Happy Late Valentines Day

I'm abit late for Valentines Day. I meant to post this on Saturday but didn't get a chance. I crocheted this heart using one of the tutorials from the 'Top 100 Tutorials for 2008' that Ellen has on her Blog The Long Thread. There's lots of ideas to try. This heart tutorial is by Bella Dia and can be found here. It was lots of fun and easy to make.

I got these beautiful tulips from my husband. Hope you had a lovely day.

Sam the thirsty Koala from the Victorian Bushfires

Sam the Koala was reunited with the fire fighter who gave her water and helped her to survive. These photos are gorgeous. They have said that she is doing well.

For the full story go to here.

A wild koala could normally rip you to pieces with their claws. Wildlife rescuers sometimes have great trouble trying to catch sick or injured Koalas and can get hurt in the process. This is beautiful to see. We have a large Koala population in the place I live and have a Koala Care Centre that looks after sick and injured Koalas. We sometimes have a Koala in the tree at the front of our house.

See the video of Sam and the fire fighter here.

If you would like to make a donation to the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal you can go to the Red Cross Website.

Bush Fires in Victoria, Australia

The stories coming out of the many affected areas of Bushfires in Victoria are devastating. At the moment they say over 700 houses burnt and 108 people dead, but they expect there will be more. There is a whole town that has been burnt to the ground. The wind turned and there was hardly any warning for them all. What a horrendous thing to go through. It was amazing how some people managed to get out. You can read about it on the ABC news website. There are still fires burning in Victoria and NSW - but hopefully there wont be anymore loss of life. Its also horrible to think of all the wildlife, livestock and pets that have been lost as well.

We live in Northern NSW so are well away from the fires. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to the many people affected by this. Also to the many firefighters, police and other people who are helping - it must be very tiring and emotionally draining for them all although I'm sure they would give their all, even when exhausted, just to help in the situation.

Week 2 Layout - Online Workshop Now We're Rocking with Photoshop

I finished this today, just in time before the Week 3 lesson arrives. I've really been learning how to do lots of different things in Photoshop Elements. I'll have to have a play.

January Stitch Explorer Challenge

I went shopping on Friday and got these materials and threads for the Stitch Explorer Challenge. The pink lace was sitting on the side of the bench when I went to buy the other things so I thought I would buy a metre of it. Not sure what I will use it on.

So today I worked on the January Stitch Explorer Challenge using Chicken Scratch. Above are 2 examples.

I then played around with designs and colour to create these. You can make some great mandala style designs out of this style of embroidery.

Jessica Sprague Online Workshop - Week 1 Layout

This is my finished week 1 layout for the online workshop I'm doing with Jessica Sprague called "Now We're Rockin' with Photoshop.

Camping at South West Rocks

We went camping for 4 days over the Australia Day Long Weekend down to South West Rocks. Its a lovely beachside town.

Look what was outside our tent every morning and afternoon - Kangaroos.


Here's a mum with her little joey poking its head out of its pouch.

Our campsite.

This is Trial Bay Goal which was built up on this lovely headland. Bad photo but I forgot to take one out the front and this is the only one that shows the whole Goal. It was built in the late 1800's and used as a jail. Then during World War 1 it was used as an internment camp. There is still alot of the main structure still remaining.

I loved how the trees and hills where framed by this arched window.

There were lots of arches.

It had an earie feeling walking down here and also going into the cells. You can see 2 stories of cells on each side.

This is Smokey Cape Lighthouse. It is a steep walk up to here. About half way up they have made the old Lighthouse Keepers House into a Bed & Breakfast. Its a spectacular spot.

This is the view out in one direction, out the front of the Bed & Breakfast. In the other direction there is a long stretch of secluded beach. Beautiful.

We will have to go camping back there again.

A Quick Post

I'm doing a great online class at the moment on Digital Scrapbooking on www.jessicasprague.com called Now We're Rockin with Photoshop. I'm not really doing it for the scrapbooking, although I don't mind scrapbooking, but more so I can learn all about my new program Photoshop Elements 7 and also how to make my blog header more interesting. I've been wanting to be able to do all those swirly brushes for quite awhile now. This is only the first week and I've learnt alot already. Jessica also sends daily emails with extra info and challenges. Also there has been lots of digital freebies. Going to be busy over the long weekend so will post again early next week.

Have a good weekend!

Yay! Stitch Explorer Challenge has started

I was excited this morning waiting for Sharon's Stitch Explorer Challenge to be posted on her website. The first months embroidery style is Chicken Scratch.

When I was reading the post I realised that when I was in my early 20's I made my mother a blue and white checked tablecloth with Chicken Scratch embroidery on it (I didn't know the name for it then).

I'm not sure at how adventuous my exploring will be. My first thoughts were that I didn't really like the continuous pattern of this style but when looking at continuous patterns in the natural world (such as the photo above) there can be great beauty and style in this. So I'll give it a go and see what eventuates.

As I'm not that experienced with alot of embroidery stitches I'm using this challenge just to become familiar with the stitches and styles themselves, so if I don't come up with anything too wonderful, it will still be a great learning experience for me.

I'm thinking that I will be doing swatches that I will make up into Mini Quilts. Then I'll put them together to make a cloth book.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone else who has done embroidery samplers before to find out the size they did them and how they organised them? Also what material do you prefer to use?

Colours to Dye for.....Not quite

I thought it would be a good school holiday activity to do some dyeing with my son and also do some fabric for myself at the same time. As you can see from the photo above the fabric wasn't the only things that got dyed. After a half hour stint on his slip and slide all the dye had come off.



I used dylon cold dye which I got from Spotlight. The funny thing is that they were selling the dyes but not the cold fix satchels to go with it. When I asked they said that they haven't been able to get any but that salt works just as well. Anyway I haven't done any dyeing before so thought I would try it anyway and used the plastic bags to put the material in. The results weren't that great. The colours are abit faded out and pastel on some of the material. One of the material types was quite good - it looked great when wet but faded out when I washed it. I'm thinking it is because I didn't have the cold fix satchels. Anyway I know for next time and we had fun which was the main thing. I don't know how well the colour in the t-shirt will last. I might use some of the fabric for stitching backgrounds or maybe for Monoprinting.

My aspirations for the year.

This is a picture of the Hindu deity, Ganesh. The photo was taken at the Crystal Castle near Byron Bay, in Australia. He is believed to be the "remover of obstacles" and the "Lord of Beginnings". He is also known as the "Patron of Arts and Sciences". So it seemed appropriate to use his photo as a good omen for the year ahead.

I wrote out all my goals for the year in this new Diary/Planner that I bought.



The list includes things I want to do, Some places I want to go to and things I want to get done around the house. Some of my creative goals are to make a beaded art doll, dye material, finish my UFO's and develop my embroidery skills. Also I'm wanting to go to the Textile Art Festival in Brisbane in May where Dale from the Thread Studio will be.

I am also going to be participating in Sharon Boggons Stitch Exploration Challenge that starts on the 15 January. It is open to anyone and just requires you to go here to read about it and leave a comment on this post introducing yourself and supplying your blog or flickr address. Go here for Sharon's blog.

There is also a Bead Journal Project challenge that has been going for a few years. I'm thinking of maybe doing it this year if they run it again. Will have to see.

Also the Joggles classes have been announced for the first part of the year. I'm going to try not to do as many classes this year. But I have been wanting to do Sharon's Personal Library of Stitches class for along time so I think I will do that. Also it will go well with the Stitch Challenge.

A New Year Begins

Happy New Year!!

We had a great night. We went out to our local hotel where there was a band playing. I haven't been out for New Years Eve for a few years. We had a great time - although I did have a few too many drinks. My legs were abit sore today too from the dancing and also we walked home (20 minute walk) as there was a long wait for taxis. So we had a easy going day today.

I usually write a list on the 1 January of the things I want to do in the year - this will have to wait till tomorrow. It's always exciting contemplating the possibilities your life could bring in the coming year.

Santa came to our house.

and these are his dirty footprints from his boots to prove it.

Santa was also abit hungry and he managed to eat and drink all the things Dylan left out for him.



We had a lovely Christmas day - hope you all enjoyed yourselves over Christmas.

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

The stockings are all hung up and even Jazzy wont be missing out.

We just had a really big storm, but no damage was done. Just lots of thunder and lightening.

On my way home from work today I was listening to a CD with lots of Christmas songs. I always have abit of a chuckle to myself about singing along to songs such as White Christmas and Let it Snow, when its a humid hot summers day outside. I love all those songs though. I especially like Judy Garland singing "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and all the songs off the Bing Crosby "White Christmas" album. Those are all the songs my mum used to play when we were growing up. There's also some good Australian Christmas songs like "Six White Boomers" and "Aussie Jingle Bells".

We are having Christmas dinner at our house tomorrow and my Mum and Step-Dad are coming over.

Dylan is very excited and was worried that Santa wouldn't be able to come when we were having the storm. But all is well now and he has been assured that Santa and the elves are currently packing the sleigh.


Merry Christmas to you all. Hope you have a wonderful, safe and happy time with family and friends.

I'll enjoy looking at all those photos on blogs of White Christmas's from around the world.

All the best. Take care.

I had a wonderful Birthday yesterday

I got some lovely presents for my birthday. One of them was a Keith Urban concert DVD. I went to Keith's concert in Brisbane earlier in the year with Donna, one of my friends, and it was one of the best concerts I have been to. So I watched this in the morning and got to relive the memories. He has some beautiful songs.

Then we went to Byron Bay for my birthday and looked around the many interesting shops. I bought a book (that wont surprise anyone) and also a beautiful ceramic green mug with the "OM" symbol on it.



We then went to the Crystal Castle and had lunch. It isn't an actual castle. They have beautiful gardens, a labyrinth, cafe, bookshop, crystal and jewellery shop and a Buddha walk with lots of statues. There are also amazing giant pieces of quartz, rose quartz and amethys scattered throughout the gardens. My friend Donna and I enjoyed taking many photos of the various statues, the view and the beautiful flowers in the garden. See the mosaic of photos I took in the post below.

Crystal Castle

My creation
Originally uploaded by Barb64

A mosaic of photos taken when we went to the Crystal Castle.

I have been blogging for one year today!!!

I just realised that it was 12 months ago that I started this blog. I'm enjoying the blogging world, especially going around and looking at all the various blogs of so many wonderfully creative people. I have loved reading all the comments people have left on my blog and being able to connect with people that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to otherwise.

Here's to another year of Blogging, creative pursuits and keeping in touch with new and old friends!!!

The first present under the christmas tree

There was a storm last night and Jazzy was hiding under the Christmas tree. My son saw her under there and said "Mum there's a present under the tree".

This is the tree. It looks great with all the lights on. Not many days to go now, the countdown is on.

Looking forward to the weekend. I was supposed to be working but it is my birthday on Saturday. I'm going to be 44. Also Duncan's work Christmas party is on that night. So I wanted to enjoy myself and not have to work. We will probably be going out to lunch somewhere on Saturday. I also bought myself a few books for my birthday and I have managed to not open the package yet although I was very tempted.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

This is the bell that Dylan found on his bed after watching Polar Express - one of Santa's spare bells from his sleigh.

We have a shop bought tree that we got a few years ago that looks fairly life like. It's the biggest tree I've ever had and nearly reaches the roof with the big star at the top. Lots of our baubles were old looking so I have started each year building up a supply of new baubles. Also I like how different ones, like the one above, will have a little story to go along with how we got it.

These are some that I got this year.

I really love the green and the pink ones. They have a real Indian look about them. I think there was also a blue one the same colour as the blue bell one above. I think I will have to go back to the shop and get the blue one - might even get some more so I have two of each. They are just so lovely. By the way - there's no colour co-ordination on our tree. Its a real mix and match of coloured tinsel and various coloured baubles - but I love it that way.

Australia - The Movie

I went and saw the movie Australia last night with one of my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We laughed and cried. It had great scenery as well. I loved Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and the little Aboriginal boy. It was just an enjoyable entertaining movie.

I have been sick of hearing all the bad reviews over the last few weeks since it came out. Also I think they went abit overboard in criticising Nicole Kidman. I think she is a great actress. I also read a blog (I forget which one now) that went on and on about how bad they thought the movie was and picking everything to pieces. I do respect other peoples opinions but I think its abit much the way some people go on. Of course not everyone is going to like the movie, or any movie in that case. But I think it's enough just to say they didn't like the movie. So many people seem to just look for negatives. You could sit back and just pick everything to pieces in life as nothing is ever going to be perfect or exactly how you would do something yourself.

Anyway, enough of that....just expressing my opinion.

I've got a busy week this week - my son's school Christmas concert is on and a few Christmas parties to go to. Christmas is a nice time of the year. My son, Dylan, is 7 and is still wrapped up in the magic of Santa. I did a little surprise for him the other night. We were watching The Polar Express and in a commercial I snuck out of the room without him realising what I was doing. At the end of the movie when he went to bed there was a big red round bell on his bed with a note that said - "This is a spare bell from the sleigh for your Christmas Tree, Love Santa." He loved it so much, he was abit too excited to go to bed. If you haven't seen the movie - the boy in the movie gets a bell from Santa's sleigh for Christmas. Anyway Dylan has been telling everyone about it. Its fun doing little things like this - I hope it is something he will remember.

Week 3 Online Mixed Media Class with Jane LaFazio

I've really been enjoying the online class I'm doing. I've skipped a few classes but I'll go back to them. This is from Week 3 and only needs some stitching. Today I was working on Week 4 which I should have finished tomorrow. Looking forward to tomorrow as Week 5's lesson will be available on stitching. As the class is through Joggles.com in the USA the class comes through in the early morning sometime - in the past I have been known to get up if I haven't been able to sleep and print the class out in the wee hours of the morning. I don't think I'll be doing that tonight though, feeling abit tired.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all those in the USA!

Not just another embroidery book

I was so excited when I received this book in the mail. I purchased it from The Thread Studio and it cost a fair bit. So I was abit worried when I ordered it. In the past I have ordered some books from various places and been disappointed because the content hasn't lived up to my expectations. But this book definately exceeds my expectations.

This book is so comprehensive and inspirational. In the introduction it mentions that "241 stitches are clearly described and illustrated ....exploring the possibilities of contemporary embroidery. The author has also done extensive research on the embroideries of other countries, bringing to light new stitches and unusual variations of traditional stitches."

The sections of the book cover - Starting to Stitch, The Stitches - Flat stitches, looped stitches, chained stitches, knotted stitches, couching and laid work, and Creating with stitches.

When explaining stitches she gives comprehensive directions, easy to follow diagrams, lots of variations, ideas and examples of work. I really liked how she talks about the background of the stitches, the country they came from and various little snippets of stories relating to them. She writes in a casual way that is easy to read and follow.

I particularly enjoyed the story about her search for a Tuareg nomad blouse from Niger, which she had once seen a photo of and her duplication of the stitches.

The Creating with Stitches section is really inspiring and gives lots of ideas for creating your own contemporary designs. Some of the chapters, Building Borders spontaneously and Embroidering flower shapes, both give many ideas for combining stitches in different ways with lots of illustrations.

As you can tell, I love this book. It makes me excited and full of inspirational ideas just looking through it. When I first got it, one of my first thoughts was that there was a lifetime of learning in the book. It is a great reference book to have for embroiderers of any level.

November is running away.

October TIF

I can't believe it is nearly the end of November. I've been busy working the last few weeks also I have a bad cold at the moment. But atleast I have 4 days off work so I can spend some time doing my online class lessons and TIF. I've done alittle bit more of my October TIF piece which you can see in the photo above.

Last week I got some great books/mags in the mail that I want to show. I was supposed to leave them unopened till my birthday in December. I only lasted one day though, and couldn't resist opening the package.

Also I have a book that I want to review. Its an embroidery book that I was blown away with when I received it - its jam packed full of wonderful embroidery and inspirational ideas. But you will have to wait till tomorrow for the review - hopefully I've got you feeling curious. See you then.

Backgrounds

Following are some backgrounds I've been doing for Week 1 of the Joggles online Mixed media class with Jane LaFazio.

There are some very talented people in the class so it is going to be interesting to see their class work. I think my favourites are the first photo (the red/orange one) and also the yellow/green one. It doesn't look as bright in real life.

This is week 2 of the class, so I have to get thinking about what images I will use. I might also make some changes to the backgrounds as I go. I might need to tone down some of the patterns abit and make some additions. I will see how it all unfolds. Its alot of fun!

Tissue Paper

I bought this tissue paper today from K-mart in the Christmas section. I love the designs. I think I will have to use this in some of my work. Its abit too nice just to wrap presents in and then have it thrown away.

Some things I like in my garden.

October TIF Challenge Progress

I little bit of progess on my October TIF. I work again tomorrow so will do the stitching and beading later in the week. I have 6 days off work so will hopefully have it finished in that time, so I can start thinking about November TIF. Times slipping away too fast, its nearly Christmas and 2009!!