Sydney Weekend

This last weekend a trip was made to Sydney to catch up with mum & dad..... always lovely to spend some time with them.....and check in to make sure they are doing ok!... Still in their own home at 88 and 95!! 

On the way up I stopped off at Berry and checked out the Berry Patchwork shop - they are in the middle of extending their beautiful shop - well worth a visit if in the area! I resisted buying anything.... at least for this visit! 

Miss Dora stayed home "house-sitting" and once my bag was unpacked she jumped in - maybe a hint that I was not to go away again??.......or perhaps take her next time?? 

 Not a lot of stitching has been accomplished lately.... but a bit of colour has now been added to this.... soon to be a gift so I had better get a move on..... 

And that about sums up what I have been up to lately!.... Back soon with an update on how the stitching is going....

Happy Stitching

Asta

Easter.....

Miss Florence and a few other Easter decorations set the scene for what was a quiet Easter weekend.....

.....Saturday was the only day I ventured out  - to Huskisson about a 90 minute drive north to meet up with Vivien and brother-in-law who had driven down from the Southern Highlands....

.......an enjoyable day was spent together at the Huskisson Markets and watching a good old fashioned Easter Parade - complete with marching bands, vintage cars, pets and everything else you would expect to see!!

 As with any markets there were plenty of food stalls when it came to lunch.... followed by "dessert" of chocolate/mint ice-cream in the form of "moon rocks"!... was interesting...

 And .... these nougats were just divine - after many samplings only these 2 came home!

 The rest of my days were rather quiet with time spent gardening, reading.... this has been read over the last few days....quite an enjoyable read....

And some progress has been made on a couple of stitching projects.....

Quite a few hours were spent on my WIP (the re-organising of my sewing area) - just amazes me how my fabric stash could have grown so much....where did all that fabric come from!! I wonder?.... Then there were all the magazines - was I really going to make everything I had tagged?? .....

Till next time

Happy Stitching

Asta

A bit of this and that.....

Well....this is about "a little bit of this and that" since that's exactly what I have been doing......
Firstly a "1/2" finish - one of a pair of socks.......

 Another book finished.... this one... ummm.... not sure what I thought about it  - I would best describe it as a fantasy - it was interesting but I was pleased when all 465 pages were read and I could say it was finished!

Yesterday I spent time sorting out fabrics for some (small) projects I plan on starting.....

These fabrics have been accumulating for some time for a particular project and once the fabrics were out..... the empty box was a good spot to while away some time!

Some of the fabrics being cut up all ready for a 3rd project to work on......

It always amazes me that I take out fabrics for projects and it makes such a minuscule dent in the fabric stash!!! ... does that say something about what I actually have?? 

I also have a WIP (work in progress) which is sorting out my fabrics and sewing room - there will one day be a photo but only when there is a definite "before" and "after"!! 

Back soon with some progress on the sewing projects!

Happy Stitching

Asta

                          

Nowra Quilt Show

The Nowra Quilt show was on this weekend so time to head up the highway and enjoy another wonderful show and catch up with friends..... The show didn't disappoint with some outstanding quilts on show..... 

But this one was amazing......

.........1000's of 1/4" hexagons!! 

A few shops had been set up so a couple of purchases were acquired......

...... not too much as I'm currently re-organising my sewing room and well.... need I say more!

For years I've been attending this show with my dear friend, Alison, from Nowra..... over time Deb and Vicki (both from Sydney) have joined us for our "day out" and this year Fran came up from Tasmania.... though only 2 of us actually quilt (Alison and myself) the connection is that we all met working for the Sydney Waterboard (I think it's now called Sydney Water) in 1972!! Over time we went our own ways - mainly due to re-locating through marriage but have always kept in touch one way or another - though the 5 of us have not all been together for quite some time...... a photo taken at one of our earlier reunions in 1982......

....and one taken on Saturday (note sitting in the same position) .......

We all had a great time - reminiscing, catching up with family news....... and at the end of the day headed home with promises to get together more often! 

Back on the home front another snake has been spied in the garden by Miss Dora and myself - slithering away into the neighbour's yard.... some years ago I had a BIG python which was removed by the "snake catcher" this time it's a black snake - they do tend to keep away if you make noise which I'm hoping is the case....but... Miss Dora is a more indoor cat than usual at the moment not venturing much further than the front doorstep! 

Not a lot of creativity happening at the moment - socks from my last post are progressing but that's about all....... till next time....

Happy Stitching

Asta 

The Last 2 Weeks

Before we get into what I've been doing the past 2 weeks will just go back to a bit of "secret sewing" I can now show you as it has been gifted in the Fat 1/4 Birthday Swap......

.... a lovely pattern by Gail Pan, fabric by Anni Downes, sewing by me!

The mail man came again.... 

.... a journal of my blog over the last 2 years - this is the second one I've had printed and it gives me real pleasure to look back over the last couple of years and see what I have been up to.... 
A little something for myself was made......

and so here is "Florence"!

I always read a blog by Helen Philips and have loved her bunnies..... well what do you know!....I found her pattern in the September 2017 issue of Homespun! It has been ear-marked for a while but she's finally made! I plan on making some more for family - cardigans have all been knitted - now to find the time! 

Then decided I needed a project while watching TV so another pair of socks was started.......

....these ones being a gift for a friend who has a Winter birthday so have some time before they will be needed! 

And....my favourite season - AUTUMN - has finally arrived!! Love the colours and cooler days with a fresh "crisp" feeling! ....though they're not quite here yet.......

Happy Stitching

Asta

Last Week.....

Last week..... came home from work to find this parcel at my front door.....

Inside......

Yes....another project!

The same time last year I started a project from Lucy at Attic 24 - it was a CAL (crochet-a-long) - the design was called "Moorland" blanket...... I was drawn to the lovely colours she chose as they depicted the heather on the English Moors....this is where it is up to at present.....

The pattern was "ripple" design....... I had ripples everywhere - not just across the width but the sides as well!! It was starting to look like another UFO in the making!! I have decided I will go back to it - as soon as the weather cools off!! Meanwhile...... she has another CAL called "Woodland" blanket based on Autumn colours with the blue sky filtering through the trees.... as I love Autumn I just HAD to order this as well...... but am thinking when I do start it may just be rows of granny squares - something simple!! 

My "secret sewing" has also been finished this week - no peeking yet! 

Back to reading.... during the week I finished this book.....

....inside the dust cover of this book it describes it as a collection of "new and uncollected tales of murder, mischief, magic and madness"...... well, some stories I really enjoyed, others I didn't and the last left me feeling quite....saddened.... I feel like I now need to read a much happier and light-hearted book..... off to browse through my bookcase & see what I find......

I will leave you with a photo of Miss Dora enjoying a balmy Sunday evening in one of her favourite spots.......

Till next time...

Happy Stitching

Asta

A (Very) Little Trip Away....

After a very busy and somewhat stressful week at work I headed off to Canberra on Friday afternoon - a 2 hour drive dodging (unexpected) storms along the way!! You've heard of "storm chasers"? Well this time it was me being chased by storms - the black skies and lightning being very menacing but no photos - I wasn't stopping for anything!! 
Saturday was a much more pleasant day as I headed out for some retail therapy - including one of my favourite shops.....

After an hour of browsing - and being very tempted - I finally left with just these purchases....

The latest Homespun magazine has a lovely BOM using some of the Tilda fabrics but, though my initial reaction was "yes, I must make this", having some time to think on it while browsing,  I decided I had enough projects on my "to do" list and will be happy enough to maybe create a block or 2 ....perhaps some cushions?..... I did buy some Tilda fabrics though.......at this point in time I'm just adding them to my stash!!..... And a charm pack to make a "table topper" - also in this issue of Homespun.

Then a stop off to Myers - and new shoes came home with me!

Next stop to visit friends where I enjoyed a few hours lunching, having afternoon tea and catching up before heading home again - this time no storms! 

Sunday has been spent doing some "secret sewing", reading....this book was finished and again Kate Morton didn't disappoint - really enjoy her books! 

And so another week starts...... another book will be started, more "secret sewing" - it's not huge but it seems to take forever when I work full-time and enjoy my reading time as much as stitching time..... oh - for more hours in the day!! 

Happy Stitching

Asta