Pieceful weekend

I had finished the appliqued part last weekend, and was a bit nervous about assembling all those blocks. My main concern was the seams. Of course. Until now, I pieced my patchworks with the standard foot, but was not over enthusiastic. In particular, I found it difficult to keep a regular seam allowance. I new that special feet exist, but never bothered to check on my machine. Until yesterday. And yes, I have such a foot. I've used it to overcast seams. It does wonders for overcast. Out of lazyness (not wanting to change the foot), I tried to make a straight point seam with that foot, and it was rather a disaster. So I had doubts about using it for piecing. But I was wrong. It does make piecing easier, with better visibility and better grip of the fabrics. All my seams had the same width, all along, even at the ends.This foot is designed to work at the edges of fabrics, not at a distance over 1/4" inch, that's all. I enjoyed the piecing part and did not encounter the matching problems I usually met. You can imagine that I am a bit more relaxed now.

Now I have to think about further borders. The first interdemiate ones are cut in the green fabric and waiting. I think I'll add some purple and that'll be it. And I have to think of the back. Either make one from my leftovers, or buy a piece of floral fabrics. Not sure yet which way I'll go.

In the meantime, I whish you all a great week!

PS: Go and have a look at Amandine's blog!

ANZAC

In every town/village in France, there is a memorial to those who died in World Wars. No surprise, since France had been in the middle of the battles.

I was very moved to find as many memorials downunder, some of them quoting names of places familiar to me. So many men, and some women too, left their peaceful homes to fight and often die in Europe. I know they did so because they felt British, but still... They died away from home, away from the ones who loved them, and they suffered to help us. This post is a little "thank you" to them.

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The memorials deal with WWI, and Gallipoli. But not only.

Many memorials refer to Gallipoli, but obviously, they went to other places too

The pictures below are from the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

There are 4,000  medals, each representing 100 Victorians 

Statues

Tulips or Anchors?

Kangaroos

Deer!

If I remember well, dedicated to the first migrants

Commuters

Creepy!

I don't remember what it is

Stargate?

I let this one wish you a wondeful weekend!

Birds met in Australlia

My favorites, they are so friendly and funny

the sugar thief: this little guy landed on my table, took a bag of sugar from my saucer, made a hole in it with its bill and ate all the sugar inside...

On the street in Alice Spring

At a farm

He was free to go where it wanted but clearly loved a good chat

they too were funny to watch

this guy pooed on my head...

Ibises seem to be a nuisance in Australia, like pigeons for us

Kokeshi - blocks 5 and 6

Two more blocks:

Only three left...

Alice Spring - comments

Thanks all for your visit and comments.

Doreen, I planned the whole trip on my own, from France. It took me from early January to the early April. With Internet, and the Lonely Planet guide, it is rather easy. But still, I spent hours comparing flights, searching for the best deals for the trips, etc...
I booked most of the accomodations myself, except when they were included in a tour.
Transportation was done mainly by low cost flights, with one trip on bus from Airlee beach to Cairns, and a tour in minibus from Darwin to Alice Spring.
I booked the boat trip and the tour on Fraser Island through Peterpans Adventure Travels, and the tour from Darwin to Alice Spring from Adventure Tours. Both were very friendly and helpful.
I'm very proud that this travel went smoothly and that we enjoyed it.

Regarding the meats, I had to try them, and I liked them all. Of course, they have their own taste, mainly like beef and duck, but of course not quite.
I put on a couple of lbs while in Australia, I think mainly because we had drinks almost every night, which I don't do at home, and also because portions are hudge. And I love fish&chips, which I don't eat in France. It is a bit hard to get rid of those pounds, but I'll do it, and it was worth it.

I'm not working today, the weather is gorgeous, life is good. I hope it is the same for you!

Alice Spring

The main street:

It is very quiet, with several art galleries selling aborigene art.

One of the oldest building in Alice Spring, its first hospital,

Dot painting

Chamels played a big role in the construction of the railway. If I remember well, this painting is on the police station wall...

The river. We saw pictures of it after rains, it was full of water.

A meat sampler: chamel, emu, crocodile and kangoroo.

Our hostel was a tiny one, very charming. It is run by one nice man, who wants to make it very friendly. When we arrived, he greeted us by our names (OK, he was expecting us, but still, ...). The hostel has only 14 rooms, and we felt as at grandma's. Our room was in the main building, next to the bathroom that looked exatcly like the one at my parent's, and next to a real family kitchen. All with a 70's look, very cosy. This is the backyard.