All things Chinese

My local neighbourhood celebrates Chinese New Year with colour and noise!

And I never tire of seeing the lions dancing.

As well we are treated to traditional Chinese crafts and the embroidery with fine silk thread is glorious.

I asked permission to photograph and captured this moment of intense concentration.

Many pieces were for sale, kept safe in plastic sleeves.

Sunnybank Quilters

My local group, Sunnybank Quilters are amazing! The members spend many hours making quilts for various charity or needy groups. Here is a lovely selection of quilts made for children in hospital.

Well done ladies- Jan, Denise, Gay, Denise, Lois, Carol and a few more!

 

A sign

I love this sign as it makes me feel very connected to exciting cities beyond my backyard- a world of possibilities! This photo was taken in Sunnybank Plaza, Brisbane.

100 years young

Our lovely Sunnybank Quilters member Evelyn has celebrated her 100th birthday! We love you Evelyn, you are such an inspiration to us all.

Yum cha

A perfect way to see in  the new year is with a yum cha. These are some of the offerings on one of the many trolleys that passed our table.

These flowers were too good to pass up and we tried them. They are a sweet, with a ground paste in the centre and the orange petals are crisp from being deep fried.

You know you've had a good yum cha when the table looks like this at the end!

And then......we went to Meet Fresh for a Taiwanese mango volcano!

Chinese New Year

Seeing in the Chinese New Year is a noisy and colourful celebration at Sunnybank. The Lion Dance, with 4 lions was spectacular.

Very energetic and captured on many phones and devices in the audience. The drum and cymbals mark out the beat for the dance. The fierce lions allow the children in the audience to pat them.

Congratulations to Ruth deVos, winner of the Acquisitive Prize at the Golden Textures exhibition at the Central Goldfields Art Gallery, Neill Street, Maryborough Victoria. The exhibition continues to April 5 and I'm hoping to see it at the end of March. www.visitmaryborough.com.au

Something different

Sometimes you need to spread your tastebuds and senses and try something different. The very popular Meet Fresh at Sunnybank Plaza brings the taste of Taiwan to us to enjoy. Desserts on offer can include taro balls, tofu, herbal jelly, mango or strawberry, red beans or honey beans to name a few of the choices. It is very refreshing on a hot day.

 

A small top

What should I to do with the birthday fat quarter I selected at Sunnybank Quilters? It had bright colours and sea creatures on it and was perfect for the front of a little top. Quickly made in an hour or two, the pattern was from the Australian Love Sewing magazine.

And worn out the next day!
No I am not taking up rag rug making Jan!
Yes, it looks like the same Gaultier exhibition- I guess it is touring the world!

 

Blankets of Love

Little quilts made for babies who don't survive their birth are often called Blankets of Love and many hospitals have these on hand to give to the grieving parents. It is a sad topic and my heart goes out to any parent who has been in this situation.

I was happy to spend time sewing 5 of these quilts recently. It reminded me of the strong community connection quilting has. Many of my friends make beautiful quilts for charities and fund raising raffles and never think of entering quilt shows. I love their work, generous spirit and the support and comfort they give to the wider community.

Boom Boom

A new Korean restaurant opened at Sunnybank and my friend Kate and I went in for lunch. Boom Boom was very busy on the opening day but it was worth the wait for this Stone Pot Rice and Minced Meat with accompaniments. The pot was very hot and kept the food warm and continued to cook the rice.

We were given these interesting, chewy rice flour sweets. 

In the studio

I've found some time this week to quilt this hand dyed and printed piece. This is a photo of the part-way-through-do-I-like-it stage. Love my Bernina of course, which needs a service soon. Why does the 'clean me' icon keep coming up so fast?

Buttons

This was on a bag brought in by a Sunnybank Quilter member for Show and Tell. The buttons were hand stitched to the heart. Obviously supplied by Duttons when the bag was bought in their shop.

Fourth first for the week

I'm enjoying looking at things in a new way, ticking off the firsts and thinking about how lucky I am to be able to enjoy these new delights. We ventured out to the latest restaurant on the Sunnybank food scene, simply called The Restaurant and promising a "new concept in Crystal rock and BBQ". This was the bit I could read in English, the rest in Chinese characters.

This was the Crystal rock, a glass bowl that was filled with a stock, of your choice, in which you could cook many things. It is buffet, help your self style and very popular.

Loved the charcoal BBQ with the rotisserie for the skewers.

But it got very smoky with all that burning charcoal, despite the vents over the tables.

The lights were a modern chandelier style.
 

Chinese New Year

Celebrations for Chinese New Year are underway in my neighbourhood. Each year I love the paper dragons that appear with the lanterns and fire crackers.

I took an early morning stroll through the shopping centre at Sunnybank, before the shops opened and captured a few dragons!

And a snake, as it is the Year of the Snake.

There will be lion dancing, drums and fire crackers sounding all weekend. It's a great atmosphere and the local restaurants fill up with diners.  Kong-ee fat choy!

Sunnybank Quilters

Sunnybank Quilters celebrated Christmas with a lunch at Stellar Star Cafe yesterday. It was a very hot day with the temperature peaking at 37.9 degrees. The air-conditioners at the restuarant had trouble coping with the heat. L-R Myra, me, Mary [thanks for the photo Sue M] The company was great and the food was excellent, sorry no food pics.

Moon Festival

The Sunnybank area is noted for its Asian cultural influence and cuisine and we love being a part of the special festivities. The Moon festival saw a part of the car park at the shopping centre closed off and vendors set up stalls and the stage entertainment was in full swing in the afternoon.

The Chinese zodiac figures glowed and were popular for photos.

Sunnybank Quilt show

Today we set up the Sunnybank Quilt Show at the Dominic Centre, St Martin's Primary School at 100 Mayfield Rd. Carina.

Our members have 87 colourful quilts on display and we'd love you to join us from 9am- 4pm. The show is for 1 day only, Saturday August 25.

The $5 entry fee will also get you a delicious plate of food and a cuppa.We have great craft items for sale and a Christmas stall. All money raised is going to help 3 organisations we are supporting.