Nearly there

Yes, I have only 4 more rows and the apple core quilt top is finished!!!!

The third year running

This is my Cattleya Orchid and it is the third year in a row that it has flowered. The first year I bought it was in flower and I had no hope of it ever flowering again as I thought they needed a hot house environment. Not so! Last year it had 5 flowers and it looked pretty clogged up in the pot. So I divided it and I thought I had killed it - but no, one is flowering at least and though the other plant doesn't look too flash it hasn't turned up its toes yet.

New York Subway fabric

How cute is this? I couldn't leave the City Quilter in New York with out some of this - I don't usually buy novelty type prints but this one was too good a souvenir!

Fabric - what else?

I didn't go crazy buying fabric when I was away. These are my additions and I promise you I could have filled a container with fabric but I was a good girl and kept it to a minimum.

These are fabrics from the US and England. I bought the lovely book on Chintz fabric at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Apple Core Quilt

My daughter has her first car, this has been a long time coming and she now has a little silver Holden Astra that she calls "Bertie''. The conversation went something like, 'Bertie needs a rug or something for her back seat' of course I then offered to make a smallish quilt for Bertie. I was organised enough to cut out all the pieces for the quilt when we went away but of course I did nothing whislt we were travelling. So I have tried to get a wriggle on over the last weeks since I arrived back. This is my progress so far. It is a bit wild but Bec chose the fabrics herself.

Steampunk!!!!

I had never heard of Steampunk before visiting the Kew Steam Pumping station. It is an interesting fusion of art, creativity and machine parts. I can't really say I understand it but it looks great. If you are interested you should google 'Steampunk' there is heaps of information about it on the web.

Kew Gardens

What can I say - how lovely is this?

Washington

Washington was hotter still than New York. There are lots of fabulous museums - the Smithsonian Museums are wonderful and the Spy Museum was lots of fun. However, the highlight for me was the baseball game!! I am a confirmed Washington Nationals fan now!!

Gettysburg

I was amazed by the Gettysburg Museum and the drive around the site of the Battle of Gettsyburg. It is still hard to imagine so many people killed by their own people.

USA - New York, New York

It was very, very hot whilst I was in New York. It didn't stop me from having the most wonderful time. It is a really fabulous city to experience! 'The words to the song that go 'New York, New York so good they named it twice' make so much more sense to me now. The last time I was in New York it was on 17 September 2001 so it was immediately after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. The place is a very different and much happier place now than in the week we were there in 2001.

Krakow was lovely

I went to Krakow and was stunned by the lovely city square and hospitable people. I would recommend visiting it to any one.

The main reason I went was to visit Krakow was to see Auschwitz-Birkenau, it was a mind shattering experience.

Steam Trains and more Steam Trains

One of the main reasons we went to England was to visit the'Bluebell Railway'in Surrey. My son, Tom, has a keen interest in steam trains. We visited many and rode on about 6. We also visited the Train Museum in York so a great time was had by all.

We saw Puffins at Lunga in the Inner Hebrides

Probably the absolute highlight of my trip - the trip to Lunga via Oban and the island of Iona to see the Puffins. This has been a lifelong ambition. My family were incredulous and just couldn't figure why I would want to travel to what seemed to be the end of the earth to see some weird looking birds. I am thrilled to say that my husband and son, who were with me could finally see why I wanted to do this. It was UNBELIEVABLE!!

Narrow Boats on the canals

We went on my cousin's narrow boat on the canal. Here is some of the idyllic scenery.

Summer in Northamptonshire

You can see for yourself how lovely it is in England in summer. These photos are in a couple of places in Northamptonshire, where some of my wonderful family lives. The sun doesn't set until nearly 11pm and it rises again at about 4am. This means lots of balmy evenings, how wonderful

I am back from warmer climes!!!

Yes, I have arrived home from the most wonderful holiday. I have had 6 weeks of warmth, and in some cases extreme heat! I thought I would share some of the lovely things I have seen and done. I did take 3 different lots of sewing with me but I didn't put needle to thread or fabric the whole time I was away. Slack I know! These are photos taken in my cousin's garden in the midlands in England. Notice the Aussie flag flying as a welcome!