One should always be appropriately dressed when teaching! It's New Years Eve, how did that happen?  It is a great time to look back over the past year and think of friends you have met, places you have been and the wonderful things you have seen. 2015 was a busy year with 2 trip to the Antipodes, 3 trips to Ireland - 2016 will be even more bonkers . . . A sign on the wall of the World of Wearable Art exhibition in Auckland. I have met a lot of you at the various shows that I do throughout the year, both for myself and for Vilene. We have wonderful chats and discussions about all manner of things as well as textiles, and of course, chocolate!  One of the main topics seems to be how lucky I am. Until the middle of this year, I had never really though about it - I always say Yes! I am. A good friend of mine who also works on the stand with me, pointed out with great emphasis, that I am not 'lucky'. I have made the decisions and choices that have brough

   The beach at Ocean Grove. On Good Friday Gillian and Tony took me down to Ocean Grove Beach and their family beach house. They had arranged a barbecue for the whole family. I was made very welcome and we had a wonderful feast - after that we went for a walk down to the beach. It is an amazing beach, even on a dark afternoon.   The magpies down here are very beautiful with very striking markings - this magpie posed for me on the sign for the beach. They have the most wonderful warbley song A surfer braving the waves   Tony and Pepper striding out.  Although it was a dark day the beach was very beautiful. x I am now in Ballarat - all the tutors have arrived and we have set up our rooms ready for teaching. The students will be arriving this afternoon and we will have a short session with them this afternoon then there will be a market where we can all sell our wares - I will be selling my brooches. We start teac

Beach beauties Well I have finished my first teaching session - a 2 day workshop for the Embroiderers Guild, Victoria - Geelong Branch. We had great fun and got a lot of work done. The group were very helpful and so organised - they were a joy to work with. Geelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria after Melbourne and is an hours drive from Melbourne. These bollards are a feature of the Eastern beach and are quite wonderful. There are over 100 in several groups depicting various aspects of Geelong life and many local dignitaries. for more images go to bollards  All the yachts lined up at the yacht club    The beautiful old seafarers mission is now a restaurant   x We had a fast paced workshop, I wanted to makes sure I showed as many of my techniques as possible - I am not here often!!!! The ladies coped well - even when I announced we would have exercises after lunch - they were game bunch. We worked through Tyvek, painted Bondawe

"Living Water , an exhibition showcasing 107 contemporary Indigenous paintings by 94 artists from the Felton Bequest Gift, displays works by male and female artists from the Far Western Desert, an area stretching across parts of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.  Aboriginal people from across the Western Desert use the term ‘living water’ to describe water sources, including rock holes and soakage waters that are fed by underground springs. The path of these springs was created by the ancestral beings of the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) as they themselves journeyed underground, their entry into the earth often marking the site of current day water sources. ‘Living water’ is revered also because it does not seem to be affected by the harsh conditions above the ground that the people themselves have to endure." from the NGV website - it is a fascinating read if you have time. NGV website   Wandering around this beautifully hun