A bit of this, a smidgeon of that.....

While I haven't been blogging lately, I've been busy.  My life at present is not quilting related, however.

 My daughter Sophie and boyfriend Mark came to visit, and we all went to Riverton to see Sophie's school friend, Rachel.  Above is Rachel's pet piglet, Bernie, who is a redhead like her.  Below are Sophie and Rachel at the farm.  The weather was just beautiful that weekend.

 Yesterday, I was in Queen's Park with my friend and her boys.  The roses are still blooming..

...and the Colchicums, because it's autumn....

 Here's some of the big rose gardens in the park..

 We came across a man with a pet galah....

 ...and walked around the band rotunda....

I turned this skein of merino.....

 ...into this, and combined it with another ball that I had hand-dyed another time in a darker red.....

 ...to make this for my son's girlfriend Cat for her 30th birthday.  No peeking, Cat!

 Drawing and painting might not seem like work, but they are.  I'm learning painting this year, and am practising by copying other artists' styles.  Below is a partly completed copy of "Matisse" by Derain.

 I really like the work by this artist, Francoise Nielly.  She paints in oils on large canvases using a palette knife.  I'm using acrylics on paper with a brush, so the results aren't going to be the same.  It's fun to do, though.