A finish, and a start

First, the finish:

The Maple Leaf runner is done!  It's another souvenir of our holiday in Canada.

Then the start:

The next project, what do you reckon?  Batik fabrics, lots of different shades of blue with pops of yellow, gold and orange.  The blue fabrics range from almost green to almost purple, right around the colour wheel.  The small pieces on the left are mostly leftovers from Maritime Beauty a couple of years ago.

Next weekend is my quilt group's annual UFO weekend (mine is still a USO, not a stitch has yet been taken) so I hope to goodness it will all be cut out in time.  It has at least been started, a few pieces have been cut......

Last Sunday's concert went well, the uke group was allowed two songs (we didn't play "Ain't misbehavin'" so it will go in the next concert in a couple more weeks), we didn't disgrace ourselves, and people told us how much they enjoyed us.  The following day Kevin and I were trundling around a local supermarket - the weekly shop is a great social outing here in the Small Smoke, these days we take our thrills where we can get them - when we were approached by a local councilor and his wife who had been at the concert.  We had a nice chat in the frozen food section, they said how much they liked our music......perhaps we should ask the council if we can be official uke players to our fair city?  I can just imagine us strutting along escorting the mayor during a civic procession, plinking as we go......

Lately, money has been flying out the door here at Chez Wombats like you wouldn't believe.  New light fittings have been bought to replace some already here when we moved in; they aren't our taste so out they go, and anyway lights now are much more efficient than they used to be.  The very 1980s lights in the entrance hall, bedroom hallway and Good Room will, thank goodness, be going.  Should you be in the market for some fittings with scrolly brass arms, painted flowers on the middle bits (don't know the technical word, sorry) and tinted glass chimneys, we will shortly have some available.   All offers welcome.  One more fixture to arrive, the shop has it on order, then the electrician can install them for us.  We don't play around with live electricity, we're not that silly, you know.

On Friday my weekly newsletter from The Fabulous CD Shop In The Big Smoke arrived in my inbox, and you probably heard me gasp from your place......there was an entire boxed set of guitarist John Williams on special.  It's now on its way here.  It cost a certain amount of dollars but oh, all that wonderful music......how can you put a price on it......many years ago I saw John Williams play and it was such an experience, I have never forgotten it.

 Continuing on from the last etiquette post, more words of wisdom aimed at the blokes in our lives:

"The beard.
The style of the growth of the beard should be governed by the character of the face.  But whatever the style be, the great point is to keep it well brushed and trimmed, and to avoid any appearance of wildness or inattention.  The full, flowing beard of course requires more looking after in the way of cleanliness than any other.  It should be thoroughly washed and brushed at least twice a day, as dust is sure to accumulate in it, and it is very easy to suffer it to become objectionable to one's self as well as to others.  If it is naturally glossy, it is better to avoid the use of oil or pomatum.  The moustache should be worn neatly and not over-large.  There is nothing that so adds to native manliness as the full beard if carefully and neatly kept."

Beards were certainly popular in the late 1800s, weren't they?  In photographs taken at the time it's rare to see a clean-shaven bloke.  I wonder what women thought of their menfolk when the beards became a bit wild?  Perhaps they were so taken by the native manliness that they didn't mind.  Just imagine how a wild beard would tickle.......

On that note I shall leave you, and head back to the sewing room and the rotary cutter.

Enjoy your days!

Squares in squares in squares

Over the weekend 25 blocks were made for Cricket/ette's quilt - that's how our son and DIL are referring to their baby.  Some referenced his/her parents' jobs and interests......like this one, because son is a drummer and his kit is about the same colour as this little feller's drum.

 Mum plays French horn in a symphony orchestra and in a military band.

 Some of those blocks are real eye-poppers......poor little tyke will need to wear sunnies when it arrives in the world if that quilt is anywhere nearby.  The border fabric, a diagonal rainbow stripe, has been in the stash for a while and was also used as a border on a quilt a few years ago.  Still need to buy fabric for sashing - I'm leaning towards light gold, not yellow, not orange, something in between - with cornerstones and binding in turquoise, and also need backing fabric.

Also over the weekend Maritime Beauty had its moment in the sun at a quilt show, and was displayed with a lovely vintage machine......not mine, alas........on the stage.

Also waiting to be sewn is fabric to make two tops but first it will be washed, after learning the hard way when I was a Sweet Young Thing that fabric which has not been washed can, and does, shrink when made into a pretty yellow dress.

Leaves on the we-think-it's-an-apricot-tree in the back yard duly turned golden and fell during autumn and winter, and it has been bare ever since with no blossom, no green shoots, no sign of life at all even though blossom trees hereabouts are covered in flowers, and other deciduous trees are already wearing their bright spring green leaves.  We were concerned that like Monty Python's parrot it had turned up its toes, joined the choir invisible and was demised, which would be very upsetting because it provides welcome summer shade.  It was bad enough losing our big tree in the front yard earlier this year in a storm.  However - a couple of days ago I noticed one, just one, flower and today there are more, lots more, flowers and buds.....and on a couple of sprigs there are signs of new little green shoots emerging, so there is much rejoicing here at the Chateau des Wombats!

Now that it is getting warmer the sights we see on our strolls down the main drag will get even better - or worse, depending on one's point of view.  Mirrors were invented for a reason.  Why is it that those who shouldn't wear revealing clinging clothes are the very ones who do?  Leggings under a skirt are fine, on their own are not.......they are not pants, you know.....whoever invented them should be lined up against the wall to face a firing squad at dawn.

This morning I finished reading a book about William Shakespeare written by Bill Bryson and very interesting it was too.  We didn't learn a lot about Shakespeare, because very little is known to begin with.  It has been said that he didn't own any books, but we don't know that for sure.......just as we don't know if he owned any shoes or what he wore or indeed much of anything, because very few records have come down to us about such things.  Most of the 'facts' about Shakespeare are conjecture and wild imaginings; some people like to think that just because they wish a certain fact to be true, it indeed is.

"More formal entertainments.
Evening parties and balls are of a much more formal character than the entertainments that have been mentioned.  They require evening dress.  Of late years, however, evening dress is almost as much worn at grand dinners as at balls and evening parties, only the material is not of so diaphanous a character.  Lace and muslin are out of place.  Invitations to evening parties should be sent from a week to two weeks in advance, and in all cases they should be answered immediately."

I wonder if many people nowadays know what evening dress looks like?  When I was young and slender we used to dress up to attend balls, it was great fun and taught us how to wear formal clothes.

Enjoy your days!

Done!

Maritime Beauty is finished - berthed - safe in the harbour.  Colours of the sand, sea, rocks and sky......I haven't been to the maritime provinces of Canada, but this is how I imagine their shore looks.

 Shells to collect, and ripples in the sand.

Thank you very much, Karen!  Karen very generously gave me this pattern, one of her own designs.  It's very well written, easy to understand and to follow, and I can highly recommend it.  Should you wish to see Karen's designs (and perhaps make your own Maritime Beauty) you can do so on her website.

Wiggly quilting on this block is easy, and fun.  Just imagine that the spikes are hills and the backgrounds are valleys.  Starting at the top of a hill wiggle your way down to the bottom of the valley, then wiggle up to the top of the next hill......across the top........wiggle down the next valley, up the hill on the other side, across the top.......all the way round the block, or in this case round the whole quilt.  The spikes are left unquilted, but of course that is optional.

Later this month Maritime Beauty will be in an exhibition, an annual quilt show which is held to raise money for a local charity; it was dropped off this morning, so sadly I can't have the pleasure of looking at it here until it comes home again.

The current project under the needle is a cardigan in a very lightweight knit fabric, and for a bit of light relief I may start cutting pieces for the grandkid's quilt because the last weekend of this month is my quilt group's UFO weekend.  The chosen block is Economy Patch or square in square, easy to piece and effective in bright fabrics, so that will be a good project to take along - although it will be a USO because it is not yet started, so it can't be a UFO.  There is always a lot of talking on these weekends, but we manage to get quite a lot of sewing done too!

Life is going to be quiet here for a couple of weeks, uke group is on holidays and so is Thursday night choir as the musical director is overseas.  I shall really miss the music, but the uke can be (and is) picked up and strummed at every opportunity.  Playing guitar is getting easier too, my left arm is able to manage the stretch along the neck a little easier and the strength to press and hold down strings at the end of the stretch is slowly.......very slowly, mind you.......coming back.

"A call should not be less than fifteen minutes in duration, nor should it be so long as to become tedious.  A bore is a person who does not know when you have had enough of his or her company, and gives more of it than is desirable.  Choose a time to leave when there is a lull in the conversation, and the hostess is not occupied with fresh arrivals.  Then take leave of your hostess, bowing to those you know as you leave the room, not to each in turn, but let one bow include all."

Indeed.

Enjoy your days!

Stitching away

The binding on Maritime Beauty is being hand-sewn to the back, yay!

In my stash are three different blue batik fabrics but none of them were quite the right binding fabric, I was prepared to make a choice from them although one was too bright, one was too dark, one was too green - but in a local shop recently this blue fabric jumped off the shelf and into my hands, and like Goldilocks, it was Just Right.

Do you like the wiggly quilting?  Several years ago I attended a New York Beauty workshop with a tutor from New Zealand, Donna Ward, and she showed us this quilting design that she uses for the outer block points.  I liked it so much that I used it on the quilt from that workshop, and on this too.  The best thing about a wiggly line is that it never looks badly done, and because it is done in one continuous line along all the points in the block it is very easy.  I'm all for easy, you know.

The back of the dark teal jumper (sweater) is finished, the front has been cast on.  I am determined to wear it next winter.  That yarn has has three false starts already, so this will be it.

In a few weeks daylight saving will start again here and the mornings will, once again, be slightly dimmer for a short while.  The sun is coming up at stupid early o'clock now, so unless I get up before the crack of dawn for the morning walk I am looking directly into the sun while walking home up the hill.  Once I tried walking in the opposite direction to avoid the sun in my eyes but my brain didn't take to it; for one thing the uphill trudge is much steeper, for another the walk along the main road is on the wrong side of the road, and at that time of the morning people are driving into town for work so there is a steady stream of bike, cars and trucks.  Sometimes the trucks are carrying cattle or sheep for livestock sales on the other side of town, and the odour as they pass me is very........rural.

In my opinion, the term "fun run" is an oxymoron.

Spring now seems to be starting because the air is smelling different, the neighbour's jasmine is blooming over our side fence, and once it has finished flowering I will see how much I can cut back before it starts to take over the whole universe - because it will if allowed, you know.  When we first moved here it was climbing on the back fence too, but not now.  Plants which are quite benign in other parts of the world become weeds in Australia because of our climate; except for a few areas our winters are not severe enough to knock them back, so they grow all year ground.  And grow.  And grow.  And keep on growing........

Our wedding gig went off well, the bride was gorgeous in her vintage frock and she joined us for a song or two, which was delightful.  Because the music school follows academic school terms we have one more Tuesday this term then we are off for a couple of weeks.  By the time we come back we may be starting to think about end of year/Christmas concerts.  I don't know about you, but it sometimes feels that my life is flashing past before my very eyes while I sit back and watch it go by.

"It shows a want of courtesy to consult your watch, either at home or abroad.  If at home, it appears as though you were tired of your company, and wished them to be gone.  If abroad, it appears as though the hours dragged heavily, and you were calculating how soon you would be released."

It does seem to be that watches, rather being an item of jewellery, are falling out of favour because so many folk these days have smart phones which they use instead of a watch.  My phone is not smart, it's quite dumb really.......but time still passes by, just the same.

Enjoy your days!

Charging ahead

Here at the Chateau des Wombats we are going great guns.  Progress is being made on the knitting when the shoulder permits, and on the flower basket blocks - some blocks have already been joined, so the first set of nine blocks is under way.  Also under way is quilting on my Maritime Beauty topper.

You can see some of the shells already quilted, and the current one under the needle.  Only one or two blocks are quilted per session, because that is enough for my shoulder at present.  The paper is being torn away as designs are finished and thread ends are buried as I go instead of leaving that tedious job for the end of the quilting.

A couple of days ago Anna The Nice Young Physiotherapist said that, while my shoulder doesn't seem to have suffered further damage, the muscles fore and aft of the shoulder took the brunt of the jerk when I grabbed the crepe myrtle to keep from falling.  She did quite a bit of massage work on said muscles much to their disgust, and has suggested exercises to build up more strength in that area.  It has been a bit tender since and last night at uke group it was very unhappy, but feels a little better today  That was a relief to hear, because I was getting a little concerned that worse damage had been done.

You will no doubt be pleased to hear that the crepe myrtle didn't suffer either, and indeed has been enjoying the rain which fell yesterday and today.  Not enough to break the drought, but good soaking rain just the same.

Speaking of uke playing, this weekend a small town 45 minutes south of here is having a uke workshop with visiting tutors so I have put my name down for the advanced group.  Hopefully it will be fun, and we might even learn something!

Lately I have been looking at front doors.  A house two doors away from us has been undergoing renovation, and a painter's truck was parked out the front for a few days.  It now has a newly painted front door and side panels in an unfortunate shade of battleship grey - considering that the house is dark brown brick with white trim I keep hoping that it's only an undercoat and will soon be covered with something more cheerful, but alas no, the painter appears to have moved on and the door and panels are still grey.  Many houses in this area are all brick in various colours (our house bricks are tan, and our trim is all white) while doors and trim seem to be invariably white, dark brown or an unhappy shade of beige/putty.  I know your own house is your own house and you can paint it whatever you wish, but the rest of us have to look at it, you know.  Should our front door need repainting I'm not sure what colour it would be........but it certainly wouldn't be mission brown or beige/putty, and it may not even be white.

Perhaps it might be green.  Have I ever mentioned that I am quite fond of green?

"When a color is chosen which is favorable to the complexion, it is well to associate with it the tints which will harmonize by analogy, as to use contrasting colors would diminish its favourable effect.  When a color is used in dress, not suitable to the complexion, it should be associated with contrasting colors, as they have the power to neutralize its objectionable influence."

House colour schemes are just as important as colours in clothing, yes?  They are probably left in place for longer - clothes are changed more often than houses are painted.

Enjoy your days!

It's a quiet time here at the Chateau

Not much of anything to report, which is why there hasn't been any reporting for a couple of weeks.

Action is starting to happen in the sewing room, isn't that a cause for rejoicing!  My Maritime Beauty top is being prepared for quilting, some designs of sea shells were found on the internet and traced off onto light paper.  These are now pinned on ready to be quilted through, after which the paper will be torn away.....and if the stitching should stray off the line, well, who would ever know?  This method leaves no lines to be washed out so no fear of said lines reappearing in the future.  It might not suit everyone, but it works for me.

Last night another flower basket block was finished, that makes 223 done, only two to go!  Hopefully the count is correct.  Way back when not many had been made I counted up how many were done and wrote the number in my diary, then each year that total was transferred to the new year's diary, but over so many years it is possible a counting mistake was made.  Ah well, we will find out soon, won't we?

Recently while going through some pictures on our computer I came across some taken while on holiday Over At The Coast a couple of years back, so here they are.

 I don't know the name of this little pink flower, but suspect it's an orchid.

 This rather interesting plant is an Aussie native, a grevillea called "Peaches and Cream" as my research found out.  The colours were so bright and luminous, they really glowed.

Ever wondered what the back end of a peacock looks like?  Well, wonder no longer.  We were walking past some birds at a wildlife park when we heard an odd rustling whirring noise, which turned out to be a peacock fanning its feathers to entice a female bird.  It had its back to us so this is the backstage view of a peacock display, sadly without sound so you can't get the full effect.

Earlier this afternoon while pottering in the garden I nearly did myself a mischief, somehow lost my balance and almost fell downhill into a rose bush.  We live on a hill, not the steepest hill in the universe but a hill just the same, and while bending over to pull out a weed I found myself continuing to topple forward.  Fortunately I managed to grab the crepe myrtle rather than the rose bush, but after that fright I decided that was enough excitement for one day and came inside.  The other weeds will have to wait.  Of course I managed to wrench my sore shoulder too, so now it's hurting, which is a bummer.  Perhaps I won't be able to cook dinner tonight, wouldn't that be sad?

Is anyone else irritated by the overuse of the "keep calm and - whatever" phrase these days?  I believe "Keep calm and carry on" dates from England during World War II and that's where it stayed for a long time, but over the past few years it has made its way onto cups (keep calm and drink tea/coffee), fruit (eat a banana), other food (eat chocolate, drink wine) and so on ad nauseum.  Perhaps it's about time the world became agitated instead.

Last Thursday a few of us from the uke group performed a few songs for a local charity lunch, and nice things were said to us and about us.  This coming Sunday is the Major Annual Concert for the music school, so amid all the serious string quartets, orchestras and choirs will be our uke group playing and singing.  I suspect we will be a bit of light relief.  Perhaps even comic relief.......

"Correct use of words.
The correct use of words is indispensable to a good talker who would escape the unfavorable criticism of an educated listener.  There are many words and phrases, used in some cases by persons who have known better, but who have become careless from association with others who make constant use of them."

Does this also apply to the overuse of keeping calm?

Enjoy your days!

Maritime Beauty top done!

And I am very pleased with it too, my aim was to capture sea, sand, rocks and sky and I think this comes close.  Now to decide on quilting designs, and to select which blue fabric will be used for the binding.  If you go to Karen's blog you can see other colours used for her design in a class last weekend - they all look so different. 

My batik fabrics, with the exception of the pale gold and blue background behind the spikes which was a lucky local find, were all bought in Bib n' Tucker, Victoria, B.C., on our trip to Canada last year; a pack of brown and gold fabrics, and two Timeless Treasure charm packs called Blueberry Pie and Coco-Berry.  Thanks to my friend Lois (who doesn't have a blog) for taking me shopping, that store has an amazing selection of batik fabrics the like of which I have never seen before!

Many thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes over the fast couple of days, they are greatly appreciated!  I had a very nice day and a lovely dinner that night at a local restaurant.

Last Tuesday, 7th May, was the third anniversary of our moving into this house.....time has flown!  It's been a good move, and we really like it here.  Not long after we moved in, one of the neighbours told us that echidnas lived on the hill behind us, but we didn't see any.  Last year the neighbour on the other side, who had moved in only a week earlier, told us he had seen an echidna; we had been living here for two years then, but still hadn't seen one.  Then last month we finally did!.....and have seen it (there are probably more than one, but they all look alike) a few times since.  When we went to investigate it had its snout poked in the ground, Kevin gave it a gentle prod and it responded with a noise somewhere between a grunt and a grumble.  We took the hint, and left it in peace.

A week ago the ukulele group had a public performance, we played at the opening of an exhibition at the local Regional Gallery.  We even had an audience, people gathered round to listen and sang along with us, so we weren't just musical wallpaper!  They liked us so much we have been invited back.

During the week the return visit to the skin doctor happened, he decided that the spot on my back didn't need to be biopsied (I was spared having to take off my clothes again, thank goodness), but the one on my face did, my gosh - having an injection in one's cheek, just off the side of one's nose, is excruciating.  Brought tears to one's eyes, it did.  Now we are waiting for the result, if it's not a skin cancer then there is nothing to worry about, but if it is it will mean removal.  Which will mean another injection.......what with some recent blood tests as well, I have had enough of being spiked for quite a while.

"Other discolorations.
There are various discolorations of the skin, proceeding frequently from derangement of the system.  The cause should always be discovered before attempting a remedy; otherwise you may aggravate the complaint rather than cure it."

Does having a skin cancer which is slightly discoloured mean that one is deranged?  Probably explains a lot......

Enjoy your days!

Progress......and number 200

The project started at the weekend UFO workshop is coming along nicely, as you can see.

 The pieced arcs are all made and trimmed, the inner sections are pinned in place.  The rest of the cutting will be done soon, then it can all be assembled.  I am really pleased with my fabric choices!

Last week this block was finished......that makes 200.  This is my portable hand-pieced project which has been on the go for seven years now........

 ........and these are some of the finished blocks, you can see the layout I have in mind.  All floral prints; the effect I am after is of a garden, and like many gardens there are pastels and brights, quiet prints and loud ones too.

Only 25 blocks to go, then the joining can begin!

The road works between here and town are proceeding.  Most people are being sensible and staying on the lower speed limit, but why do people think the lower limit doesn't apply at night or on weekends when the workmen aren't there?  I am getting tired of being tailgated at night because I am driving at the correct speed and the idiot behind me (almost invariably in an SUV) thinks I should be going faster.  If the police were to sit there with a speed trap they would rake in a tidy fortune.

Now, you and I know that the English language is continually changing and evolving - that means changes that we may or may not like but can accept, because we are not old fuddy-duddies, are we?  We can accept that sporting 'matches' no longer take place because every game these days is considered a 'clash' by the media, but I will be darned if I will accept 'grab'.  "I'll just grab your details" says the chickybabe at the medical centre......what's wrong with "May I have your details?"  "Can I grab a coffee?" says a young bloke in a café.  "Grab", to me, is snatching at something rudely and abruptly.  If I choose to ignore such a request, does that make me rude in return?  We won't even go into the absence of "please".......

School holidays are now over, so both choirs and the uke group will be resuming this week.  While it's been nice to relax in the evenings and not have to rush dinner to go out afterward it will be good to be making music again, I do miss it.

Kevin's shoulder is proceeding nicely.  The only drawback is his lack of domestic assistance, because there are some things he cannot do; hanging out washing, for instance.  He can't yet drive either, so I am also the chauffeur.  This means I am busier than usual, which is one of the reasons this poor blog has been neglected recently.  But that, too, will pass.

"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."

Does that also include "grab"?  We can only hope.......

Enjoy your days!