Monday, April 30, 2012

Birthday girls......

I made this little needle case for my sister Lee,   part of her birthday present.  I used a treasured piece of a japanese fabric (I only had a small piece).  Also some of my indigo dyed fabric for the inner lining from a fun day of dyeing with Nat.  Lovingly stitched with rows of Kantha.  I am encouraging my sister to begin stitching/sewing, so I thought this little gift might be well received....  I am happy to say she loved it.

Tied with silk and a pearl button.

Some wool flannel for her needles.  The little scissor pouch made from fabric gifted to me by Patsy.

Ro and Patsy enjoying the sunshine.

And there were more birthday celebrations.  Ro's birthdayis in April.  We .... Patsy, Dot and I all celebrated  with a beautiful lunch at Ro's ..... there was gorgeous Autumn sunshine, perfect for a walk around Ro's lush garden.
 The gorgeous and vivacious Patsy with some beautiful roses from Ro's garden.

A beautiful bunch of herbs for me from Ro's garden.... it was bountiful.  We all went home with flowers and herbs and we ate fresh product from her garden for lunch....bliss!

This young kookaburra is becoming very tame and visits Ro and Steve for a little feed each day.  Of course when he spotted us out in the garden he flew in see what was going on.

Keeping an eye on us from tree in the garden.


Dot, Shirley and Kerry

We recntly had some friends over from Western Australia (they were here for the Creative Souls Art Retreat with DJ Pettit....lucky girls).  While over we showed them around Melbourne a bit...took them to our favourite haunts and eateries....Ziguzagu (of course), Seniors Art Supplies, Wondoflex, Glenferrie Rd. Button Shop etc. etc.  We did stop for lunch.  Here we are having lunch at "Treat" with three lovely dolls from a group of children in my friend Martha's class.  They have travelled to Australia from America....seeing the world.  So we took them on our shopping spree.  They might even come on holiday with me soon!

Tweedle Dum

And I"ve managed a little art.... this is an artist proof of a linocut I've been working on...playing around with handcolouring.  Getting ready for an upcoming exhibition with my art group.

Yes,  I havent blogged for quite a while,  but as you can see I have been keeping very busy...and  I will be busy for a bit longer! 

My sister Lee is taking me to Bali for ten days for my birthday this year  (our birthdays are two days apart, although I am seven years older than Lee).
It will be a special time away together...we will be searching out ikat and maybe megamendung fabrics.  Checking out all of the local arts and crafts that we can in our ten days.
This is where we are staying in Ubud,  http://www.alilahotels.com/ubud  and in Candidasa, http://www.alilahotels.com/manggis.   Soooo beautiful. 

We fly out late tomorrow,  so I will catch up when I get back (not sure if I will be able to upload photos while away...although I will have internet, so who knows).


refuse to sit
 still for
negative thinking




Jacky xox

20 comments:

deb said...

Hi Jacky, Happy happy birthday to you and your sister Lee.
I love your "Tweedle Dum", and your gift you made Lee, beautiful.
Jacky have a great trip, and I look forward to catching with you at the exhibition. Take care deb xox

kaiteM said...

Lots of lovely photos and happenings down your way Jacky, have a wonderful trip away and indulge yourselves thoroughly. Your little needle case is a delight.

deanna7trees said...

wonderful post and love that needle case. have a fabulous trip. can't wait to hear all about it.

lynne h said...

jacky, i am smiling at *all* of this! again, that lee is such a gem! bali for the two of you! also i love the needle case you made for lee. my first thought when reading this post was "ahhh... a nice present for *that lee*!!"

you have been busy... i very much like the linocut...

xoxo

Penny Berens said...

Happy Birthday...and boy what an exotic gift...hope you both have a ball...can't wait to hear of your adventures.

Ro Bruhn said...

What a lovely day we had together, lovely company and great sunshine. Have a wonderful birthday tomorrow and a fabulous trip to Bali, looking forward to hearing all about it when you get back.

Rachel said...

A delightful present and a lovely day!

Caterina Giglio said...

what a great present! all the photos make me happy and so nice to know what a kookaburra is! love the end quite... I may have to steal that!

Mary Stanley said...

The needlecase is exquisite! Great fabric and love your stitches!
Bali adventure will be so fun...lots of wonderful fabric to collect and bring home. Ubud is so fun to explore...I seem to remember Johnny's for fabric and the food is so good! Have a great trip!

ArtPropelled said...

Happy Birthday Jacky! What a wonderful birthday treat. Enjoy every minute in Bali.

martha brown said...

Oh, look at you all having fun! And a kookaburra too!

Peggy said...

Jacky, hope you're having a fabulous birthday time in Bali with your sister. You HAVE been so busy, I love your needle case! And tweedle dum is just amazing. xoxo

Karen said...

you are always so busy!! I hope you had a fantastic trip.

Emma said...

Hope you had a lovely birthday & trip, love the lino cut & good luck for the exhibition!

Linda Vincent said...

Thinking you might be back by now.....hope you had a wonderful time, you lucky girl :-)
Great photos....and I really like your little bird.
As for Ro...a kookaburra in her garden? How special is that!
XX
PS Hope the exhibition goes well.

Anonymous said...

Happy happy day to you, Jacky! Your needle case is exquisite - what a great use of a precious scrap (and all of us crossword puzzle doers know to call it an "etui"). Your bird lino cut really makes me smile, esp after photos of the kookburra! Enjoy your trip and hope you find some textile treasures...

MulticoloredPieces said...

Hi, Jackie. Cool needle case--the scissors pouch is a nice addition, very useful. Love the linocut. And good luck with the exhibition. Wish I could come!
best, nadia

Robin Olsen said...

Your linocuts are so wonderful--I'm always happy to see them. May you have a wonderful vacation in Bali and come home with armfuls of fabric.

handstories said...

this post is full of sunshine & happiness. my sister is 7yrs younger than me, too. we've had wonderful travels together. i hope your birthday trip is a dream. & love the needle pouch, a terrific inspiring gift.
& how fun to see a kookaburra- we sing the song at school.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Jacky.. the lines and pattern in your linocut are Beautiful.
and the kookaburra, and the trip to Bali.. wow, it all feels lovely and special.