Celebrations 26 January

Happy Australia Day and Happy Chinese New Year - Year of the Ox
Here is my husband , Jim, resplendent in his Chinese coat (a traditional garment worn by dong ba, Chinese scholars from the Na xi ethnic Chinese group) and Brandon, our oldest grandson in his trendy Aussie T-shirt. We have quite a few family celebrations happening this week - all featuring lots of great food, of course. Our son and daughter and their families are both hosting parties this weekend, so there has even been cooking here in our kitchen. Brandon has been learning to take photos with my digital camera, and here is one of his images of Chinese New Year - he took many photos of food from various angles in various stages of preparation.

This week I have been trying to catch up with the work from the online class I am taking from the Thread Studio - I have been working so furiously that I broke one of the felting needles in the embellisher machine. The "underwater" sample (left) is not quite finished - a few beads and hand stitching - I really enjoyed making this piece . it's amazing what you can create from oddments of yarn and wool. The lessons are so easy to follow and so much fun! Lots more feltfollies too, waiting for faces!

Three creative friends this week ... Wendy Hawthorne (also "retired" from "Education") held a wonderful fashion show of her work - an open house with afternoon tea, champagne and of course her beautifully made clothes in exquisite fabrics. Wendy has started a business called Forgiving Fashions , Clothing for Women of Substance . Isn't it a great name? Wendy does beautiful work and is really making a name for herself for one of a kind fashions here in Newcastle. I am hoping to collaborate with Wendy later this year - I would love to make some felted accessories to complement her winter range of fantastic jackets and suits. Please contact me if you would like to see some of Wendy's work and I will put you in touch with her.

Bobbi Oliver from LamboArt completed her amazing sculpture ( plane and aviator ) called "Blue Skies Forever". Please check it out on her blog http://lamboart.blogspot.com/- it is truly an exceptional piece of work.

My walking companion and friend, June, who sometimes finds it hard to understand my passion for the creative arts, with her daughter Julia, spent the afternoon on Thursday at my place making silver jewellery (Precious Metal Clay). They both achieved really good results for their first time working with silver - such beautiful, well -designed pendants and earring sets.

Julia's pendant and earrings ( above)

June's pendant and earrings