swap parcel farewelled and some pics

My swap parcel is finally on it's merry way to Peta in WA.
Bon Voyage and speedy journey!

On the weekend we went to Portland, (Victoria) It is a beautiful little port town. It was the first European settlement in Victoria, settled in the early to mid 1800's.
It was used as a whaling port too. In the maritime museum they had a huge skeleton of a sperm whale that had been washed up, already dead, on the beach there. It was amazing to be up close to something so huge.
Dh and no 3 son did some of this....

while I did...

(this is for a quickie gift that I need to finish but only started on the weekend, talk about leaving things to the last minute.

It was beautiful to sit and stitch looking out to the sea. They fished from the break water which you could drive out onto quite far.
When they were fishing in the morning...
I did this...

gosh my feet look big! .

there is a lighthouse on this cliff just behind the last tree to the right.

this is the view from the lighthouse, You can see the start of the breakwater, it extended out  at least  1 1/2 times again and we were at the end of it.

I walked around town looking at all the beautiful old bluestone cottages and old wood houses. They were just gorgeous. I made my way to the lighthouse and then back along the beach, back to town.
There were heaps of antique, bric a brac places along the way to Portland and we visited most. I bought some lovely depression glass milk jugs. My new passion it appears. There was a gorgeous Patchwork shop in town but it was shut by the time we got there and it wasn't open by the time we left on Monday. Them's the breaks.

I have decided that October will be quilting month!
I made a start on quilting my hexie flower garden by hand. Who's dumb idea was that?..... While stitching away I told DH that I want to be buried with this quilt because that's probably how long it will take me to hand quilt it!
He replied...'why don't you get it quilted by machine?'
Takes a man to reinvent the wheel doesn't it. I told him I want it quilted selectively and not just all over, willy nilly and to get that done by a quilter will cost a mint. So I will keep stitching away till my arm drops off or becomes the size of the Incredible Hulk's arm......... I have nearly finished two rows. I regret having been so enthusiastic making all those flowers, now that I have to quilt around each one! lol.
It definitely won't be a quick quilt to finish.....

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well....

Slap the 'man' who came up with that quote!

Hope you are having a great week...
cheers
Marina

ps because we went away my Christmas goodies weren't finished... Hopefully something will get completed in between all that hand quilting.