Before the Roses Bloom!

While many of our blogging friends are experiencing

shorter days with cooler weather

Spring is looming quick 

and fast in my part of the world, Downunder

so

just thought I would take you on a short walk around the garden as all the 

trees take on their new foliage and plants start to

remind us that they really are still there

and ready to pop!

 

 Spring - Glorious Spring!

 

Lush green leaves of this Oyster plant which self seeded

itself in this place as it is getting ready to flower!

 Aah! The Willy Wagtail has chosen the same spot

to nest again! Just look at the intricate weaving

on this dear little nest using spider webs!

 A perfect place to sit and ponder under the magnificent

Chinese Elms.

 

Little areas where Rhododendrons grow

under the shade of the Crab Apples.

 

while some shell pink Azaleas

shelter 

from the bright sunshine!

 Native irises grow either side of the steps leading down to

spreading garden beds that once was a paddock

for the Angora goats!

The exquisiteness of this pink tinged Cherry Blossom!

 and bushes of Lavender growing in and out of

May bushes and Orange Blossoms!

 

 

  

Just in this one spot there are three different varieties of Lavender

where the bees are at work!

 

 The fragrance from this white Wisteria is just

indescribable

 and it is only in its second year of growth

 growing happily over our little garden room.

The huge Eucalyptus trees in the background give you

an idea of the size they can grow to!

 

 The rose bushes are definitely shooting new growth 

on all the bushes now and in the distance

come our much loved Angora babies

curious as to what has been thrown over the fence for them

and this is Darcy

whose mohair fleece will be looking very much shorter

in a week's time when they are all shorn!

 

Contentment is getting to eat some yummy green

weeds that don't grow out in the paddock where these beauties

belong!

 

 I hope there is much contentment in your lives 

at the moment too!

Love and hugs,

xox Suzy

A New Year's Wish

The New Year is rapidly approaching

and I just wanted to share with you all 

a beautiful wish that I came

across last New Year's Eve

which says

♥♥♥♥♥

"My New Year's wish for 2014 

is that you have someone to love,

have meaningful works to do,

that you have things greater than yourself to believe in,

that you have a reason to smile everyday,

you have a shoulder to cry on when you need it and

you keep your integrity even when the choices are hard;

that you love deeply,

give freely, forgive willingly, laugh easily

and live well enough to be grateful for every day of the year".

♥♥♥♥♥

I hope to be learning more, being inspired more

and sharing more creations like this

more vintage purchases of the things 

that make our hearts sing

like old handled lace

and vintage jewellery

as well as more beautiful inspiration from our garden of roses.

in the weaving of the threads of textures and of our lives

@ Suziqusthreadworks.

Thank you most sincerely all my loyal followers and friends

who have enjoyed your visits here throughout the year 

I wish you much inner peace, happiness and health 

for 2014

and 

one of my New Year's resolution is to try to visit

your blogs more often to show my appreciation

of your comments and to gain more 

inspiration.

♥♥♥ Suzy xox

Relief at last!!!

Well, at least for the time being,

it looks like our prayers have been answered with the

most welcome arrival of some beautiful refreshing

rain after an abnormally hot and hazardous week of bush fires

surrounding many properties and homes in our area.

(100's properties damaged but thankfully no lives lost).

I have been totally pre-occupied this week with the

care and safety of ourselves and our family and friends

living close to the bushfire areas here where we live in a coastal

area of the far south coast of Australia in New South Wales

Our family - kids and grandchildren

have just this morning travelled

back to their property which was undamaged.

♥♥♥

I do apologize to everyone, who left such supportive comments

in my last post, if I didn't get back to you this time but

your kind thoughts were soooooo appreciated and

I thank you for each and everyone 

and 

welcome all my new followers also!!!

  

This is how some of our hydrangeas were looking only a

couple of weeks before we went into the heatwave

and after one day of 42 deg.C (107 deg. F) with a roaring hot wind

it turned these gorgeous blooms into this! 

  

burnt and scorched (like much of the garden and trees)

but 

 it will all recover -

maybe not this year but certainly next Summer

we will see their beauty return.

♥♥♥

This morning I went out into that lovely soft warm rain

and visited a local market where I purchased 

this!

Being a lover of spinning wool (particularly that of our

angora goats) and still owning my spinning wheel

of almost 40 years (now that's almost vintage - hey???)

I couldn't resist this beautifully hand crafted spindle

from the 1800's made from copper and brass

with tiny rusty hooks

and 

it weighs a ton too!

♥♥♥

Just before Christmas I was commissioned to create a needle book

as a gift for another fibre and textile artist as a surprise

and I used this beautiful image of William Bouguereau

to create this.

The image depicts "Sisters"

I dyed the smooth woollen felted pages in a soft mushroom pink

before embellishing with 

pieces of vintage printed satin, dyed laces and silk fabrics.

Now before leaving I thought I might just remind you that

next Saturday, 19th January is the

"Grow Your Blog" Event

which is being sponsored by Vicki at

vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.com

so if you would like to visit the list of bloggers

entered into this along with my own

then you will be entered into

my small Giveaway

Here 

on the 19th by leaving a comment.  This party was so very

generously created by Vicki as a way of promoting

an awareness of new bloggers as well

advertising their creative arts and skills.

So

come on over and join in the fun then.

Until then, I'm sending you some rose love from

some of the roses I have recently dried from

my garden.

See you soon!!!

xxx Suzy

New Beginnings and Some Endings

Thank you to everyone who has visited here recently,

leaving such inspiring messages and following along also

 -

thank you all so very much!
I try hard to visit you all and leave replies when I can!!!

There is some new artwork on my table

in progress for you to view -

a couple of pages 

for a

 new fabric, lace, paper and textural journal.

This is the front cover and already it has changed quite

a bit from this little part of what you see here

and

I have been using my felting machine

to create some of the pages in this

new book

so there are a combination of many fabrics, laces

and fibres like raw silk.

Hopefully it will be finished by my next post.

The next two pages are part of a Lacebook Round Robin

collaborative which I am part of and

these pages are for Karen Dorcas

you can visit her blog by clicking on her name.

Karen's theme in this book is

The Madonna 

and here are my interpretations of her two pages:

This is the second page of her book

here:

Some beautiful embroidered silk organza in 
the most beautiful shade of taupe/grey/mauve
colour. 

I have also been experimenting with some new digital

effects that Picasa has introduced

as well as some changes to my digital camera settings

so this explains why the images

all have different effects!

Finally just to show you some remains of the day

(if you like!)

from our Summer garden as we approach the more

subdued colours of a cooler Autumn

down here in Australia

such as these Hippeastrums

looking tired and spent after heavy heavy rains

in our part of the world

and

the roses

now into their third flowering of the season but still

showing rich and vibrant tones

like these -

and 

(I think just a little out of focus)

but this rose is a David Austin Rose

named "Ambridge".

It is described as a medium schrub and strong.

Our particular rose has grown to a height of approx. 3 metres!

****************

I'll leave you with this lovely little quote

by Orison Swett Marden:

"If you feel yourself growing

in your work

and your life

broadening and deepening,

if your task is

a perpetual tonic to you,

you have found your place!"

Have a wonderfully creative and fulfilling week!

Love and hugs, Suzy xxx