The answer, my friends.......

.........is probably blowing in the wind today, because it is very windy and the wind is not warm at all.  Not sure of the question, though......

Meet some of the new members of our garden family:  first, "Big Red".

 Still only a teenager, and already nearly up to my chest!  (not difficult considering I'm only 5ft 2in tall anyway)

"Kay Williams" - pretty apricot flowers, she will be gorgeous when bigger, and already birds have discovered it.

 One day there were four or five honey eaters hanging off these two flowers getting as much nectar as they could, many Aussie birds are nectar eaters.

 Need to be careful working nearby though - leaves on some grevilleas, this one included, can cause contact dermatitis if touched with bare skin.

The view from our front verandah, with a native frangipani tree shading the mail box and our red callistemon "King's Park Special" peeking round the corner of the garage.

 We may have made a mistake planting this one so close to the house as it still has a lot of growing to do but we can always prune it if it starts getting ideas above its station......right now, though, it is spectacular.

Native plants are a better choice in this dry climate than exotics.  Yesterday we were very excited to have some rain, the official weather station at the airport measured 19 mls of welcome rain, but considering that a local agronomist said on the news last night that at least 150mls are needed to break the current drought we aren't too excited.  At present we are only allowed to use a hose to water our gardens for two hours a day, between 6pm and 8pm, but if the drought continues hoses will be banned completely and we will have to care for our gardens using buckets and watering cans.......so our fingers are crossed for some rain, although forecasts for the coming summer aren't too optimistic at this stage.

One of the tops cut out recently is nearly finished, only needs hemming, and could have been finished yesterday except for the storm which hit us in the late afternoon.  I always turn off My Lovely New Bernina during storms as it's computerised and I have heard horror tales of computer machines frying in electrical storms, a fate I don't want for mine.  It would be covered by our house insurance and I might get a new machine.......but I don't want a new machine, I love that one.  Today is not looking good for sewing because of forecast storms either, but never mind, that top will be done soon.

Our computer is always turned off and unplugged during electrical storms too, we learnt that the hard way five years ago when our modem was fried by a lightning strike, so now we err on the side of caution.

Still undecided on the sashing and cornerstone colours for Cricket/ette's quilt.........it will be left until we return from our holiday and the Big Decision will be made then.

Are TV weather persons as inane in other countries as some of ours, I wonder?  Every evening our weather chicky or bloke is on the screen to finish off the local news, and nearly evening said weather person says with a big smile "hello, good to see you again".  No, you can't see us.  Don't pretend you can.  We can see you, but you can't see us.

Oh dear......I have become one of those Grumpy Old People who talk back to the television.......no, you can't see us at all, don't be silly.......is it any wonder that, given my way, the TV would seldom be turned on in this house?  However as I'm not the only person who lives here, it's not always my choice.

"Flippancy.
In conversation, all provincialism, affectations of foreign accents, mannerisms, exaggerations and slang are detestable.  Equally to be avoided are inaccuracies of expression, hesitation, an undue use of foreign words, and anything approaching to flippancy, coarseness, triviality or provocation.  Gentlemen sometimes address ladies in a very flippant manner, which the latter are obliged to pass over without notice, for various reasons, while inwardly they rebel.  Many a worthy man has done himself an irreparable injury by thus creating a lasting prejudice in the minds of those whom he might have made his friends, had he addressed them as though he considered them as rational beings, capable of sustaining their part in a conversation upon sensible subjects.  Flippancy is as much an evidence of ill-breeding as is the perpetual smile, the wandering eye, the vacant stare, and the half-opened mouth of the man who is preparing to break in upon the conversation."

Does this mean that TV weather persons who say "good to see you", although they can't see us, are being flippant?  I rather suspect it does.

Enjoy your days!

Fraying at the edges

Isn't this a fun block?  It's called Frayed Sawtooth Star and comes from EQ7.

 Next month is my turn to provide a sample block and instructions to make it, for my quilt group.  Some of the women seem to have an aversion to triangles, so I always make sure that my blocks have some.  The background is white on white, my sewing table is white....can't tell where one ends and the other begins, can you?  When several blocks are set together a secondary diagonal line is quite noticeable.

Here is the current project, a new purse for me.  This is the lining, with one of the side seams having self-made bias binding applied over the seam; all the inside seams are finished this way.  It's a more attractive colour that this, the machine light was shining onto it and making it appear washed-out.......and yes, all that quilting was done on My Lovely New Bernina by me before the pieces were cut out.

Sewing has become possible again, so long as I take plenty of breaks and don't reach forward too much.  Wednesday last week was one of the worst days since I went Under The Knife; at sewing guild my machine was set up on a table and it was a bit high for me to use comfortably, so after a short while I stopped sewing.  However by the time I arrived home it was agony, and it was for the rest of the day too.  Ever since then I have been very careful with what I do, which is why, for a while, I am sitting here at the computer having coffee instead of sewing.

Was I the only person in the world who was annoyed by the treatment given to various country's flags by many idiots at the sports carnival which recently finished?  Flags have their own protocol; as far as I know they are not to be dropped on the ground at any time and should always be treated with dignity.  Wearing your country's flag round your shoulders as a cloak is not dignified.  If you want to dress up, use your mother's old curtains.  While I don't think Australia's flag design is relevant these days and would love to see it changed, I respect what it stands for.

Only two days of February to go, and we have had less than half the average rainfall for the month again.  Rain is forecast for tomorrow but it's doubtful that we will get much.  Last year's rainfall was well below average and the past two summers have been hotter than average, so water supplies in many places have dried up.  A local bloke told me recently he thinks we are in for an early, long and cold winter because he has seen snakes on the move shedding their skins.  As one who doesn't do reptiles I will take his word for that......I am not going out and about looking for snakes, believe me.  Australia has some very deadly snakes and many of them live in our area.  On our recent trip to Canberra we noticed that many trees are looking autumnal, poor things have gone into an early dormancy because it's been so hot and dry.  Autumn won't arrive for a while yet, but colours are already changing and leaves are dropping.  Hopefully there will be some colour left when we go back to Canberra in April for the folk festival.

Some pics of the wedding have appeared on the photographer's web site, so if you would like to see them let me know and I will send you the link.

"Can any one fancy what our society might be, if all its members were perfect gentlemen and true ladies, if all the inhabitants of the earth were kind-hearted ; if, instead of contending with the faults of our fellows, we were each to wage war against our own faults?  Every one needs to guard constantly against the evil from within as well as from without, for, as has been truly said, "A man's greatest foe dwells in his own heart"."

The folks writing the etiquette book in 1885 knew a thing or two, didn't they?

Enjoy your days!

Making much progress!

The outfit for the Mother of the Groom is all done!  So the wedding party and guests won't need to be bothered by the terrifying sight of a nekkid MotG.  One remaining option is to bead the short sides of the wrap, but if that doesn't get done in time the world will still continue to turn.  I found out last week that my Bernina overlocker does a beautiful rolled hem.....much better than the Elna I had for 17 years, which made way for the Bernina a few years ago.

The uke gig went off well, people applauded which gave us a great buzz.  The concert opened with the first few verses of the song performed by different soloists in front of a black curtain, then on the chorus after the third verse the curtain opened and we joined in playing our ukes and singing our little hearts out.  Much was the cheering and clapping from the audience as we were revealed.  Many kind things were said to us and about us, it was great fun and I am so glad I could do it.  So now we can say that we opened one of the major concerts of the country music festival!

Oh my, it has been so hot.  I am over it.  Summer started early and heated up quickly, so it seems to have lasted forever and will be with us for at least a couple of months yet.  I am thinking longingly of this......

 .....and of this.......

.....when it was cooler.  For several days in a row the temperature has topped 37-38 deg C (that's over 100 deg F), nights aren't very cool either.  Can you imagine living in a few hundred years when scientists tell us it will even hotter?

Saw the specialist today about my shoulder and he is pleased with its progress.  It is ahead in some ways - for instance, last Tuesday was the first time I was able to fasten my bra myself, eight weeks to the day after the op, and he seemed to think that is very good indeed - but a little behind in others, as I should be able to raise higher than I can.  It is stiff and sore in some positions and there is still swelling in my shoulder and neck, so he told me to start taking anti-inflammatory tablets again and to keep on taking them.  That will help get the swelling down, which will help with the stiffness, which will make more movements easier.  He did say to keep playing uke as it's excellent physical therapy.  It will be good to be able to put my hair up again; had I been a well-off lady in Victorian times I would have had a maid to do it for me, but alas.......no maid resides in this house.

"Certain local rules have been recognized in society at Sydney from the fact that a gentleman's social position is acquired by virtue of certain offices which he holds, and the social status of woman is also in a less degree determined by the official rank of her husband."

So that's the problem......obviously my husband does not have the rank for my status to require a maid.  It's all his fault!

Enjoy your days!

My new quilting space

So far it working well.  My Lovely New Bernina (13 years old this month and still going strong) sits in its Sew-Ezi table; the darker table behind it is a typewriter table bought more years ago than I can remember in an office supply place, it has a shelf which slides out on which ever side you need (it's out on the left side here); and the lighter table in front was bought a very very long time ago, at the time it was the latest and greatest thing to hold one's sewing machine.  Usually my overlocker sits on the dark table and my Singer Featherweight on the light one, but when the tables are needed for quilting those machines have to sit elsewhere for a while.....like the floor.

 As you can see this set up works well - the tables to the back and left hand side support the weight of the quilt nicely.  The challenge quilt is finally being quilted, it posed for you so you can see how this works.

This is my suggested colourway for the Coronation block, for my quilt group tomorrow - what do you reckon?  Dark blue with brights.  If several blocks were being made there wouldn't be any repeated fabrics, this happens when you make only one.

The k-niddling is also coming along nicely after having to buy a longer circular needle, because more than 300 stitches is a lot when crammed onto a shorter needle.  It's now been divided for the fronts, back and sleeves with one sleeve currently being worked on - 72 stitches per row is an improvement on 300, let me tell you.

This week we have really been back in the depths of winter, with heavy frosts and a cold wind.  Towns barely an hour away had snow.  Today is sunny, and the wind isn't so strong or cold, for which we are thankful - but it's quite dry, some rain would be very welcome.  We have both noticed our skin is drier since moving here so I for one am making sure that vitamin E lotion is daily applied to lots of me, even the bits that never see daylight.

Some family history stuff: recently I found out that one could apply for divorce records online, so I applied for a copy of the record of my maternal grandmother's divorce from her first husband in 1923.  It must have been a deep scandal in those days.  The divorce was instigated by her husband on the grounds that she had been absent for at least three years, and the decree nisi was granted in April 1923 with the proviso sternly stated "If you marry before this decree is final you will be committing bigamy".  No beating about the bush there!  The decree absolute came through in 1928.  However in September 1923 she married my grandfather - no doubt my mother's birth seven months afterwards provided a reason - but I am now wondering, was that a bigamous marriage?  And if so, does that make my mother and her brother illegitimate?  Skeletons in the family cupboard!  Yesterday was open day at the local family history centre but the lovely folks there couldn't shed further light on the matter, except to agree with me that yes, her second marriage was probably bigamous.  Perhaps if I took the papers to the local court house, there might be someone more versed in legal matters than I am who could tell me.

57 days until we start our holiday.  Better get cracking on that sewing, hadn't I?

"Intruding on privacy.
Never enter a private room anywhere without knocking.  Sacredly respect the private property of others, and let no curiosity tempt you to pry into letters, desks, packets, trunks, or other belongings of another.  It is ill-mannered to read a written paper lying upon a table or desk; whatever it may be, it is certainly no business of yours.  No person should ever look over the shoulder of another who is reading or writing.  You must not question a servant or child upon family affairs.  Never betray an implied confidence, even if you have not been bound to secrecy."

Does digging into one's family history constitute an intrusion on privacy - bringing to light matters which have been hidden for years, or indeed never known at all?

Enjoy your days!

58 pieces in one 12inch block

They smallest piece is cut two inches square.

 When several blocks are joined together a secondary pattern of smaller stars emerges where the corners join.  Next week is my turn to provide a block of the month at quilt group, and I thought a challenging block would be more interesting to make than a block made entirely of squares.  My sample block (in progress as we speak) will use this same deep blue background with different coloured pieces for the various star points.  The block is called 'Coronation', and if you should fancy making one for yourself the instructions can be found here.  My block doesn't quite follow those directions but the result is the same.  This blue and gold block was made a while for our Canadian girl-in-law.

This morning a re-organisation took place in my sewing room.  When we moved here a large desk came with us, as it was a good surface for my sewing machine and overlocker - it wasn't ideal because it was a bit high for me (I'm fairly short, you know) but it had sufficed for quite a while.  Then one day I bought a Sew-Ezi table, and some months later a Horn extendable cutting table with storage cupboards, and that room was becoming crowded and getting difficult to work in.  This week the desk was given away and now there is so much more space in the room!  I can even open the cupboard without having to move something first.  The only time the desk may be missed is when I am machine quilting....it was handy behind the machine to take the weight of the quilt being worked on.....but that can be overcome.  So My Lovely New Bernina sits in its Sew-Ezi table, and my Bernina overlocker sits next to it on a table bought many years ago at an office supply shop - it's a typewriter table, remember when we used typewriters? - and my Singer Featherweight sits on a table bought nigh on 40 years ago.  These three small tables plus a four-drawer chest don't take up much more room than that one large desk did, and the space is used more efficiently.

We have had some more wintry weather this week - Thursday was the coldest August morning for goodness  knows how many years and the water in the bird bath froze again.  Days are sunny and pleasant but when one steps into the shade, or rounds a corner into the breeze, there is a distinct coolth in the air.  The actual temperature feels several degrees less than the numbers would have you think; for instance the latest temperature reading is 18.3 deg, but it only feels like 13.5 deg.  But spring won't be far away, and then summer, and we will be complaining about the heat.

The knitting is proceeding very well and the lace pattern is giving no trouble at all; I wonder why it wouldn't go right during the first/second/third/whatever attempt?  Mind you, it takes forever to knit one row as there are now over 300 stitches on the needle......I had to buy a longer circular needle to take them all.  There aren't many rows left until it's divided up for the fronts, back, and sleeves.

It is 64 days until we start our Canadian holiday.

"Keep yourself quiet and composed under all circumstances.  Do not get fidgety.  If you feel that time drags heavily, do not let this be apparent to others by any visible sign of uneasiness."

I shall keep myself quiet but busy in the meantime, even if I am quietly panicking when I think of what I want to achieve in that time.

Enjoy your days!

Historic WOW

In the 1830s John Gould visited Australia to study some of its curious (as they were thought of by the rest of the world) animals and birds. This is a study of a wombat published in his three-volume work "The Mammals of Australia" in 1845-1863. Some of our Aussie animals must have been a bit of a shock to people used to farm animals and field mice. I bought this postcard on a visit to a Sydney historic site - it's one of my collection of cards, both photographs and drawings, of wombats.

In the late 1850s Val Prinsep, a friend of the artist Dante Gabriel Rosetti, said "Rosetti was the planet around which we revolved, we copied his way of speaking. All beautiful women were "stunners" with us. Wombats were the most beautiful of God's creatures."

Seems that Rosetti loved wombats too.

Just so you know there really is a challenge quilt........some of it is quilted and some still needs to be done, as you can see. I think its name will be "Anchors Aweigh". Or should it be "Away"?
This is my new Sew-Ezi table with My Lovely New Bernina all set up ready to go. You can see how the machines sits in the table, which makes moving the quilt around easier than when it is up on the desk.

The wonderful local news is that we now have a local Bernina dealership again! The previous dealer shut up shop a few months ago, which was a real bummer for anyone - me, for instance - who has Bernina machines. Note the plural. My main machine and my overlocker, serger to some of you, are both Berninas.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a doctor, not the man I saw last visit, so I am hoping this time things go better. Nothing major, just a prescription that needs renewing and a sore foot which is swollen. I have hopes that this bloke and I will be able to at least understand each other, unlike the last disastrous waste of time.

The sky is getting a little darker so I am keeping a close eye on the clouds, as it's thunderstorm season here in spring. We have had a few storms lately usually in the late afternoon, and it's just 4pm now. There is washing hanging outside so I may need to make a quick sprint (or slow amble depending on the swollen foot) to fetch it inside.

The last rose has flowered and it is pink, a very pretty delicate shell pink. I quite like it, and I am not a pink person. Shall take its picture soon so the world can enjoy it too. Our plan to do nothing much in the garden for a year may have to be changed, we have had so much rain in the last six months and so much sunshine that it is rapidly becoming a jungle. I have earmarked (leafmarked? plants don't have ears) a few for removal before they grow much bigger.

"Squint-Eyes and Cross-Eye.

Parents should also be careful that their children do not become squint or cross-eyed through any carelessness, A child's hair hanging down loosely over its eyes, or a bonnet projecting too far over them, or a loose ribbon or tape fluttering over the forehead, is sometimes sufficient to direct the sight irregularly until it becomes permanently crossed."

Now it's time to gently stroll outside to being in the washing, then perhaps a little quilting on my challenge quilt. But I shall be careful, while so doing, not to let my bonnet strings hang down over my eyes. Don't want crossed eyes, do we?

Enjoy your days!

We're baaaaaack........

We went to the rainforest, and it rained.......

Had a lovely weekend at the music festival catching up with friends and hearing great music, even the rain didn't stop our enjoyment. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and set up camp. On Friday morning we explored the town, checked out the quilt shop (excellent), got back to our caravan just before the rain started.

It poured, there was thunder and lightning, the rain came down in buckets.

On Saturday morning it was nice and sunny, we listened to more music, I had a go at singing with the festival choir although it wasn't 'me' (I'm not one of those happy clappy types who prances and jigs around when they sing, getting into the moment).....but never mind, we caught some more concerts before it rained again. I joined in a ukulele workshop which was fun even if we didn't learn much. Later on it poured and the rain came down in buckets.

However I did have a go at singing with a band later, much fun was had by all - several of us got up and did our 'party piece'.

More of the same on Sunday, except the rain started earlier in the day. More buckets full. And there was more thunder and lightning too.

On Monday we visited the local rainforest centre and walked through the forest in the rain.....it wasn't heavy, just lightly drizzling, which made the experience magical as you can see in the pic above. There is a walkway over the treetops but all we could see was white mist. The whole area is beautifully green and lush. No wonder, with all the rain they get.

Next day we headed off to the coast and spent a few days by the water, being bitten by sandflies. It rained there too. But not as much as up on the plateau in the rainforest.
We treated ourselves to a boat cruise on Wallis Lake - yes, it really is this colour. It's a tidal estuarine environment, the captain told us. It was a very peaceful couple of hours.
The area is famous for its oysters, you can see some of the oyster leases on the other side of the little island. The previous day we had a wonderful lunch of fish and chips but avoided the oysters, as oysters and I are not good friends (they make me really ill) and Kevin doesn't really care for them anyway.

More pics will no doubt follow in due course.

We also caught up with some Sydney friends for lunch while we were away, which was great. Visited three quilt shops and helped along the local economy a little in each - we are always being told 'holiday at home and save local jobs' so I did my bit - I am now the proud owner of a Sew-Ezi table from one of the shops. My Lovely New Bernina is all set up in it ready to go. I'm happy to sew on a desk for most things but quilting a whole quilt on the desk is difficult, so hopefully this will make it much easier. The challenge quilt is calling.........just wish I wasn't such a wuss about machine quilting.......

Waiting for me when we arrived home was a parcel from Dianne who sent me some pumpkin seeds, among other goodies! So hopefully I will be able to make my pumpkin spice muffins taste more like the ones we had in Canada last year. Thanks so much Dianne, you are a gem - a veritable pearl. I also have my very own made-by-Dianne apron too. It's green.......and coffee brown. Yum.

Have to say, the folks I have met through blogging, both on-line and in real life, have all been lovely folks and I feel my life is richer for knowing them. So thank youse all for being there.

The kitties were very pleased to be home again, Binky talked to us all the way home in the car......and all that night while we were trying to sleep......she talked so much she lost her voice........just imagine a talkative kittie who can barely raise a croak, and that's Binkie.

"Parties in the country.

Morning and afternoon parties in the country, or at watering-places, are of a less formal character than in cities. The hostess introduces such of her guests as she thinks most likely to be mutually agreeable. Music or some amusement is essential to the success of such parties."

Believe me, watching while I machine quilt would be amusement enough.

Enjoy your days!

You can all stop looking now.........

..........the sewing machine feet have turned up. While I knew they would eventually it is still a great relief, Bernina feet are expensive and I have several, and a walking foot too. The little tin was in a box marked "sewing rm bks". There were perhaps a dozen magazines in the bottom of the box but definitely - no books. Each new box we unpack is a great adventure because the contents inside often don't quite match the writing on the outside. You can tell the packing and labelling was done by blokes.........

I am greatly relieved.

Jennifer

We are online again!

This is the view we have each time we step outside our new front door....it goes on forever! But it's not so sunny today, we could get rain later. Yes, that is a bus stop right across the road, very handy.

Yesterday we found the box containing all the computer bits so we are now connected to the world again. That means I can keep up with my favourite blogs once more, I have missed you all.

We are slowly unpacking and deciding where things are to go. When the furniture was delivered we could only say "put that one here......and this one there" as we weren't sure what was going in which room. Now that we have been here for ten days we have more of an idea where shelf units and cupboards need to go. No doubt there will be a local handyman who can help two Olde Phartes organise their lovely new home.

My new sewing room has a window looking up the hill to the trees - no other houses in sight, just natural bush. We can see neighbouring houses when we are outside, but not when we are inside looking out.

The kitchen is unpacked and organised, and we have unpacked our clothes. So we have food to eat, and clothes to cover our nakedness! Today I unpacked my Singer Featherweight machine but I haven't yet come across My Lovely New Bernina, although the extension bed, cords and foot pedal were in the box with the Featherweight and sewing desk lamp. Every box unpacked is a voyage of discovery........haven't found my etiquette book either, so unfortunately there will be no quote today. The wombats that have been unpacked so far have already had their turn as wombats of the week, but don't worry - there are more still hiding in boxes. Unpacking and organising my sewing space will be a big job but one I am looking forward to doing, because then I will be able to sew again.

Have a lovely week, I am going to look in another box to see what is lurking!

Jennifer

Our girls

This is Bianca The Beautiful helping to sort out the contents of a chest of drawers. You can see her blue eye, the other one is green - but unlike many odd-eyed cats she is not deaf, in fact she has very acute hearing. She can hear a can of cat food being opened from three blocks away. She's now seven years old. She and her two white brothers were dumped as tiny kitties but fortunately they were rescued, and Bianca came to live with us.
And this is Binky The World's Friendliest Cat, doing what she does very well - resting. She is nigh on 13 years old now, but does very well for a Senior Cat. She has really taken our old computer chair as her own, we're on the point of throwing it out....but how can we do that to Binky? So we have let it stay in the corner, just for her. Binky is also a rescue cat, she came from the RSPCA.

The other day I won a giveaway, aren't I lucky? Tammy had a giveaway to celebrate her 100th post and I was fortunate enough to win. Poor Tammy has been having a rough time lately, an operation on her hand didn't go according to plan, but all seems to be well now which is good, I hope you continue to improve, Tammy!

Last weekend I cut out fabric to make a late Christmas gift, a set of placemats. My goodness.....cutting six layers at a time was a bit of strain on the hand, but we managed all right in the end. You can see what I am making here. The backs are made of two fabrics and I have sewn one upside down....does it matter? Probably. If I don't fix it now while it's easy to do so, it will bug me forever. Can't have nikau palms growing upside down. I decided against the applique although I like it, because I think the recipient will prefer them a little plainer.

The weather has been conspiring against me lately in my quest to be a little healthier and fitter. It's either been too hot to walk - when the humidity is so high that it feels like pushing through a swimming pool, then it's too unpleasant to be out in it - or else we have been having afternoon and evening storms. I may be silly sometimes, but I'm not silly enough to be out in an electrical storm. I don't sew during electrical storms as My Lovely New Bernina is a computer machine, so I turn it off and pull out the plug........don't want my machine to get fried. Or me either.

The other night we went with friends to see Sharon Shannon in concert, Sharon is an Irish musician and is an absolute whizz on the accordian. She had very good musicians with her - a guitarist (I'd give my right arm to be able to play that well but then I wouldn't be able to play at all with only one arm would I), a banjo player and a fiddle player. The sound man joined them on stage at the end, he played mandolin very well and sang well too. I only wish the sound man we had for our gig on Australia Day had been that good..........we were there 45 minutes before we were due to perform, all on stage waiting for our sound check......he still hadn't got it right by the time we finished performing. Perhaps by the end of the day he might have picked up a clue as to what he should have been doing. We don't know how much he was paid but he didn't give us the impression that he had earned his wage that day.

"A Good Listener.
To be a good listener is almost as great an art as to be a good talker; but it is not enough only to listen, you must endeavor to seem interested in the conversation of those who are talking. Only the low-bred allow their impatience to be manifest."

Now I am off to the sewing room to unpick that seam so I can turn the fabric round and sew it the right way. Don't want to be bugged forever.

Jennifer

Summer Serenade

That's the name of this quilt, what do you reckon? It says summer to me, and some of the fabrics have a musical theme. A few years ago Donna Ward from New Zealand taught classes for members of the NSW Quilters Guild, and one of them was this foundation pieced New York Beauty. Donna's method was quilt-as-you-go, and after making one block I decided that wasn't for me. (different strokes for different folks, right?) I had the idea to use black and white fabrics with lime green, the idea for which came from - believe it or not - the ladies' toilets at the club where the Guild has its meetings, the internal walls are some sort of reconstituted stuff made of black and white marble chips with tiny pieces of bright green glass. The sashing has weeny yellow stars on the orange background, the backing will be a glorious orange tone-on-tone which wasn't q-u-i-t-e wide enough for this quilt so a pieced strip of the border leftovers is set in, and the binding will be the same black and white print as the centre of the pieced fans. And the blocks are tilted on purpose.

Now the big question is, how to quilt it? I will be doing it myself on My Lovely New Bernina, and sitting in the thread box is a black and white variegated 40wt cotton thread from Aurifil as well as orange and lime green threads. One thing I most definitely do not want at all in any circumstances whatsoever is just all-over stippling. All suggestions that do not involve stippling will be considered. It has been a top for a while and I would like to have it finished. I'm good at making tops.......not so good at finishing the quilt, because of my lack of confidence in my ability to quilt by machine.

Out there in Blogland I see there are many ideas for helping folks with their UFOs - pledges to finish one project per month, or so many projects this year - after pondering deeply on this for about a second and a half I have decided not to join in any of them. Last year's broken arm taught me the futility of making plans too far in advance! So rather than join up and then beat myself about the head if I failed, I have decided not to join. Simple. Like not making any resolutions at New Year, for the same reason. We are planning to move house six hours away sometime this year, and as anyone who has ever moved can tell you - don't make plans for anything else.

The current project is coming along nicely, that's the skirt I cut out last week. All that remains is to measure and pin the hem, then stitch it by machine. It's quite a bright skirt but that is all to the good, life is too short to live it in beige.

Report on the arm: I can play guitar again! yay! After getting encouragement to try from both the orthopedic specialist and the nice young physio bloke (we are now at the stage of having deep and meaningful discussions about life and classical music while he pummels the bejaysus out of my arm) yesterday I took my beloved Rokomann out of its coffin - sorry, case - and tried some chords. G, D, and C weren't too difficult but F isn't quite there yet as it's a barre chord. That's when you have to hold down more than one string with your finger, and it needs a bit more strength than the finger currently has. But that will come. I have another guitar which might be better to use while I ease back into playing. Still to be tried: cutting with ruler and rotary cutter, and driving the car.

"Harmony of Colors in Dress.
One color should predominate in the dress; and if another is adopted, it should be in a limited quantity and only be way of contrast or harmony. Some colours may never, under any circumstances, be worn together, because they produce positive discord to the eye. If the dress be blue, red should never be introduced by way of trimming, or vice versa. Red and blue, red and yellow, blue and yellow, and scarlet and crimson may never be united in the same costume. If the dress be red, green may be introduced in a minute quantity; if blue, orange; if green, crimson. Scarlet and solferino are deadly enemies, each killing the other when they meet".

There's your homework - find out what colour "solferino" is. It's not a colour I have ever worn....or ever plan to, now I know what it is. One clue, it's nothing to do with sulphur yellow.

Have a good weekend.

Jennifer

First WOW for the new year

This is a really tiny wombat, as you can see! A couple of years ago I was walking by a jewellery shop window, I happened to glance in....as you do......and what did I see calling my name but a little gold wombat on a neck chain. So the shop and I did a deal involving an exchange of money and a small package, and the little wombat came home with me. Would you believe I have never seen another one of these, ever, anywhere else? It's probably not the only teeny gold wombat in existence but goodness knows where the others are hiding.
Isn't this impressive? Today I looked in the manual for My New Overlocker, and had a go at threading it, and even used it, and it works. Yesterday I cut out fabric to make a skirt, and having an overlocker gives such a professional finish to the seams. I owned an Elna overlocker for over 17 years and it did sterling duty in that time, but its tension was never wonderful. When My Lovely New Bernina (on the left) went to the sewing machine spa just before our Canadian holiday last October I looked at new overlockers, and this one was on special - "yes please" said I. So it was duly ordered, and collected when the other machine was ready. Because I haven't been able to sew for so long I looked at it occasionally, and sighed, and bided my time until my hand was usable again. Now the desk looks like a proper sewing centre.

Speaking of the hand, two days ago a real milestone was passed.....chuckle if you will, but it's a milestone just the same.....I can now do up my bra by myself! Before Saturday morning the last time I managed that small task was 15th October last year, the day of The Great TO Tumble. The pressure for using a ruler and rotary cutter is not quite there yet, but it's getting closer. Still to come - driving the car (the swelling in my hand and fingers means I don't have much strength in my grip yet) and playing guitar. The hand has its next appointment with the nice young physio bloke tomorrow morning so hopefully he will give it a good report. While there are a couple of promised items in my UFO list I decided that the next thing to tackle would be a skirt which was cut out with scissors. The promised items need the use of a rotary cutter so they will be done as soon as I can manage it. A few days ago I finished the Flower Basket block that I started in Canada, and knitting is relatively easy again, so my crafting life is slowly returning to what passes for normal.

Today I received a package from Carol, we're having a swap between ourselves - Carol has sent me some lovely patterns in exchange for some Aussie magazines. Getting parcels from overseas is exciting! Thank you Carol, and I hope your parcel doesn't take too long to arrive. Speaking of which, early in December I won a giveaway on a blog - an Aussie blog, in Queensland, not a blog on the far side of the known universe - and my giveaway hasn't yet arrived, which is sad. It was one of several prizes posted the same day, one apparently arrived fairly quickly but the others didn't. I feel sorry for the ladies who organised the giveaway as it's not their fault, but I suppose these things happen from time to time.

Carol and her husband have a little teardrop trailer, we have our 12ft Nipper caravan - we don't need a huge RV to have fun. Kevin sometimes makes noises about getting a bigger caravan, more space could be useful.......but I must admit I have a soft spot for our little Nipper. The more space we have the more things we will take away with us, whether or not we need them.

"Accepting Hospitality A Sign Of Good-Will.
As eating with another under his roof is in all conditions of society regarded as a sign of good-will, those who partake of proffered hospitalities, only to gossip about and abuse their host and hostess, should remember, that in the opinion of all honorable persons, they injure themselves by so doing."

Now I am going to tinker around in my sewing room for a while, then get ready for the first choir practice of the new year. Have a lovely week!

Jennifer

WOW is back!

My wombat coasters are made from pine and are probably cut with a laser because each one of the six is an exact copy of the others. Isn't technology wonderful? If the photo is slightly blurry please forgive me, I am under a slight handicap with only one working hand.
This is a gorgeous tree! Rose Marie told us it's a maple tree, and as she is Canadian I believe her. After all, if a Canadian can't recognise a maple tree no one can. Do you know what I like about this tree.....not only is it a maple tree, but the shape of the tree is almost a maple leaf. Kevin took this pic at Scarborough Bluffs in Toronto. He took many others too, and you will see some of them in due course.

I realised that at the end of October my little blog was a year old. Happy birthday, blog. That means a whole year of wombats!

Today I went to the library for some books to read, my sprained right wrist is just about well enough now to hold a book. It's pretty good most of the time, but occasionally says with gritted teeth 'please don't bend me like that.........' so I stop whatever I'm doing, and do nothing for a while. Today I tried to crochet, it's possible but is a slow painful process. But I shall persevere if I can.

My Beautiful New Overlocker is unpacked and is sitting beside My Lovely New Bernina. They make a gorgeous pair. Hopefully soon I will be able to get to use them again.

Yesterday my folk club had a gig, we enjoyed ourselves....the front row was missing a guitar (me) but at least I can still sing, so sing I did. And I will be able to sing at choir practice tonight.

"Avoid talking of personalities.
Avoid speaking of your birth, your travels and of all personal matters, to those who may misunderstand you, and consider it boasting. When induced to speak of them, do not dwell too long upon them, and do not speak boastfully."

Did I mention that we recently holidayed in Canada?

Have a lovely week, may all your points match and your seams be straight.

Jennifer

Travelling WOW

A couple of years ago before our last trip to Canada we stencilled wombats on our bags....that is to say, I suggested Kevin stencil wombats on the bags, and he did. I have had the stencil for many years and it helps to identify our bags from the sea of black bags at the airport. The idea came from something I read somewhere on line....wherever it was, thank you.....that suggested painting one's initials on one's bag. But supposing that there was someone else with the initials KR or JR travelling at the same time as us? So we modified the idea and used my wombat stencil instead. Our bags were easy to spot as they were the only bags identified by wombats! I also made wide fabric ribbons to wrap around the handles, yellow on one side and green on the other, serged together with yellow and green thread. The cat hair will be brushed off before we pack, Bianca The Beautiful has been walking around the bags.
Last week Kevin and I went for a Nice Sunday Drive (on Tuesday) to Mount Tomah Botanic Garden who were having a spring display of waratahs, the state flower of New South Wales. Inside the visitor's centre there were large displays of waratahs and related plants, and the results of a children's colouring competition displayed around the walls. We took quite a lot of photos but they will have to wait for another day, however this is one of the arrangements. Walking around the gardens was just gorgeous; the speciality of this garden is cold climate plants, so there were rhododendrons, and acers (maples) in glorious colours, and lots of plants I couldn't identify. One particular area showed plants from collecting expeditions of days gone by, all from various regions of Asia - China, Japan, Tibet, the Himalayas. They will grow at Mount Tomah because it is higher than Sydney, has much colder winters and less humidity.

On the way to Mount Tomah we stopped at Richmond and Kurrajong, two towns where my family lived over 150 years ago. The towns are more modern now of course, I wonder what they were like then?

On Friday we took My Lovely New Bernina to the sewing machine spa to be serviced while we are away as of course I won't be needing it for a few weeks. While we were there I checked out overlockers (sergers for those not in Oz) as I have had mine for 17 years and it has its drawbacks and tension problems, I have been thinking for some time that a new one would be great. One of the models is on special, so guess what.......when we come back I will be the proud owner of a new Bernina overlocker! I have paid a deposit, the shop will have it waiting for me when I collect my other machine. Woo hoo!

Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, we fly out to Canada. We leave Sydney at 11.30am, arrive in Los Angeles after a 13-14 hour flight before we leave Sydney, hang around LA airport for a few hours then fly to Toronto. We're due to arrive at 5.45pm Tuesday. It's going to be a very very long Tuesday............

"Etiquette of Travelling.
There is nothing that tests the natural politeness of men and women so thoroughly as travelling. We all desire as much comfort as possible, and as a rule are selfish. In these days of railroad travel, when every railway is equipped with elegant carriages for the comfort and convenience of its passengers, and provided with conductors and servants, the longest journeys by railroad can be made with perfect safety and but little annoyance."

Now I am going to pack. Have a lovely week. You will hear all about Toronto when I am back!

Jennifer

Special People

I just love flannel flowers, they have a Latin botanical name that I don't know and probably couldn't pronounce if I did. The petals are soft and fluffy - hence 'flannel flowers' - cream with soft green tips, the leaves are grey-green. This sweet vase of flowers was sitting on the concierge's desk at the spring flower show I went to see last month. Seeing them grow wild in the bush is such a pretty sight.

We have been noticing lately that there are many Special People sharing this world with us. You may have come across a Special Person yourself? These are the folk who are so very important that they don't have to wait in a line of traffic with the rest of us, but can drive alongside and push their way into the line further along. Obviously their time is much more valuable than ours, as they are in much more of a hurry. Kevin and I have decided that we feel privileged to belong to a human race which has such Special People in it. Invariably male, frequently driving an SUV (often a large black one) or the tradesman's dreaded white van (a rusty crapheap with at least one ladder on the top and paint tins visible through the windows). The dreaded white van is prevalent in our part of Sydney, and we have yet to see one driven as though its driver knows how to safely control a motor vehicle.

I'm sure Australia doesn't have a monopoly on Special People like those?

I am heading for the sewing machine while I still have it and while it is still daylight, as I need to hem a black top which I am shortening to disguise a tiny hole just near the hem; I need it to take away. Tomorrow morning My Lovely New Bernina is going to the sewing machine spa and will stay there whilst we are in Canada.

"Offensive Behavior.
No gentleman is ever guilty of the offense of standing on street corners and the steps of hotels or other public places and boldly scrutinizing every lady who passes."

5 more sleeps until we fly.

Jennifer

Best wishes to my American friends

It is 4th July here so if it isn't where you are, it soon will be.....so to my American friends, have a great day. We spent 4th July on American soil three years ago. We were lucky enough to be on a cruise from Vancouver to Alaska and spent 4th in Juneau, it's not a big town for a state capital and it's an interesting place. We spent some time watching their parade which was great fun and even scored some of the candy that was being thrown to the spectators.

I am having a coffee break from sewing, I am assembling blocks into tops to make quilts for victims of the bushfires earlier this year. The need is still there and quilts are still being distributed. But when I stopped sewing to load a new spool of thread - same colour as the old one, same brand, same everything - it kept catching under the bobbin area of the machine. So, like the good girl I am, I took the bobbin area apart, cleaned it, put it back together......and it still kept catching, three times I put it back together and it kept catching......so it and I are having a short break from each other while I have a coffee and perhaps even some chocolate; the Easter chocolate wombat still hasn't been eaten but its time is drawing nigh.

Perhaps My Lovely New Bernina (which will celebrate its tenth birthday next month) could visit the sewing machine spa while we are on holidays.

Enjoy your weekend.

Jennifer

First WOW for autumn

This tin advertising sign looks old but I suspect it is fairly new, as the shop where I found it (an antique/junque shop) had a few similar signs, but as it appealed to me I bought it. That's My Lovely New Bernina it's leaning against.

On Saturday I used my Olde Pharte's travel card and caught the train to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains for a quilt show. Much better than driving, and much more relaxing! I finished the first sleeve of my blue cardigan while travelling along and then did some piecing of a flower basket block, that's 94 finished now. Only 75 to go. The quilt show was lovely too but because of the lighting and crowding in the venue it was difficult to take any photos, so I didn't.

We have a slightly unnerving experience this afternoon. We went to a local supermarket to do our weekly shop this afternoon. The supermarket is in a small shopping mall with an underground car park, and as it's been a warm humid day we parked there out of the sun. No problem. Went upstairs to shop, no problem. Came down again with our trolley of groceries, and as we walked to our car the trolley man (the bloke who drives around local streets looking for feral trolleys) drove into the car park a bit too quickly for safety; there are often mums with small children tagging along, or pushing strollers, and older people who don't move as quickly as cars do, so drivers need to be careful. Kevin signaled to him to slow down - the bloke stopped his car, got out and confronted Kevin, swearing in choice language that I won't repeat here because I am a lady. We both felt so threatened by his behaviour that we rang the manager when we came home to complain; she was suitably aghast and apologetic, and has asked us to send in a formal written complaint which we will do. Although she didn't say so I got the feeling that we weren't the first to complain. In the local area recently we have had several drive-by shootings, and a (supposedly drug related family feud) murder, so ordinary folk like us are a bit cautious these days. I'm not sure whether we will go back to the same supermarket or vote with our feet and shop elsewhere. We have lived in this area for over 30 years now and have seen many changes, some for the better but not all, peoples' attitude being the main one.

And my guitar has new strings...it is sounding amazingly fantabulous, lovely and bright and clear.

Y'all have a good week now!

Jennifer