Christmas Time

This is a very special Angel. It was made by my daughter when she was in kindergarten (5 years old) and has been on the very top of our Christmas Tree every year since! Notice the pink hair. The boys made angels too but their angels' hair was blue!

This is my cup cake stand. My son gave me a copy of a recipe for chocolate crackles (an Australian favourite) so I thought I would make some this Christmas, not that we needed another sweet treat added to what I have already made!

The candlestick cactus. Lovely colours. This cactus always flowers in December around Christmas time.

My Christmas plate. I wish everyone a happy Christmas enjoyed with family and friends.

This Angel I found at a fete. Someone had decided that they no longer needed the Angel so it was there for me to buy and take home and treasure. It hangs every year over the entrance to our lounge room doors.

My new Angel. I saw this Angel and I thought she would be a lovely addition to our Christmas Tree. I do not think you can have enough Angels!

Another favourite of mine are birds. This one is a pretty gold colour.

Another bird! The pretty pink colour took my eye.

Blinky Bill the Koala (an Australian fictional character). I bought this ornament a few years ago.

Christmas Fun

I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of a giveaway by Lyn Briggs from Moore Patchwork and Quilting of one of her patterns called Christmas Fun. Two nice little quilts for me to make. Thanks Lyn!

A bit of this and a bit of that

I have a love of all birds, and the owls are no exception. I just had to make this owl when I saw the pattern in a magazine.

These are a couple of my azaleas that were out in bloom this year. They make a pretty display every year.

This pink fuscia is also a favourite of mine. So petite and still adding colour to the garden.

This close up photo is part of a planting our local council did. The polyanthus make a wonderful display.

A Cup Day Fete in the Dandenongs

The Melbourne Cup, a horse race is held in Melbourne, Victoria on the first Tuesday in November each year. Cup Day is a nominated public holiday in Victoria, Australia.



Every Cup Day we like to go to the Anglican Church Fete at Kalorama in the Dandenongs. There are plenty of pre- loved items to buy as well as books, plants, conserves and cakes. Devonshire Tea and the sausage sizzle are available.
The trash and treasure is very popular and a lot of wheeling and dealing is done by the prospective buyers. All in all it is a very enjoyable time spent at this fete.

Tip toe through the tulips........

The above are some close up pictures of a few of the lovely tulips and one of the windmills at the Tesselaar Tulip Farm.



Everyone working at the Tesselaar Tulip Farm is dressed in national costume. The day I visited was the start of all the lovely rain we have had falling in Victoria. The colourful umbrellas brighten up the dull day.





As you can see all the fields are covered by the colour of the tulips. The lady walking beside the tulips reminds me of Sunbonnet Sue!



During the months of September and October the Tesselaar Tulip Festival is held each year at Silvan in the Dandenongs. The day I visited the festival it started to rain. It did not dampen the spirits of the visitors. There is lots to see and is well worth a visit.

Some more sewing done

There was a bag featured in the Creating Country Threads Magazine Volume 10 No 1 which I liked so much I thought I would make it! The designer is Liz Stanway of Teddlywinks. I did made the bag a little bigger, put a box bottom at the base of the bag and also put three teddy bear buttons on the bag instead of yo-yo flowers.

The teddy bear I made a few years ago and he usually sits on the top of our piano in the lounge room.

My walk yesterday

Yesterday I went on a lovely walk. It is so pretty this time of year (Spring). I went passed a couple of ducks who had just had a swim and saw some lovely wattle blossom on the way.

More Spring flowers, bag and purse finished

The first picture is the blossom of our miniature peach tree. As well as the blossom it also produces nice peaches to eat. The second is of some of our daffodils that have just bloomed.

The third picture is of a bag I have recently made. I saw this bag in a Homespun Magazine Handbag Special and knew I would have to make it as I liked it so much. There were two ways of making up the bag: as Lyria's Day Out Bag or Evening Bag (the one I selected). The fourth picture is a purse I made. I had enough material left over after making the bag to make a small purse to go accompany it. The bag was designed by Leoni Wainwright and Libby Celli-Bird of Gingham Collection.

Another visit.....

Yesterday we visited Churinga Cafe again. My Mum just loves going there and seeing the birds (or their shapes as she does not have good eye sight). We went there as my daugthter and son wanted to treat her to afternoon tea for her 94th birthday which she will celebrate in September. It was a lovely sunny day. We enjoyed ourselves in very pleasant surroundings.

I took some more pictures. The Kookaburra is named "Fathead" There were King Parrots visiting. Their colours are spectacular.

A sign that Spring is coming and my Book Jacket

Blossom on our almond tree tells us that Spring is not that far away. The flowers on the gum trees have long gone and the gum nuts are left decorating the tree.

My husband has a leather book jacket for the book he is reading and I thought I would like one to protect my books whilst reading them and I made myself one out of some of my oriental fabric. Although the idea came from his book jacket I made mine in my own style to suit my needs.

Visiting the Fitzroy Gardens

Recently I visited the Fitzroy Gardens. It was lovely to see the avenues of trees and all the wonderful plants still there in spite of the long drought we have been experiencing over 12 years now. It is nice place to take a walk. It is a popular venue for weddings as one of the picture tells.