Dawn and Dusk

What a delightful evening we had last night, despite the sulking weather.

Gallery Eight

Gallery Eight is part of a growing trend of art spaces proving to be popular around the Sydney art scene.  It was a chilly evening, but inside the atmosphere was warm and inviting.

   Half the crowd spilled out to the back room where there were copious supplies of this.

Sydney's elite art critics were very happy with all they surveyed, buoyed up with bribes of focaccia.

The Artist was justifiably pleased with the evening (please note how LIGHT it is outside - daylight savings is pure bliss).

Here are three of my favourite works.

For an explanation of Dawn and Dusk, please go here.  The exhibition continues until 27 October, so if you are in Sydney, do come and visit.

Busy times

It's the first week of October and already the busy season is beginning.  Tonight we Fudges are off to the big city for the opening of our daughter's exhibition.

The gallery is in the The Rocks district, an historic part of the city and a great tourist attraction.  So if you are venturing to Sydney this month, put this exhibition at the top of your must-see list.

However, if you are in Brisbane tomorrow, do yourself a favour and visit the BrisStyle Mother and Child Market.

I have participated in previous Mother and Child markets and can vouch that it's a day full of fun, activities and stacks of beautiful handmade goodies to tempt you.

With Christmas not far away, both these venues will provide you with plenty of gift opportunities.

The Seamstress II

I like her tenacity.  Unlike her grandmother The Great Procrastinator, the seamstress is keen to finish what she started.

Thread colours needed to be changed and to my amazement one reel was whipped out of the machine and the correct colour threaded without hesitation.  I mentally hugged myself.

To add durability to the windows, earlier in the day I attached some ribbon, which met with approval.

We drew some shapes to decorate the side wall, and in no time it was completed.

Our next project?  A pin cushion.

The Seamstress

We had our first sewing session today, my granddaughter and I.  And of course, it was no simple beginner project such as a pencil case or a pin cushion. This one looks at the grander scheme of things - a cubby house no less.

The day had been long in the planning, ever since her mother bought her a beautiful craft book with projects ranging from simple little tasks right up to the biggies - the cubby house.  She arrived bright eyed and full of anticipation, with her trusty craft book sitting snugly in her carry bag, along with a tin of jam butter biscuits she had made earlier.

We had such fun choosing oilcloth and fabric from my stash, and after much measuring and cutting out, it was time to get started on the machine.  (Special insert for her mother.  Please note the machine is turned OFF.)

In no time she had mastered the art of threading the machine and bobbin case, which after an initial demonstration she insisted on managing on her own. After a morning tea break of coffee (for the Fudges Senior), orange juice for the Seamstress and jam butter biscuits all round (yum), I was hurried back to the sewing room to work on the curtains for the house front windows.  We did manage to take a lunch break before working on the top and back of the house.

All too soon our daughter arrived to claim her own daughter.  I marvelled at her will power at not counting the Seamstress's fingers in front of us.

The work in progress now awaits her next visit.  She is six and full of enthusiasm.  Can it be that the tailor gene which runs through my family but skipped a generation is coming out in the next one?  I live in hope.

Ah, Spring

I had forgotten the joys of Spring in Sydney - warm one day, freezing, windy and wet the next.

Yesterday proved to be the latter.  However, in the city the crowds gravitated to the new Westfield Centre for comfort.  

One of the joys of returning to the city of our birth is re-discovering what had once been familiar ground.  My, how some things have changed.  Mr Fudge usually has the direction sense of a homing pigeon, but even he was defeated in this incredible maze with escalators shooting off in all directions.

So many shops to inspect.

So many eating places to sit and forget about the weather outside.

Our neighbourhood King Parrot would have felt right at home.

Mr Fudge's navigation system switched on after a delicious lunch and he steered us towards one of our favourite window shopping spots; David Jones Food Hall.  It's three months to Christmas, so we should have been prepared.

We decided to give the figs a miss.

Our main purpose for being in the city on such a miserable day was to take in a live show.  In the Mood was in town and it was a sell-out season.  Our daughter and son-in-law had bought tickets months back, but due to commitments they couldn't attend.  Would we be interested?  Oooo ... yes please!

It was a knock-out show, full of the music of our childhood, performed by a brilliant band and six incredible singers and dancers.  It was something of a novelty to look around and discover we were among the youngest in the audience.  And that's quite an achievement for us these days!

The day was not finished for us yet, as our son-in-law was celebrating his fortieth birthday at  the iconic Watson's Bay Hotel.  It was the perfect ending to the day, with both sides of the family there to help ease him into the new decade.  We discovered that his parents were also at the In the Mood matinee session - they have great taste.

Party Time

Sydney has turned on some spectacular early spring weather over the past couple of days, which brings the promise of a warm summer ahead.  With that in mind, I was inspired by a new shipment of fabric to make a party dress for the upcoming season.

Empire waist tiered dress available here or here

We are blessed with four gorgeous (of course!) granddaughters ranging in ages from three to six who possess magical twirling capabilities, and this dress fits the bill perfectly.

Lots of twirling possibilities

The one thing I was lamenting in our recent interstate move was the lack of bird life at my window. Yesterday I glanced up from my sewing machine and there on the balcony just a couple of feet away was this delightful lorikeet.

Who's a pretty boy?

Cute at any angle

I do hope he visits again and brings his friends with him.

Neighbours

We have been in our new home for a little while now, so we thought it was time to call in on the next-door neighbour.

It soon became obvious that we were not alone - the glorious Spring weather drew the crowds outdoors.















They even parked on the athletics field.  How rude.

Our next-door neighbour is the local girls' high school and they picked the most brilliant day to hold their annual fair.

There was a carnival atmosphere, with market stalls,




garden stalls,

lots of food to keep the hungry crowds satisfied,

and cool jazz.

We even bumped into the grandchildren.

The students' art exhibition was wonderful.

It's amazing what some people consider worth putting out with the trash.  I'm sure this adorable little fellow hasn't passed his use-by date.

The shade was appreciated by the visitors.

But the young folk preferred the rides.

All in all, not bad neighbours.