My work today

I have been sewing today. I have a paper quilted name to complete by tomorrow so I can send it on its way to Western Australia for a little girl who is turning one next month. All I need to do now is the embellishing and I will be finished. I'll tackle that this evening. The photo here is a little dull because I took it at 5pm outside but it gives some idea of the piece.

I never get sick of looking at the sky at this time of day - beautiful.

Easter Sunday at the Old Bus Depot Market

After an absolute down pour last night (at last) it was a clear sunday for the Easter Sunday market. It was incredibly busy this morning and I had a terrific day with lots of sales and several orders for Paper Quilt pictures, alphabet letters and names. Which means of course, lots of work up at "The Shed" this week. Lucky I tidied it up and -of course changed things around (nothing new in that department!!). I bought two rolls of beautiful antique handmade lace for the quilted Pret-a-Porter dresses and a gorgeous bag from Sonia Burke of "Silk n' Things". Impossible to resist.

Nature Watching Again - Moon rising

Watching the sunset over Beaty Hill

My view this morning

Some people have birds, bears or squirrels in their back yard, I have kangaroos -

and sheep

and Crimson Rosellas - having a nice breakfast of peaches.

Another busy day

I spent quite a few hours over at “A White Paper Dragon” today packing up the many very generous donations of craft supplies from the people of Canberra – and even overseas – for the people who have been affected by the tragic and terrible bushfires in Victoria. It was incredible to see all the craft supplies appear from bags and boxes. Six women worked at separating the supplies into “like” items and then packaged up bags in the form of kits. We all marvelled at some of the very special things which people had parted with. By about 1.30pm we had packaged up many bags and packed them into boxes ready for collection. I hope the crafters of Victoria who have lost so much will have some things to get them going again. Maybe creating will help the healing process begin.

Later in the day I was able to see the beautiful exhibition of painting, pastels, prints, drawings and photographs in the Degas Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia. I have always loved Degas’ work – the layering of mediums, colour and subject matter. Quite extraordinary. The bronze of the little dancer with tutu and ribbon in her hair was really lovely. I could sit and look at her for hours. The gallery is undergoing quite extensive renovations at the moment so I entered from the side of the gallery overlooking the lake. This area includes the sculpture garden, so I was able to practice photographing some of the lovely pieces which live there amongst the trees and water features.

Misty Autumn Morning

We woke up to our first mist of the Autumn this morning. Always a beautiful sight. By the end of the day the rain gauge read wait for it - a whole 3ml. So, no end to the brown grass yet - but better than nothing.

Later this afternoon we went to see"Last Chance Harvey" which we enjoyed so much. I'm glad I had my hankie ready in my lap. What would a romance film be without tears together with laughs. So - I have put a video link in the boarder.

Then it was off to dinner a delicious meal at "Three Mothers" Thai. Fantastic.

Just a regular Saturday

Another fun morning. We have our neighbour’s Marco and Zena’s cattle on our front paddocks this week. As it is so dry, these paddocks need eating down in case of fire. Cows are never satisfied with the paddock they have been placed in however, so they decided to break into the house garden. They had a delicious breakfast of lupins and photinias before being herded away by an angry woman in nightie and slippers running all over the place. Fortunately (or not) I do not have a picture for you this time. By the time I have arrived home this afternoon, they had broken into the dam paddock. Hope they enjoy the bull rushes this time, as I am not going to try to get them out of there until tomorrow.

Today I took part in the Queanbeyan Bazaar at the Q Theatre. It was a celebration of some of the craft artists who live in the Queanbeyan region so I got to meet many of the locals who live in and around Burra and Michelago and in Queanbeyan itself. There was a huge range of talent including embroiderers, quilters, jewellers, wood and metal workers, sculptors and sewers. The theatre is a really wonderful venue and has a very warm atmosphere. Added to this is the luxury of air conditioning, lovely clean loos and a really good café. Georgina Perri organises these events and you couldn’t find a nicer and more organised person.

I had two tables – one for a display and selling area and the other for demonstrating my craft of Paper Quilting. I had a lot of interest and many people were interested in taking a class in the future.

It is not surprising that I bought something from one of the other stalls and I have included a picture of my new mobile phone bag. I just couldn’t resist it – those gorgeous little strawberries. Absolutely beautiful work.

A day with the media

Yesterday I gave my first radio interview. I was rung by Fiona Wylie from ABC radio Port Macquarie – and to say I was surprised would be an understatement. The segment was on people who have interesting and out of the ordinary jobs – and I guess I do fall into that category. It was an interesting and nerve wracking experience being on the other side of the radio – as I listen to ABC Canberra almost the whole day while I am working. I hope it went well – the 10 minutes seemed to go by quickly and I before I knew it I was putting down the phone and there I was, sitting in silence again. Very strange. Talking about myself and what I do certainly made the day very out of the ordinary. My usual work pals, Pepper the wonder dog and my cats, Coco Channel and Prince Domino don’t have much to say about what I do.

I continued along the multi media path later by picking up the latest issue #64 of Scrapbook Creations which had just arrived at the newsagent. My project, “The Two of Us” – How to master the art of Paper Quilting appears on page 108. It details a scrapbook page showing a heart and photograph which is also a pocket containing another little heart with a pull tab. I’ll tell you now that the lovely French manicured nails which are shown punching squares and drawing – do not belong to me. I only wish. Maybe I should treat myself.

So the excitement continues. Never a dull moment at “Wren’s Nest Studio”.

Ripening grapes on the front terrace & a view down to the creek.

It is only three days into Autumn yet it is all around us already. We saw our second rugby game of the Super 14 Series – a sign autumn is here for sure. The trees are beginning to turn from a combination of the shorter days and the very harsh weather we have had over the past couple of months – dry, dry and more dry. I have spent several nights lately, lying awake wondering if we will ever see a rain again. It is quite depressing and I feel pretty desperate about the whole climate changing around us.

Saturday I gave a beginners Paper Quilting class at “A White Paper Dragon”. It always amazes me how different each persons work is – a real joy to see. The ladies all did wonderful work. Sunday we had some time by Lake Burley Griffin, a long walk and then lunch at one of my favourite restaurants “The Book Plate” at the National Library of Australia.

Yesterday and today it was back to work in "the shed". I've had a wonderful time experimenting with my new selection of papers. This morning I continued to prepare for the Bazaar at the "Q" Theatre this coming Saturday by making gift tags which I will package up.