Monday, December 1, 2014

RED BIRD NEWS


Today I returned to the Future Beauty Exhibition at GoMA,
with my lovely and talented friend Michelle of Michelle Ridgway Designs,
a super blog where she shares her delightful and original stitchery designs.

And she gave me one to stitch for Christmas:


A red bird - sitting on a holly branch.
The design is for a tote bag, but of course, I could do anything with it.
Expect to begin stitching this one at sewing group this week.
This perfect gift for the Red Cardinal came in a red bird gift bag, with a Christmas card festooned with pretty little red birds.



Michelle and I had a great day studying the Japanese fashions and textiles, followed by lunch at the cafe by the river.  

And the spoiling didn't end there:

Also in that bag was the most intriguing little hand-made box...


An homage to Chanel, adorned with several of her famous quotes:




Inside were a collection of tags...


Thank you Michelle, I love it all...


I wore my new polka dot summer shift dress
 [sometimes I just lapse into the 1960s]

TNT pattern, with purchased piping around neckline and armholes.
And a little secret - lace at the hem of the lining:



I wore a light wool, hand-dyed kimono/jacket over it, as the museum space is very cool to preserve the delicate textiles in the exhibition.


I had a birthday over the weekend, and we went to the Wild Canary for breakfast.  No 2 son came with us, and bought me a geranium, a succulent, and a wooden planter box.  
Be warned, Possums, Do Not Touch..


and in other garden news, every year I have a rather pathetic competition with myself where I attempt to keep pansies flowering until my birthday.
With tropical heatwaves, wild storms and possums, this can be quite the challenge, one I thought I had lost for 2014.
However, this little heart shape, only half regular pansy size, appeared to greet me on my birthday.
Isn't nature wonderful?

xxxx


33 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Suzy, yes it is gorgeous. I was thrilled to receive it. xx

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  2. What a truly lovely day with your friend. And I love the polka dot dress as well. Happy Belated Birthday! Nice gift.

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    1. Thank you Linda. Polka dots are fun, and it is always nice to receive a gift.

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  3. Dear Patricia,
    What a delightful post. Lovely gifts..Plenty to keep you occupied.
    I love your dress. That design,never goes out of fashion. It looks so nice on you.
    A belated Happy Birthday.
    Enjoy your stiching.
    Happy 1st December.
    val x

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    1. Hello Val, thank you for your good wishes. I always love to sew, and thank goodness the classic shift tends to stay in fashion - it works for me! Happy December xx

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  4. Belated Happy Birthday! It sounds like you had a good outing and I really like your gifts. Will be waiting to see the stitching when you do it. I really like the polka dot dress. Polka dots are always so cheerful to me.

    Darla

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    1. Thank you Darla, it was a lovely day. If polka dots are good enough for a certain princess or two, they are good enough for me :)
      I'm looking forward to the red bird stitching.

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  5. Happy Belated Birthday, Patricia! What wonderful gifts from your friend. She obviously knows you well since there was a red bird theme with some of them! Your dress is very pretty, but I must admit it is making me cold to see you there in a sleeveless garment. Please soak up some extra heat for me. We are in the middle of another cold snap. :-)

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    1. Thank you Kristie, Michelle and I always loved a red bird; I just went on to name my blog for them. All the heat is over here these days, no wonder you are in a cold snap!

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  6. Happy Birthday! I am glad that you have been having some lovely times. I hope the possum stays away from your new flowers! xx

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    1. Thank you Amy, another year older :)
      At the moment the possum has left its nest, so hopefully it has found another place to hang out. Meantime, fingers crossed for the new geranium. xx

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  7. Belated Happy Birthday Patricia. Your day out sounded lovely and what a beautiful gift. Love your polka dot dress. I made one myself back in the sixties and always felt good in it. In fact I was wearing it the night I met my husband John! Have a good week. P x

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    1. Thank you Patricia, guess what, I had a Very Similar dress back in the day, too. Is it possible that the Beatles girls wore them? Clearly it worked its magic for you and John. Happy week! xx

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  8. Delighted that you enjoyed a lovely birthday Patricia.
    How lovely you look in the spotted dress accompanied by the hand-dyed kimono, very smart and very attractive.

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    1. Thank you Rosemary, it is always nice to celebrate and be thankful for another year, and glad you like my spotted dress, and the kimono seemed to work with it too.

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  9. Happy birthday, Patricia! It sounds like you've had a great birthday. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead.

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    1. Thank you Jennifer, Every year is a bonus and a blessing. Looking forward to 2015. Have a great week.

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  10. everything looks nice, I see you are enjoying life !!

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  11. Thank you for a really lovely day. It's nice to have a friend you can just pick up where you left off. I do hope the Poss family leave your pansies alone xx

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    1. It was a great day and thank you again for my gorgeous gifts; so nice to catch up on all the news. Possum has not been seen for a few days - obviously no use waiting around when the food has all been eaten. I wonder if they know to wait until the parsley grows again? xx

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  12. Thank you Val, I am on a roll with the piped necklines - now I have figured out how to do it :)

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  13. Patricia, I adore your poka-dot dress. Years ago I had a similar pattern in a blouse and loved wearing it. Also love the festive holiday things you've posted. The red cardinal Christmas card is so cute. Wouldn't it be great to have a box of them to use as your
    Christmas cards?

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    1. Dots are so cheerful, Debra. I had a black with white dots sheer evening blouse in the 80s, and really loved it too.
      Great idea - I need to find a box of red cardinal cards!

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  14. Firstly, many happy returns and I hope there are many more. Secondly, what a pretty dress - I'm very partial to polka dots and they never seem to date. The sheer kimono is lovely - that will have so many uses I am sure, and quite timeless. Lucky you visiting this exhibition, it looks very enjoyable.

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    1. Thank you Sarah Liz, I hope there are lots more birthdays too! I'm so loving the polka dots that dress has been 'out' four times this week. We are both enjoying the summer exhibitions of fashion.

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  15. I really like that box, Patricia. So many lovely goodies inside. I like the tags with the fabulous women. Your polka dot summer dress is sweet. You know, I'm a polka dot girl too. The gift your friend gave you is real nice. Red birds at Christmas time - what a special gift.

    Have a pleasant weekend, Patricia. I am hoping to get my tree tomorrow!

    love,
    ~Sheri

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    1. Hello Sheri, perhaps I should start a polka dot club - there are a few fanciers out there. It was so nice to receive those gifts, friendship makes the world a better place, don't you think?
      Happy weekend, and I hope you got the tree! xx

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  16. You are so gifted with your lovely dressmaking and sewing Patricia. A lovely elegant dress and I love the jacket too. The box is beautiful! We still have flowers in the garden even though it has been bitterly cold this week.

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    1. Thank you Val, I really enjoy sewing, but after the white Christmas skirt, I should ease up for a bit and do something else...perhaps get on with the Christmas shopping, for one thing.
      Amazing you still have flowers as winter begins to bite. We had a couple of storms, so our garden is looking a little fresher today.

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  17. What a gorgeous present, Patricia. the Coco Chanel box is just lovely, as is your immensely smart outfit of shift dress and jacket.

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    1. I love my Chanel box, and I do actually know the girl who made it, a very gifted crafter indeed! The shift dress is getting quite a workout this hot summer.

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