Japan Neck purse

Hi All
Just a quick hello ... here is a pic of the Japan neck purse and earrings which I made last year - it was supposed to be an ATC but got converted to the purse front instead! hehe ..... I am madly working on my Wild Women brooches and have completed 2 but can't put the pic on here for a day or so as they are Birthday pressies and I haven't given them to my friend's yet....
This Friday is my baby boy's Year 12 School ball ...we have to go and collect the hire suit on Thursday after school ...I will be sure to take lots of picures and will no doubt pop one on here... it will be really wierd in November when he leaves school (the Aussie school year is February - December though the year 12's leave after exams in November - summer holidays is over Xmas/ January here when the weather is at it's hottest) as I will no longer have to do teh 10kms drive to school each morning then again in the afternoon... a whole 2 1/2 hours a week yay! - more studio time whoopie!!!)

Embroidered handbag

Hi All - I have been really busy the past week or so - getting ready for the Wire Lace workshop which I am teaching in 3 weeks time - also I have started working on this year's painted bobbin stock as well as a few large orders which I have "going through" at the moment. Never enough hours in the day is there?
I was a bit miffed (Putting it politely!!!) last Sunday when I discovered that my "Ott-Lite" True Colour Task lamp which I have had 2 1/2 to 3 years suddenly died last Sunday! The bulb is s'posed to last 10,000 hours ...mine will have done around 5,000 at a push! so I have been attempting to track down a replacement bulb - TALK ABOUT HEN's Teeth - you know ...RARE! Here in West Aus I can't find anywhere that stocks it ...the shop at which I bought it still sells them but not the replacement bulbs!!! as does another local large craft shop but they too don't sell the bulbs.... I have found 2 outlets ...an Embroidery/quilting shop right over the other side of the country in Queensland and a Scrap book place also over in Queensland!!! The bulbs cost AU$30-34 plus $9 postage ..... I have decided to get a completely new lamp from "the internet" a place over East Aus (I think in New South Wales) but it is a similar lamp (Aussie company rather than the USA Ott-Lite) and for AU$85 I can get the lamp with an additional replacement bulb and that price includes the postage!!! ... what a bargain! ...I am amazed though that these shops sell the lamps but not new bulbs for them ...sheesh! crazy!
Ok... now stepping off "soap box"!!!! hehe!
I was given 2 new "Wild Women Brooches today ... at my Embroidery Group (Stitchety Grubs) we are all making them for each other's Birthdays this year ...and as we usually meet 2 weekly this is the last meeting before my April B'day! I will take a photo of them over this weekend and post them on this blog. They are sooo cool hehe!
The pics here are of an embroidered Handbag which I did a few years ago ...and forgot I had it ...it was buried in my wardrobe!!!
Tomorrow it is the West Aus Lace Guild Lace Day and I am looking forward to catching up with some friends whom I haven't seen since the Cattern's Day meeting last November - (Cattern's Day is really "St Catherine's Day" she was the patron Saint of Lace makers - it is Nov 25th) so It's been 4 months! Oh and Thank you to those of you who were kind enough to leave a comment ... I do so love getting them ..... and I will be giving away a Wild Women Brooch which I mentioned in the previous post soon ... it is 3/4 done ... so stay tuned.....

Dolphin painting

Hello hello All - I have been without a computer for the last 5 days .... so a bit lax with the blogging! I have received 6 new ATC's in the last week and a half and will take pics of them in the next day or so for you to see... they are bewdiful hehe!
Also I will be doing a giveaway shortly as I see today (now I have this computer back) that I have "clocked up" 5003 visitors to my blog and also it will be 3 years in April since I started blogging ...so in celebration I will have a giveaway "Wild Woman Brooch" - so stay tuned.... I am making quite a few Wild Women brooches at the moment as my friends and I at my embroidery group and I are giving them to each other for our Birthdays this year and I am also making them for friends who I will be seeing on my travels - the Adelaide wire workshop which I am teaching in 4 weeks time and also the 6 week UK trip that I am going on at the end of July ..... nice light weight gifts to pop in the suitcase! The dolphin picture here I did in early December for a friend of mine to give to a young lass whom she looks after ...for Xmas ... so just to prove that I do paint on a large scale once in a blue moon and not always the tiny 17mm wide images I paint on Lace Bobbins! hehe!

The other 2 Wild Women Brooches

Here are the 2 other Wild Women Brooches which I received in the swap last September - The first one is called "Kinky Kamiko" she is beautiful and the more you look the more detail there is... her hair is wool and very effective and there are beads all down her "lapels" and also along the hem of her kimono and on her "hair piece". The other brooch is from a lady in UK (She is in the same group as the purply one at the top in my previous post dated 26th Feb 2009) - I love and wear them all :-D
I had an absolute ball at the Free Embroidery Worshop 1st Day last Friday ... a bit warm (33°c and only ocelating fans there) but I didn't have time to worry about it as we spent the morning doing sun dyeing and the afternoon preparing for Dispersal dyeing ... part 2 of the dispersal dyeing will be on Friday April 3rd ... I did remember to take a few pics and will get on and load them on this computer later in the week so that I can show you all..... I also must remember to take a pic of the 2 ATC's which I received last week ... one from Beryl in the UK -she was the winner of my neck purse in the "One World- One Heart" giveaway and it was sent in the most gorgeous card which I must take a pic of too.... the other ATC was from my friend Mary ... a fantastic needle lace one ..... stay tuned for the pics....

The Completed Wall Panel

Hi All - Here are some pics of my wall panel which I made last November/December.... you will remember seeing the first photo which shows the middle panel sewn together and ready for me to start embellishing ... after 6 intense weeks it was ready and hung on the wall on December 17th at 8.40 pm ...3 hours before my Sister-in-Law and her family arrived in from UK via New Zealand! talk about a tight deadline hahahaha!
The wooden hanger I found at a craft gallery/cafe in the Swan Valley here in Perth ... I am really pleased with it ... and it has been much admired (usually by me each night as it's right above the TV!!!)
It is my first day of the Machine Embroidery course tomorrow ... I have popped my camera in with my sruff and hope to be able to take pics..... more on that in the next post....

More pics of my Wall Panel