A bit of this, a bit of that...

Mixed weather this week, from balmy 18C with lots of blue sky and sunshine, to cold, wet and blustery. Thought I'd make the most of a sunny day and drove to Emu Bottom, an old homestead just out of Sunbury. Got some nice shots, both in colour and b&w. It's a lovely property, and brought back memories from the 1980s, when we spent many a Sunday here, having spit roast lunch in the barn, and dancing to bushband music. Fun days with my airline colleagues and friends.
As I mentioned in the last blog,  my friends Marie and Ron gave me this beautiful cymbidium orchid. I finally got a shot of it, with all the flowers open. Just gorgeous. I hope the flowers keep going for a while, they brighten up the place.
And YAY! - it's a red-letter day, or better a redwork day, since I finally completed all 14 blocks of my Scandinavian Rose quilt. It only took about 5 1/2 years....  Now comes the serious business of cutting the sashings and borders. Feeling rather daunted by that. Still, it means I can now start working on my new Kim McLean quilt on Fridays (see below). That should keep me going for another 5 years. Mind you, I won't be doing the border as shown, will simplify things a little.

Arty-farty stuff

 Bit of a mixed week. The Macedon Ranges Photographic Society is having an exhibition/sale at MAD Gallery in Lancefield in August (do go and check out the entries! And the caf makes a very nice coffee). I submitted two pictures, both taken on our last holiday, in Hawaii. All the entries are for sale. The Society had a "get to know your camera" night last evening, and I went along, taking my new Canon SX720HS. I haven't had a chance yet to really explore the settings, so I managed to find the manual ones (with some help) and play with some of the subjects. I quite like the way the roses photo turned out.

 Here's another photo of the little quilt I finished recently, using up what Liberty fabrics I had. At the moment, it covers my comfy chair in the Owlery.
I've made a few more cards, two of them for friends who turn 70 later in the month. I must say, I do like the Graphics45 papers; I just need to learn some techniques for using them in a more versatile way. Hopefully, I can do a few classes at Paperific later this month, and learn some new tricks!
The thank-you card is for a friend who is extremely generous and presented me with a beautiful pot of Cymbidium orchids. They're just coming into bloom and are a wonderful dark

pink. I'll need some advice on how to keep them blooming, although I'm told they're very hardy. Well, I've killed ivy, so we shall see.... The little owl stamp was from another friend, and is just so sweet. Hoot!
Finally, there's my crochet scarf, which I might turn into a cowl. It has quite a few mistakes, so it will probably go to the Op shop. I'm not too god on concentrating these days...
Haven't decided yet whether to tuck in the ends or have a fringe. I just loved the pattern, so easy and quick to crochet. It would make a lovely

 baby blanket in 'baby' colours.