New Year - new ideas

January nearly over, where has it gone? Well, I began this year on a high with so many ideas of new mediums to try out.

So far I have delved into the world of ACEOs. They are very addictive to make! This is my first one entitled Internal Combustion - lots of fiery red done in acrylics.

Now since my experimentation with different art forms I decided to open another Etsy shop called On A Whimsey http://onawhimsey.etsy.com/ This was because my new items will not be sitting too well in my Precious Quilts shop http://preciousquilts.etsy.com/ which specialises in baby quilts and crochet blankets!

Another experiment (for me!) is quilted postcards. Here is my first attempt which is not good enough to sell but I will try to improve it. Still, I thought it was fun!

This I have entitled Mr & Mrs Piggy Valentine! I fuzzy cut the piggies, placed them on some bright yellow gingham with a big red felt heart beside them.

Recently joined another group where we do swaps... this I find really exciting and challenging. Above, left, is my first attempt at an ATC swap under the caption of Nouveau Art.

However, for the traditionalists amongst you, I have made a Victorian style christening cape which you will find in my PQ shop. Actually, I am in the process of completing another which I made in white but am adding pearlised beads to the edging to make it all that more precious!

Here is the first one I made in a pale cream/off white mixed fibre yarn:-

All I need is the baby to demonstrate:)

The Blue Mountains, NSW

As some of you will know I am travelling in the Blue Mountains of North Carolina but whilst in Australia we also visited the Blue Mountains. These were beautiful! I likened them to the Grand Canyon filled with eucalyptus trees! The 'blue' comes from the sun beating down and making the leaves expire the oil hence leaving a blue hue over the mountains.

This map gives you an idea of the Blue Mountain towns and their location in relation to each other. We travelled by car to most of the towns and got a wonderful insight to how many of the roads had originally been built by convicts who had been transported from Britian in the nineteenth century.

Here is a picture of the view near the town of Katoomba, up in the mountains.... this particular view is of the Three Sisters'.

All the views in the area were fantastic but the only down side was the number of flies. When we first arrived we thought 'how friendly' everyone was....... they were but they were waving to discourage the flies from their faces!!!! Soon, we realised we were doing the same thing.

Whilst in the mountains we stayed in a self catering cottage that had been renovated. Very bijou and pretty. It was situated in Wentworth so enabled us to have a fairly central location from which to explore the surrounding countryside.

All that was now left for us was to pack, drive to Sydney to stay for our last night before starting the very long journey back. All in all very exciting adventure!

The real purpose of the trip?

The Wedding!

Our #2 son was to be married to a lovely Australian girl from Sydney, or rather a couple of hours drive away. We are so pleased and proud to have her in the family.

So, the real purpose of our long journey was to attend the wedding. What a day.... as perfect as you could imagine.

The venue was in an old part of Watson Bay area called Vaucluse where Vaucluse House stands.

Set in ten of its original 206 hectares, Vaucluse House survives as the only 19th century Sydney harbour-side estate with house, kitchen wing, stables, kitchen garden and outbuildings. From 1827 until 1853 it was the family home of William Charles Wentworth, explorer and statesman, his wife Sarah, and their family..

The wedding ceremony took part on the lawns just in front of the building were chairs had been laid out in a semi circle .....

Afterwards drinks were served in front on the terrace. The whole length of the flagstone terrace had been covered with protective cloths. Nobody is ever to indulge in red wine and the like whilst standing in case some spills and stains the sandstone! However, whilst seated indoors we were able to do so!

Here we used the Little Drawing Room for an intimate wedding breakfast. It was wonderful with only about 20 of us altogether.

Next day the happy couple were seen off on their honeymoon in style..... their very own motor launch from Watson Bay to Sydney harbour where they were to spend the first night before flying off into the sunset!

A truly magically setting for a beautiful wedding! Well, that's two down, two to go!!

The last stage of the journey...

As we started to fly over Australia from west to east I realised we had another 4 hours to go. Actually, the last hour seemed to go on for ever. I had cleared up all the papers I had been reading, put away the inflight socks, checked immigration paperwork with passport and watched the clouds drift by under us.

At last, we were heading for Sydney airport and we landed! Now a fairly lengthy taxi to our stand. So, this is Australia!



Customs and immigration were interesting at the end of this long long flight. We had to queue up to have all our handbaggage x-rayed in case we tried to smuggle any form of foodstuff into the country. Even to the extent that our son was asked if he had been near a farm in the last few days. He replied, yes, and then had to produce his trainers for inspection. The guy drew them up close to his face to get a better view. Now you have to remember, the trainers had been washed in a washing machine prior to leaving UK so were spotless. This fact was pointed out after which the official condescended to say that they would do!

Next the queue for a taxi which although long did move along pretty quickly. We loaded our bags and got into the car. Told the driver where we wanted to go and off we went. 5 minutes down the road the guy turns around and asks if we know where we are supposed to be going and gets quite upset when we explain we are total strangers in his country and have never been before - apart from the fact we were tired!

He would not have it. After all he was only a taxi driver and was not expected to know everything. After numerous attempts to look it up in the atlas he actually decided it might be useful to ask someone. The hotel into which we were booked as the only one in this prestigious area! Eventually we found it. All we now wanted was to check in, meet up with the guys/family and have a couple of hours sleep.


The hotel, Watson Bay Hotel/Doyles, was great and I would highly recommend it. The breakfast was magical. Imagine a buffet of fresh fruit consisting of mango, pawpaw, pears, apples, grapes to be followed by cereal. Then smoked salmon, cold meats, cheese,toast, croissants accompanied with tea/coffee. Set you up for the day ahead.


Well, now we were set to go to sleep. The men were going for a suit fitting in the afternoon whilst I was going to go for a walk and then meet up back at the hotel for a well earned Australian glass of beer - or tinnie! - but more on that later.

I am back!

Well, after a length absence, and for that I do apologise, I am now back with loads to write about.

Firstly, Christmas has been and gone - hopefully you all had a really good one! Actually, returning from our Australian trip at the beginning of December meant I was not wound up in the pre Christmas frenzy. It actually took us at least a full week plus to get back to normal sleep patterns etc. What a long journey that was.

I will be writing about the Australian adventure, the travelling etc but will be breaking it up into modules as we went for 3 weeks.

So, Terry and I got ourselves to Gatwick to catch the Emirates flight to Dubai, our first transit stop, which was due to leave around 8pm. We had had a full day getting packed and all the last minutes things that always need doing. Taking off at the time of the evening meant that after a drink, a meal, it would be more natural to sleep a couple of hours or so before our descent. Unfortunately, the seats were pretty cramped but we did catnap. So, at the end of the 6.5 hours we landed in Dubai. I did not bother changing my watch although I knew it was about 7am.

We were huddled off the aircraft into the waiting buses to transport us to the terminal where we were to contect with the flight travelling direct to Sydney.... only 13.5 hours!!!!! It was exciting to look around at Dubai as it had been around 25 years since we had spent any time in the Middle East. We both used to live and work in various countries in the Middle East.

The terminal was incredible! Huge and jam packed full of passengers of every nationality imaginable. Many had been waiting for their flights for considerable times so were laid out on the floor, children crying, fractious parents and others trying to spot the bargain on the gold counter.... there were none!

Soon it was time for the tannoy to announce the departure of our flight to Sydney. Looking around there appeared to be many couples, like ourselves, going out there to visit family.

As we got on the bus we knew this was getting closer to our adventure which was due to start on our first visit to Australia. Next time I will continue with the story of our fabulous journey. Meanwhile here is a picture of our take off from Dubai International Airport.

Off to Australia!

Haven't given my blog much love lately, have I? Well, things have been pretty hectic around here.

What with sorting out travel arrangements,where to stay, all the excitement of the wedding day (the reason we are going to Australia!) and then sorting out what I can sell in time to despatch before we go. Now moreless sorted, I hope!

My Ebay site is empty but feedback can obviously still be accessed. On our return I will re listing new items again - just in time for Christmas.

My Etsy site preciousquilts.etsy.com will remain open. However, you will note from my avatar that I am on vacation from Nov 12 - Dec 3. You can buy but nothing will be despatched to you until Dec 3.

My Dawanda shop will be put on hold. I don't want you to be disappointed by ordering an item and not having it despatched during the vacation period!

Rest assured, you can always contact me if you wish custom made items as I will have limited access to the internet.

Anyway, this is a long winded way of saying, 'til December!'. There will be so much to write about on my return.... Travelling out to Australia, Sydney, Blue Mountains, beach etc etc and most importantly..... THE WEDDING! Can't wait, soooooooooo excited!

Ta Ta for Now
xx

A new site for selling...

Although a very strong advocate of Etsy I have found another selling site which might be of interest to you too. This is called Dawanda. I have just started a shop over there too which you will find at en.dawanda.com/shop/preciousquilts
You are most welcome to come on in and browse.

Dawanda is geared mostly towards the European market with items costed in Euros. Again, there is a great variety with a slightly different layout to Etsy. However, as people who know me on Etsy through my avatar of the colourful butterfly, you will find me easily through the same avatar.

Do have a look. As I said, I am more than happy on Etsy but you should never have all your eggs in one basket! Happy hunting!