Di Mill

On the road

A beautiful way to start the day - breakfast on the beach!

Burgers at Bondi

There is nothing nicer than a good burger and whenever I'm at Bondi Beach, it's the Swiss-Grand Hotel that wins the "best burger" award.  It's not just the delicious burger that makes this treat a winner...it's the chunky chips that come with....mmmm....yum.

 

 

I hope you are eating something delicious this weekend.

 

Take care...Di

 

 

Weekending

 

I love Sydney Harbour. It's one of the most beautiful harbours in the world and last weekend I was able to stroll along the promenade while on the way to a show. The Harbour bridge is stunning and is just as captivating when you are walking under it as it is from afar. The Sydney Opera House...well what can I say....amazing.

 

 

What are you doing this weekend?

 

Take care...Di

Hobart

Last weekend I flew to Hobart, Tasmania for a family event. I love Tasmania and it was lovely to have a weekend away from the Queensland summer. Although the locals were walking around in a t-shirt, I was rugged up in boots, jacket and scarf!

We had dinner at Henry's Harbourside restaurant at the Henry Jones Art Hotel, and it was lovely. The food, service and ambience was fantastic.

This was my meal which was lamb cooked 3 ways....delicious!

 

 

On Saturday we had a family event but on Sunday we had some time to kill so we headed out to Mona Museum of Old and Modern Art as it had been recommended to us. The Museum is just out of Hobart and the position is stunning - right on the water. The building and grounds are superb but that's where the excitement ended for me. We were told that there were some wierd art pieces but I think the word that I would use is "disturbing and dark". There was just too much weird sexual stuff for me. I did manage to take some photos of some of the few exhibits that weren't so provoking:

 

the bar on the bottom floor of the museum - stunning!

 

This was very cool - droplets of water that formed different words as they fell.

 I took a short video so you can see it:

 

 

 

 

I've never seen such a pretty tyre!

 

 

laser cut scupture

 

Stunning wood carving

A very pretty cement truck.

 

If you don't mind looking at wierd dark provoking modern art then by all means take the time to visit Mona. The gallery is run very well with plenty of staff to help you and electonic devices to carry throughout that can tell you about each piece of art.

 

 

Hobart, Tasmania

There is so much to show you of my week in Tasmania. Hobart was lovely and we were lucky that the cricket was on and most of Hobart's accommodation was booked out, which meant that we stayed at a lovely private hotel in Battery Point. The area is divine - full of so many historic homes that are still in tact and beautifully restored. It's a lovely area to visit and spend a few hours walking around the streets.

 

I loved the gardens that many of the houses had. They were full of roses and lavender that spilled over fences and onto footpaths with abundance:

 

 

 

 

And how is this for a hotel room view??

 

So if you are ever in Hobart, don't forget to spend a couple of hours in Battery Point and take a walk around this delightful suburb that is full of history.

Take care...Di

The Stillwater Restaurant

I've spent the last week travelling around Tasmania. What a beautiful part of Australia. I've been toTassie before but it was when I was in High School so I can only remember snippets and it rained nearly the whole time so there wasn't much to see apart from mist and clouds. This time the weather was beautiful (although a tad cold at times for this Queenslander). I'll post more photos over the coming days but today I want to show you a beautiful restaurant that we went to for breakfast - The Stillwater Restaurant in Launceston. Stillwater is situated in the historic Richie's Mill and is a one of the best dining experiences in Launceston. The food was delicious and the ambiance is beautiful.

 

 

 

 

Take care....Di

The MCG Tapestry

I was recently in Melbourne and was fortunate enough to be able to go and watch an AFL game at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). I had never been to the MSG before so I was quite excited. We dined in the Members dining room and I was so surprised to see a beautiful tapestry in the foyer. The tapestry was made by the Victorian Tapestry Workshop to celebrate the MCG's 150th birthday. The tapestry is 7 metres long and 2 metres high and depicts well known sportsmen and officials who have either played at the arena or held important roles.

 

image via this site

 

That's famous cricketer Dean Jones in the spotlight

 

 

 

 

The characters and events that are depicted in the tapestry are in chronological order so it's really interesting to see a visual of how the uniforms have changed over the years.

 

The detail in each figure is amazing. I was in awe - and there is something about this tapestry that just draws you to it and encourages you to stay a while...and look.  Because everyone is depicted in an "action" pose, they become real people - which forces you to look at the guide provided and see who they were. The piece of art looks like a painting when you view it from a far but it really is a tapestry, with thousands of stitches bringing the characters to life.

 

 

Artist Robert Ingpen painted the figures independently and then painted the broader canvas for the weavers to have the correct placement on the canvas. I love how the shadows are been included. We spent quite a bit of time searching out the names of the sportsmen who had been included.

There was actually a football game as well - St Kilda v's Geelong:

 

Being a Nth Queensland girl, I grew up with Rugby League but I married a man who's family were AFL supporters. So when Luke turned 4 he started AUSKICK followed by AFL all through his primary school years. This meant I had to learn a whole new game and I have to say - I really enjoy it. It's very different to Ruby League but just as exciting. Then Luke went to High School and decided to play Rugby Union - so it was back to the rule book to learn another game (I'm still working on that one), so I could sit on the sidelines and have some idea of what's going on.

Here is my tip if you need to learn the rules of a sport:

 I also try to sit with very "vocal" parents as you can pick up a lot by what they are yelling out, without having to ask a lot of questions! :)

 
Nothing beats a "getaway"  to Melbourne than to do it with great friends. That's me in the back row and the gorgeous ladies in the front are my closest group of friends. We meet every week for coffee and catch up on each others lives and have been doing so since our children were small.

If you are ever at the MCG and have the opportunity, have a look at the tapestry. You won't be disappointed!

Take care...Di  

American Folk Art Museum Pt 2

Continuing on from yesterday, here are some more of the quilts that I saw at the American Folk Art Museum:

 

 

Whig Rose Quilt with swag and tassle border. Artist unidentified. C1850 - 1860

 

 

 

 
Friendship Star Quilt. Elizabeth Hooton (Cresson) Savery) (1808 - 1851) and others. Dated 1844.

 

 

 

 
Presentation Quilt for William A Sergent. Members of the Freewill Baptist Church, London New Hampshire. Blocks made C. 1854

 

 

 

 

 

 
Baltimore Album Quilt Top. Artist unidentified. C1845 - 1850

 

 

 

 

 

 
Variable Stars Quilt. Artist unidentified. C1880 - 1900

 

 

 

 
"S.H." Crazy Quilt. Artist unidentified; initialed S.H.  1885 - 1895

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Equestrian Crazy Quilt. Artist unidentified. 1880 - 1900

 

 

I hope you enjoyed looking at these quilts as much as I did.

Take care...Di

American Folk Art Museum Pt 1

While in New York, I caught up with my good friend Pam Holland. Don't you just love it when you are on the other side of the world and you meet up with someone from home? I always find it so surreal. Pam lives in Adelaide and we often see each other overseas more than in Australia. We only had a couple of hours together so we met at the American Folk Art Museum to see the Quilt Exhibition: Quilts: Masterpieces from the American Folk Art Museum. It's a beautiful exhibition with the most interesting quilts. I've included some of my favourite quilts below:

 
 

 Pam & I

 

 

There was a class of children learning about quilts while we were there.

 

It's lovely to see children learning about the history of quilts.

 

 

 

 

 Love the colours!

 

 

English Flower Garden Quilt made by Jennie Pingrey (C 1861-?)

 

 

 

 

 

Tree of Life cut out chinz quilt - Artist unidentified - probably 1925 - 1935. The border fabric is amazing!

 

 

 

 

Dresden Plate quilt - Artist unidentified. Circa 1930 - 1940

 

 

 

 

Embroidered Double Wedding Ring Quilt - Artist unidentified. C 1930 - 1940. Possible New England. Cotton with Cotton floss.

 

 

 

 

 

Double Wedding Ring quilt. Artist Unidentified probably Mennonite. C1930 - 1940

I'll be back tomorrow with part 2.

Take care...Di 

 

It's a race - and video of New York

That's how I feel at the moment - like I'm running in a race. Straight after Quilt Market, all of the sales reps are biting at the bit to get their new fabric samples and get on the road and sell. It sometimes feels like a race against time as the last one there can often miss out as the shop owner has already spent their budget. So for the last couple of weeks and in the weeks to come, I have been and will be travelling all over Queensland, trying to visit all my stores as quickly as possible....running, running, running....

It means long days with early morning starts and sometimes very late finishes, hours of driving, jumping on planes and traveling to places that will hopefully be much warmer than it is here in Brisbane! OMG - it's cold here at the moment and if the truth be known....I"M A WEATHER WUSS! I really don't function well in cold weather and am dreaming of Spring already. So I'm looking forward to heading north and finding somewhere a bit warmer - if only for a couple of days.

I'll be working on blog posts this weekend so that the blog gets back on track, but today I'll leave you with a video of my time in New York (after Quilt Market in Salt Lake City).

 

 

 

Favourite moments:

• Walking the Brooklyn Bridge with my partner - amazing views
• The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights
• Going back to Ground Zero after many years and seeing the rebuild happening
• Times Square - always fantastic visuals - day or night
• Going to see Jersey Boys on Broadway

Back soon...Di