Hello 2017!

 Happy New Year! January is already half way gone, and I've only had to write '2017' once this year! Got it right, too. Hope it's a better one than 2016, I plan to focus on good things, such as friends, family, Sherman, travel, craft, good books, creativity, and health. My aim is to lose 5kg by mid-year. Should be doable.
Sherman is sitting here helping me with 'Quilting Cats' membership applications. It's a hard task, and I'm afraid he's fallen asleep on the job. Although the purr motor is still going.

 The new year has begun quietly, and I'm happy about that. I'm just in the process of taking the tree down and putting the Xmas decos away. How boring does the house look!
The sales are on everywhere, and although I usually don't care much about that, I was tempted by some bargains I found for card making. This mag had a whole lot of common sentiments for cards, which is really useful, and comes just in time for me to make a get well card for someone.
Then I got the Merry Mice stamps, which will be a delight to work with for my next batch of Christmas cards.

The Tim Holtz stencil will be handy in combination with a large pinetree stamp I have.
Spotlight in DFO had a heap of Kaisercraft items on sale, so I invested in some paper. Can't wait to get my paper pad "Ladies' Diary" from Graphics45. I will be busy!
I spent last weekend watching a movie marathon on SBS On Demand, called "Crimes of Passion". A very slick Swedish production, set in the 1950s. Amazing fashions, cars, and very authentic sets. Even remembered some of the props from the early 60s. Does that make me old?!

I must say, SBS online has a wonderful array of series and movies to watch, all for free. They've got a slew of films with Mats Mikkelsen, one of my favourite actors. Another marathon....
The Owlery is seeing good use this week. Hope to welcome a few quilters this evening, tomorrow a friend is coming for sewing, and on Friday the ladies are coming for an afternoon of fun and sewing. Bring it on!

2016 almost over

Christmas was a very relaxed affair - just the way I like it. What I like most about Christmas is getting together with friends and family, either face-to-face or on the phone. This year, There were quite a few of these occasions. On the Wednesday, Sue and Jenny came for lunch, and we had a lovely time. Pity Jenny had to return home to NZ so soon. We're still trying to convince her to move to Oz.
On the 23rd, Kathryn came and celebrated her birthday with some crafting in the Owlery - she had gone completely troppo in the Geelong Kaisercraft store, buying some awesome crafty stuff. We went out for lunch at the Macedon Wine Room, which I can highly recommend. Good food and wine, lovely views, a nice ambience and friendly staff. The afternoon was gain devoted to craft, and we ended up with some nice cards, tags, bookmarks and a small canvas. Tracee also popped in for a quick bubbly, before her well-deserved Christmas break.
 On Christmas Day, I prepared an entree and sweet, and we had lunch at my friend Gudruns, with another friend joining

us. I made a smoked salmon terrine, which turned out very tasty. And I also made a Pecan-Chocolate-Bourbon Pie. I'm no baker, and although the pie looked ok, the pastry was too thick and hard. The filling was fine though. Gudrun had made the turkey, which was yummy.
My friends spoiled me rotten. Kathryn had gone above and beyond, showering me with crafty gifts - all individually wrapped. I'm going to have so much fun making cards etc., and hope she joins me to share the fun.
Tracee gave me this adorable owl and box of delicious teas. Her mum

 had knitted the owl, and I believe Tracee sewed on the big eyes. Too cute!
From Susan and Jenny I got a beautiful owl box (very handy!), and some yummy chutney and jam, which is just perfect.
On boxing day, Gudrun came over for a cold dinner and a few rounds of Rummikin, which was very enjoyable.
One the 27th, Wayne's family came down from Mooroopna. Unfortunately, his brother wasn't feeling well and couldn't come. We all went for lunch to the Olive Tree Hotel in Sunbury. They did well catering for vegetarian and gluten-

 free eaters. Tanya made friends with Sherman, who had not been at all fussed about Christmas, ignoring his new mousie, and the wrapping paper and boxes.
The nieces gave us a box of delightful kitty-cookies, which were almost! too pretty to eat. They did taste very nice though.
Since then, not much has happened, except a tropical storm last night, with heaps of rain. The water was nearly up to our front door. But I'm not complaining.

 I wish everybody a great 2017!

December is getting away!

 Christmas is nearly here, and December is rapidly disappearing! Have made a few more cards, completed the Xmas shopping, made my shopping lists for the holidays, procured all the usual German Christmas goodies from Aldi, wrapped presents, organised the family get together - I think I deserve a wee tipple!
All that while still recovering from my knee operation. I can at least walk a little and drive for short distances, but the pain is still present most days. Hopefully it will get better soon.
My usual holiday shopping wasn't possible, so I did most of it online. Not very inspiring, but it might have saved some money, because my usual style is 'one present for XX, one for me' !

The Friday ladies have had a lovely Christmas lunch; everybody brought a plate, and the Kriskringles were gorgeous too. I got this gorgeous hand made purse from Janice, in a special box and with chocolates and little sewing things inside. Gorgeous!
We had all participated in a cushion challenge, and had the unveiling that day, too. The ladies did a fabulous job, I thought.
My pre-Christmas is not too hectic, thank goodness, I don't like all the hype. For me, it's all about getting together with family and friends. So we're seeing some friends next week and
Wayne's family will come visit us after

Christmas. I'm still hoping to get a couple of sewing projects done this week.
I hope everybody has a merry and safe Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza and a fantastic new year!

November happenings

 November started with a little house and dog-sitting for a friend. Tupai the chow and I had a lovely little time together on the Bellarine, enjoying the first warm weather in a while. I couldn't give Tupai a long walk, but we managed a short walk most days. Not sure who was slower, the pooch or I. I was sad to leave him, but he was thrilled to see his mum and dad back from their trip.
Still waiting for a knee operation, so I'm getting a few Xmas cards together for sale. Having lots of fun with that.
On the quilting front, I'm making a cushion for a challenge (to be shown later) and putting together another table runner from the McKenna Ryan hexies. Must find some more of the backing material, I think I bought all of Mary's stock!
The 'supermoon' was a big thing this month, and I took the camera and telezoom lens (100-400mm) out to see if I could catch the moon. I've never been able to capture a good moon photo, but after watching a video and reading a bit about it, I finally managed to get a half-decent shot on Tuesday evening (1/60sec; f5.6; ISO 100). With some post-processing, it turned out ok. The only downside was the cloud of mozzies attacking us relentlessly.

 Lots blooming in the garden, including this 'Blue Moon' rose. Wayne had chopped it back severely, so I'm glad it survived that. After admiring my friend's garden in St. Leonards, I felt like a little colour in my garden too, so I planted some petunias and geraniums. Hopefully the snails won't get them.
Most of my Christmas shopping is done, either bought locally or ordered online. I miss going to shops for some pre-Xmas retail therapy, but I guess on the plus side, I've saved money. My next challenge is to write all my cards by the end of the month.

More cards

 My knee is still giving me grief, so I'm not venturing far from home at the moment. Instead, I make good use of the Owlery, and keep myself occupied by making Christmas cards, and a few others.
I'm only a beginner to card making, and learn along the way. It's quite an addictive hobby (and an expensive one), but I hope to be able to sell them at some stage.
I've learned about embossing and using dies, cutting papers, using adhesives for different purposes, and find it's a very creative and engrossing pastime.
I've made a birthday card and one for my sister for Halloween, using the Tim Holtz dies, which I love. When I'm resting my knee, I tend to look at multi media and card making YouTube videos - there's so much to learn.

October things

 October is half way gone already, and it sure doesn't feel like spring. Lots of rain and wind and cold weather, with the occasional rainbow thrown in. October, November and December always confuse me slightly, having grown up in northern climes, when this time of the year would be filled with balmy autumn days, Halloween and Thanksgiving things, and reminders that Christmas is not that far off. So waiting for summer is just a bit ... odd.
Still, Sherman seems to be comfortable looking out from under the air vent, among the Halloween decos. He's lost much of his winter coat, and is a much more streamlined kitty.
Various trees have been blossoming here, lately the apple trees are a good source of pollen for the bees. I tried to get some bees in my photos of the apple tree, but it was so windy the poor bees got blown off course.
I've torn the meniscus in my knee, which has restricted me quite a bit, in terms of going out and walking far. So I've spent a bit more time in the Owlery (which is no hardship!). At the moment, I'm

making Christmas cards, which is a lot of fun. I will see if I can sell them before Christmas, and then start again in the new year. Yesterday, I was with some of my quilty friends in Geelong, and found the Kaisercraft store on the way home. OMG, it's HUGE, and so awesome! They have a staggering amount of papers,  and lots of bargain papers, stamps and other goodies. I shall be happily crafting away with all the yummy things I discovered there.

September - almost gone

 It's been a few weeks since I last blogged. DH has been back for 4 weeks from his Canada/USA trip (which he enjoyed a lot). Sherman the Birman has settled into our household really well. He's become less of an outdoor cat, more of a lap cat, which is lovely. He's got us well trained by now, except when Wayne want's to sit in his favourite chair. Sherman thinks it's his chair now, and uses every opportunity to claim it.
We met friends at a restaurant in town, 'Gazi'. It's next to the Press Club and also belongs to George Columbaris. The food was good, the service excellent, but it was noisy enough to give me a headache. The upturned flower pots had no acoustic effect. I rarely order sweets, but couldn't go past these Loukomades. Don't they look wicked?! Tasted wicked too.

 It's been so wet and cold, still need the heater on most days, at least for a while. A few things are blooming, including this pretty red flowering gum tree with its tiny blossoms. Good to see a little colour in the garden. There is hope yet for spring.
I hurt my knee last week, and seem to have injured the cartilage between the bones. That has slowed me down in terms of walking and driving, which is annoying. It would be quite bearable though if it wasn't for the pain. Thank goodness for chemistry... Because of that, I have been busy in the studio.

 Have been working on tags and a bookmark. The tags are for Xmas, and I also want to get some cards done soon.I wasn't going to get into cardmaking, but what the heck. I got some good bagains in terms of dies and embossing folders, so I can play with my Sizzix cutter. I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. I'm in love with all the Tim Holtz products, especially my trees dies. Now I just need to make sure I get wifi in the studio.
I also received a layer cake from Keepsake Quilting with McKenna Ryan's 'Sugar Plum' range. I cut the layer cake into 4 pieces, and used the Accuquilt Go to cut them into hexagons. The Accuquilt Go was also used to cut the Pellon wadding, which worked very well. These

 hexies will be used to make table toppers for Xmas.
OMG, only 2 1/2 months until Christmas! Better get crackin'!

August musings

August saw the arrival of a new kitty in our household. Sherman the Birman came to live with us, a gorgeous 12 year old boy, big and fluffy and playful. The top photo was him as a kitten, and wasn't he the cutest kitten ever?! (yes, I'm a proud cat mama).
Wayne didn't want an older cat or two kittens, so he had to choose between Sherman and 2 kittens. So we got  Shermy. And Mr. B. was instantly smitten. He only got to enjoy him for a couple of days before the boys gallivanted off to the USA and Canada. So Sherman and I spent the last two weeks getting to know each other.
At the moment he's keeping me company in the study, close up to the little heater, which he loves. He also likes to sit in front of the computer screen, angling for head rubs and attention. He also likes to be picked up and carried around, purrs his head off. But he's definitely a 2-arm cat. Sherman likes to go out, but only when the weather isn't too awful. He comes back pretty quickly when the wind or rain picks up.

We're trying our different diet items, too. He LOVES steak, so I indulge him with a few morsels. I bought some chicken hearts yesterday, but they're not too tempting, apparently. He likes fish, and fish broths. Roast turkey was ok, just, and I'll try him on some roast chicken next. Gotta keep the little fella happy, and healthy. I want him to chew a little more, keep those teeth healthy.
I guess I've bored you sufficiently with my cat tales, so a quick mention of quilty things might be just the thing.
A few months ago, I proposed a couple of quilt challenges - the first one was a country quilt challenge, whereby people picked a country out of a bag and had to make a quilt interpreting that country. The second challenge was to make a quilt depicting a sunset. (If you're on Facebook, check out "Gisborne Quilt Challenges 2016" to see some of the quilts).
I was fortunate to get Lebanon as my country. Fortunate because I doubt many people would know much about Lebanon, whereas I had the opportunity to visit there when I was younger and worked for Middle East Airlines, the Lebanese airline.

I wanted the quilt to depict the country as well as the history of this place, so I made a row-by-row quilt, with the first row interpreting the national flag with its Lebanese cedars. The second row is about the country's history, showing a Phoenician ship. The Phoenicians were excellent shipbuilders and had a trading empire across the Mediterranean. Then there are the Roman ruins of Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley, a massive temple complex. The third row shows the varied landscape of Lebanon, where you can ski in the mountains in the morning and swim in the sea in the afternoon. It depicts the capital, Beirut, and Jounieh Bay, not far from Beirut, with interesting caves and beautiful beaches. Finally, the little circles depict the national dish of Lebanon, the Mezze. It consists of many individual little dishes with delicacies such as olives, hommus, pickled vegetables, kofteh, stuffed vine leaves, and many more.
I was thinking of giving the quilt either to a Lebanese friend or, if I can find one, a Lebanese aged care place. If you know of one, please let me know.