One day closer to autumn!

The heatwave continues.

We have had friends of a musical friend staying for a few days while the big country music festival took over the town.  They are very nice people and we all enjoyed ourselves, saw some great concerts with them and without them.......and now it's just the two of us again.

The whole town is starting to empty as the music-loving tourists leave.  Yesterday morning Kevin and I were chatting to two interstate visitors at a concert and, when they found out that we were locals, the bloke said "you don't look like locals".  What does a local look like, we wondered?  Did he expect us to have straw between our teeth, wear boots with spurs, and say "yee har" with every sentence?  Perhaps he didn't expect two neatly dressed Olde Phartes; many of the tourists don't know the meaning of the words "neatly dressed".

Enough of that.  It is a very entertaining time, and people watching is a good part of the entertainment.

During our Toronto visit our lovely Canadian DIL and I attended a quilt show in Ajax, east of Toronto, and one of the things purchased was a kit to make a small bag using only one side of a zipper.  A strip of the unused portion becomes a loop at the side of the bag.  The idea has been around for a while but I hadn't tried it before - and it works!

 Interesting fabric, isn't it?  Not what I would normally choose, but it came in a kit with a lime zip and gold-speckled-lime lining and that was enough for me.  Everything was supplied, outer and lining fabrics, zip and fusible lightweight batting.  After ironing it to the outer fabric I quilted it in a wide two inch grid in case the adhesive ever fails.  I didn't get around to boxing the bottom corners but that won't stop the world from turning, will it.

This bag requires you to (gulp) cut off the zipper end pull which is eventually restored to the folded-around zipper tape; instructions say "this may require some swearing and a glass of wine, but it can be done"!  How could you not try it?  Kit was from Sew Have Fun in Oshawa, also east of Toronto.  An odd thing about this fabric:  to look at it you would think the colours are blue, grey, pink and lime on a purplish background, yes?  Wrong.  There is no pink......it's a trick of the light, those flowers have only white and blue petals.

Currently partly made on the sewing table is a large pincushion, a door prize won at a large meeting a couple of years ago.  Next step is to press a whole heap of 2-1/2 in squares into prairie points, but it has been a bit hot for ironing.  So it waits......

There is also a song to arrange.  The uke group will be playing for a 90th birthday early in March (the lovely mum of one of our members is having a Big 0 day) and I have re-written words to a celebratory song to reflect her and her family's names, for a bit of fun.  Because I didn't want to cause hurt or offence it was first run by the uke playing daughter for approval, she said "Mum will love it!" so now it needs chords.  Easy peasy.

Life will gradually get back to its normal busy routine, U3A launch day on Wednesday - that's when we put our names down for courses which appeal, mine of course is ukulele - and the choir is singing at a funeral on Tuesday afternoon for one of our members who recently passed away.  There is a reason the choir was awarded Senior Citizens Group of the year last year.......we're getting old.  We also lost another member while I was away, both of these people were in their 80s.

"The saddest of all ceremonies is that attendant upon the death of relatives and friends and it becomes us to show, in every possible way, the utmost consideration for the feelings of the bereaved, and the deepest respect for the melancholy occasion.  Of late the forms of ostentation at funerals are gradually diminishing, and by some people of intelligence even mourning habiliments are rejected in whole or in part."

When our choir performs in public we wear black bottoms - skirts or pants - and a bright shirt or top in a single colour; with over 30 members of different ages and body types we can each choose something flattering.  This also applies when we sing at funerals, so my outfit on Tuesday will probably be a flared black cotton skirt and turquoise top, and I will sing my heart out for Tony.

Enjoy your days!

Some holiday wildlife

While over at the coast we saw wildlife we don't see here......for instance, snow leopards at an animal park and a huge goanna being chased by a kookaburra in the rainforest.  We saw a few of these fellers.....

 ......the "Hello Koala Trail" features koala statues painted in bright colours and interesting designs; we did see others but weren't always in a position to photograph them.

 I like the beetle on this one's nose, and the gorgeous yellow-green eucalyptus leaves covering the body.  It lives at the koala hospital in Port Macquarie, where of course you can see the ridgey-didge fair dinkum real thing as well.......this little one, for instance.

 "Go away, I'm asleep.  Do not disturb.  Leave me alone.  I'm not awake."

Sea Acres is a national park in a rainforest within sight and sound of the sea, and one can walk through it on an elevated walk which is only just above ground level in parts while quite high off the ground in others.  Half way round is an open area with tall wooden sculptures, seats for sitting, and Ninox who is named after Australasian owls.

Ninox looks impressive but is not comfortable for sitting, as its beak pokes right in the middle of one's back.

Since returning home it has been hot, and some days have been very hot, and a few days have been really very hot.  Forecast for the next few days is more really very hot weather.  Summer hasn't officially started yet and already I am over it, so roll on autumn.  Before going away we ordered blinds for outside the windows of my sewing room and the living area off the kitchen, both of which face north - the hot sunny side in Australia - they were installed a few days ago, and already we have noticed the difference.  The sun doesn't hit the windows as strongly, so the windows don't heat up as much, so the rooms stay cooler.

I remember visiting with my grandmother or mother when a child, and those older houses often had blinds outside the windows to help keep rooms cooler.  Newer houses aren't always designed for good climate control but we are fortunate to have verandahs at the front and back and wide eaves round the house, all of which keep summer sun away from the house walls.

Stitching has resumed on Cricket/ette's quilt and by heck it is bright.  The blocks are eye-poppers, sashing and inner border are orange, cornerstones and binding are green, and when the striped border is added it will knock the kid's socks right off.

The uke group is now gearing up for Christmas after a busy weekend; Saturday night the choir sang at a charity concert and the uke group played too (because the choir and uke group have five members in common), then again at the monthly main street markets on Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon at an awards ceremony at the music school.  This coming Saturday we are playing at a charity afternoon tea......makes you wonder what the town did for entertainment before we came along, doesn't it?

"To remove freckles.
Bruise and squeeze the juice out of common chickweed, and to this juice add three times its quantity of soft water.  Bathe the skin with this for five or ten minutes morning and evening, and wash afterwards with clean water."

I'm afraid it's too late.......I have had freckles since I was a child, and even staying inside during the heat of summer doesn't seem to stop more appearing.

Enjoy your days!

Not a whole lot going on here.......

....the challenge quilt is temporarily put away, because I have been sitting on a charity quilt which I want to get done. Quilt top and fleece backing (no batting in this one) are laid out on the cutting table awaiting pins, but first it is coffee time. Oh, my.......I am not wonderful at machine quilting so I avoid it, but if I did more I would get better at it.......so here goes.

This week the postie delivered a wonderful surprise, all the way from Ohio! One of Cyndi's lovely Dotti bags, just for me - thank you Cyndi, you are terrific. Plus a lovely card and some fun Moda fabric mini charms. I already have a couple of ideas spinning around in my head for them......

The pretty lining fabric, isn't it something? I love it.
You know, if I were to choose my own fabrics I may not have chosen these - but I just love them. The bag has zipper pockets, and open pockets, and credit card pockets, and a long strap so I can carry it across my body and have my hands free. Since I broke my arm and damaged my shoulder I find carrying a large bag is uncomfortable and sometimes painful, so I have been using smaller bags and carrying less. Just how much do we need to cart around with us? Some of the currently popular bags (the ones with all the buckles and studs) are huge, and weigh a ton even when empty. Even my wallet is heavy, so I am thinking of paring it down too.

It's a dull cloudy day today, not terribly cold but not warm either. A good day to be inside sewing, even if it is machine quilting. Even the cats aren't much company - they are too busy sleeping. There is pasta sauce simmering away in the slow cooker for tonight's dinner.

Recently I started knitting myself a new cardigan, pics will follow in due course. It's a lovely deep teal and will be very useful when done. The pattern doesn't have ribbing along the bottom edge, it has six rows of moss stitch whitch has been curling up badly; hopefully it will fix itself when it's all made and sewn together. Most of my knitting gets done in front of TV, often with a cat on my lap - not always easy, let me say. Especially when it is Bianca The Beautiful (but slightly brainless), because she can't resist stretching out a paw to pat the yarn as it comes onto the needles.....then she has the hide to get indignant when I tip her off.

"If by chance anything unpleasant is found in the food, such as a hair in the bread or a fly in the coffee, remove it without remark. Even though your own appetite be spoiled, it is well not to prejudice others."

In other words, keep it to yourself because there may not be enough to share.

Enjoy your days!

WOW for the wall

Isn't this wall plaque a cutie? We bought it at a local shopping centre this morning. Love the detail....the maker has even made the claws look real. Wombats have very good claws for digging, they live in underground burrows and it all has to be dug by hand......sorry, paw. I think it will hang in the beer garden, we need to decide where we would like it.
This is proof that one night our kitties slept by the fire together! They are not related, and Binky was already six years old when Bianca came to live with us. They live together fairly amicably, but aren't close pals. However a few nights ago when it was cold Binky was on the rug in front of the fire. Bianca usually gets there first, she considers that is her spot.........so eventually she decided she would curl up in the cat bed next to Binky, and make the most of what she had. A photo opportunity like this may not arise again so I had to seize the moment.

A few days ago I cut out fabric, backing and thin pellon wadding to make a new bag. I bought the fabric in Canada last year at Cock-A-Doodle Quilts, but what with breaking my arm, and moving house, and settling in here, I have only just now gotten around starting it. I'll have a pic when it's under way. Fabric for the outer bag is a pretty green print, trim fabric is a cinnamon brown print, and the lining is a softer shade of cinnamon. Pattern is McCalls 4118, bag B, the yellow bag in the illustration. I've made that one before, and also made bag A twice. When I bought the fabric I didn't have the pattern with me but thought I knew how much I needed........but my brain didn't remember right........so I had plenty for the outer bag and not enough fabric for the lining and trim. I solved that by buying a different fabric for the lining and it will probably be better anyway, as it's a paler colour. Don't want a bag to be too dark inside, do we? Finding anything in it would be like digging into a dark hole. The three layers (outer and lining fabric and wadding) are quilted in a diamond grid first, then the bag pieces are cut out and assembled. While it's not difficult, all that straight line quilting is a bit tedious......haven't started it yet.....need to be psyched up first........perhaps after I finish this blog entry and my coffee.......

And I have been thinking a little about my challenge entry, the maritime quilt. Haven't yet taken cutter or scissors to fabric, but at least I have thought about it. That's something. It will come together in my head first, then I will make it. That's how my brain works. Can't cut any fabric until I have a plan in mind.

Last Thursday I found out it takes forty five minutes to walk home from quilt group. Uphill. On an uneven surface.

On Monday night I went along to The Only Choir In Town again, they don't meet during school holidays so there has been a break. I have a form to fill out, to officially join. Managed to sing my way through everything OK, then talk came up about a forthcoming concert. Opera was mentioned........my heavens.....never in my life thought I would be singing opera.

Yesterday I tackled my second sewing room, it has cupboards for fabric storage, and open shelves for other stuff, and a desk and chair. The desk had all sorts of things on it and the surface couldn't even be seen let alone used, it was getting too difficult to contemplate doing anything about - so I went in there, set the alarm for 15 minutes and wow! what a difference that 15 minutes made. Shall do it again. The door is shut to keep the cats out unless I am in there, and that also means I can't see if it's untidy. When we were unpacking it was easy to just put things in there and sort them out later, and the sorting isn't yet finished.

Heavens, it's just started pouring rain - was bright sunshine a moment ago!

Now I have finished my coffee so I shall start that quilting. First, however, a word from the 1885 etiquette book.

"Suppression of Emotion.
Suppression of undue emotion, whether of laughter, of anger, or of mortification, of disappointment, or of selfishness in any form, is a mark of good breeding."

Wishing you happy hours!

Jennifer

I has a finish!

The bag is finished, I will take pics and post them over the weekend. It's larger than I had remembered, the one and only time I had seen the bag was at the craft show where I purchased the fabric, in June last year. The pattern had a photo of the finished bag (the only illustration in the instructions) but no finished size measurements. So now I have a new tote bag rather than the new handbag I was expecting to have; never mind, I can cope with that.

That makes two projects finished already for 2009 - the first was a small origami bag. I bought a kit while we were visiting Cooma as these bags had always intrigued me, and now I know how they are made I might try more.

It's been very hot, and it's not just me complaining (although I have been known to do that from time to time), but a couple of nights ago was Sydney's warmest night for twelve years. Already the temperature is 35 degrees C and it's only just after midday, unfortunately there's not much we can do about it except to grin and bear it. Can the folks in the northern hemisphere who are having lots of snow and ice please send some our way? It would be appreciated.

Now I shall put my foot (which is very sore today for some reason) up on a heap of cushions and work on my 89th Flower Basket block.

Jennifer