Tiny Pud

At a quilting group break-up today lots of gifts were exchanged, including these tiny puddings made by one member. The puddings are about 2.5cm across, and very yummy as well as cute. I wonder if any will last until Christmas?

Easy Street - Step Three

The third part of Bonnie Hunter's online mystery quilt. First lots of cutting, then some chain-piecing, then some pressing, repeat, repeat, finish!

Adding the second background triangle.

Adding the larger triangle to complete the square.

All done!

64 of these units made.

I'll put a link here to all the other people making Easy Street when Bonnie sets it up on Monday. 249 people linked-up last week!
Here's the link: Monday Link-up

Cherry Berry Goodness

Fresh from the tree and bushes this morning.
Lunch with friends.
Spending some time with my sister and a niece.
Welcome cool change just when it was time to head home.
Not a bad day.

Turning Blue

How did this happen?

For 15 years my hydrangeas have been pink.

2009 here.
2010 - a hint of blue starting here.

Easy Street - Step Two

I rushed home from work today to check my letterbox, but the postie had let me down again.

One problem I have with doing this mystery quilt is that I can't convert the measurements into metric ones, as I don't know where it is all going and what size the final bocks will be. So, I'm reluctantly working in inches. I have only one large ruler in inches, so at an online sale last Monday I purchased the rulers Bonnie uses to make her flying geese. (Companion Angle and Easy Angle). They were apparently posted on Friday, but unfortunately they are still in transit somewhere.

In anticipation of them arriving, I have cut the strips to suit:

But tonight I had to make a few by a different method just to have something to show! Once the rulers arrive I'll make the rest. Another 124 or so.

To see a couple of hundred other people around the world who are participating in the mystery, visit the part two link-up on Bonnie's blog.

Green

Seen (and heard) feeding in a street eucalypt: a family of what I thought were rainbow lorikeets, but something was missing...

The rainbow! These birds had red on their heads, and a tiny bit of yellow on their shoulders, but were mainly green.

Not rainbows, but a family of musk lorikeets (Glossopsitta concinna).

Beetles

Happy Summer!

While out walking today I passed through several clouds of flying insects. From a distance they looked like swarming bees, but they weren't:

Each cloud was associated with a flowering tree, but different trees each time. If I zoom in on that photo, you can see that the insects are beetles, and definitely interested in the flowers:

And here's a closer view of one, courtesy of someone who was able to snatch one out of the air as it flew past:

A plague soldier beetle (Chauliognathus lugubris), seeming to live up to its name more than the last time I had one on my blog.