quilting project to take with me. It's not going to have a lot of quilting and I'm just going to free hand quilt it without a hoop. I learned that fromTanya and it's time for me to practice on this quilt. Don't forget the iPhone...!
Can't visit Japan without taking Sashiko stitching to work on. I have pre-drawn some Sashiko blocks on Japanese cotton background. And yes, must not forget the iPhone...!
Here are bits and pieces that I'm taking. The pre cut Klosjes blocks. Japanese fans, sewing pouch with a thread cutter, pencil roll with ruler, pencils and fountain pen. Why the iPhone?

We don't use package tour or guided tour. We booked everything ourselves. We always get a copy of DK guide book to assist us. DK is the best guide book ever (no affiliated). I always take a book to read in spare time LOL! Quilter's Holiday was my Christmas present that I haven't had time to read yet. The little Japanese concertina journal I made to keep all the memorabilia from the trip. It is fun to keep memorabilia.

I will tell you why the iPhone? This iPhone can speaks Japanese and I can't. It has maps of the cities we are visiting. It's a our tour guide! This is my first long trip since I started blogging. I'm so excited to share the experience with you all so please join me...!

Weekend in Sydney

The weekend in Sydney came and went very quickly. It was a successful visit to DD and the new accommodation recommended to us by a friend turned out excellently. We did the touristy stuff like walking along the water front around Circular Quay and took many snap shots of one of the most photogenic buildings in the world, The Sydney Opera House! We went to Saturday Glebe markets and a market at the Rocks. It was a busy Saturday. And here are the photos I took to share with you. Enjoy...!

A shot of of Sydney water front taken from the harbor bridge by Moi!!! Sydney is a beautiful city and on a nice day which is most days, this is what it looks like.

I can't wait to show you the view I found in the morning from our window!

Another short of the most famous building in the world the Sydney Opera House

Kit with her friends Georgia and Eve. They joined us for breakfast on Sunday. Georgia and Kit operate Three Point Turnz blog.

Kit and I were having Thai lunch in China Town. Her skill with chop sticks is so much better than mine!

A shot I took early on Sunday morning during our walk on the harbour bridge

Here is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We only walked as far as one of the pylons. It was getting hot we decided to turn back.

A famous shot of the Opera House through the arch

Kit and DH stroll along the water front on Circular Quay.

Queen Victoria Building is now a shopping mall. I love this place and visited every time I'm in Sydney.

Cherry blossoms at the entrance of Japan City. I thought I will start putting a bit of Japanese theme into my blog because it's only 12 days before we leave for our holiday in New Zealand and Japan woo hoo!!!

On Saturday afternoon I received text message from Lynda Winn (no blog) letting me know that storms had hit Melbourne and some friend's houses were damaged. She offered to go and check our house for us. I told her not to worry because we would be returning home on Sunday evening anyway. Lynda was so kind and went on Sunday morning to check it for me and all was well thankfully.

Not all was totally well on the return trip however. On our return flight we had to circle above Melbourne airport for more than an hour due to heavy rain and storm. I felt quite sick and nervous thinking that we might end up in the In flight investigator program that DH likes to watch on TV! The last announcement said that if we were not able to land in 30 mins we would have to return to Sydney. Luckily we landed 20 mins after that. It felt good when we touched down. Sorry for the photos heavy on this post, but I just want to share my weekend with you.