Sunday, October 20, 2013

RAIN AND SUNDRIES



"The Artist's Wife", 1934-35, Melville Haysom, 1900-1967 
It rained last Friday!  
One storm, and about three more hours of moderate rain, enough to at least give a drink to the poor parched Garden of Neglect...

The above painting is by a Brisbane artist, Melville Haysom.
This is his wife, Yvonne, who was of French descent (and I think that shows in her style).
Don't you love the way the curve of the struts of the umbrella take your eye back up to her elegant face - I think he admired his wife very much.
For local readers, they lived on Gregory Terrace, and the background is Victoria park and the hills of Mt Coot-tha, where they later purchased a dairy farm.
After the war, Haysom set up a private art school on the farm, and later became Senior Instructor in Painting and Drawing at the Central Technical College in Brisbane.  He was also Art Critic for the Brisbane Telegraph newspaper.



The Cardinals enjoyed lunch at the home of my dear friends J and P ...
J, chef extraordinaire, made the world's most perfect hamburger and fries -
following the recipe of Heston Blumenthal...
It was amazing!  
I had no idea the humble burger and fries could be elevated to such a mouth-watering art form.

Then there was the trio of desserts -
the little chocolate tart combined passionfruit with the best chocolate -
a match made in heaven.








After finishing the pink linen dress, I needed a quick sew
and made dress using the same pattern, just eliminating the front seams.


The unusual fabric was sourced from Emerald Fabric Boutique,
the super shop discovered on our trip to Central Queensland back in July..


and while we are in the sewing room, here is the little pile of bits I bought at the Craft Show - the pink with navy spots is a metre of frilling, to do something on a top I plan from the left over pink linen.


I could not go past a panel of Star Wars fabric..
A certain Young Man in Canada loves the Star Wars characters with all the passion only a pre-schooler can muster for superheros..


Here he is catching the yellow bus to French School -
he has started Kindergarten, and it is all in French!
By the end of the year, he will be fluent in French conversation -
would I lie to you?


Meanwhile, his brother the Little Bebe has learnt to walk -
at barely eleven months - cheeky tot!

 Have a great week

 xxxx
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25 comments:

  1. valerietilsten59.blogspot.comOctober 20, 2013 at 11:59 PM

    Dear Patricia,
    I cannot believe that Little Bebe is 11 months. He is walking already..so cute.
    Petit Garçon will love school. He will be bilingual before you know it.
    love your dress, very impressive.
    you are always busy.. good for the soul.
    Your meal looks absolutely delicious.
    lovely post Patricia..
    happy week
    val xxx

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    Replies
    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 2:54 AM

      Dear Val, the children grow so fast, especially when we don't see them very often. It will be quite a treat to have a bilingual grandson - hope he speaks French to us over the skype. Happy week to you too Val. xxx

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  2. Sulky KittenOctober 21, 2013 at 1:34 AM

    Love the dress you've made from that gorgeous material - very unusual. I remember Little Bebe being teeny tiny Bebe! Time really does fly. Have a great week.

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 2:56 AM

      Thanks Sulky, I thought the fabric quite unusual too, and could not wait to get my mitts on to it - he he... Little Bebe is way too precocious, I suspect big brother might have something to do with it. Enjoy your week! x

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  3. RosemaryOctober 21, 2013 at 1:38 AM

    The painting by Melville Haysom is captivating. I love the jaunty angle of her french beret.
    My youngest granddaughter went to a French school too. First in Paris and then in Norway. She is fluent and it is such a marvellous asset to have as you grow older.
    Well done Little Bebe - he will soon be chasing big brother around, but big brother is going to love whatever you decide to make with the Star Wars fabric.

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 2:58 AM

      Glad you like the painting Rosemary; she catches the eye as soon as you walk into that gallery space. Exciting to have grandchildren with fluent French - I can't wait for that. I suspect you are right, and Little Bebe will be a force to be reckoned with very soon.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousOctober 21, 2013 at 1:57 AM

    That lunch looks restaurant worthy!
    I love the pink dress below and the Pucciesque one, it must be great to be able to make things.

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 2:59 AM

      Hi Tabitha, yes, the lunch certainly was restaurant worthy. Glad you like my dresses and yes, it is fun to create a bit of fashion for fun. lt all started with sewing for my dolls, back in the olden days...

      Delete
  5. The Silver BunnyOctober 21, 2013 at 3:03 AM

    A quick sew, a quick sew indeed ... would take me a lifetime to do that ! xxx

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 3:19 AM

      Hi Silver Bunny - it so would not take you a lifetime! The design is all printed on the fabric; two side seams, two shoulder seams, shove in two sleeves: Done!!
      Happy holidays xxx

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  6. DarlaOctober 21, 2013 at 6:06 AM

    Playing catch up - my comment on the darling boys got stuck with the previous oost, LOL! The fabric of this dress is very unusual and eye catching.

    Darla

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 8:45 PM

      Hi Darla, and thank you. Glad you agree the boys are little darlings - I am naturally besotted by them... and am happy with my unusual looking dress too.

      Delete
  7. kristieinbcOctober 21, 2013 at 7:08 AM

    I'm sure your grandson will love whatever you make out of the Star Wars panels. My oldest son, now 31, still loves Star Wars. It would seem some "boys" don't outgrow their fondness for certain superheroes. :-)

    The program your grandson is in is called French Immersion, and it is available across Canada. The same oldest son who loves Star Wars went to French Immersion kindergarten.

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 8:48 PM

      My thirty-something sons grew up loving Star Wars too; they played videos of the movies so many times I know most of the dialogue by heart. That is it, French Immersion, at the French School. His school goes right up to Year 12 - he'll be good by then, won't he :)

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  8. metteOctober 21, 2013 at 10:16 AM

    Wow, you move quickly! So much good stuff on one post.
    The painting is quite amazing, the dessert looks so delicious, another dress ( ! ), the rain ( good ).
    The best = the little boy moving, so cute! Is it still that warm in Canada ( referring to the big-brother´s T- shirt )?

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 8:50 PM

      Sometimes I do move fast, but not always, Mette :)
      Glad you like the tiny video - I thought it was just short enough to try posting in my blog, and it seems to have worked. It is getting colder in Canada, that photo was taken about a month ago. Soon they snow flurries will start. My daughter has their snow suits ready to go.

      Delete
  9. Red Rose AlleyOctober 21, 2013 at 10:37 AM

    Patricia,
    That burger and fries looks so delicious! I really like the material you used for the dress, it's very unique. Wow, French school.....how interesting. Your Grandson is going to learn so much this year. I love that picture of him waiting for the school bus. That is a picture to be framed.

    Have a nice week, Patricia. I'll have one of those desserts now, please.

    Love,
    ~Sheri

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    1. PatriciaOctober 21, 2013 at 8:52 PM

      Hi Sheri, you would love those desserts - they were amazing, I left the pastry base but could not resist eating all the rest of it. French school impresses me too - maybe he can teach me some French one day!

      Delete
  10. Rustic Vintage CountryOctober 22, 2013 at 11:28 AM

    Wow, that food looks amazing. Yum! x

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    1. PatriciaOctober 22, 2013 at 7:37 PM

      Suzy, it was incredible. She made everything from scratch, including the cheese! x

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  11. PatriciaOctober 22, 2013 at 7:36 PM

    Thanks Val, I could not resist that fab fabric... time flies with grandchildren, that is for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  12. sandaOctober 23, 2013 at 6:03 AM

    So much to see and admire in this post! The painting, the dress, that lovely meal and of course the children; so sweet!! I agree with Mette that you do move fast!!

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    1. PatriciaOctober 23, 2013 at 9:26 PM

      Hi Sanda, thank you - it was a fun post! Things are much quieter round here this week...which is just as well, maybe.

      Delete
  13. KathyOctober 27, 2013 at 10:01 AM

    I do love that painting, Patricia, so elegant, but no more elegant than your stunning dress. I grinned when I read about you needing a quick sew. There's no such thing as a quick hand-knitted sock, unfortunately. :-) As for the food, it looks fantastic. Lucky you.

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    1. PatriciaOctober 28, 2013 at 4:49 PM

      Glad you liked the painting, Perpetua, and my quick dress. Definitely no quick knitting - maybe that's why I moved onto sewing??

      Delete

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