Phew!

Dear Friends,
Well this school term has been so full with three very large school jobs. Here is the final one that will be hung in a new Performing Arts Centre at Orchard Grove Primary school.
The work has been carried out by 504 children as well as an evening class of staff!

These flowers were made by the teachers during an evening class where we had about 30 arrive to learn how to felt! The preps made the centre pieces for them.

They all did such a great job!

Shapes and shading with just a little fleece.

Our little owl is guardian of this, our Enchanted Forest.

Trees with plums on them.

Dancing pine trees with boiled lollies on them.

It is so easy to make big plans, especially months before when deadlines and timelines and bells are a thing of the future and not worth worrying about. Carrying them out is a little more challenging!

I am looking forward to the school holidays!!!

Every best wish

Love

Elizabeth

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Remembering..................

Dear Friends,
Thinking of you all - especially in New York who are marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11
when the world changed for us all. I am following the service here in Australia where it is being telecast live and can only send you my thoughts of peace and well wishes.

No matter where we are on this day - I know we will all recall our disbelief and horror upon learning of this disaster 10 years ago.

Every best wish,
Love
Elizabeth
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A little of this and that

Dear friends,
This post is a little of this and that. Here is a small piece of felt made by ME! Yes me! Not children felt, just my felt! I had a small opening of time today and just decided THAT WAS IT!
Grabbing time for oneself even one hour can often be better than any tonic you could possibly take.
Not only are you recharged but you are better for everybody - everyone around you.
They all benefit from your sunshine. OK so it is a form of therapy, but so what!

THe white filminess that you see is a piece of tissue silk with holes cut in it. Being white it takes on the hue of the fleece beneath it. You can see in the border that there is quite a contrast - I just love the way the colours seep through like a watercolour.

Of course a bit of stitching is a a great addition - just deciding how far to go.

Righto PUPPETS with Grade 4 from the school I have been at since the Fairytales (see last post). I just love the way the haphazard stitching takes place. The children make everything but I get the fun of sewing up their desired shape from the patterns they design. I have found that they are completely durable then and don't fall apart.

Figures with grade 6 - Green Gal

The Little Prince

Masterchef

and this fab Pirate that I just LOVE!

Golidlocks - another of the fairytale hangings that I forgot to post last time.

Well that's it for me - heading for a long sleep in - this getting up at 6.00am during the week to get to school on time is just AWFUL!

I hope everyone is doing something llovely this weekend - at least for an hour!!

Love

Elizabeth

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Fairytale Fun!

Dear Friends,
At last I have some felt to show you - these are new pieces I have been creating at Caulfield Grammar in Malvern and measure about 80 - 90cm wide. Each one represents a class from Grade 1 - 5 (there are two classes at each level).

We have had the best fun with a class spent on designing. Here the children all contribute to how they would like their story to look. I get all the children to draw the overall picture as well as
individual elements to complete the story. I then choose ones that I think would be great and the class vote on which ones will be used. Of course there is often a good deal of tweaking to be done!




Just in case you can't guess our fairytales - this one is Sleeping Beauty.
The first one is Hansel and Gretel




The 3 Billy Goats Gruff

Puss in Boots

Red Riding Hood

The 3 Little Pigs

There are also 3 others that are ENORMOUS! These include Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel

and the Princess and the Pea. I will get more pics of these when they're in position.

They will all be installed in the library and can be moved to any part of the school if needed.

Dozens and dozens of hours spent dyeing and organizing but isn't it worth it when have had SUCH fun!

I hope that whatever you are doing this week you are having the best time creating something sensational.

Love

Elizabeth

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Beautiful Yorkshire

Dear Friends,
A few more holiday pics! I do hope you are not finding them boring!! Above is the beautiful city of York filled with much history and excellent shopping.

Wandering along The Shambles - an old shopping district with some timber shops that date back to the fourteenth century. Yes that is my Mum on the left - the one grinning!

Gorgeous shoes in a shop called Ness - a Scottish label that has clothes groovy bags accessories the lot! The colours are just so beautiful!

Country lanes near where we were staying.

This is the approach to Fountains Abbey near Ripon in North Yorkshire. It was started in the early 1100's and the stone used was mined close by - we were even able to spot the exact stone in nearby exposed rock seams. I spent ages staring at the colours and there are many shots revealing shades that I think would dye beautifully.

Inside Ripon cathedral - SOOOOOO stunning and we were lucky to chance upon a concert by the local girls choir at lunchtime which was just magic! We had the best crumpets and tea in a great place opposite.

This is out order, but these little wildflowers were at Fountains Abbey clinging on in the most unlikely places.

Arches within arches are a lovely theme for the artist to explore no matter what your discipline.

We were here for so long we didn't notice that we were cold and hungry. There was just so much to see and explore and but for 2 other people, we were the only ones there!

The beautiful colours of the stone and the way it was softening with the passage of time was very beguiling. I kept gazing at all the shades within a wall, an arch even a single stone.

The area below the abbey where the monks kept supplies of food. The bare bones of the structure and the effects of the light upon it were lovely to observe. The hints of green and cinnamon and cream and grey and pale gold and ...........................Just trying to descibe it is quite hard! All you could hear was the wind and the birds.

At one time it must have been simply jaw dropping, before Henry VIII's dissolution of course.

Another early morning wander - a little walk that went for a couple of km's - so white and frothy it reminded me of a bride on her special day.

The view out the back of our B and B which was about 20 minutes from Harrogate.

JUST STUNNING! This part of the world was something I guess I had dreamt about since watching James Herriot - once upon a time! Dry stone walls and green valleys and plenty of sheep!

After wadlling out after breakfast each day - eggs and smoked salmon, the best porridge I have ever had (incidentally it was made with cream!) toast and fruit and of course a huge pot of tea we relly needed to go for a really LONG walk to walk it off so that we could fit on the plane home!

Well time to go - thankyou so much for your interest I promise to post some felt soon!!

Lots of Love

Elizabeth

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Home at Last

Well dear friends HOME at last!

It seems but a week ago I was setting off, but to judge by the 8000 plus photos it appears that it took a little longer.

Needless to say I really did have the most wonderful time - but you probably guessed that!

There are so many highlights and although I was totally happy (albeit tired!) I really miss England already.

We got home late Saturday on the 18th after 40 minutes of sleep for the entire journey which took from 8.30am on Friday morning until 10.00pm Saturday night- door to door.

In the next 2 weeks I would like to share some more images with you and hope that you will find them interesting. Some friends have already asked me what were the best moments and I think that walking through wild bluebell woods, following sheep down a lane and teaching in England were very special. Having said that, another 20 occasions come to mind immediately!

The weather in Paris was wet wet wet - so my photos are pretty boring. Florence and Rome were hot hot hot! So not so pleasant -very sticky and certainly slowed the pace down. We call it a holiday but it really is an "Experience". So I have had a several days to collect myself and have started teaching already! Yippee!

Seeing new things is very much a salve to tiredness - but I am now charging ahead towards the familiar and regular with renewed vigour. As you would expect I have a thousand thoughts jumbling over one another and I hope to produce some new work over the next couple of months when I am able to marshal them!

NOTE: My computer crashed nearly 3 weeks ago - just froze up - and I wasn't able to post.

After being resurrected yesterday it would appear that I permanently lost all emails since 7th June until the 21st. Into the ether apparently!

If anyone has tried to get in touch please do so again as I have no way of retrieving them - I am not being intentionally rude!!!

In the photos here you can see the gorgeous walks we had through the bluebells around Cantebury - just in time before the weather changed for them to disappear. The bed and breakfast we stayed in "Castle Cottage" (within actual Castle grounds!) was at a weeny place called Chilham where the village was set around the ancient market square.

After a very lengthy drive where we got lost no less than 4 times we arrived at the gate in the dark and were very warmly welcomed and promptly fell into bed. A truly lovely village with tiny pubs and lovely walks everywhere right from the door.

SO pleased to be chatting with you all again,

Lots of love

Elizabeth

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Early mornings.....................

Hi friends!
Well I think I just may live in England forwever! I don't think it is just holiday fever, I really feel so happy here. Due to the fact that we are trying to fit in so much, our days have been starting quite early. Here are some pics from along a country lane where spring is really doing her thing.
Of course I am still photographing stones and rock walls as well.

Pretty views of lovely homes tucke away behind hedges and gates.

The light which can be quite hard in Australia is so gentle here. I spend a lot of time noticing this as we drive down country lanes that feel as if we are stuck in a rabbit warren at times. It doesn't seem to matter though - these beautiful lanes filled with wild flowers seem timeless somehow.

Visiting Arundel castle near Chichester inside the chapel - another lovely door.

We have been staying in lovely B and B's and some self catering cottages. This was a tiny church at the end of the lane.

More loveliness.

The lovely light at 6.00am - can this really have been me here?

Mum and I are both well and and eating like horses. Everything is amazingly delicious and 2 afternoon teas on most days sounds most reasonable. Especially as we walk for so many hours looking at churches and museums and just about anything else....................................

Will chime in again soon,

Lots of love dear friends

ELizabeth

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