Holiday snaps

So I promised some more pics and after days of trying to upload photos I seem to have finally pressed the right button somewhere to make it happen.  Why would my computer suddenly stop uploading photos?  One of the items on my "things to do this year'' happens to be computer courses.  Even though I work all day on a computer, there are aspects of it that are completely unknown and mysterious to me - and I lack the skills to figure it out myself, it would seem.  Take my blog - it's very stock standard and I would love to change it up a bit, but I struggle with that and it takes me hours trying to do something that I know other computer-savvy-bloggers do in 5 seconds.  It's one of the reasons I sometimes want to do away with my blog, in that I can't create the look I really want to create.  I am very time poor, so having someone show me would be a very constructive exercise I feel.

I digress (I do a lot I know)... here are some pics from my 2 weeks in Victoria.  Who else but me would go to (arguably) the shopping/fashion capital of Australia and return with wool and fabric only?

This is my hero piece from the pieces I bought.  I love it so much I want to base an entire quilt around it.  Now I know I'm not the only person who does that, am I?  Finds a piece of fabric as an excuse to make a quilt?  Below is a pic of my shopping...

Mum took me to the most fabulous shop called Morris and Sons. I'd never heard of it, but that means nothing.  This is an institution in Melbourne.  It's in the CBD!  Ma and I spent AGES in there browsing and I picked up the yarn pictured for my collection-of-many-splendoured-coloured balls for my granny square rug.  It is going to be G-OR-GE-OUS! Yum, yum, yum.

The fabric came from Jiddi's Patch in Geelong.  A great shop with LOADS of great fabric.  As you can (just) see I picked up some of the reprinted Flea Market Fancy range - this time in the green, grey and orange along with a few delicious bits.  I showed great restraint believe me.  I flew over with a suitcase full of fabric as I was going to get stuck into sewing - I had the beginnings of 3 quilts I hope to finish piecing the tops of !  I am nothing, if not optimistic!! Needless to say I worked on one of them, still unfinished.  So I flew home with a suitcase full of fabric too, in fact MORE fabric than what I flew over with.  I am a nutter! I also took knitting, embroidery and linocut tools.  

Here's a taste of what I did finish....

Yep that's it - one hat!  In 2 weeks I started and finished one hat!  I worked on other things I might add, however, only one item was actually finished.  I'm not a slacker you know!  :))

This is another Snow Hat by Rowan.  It's going to live in Chicago on one of my sister's heads... happily I hope!

I spent a lot of time enjoying the countryside.  It's beautiful country. Rolling hills, cattle, horse and sheep grazing.  I saw several native animals in the wild - koalas, an echidna, roos, owls, kookaburras and endless other birds.  Here's a few photos you can play "Where's Two-Thumbs? (the koala)'' with.  I promise there is a koala in every photo!.

It's always a thrill to see creatures in their natural habitat...

Hay bales were littered over fields everywhere

We ventured to and along different parts of the Great Ocean Road over the course of the 2 weeks. It is a spectacular coastline.

 A sign tickled my fancy in Apollo Bay.

The lighthouse at Aireys Inlet - lighthouses are  just so wildly romantic don't you think?

some local flora