Everything old is new again

I guess it's true that every cloud has a silver lining.  Our cloud came in the form of not being permitted to hang any of our pictures on the walls of the unit where we spent the last three years.  The silver lining is that there are no such restrictions in our new home.  All our paintings and pictures as a result were sulking in a storage cage in the basement of the building.  I'll spare you the dramas of reducing the huge pile of possessions which were sharing the space with the paintings, suffice to say we somehow successfully reduced it to what would fit into our actual unit.  With no storage cage in our new home, life is so much simpler.  Another silver lining.

We are waiting for a professional picture hanger to take care of the larger pictures, but in the meantime we figured we could look after some of the smaller works on our own.  The walls are solid brick with no gyprock to hammer picture hooks into, so we bought some of those adhesive ones which guarantee they will hold certain weights.  We'll see.

First picture up was one of our daughter Maz Dixon's works, naturally.  So far it hasn't fallen down and it's been up an hour already (that should get her heart racing).

These two works have always hung in our bedroom and it's like Christmas all over to see them back where they belong.  Mary Cassatt has long been an artist I admire and her picture, Child in a Straw Hat, is my favourite.  These two have also been up for an hour without falling down, but I'm not silly enough to have either one hanging over my head when I'm in bed.

Even having a calendar up on the wall is exciting, and looking at Margaret Olley works every day is not hard on the eyes.

Now for a confession.  We have quite a few paintings and pictures.  They have to go somewhere while we decide which ones are going up where and which ones will have to sadly part company with us.

And where else would you store them but in the guest bathroom?

It's the perfect conversation starter and as long as our guests don't take a shower, we'll be fine.

The Christmas break was a good time step back from sewing, but pretty soon I was ready for the new year.  The grandchildren needed beach bags for their holiday away with their parents so after consultation with their mother, this design was chosen, as it also has lots of pockets inside to carry those seaside treasures such as shells, dead crabs or whatever it is that children fancy today.  

Our quilting group met this week for the first time since the Christmas break and what a show and tell one of members had.  A relative had survived World War I only to be murdered in the Middle East in 1920 while on active duty.  Her cousin in England was a direct descendant and had ordered two poppies to be placed at The Tower, one for himself and the other for my quilting friend.  It arrived with some of the soil still attached and it was such a thrill to see one of these famous poppies close up.   

Some time back I had purchased a pattern by Amelie and Henri.  I am a great admirer of the designer Kerri and this pretty dress was waiting for some spare time to be made up.  It is so 1920s with its drop waistline, lace and pleats, not to mention the big bow. 

I came across the perfect black and white fabrics last week and decided it would be my first Hot Fudge item for 2015.  Australian buyers can also find it here.

So as you can see, everything old is new again.