A very different Birthday Gift

When I awoke Wednesday morning I didn't think that I would end up in Sydney, or even climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It was my 40th Birthday this year (on the 4th), a significant one .. My hubby gave me a present, it was a frame and a picture inside it that my daughter drew. It was of me on the Harbour Bridge. What the? I was to be whisked away to Sydney to do the Bridge Climb at dusk followed by dinner a swish restaurant.

The easiest bit of the climb is the Bridge bit. The hardest is going up the step ladders and ducking underneath and around the bowels of the Bridge. But once you are on the Bridge, it is relatively easy and whatever fear you had is washed away with the beauty of the view.

Bridge Climb run a slick operation, with some training of the equipment before you make it onto the Bridge itself. There are a lot of checks and balances along the way and people to help you out at the difficult bits of the climb. All up it takes about 3 hours including changing, training and collecting your photo's afterwards.

What an adventure! I am back in Melbourne to pack my house up so that I can move Friday week. Lots of boxes to pack, but I am looking forward to my sewing room.

Lunch Bag with Pear Applique

We had a three year old Birthday party today and I decided to make a fruit bag for the birthday girl. But it arrived with books in it.

In my mind, it could be used when going shopping with Mum. A small bag, but still hardy enough to be thrown around and if it gets all yucky, it can be thrown into the wash.

The pear on the front was using the application method that I am using for the Hottie Challenge, Freeze paper designed and then transfered over onto fabric.

Thirty Nine

Another year gone past so fast in a blink of an eye and I find myself celebrating another birthday knowing that next year it will be the big "four-ohhh".

Tori giving Nicholas a bath

I spent my day today with my family doing basically nothing.

No stress, no commitments, although we did end up at a friend's place in the afternoon for coffee which then turned into take-out Indian.

Amoungst my Birthday stash was a few books, "The Creative Family" and the Sarah Fieke "Quilting from little things". Both should keep me entertained for a while.

One year older

Over the Easter break I celebrated my birthday, one year closer to 40 ... so for my birthday, I got to choose what I wanted to do. I had wanted to go to the Daylesford handmade market for ages, so the decision was easy! There was also a whole heap of Melbourne people at the market, so many excuses to go!

So we spent most of the day up at Daylesford, went to the Makers Market and zipped in and out of the patchwork shops and various antique bazaar's that Daylesford has to offer. Tori got to taste her very first strawberry milkshake.

On the Sunday I got lots of lovely things for my birthday. From a great collection of books ..

some fabric and some some new crochet hooks from Mum and Dad.

My hubby even got me some fabric from one of my favourite Melbourne textile designers, Shannon Lamden aka Aunty Cookie.

I have to restrain myself from going into my sewing room and playing around with fabric and blocks from Japanese Quilt Blocks by Susan Briscoe, that the lovely Beky gave me over lunch last week.

I love the way that she has broken down the construction of the blocks into a visual diagram. I am definitely a visual learner.

I am generally not one for navy .. but indigo I like! I am going to have to hunt up some nice indigo fabric for some Japanese blocking and some Sashiko embroidery samples.

Isn't this quilt just gorgeous?