A Peaceful Walk in the Garden

I took a nice long walk in the Royal Gardens and I came upon this incredibly peaceful grotto. It was a sunken sanctuary hidden in the garden. Descended the steps and just sat there for a little while. What a beautiful Peace...






I walked back up the steps to continue my stroll in the gardens. There was this leaf...






I often see messages in everyday life and nature. This leaf is open and ready to collect the waters when it rains. It is shaped in such a way that it will funnel that liquid energy right to where it needs it most...the roots. To me this leaf showed me to be open and ready to receive the gifts and nourishment to come.

A further into the garden was a pond with some birds. I felt lucky to be able to capture their imagines on the camera.












...including some baby ducklings.





Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Melbourne Australia

Kangaroos &Kaolas

Next stop on the tour was Adelaide. Kay picked me up and asked what I'd like to do. So I told her what was on my list and off we went to have the ultimate Australian experience. We went to Cleland Wildlife Park. Kangaroos were lounging around everywhere.





I even got to feed some.






The Coolest thing was I got to see baby joeys in the pouch. Kay was feeding both the momma and the baby in the pouch from her hands.






And I also got to pet a Koala. They feel like a stuffed animal only harder.






We saw several other animals and birds including an emu.





What I loved most about this was that the animals weren't in cages and I could take photos...which I did of course...tons of photos.












Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Adelaide, Australia

DoodleZenDotZ workshop at Waverly

First we doodled, then we did bobbin embroidery, then we dotted.... Here's my wonderful friend Bronwyn. I met her years ago when she was in the states. She drove from Connecticut to New Jersey just to take a class with me. We were staying at the same B&B and we hit it off right away.

















Heres a closeup of Annettes design being dotted with paint.





Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Melbourne Australia

A Magical Walk in the Park - more of Melbourne

Another wonderful day walking about Melbourne. This magical photo was taken on my way back to the hotel.




I am sure i saw Angel wings in the bark of this tree




This was the most peaceful park...and it was right next to my hotel.



A fountain just made it perfect...



And then I spent the afternoon with my friend Bronwyn going to see the penguins...that was really cool. But we were not allowed to take ANY photos...so I have no photos of that great day. It was awesome. We were just a few feet from them.
Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Melbourne, Australia

A walk about Melbourne Australia

After a lecture at the Waverly Patchwork Guild I had a couple days on my own in Melbourne. There was lots on inspiration in the store windows.













Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Melbourne AU

Next stop...Australia

New Zealand was great and next to visit was Melbourne, Australia. The skies were beautiful coming in so I snuck some photos.


Mariya and Gavin Waters welcomed me into their home. And Mariya showed me how to make fluffy milk for latte. I am hooked now...and since I got home I ordered a milk frother. I'm gonna make baby chinos for the grand babies...

Ok back to the trip...I had a great idea to film a VidCast with Mariya while I was there. You might remember her as a winner in Houston.



She has done some fabulous quilts - one that I got to sleep under...


...and we'll get a peek at how she works and her technique for outlininq her Applique. So stay tuned to the VidCasts....it'll be a couple months.

Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Australia

Stitch N Glitz workshop - New Zealand Symposium

I forgot my computer power cord in the hotel room...but Rosie saved the day. I was worried she would loose her great parking spot and asked the angels to hold it....guess what? There were 3 parking spots when we got back.



The last day of class was Stitch N Glitz - bobbin embroidery decorative stitches, free motion and then adding sparkly paint, beads, and rhinestones.





Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Stitch N Glitz workshop New Zealand

Dinner on the mountain

Now I don't like heights so riding straight up a mountain is not my idea of fun. But I grabbed my courage and up we went. The view was incredible.
A couple of fellow teachers share the view.







The dinner was going very late so I decided to leave at 10. There I was totally alone in the gondola watching out the front window as I descended. It was surrealistically eerie...dead silent and seeing how very high I was.
Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Queenstown NZ

DoodleZenDotz Intensive 2 day class

The 2 day class started with a number of doodling exercises and several dotting tools and techniques on day 1. Then we got down to the nitty gritty of original design, bobbin embroidery and adding dots to the design. They did awesome!









Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Queenstown NZ

Portrait Quilts class at NZ Symposium

I did a 2 day Portrait Workshop and a few of the students opted to do the face of their choice. Most did the face I provided (which is much less frightening). All of the results were incredible. I am so proud of them. Here's photos from a few who chose their own faces.








The hair is done with individually cut pieces of thread. Excellent solution!

Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Queenstown NZ

A walk in the Garden in Queenstown, NZ

No jet lag at all. I slept when I wanted on the plane and watched movies when I didn't. Once settled in the hotel, I went for a walk in the beautiful gardens and got some great photos. No need to comment...I'll just show you.


















Bonnie McCaffery
Http://bonniemccaffery.com
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Location:Queenstown NZ

Queenstown New Zealand

What a great little town.






It is a tourist town set on a beautiful lake and a lovely little park.






I went for a great walk in the park with my new camera in hand...






And got some great photos...more on that in the next post...






This was the beginning of a great trip
I had trouble finding wifi, so I'll be posting some great photos of the trip...stay tuned.
Bonnie McCaffery

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