Childers Trip - ANZAC Weekend

 Mango Orchard and chook shed - view from the deck
We headed north for the 3 day ANZAC weekend and visited my cousin and her husband who live just outside of Childers on a sugar cane farm (and other things).  It is about a 4 hour drive from where we live.
'We' is my darling sister (younger by 3 years) and her husband.  Unfortunately due to a death in my husband's family he wasn't able to go.  
We had a fabulous time and got spoiled rotten by our cousin.  She fed us copious amounts of good home cooking, and some of the produce coming straight from their farm.  



Red Claw Crayfish - before

Red Claw Crayfish - After













If you haven't tried Red Claw yet - do yourself a favour!  It is so delicious and my cousin and her husband farm these right on their property.  YUMMY>

 Banana plantation














A whole bunch of em

Yes they had some bananas.  We brought a few of these home with us plus some avocados. 

Childers and surrounding area is a great place to visit and we look forward heading up that way again soon. (Got to lose some weight first!!!!) LOL

Crafty Card and Vintage goodness

 
A friend was after batiks for her birthday so I got some from fabric.com.  There is also a khaki type colour fabric under this red one and it is really cool because it goes from very very light to quite dark.  They are so nice and now I would like to start getting a few of the same for my stash.
I made her a little co-ordinating card.  It is the size of an ATC and is made from off cuts from a book cover I made with scraps and bits and pieces a little while ago.  The buttons are all small orange coloured ones and I used the same organza ribbon and just ruched it as I sewed it on.  The fabric piece was sewn onto recycled card with a zigzag stitch around the edge.  She loved it.






This is a vintage throw my Aunty used on the weekend on our picnic (the flies were very bad).  It was crocheted by her late sister.  Isn't it cute?  It served its purpose too.  

I Love Autumn

 

In my opinion, there is no better time in Toowoomba than the month of April.  I so love Autumn and today is one of those perfect Autumn days.  Clear sunny sky with a slight nippy breeze.  Perfect for getting out into the garden, so that is what I did for a short time.  Dead headed the roses and took a photo of this wonderful deep red dahlia that never disappoints and always springs up year after year.It is a much darker deep red than what this picture shows.

Last year I did this small quilt for an Autumn Challenge my quilt group was having.  It shows the birds watching their arboreal homes change colours.  I used a few techniques in this one - crazy patchwork of scraps, hand applique and lots and lots of hand quilting done with DMC floss and in about 1/4 inch channels.  It was fun to make and I love those challenges.  They make you think outside the square.