Gorgeous Geelong & Marvellous Melissa

Our second last day of our break and it was to be a biggie!

I was very excited and just a little nervous as I was to meet one of my dear on-line friends for the first time.

Tildy woke me quite early for a feed and I tossed about going for a run. It was so cold and I was  worried I would get lost so I settled for jogging up and down the two flights of stairs.

That was a work out,now I know why Justine looks so good!

The Twins were very excited as they were to have their ears pierced-finally(according to them)!

Liddy and Tilly were beside themselves as they were to ride on a real carousel.

Hugo and Jed were pretty happy to be checking out the Wool Museum.

So we headed to beautiful Geelong.



First up was the ear piercing.
What A Circus.
Jed had already tried a number of hair salons but it seems people just are not keen to do it anymore.
Each salon would recommend another and so and so on.
The establishment we had been assured would accommodate us was a full on body piercing and tattoo parlour so I had a little chat with the Twins advising that they may see all-sorts of interesting body art and not to be intimidated.
By the time we had found a park,Tildy was asleep and Hugo was a bit 'off'. Jed volunteered to take the Twins&Liddy and I would stay in the car with the dozy duo.

We waited.
Matilda woke up.
An hour and a half went past.
I started to get a wee bit worried and then a knock on the window.

Two very happy girls.
'What on earth took you so long'?
'Well,we walked to the body piercing parlour,made an appointment for ear piercing,waited,our turn came,and they don't do under 18's''
'Bahahahaha,they thought it was for you'?
'I have no idea,the Twins were gutted so we went looking for another one. Zara spotted another place but it looked a bit,well,you know'
'Scary for country boys'?
'Get stuffed but yes,just a bit,any way the parlour said there was another place a few blocks back'
'So they had them done there'?
'No,we walked a km there but they were short staffed and wouldn't do it with out an appointment'
'Oh'
'So we walked backed and decided to check out the second place'
The scary place'?
'Yes,get stuffed'

Yes,Jed.
Its a very scary sign!

Zara went first.

Then Elsa.

Once Jed got over the fact he could see through the technicians earlobe(remember,he is a country boy)he was very impressed with the cleanliness and excellent service from the staff.
He was especially taken with this sign?(above)
Later,whilst we were having lunch Elsa told me that when Jed went off to pay a very very inebriated gentleman came in with his teenage daughter.
He saw the Twins waiting and came over to advise them(rather colourfully)to choose another *%$ establishment to have their tongue piercing as they #*!&ed his up. His daughter then told him it was his own fault for drinking too much and apologised to the girls for her father being a complete *%$wit.
''Oh,Elsa'' I said''Were you okay''
'She was fine''said Zara''I was whooping myself but Elsa just thanked them and said not to worry she was only having her ears done''
''Well,you said there could be all-sorts''shrugged Elsa.
I WISH I had been a fly on the wall and,no,we haven't told daddy.

Next

A knitted TARDIS?

I saw this and immediately thought of Sarah.

The stacks of cards above the weavers head is the actual Axminster pattern code.

The colours were so rich and warm.

So many spools.

How it began.

A really good example of sheep farming region's in Australia.

Hand shears.
Some shearers still hand clip stud rams.

Shearing today.
Jed sheared sheep for the first ten years of our marriage. Its good money but physically hard on your body.

A code message for 'Lady in the Shed' a warning to watch your manners and your mouth!

A chart showing the wool types.
I wanted to steal this for my sitting room-so beautiful!

The micron is the fineness factor of the wool. The lower the number the finer the wool.
Our wool is generally a micron of 18.
I am boasting!

A early shearers hut.

A song for my Little Girl.

I often confuse my online friends with talk of our kelpies.
I hope this clears it up.
They are a highly intelligent dog that you train to work with its natural instinct. Its best not to make a pet of them as it can diminish their working ability.
However once they reach retirement age you cannot find a better dog.

A vintage wool press.

Pressing wool.

We use this type of press.
A lot less muscle required.

Wool bales in storage.

 I was so proud of Jed,the museum is very interesting but a good basic display. The eager volunteers spent so much time explaining everything and my darling fellow never let on he knew it already.
If you visit Geelong,its well worth a look but Hugo and Jed were a little disappointed.
We girls loved it!

Check out this amazing rams head made of flowers.

How fabulous must this have looked!

The next part of the museum was about the production of the fabric.

I saw the dyed wool and thought of Sarvi.

The beautiful shades.

There was an exhibition of scarves,some very political all very beautiful.

I loved this one!

By now it was getting pretty late so we made a dash for the carousel.
On the way the girls spotted this cafe with leg warmers on its sign post.

It was worth the run!

A beautiful hurdy gurdy.

I think we may have to check the library for this book.

Now we were really racing back to the car.
An hour late and some frantic text messaging on our behalf soon dissolved the nerves.

What a fabulous end to a brilliant day!
The children clicked straight away.

Melissa is gorgeous. We talked and laughed and looked at fabric(of course).
Andrew is the nicest chap and I felt quite emotional when he described how much support he feels Mel gets from the online sewing community. You could see how proud he is of her beautiful sewing.

I was worried meeting up may make things feel different-but it doesn't at all.
Thank you Melissa,Andrew,Hayden and Millie.
We loved meeting you!


x N