Colourwash, cafe & My Choice

Today I had lunch at the botanic gardens cafe, Picnic, and if you are ever in Wellington I can heartily recommend it.  Just look at the setting -

This was taken looking through the rose gardens to the glasshouse, and at the left you can see the tent like roof of the cafe.  Lots of room inside and out - the weather was perfect.  Ducks and ducklings were busy in the grass and the artificial pond - with a lovely notice telling humans not to pick them up or handle them and to please stay away from the ramp out of the pond as it was their only way out!

I walked for miles! and it quickly became apparent that I have been spending far too much time this winter at my sewing machine or my computer - even if the expanding waistline hadn't already made me aware of this!

The tulips have had a bit of a bashing with the recent rain but the colours are still just so lovely -

I walked up the top of the hill to the herb garden and then back down to the Rose Garden and couldn't resist photographing lots more - just one to share, a stand of flax with the sun behind - so I marbled it!

I can see a quilt with those colours.......

Talking of quilts, Thursday was the opening of the Wellington Guild Exhibition being held at the Academy of Fine Arts. Queens Wharf.  It is open 10 to 5pm until 7th October and is well worth a visit - this is not unbiased of course!

I have the honour to be a Life Member of the Guild and so get an extra bonus in that I am able to choose a quilt to receive my award.  Utterly subjective, I just pick the one I wish I had made, or know I never will or that I want to take home with me; I admit a leaning towards vintage fabrics and hand quilting, but none of these things is set in concrete.

The quilts were hung, the judges had done most of their much more serious judging and I, along with the other Life Members, had our turn.  Later that evening it was such a thrill for me to present the award  to Kay Bruce Smith for her entry, No. 104 "2760+ Hexagons - A+B" - and here it is -

 

I'm sure the rest of the prize winners will be shown on the Guild's website if you are interested. 

 "Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance." - who else but that old cynic, Oscar Wilde - but as always, holding a lot of truth.......

Thanks for stopping by

June