Cadaques

On Sunday we decided to detour via Cadaques, and Port Lligat where Salvador Dali and his wife Gala lived after their return from America. Unfortunately we could not visit the house as you have to book in advance, but did admire its wonderful setting.This was also the place of which Frederico Garcia Lorca wrote lyrically as he holidayed there in the summers when he was a student with Dali in Madrid. Fishing is still carried on in the little harbour and I could not resist photographing the baskets of nets. There were many cats in the grounds, who refused to look at the camera when I tried to photograph them and as soon as you put the camera away, they would look straight at you.

The town of Cadaques itself was also delightful- really what you imagine the Mediterranean to be like, with colourful boats and white washed houses. We had a lovely lunch in a little restaurant ( which was full of Spanish clients)on the harbour, which included gazpacho and Mediterranean style mussels, which was very reasonable. The access to Cadaques is along a very steep narrow road of about 20 kms that goes through rugged hilly terrain, with olive trees clinging precariously to terraces. We were so glad we had made the detour, for so much of the Mediterranean is clad in high rise condiminiums that block the views, and the harbours are full of Royce Rolls powered 40 foot motor cruisers instead of quaint colourful boats used byt the fishermen.However the camp ground was the campground from hell, added to by the fact that a big storm blew in early in the evening- we survived!
Cadaques harbour

Port Lligat with fishing boats
Stone walls Cadaques style
Dali's house with early morning sun streaking through the sky.

Off to Europe Tomorrow

Sorry no pictures today- have run out of time. Got back this afternoon after Quilt Indulgence where I taught and showed some of my quilts as well as Across Australia. Unfortunately numbers of visitors was down, but those that came enjoyed the quilts!

Now it is to packing! And the quilts don't fit in the suitcase- argghh- how to get them in???I shall try and post some pictures from my travels .

Magnolias in my Garden

Magnolias in my garden
These lovely magnolias are flowering in my garden at the moment. I don't often get to enjoy seeing them flower because the satin bower birds eat the buds just as they are about to burst open- they are such greedy creatures and so destructive.

There will be limited postings after this evening as tomorrow very early ( 4 am) I head to Mittagong and Quilt Indulgence , drive back late Sunday night (it's about a 9 hour drive) come home, pack for Europe and fly out on Tuesday. So busy times, and I still have to sew a couple of sleeves on quilts and lino-cut print fabric to cut into small panels to sell. And the lace scarves- I have one ready pinned to go but in all reality I think I need to get a reality check!

Linda- it's got me puzzled- the number I mentioned doesn't visit every day ( though as you noted the numbers float). The quilt is too big for Katrina in any case- I think Laura only wants ATC or A4 size- so that she can give them standard prices.

Mystery Visitor

I have been trying to work out who the 20,000th visitor is. I have two people both of whom have British Telecommunications as isp's but who do not live in Ipswich- though I believe rerouting is common. However at 12.21.35pm ( and I believe this is US time and don't know what the equivalent British time would be) the person with the matching isp number 86 133 204 visited for 3 minutes 27 seconds and exited on the leaf lace page and looked at 3 pages. I know just about everything except who you are.Who was this?? There is a small quilt waiting for you.

Prototype Scarf

Scarf

The photo below is a design I have been working on to use for printing. I did print some fabric with it but forgot to heat set the printing ink in my rush to get the prototype scarf done- so a lot of the motif washed off- silly! One thing which I haven't notated on my blog ( because I can't work out how to do it), but I do hope everyone realises that my designs are copyright.

I want to make a few scarves before Quilt Indulgence to gauge reaction and see if they are a saleable thing or not- there really is quite a lot of work involved, but on the other hand they are one off and individually stitched-so I don't really know what i should charge for them. I also intend to make corner dangles which will be an imprint of a signature of sorts- sort of brand marking. The fabric is printed silk.

Promised Celeste ( eldest daughter) I would show her how to make real cream caramels so I had better go and fulfil my promise.

Designs for Motif 

Small Quilt Done

Small Quilt Done
This is the small quilt I promised to the 20,000th visitor- I have still not been able to work out who that was, and I have posted all the information I have. If it is not claimed by next Tuesday evening I will donate it to Laura Cater- Woods, art quilt auction to fundraise for the survivors in New Orleans.

Have finally got my laptop back from Melbourne, and am now working on some 'lace scarves' . Whilst I was not totally sure about the extra stitching on the leaf piece, other people that I showed did like it, and surprisingly when I pressed it it felt much softer than tulle on its own. I would like to try this with cotton tulle- as that would be really soft. You can also buy silk tulle but it is very expensive- I am not sure how much the cotton tulle is , will have to investigate , but I like the idea that it can be dyed as well and of course the softness of the touch.