Further Catching Up!

Here I am back again..... and what a lot has happened since our family wedding! ...
Towards the end of February my sisters Linda and Vivien and brother-in-law Graham headed to Sydney for a great concert by a group called.... 

Little did we know that this would be the last of our get togethers for some time...... Covid 19 had reached Australia and we were in lockdown.... looking back it does seem a while ago now and as of writing this we are finally starting to ease our restrictions! How lucky were Megan & James to make their wedding after the fires and then get back to England before lockdown! 

With all in lockdown my Rock & Roll classes were put on hold and getting together with the lovely ladies in my embroidery group also was no longer an outing to look forward to....though in the last week we have got together again - after nearly 3 months! Rock & Roll has still to start..... I continued to work as we were still open though many shops and businesses had to close..... 

Easter arrived and was spent at home.....this was soon followed by ANZAC Day

I remembered this special day joining with neighbours on our nature strips in the early hours of the morning. 

Then it was Mothers' Day and like many others it was spent at home instead of heading to Sydney to celebrate with mum & dad. Once again I received my Mothers' Day message from Megan (together with James this year) ....from out on one of their many bike rides..

During their lockdown in England Megan has also taken up embroidery.....very impressed with her work especially as she has not done this before....she ordered kits and I have also sent her "care packages" with some of my surplus (!!) embroidery supplies... they were rather large parcels! .....though I don't seem to have made a dent! 

And Hayley in Queensland has been painting a "mural" on her bedroom wall.... still waiting for a photo of the finished masterpiece! 

During the past few months I have not really been very creative...... have done a lot of mulling over projects to start with nothing really happening.... did take up the knitting needles though - seemed like the the thing to do when I really couldn't be bothered gathering quilting / embroidery material together....maybe a sign of the general "flat" feeling of the times?? I knitted a "Miss Marple scarf", a few face washers (one in constant use and is doing quite well even after going through the washing machine a number of times!!) and a dishcloth - still to be tried out - knitted in a cotton from USA and looks and feels like the genuine old fashioned dish cloths! 

I have read a few books.....

Have been out walking.....more than I usually would!

Fingers have also done some walking.....online!! A new pattern from Anni Downs and some Tilda fabric....there has been a bit more shopping done but photos have not been taken yet! 

And.... while not at work and isolating on weekends have, of course, enjoyed Dora's company......

That about brings me up to date....... but I do finish off this post on a sad note..... my dear brother-in-law, Graham, is now in Palliative Care after battling an illness over the past 3 1/2 years. Thankfully, due to our restrictions being eased, I was able to go and see him last weekend..... these next few days....weeks...will be a sad time for our "small" family.... 

Till next time....

Asta

Mum's 90th Birthday

A couple of weeks ago (end July!) we celebrated a special family birthday - Mum's 90th! 

We all enjoyed ourselves over lunch at a great Chinese Restaurant followed by a birthday cake back at home! 

Must add a few photos from Hayley & Megan's 2 week holiday together in Turkey with plenty of adventures.... including hot air ballooning and paragliding

...and on a beautiful sunset evening they sat together and remembered their dad who had passed away 5 years earlier.....before a planned holiday to Turkey together with Megan was to become a reality.

Turkey photos courtesy of Hayley & Megan

Meanwhile, after having to re-cast off the kneck edge (originally so tight I couldn't get it over my head!) my jumper was finally finished and with some very cold days has been worn!....... 

Decided it was time for a change of pace after reading 3 crime novels in a row....a period drama set in late 1930's.....

Today (2 weeks into August!) my sewing machine re-surfaced (last used in April!) as I have decided to make a quilt ......from working out re-sizing of the quilt..... a bit (!!) of time spent deciding which piece should go where..... I went from this....

.....to this.....

....and hopefully it will be sewn together soon!! 

To finish off.... here is a photo of bulbs blooming in the middle of Winter.... these don't usually appear till Spring! 

Till next time

Happy Stitching!

Asta

The End of March

A rather brisk morning for the last day of March!! An early morning hot cup of tea and Dora seeking out a sunny lap.....

....not much room for stitching there but a little reading was being done..... 

Unfortunately not a lot to report on for my Stitch Therapy 365 .... since I joined I should be up to day 56 (!) and have only completed 4.... but did find another sunny spot later in the morning and managed to get a bit further (the gap in the middle is an applique which is nearly ready to be added) 

Knitting though does seem to be moving along with one sleeve finished and the second nearly half way!.... 

The show I'm stage managing is now under way.... we had 4 shows this weekend and next weekend another 4.... then after a couple of months of rehearsals and the actual show finished I will have my weekends back and perhaps I'll whizz through my Stitch Therapy 365 (should be calling it "Slow Stitching"!)..... get my garden into order, etc, etc....maybe even look through my many "to do" projects and start something else? 

I'll finish off with a photo taken this morning...... bulbs which usually appear in Spring! Even the plants seem to be a bit confused with the weather!

Happy Stitching

Asta

A Bit of This and That

Time for an update......not that there has been a lot happening!......Megan received her knitted scarf and told me it will definitely get worn as their Winter days are still quite cool ..... and her, and her partner, are shortly off to Scotland for a couple of weeks where it is even colder!! 

Meanwhile..... I am stage managing another show for the theatre which has a wonderful cast of only 10 aged from 14 to around 30 something.....we are still in rehearsal mode but does involve "homework" as I work out how back stage will run  smoothly.....

Spare moments have been found to finish reading another book........was OK but had quite   a few characters with similar names and jumped back and forth from 1911 to 2010 and must say I did at times get confused with who was who!

There have been some cooler nights so last year's knitting project re-surfaced and the sleeves for the jumper (for myself) were started - back and front having being finished last year.... a finish for this Winter?... Perhaps! (Not quite as blue as this photo shows it to be!)

And..... over a month ago I joined up with "Hugs & Kisses" project "Stitch Therapy 365" - doing one embroidery a day on a pre-printed panel. Well.....first I procrastinated on whether to use the stabiliser I had purchased, sought advice, decided to use another one, then lost my enthusiasm (mojo?) to start....So... theoretically I should be on Day 39 (from when I joined) but realistically I'm just starting on Day 1!! 

So..... time to have a cup of tea and find a new book to read? ... Perhaps a few rows of knitting?  Or catch up with some stitching?..... Decisions, decisions!!

Happy Stitching!

Asta

Last Weekend....

Don't know what happened to last week but here I am a week later with an update on our Mother's Day celebrations in Sydney - postponed from the week before last weekend - due to inclement weather!!
We had  lovely day - with an "at home" high tea.... including a glass of champagne!

A secret sewing project from the past few weeks was a book bag for my mum - she is an avid reader so can store her current book in this......

(A Marg Lowe pattern)

And.... what a coincidence - the Northbridge Quilters had their exhibition the same weekend - just around the corner from Mum & Dad's...... there were some beautiful quilts - some you just wanted to wrap yourself in! The exhibition included many quilts made over the 35 years the group has been together.... here are just a few - including some from the garden.....

And a raffle quilt which - sadly - I did not come home with......

While still on the topic of this year's Mother's Day once again Megan sent me a message from overseas - as she has for the past 3 Mother's Days she hasn't been here for......

This year it was from a "Glen of Bluebells" in Canterbury, Kent.

Megan has still been busy travelling - while not working in England - wedding plans have not progressed very far.... I think she is enjoying her travels and seeing new countries too much (while James stays working back in England)....recently she added Bosnia and Serbia to her list of countries visited (I think that was country number 40 and 41?) and currently is in Morocco which will be followed by Portugal ...then back to work in England again.....

And... this week DD1 Hayley and her partner are off for a short holiday to Thailand..... My turn must be coming around again soon! 

Meanwhile..... the last week has seen me take out this project again......

....Here I am trying to work out where exactly I was up to when I put it aside over a year ago...... back on track again.... but rows seem to take forever and it's growing ever so slowly (Pattern is from Attic 24)....... also these socks were finished the other day....to be gifted soon to a friend with a Winter birthday! 

And that's about it for now from me....

Happy Stitching

Asta