Sit Down With a Cuppa...

Well I thought I'd catch up a bit in blogland and see what everyone's up to. Best you grab your cuppa now, I've found a few treasures:

To start off my sister-in-law sent me this link which you will just love. Really, any girl who calls her blog 'Glittergoods (a sparkly life)' has to be good!

Then I found a few girls who had been working on some of my designs:

Catherine has been making some of the postcards from my 'Romancing the Roadtrip' book for a postcard swap. Another fun blog to visit. I mean, anyone who has, "you can never have enough projects on the go at one time" in their profile just has to be worth a visit!

Lynda in Wonderland has a 'Ruth's Quilt' in progress, from my first book, 'Living the Dream'. I know lots of you ladies who read my blog have made one of these, or are 'working on one' so that's a nice blog to visit too.

I promise you will enjoy Pinks and Needles and beware her Etsy shop - very tempting. I am involved in a very exciting 'blogland project' that includes Pinks and Needles and just can't wait to get stitching that project (be patient - you'll be updated!).

So while I have been visiting everyone in Blogland I should have been packing! For what? Well, Rosie and I are off to visit Kerry at 'Cottage on The Hill' in Nundle, New South Wales, on Friday (yes another trip!). We are also very excited about meeting lots of the ladies there who are coming to spend Saturday with us. We have some projects that we hope will be loved and treasured, my camera batteries are charged, and well, tommorow will see me frantically running around picking up my samples to take with me!

This, of course, leads me to another great blog, Chookyblue, which all the overseas ladies will love - it's a great insight into the 'real Australia'. It may also be a clue to the project I've designed for Saturday...and maybe where all that 'Matilda's Own' wool batting comes from!

Until then,

Leanne Beasley xxx

Photos are Black and White...

Today's blog entry sees my photos in Black and White. I hope you enjoy some more of my views of beautiful Vietnam:

From a woman sewing to a woman selling fruit on the street:

A family at sunrise on the way to work, taken through the train window:

An engaging conversation:

Love in any language:

A sacred moment in Notre Dame, Saigon:

A sacred moment of a different kind:

Sisters:

Meeting a mentor, Long Thanh, at his studio in Nha Trang:

I was completely overwhelmed to meet Long Thanh, who for a long time has been one of this eras very best photographers. His work is amazing (just click on his name above to visit his website and see many of his famous images).

On visiting his studio I actually didn't expect him to be there and was so excited to meet him. He was, of course, a perfect gentleman, even though I was so excited I could barely string a sentence together! He showed me what he'd just been working on and talked about his upcoming overseas exhibitions and photographic excursions. He was so friendly asking me about my photography (the camera around my neck was a bit of a giveaway!).

Long Thanh is a photography purist, working only in black and white. His work is an insight into the people of Vietnam.

Hope you enjoy my simple black and whites,

Leanne Beasley xxx

Land of Colour...

On my recent trip to Vietnam I was overwhelmed by the beautiful colours that seemed to be at every new twist and turn.

Hot pink Dragon Fruit in the basket of a street vendor:

Purple waterlilies opening to the sunlight:

 

The blue and red boats of the Nha Trang fishermen:

The green fields of rice:

Beautiful orange flowers:

Pure white frangipanis:

 

Can't you just smell the fragrance?

Leanne Beasley xxx

Back from Vietnam...

What a great trip! Vietnam for me was the land of stitching and fabric, really beautiful stitching and fabric. I even visited a place of worship called the 'House of Embroidery Ancestor', the perfect place to light some incense and say a prayer, just like these ladies:

I was really excited to see the D.M.C. chart on the worktable, and more D.M.C. threads than you could ever imagine! These ladies work in a single thread, often in silk as well, and have a long apprenticeship to learn their skills:

Of course I had to have a bit of a go at some kind of stitching myself! I was fortunate enough to visit some ladies at home making conical hats. They were really happy for me and my friends to have a stitch:

The conical hat, symbol of Vietnam:

These two lovely sisters had lots of fun with my friend Jenny and I as they taught us how to weave a traditional sleeping mat:

I have so many photos (what a surprise!) and stories to tell you so I will be back soon,

Leanne Beasley xxx

Another Wonderful Adventure...

My bags are (almost) packed to head off again:

While my Mum and Dad come and stay here to look after Georgia we are off to a place far far away:

Full of a different and intriguing culture. Full of thousands of photo opportunities!:

I have been reading my travel guides and just can't wait to get on that plane!

Top of the shopping list is fabric! I hope to collect some wonderful silks and cottons to play with when I get home. I have made my travel journal and it's just sitting there waiting to have all those blank pages filled with stories.

Home soon,

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. I have spent the last few days cleaning up my email in-box out-box thingy before I go away. All this effort, only to accidently delete a whole lot of emails! How frustrating. If you don't have a reply from me and were expecting one, and still want one, can you please re-email me. Thanks.

Busy Stitching...

I am frantically stitching (as per usual) finishing off a number of new projects. Here's a sneak peek for the ladies who I will be lucky enough to share a day with at The Cottage on the Hill in Nundle, New South Wales, in May:

We are just going to have such a lovely time - I can't wait!

Then there's the project for Australian Country Threads magazine that I would love to show you in full but again, a little sneak peek will have to suffice:

I got carried away with this project (what's new) and decided to make two versions of the project for readers:

Hope you will get the magazine when it hits the stores (will let you know):

Back to stitching,

Leanne Beasley xxx

Beautiful Props...

Before the storms hit in Melbourne there was time to grab a second day of photography for Rosie's new book:

We were joined by a wonderful photographer, Kim Dall, who did the most amazing indoor shots for the book (you'll have to wait for those). Rosie gathered together the most amazing props for the book:

After all, it's all in the details:

Of course, it all looks very ordered when you see the photos like this but really this is more accurate:

It's all just so exciting , a book coming together! You are just going to love all the effort that Rosie's put in so far!

Until next time,

Leanne Beasley xxx

Save Your Pocketmoney!

Yes, you are really going to NEED the new book from Rosalie Quinlan! I was lucky enough to see all the projects for the book together today because I got to photograph them!!! There was me, and Melly, and their Mum, Nel, altogether to photograph Rosie's new book. Here's Melly:

We had lots of fun setting up all the props:

I can't give away too much but here's a little slice:

And another yummy slice:

I promise you that you will want to stitch every single thing in this book! I wanted to take everything home for myself. But of course I couldn't - there's more photography to be done tommorow!

Off to sleep ready for tommorow,

Leanne Beasley xxx