softly softly sunset

4 weeks since I posted. I am not sure where the time has gone, though I have spent some time on my annual / holiday pleasures - watching some cricket and tennis and doing a couple of jigsaws. I have to limit the time I spend on them otherwise I would never finish any quilts. I have always loved doing jigsaws, and I like them to be reasonably challenging and difficult (usually 500-1000 pieces because there would be no table to eat off if I did larger ones!) I think it is the way the picture emerges in the same way that quilts do, from a mass of little coloured 'scraps' that has always appealed to me. The difference is with a quilt, I get to 'draw' the picture!



I have lots of new ideas for quilts, but am stalling, not stitching! I am battling at the moment with removing glue from the back of some fabric samples I want to use to finish one project. Anyone any ideas? The cold soak and nail polish remover haven't budged it. Most of it will be in the seam edge but it would be nice to remove it.




First 'must do' for the year is a postcard or two appropriate for the Leafy Sea Dragon Festival. For those who don't know it, that is our State marine emblem. Here is a link if you would like to know more www.premcab.sa.gov.au/emblems/dragon


First guild meeting for the year last night and we were lucky enough to have Rachel Deneny talk about the journey to Houston for her and her World of Beauty winning quilt Royal Amethyst and show us some photos of the exhibition. I thought her quilt was amazing when we first saw it in our Festival of Quilts exhibition, but then she topped that by hand colouring the back to match the front - a well deserved win.

I have been 'resting' my camera a bit, but here are three shots taken in my brother's garden, of apricots (large and luscious), lettuce going to seed, and a close up of insects busy on a daisy.


This evening I looked out the window to see a strange lightness in the sky. Went out and captured the unusual, pale sunset colours you see at the top.



Today has been very hot and humid, and although we haven't had any rain (a little is forecast for the next day or so) it seems our weather is being affected by Cyclone Yasi as it crosses the inland areas to our north. Last month I wrote of the flooding. While that continues in some areas the northern coastline of Quuensland is today starting to pick up the pieces after the devastation from this cyclone. It hasn't been a very good start to the New Year in many areas.