A whole nine days.......

Yes indeedy, the new year is passing.  We won't be able to say 'new' year for much longer, will we?

Progress has been made on the borders of my Canadian quilt, but some un-sewing will also have to happen......just a small amount, but un-sewing nevertheless.  The first idea worked out in my brain was changed, but it should have been left as it was.

Oh well.  Worse things happen at sea, and all that.

When the blocks shown in my last post were made they were laid out, and both my friend's and my brain picked for ideas.  We came to the separate conclusion that they needed a focal point, a centre block, so this was found in an early issue of a now-defunct Aussie magazine and duly made.....and there it has stayed.  The pencil markings for applique placement are still there but the (eventual) Cunning Plan is to add embroidery.  One day.

You know.....when I look at this piece made by me, a person who is a long way from doing beautiful appliqué, it doesn't look too bad.....but some embroidery will improve it.

Fiona has some cute little pinwheels made from leftovers.  We have been corresponding about suitable designs, and this was made several years ago from the leftovers of my blue and yellow quilt.  (It was said at the time that every quilter had at least one blue and yellow quilt in them......it seems I had two)

Those little half square triangles were stored in a shoe box, and every now and then the lid would be taken off and they would be looked at.  More than once they were nearly thrown out, but then I would remember that I paid good money for that fabric.....the lid would be put back on, and the box put back on the shelf.  Fast forward a few years:  a trip to Canada - literally a trip - which resulted in a broken arm and a halt to activities such as sewing and playing guitar, and lots of other Stuff.  Then - those little leftovers came to mind!  One-and-a-half hands could manage to feed them through my Featherweight and make the pinwheels.  EQ7 was pressed into action and this design decided on, fabric was bought, and then packed up for our move from the Big Smoke.  A couple of years later my quilt group challenge was 'to make a quilt from stash' - "aha", I thought, "this is my chance".  There are no pinwheels left; the last three were used on the back.

And, of course, there are still leftovers from the leftover quilt, as there always are.

The music festival which was to have started later this week has been cancelled, just a week before the first notes would have been twanged.  There is much sadness and some relief around town; sadness for the businesses who have lost custom again, and sadness for the musicians whose gigs have been cut off again, but relief that most of the promised hordes won't be descending upon us with their plague germs.  It was the right decision made at the wrong time; in fairness it should have been decided before Christmas to cancel, rather than let people hope the music could go ahead and make their plans.  Although there have been many accommodation cancellations some visitors have already arrived; R.V. and tent campers have started to set up.  Social media tells me that there will be a small number of gigs in a small number of venues, which will hopefully stop too many people being disgruntled.

We will probably continue to stay home as much as we can, and avoid the hysteria and paranoia around the current plague where possible, and live our quiet life.

"Supper.

The supper-room at a ball is thrown open generally at twelve o'clock.  The table is made as elegant as beautiful china, cut-glass and an abundance of flowers can make it.  The hot dishes are oysters, stewed, fried, broiled and scalloped, chicken, game, etc., and the cold dishes such as boned turkey, bœuf à la mode, chicken salad, lobster salad, and raw oysters."

I'm afraid I shall have to stop right there.  Raw oysters......no.  Just no.  In my life I have eaten oysters twice, and both times have been violently ill afterwards.  I cannot, for the life of me, imagine consuming oysters at supper during a ball then standing up for a dance - a waltz, perhaps, or a quadrille - which involves twirling and spinning round the dance floor.  I fear the result would not be pretty.

Enjoy your days!

Back home, and back to reality!

We have been home for several days now, and still both keep talking about the great time we had in Canada.  Interesting places - some new to us, some we had visited before - and wonderful friends, even strangers we met were friendly and helpful.  Somehow, though, I think we picked the right time to leave Ontario as the weather there has become much colder in the past week or so.  While we don't mind the cold weather we have here in winter, and the cold fall weather we had in Ontario, neither of us have the right clothing for minus 35 deg C.

Meanwhile here at home, the temperature is plus 35 deg C, which is quite warm - summer has hit with a vengeance.  This summer's forecast is for hot, hot, hot, and probably dry.

This is the Sydenham River on a cool showery misty day in Harrison Park, Owen Sound.

Makes you feel cooler just looking at it, doesn't it?

For years now Kevin and I have been joking about taking "the award winning shot" - the picture that would win first prize in a photographic exhibition - this is mine.

Now that we are home we are falling back into the usual routine.  Since coming home on Monday I have been to two Christmas/end of year functions, with more to come.  Yesterday's quilt group Christmas meeting/party was fun as our challenge quilts were revealed to much ooh-ing and aah-ing; even my Plastered Pinwheel quilt was muchly admired, to my surprise.  Some of us tend to be a little diffident about our own efforts, don't we? The worst part was the insistence of the group president that we each be photographed with our own quilts, a real challenge when one hates having one's likeness taken.  When we packed up to move here I managed to lose most of the pictures of me taken over the years I worked in school libraries.  When one doesn't take a good picture one avoids having it done.  I don't want to hear "it's such a good picture of you".....all I can think is "my gawd, do I really look like that?"

Ah well.  Not much can be done about it........

On the flight from Toronto to Vancouver I watched a Canadian movie, "Marion Bridge", which I enjoyed so much I watched it again a week later on the flight from Vancouver to Sydney.  At the end the actors portraying the three sisters sang "Song for the Mira" which I hadn't heard before and absolutely loved.  Found the words and chords on the interwebz, now to find a little guitar time.  Even brought a present home for one of my guitars, a set of strings I can't get here, and of course they travelled in the hold in my checked bag.  Can't you just imagine a set of guitar strings setting up alarms in security?

Speaking of checked and carry-on bags, have you seen the size of many of the bags people take into plane cabins these days?  We each travelled with a backpack (which went under our seats) and a small un-wheeled bag, our big bags were checked.  But some people arrive jauntily down the plane aisle with bags they can barely lift into the overhead lockers, and there is much pushing and shoving as they try to make their bag fit in with everyone else's.  It's that sense of entitlement and importance at work again, isn't it?  On our flight from Vancouver to Sydney our row was shared by a Canadian man who works in the airline industry, and he told us he always checks his bag using the logic that, if people only travel with carry-on bags, eventually airlines will decide that checked bags can not just be charged for but be done away with completely.  Imagine trying to have a six-week holiday with only a small carry-on bag for clothing and souvenirs........

"No lady will retain possession of more than her rightful seat n a crowded tram-car or railway carriage.  When others are looking for accommodations she should at once and with all cheerfulness so dispose of her baggage that the seat beside her may be occupied by anyone who desires it, no matter how agreeable it may be to retain possession of it."

When I become queen I shall spread out over as many seats as I like, to make up for being squashed all these years.

Enjoy your days!

Finished.......just before we go away!

Yay for me - this year's challenge quilt is finished, several weeks early!  The final stitches were taken on the binding yesterday evening.  Here it is, "Plastered Pinwheels" in all its glory.

 There were three pinwheels left so, not being one to waste fabric (hah!) they were used on the back, which is a soft yellow check.

 A corner of the quilt so you can admire those pretty fabrics and the quilting.

 The back, so you can gasp at the skilful use of those leftovers.  As the backing had to be pieced, it was easier to make a feature of the join than to pretend it wasn't there.

The label, which tells how the quilt came to have this name.  A word of advice from one who has learned the hard way.....do not use white-on-white fabric for a label.  It is not easy to write on and doesn't look great when it's done.  But it is done, and that's the main thing.

Just to recap:  on our last visit to Canada in October 2009, while strolling along Kingston Road, Scarborough, looking for a coffee (unusually there wasn't a Tim's in sight) I rolled my ankle on the uneven surface and went down.  Broke my left arm - both bones at the wrist end - and sprained my right wrist.  Not fun, and rather painful.  Once we came home and the pain had receded it was just a matter of waiting for my wrists to heal and for the plaster to be removed.  Having a plastered arm is rather boring, you know.......couldn't knit or crochet (believe me, I tried), couldn't hand sew, I could read but couldn't hold a book so reading had to be done at a table.  But those little squares left from another project were in my sewing room, and although it was quite slow and painstaking they could be fed through the machine.  So 128 little pinwheel blocks were made, and some are more beautiful than others because the centres don't quite line up on every block - but it was about the achievement rather than the accuracy, and it was an achievement at the time.  Those little blocks (2-1/4in each when finished) have made a quilt measuring over 60in square, and it was designed on EQ7.

Only two more sleeps until we fly to Canada!  It's Thanksgiving weekend over there, so best wishes to my Canadian family and friends and we will see you on Tuesday arvo.  It will be so good to see our son and his lovely girlfriend again, we miss them.  We're glad he's happy, but a little sad that he had to go all the way to the far side of the known universe to find happiness.

So today is being given over to packing, and cuddles with Binky (The World's Friendliest Cat) and Bianca (The Beautiful but Slightly Brainless White Cat), and cooking something nice for dinner tonight to share with our house-sitters who will arrive sometime this afternoon.

Today's quote seems apt in view of events in the Australia media recently.  Aussies will know what I mean, and if you don't - just enjoy the quote.

"Dogmatic style of speaking.
Never speak dogmatically or with an assumption of knowledge or information beyond that of those with whom you are conversing.  Even if you are conscious of this superiority, a proper and becoming modesty will lead you to conceal it as far as possible, that you may not put to shame or humiliation those less fortunate than yourself.  If they discover your superiority of their own accord, they will have much more admiration for you than though you forced the recognition upon them.  If they do not discover it, you cannot force it upon their perceptions, and they will only hold you in contempt for trying to do so.  Besides, there is the possibility that you over-estimate yourself, and instead of being a wise man you are only a self-sufficient fool."

Have you ever met someone who is so 'special' that they are not on the same planet as the rest of us?  They don't have to wait to be served but can go straight to the head of the queue, and they don't need to join a line of traffic because they can push in further ahead.

For the next six weeks I may not have much of a chance to keep up with blog reading and updating, because we will be having a wonderful time with our family and friends in the land of the maple trees.

Enjoy your days!

Counting down......

.....not long to go now, only 11 days until we walk out our front door and start driving to Sydney!  The next day will be a very very long day, our flight leaves Sydney at 11.25am and will take 15 hours to fly to Vancouver arriving in the morning of the same day, then we hang around the airport for a couple of hours, then we get on a plane and fly to Toronto which takes four and a half hours, and we are due to arrive in Toronto at 4.16pm the same day we leave Sydney.  Isn't that something to contemplate?  I tried to work out how long our day will actually be and gave up at 39 hours, because it hurt my brain.

Here are some of our new plants, this sweet little one is Pink Myrtle (Hypocalymma augustifolium) - the new buds are pink, and they open into tiny white flowers.  It is about eight inches tall now but will grow to about three feet, won't that be pretty?

Don't you just love this one?  Eriostemon Buxifolius 'Cascade' is its name and its small white flowers open from pink buds.  It will only grow to about six inches high and is a mass of flowers and buds now.

  And just because it's so gorgeous, another pic of the Eremophila Nivea, its pale grey leaves are almost white in sunlight.  This plant is Kevin's favourite.

It will be interesting to see what difference six weeks have made to our garden, when we return.

Aren't you proud of me, the quilting on the pinwheel quilt is done!  The paper is being removed now; I draw my quilting design on tracing paper, pin it on and quilt through it, then tear it away.  Not everyone may find that a good way to quilt, but it works for me - removing the paper is a bit tedious but there are no pen marks on the quilt.  Then the edges will be trimmed and straightened, and the binding sewn on.  And a label.  Mustn't forget the label.

The next project is so far in the future that it's not even in my head.  Next year I would like to get at least two of my tops quilted, so that is something to work toward.  It costs many many dollars to have them done professionally which, being a retired Olde Pharte, I can't justify......and if someone else quilts them I won't have the opportunity to improve my machine quilting, something I would like to do.

I would rather spend a little of that money on upgrading my ukulele next year.  Recently the uke song book I ordered arrived, it has 365 songs - a song for every day of the year, if one is so minded!  There weren't many I didn't know........wonder just how many songs are tucked away in my brain?  When I was a child TV hadn't arrived in Australia but the radio was on all day, and we learnt the songs of the time, and of times past too.  In the 1960s that station played music of the 60s, and the 1950s, and the 1940s, and even further back - those songs seeped into my brain by osmosis and many of them are still there.  Even if the whole song doesn't come to mind, the chorus usually does.

"The bow is the touchstone of good breeding, and to neglect it, even to one with whom you may have a trifling difference, shows deficiency in cultivation and in the instincts of refinement.  A bow does not entail a calling acquaintance.  Its entire neglect reveals the character and training of the person; the manner of its observance reveals the very shades of breeding that exist between the ill-bred and well-bred."

The bow is something which is not practised as it used to be, is it?  How many people of your acquaintance bow when they chance to meet you in the street?  The lack of a bow doesn't show ill or good breeding - just that times have changed.

Enjoy your days!

Spring is sprung

Some spring pictures taken at a garden a little south of here.  Don't you love the different coloured leaves on these plants?

 A very pretty clematis........

 ........and a gorgeous azalea.

Our new garden is doing well and so far all plants are still alive.  Some very welcome rain last night means they are all smiling today.  Pics will be taken soon, I promise - even though the tiny size of some flowers means I may be lying on my stomach to do so.  If I can't get up again it will be your fault.

A few 'lasts' this week - last Monday night choir rehearsal, last Tuesday night ukulele group, probably last Thursday night choir tomorrow night - because they all go into recess during school holidays which start at the end of this week, and the first day of the next school term is when we leave here to begin our holiday.  In less than three weeks we will be in Canada, yay!  When we return home there will be plenty of time to take up singing and uke-ing again.

This morning was the meeting of a new local branch of the Australian Sewing Guild, and I started a tablecloth skirt because it looked like a fun project.  And it is!  Still need to attach the waistband, and overlock all the seams.....had I been properly organised I would have done that when the pieces were first cut out but never mind, it will get done in due course.......my fabric is a dull solid red cotton with a self-woven check and it suits the design well.  But it will not get finished until that challenge quilt is all quilted, labelled and bound; I want to get it out of my hair first.  All setting blocks and triangles are quilted and thread ends are in the process of being buried, or will be once I get off the computer.

While I have been diligently doing the exercises to strengthen my torn shoulder muscle the different exercises prescribed on the last visit to the physiotherapist are causing a certain amount of pain and discomfort, so I have been easing back on them.  Somehow I suspect that after our return from Canada I will be talking to the doctor about Going Under The Knife to have it mended once and for all........not looking forward to that but if it helps fix the problem it will be worth it.......even holding the folder of songs for choir practice and concerts is causing pain, and as I'm planning on living for a long while yet I would like to be as pain-free as I can.

"Yielding to one another.
One of the greatest disciplines of human life is that which teaches us to yield our wills to those who have a claim on us to do so, even in trifling, every-day affairs; the wife to the husband, children to parents, to teachers and to one another.  In cases where principle is concerned, it is, of course, necessary to be firm, which requires an exercise of moral courage."

The forthcoming holiday will be the longest time the two of us have ever spent away from home in each other's company........it could be interesting.......there may be a certain amount of yielding happening.  While we have been retired for a few years now it's easy to keep out of each other's way with our separate activities, but spending six weeks together will be different.  Ah, well - I'm sure we will have a good time, regardless.

Enjoy your days!

Life has been getting away from me lately........

This is one of the new plants in our back garden, it's an Aussie native called Eremophilia Nivea from Western Australia.  Eremophilia plants are called emu bushes because emus eat the flowers and fertilise the seeds in their gut.  We have others too; red and yellow flowered ones will attract birds, while blue and pink ones will attract insects.  The insects in their turn probably attract birds too, and so the cycle goes on.......the foliage of this bush is a pale soft grey, almost white.  It is very pretty.  And tricky to photograph on a windy day.

 When we lived in the Big Smoke we had no luck growing cyclamens, so I am giving it a go here.  So far, so good.  Perhaps the drier inland climate will suit them better, they certainly didn't like the humidity.  We've started with this pretty cerise one which is waiting patiently to be potted.

The radio station is still going ahead, I have been sitting in with a couple of announcers watching and learning as they present their programs, and when we return from our holiday I will be trained in earnest.  Looking forward to that!

Ukulele group is also going along nicely.  We're getting a little advanced now, even trying some finger picking - those of us who are game to do so, anyway.  Some of the beginners haven't progressed past strumming yet, but they will.  Fortunately the pink uke was sitting on the other side of the room so I was spared being punched in the arm again.

Quilting on the challenge quilt has temporarily halted but will resume again today.  All the setting blocks are now done, the outside setting triangles are next.  Last weekend was quite busy and took on a life of its own, or the quilting would be much further along.  On Saturday a friend and I drove two and a half hours to a quilt show in a quite small town, and had a good time, then drove two and a half hours back home.  One of the few things I miss about living here compared to the city is the lack of quilt shows within, say, an hour's drive.

Sunday afternoon was taken up with a choir concert for a local fundraising group, our concert proper is on this Sunday so we gave a shorter program.  It was a good chance to iron out a few bugs.  I have become the choir percussionist because I play tambourine, drum, and rhythm clapping for this concert of African-American gospel and spiritual songs.  The Christmas concert will have to happen without me this year, because I will only be able to make two or three practices.

It is 27 days until we start our holiday.....that's less than four weeks, yay!  Not looking forward to the long flights, but it will be worth it when we arrive and see our son and his lovely girlfriend, and our Canadian friends, again.

"Premature declaration.
It is very injudicious, not to say presumptuous, for a gentleman to make a proposal to a young lady on too brief an acquaintance.  A lady who would accept a gentleman at first sight can hardly possess the discretion needed to make a good wife."

How long should a couple be acquainted, I wonder, before a suitable time has lapsed for a proposal?

Enjoy your days!

Would you like to join me for afternoon tea?

Following a link on Debra's blog I found this recipe for lemon squares, so yesterday a batch was made.....it's very yummy, and I can recommend it.  Recipe is here, so do yourselves a favour and make some.  Many thanks, Debra!

 The lace doiley was made by my mother's Auntie Laura who died when I was a wee baby and is tatted lace.  Not tattered.  There is a difference.......the pretty plate is part of a Royal Doulton set which was a wedding present when my parents married in 1946, as was the silver fork.  Life was more genteel in those days, wasn't it?

 The backing for my pinwheel quilt has been pieced.  I couldn't bring myself to waste these last three little blocks so used them in the backing.  As the fabric had to be joined in width, a strip of background fabric with those three remaining blocks was inserted - so now all 128 blocks have been used!  The quilt and backing are on the spare bed waiting to be layered and quilted.  But first they need to be pressed.....

This is the design which will be used for the border quilting, it compliments the rose-printed white on white background fabric beautifully.  All designs for the 16 alternate blocks and 20 setting triangles have been traced, as has some of the border.  The paper is sold here as unwaxed lunch wrap and is excellent for this purpose as it is easy to quilt through and tears away afterward with no trouble; freezer paper could also be used, but the paper is easy to position as it is semi-transparent.  The design is from one of Mary Covey's packs, 'Follow the line'.

You will notice that this blog is a sport-free zone.  Nowhere here will you find mention of any tennis games, or sweaty blokes in lycra cycling round Europe, or the sports carnival which will happen one of these days in England.  All that money just so one bloke can run faster than another bloke.......our dancers, musicians, writers, scientists etc travel overseas and are much acclaimed everywhere they go, but as soon as they come home they disappear back into their own world.  However if a sports person runs faster or jumps higher than someone else they have the world at their feet.  Not to take away from anything they may achieve - but isn't it time that all fields of human endeavour were recognised, not just sport?

There is no danger of my running faster or jumping higher than anyone else, I can tell you.  Since it has got so cold even the walking routine has suffered because getting outside bright and early on a cold frosty morning has no appeal for me.  But when the weather warms up again I won't have that excuse, will I?  If someone could invent a gene that could be magically turned on to make us enjoy exercise they would make a fortune, I'm sure.

You will also notice no gossip here about so-called celebrities, because frankly I have no interest in who is divorcing who or what they had for breakfast.  Wouldn't it be ghastly living one's life in what amounts to a goldfish bowl?

"Even when persons habitually eat alone, they should pay due regard to the rules of etiquette, for by so doing they form habits of ease and gracefulness which are requisite in refined circles; otherwise they speedily acquire rude and awkward habits which they cannot shake off without great difficulty, and which are at times embarrassing to themselves and their friends."

So if you are eating a lemon square, make sure you are dainty.  Don't stuff the whole piece in your mouth at once.

Enjoy your days!

I feel the earth move under my feet......

........I see the sky tumblin' down.......

The earth moved here on Friday night, we had an earthquake!  I was home alone, and at 9.30pm was startled to hear a rumbling like a large truck coming up the street....then it sounded more like an army tank......then the house started to shake, doors and windows rattled, and after a moment or two all was quiet again.  A couple of minutes' respite, and it started up again.  I joined several neighbours in the street outside, and we could still hear rumbling so we decided we were having an earthquake.  Sure enough, that was confirmed a short while later on the computer news.  4.2 magnitude, the epicentre 50kms north west of here, and 17kms underground.  Not much damage, we have heard; a broken window or two in towns closer to the centre of the action is about all.

The cats were completely oblivious; Binky was asleep in front of the fire and Bianca was asleep on our bed.  However our neighbour told me her little dog, Pud the pug (a cute little roly-poly pudding of a dog), started barking just as the tremor began.  Binky used to be very nervous about loud noises or thunder, so she has certainly mellowed and relaxed in her old age - she didn't even blink.

That sort of excitement, I can do without.

Earlier in the week the top of this year's challenge quilt was finished.  The colours aren't as washed-out as they appear; the winter sunlight outside today makes them look a little pale.  The challenge is to make a quilt at least 120cm (48in or thereabouts) from stash, although we are allowed to purchase backing and/or wadding.  Before we left Sydney I bought the fabrics for this quilt, and the little pinwheels were made from leftover triangles from another project.  When trimmed they measured all of 2-3/4in (that makes them 2-1/4in finished) so the blocks are 6-3/4in, and the whole quilt measures a bit over 60in square.  I have a flower design in mind for quilting the alternate blocks and setting triangles, and the binding will be the same blue as the inner border.  Its name will probably be "Plastered Pinwheels", because those little pinwheels were assembled while my left arm and hand were encased in several layers of plaster and bandages.  Both arm bones were broken at the wrist, sustained in a fall.  Being unable to knit, crochet or sew was very boring and even holding a book to read was difficult and painful, so I went looking for fabric pieces that could be fed through the machine - and found these, the only fabric cut out ready to sew.  Some of the points don't line up  quite as beautifully as if I had two good working hands, but being able to achieve even this much meant a lot at the time.

Once again it is winter, we have had some pleasantly mild weather and some really really cold days and nights, and once again I am amused by the folk who don't dress accordingly.  Compared to many parts of the world our winter is mild, although it can have a bite to it.....but chickybabes who go out wearing shorts, sandals and spaghetti-strap tops?  I know some people feel the cold more than others, but those little chickies make me feel cold just looking at them.  Perhaps as they become older and wiser they will realise that shivers and goosebumps with those pretty clothes is not a good look.

The new jacket is finished, all knitted and sewn together.  The world won't see a picture of me wearing it because its fluffiness makes me look like the outside of a house, but it is very cosy and warm.  Last night a new cardigan was cast on, knitted from the top down - a new technique for me - we'll see how it goes.  Need something to entertain myself on those two upcoming six-hour train trips, don't I?  With a book to read, and hand-piecing, and knitting, and just watching the world go by outside the window, the time should pass nicely.  Just so long as I don't get a seat partner who snores, as last year's bloke did.

Today's etiquette is a little long, but its good advice deserves to be read in its entirety.

"Discretion in  forming acquaintances.
While an acquaintance formed in a railway carriage or on a steamboat continues only during the trip, discretion should be used in making acquaintances.  Ladies may, as has been stated, accept small courtesies and favors from strangers, but must check at once any attempt at familiarity.  On the other hand, no man who pretends to be a gentleman will accept any familiarity.  The practice of some young girls just entering womanhood, of flirting with any young man they may chance to meet, either in a railway carriage or on a steamboat, indicates low breeding in the extreme.  If, however, the journey is long, and especially if it be on a steamboat, a certain sociability may be allowed, and a married lady or a lady of middle age may use her privileges to make the journey an enjoyable one, for fellow passengers should always be sociable to one another."

Although we will be crossing rivers, one very wide, we won't be travelling on a steamboat.....such a pity, as it sounds like fun.

Enjoy your days!

The unloved project is finished

Finished and done, as you can see.  Last night the binding was finally sewn down and today the last stitch was taken on the hanging sleeve.  It is rectangular, just looks a bit distorted because it was laid on the floor for this pic.  

 I have decided that I don't love it because it is someone else's design.......my input was limited to fabric choices (unlike several of the workshop participants I chose not to buy the kit supplied by the teacher) and some of the quilting ideas.  But that's it, it's now out of my hair and I can get on with things I would rather be doing, such as the pinwheel quilt.

Have also been gathering together fabrics for this year's visiting tutor workshop, aren't they scrumptious?  All batiks; the pale leafy print is for the background and border, the stack of FQs in greens, blues, browns and golds is for the blocks, the lovely red print is for the side strip on each block and the brown is for the inner border and binding.  Somehow I think this will be more 'me', as making pieced blocks and playing with their colour and placement is great fun.  Thanks to my friends whose lovely fabric gifts will be part of this quilt!

 A few years ago I bought this luscious print to make a skirt and now its time has come to be made.  The top colour is lighter aqua than it appears in the pic, while it shades to almost midnight blue at the bottom and is overprinted in black.  It will be a pleated skirt on a narrow hip yoke, to make the most of the fabric.  Unfortunately I'm short and the fabric is 115cm wide so not all the colour will make it into the skirt......my skirts aren't that long......but the deep rich colours at the bottom will be in it, for sure.  Not sure of the fabric composition but going by the way it behaved when washed, it is probably some sort of polyester.

 This week's weather pics.....last Monday afternoon the heavens opened and we had 28 mls of rain (to give you the idea, 25 mls is an inch) in about 15 minutes.  The hill behind us was very misty.

And the view over the roofs across the road disappeared again.  Normally we can see for miles and miles.

While this was happening in our street, some parts of town had no rain at all!  There is a low hill between here and the rest of the town which seems to be the dividing line, rain falls on one side of the hill but not the other.  On Monday it was obviously our turn, while a couple of days ago the other side of the hill had their turn.  In yesterday afternoon's storm quite a bit of hail fell here - I wonder what they had in town?  We are only a few kilometres away from the centre of town, but there is that hill.......

While local gardens are loving the rain, the damp plants have become havens for unpleasant insects like mosquitoes.  A few nights ago I decided to tidy up some of the garden and pull out a few weeds....a very easy task, as the ground is soft after so much rain.......and am now suffering from bites, probably mosquito bites.  On my arms I can understand, as they were bare - but even allowing for the fact that I was wearing shorts, how ever did I get bitten on the hip?

The other day at quilt group the conversation turned to the current rash of reality cooking shows, where people try to put on a good meal but are eliminated week by week.  Now I don't know how you all feel, but I find shows like that are nasty; they are not about the recipes and cooking, but more about "who can we get rid of this week?  If we chuck off so-and-so we might lose viewers because they are on the side of the poor dear, but on the other hand we can't chuck off those two nice young blokes because they give the females in our audience something to watch and we don't want to lose our female audience" etc.  As you may have gathered if you have read this far - I don't watch them.  Give me a good murder/mystery story any day, I don't mind a bit of gore.  To judge by the murder rate there can't be many people left alive now in some of those little English villages, can there?

"Speaking one's mind.
Certain honest but unthinking people often commit the grievous mistake of "speaking their mind" on all occasions and under all circumstances, and oftentimes to the great mortification of their hearers.  And especially do they take credit to themselves for their courage, if their freedom of speech happens to give offence to any of them.  A little reflection ought to show how cruel and unjust this is.  The law restrains us from inflicting bodily injury upon those with whom we disagree, yet there is no legal preventive against this wounding of the feeling of others."

You may hold your own opinion of the aforementioned reality cooking shows, and I reserve the right to my opinion.  Should it differ to yours, we can agree to hold a civilised discussion on the matter without hurt feelings on either side.  I would not inflict bodily injury to put across my point of view.

Enjoy your days!

Wet, wet, and more wet

It's been raining here.....in fact, we've had a flood.  Not us personally, but the river which flows through our town overflowed its banks the other day -  this week we have had so much rain that a new record has been set.  The previous record of the most rainfall in a single day stood for 136 years but was broken this week.  Schools were closed and children sent home, as roads were cut.

Our back yard was sodden, the bird bath overflowed....didn't even see many birds using it, although a group of hardy Noisy Miners braved the rain one day for a dip.

 The clouds were so low that our view over the back fence almost disappeared.

In fact, the view from the front verandah did disappear!  Instead of being able to see for miles and miles across the valley as we usually can, we could see the house across the road.......and nothing but a white mist beyond it.  Summer disappeared, and we were back to wearing warm clothes for a couple of days; in fact, summer this year has been unusually mild.  Not that I am complaining.

Smaller towns a few hours north-west from here have been suffering the worst floods for over 60 years, there is so much water it has become a health hazard because the local sewage systems aren't working as they should.  Many people have had to be evacuated from their homes and we can't begin to imagine the horrible smelly mess they will face when they are allowed to return home.

We feel lucky to be here in our warm dry house on the hill.  It's been a good week to stay indoors and read, and sew, and just keep out of the rain.  I think the cats have also broken records for the amount of time spent sleeping, because it wasn't even worth looking out of the windows.  Although Bianca did get excited one day when the wind blew a leaf on the path just outside the floor-length window........she woke up for a second or two before settling down again.

Last year's workshop quilt is being worked on, it's now more than half-quilted.  It is not going to defeat me.  There are other projects I would far rather be working on but I am not letting myself go near them until this is done, although I did break out the other week when I assembled the pinwheel quilt. It's spread out on the spare bed, so when I want some pretty blue and yellow pinwheel goodness I have only to walk in there and admire it.

"If a gentleman is walking with two ladies in a rain storm, and there is but one umbrella, he should give it to his companions and walk outside.  Nothing can be more absurd than to see a gentleman walking between two ladies holding an umbrella which perfectly protects himself, but half-deluges his companions with its dripping streams."

This week the main street was a sea of bobbing umbrellas, although a few hardy souls braved the rain with no protective covering.  Mostly men.  Women seem to have more sense than to go out in heavy rain with no umbrella or at the very least, a coat.

Enjoy your days!

Border choices

These are the fabrics which will border the pinwheel quilt, the blue inner border will be one inch wide and the floral one will be....oh....about five and a half inches, from memory.  The EQ7 plan is in my sewing room, not here with me at the computer, and I'm too lazy to get up and fetch it.  The binding will be in the same blue.

The fabrics are 'Nature's Notebook' by April Cornell for Moda and I don't know if they are still available, as I bought them nearly two years ago before we left Sydney.  It was a very pretty fabric range in yellow and blue.

You will be pleased to know the Dreaded Lurgy is slowly becoming a distant memory, although as well as a lingering cough it has left a feeling of continual tiredness; hopefully that soon will fade away too, and the wombat household will be back to what passes for normal.

During the week we headed off to the main street of town to soak up the music festival atmosphere, and soak it up we did.......it was raining.......while I'm sure those camping in caravans and tents could do without it, our garden is loving it.  Three blocks of the main street are given over to buskers who range from really very good to perhaps a wee bit more practice would be a good idea........a group of five teens, none of whom looked a day over 15, were really terrific and have made the finals of the busking competition, according to the local paper.  Good for them!

Today I am toodling around on the sewing machine making small Friendship Star blocks of the month....while I don't mind making them because they go into charity quilts, making 4.5in finished blocks is much more fiddly than making larger blocks with more pieces.  My contribution of six blocks will hopefully be finished today and I will go back to thinking about borders on the pinwheel quilt....plain is easier, but I think they will end up being mitred because it will look better.....and doing some more quilting on the piece which was started in last year's workshop.  I'm not feeling love for it but am determined to finish it.  I can tell you one thing though, it won't be hanging on the wall when it's done.

"In receiving morning calls, it is unnecessary for a lady to lay aside any employment not of an absorbing nature upon which she may happen to be engaged.  Embroidery, crocheting or light needle-work are perfectly in harmony with the requirements of the hour, and the lady looks much better employed than in absolute idleness."

Should you happen to call there is every chance you may find me engaged at my sewing machine......but I will lay it aside for an hour or two, and pick up my light needlework so as to be more sociable.

Enjoy your days!

Still being organised....

....as you can see.  Here are the little pinwheel blocks joined into rows, laid out ready for the rows to be joined.  It's more pastel than the colours I usually use, but sometimes a change is good - yes?  After these blocks are joined the first border will be white - this will make the blocks appear to float - then a narrow blue border, with a yellow and blue floral print for the outer border.  Binding will be the same blue as the inner border, and backing is a yellow and white check.

This is the quilt top from which those little pinwheels started life, they are the leftovers from the flying geese units on the star blocks.  All fabrics are yellow and blue with touches of green.

 The pic above has made the colours look slightly faded....they aren't, as you can see below.

 In the stash cupboard there are several metres of a pretty blue, yellow and green floral print for the backing, and when it is eventually quilted it will be bound in deep mossy green.  Even though these two quilts use the same colours and some of the same fabrics, I think  - I hope - they will be very different.  When I get over being The World's Most Unconfident Machine Quilter this will get done.  I'm practising on smaller quilts first.

Bianca thinks she should have equal time with Binky, who was featured in my last blog post.  She decided the black chair was a perfect foil for her white outfit.  Yes, she does have odd eyes, one blue, one green.....but unlike many odd-eyed white cats she is not deaf.  She is a big girl and is now nine years old.  For many years now our cats have all been rescues; Binky came from the RSPCA, while Bianca was a private adoption from a friend.

This week I had Plans to accomplish Great Things and they have flown out the window, because the Dreaded Lurgy has me in its grip (perhaps that should be grippe) so not much has been accomplished at all.  When I can say more than two words without dissolving into a fit of coughing, and when my ribs and back and stomach stop hurting from coughing, and when I get some decent sleep without coughing myself awake, all will be well in the wombat household again.

Fortunately both choirs are in recess until next week, because at present the singing voice sounds like a demented frog.

"Keep an account of calls.
A person should keep a strict account of ceremonial calls, and take note of how soon calls are returned.  By doing so, an opinion can be formed as to how frequently visits are desired.  Instances may occur, when, in consequence of age or ill health, calls should be made without any reference to their being returned.  It must be remembered that nothing must interrupt the discharge of this duty."

Please don't think me impolite, but it might be best if calls at present were kept to a minimum because I don't wish to infect any of you.

Enjoy your days!

How's this for being organised?

It's only the middle of January, and this year's challenge quilt is already being made!  That's pretty good going for me, also known as The Queen of Procrastination.  The quilting on last year's was only started a week or two before it was due to be unveiled.  

Here's the first block completed and another being made - somehow my Singer Featherweight seems the right machine to make these little blocks.

 These nine-patch blocks measure 6-3/4in finished and form a chain of pinwheels across the quilt; the size is because the pinwheel blocks are leftovers from another quilt and are 2-1/4in square.

This is what the pile of blocks looked like yesterday.....but today, they are all done!  Yay for me!

Here is a picture of Binky, just because we haven't had one for a while.  Does that look say "go away and leave me alone", do you reckon?  Binky has several hidey-holes for when she doesn't want to be disturbed, but on this occasion she was checking out our bed while it was being made.  She is a sweet old puss and we reckon that in the middle of next month she will turn 15.

The huge country music festival held each year here in the Small Smoke will be starting soon and some of the thousands of people who attend have already started arriving.  The usual population more than doubles; last year because of interstate flooding numbers were down, so we didn't really see how much it changes the town.  Although I was born here and lived here until the age of 23 when the lure of the Big Smoke proved attractive (that wasn't the only reason I moved, but it's a long story and believe me you don't need to hear it) last year's festival was the first I had attended, and even then we didn't go to many concerts and managed to completely avoid any line dances.  Line dancers never look as though it's an enjoyable activity, do they?  I have seen chooks in a farm yard have more fun.  All together now......hook your thumbs into the belt of your tight black jeans, tuck in your fringed satin shirt which emphasises every teeny bulge and wrinkle, cram a hat - good idea in the middle of summer to have a hot felt hat - on your head, kick out with one leg and repeat after me, "yee har".

"Balls.
The requisites for a successful ball are good music and plenty of people to dance.  An English writer says, "The advantage of the ball is, that it brings young people together for a sensible and innocent recreation, and takes them away from silly, if not from bad ones; that it gives them exercise, and that the general effect of the beauty, elegance and brilliancy of a ball is to elevate rather than to deprave the mind."  It may be that the round dance is monopolizing the ball-room to a too great extent, and it is possible that these may be so frequent as to mar the pleasure of some persons who do not care to participate in them, to the exclusion of other dances.  There should be an equal number of waltzes and quadrilles, with one or two other dances, which would give an opportunity to those who object (or whose parents object) to too many of one sort."

You notice that nothing is said about line dancing?  I enjoy waltzing and like nothing better than a quadrille......yes, I can dance any number of quadrilles......so let's hope my mind is well elevated.  Wouldn't want to have a depraved mind, would we?

Enjoy your days!

Quirky quoll

This little feller is a Spotted Quoll, but don't be deceived by the cuteness; quolls are related to Tassie Devils who can be rather nasty.  We saw this quoll and some of its friends at an animal park on our holiday late last year, and while we were watching them the keeper entered their enclosure with food, raw meat - they are carnivorous - which she placed in tree branches, on the ground, behind twigs, etc. to make the quolls work for their dinner.  Then it was every quoll for itself, and their table manners were appallingly bad; no "after you, sir" or "oh no, after you madam".  Their growls and screeches were to warn the others " this is mine, keep away from my dinner"!

There you are.....if you ever need a 'q' word for scrabble, you can use quoll.  Or quokka, another Aussie animal.  Probably earn triple points with either of those.

Summer has hit with a vengeance and the past couple of days have been fairly warm, but relief is in sight later in the week thank goodness.  I know some of you are battling winter storms and shovelling snow while we are sweltering and dodging thunderstorms.  Fortunately my sewing room is a pleasant temperature, because that's where I have been playing; yesterday some of the fabric for this year's challenge quilt was cut out, how's that for being organised?  The Big Reveal isn't until late November and this year I am determined not to be finishing it at the last minute, unlike last year.  This year's challenge is to make a quilt, any size but at least 120cm square, from fabric already in the stash although one other fabric is allowed to be purchased, as is batting and backing fabric.  Before we left Sydney I bought fabric for background, borders and backing to use the little pinwheels sewn when my arm was in plaster late in 2009, and they were leftovers from another quilt anyway.  All the background fabric has now been cut out, so the blocks can be made.

The lovely green skirt has been worn (it still doesn't have its ruffle trim, but it is wearable) with the green print top which fortunately fits well, and my new outfit gained several compliments.  It's nice to have new clothes, and there is one more skirt and top to go in the current clothes-making session.  The arty quilt I started in a workshop last year really should be finished too; even though I am not sure if I like it, I am determined to finish it.....perhaps I will feel differently when it's done.

Karen is writing a very interesting series of articles on her blog about copyright.  Quilters have a reputation for being 'caring and sharing' with patterns and designs, but while it's all right to help friends it shouldn't be done at the expense of a copyright holder.  Just imagine how you would feel if your original design were to be copied and sold as the work of someone else - it wouldn't be a good feeling, would it?

"Greediness.
To put large pieces of food into your mouth appears greedy, and if you are addressed when your mouth is so filled, you are obliged to pause, before answering, until the vast mouthful is masticated, or run the risk of choking, by swallowing it too hastily.  To eat very fast is also a mark of greediness, and should be avoided.  The same may be said of soaking up gravy with bread, scraping up sauce with a spoon, scraping your plate, and gormandizing upon one or two articles of food only."

No one told the quolls about greediness, although none of them were scraping their plates....probably because plates weren't used.

Enjoy your days!