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

Happy Easter ......

HAPPY  EASTER !

Wishing everyone a very happy Easter.   I love to collect rabbits and here a few.  These little bunnies are congregating in my herb pot.

AsI grew older my mum used to give me a little rabbit each Easter.  I treasure those rabbits as my mother passed away many years ago.  Recently my little sister Lee has kept the tradition alive and gives me a beautiful rabbit at Easter time.  The two above are from Lee.... The orange one I received this year (filled with yummy belgian chocolate buttons...they didnt last long!)  and the ornate black rabbit was last years rabbit.  He was filled with turkish delight easter eggs...yum.

 This is a close up fo this years bunny....love the polka dots.  Very cheery little fellow who is helping make my home feel very 'Eastery' this year and keeping my mum as part of our Easter celebrations.

This special rabbit I bought last year when I was in Thailand with Lee.  It is by a local artist, Supachet.  Lee and I both loved his art .... we visited a gallery with a lot of his art exhibited.  All influenced by his love of  and connection with elephants.  We both bought a rabbit home as a memory of our trip.

This beautiful fabric selection was a gift from my lovely friend Dot (an early birthday present).  They are such beautiful colours,  very Eastery colours I think .... I am thinking I will make a light summer throw or maybe a duvet cover with them...brighten up my bedroom, especially as winter is approaching soon, it will be nice to work with some bright colours.

I woke early enough to catch this beautiful sunrise through the fog .... isnt nature beautiful.  Click for a closer look.  It only lasted a couple of minutes...but it was so quiet at that time of the morning and a lovely way to start my day.

And this my precious little man Oakey....he and I are home on our own over Easter.  The boys have gone to a horse show in South Australia and we are enjoying some quiet time together.... although he sleeps most of the time.  Oakey is 16 now and blind (due to glaucoma) and deaf,  but still such a happy little fellow and apart from his blindness and deafness a very healthy little dog the vet said.  I love him dearly and couldnt resist sharing this photo of him curled up on the couch this morning getting ready for his little morning siesta. He is snoring away as I type.

you are

sublimely,

exactly,

how

you need

to be

at this

moment.

-sark-

Have a wonderful Easter....stay safe.

Jacky xox