My recent holiday

I have recently returned to work after having 2 weeks off.  I try to take sometime off during September as I always  think that it is one of the nicest months of the year - coming out of winter, longer warmer days and blossoms abound.  Hubby and I did a variety of outings during that time.  The  first day we headed off into the city to see the DJ's annual flower show and as always it is a real treat as you can see from the photos below.   This year the theme was "Fleuresence"

 

A walk across the road and we found ourselves in Hyde Park heading towards St Mary's Cathedral.

The next day we stayed "local" and headed up the peninsula to Newport Arms which is situated on the Pittwater side of Newport.    What better place than to drink in the view and eat our lunch.

It was time for a short break so we headed up to our favourite destination - Leura  for a few days.   Our "digs" can be seen below

Next morning we were up bright and early and headed off to Echo Point.  The photo below is of me with my "three sisters" behind me (the name of the mountains to the left of the photo.)

One of the many lovely mountain walks

And cool mountain streams

And of course the gorgeous cherry blossoms

 We decided on our way home to do the "round trip" and came back via Mt Tomah - one of our State's botanical gardens.    Here we saw fields of daffodils

Chocolate coloured plants  and proteas

On a clear day you can see over 150 kms but on that day there had been hazard reduction burn offs so the air was not clear.

Home for a few days did see some sewing done.  I have a growing collection of fq's and leftovers (bigger pieces than scraps from other projects) so I played around with them and came up with the following.     I like the secondary pattern of the diamonds in this quilt.

Well it is back to work for me.  I had a lovely break and some equally lovely memories.

A light bulb moment

My quilting group has been running a block swap where each month one member nominates a block and the other members make that block for the nominator.   For my block I chose the pattern weave the rails which is  in keeping with my theme of  "the year of the using up scraps".  When I received all my blocks and started putting them together that pesky 1/4" seam which seems to differ between each machine caused me quite some problem.   I thought that I would have to re-sew many of the blocks and then I had my light bulb moment - I started to play around with the blocks and decided that I would go with the pattern Chinese coins which is a far more accommodating  design for my problem.    This is what I ended up with.

Last month we were issued a challenge by our quilt group president to make an item with a Christmas theme and I decided to make a tablerunner.  This is the first time that I have used a patchwork binding and I was pleased with the result.   Again I used only from my stash.

The last item is tabletopper that I made for mum.    She loves fairies and when I saw this fabric I thought it would be perfect for her.  

I have been pleased with the sewing that I have achieved during my holiday.

One of those "O" birthdays

Since my last post I have had one of those special "O" birthdays.   I have been very spoilt by my family - being taken out for a lovely family lunch on the weekend, dinner out on my actual birthday to my favourite restaurant and given some beautiful gifts by everyone.   It took my mind off getting older.  There is one gift that I wanted to share with you and it was given to me by a very special friend - we have known each other for about 37 years.   It arrived in the post and when I was unwrapping it I did wonder what it could be from the shape

As you can see it is a set of the most adorable mini quilts complete with their own rack.

She has included 4 seasonal quilts and 4 traditional quilt patterns.

My quilt rack has pride of place in our family room and will be treasured for a very long time.

Megalong Valley

Hubby and I often like to take a drive into the country and this time we headed off to the Megalong Valley just west of Katoomba.   Heading down into the valley provides some spectacular views as you wind your way down.

After admiring the view we headed back to the car to continue down further into the valley where we passed rustic sheds and lush vegetation along the way.

All this driving works up an appetite so we stopped off at the quaint tearoom in the Valley to enjoy a lunch of hot soup and tasty homemade pies.  

 I would certainly recommend a visit to the Valley to anyone who is in the area.

Christmas In July

A visit to my parent's house for lunch last week was a lovely surprise.  Mum and dad had decided to do Christmas in July complete with all the trimmings.    Needless to say that the kitchen was closed for dinner that night.   

I had just finished off the table topper below for mum and had taken it with me so I was able give it to her.  It made the day more festive being able to give a small gift in return for a lovely lunch.

I decided that after Christmas lunch I would have to start my shopping early and with some of the shops having a 50% off sale what could I do but  grab a bargain or two.   I have a few ideas running around in my head using oriental fabric and I am sure that this lot below will be put to good use.

I always seem to find something else that I "may" need in my stash. 

The sale goes for another week so I think that I may just have to drop in again to see what I left behind.

Sometimes it is good to step out of one's comfort zone from time to time and that is what I did with the table runner below.    I am not a fan of orange especially with pink but  it somehow seems to works with this.  I wanted a bright and fun runner for summer.

I have a couple of other items near completion which I hope to be able to blog about soon.

In the meantime happy sewing.

Cooking up a storm

It is one of those wintery days today - no sun, lots and lots of rain, storms rolling around,  grey and cold so what better thing to do than cook up a storm in my kitchen.  Winter is definitely "comfort food" time so what to make - soup, casseroles, muffins and scones.  Open up the fridge and pantry and pull out all the relevant ingredients, switch on the oven and  three hours later end up with   

A vegetable frittata, pumpkin, potato, lentil and curry soup for work lunches,  chicken, rice and vegetable casserole for tomorrow night's dinner, ham, cheese and onion muffins and a batch of plain scones.     

I think that one of those scones will go down very well with a cup of perculated coffee right about now.

What is your favourite winter "comfort food"?

Mountain mizzle

Hubby and I decided that we would beat the long weekend rush and bustle and have our long weekend a week before everyone else.    I had a day owing to me from work so we decided to treat ourselves to a couple of days at the mountains.   Now if you know the mountains the weather can be foggy one day and brilliant skies the next and last weekend was no exception to the rule. 

What did you say that I could see from this lookout.     Hmmm well not today!   

I am glad to say that we were luckier than these pigeons and did not have to spend the night huddling up to the building. 

We opted for something a little more luxurious and booked into the Fairmont at Leura.   As you can see the fog did not lift all day but it did not stop us from wandering around the lovely grounds and enjoying the amenities.    We decided give the outside pool a miss but did spend sometime in the indoor heated spa - a lovely 36 degrees.  

Now I did say that the weather can be very changeable. We woke the next day to clear skies and a brisk walk before breakfast.

Now this is what hubby calls a "man's breakfast" .

A trip to the mountains is not complete without a visit to the chocolate shop - a must to sit by the open fire and sip a mug of hot chocolate as well as purchase a couple of goodies to bring home.

  

One of the many streams which can be found throughout the mountains.  

I have been to the mountains many times over many years but never fail to enjoy the lovely scenery on each visit.   I look forward to when I return again.