Melbourne and AQC

We enjoyed a lovely weekend in Melbourne. We went mostly to go to the AQC but enjoyed some good meals and lots of laughs. The highlight was our visit to the beautiful exhibition building for AQC.

 So lovely to see so many wonderful shops under one beautiful roof. Always love Anni and Pete's gorgeous stand.

  It was great to see Helen too and to see the whole Stitch Therapy quilt!

 The Bebe Bold stall was a delight too.

Thought I had best share some lemon tart.....there are very good ones in Melbourne.

 On Saturday, I was very spoilt for my birthday as the girls took me to St Kilda Pier for brunch.

I was also given this wonderful bag. It is so special and made with William Morris fabric.

 After  all that breakfast we still couldn't resist a cake in Acland St.

I will share the quilts and shopping next time.

Gifts .....

It was my birthday last week! Getting very old but lucky to be healthy and able to enjoy lots of good things in life. I was spoilt with cakes! My study group had one for my on Thursday and Amy and the  boys made me one in the afternoon. I then had morning tea as well on Saturday morning with the family. Didn't get many photos taken but have lovely memories.

 I also caught up with Fiona on Monday for lunch and that was very special too. She gave me these beautiful scissors and a liberty hanky too.

She had also given me this amazing book and purse from her amazing trip to the Tokyo quilt show.

 I also received this beautiful necklace, shoe bag and card from Paddy.

 I have packed some shoes into my new shoe bag as tomorrow I am off to Melbourne with some friends for the AQC. Can't wait.

Progressing...

It is fun to stitch the Stitch Therapy blocks each day. Here are my latest blocks.

 I have also managed to complete the borders and put the Here, There and Everywhere quilt together. It just needs the small outer border. This quilt has been a real pleasure to stitch.

 I also added 2 extra maps. They take forever to stitch but are worth the effort.

Stitching....

There has been a little progress on my Stitch Therapy 365. I am keeping up with one a day at the moment. Here are a few recent ones.

 In the sewing room, I have been making more blocks for the Here, There and Everywhere quilt. I am up to the last border. I also found time to finally block this scarf that I finished a while ago. Blocking makes such a difference.

 So nice to see the Wednesday girls have been busy. Jayne and Roni went to a class at Addicted to Fabric with Lisa Mattock. Here are their gorgeous creations.

 Roni had also made these fabulous bunnies and decorations!

Weekend away

It was lovely at the coast this weekend. The study group I attend goes away every year for a weekend retreat. It is great fun with good food, plenty of relaxing reading, stitching or doing puzzles and walks and swims for the energetic ones! There is a fair bit if chatting too. We began our long weekend with lunch at Batemans Bay!

I did enjoy some lovely stitching time and did a couple of my Stitch Therapy blocks. Here are the ones I have completed lately.

Art and music

We had a wonderful day out on Tuesday. First we went to the Art Gallery to see the Love and Desire Exhibition. It was amazing and so well worth the visit.

 It was very special to see some William Morris works, both fabric and gorgeous printing that was made by his famous company.

 This is William Morris's only easel painting.

 Lovely to see Michele Hill's beautiful book in the Gallery shop.

We then had a quick lunch at the Portrait Gallery and Ma and I headed to the Seniors concert at Albert Hall. It was wonderful!