Exploring Felting - and making a felt flower

 Hi everyone. I hope you and yours are well. In the northern hemisphere I know there have been very hot summer temperatures and devistating fires, while down here in winter-time Australia we have had a lot of rain in the south and floods on our east coast. It is cold and wet where I live in the south west of Western Australia. But I am grateful for the rain though it does sometimes interrupt my daily walk.  

I have never been much intersted in felting. But a few weeks ago I "discovered" the Felting Pot Sudio in the lovely Fullers Coop - basically a big shed with lots of artisans in their own lock up spaces. They are mostly open Thursday to Saturday - with the cafe open Monday to Saturday. It is our new favourite place for lunch with friends. Only about 15 minutes from my home by car and no problem with parking. There are even comfy chairs with knee rugs if you are feeling the cold. 

Anyway after I discovered the Felting Pot Studio which I must say is full of deliciousness for crafters, and chatted to the owner Natalie, I liked them on Facebook and then saw an advertisement for a beginners felting workshop - a day workshop where you make a felt flower. So I enrolled. What a great day I had with a lovely group of ladies. Natalie went through the steps so clearly and we all came home with a felt flower. 

Now I am not going to pretend I know much about felting - you would need to go to a workshop yourself - and there are You Tube videos - but I think a hands-on workshop is a much better idea. 

Felting is I discovered very labour intensive! There is a lot of pulling, rubbing, pounding and rolling, soap and water involved. And surprising to me - bubblewrap! 

Starting with a selection of "wool top" (top left below) we all ended up with a beautiful felt flower! Below you can see my finished flower on the right. I added some gold thread stitching and some little beads I had at home left over from some other long forgotten project. I was really happy with the result. 

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Secret Garden Affairs and photographing cupcakes!

I am late blogging this Monday. We have had a busy few days starting with my Saturday morning when I went to photograph cup cakes for a lady who is starting up a new home based business making cupcakes. Her son is producing her brochure and starting up a Facebook-blog. 

Visitors to my blog will know that I have been playing around with food photography for a couple of years. I did some childrens' recipe pics a couple of years ago for a friend who had a blog for young mums. 

But these cupcakes were my first official paid food photography work! Very exciting. I would be interested to know what you think of the result....the brief was to photograph the different sample varieties she had made with packaging.  The room wasn't particularly well lit, so I was glad I brought along my lightbox to photograph the cup cakes in.  Minor post-processing in Lighroom for exposure, sharpening and straightening.

 To keep reading and see more pics, please click on "read more" .....

Busselton Jetty & the Equinox Cafe, Western Australia

We had the most fabulous Saturday lunch at the Equinox Cafe on the beachfront in Busselton recently. The restaurant has always been a favourite of ours.

Years ago when both arms of the jetty ran right out to its full 1841 metre length, we used to go to Busselton for late afternoon fishing off the jetty, and then squidding in the early evening. Finishing with buying chips at the fish and chip shop in the shed at the end of the jetty, before the drive home.  And even before that, my husband and his family holidayed in Busselton every summer, and the boys would ride their bikes out along the jetty for a day of fishing. Over the years it has been a favourite place to take friends holidaying from Perth or for day trips with our children - only half to three quarters of an hour from our home in Bunbury. You could just about always guarantee you would catch something off the jetty!

Busselton Jetty is the longest piled wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. Built in 1865 to cater for shipping for both goods and tourists, several subsequent extensions were added up until 1911. A final extension was added in 1960, and the jetty was closed to shipping in 1972.

In 1978 when Cyclone Alby swept through the south west, the southern arm of the jetty was washed completely away, leaving only the railway jetty.  Since then the "Boatshed" interpretive centre, just off the beach, and the Underwater Observatory, 1.7 kilometres from shore, have been erected. You can jump on board the jetty train to reach the Observatory. 

Or you can just take a picnic or buy fish and chips and sit on the grass or under the huge Morten Bay fig tree, and enjoy the views and the promenade of people walking by.

Or you can have a meal with a view at the Equinox Cafe as we did. We chose two of the day's specials. My husband had the Thai Style Chicken Curry - medium hot chicken breast pieces coconut curry with naan bread, salad, rice and raita.

Whilst I chose the Babotie - a mild fruity cap Malay minced lamb curry served with fruit chutney, naan bread, salad, rice and raita.
Both were absolutely delicious and so beautifully presented.  And the service was warm and friendly.

What a lovely way to spend a leisurely lunch overlooking the ocean, or just go for coffee or morning or afternoon tea. They are also open for dinner. To find out more - click here - Equinox Cafe

The local community have put a lot of time, effort and resources into restoring and maintaining the jetty and ensuring this piece of Busselton heritage will remain for families in the future.  A trip to Busselton isn't complete without visiting the jetty.

To read more about the Busselton Jetty - click here -  Busselton Jetty