What a difference the right colour makes!

Several years ago these wombat quilt blocks were made for me by my "Secret Angel" Cathy in an internet swap - Cathy sent me one block each month, for the six months duration of the swap.  She even sent a label  for the back of the quilt, with the final block!  Full of enthusiasm I decided to use Attic Windows as the setting, and was quite pleased with them......until the outer border was added.

 The dandelion print didn't work, because it was too pale and pretty for the strong dark colours used in the blocks and sashings.  Every now and then I would take it out of the cupboard and ponder deeply on a solution, which always seemed to evade me......then one day I decided to remove the offending border, went shopping for fabric, and replaced it with a dark brown subtly striped fabric.

Now the quilt is darker than it was, but looks so much better.  The fabric bought for the backing is a grassy print in green and brown.....the right brown.  It will be quilted this year using a dark brown variegated cotton Aurifil thread, which is also the right brown.  The wombat design is from a book by Australian quilter Margaret Rolfe.

You know, I never thought I would make a brown quilt.  In the 70s I had my fill (and many other people's fill too) of brown.  But this quilt looks just right with its brown fabrics.  And after all brown is the colour of chocolate....and coffee......

The following paragraph is a post I wrote a few years ago - rather than link to it I will post it again.


Today Australia and New Zealand are celebrating, if that is the right word, ANZAC Day. It's the day when we remember the sacrifices of those who fought in wars for our country. My father was stationed in Papua New Guinea in WWII (as we found out a few years ago, he was in the War Graves unit) and never, never, ever spoke of his experiences - he was only 25YO when the war ended and it affected him profoundly. Consequently it affected all of us; my mother, my brothers and me. He was not a happy man, he was a distant, sometimes abusive, father who walked out one day and never contacted any of us ever again; we found out he had died many years after it happened. War doesn't only take people's lives....it takes away their souls too.

On a less gloomy note, our new neighbour saw an echidna just outside his back fence the other day!  We have been hear just on two years now and not seen one yet.  The neighbour on the other side has seen them too.  They are cute little animals....so long as one keeps one's distance, because those spines are sharp.

If those echidnas have any sense they will find somewhere out of the wind today, because it is quite cold.  Sunny with a bright blue sky, but a cold cold wind.  Yesterday we bought two new cat beds to put in front of the fire during winter; both cats have tried out both beds, and they have been given the kitty seal of approval.  We can see the beds being popular when the fire is alight, which to judge by today's wind won't be long.

"Chapped hands.
As cold weather is the usual cause of chapped hands, so the winter season brings with it a cure for them.  A thorough washing in snow and soap will cure the worst case of chapped hands, and leave them beautifully soft."

Somehow washing chapped hands in snow doesn't seem the right remedy....does it?  Winters here are not cold enough for snow, so I won't be able to put it to the test.

Enjoy your days!

It's good to go away but......

it's even better to come home.

We had a lovely time at the folk festival - catching up with friends some of whom we haven't seen since last year, hearing some great music, and on my part joining in some good singing sessions.  Some of the overseas performers we saw were 'Dry Bones' from Manitoba, Canada, and Riley Baugaus and Kurt Sutphin from North Carolina, as well as local performers.  There were other great performers from overseas and within Australia too.....deciding which ones to see was a difficult decision!  Some pics were taken, but they won't be shown because I don't have the permission of the people in the pics to do so.

We enjoyed spending time with our older son, and with friends who also live in Canberra.  One of my favourite coffee roasters has a shop not far from the festival, so of course a visit there was part of the trip and some beans have come home with us.

A town where we stopped overnight is Cowra - one of its attractions is the Japanese Garden.  It was late afternoon, so shadows were getting longer.

 As you can see, it's on a hill.

 I like the juxtaposition of imported exotic plants in the foreground, and native eucalypt trees beyond.  Most of the plantings were exotics, although some natives were used.

We don't know if the smoke was from burning off surplus growth, or if it was a bushfire.  It was a long way off, but we had extensive views from that hill.

Because it's now autumn I was hoping for some colour in the garden from the many imported trees - Australian trees as a rule aren't deciduous and don't change colour - but most of the plantings are evergreens, with lots of conifers shaped to represent rocks.  However, it was still very pretty.

Having house sitters was a great success.  We came home to a home-cooked lunch, a spotlessly clean house, a tidy garden, and two very relaxed cats.  Because it was our first time using the service we were a bit apprehensive, but such a good experience has given us confidence to do it again.  It was worth it to have Binky happy - last time we went away for two weeks and had the cats in a boarding cattery, it took her a further week to adjust to being back home.  In that week she was very stressed and unhappy.  As were we.

So now we can get on with planning the trip to Canada in October!

Yesterday was raining and rather cool, so we did something we hadn't done for a long time - we went to a movie; we saw "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and really enjoyed it.  It's about a group of people from England who, after retirement, decide to move to India to live.  Because it's about older folks there are a few sad moments, but overall it's a really hopeful movie.......such a change to see a movie that doesn't depend on action and special effects, but one that has a realistic story about believable people.  And with no sex scenes.  Am I alone in thinking that sex scenes, which seem to have become more prevalent in movies, aren't really all that interesting to watch?  All that heavy breathing and slobbering in soft focus........some activities are not spectator sports, are they?

"Public mention of private matters.
Do not parade merely private matters before a public or mixed assembly or to acquaintances.  If strangers really wish to become informed about you or your affairs, they will find the means to gratify their curiosity without your advising them gratuitously.  Besides, personal and family affairs, no matter how interesting they may be to the parties immediately concerned, are generally of little moment to outsiders.  Still less will the well-bred person inquire into or narrate the private affairs of any other family or individual."

Don't you think that should apply to sex scenes in movies too?  We can only hope.......

Enjoy your days!