CQJP 2012 - January "naked" Crazy Block

Finally!!! I have at last managed to get my January crazy block together... So without further ado here is the 'naked' block... As usual the idea I started off with is not what I ended up with...  The colour value is not quite true... The top left hand corner is more of a flesh and the top right hand corner is a clear red... And the bottom yellow is a more clear butter yellow and the smaller triangle is a deep forest green... However you get the general idea... A couple of seam lines showing through - they will be covered  so I am not too concerned. The dark block may need some tweaking too - at the moment it sort of 'hits' you in the eye.. Perhaps it needs to be toned down.. Hmmm - I guess I will sort it out as I go along... Now comes the fun part -  'dressing' the block with embroidery, buttons and bits...

For some 'eye candy' - have a look at the CQJP 2012 blog - amazing work from all over the world...

Until later, take care

Sharon x x

off topic but a very special occasion...

the last waltz...

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...this is my 100 year old Dad dancing at his birthday bash yesterday - 10th January.. The residential aged care facility where he lives threw him a party to mark his BIG, BIG birthday... The organizers went to a lot of trouble to make it a memorable one for him... One of the surprises they had  was to have a couple come in from a local dance school to do a demonstration. Dad had taught and competed in ballroom dancing in his very early days so this was really special for him... At the end of their demonstration the young woman approached Dad and asked  if he would join in her in the last dance - a waltz... After an initial hesitation he managed a few steps... For a nanosecond it was as if his younger self 'stepped in' and his old body remembered its younger days... It was quite stirring to watch him as he moved with her across the floor... And as you can hear in the background there was lots of encouraging clapping and cheering..  A wonderful day was had by all but I think a very overwhelmed and tired 100 year man wouldn't have been too long out of bed last evening...

Here is a shot of my Dad and Mum dancing... Mum would have been about 18 or 19 and Dad would have been about 22 or 23... I don't think that they were married at this stage...

This was a glamour publicity shot... Little did these two young people know what was ahead of them as they stared off  into the distance....

Until later, take care

Sharon  x x

...just a few more stitches...

... as the post title implies just a few more stitches... Where the word 'grow' is - that is the half way point of the design... I will do all this bottom section before I move on wards... I love the subtle colour changes... Although in the night light I have to be sure that I pick up the right thread as with a couple of them there is only a shade or so apart...

Until later, take care

Sharon x x

Welcome 2012...

Life, I believe is like a river - it takes you on a journey... There are bends, twists and rapids that keep us alert and vigilant from sloth and complacency...It has calm and peaceful moments which offers us the stillness in which to rest, reflect and dream ... Life, like a river - has  forever changing scenery - are we constantly straining forward to see what's ahead not stopping to appreciate what is before us... Life, like a river gives us opportunities to explore, discover and grow both in strength and mind...

Where ever your 'river' takes you in 2012 may it be a journey, that it be abundant and prosperous and joyful...

Happy New Year !!

Images from Christmas Day

 The day started off seemingly fine - warm with the promise of rain and some possible hail...

We started eating and general merry making... As with all Christmas dinners we were well into the afternoon by the time we got to the pudding...

By the time it took to serve the pudding and eat it - this weather was already on us... One of my daughter's friends who had had Christmas lunch with us and had left just after pudding was caught in the deluge as she approached the city - her car was battered with hailstones the size of golf balls - she said she was still shaking when she got home...

I stood outside taking these - the clouds were so low - it seemed you could almost reach up and touch them...

This photo doesn't show how fast these clouds were travelling and just how swirling and menacing they were...We could tell that somewhere not too far away was really feeling the brunt of this storm...

A little while after this was taken it bucketed down - soaking rain - with large hail - our gutters overflowed and the garden was saturated... I think it rained and thundered for the best part of five hours before it came to a complete stop...We were lucky and very thankful - I have since learnt that others were not so fortunate...

Another Christmas Day in Melbourne...

Until later, take care...

Sharon x x

t'was just before Christmas...

From my family to yours... May you all have a peaceful, joyous and safe Christmas 2011...

Moments - but not a stitch in sight...

This little this figure that E bought for me mirrors my own state of mind of late... She - like I -seem to be looking - either forward to the future or is it  back to the past - I'm not sure which... Christmas time - over the last few years - seems to bring this reflective side of myself to the fore... One could ponder on why - but like for many of us 2011 has not been without its challenges... I am hoping - again like many of us that 2012 will be kinder... But something tells me - as always - it will be as it will be...

I have been looking at shapes lately and of course it is also an excuse to try and the camera part of my new phone...

Of course we all  recognise the Hills Hoist (rotary clothes line for overseas readers) How many tons of clothes have been hung over its lines over the years... I really liked this shot of the centre of its strength silhouetted against  the fading daylight...

This is part of the ceiling I walk under every morning on the way to the shop where I work... It too has a beauty all of its own... I like its strength but also its fragility... It reminds me a little of an insect's wing - strong enough to hold and carry - but also delicate and fragile...

Theses are simply flowers from my garden - beautiful in the own right...

These ones where almost too dazzling to photograph - their colours seem to 'vibrate' and 'dance' before me as I photographed them..

And lastly, the remnants of the evening sun 'catching' on the leaves as it sets..

Until later, take care...

Sharon x