The best so far

Friend Pammy has outdone herself with this video.  Just love it.  Being able to see the details in these quilts is something else.  And if you would like to see it on a larger screen just follow the link.

Friday

Why is this Friday different from any other?  My new iPad arrived today.  Now I have to learn how to drive it!!

  



 

   I should have mentioned that the woman in yesterdays painting was Karin Larsson, the wife of Carl Larsson.  She was an artist in her own right but as her family grew to 8 children she turned her talents to decorating a most wonderful home.  Many of the goods that we see today in Ikea are inspired by her design.

I look at their hand painted designs and think of the equally lovely ones I saw on Sally Mavor's blog.

Then there is that splashback that Sarah Flieke painted.  Down through the years the urge to decorate our nests rolls on.

Next years travels

I have started planning for my travels next year.  I have a whole list of places I want to visit.  How many I can afford is another consideration, but I am starting to compile a folio of places to put onto my list. 

Top of my list is Carl Larsson's house and garden in Sweden.  I am a great fan of his art and to see where he lived and worked would be exciting.  There are some wonderful images on the web page and they only wet my appetite to see the place.  So this is number one.  Come to think of it there are quite a few places in Scandinavia I want to visit.

This is one of my favourite painting of Larsson.  Look at that loom in the background and don't you love the concentration of the stitcher.  Just perfect.

Reforms in Education

My days seem to be taken up with rewriting curriculum documents to fit new models.  Trying to in-service    my staff to be able to implement the changes and generally seem to not be making a lot of headway.  And then today I received a new TED talk from Sir Ken Robinson that was so thought provoking.  The conversations that it has sparked around the world are amazing.  I hope it informs the changes we are going to implement.

 

On with the list.

I can see some things I am working on nearing completion, I think.  I add the I think bit because we have hit the last part of the semester and all those exams and assignments have to be marked.  On top of that I have to get next semesters work underway.

Another exhibition that I saw at the gallery was 'An anthology of hats' curated by Stephen Jones.  No photos allowed in this one although it was a free entry.  I found it a lot more interesting than I had at first thought.  Almost made you want to go out and start wearing a hat again.  I loved the little ones in the hats they made in the workshop.  No one was carrying these hats they were all on their heads and worn with such style.

 

A bit of progress

Well I can now say 'I have finished that'.  I got my challenge done for the week and posted.  Then, I finished a mini quilt  that I was making for a swap, so that will be on it's way tomorrow as well.

We spent the day driving our visitors around the countryside, (I fell asleep in the back seat of the car for most of the trip.)  We stopped for brunch at the Elm Haus at Mount Glorious and sat by the fire, very enjoyable.

They had lots of odds and ends in the cafe, more odds than ends me thinks!

And I'm glad there was only the skull of this croc and not the real thing.

My sister and brother in law will leave in the morning so life should return to a more normal routine.

Catching up with life

I have been out of action for a few days after hurting my neck.  Life went on without me and now I have to catch up with my part in life.  I don't seem to get anything finished.  I have about 8 project in various stages of completion but non to the point where I can say "I've finished that now."

My sister and brother in law are visiting from interstate so I have to be social.  Dinner for 12 tomorrow night looms closer along with all the goes with that.  And, I have all these other projects I would like to start.

Whilst at the art gallery last week I sat in the courtyard and took pictures of the children playing.  I have quite a collection of shots that I want to turn into embroideries at some point.  This little boy was so busy.  He lost his thong and the concentration needed to get it back on again.

Then he was so taken with a leaf in the water.  It reminded me of something that I had read by Virgina Woolf.

       Don’t you remember, in early childhood,

       when, in play or talk,

       as one stepped across the puddle or reached the

       window on the landing,

       some imperceptible shock froze the universe to a

       solid ball of crystal which one held for a moment…

GoMA

The main reason for visiting the gallery yesterday was to see the Ron Mueck exhibition.  I had now idea there would be so many people there.  The line for tickets stretched out the door and away.  This was one day I was glad that I am a gallery member, just straight in.

I have seen Ron Mueck's work before but it never stops to make me pause.  Some of his pieces are huge, like this new born baby.

And some are quiet small like this old lady asleep.

There are many naked bodies that are confronting but it is the small things that draw the eye.  Like a blemish on the back or the wrinkles on an elbow.

I think these two old ladies talking are my favourites.  They only stand about 1.5 metres tall or even a bit shorter but the expressions on their faces say it all.  His work is really a kind of poetry.

A day at the art gallery

I haven't been to the Art Gallery for a while so decided that I would visit today.  I think all of Brisbane was there today.  There is an exhibition of Hats on in the main gallery.  I didn't even try to go in there were so many people.

 

There were groups of women all dressed in marvelous hats who had come as groups to see this exhibition.  I think my favourite were the red hat ladies.   I'm going to go back on a weekday to miss the crowds so that I can really look at the exhibition.

(This weeks challenge is up as well.)

Last minute gifts

I have a breakfast tomorrow morning with friends and was asked ages ago to bring a small gift.  You know what happened, I left it to the last moment and have been sewing up a storm to get something to take.  These little bags are just the right size for a point and shoot camera.  Problem is I don't know which to keep and which to give away.