Hmmm...

... once again I have decided to take an indefinete spell from blogging... I am reluctant to delete 'beyond the blank page' - however I think a blog that is not attended to on a regular basis is like a house which is not lived in - empty and a little sad... But until I decide what to do with 'beyond....' it shall remain 'open'...

I am not sure why I don't blog now- I guess my reasons aren't too different from other people... I cannot decide whether I have 'outgrown' my blog in its current form and I need to 'revamp' or I have lost enthusiasm in blogging - for the most part I believe it is that I lack the all important element of time... At the moment my life consists of work (exhausting) and home - plus of late an elderly father who now needs more attention and assistance... The most involvement which I have is to quickly read a favorite few blogs and keep on going -I don't even log in to my own as I rarely have time to comment... The weekends just fly by taking along with it my list of good intentions - I now have to make decisions to how best I spend my free time and unfortunately blogging seems to lose everytime...

A couple of weekend ago I did a lino printing workshop and was fortunate enough to meet V - this meeting was a delightful by-product of my blogging - meeting one of my favorite blogger authors... I did enjoy our meeting V and I will honour that 'coffee morning' soon...

To those of you who have read my page thankyou for doing so and take care - to those of you who I see face to face I hope to keep doing so but please have patience with me - I haven't forgotten you...

Another colourway...

...of the same design... I am slowly getting the hang of the PhotoShop program - well, little ity bits of it! It is amazing how different colours can completely alter the look and feel of something... I think I must have been in a dragon mode when I coloured this one - even though he is a seahorse - this one has quite definite dragon energy...

WIP...

Today I was very restless I think mostly because of the events over the last 24 hours (see previous post)... Today we went to visit M and D to see how they both were - both were wearing brave faces and it made me sad to see them so sad... What can one say when to someone when they have lost something which they have loved and cherished...

After stitching the seahorse for H in the CQRRO6 I have been involved in I have been thinking about other ways I could reproduce it... As I am contemplating taking part in a lino printing workshop and I thought I could use the seahorse image again... So for an hour and a half this afternoon I drew - I had a a couple of pictures for reference but I was determined to make an original drawing for the printing process... I am mostly happy with the above result and see that with a little more fiddling I could start the next part of the process...

E suggested I have a go at colouring it in photoshop ( steep learning curve here!!!!) but again it gave me a sense of what it might look like if I used it as another medium... I hope to have a go at colouring the prints to some degree - but we will see... I was also thinking about printing it onto fabric and then embellising it in some way - perhaps an underwater CQ block... Why do I get these inspirations on Sunday night????

On a lighter note P has just 'wrestled' the first huntsman spider for the year out the door... Why do they persist in getting so high up on the wall...

Yuki

YUKI 1998-2007

Yuki was my son-in-law's cat... She had made many moves and had many changes throughout her life which included accepting my daughter M into she and D's life... Yuki's personality was as large and as vibrant as her purr and although she watched from afar - didn't miss a thing...

Unfortunately in the latter part of last year she was diagnosed with cancer and she underwent intensive chemotherapy... During this last week it was evident that she was having difficulty breathing - more tests yesterday revealed that she had developed fluid on her lungs and that the cancer had spread - there was little which could be done...

This afternoon she passed away at her home surrounded by those she loved and who loved her ...

RIP little lady..

The long, dry summer...

The heat is continual and exhausting down here in Melbourne everyone waiting for that magical cool change... Another sleepless night ahead - P, E and I went for a drive down to the beach after I finished work last night... I couldn't believe how much cooler it was - I stood in the shallows and it was just delicious... My desire to live by the water renewed...

Between the heat, the harsher water (Stage 3) restrictions and the noise from construction (that should read, re designing, re locating) work being carried out on the local intesection and railway station (24 hours a day) for the next five weeks, the invasion of ants and cockroashes I could be certifiable - still on thinking about it - just the perfect place to catch up on some crazy quilting...

It is...

3.07 am and I am still awake... It is still very warm and the promise of another sweltering day ahead... Thank goodness I am on the late shift at work so I may have the luxury of a sleep in when I finally get to sleep...

Hey there Doll face...

Just to show progress... I have added a little more embroidery to the trouser section... And of course I have made a start to develop the face... At the moment she seems to have rather a startled look but I hope to soften it with a little more play... I want to add more shaded definition but think I shall wait until I have assembled her... I have hand stitched her features as I wanted to achieve a 'folksey' handmade feel... I am not sure about the stitching around her headscarf - my intention was to go back and add french knots above the blanket stitch... I also want to somehow alter the line of her scarf to break that solid line - either that or add something to the points of the 'pinked' line - perhaps beads might do it... Buttons or stitching to her shoes should complte that She also has another arm and hopefully next weekend will see the whole thing coming together...

Before I forget - Happy New Year to you all... May it be a safe and prosperous one for each and every one...