April - Anzacs , emotions and OPAM

April - Australia's month of remembrance.

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ANZAC Day  25 April 2015

 This is a photo heavy post.  It is important to me, and maybe I've shared a little too much, but it is what I felt I needed to say.

We were able to fly to Brisbane to take the boys to see the Brisbane ANZAC Day march.  We were all excited for different reasons.

It was only the 3rd time the boys have flown, they are finally old enough to understand / appreciate / worry about the flight.  We left school early on Friday to fly to Brisbane.

 E boarded the plane

 and enjoyed the view from the window.

We arrived in Brisbane on Friday night and headed into the city on Saturday to see Granddad march in the parade.  My Dad (Granddad) is a Vietnam veteran and one we are very proud of.  I've only been able to see Dad march in an Anzac parade in person a handful of times.  It was going to be an emotional day.  He didn't march when we were kids and his corp have reunions to coincide with Anzac Day now, so each year they are in a different town for Anzac Day, not to mention that we live 600km away from my parents.

 The boys and Dad before we left home

 my wonderful parents.

 The Shrine of Remembrance in Anzac square Brisbane.  It was so moving, to be permitted inside the shrine and to see all of the memorial tributes laid there.

 Dad & E had a moment of reflection and explanation.

 It was then time for the march, Mum & my sister Susan, had their Aussie flag headband on.

 We clapped, cheered, waved  & thumbs up-ed the service personnel both past & present.

 This it was time for Dad's corp to march past.  Ordnance Field Park Vietnam. 

  This is the only photo I manged to take, I was crying clapping and cheering too hard.

  

T (my eldest child) clapped for the whole march.  The next day he commented how sore his hand were.

Now, onto the sewing part of the month.

Dad's birthday was in January, I had told him I would make his gift.  I had an idea, I just had to make it a reality and my self imposed deadline was Anzac Day.

As you are aware, I sew quilts for Aussie Hero Quilts.  Mum & Dad are very supportive of my sewing and know the difference that support from home makes to our service personnel.  I decided Dad needed his own Aussie Hero Quilt.

The quilt started with searching the stash for Dad appropriate fabric ... the photos of which seem to have disappeared.....

There were  tape measures & tools for his love of 'handiman' things

Australia maps & Australian town names for his love of travel

some colourful mustache for his love of quirky & the fact I have never seen Dad without facial hair.

I then found some photos of significance for him.

 

this great photo is from the Australian War Memorial Vietnam Collection, that is Dad in Vietnam at a concert.

This photo was Dad & the boys in the Roma Anzac Day March in 2012

 The other photos were of international locations that Mum and Dad have seen in their travels.

 Was Dad surprised?  Was I a little teary?  Is Dad my Aussie Hero?

Yes, Yes, Yes.

 This quilt is bigger than a regular Aussie Hero Quilt as it didn't need to go overseas in a box.  It is now living in My & Dad's lounge room where it serves a practical purpose.  A quilted hug.

Before we knew it our weekend was over and it was back on the plane to return to Roma for school & work on Monday. 

 Bye Brisbane

 Thanks for being my Dad, Dad.

Hello out there..... is anybody still there?

Hello anybody who is left reading this blog.

I have no idea where the last 5 months have gone.  Well I do but it is boring, mundane and possibly linked to joining Facebook.

I have not be idle however, just not posting anything.

This may be random, but it will be posted.  I apologies for sideways photos. They just happened that way.

A name for our home made from wool stencils, horseshoe and a timber slab

 progress on my Springtime Quilt

 Loving it.

 With full borders attached

 and a scrappy backing

 overnight bag

 bag 2

 bag 3

 a new key fob for me

 quilting on my 'cake mix' quilt

 3 key fobs for the school teachers for International Teacher's Day

 a horse key fob (1st for craft fair)

 quilting with the kids at school.  This is my E, it is his class who are quilting

 Brisbane Craft and Quilt Show with my Mum.  A did a fabric dyeing class

 Mum and I at the end of a long day.

 Fabric drying on the line

 Our local quilt show "Showing of the Quilts".  My completed Springtime was on show.

 another overnight bag

 more springtime quilt

And we had a 2 week school holiday trip down south, the usual school 'stuff'.  I will try to fill in some of the blanks soon, but I am still here.

Brisbane Quilters you MUST visit GOMA

When I say MUST I mean it would be worth your while and get there quickly.  This exhibit "THREADS" is only showing until the 5th February, but it has some of the most beautiful &detailed quilts and textiles.

This gorgeous Hawaiian style quilt is my favourite.  The colours are so crisp.  (That small person is E, my youngest)

We have just returned home from a holiday and Brisbane and managed to pop over to the gallery for a visit.  This wasn't what we went to see, but I am sure glad we stumbled upon it.

For those of you who are not in Brissie, here are a few photos I snapped and GOMA stands for Gallery of Modern Art, located at Southbank, Brisbane.

Now I must apologise to the makers of these pieces.  I didn't note the specifics of the works, so my comments are mine, not official.

This is 2" squares

 A 'japanese' style coat made from PVC and embossed

 Beautiful woven pieces

 This circular mat was over 2m across and sooo detailed

 Now my boys thought this was a skate ramp (you can see why), it is actually a 22m long piece of Bark Cloth from New Zealand.  It is so long it goes all the way up and over this wall and 2/3 way down the other side.

 I probably should have photographed the detail.  I think this has mirror gems in it.

 This Hawaiian style quilt had amazing quilting detail, but was fairly high up.

 Uses 1" squares

This exhibit is worth seeing in person, but there are other amazing exhibits there too.  Take the time to check it out. GOMA is free and only specialist exhibits (like Mattisse) have an admission fee.  There is usually something to interest  the kids too and often something hands on.