Coming Home

My husband sat nearby as I stitched down the last of the Wildwood quilt binding by hand. He couldn't help but notice how much I was enjoying the process. He said it gives him great pleasure to watch me sewing. 

'I feel like I've come home' I replied. 

Working with soft, clean organic cotton fabric fills me with a sense of great contentment which is hard to explain. I've been creating with needle and thread in one form or another since I was three years old, it is just part of who I am. Having recently discovered more about conventional cotton production as well as my own sensitivity to chemicals, I am all the more grateful to embrace organic cotton. I can buy, wash, cut, press, sew and use organic cotton with a deep peace of mind and body - like it's where I belong.

Completed on Boxing Day, I was waiting for some quilt labels before sharing this finish. The labels arrived early this week, a little mark of craftsmanship to accompany each new quilt as it prepares to head off into the world.

More Beautiful.....

                                                                                                                            Available for purchase here

Today's favourite photo of my Anemone Poppy which seems to grow even more beautiful each day, if that's possible.


PHOTOGRAPHY NOTE: Canon 600D, 50mm 1.4 lens with Raynox macro conversion lens. Aperture priority f 7.1 (ISO1000, 1/80), handheld. This flower is growing outside in a pot, taken in my shadow.


Sharing at Macro Monday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Aussie Wordless Wednesday, This or That Thursday,
Flower Art Friday (voted equal second place), Shoot. Edit. Submit, Weekend Flowers (voted equal second place), Weekly Top Shot, Your Sunday Best.

Pleasantly Mistaken

                                                                                         1.                                                           Available for purchase

Gazing in wonder this week at the multitude of photos I've taken of this one flower.....

2.

Remember this bud from last week which I named Ranunculi? When it opened a few days later it revealed its true identity as an Anemone Poppy!!!!

3.

4.

5.

Look at that centre, isn't it just stunning!

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Is it any wonder I've been fascinated by its beauty?

7.

Late each afternoon the flower petals gently close, as if protecting the magnificent centre-piece. The photo above taken around 9am the following morning, the one below less than two hours later.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Today is the third day since it first opened, it seems to spread wider open each day, maybe the gorgeous pink filament arms are a little longer too (comparing this one to photo #1 at the top), sheltered again each evening  by perfectly pink petals. I am so enjoying this beautiful flower, another first for me. Quite happy to have been mistaken, I wonder if any of my real ranunculi will show themselves and flower?

NOTE: The Anemone Poppy, Anemone Coronaria, is also known as Wind Poppy and belongs to the Ranunulaceae family. It is native to the Mediterranean area.

PHOTOGRAPHY NOTE: Each macro here taken using my fixed-lens Lumix superzoom with a Raynox macro conversion lens attached.


Sharing at Flower Art Friday, Shoot. Edit. Submit - first photo (chosen as Weekly Winner), Sneak Peek Friday, Weekly Top Shot, Your Sunday Best,
I Heart Macro.

Morning Gold

                                                                                                                              Available for purchase here

This morning I took a rare opportunity to go beyond my own backyard during the very early morning.

                                                                                                                         Available for purchase here

The jacarandas are slowly turning golden in preparation for a spring of purple blossoms. The misty fog was gently lifting from the river.

                                                                                                                     Available for purchase here

While capturing the fog I noticed a spot of bright yellow.

                                                                                                                           Available for purchase here

A lone winter sunflower stood "tall" along the river's grassy verge.

                                                                                                                              Available for purchase here

The morning's golden hour gave way to a beautiful day which later overflowed with more challenges and blessings than anticipated. We have to take those golden opportunities whenever we can for one never knows what's ahead.


Sharing at Our World Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, SkyWatch Friday.

Open Hearts

"The world loves performance,

Jesus loves people -

just the way they are.

The world needs more people who are trusting and believing,

with a belief which is impacting -

intentional believing."

Words spoken by our gentle Pastor today as he shared more of John 3:16.

The daisies in our garden stretch towards the sunshine, as if with open hearts.

Photo available for purchase here as a card or print.

Sharing at Macro Monday.

Delightful Days

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I love watching for signs of spring and feeling the warmth in the air. Our winters are relatively mild yet spring still holds special treats and a sense of all things new and fresh again. The older I become the more I savour each season, enjoying the delights unique to each passing one.

 Our first lavender flower for the season is adding it's wonderful bright purple to the garden.

Yesterday Miss N (14) treated us to a new recipe for lunch, a delicious Layered Ham and Cheese Pie. Very tasty!

Sharing at  Studio JRU: Color Your World- Purple, This or That Thursday, Flower Art Friday (first photo, voted 4th place).

The Light

                                                                                                                          Available for purchase here

"We can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;

the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

                                                                                    Plato

"I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life."

                                                                   Jesus (John 8:12b)

The second generation of my Mother's Day gerber/gerbera flowers are opening, stretching in this morning's early light.


Sharing at Weekly Top Shot, I Heart Macro, Flowers on Saturday, Your Sunday Best, Macro Monday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Flower Art Friday (voted second place), Shoot. Edit. Submit, Tina's Weekend Flowers.

Almost Home

                                                                                                                                Available for purchase here

There's no place like home, but sometimes defining "home" is not easy. Saturday I travelled quite some distance for our second family reunion. Actually it was a reunion for three extended families who mostly grew up in the same area, with marriages inevitably forging life long links.


The village of Nimbin was the location of the reunion as it was the closest settlement for these farming families who grew and flourished north east of Nimbin in the glorious foothills of what is now the Border Ranges National Park. The picturesque little village of Nimbin was the site of the 1973 Aquarius Festival which has brought dramatic and lasting attention and changes to this quiet rural area.


A few minutes from Nimbin I stopped to take photos of the familiar Nimbin Rocks which are rhyolite extrusions left from the ancient Mt Warning Tweed Volcano. Early settlers named the three most prominent rocks as Thimble, Needle and Cathedral.

This one is the Cathedral, it reminds me of a huge pipe organ.

More impressive the closer you come/zoom. These rocks are very significant to the local indigenous people, Bunjalung Aborigines, although as far as I know there have been no locally living Aborigines in living history - I have never met or heard of one.

                                                                                                                    Available for purchase here

Heading back to the car this breezy autumn day I spotted a strange structure on the hill across the road....

The camera helps reveal an unusual tipi construction, its function I can only guess at.

Before the arrival of white settlers 130 years ago, most of this area was covered with thick rainforest.

The family reunion was wonderful, providing a chance to catch up with many known relatives as well as others who were maybe distantly related, having some ancestors and geography in common. Some I see regularly, others I hadn't seen for decades while many I had only heard of.

A cake was cut by the eldest, youngest (watched carefully by her grandmother) and the one who had travelled furtherest (over 1600km/1000miles) to attend. 


To be continued.......


Sharing at Your Sunday Best.

Pleased to Report

Within a week of ordering my first RedBubble cards, they have arrived and I'm delighted with the quality.
Both the 6"x4" cards and the very generous 5"x7.5" cards are printed on 300gsm card with a satin finish.
The inside of each card has a beautiful smooth matt surface, wonderful for writing on.

The quality of the printing is excellent. A few weeks ago I ordered some 5"x7"photo-cards from a large Australia-wide electrical/furniture retailer. With this retailer I had to order a batch of 20 of the same photo card to make the cost reasonable. The print quality and card finish of the RedBubble cards is far superior. I can highly recommend RedBubble whether you are thinking of uploading and ordering some of your own photo cards (you can list your photos as "private" and no one else can see them), purchasing those of others or a mix of both as I did.

For those who are curious (like me) this is what the back of a RedBubble card looks like - your photo title, your chosen name, and the address to your RedBubble profile page.

I can see I'll be ordering some more to use and give as gifts.
:)

You can find me (and my "shop") at RedBubble as SunshineKaren

Sharing at Sneak Peek Friday.

RedBubble Shop

                                                                                                                             Available for purchase here

Whether you're just passing through....

                                                                                                                      Available for purchase here

Having a close look...

                                                                                                                                    Available for purchase here

 a quick snack...

                                                                                                                                            Available for purchase here

.....or hanging around to enjoy the view, just wanted to let you know I've set up a RedBubble shop so you (and me) and anyone interested can order cards and prints of my favourite photos.


Some of you are quite familiar with RedBubble, even having your own shop with them. I'm still figuring out the details but like what I have found so far. RedBubble's headquarters are in Australia but they produce their products on several continents to help keep shipping costs low and delivery times short.


Another bonus is that if you order any 8 cards of the same size (any design or artist) you receive a 20% discount on that size. If you order 16 cards of the one size you qualify for a 30% discount on that size. You can also adjust the currency as you shop but the final prices will be calculated at checkout according to which country you are ordering from (adding any GST/taxes etc).


Hope I haven't confused you.....go and have a look and see what you think, I would love to have your honest feedback. My RedBubble name is SunshineKaren - all one word.


PS If you have a favourite photo from my blog which isn't yet available, please ask, I'd be more than happy to add it. I'll endeavour to include a little "Available for purchase here" linked caption under photos I've added to RedBubble to make it easier for all of us. Enjoy! 
PSS you will even find the odd photo which isn't on my blog....


Karen


Sharing at This or That Thursday, SkyWatch Friday, Sneak Peek Friday, Weekly Top Shot.