Quiet Day

Yesterday I woke with a very sore throat and aching body so never made it to Sewing Club or even into the sewing room. However the day was productive in that I finally sewed the binding on a couple of quilts that have been a long time in the making. it was easier to sit and do that than have to think to much. Today now that I have to go back to work the body is fine even though the throat is still bad-might shut me up!!

 

Sorry these photos haven’t turned out that good but this is a bright I Spy Quilt

 

This quilt I started a few years ago and never finished it. It is now off to a home with one of the Bushfire victims.

My brother is thankfully responding well to the cytotoxic drugs and the prognosis is alot better than we first thought.

Hope you all have a good day

Ups and Downs

Well no sewing done here over the last few days.  On Friday my nephew and I went down to Fortitude Valley which is the Chinatown of the city and stocked up on Asian Pantry items. There is the most amazing Indian Spice shop there and the spices are so cheap. It is worth a visit just to experience the atmosphere of the shop with Indian music playing and the level of chatter among the family who run the shop.
While in the Valley we enjoyed a Yum Cha meal at one of the Chinese Restaurants.

We were fascinated by this jelly, which is layered in different colours. How it is made still puzzles me but it would’ve made a great challenge on Masterchef!!

Isn’t it great that a 20 year old is very happy to spend the day with his Aunty? His parents are currently working in Vietnam but he has remained in their house with a flatmate,and is in the same complex as I live.

Unfortunately our day was shattered when I got a call in the early evening to say that my brother, who also lives here in Brisbane, has been diagnosed with leukaemia. He has not been ill and it was picked up on a routine blood test that he had for his high blood pressure,so all a total shock,and everyone is still trying to get their heads around it.

I went to see him yesterday and he was in fairly good spirits and his body is already responding to the cytotoxic drugs so we are hoping that means the prognosis is in his favour.As the rest of the family are all in N.Z. I have spent the last couple of days on the phone relaying the updates so rather draining. Going to work today was a good distraction and now it is time to sip on a wine.

Hopefully will get to the machine in the next few days.

Finished a Bag

 

 

I have just finished a bag using the pattern in this months Down Under Quilts magazine. I have never made a bag before but always thought my embroidery was destined to be included in one. I did a second embroidery for the other side of the bag and I just love it.

It is another glorious winters day today here in Brisbane and it is onto the golf course this afternoon so will be just divine. Temperature at the moment is probably about 20 degrees.

This morning the cockatoos visited the garden for some breakfast. I am so entertained watching these birds and the cats just sit and watch them-some sort of mutual respect between them happens.

Projects-Past and Present

After a weekend of trying to upload photos I have now managed to add a few but in a complicated way. I obviously need to engage the help of the younger generation for some tuition.
This is a quilt I finished recently for a friends daughters 21st, a girl I have known for many years. I had made one for the older daughter with the brief of blacks and brights(totally my comfort zone) but this one was for pastel blues and a very plain pattern. With the said family being in New Zealand it was a guessing game as to whether I would get it right so it was a relief when it was loved by the recipient.


This is a half square triangle block arranged in a zig zag pattern. It is on the design wall at present as a current project for a quilt for the Bushfire victims.


This is a machine embroidered design by Loralie Designs and it is destined to be part of a Tote Bag. Hopefully I will be able to get started on it today.
I am a person who has a number of WIP at any one time which is not always a good thing but it stops getting bored with any onw project.
The sun is shining gloriously here in Brisbane so we are in for a beautiful day. Hope you all have a good one as well.

Thank you to those who have left comments on my blog.

I haven't been near the sewing room for a few days however had an eventful day yesterday. The ladies of our golf club went on a bus trip to Helensvale, on the Gold Coast, for their open day. We had a great day and going on these trips is a great way to get to know people when you are the newbie.
We had alot of fun and all was going well until about an hour out of Brisbane. The bus driver pulled over to the side of the Highway and it was soon clear that the reason was he wasn't well. Two of us are nurses so attended to him but he refused the ambulance and so we just kept a close eye on him while we waited 2 hours for a replacement bus.
A video of us unloading all the clubs from one bus to the other would've made a great video shot!!

My First Post

Welcome to Marls Blog. Blogging is very new to me so it may take awhile to get in the swing of it all.
I am starting this blog so I can load my creative projects as well as keep people informed of what is happening in life. I am a Kiwi who moved to Brisbane two years ago for a change in life and so far so good.
I am a quilter and a beginning machine embroiderer and also an addicted though fairly new golfer so you may see photos of all different things.
I am also in awe of the amazing bird life in Australia so you may even see some posts of the wildlife.