Checking out Nature....

Water Dragon near Molonglo Gorge

 Angle Crossing

A year and a bit later...

It has been a while...

Bridge in the rain forest

A lot of different things have happened during this time. Most of it happy and some of it sad. Time continues to move forward no matter how much we wish we could go back.

Hoping that 2011 will bring lots of happiness and healing to those who need it. That it brings visitors to our doorstep. That it brings lots of memories to look back on.

We have started the new year with a relaxing time at home and are now back at work.

We took a day trip to Fitzroy Falls, NSW and Minnamurra Rainforest, NSW. It was a lovely day full of fantastic views. Having lunch in the rainforest was great. The sounds of the forest are just

fantastic.

Start of the walk through the rain-forest

Pathway

Lunch rain-forest style

Looking down Fitzroy Falls

Fitzroy Falls from the Western Rim Walk

View of the Valley

View over Kangaroo Valley

Video of a beautiful tree

New Kitty and Quilt Project

It has been a couple of months. Last Thursday I took Julius to the vet. He was overdue for his yearly checkup and was also sick. Interestingly enough, we were at the vet the same week last year with the same issue. The vet thinks he may have allergies.

When we were leaving I noticed the kitty behind the desk, who was up for adoption. I could not leave him there. He is 5 months and had lived 4 months at the vets office. The pound took him to the vet when he was 4 weeks old. He was a very sick stray kitty. They had to shave to poor little guy bald to get rid of the ringworm and then his bits did not drop and they had to go in and get them.

So now we have a new kitty. We named him Charlie and he is settling in nicely.

"Charlie"

I have been taking classes at the local quilt shop. I was asked by a co-worker if I would like to go with her. So I signed up for the 8 week (1 night a week) Beginners Patchwork Class. It was good fun and I really enjoyed it. This past weekend I took a 1 day workshop on foundation piecing. I really like the foundation piecing, you can get really sharp points.

Me and my finished quilt top

I have to quilt it now. I am really good at piecing the tops, but not at actually finishing them into a quilt. I am up to 6 finished tops and 1 top in progress. Well now that I have written down, I must really try and finish one of these. Soon.

The blocks from my foundation piecing workshop. The blocks are currently 4 1/4 inches square and will be 3 3/4 inches square when finished.

A Cute Bag

I saw this bag hanging in the quilt shop (Addicted to Fabric) and loved it. So I got the pattern and the kit the shop had put together and made myself a bag. I think it turned out really cute. 

The pattern is from Melly and Me. They are an Australian company (2 ladies in Victoria) and they have best patterns. I like most of them. I already have 2 more bags of theirs I would like to make on my list. 

I love the name of the shop.... Addicted to Fabric...that sounds like someone I know....maybe that should be "Addicted to Fibre" as I love all of it..Yarns, Threads, Fabrics, Roving, etc....

It has been a few months

The Cat "Julius"

In realize that it has been a few months since my last post. So lets see....what has happened during that time. We had Christmas and New Years. We had Australia Day at the end of January. 

The big news is I quit smoking on the 12th of December. I have a counter at the bottom of the blog.... so I can keep track!

We are all fine here. We have been working and coming home and working some more. I have been trying to figure out a way to fund my life without actually working. I think I need to buy a Lottery ticket. 

I have been crafting a bit. As always I have a rather large collection of unfinished projects and an ever growing list of "Want to do Someday" projects.  So I have started a "Crochet Along" on Ravelry & Crafster. There are several blocks each month and at the end of the year you can make a blanket. Well I have finished 2 of the 3 squares for January and printed the patterns for February..... and that's as far as I have gotten. Hmmmmm I suppose that I should work on that. So here is a picture of the 2 squares:

I have knitted and completed a couple of children's hats and I have tried out Faux Chenille. I made a pillow cover....and it turned out pretty good!

I am currently working on a "Window Quilt". This is actually a quilt that is designed to keep the cold out. We do not have ducted heat in our house and we have single glass windows....so we need something to help with the cold. Of course I could not just pick out a nice print fabric ....noooooo. .... I have to decide to do a little patchwork and embroidery as well as sewing and quilting. I will post pictures when I finish. The pieces are currently living on the dining table...with the sewing machine.

Here is the pillow cover I made:

Well I suppose I will close for now....it's almost 2 am and I need to get some sleep.....

Sunday Market Shopping

Today was unseasonably cold. We are 1 week away from the official start of Summer and we had snow on the Brindabella's last night. It was cold and rainy today. While we were out going to the markets we could see the snow on the mountains. Well, I suppose it made it feel like Christmas to us. 

The Kingston Markets are only open on Sunday's and we go every so often. The markets mostly have people selling things that they have made, such as, pottery, hand spun yarns, jewelry, clothes, paintings, and a couple of fresh veggie and fruit vendors, a lady who makes lovely bagels, people selling plants, and almost anything else you might think of.

Today there were fresh cherries. They are just lovely and I had to share. So here they are:

Tea Tree is Blooming

Leptospermum 'Rhiannon' - Tea Tree

My Tea Tree plant is in bloom. It is beautiful. I am going to try and propagate new plants by cuttings and seeds. This variety is a hybrid and using the seed may produce a slightly different plant. I suppose it would be like Surprise Gardening. 

We have also gotten the veggie patch growing. The spring onions and tomatos are doing really well. The fruit tree's are covered in fruit. We have started a Pineapple plant. I put in a Curry Plant. The Curry Plant smells SO GOOD! Just a wonderful smell.

The roses are blooming and strawberries are coming in.  Yummy.