Make yourself a cuppa..

I have a bit to report today which I've been meaning to do for over a week now but I thought I would wait until this weekend gone to have passed so I could report on the weekend too. So make yourself a cuppa if you would like to stay with me. And a biscuit of course! :-)

On Saturday the 16th of February, my girlfriend Gayle and I went away for the day on a stitchy picnic. We'd been meaning to do this for quite sometime but for one reason or another it seemed to never happen. But this time we were in luck with dates and the weather so off we went! We went to a beautiful spot up in the mount Dandenong ranges (a place we both adore) and found a little picnic spot called 'one tree hill'. We actually found it by chance, we were not meaning to find it as originally we were on our way to another picnic spot we had found on our map but when we got there it wasn't what we expected and not very practical. It wasn't at all cozy, only wooden benches and tables and dirt grounds which I am sure would have been the home of many bull ants.
So as we were deciding where to go I had remembered driving past the sign of this little picnic area and we decided to check it out. And of course it was just perfect! Isn't that lovely when you are not expecting something and then when you come across it it is all perfect?
So after a bit of a hike up the hill we plonked ourselves down under some shady trees and laid out our picnic blanket and snacks and got cozy with our stitching. Gayle was like the picnic queen so she had all that we needed really (she has had many picnics) including a thermos, tea bags, sugar and mugs. So she made us a lovely cup of tea and we sat there eating shortbread creams talking about life really. We don't see each other all that much so when we do we have a lot to catch up on. After some lunch of salad and ham wraps we got done to stitching and talking. After awhile we had another break and had another cup of tea and some of Gayle's beautiful slice she baked. That one was a real winner. Then we stitched some more. Before we knew it, it was time to pack up. Time goes fast when you're having fun.
I just love it up there in the ranges, so peaceful and relaxing. It really was the perfect spot for us and our stitching. We both had a really good time so we have decided we are going to make it a regular thing every few months. And that is now our picnic spot!!

This is me stitching away under the beautiful trees.

 

And this is Gayle

And this next photo made our day more memorable. A little ant decided to visit me and my stitching. I think he thought I needed help with my thread. But in turn somehow he got stuck on my thread, it almost looked like I threaded him though my needle, I don't know how and that is impossible anyway, but he was stuck there for ages! We took a good 15 minutes trying to rescue him without ruining my stitching at the same time. Gayle and I both had a go at trying to get him off but we couldn't do it without cutting my thread first. Gayle eventually was able to get him off and he crawled away and I had to start another thread! Here is our friend the ant.

Since that weekend I've been able to stitch of a night and have made quite a bit of progress on my brides dress. This is where she is at, at the moment.

 Sorry about the quality, I did take a quick snapshot on my phone. Her dress is almost complete. I've nearly used a whole skein of 3856 on her dress! And I will have to buy another skein to complete the rest of it.

On Sunday the 24th of February I went into the city with my girlfriend Melissa to a craft market called Bend and Snap which was in little Lonsdale street in the city. It is a craft market which is on once a month and even though it is quite small it has some great crafters setting up stalls with all sorts of creations.
We caught the train in together in the morning and found the market straight away. After looking around for a bit I bought a beautiful heart necklace which was made by a lovely polish girl who we got talking to. I am not normally a jewellery person, as it doesn't excite me that much and I hardly wear it. But I saw this gorgeous heart necklace and it caught my eye straight away, and after I tried it on it was mine. I also bought a children's hair clip for my daughter from another lady who had a stall called Louie & the fox she was a gorgeous girl, so nice to talk to.
We were both getting hungry by this stage so we found a nice place down an alley way called 'era' and had some lunch. We were tucked away outside but could watch the passers by. We had a nice chat and laughs.
After lunch Melissa took me to a gallery called 'outré gallery' and we had a look around at some beautiful artwork. I was blown away by some pieces. It was my first time being in there and was very inspiring and interesting. Melissa also wanted to go back to the market and take another look at a teddy fox she had her eye on. A little bunny rabbit by the same crafter also caught my eye so I wanted to take another look at it too. So we went back to the market and Melissa bought the fox she wanted and I bought the bunny rabbit for my daughter. They are both so cute! The creatures are by a lovely lady and this is her blog the creature workshop she has some beautiful handmade creations.
We both needed another sit down after much walking so I spotted a chocolate café called 'Max Brenner' and we went inside and shared a beautiful warm chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce drizzled over the top! Oh wow! so delicious. This is a photo of our brownie and our new friends.

 We had a wonderful time chatting away in there, dreaming of ideas and just enjoying a day out together. After that it was time to head back home on the train. We would both really like to explore more markets and go to bend and snap more often.

I am now at the end of a long blog entry, but I had so much fun writing about my adventures.

Happy Stitching xx