Wet stuff is falling from the sky!

Do we dare to hope that it's actually raining?  It has also cooled right down, so Kevin is a picture of sartorial splendour in the trakky daks.  I may be joining him soon as my bare tootsies are feeling a little chilly.

Two more houses have been made.

There's definitely an orange and purple vibe going with these two.  The aim is to make two houses a week; I'm not trying to bust a speed record with this, but they are fun and I enjoy making them.  I'm deliberately not matching patterns.......how they are cut is how they are sewn.

All the black and white fabrics for "Imprismed" are now cut, yay!  It will be foundation pieced, so lots of mindless sewing - my favourite kind - is involved.  Some thought is being given to how the edges will be finished, although that decision won't be needed for a while; I am leaning toward a narrow black and white stripe.  Perhaps.  Maybe.  On the other hand I had also thought of a facing sewn to the back, facings are often used on modern and art quilts......but I don't know if mine will be modern enough, or arty enough, or what.  (Probably or what, if truth be known.)  I'll let the quilt tell me what it needs when the time comes. 

Ukulele group met here on Monday afternoon, and we certainly had fun.  It was good to be getting together again after so long, and Clare arrived with these beautiful roses from her garden.  We have been enjoying them, they smell wonderful.

This beautiful tablecloth was made by my mother's Aunty Laura.  It was photographed to show to Karen - now you can all enjoy it.  The centre is linen, probably Irish, and measures 20-1/2 in square.

The tatting border is a bit over nine inches wide all round.

Aunty Laura's two children both died young, in sad circumstances.  She and her husband were left in their mid-forties with no children, so she seems to have turned her hand to making exquisite lace; I don't know whether she could already tat before then, but judging by the pieces she left she was no novice.  I also have several of her doilies (some with linen centres, some all lace) and a padded tea cosy of cream lace lined with pale green taffeta, possbly from the 1930s-early 1940s, as Aunty Laura died in 1948.

The question is, what's going to happen to all this beautiful lace when I die?  I very much doubt that either daughter-in-law will want it, and as I have no female descendants it will probably end up being thrown out or donated to an op shop.  I would prefer the op shop option, because hopefully then someone will see it and love it enough to want it.  

In the meantime, I shall enjoy owning and displaying it.

"Accepting hospitality a sign of good-will.

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

This is true.  

Enjoy your days!

Circles

Recently our quilt group was given this year's non-compulsory challenge......and the theme is "Circles".  Long and loud were the groans from a very small number of people, but not this little black duck!  It will finally give the impetus to dig out a long-languishing UFO, the black and white Winding Ways blocks.  They were mentioned in a post way back when I was quite a new blogger, so to save you (and me) looking back that far here they are again.

 Several years ago I attended a workshop to make Winding Ways because it was a block I wanted to try, and going to a class means there is more chance of that.  I really like the graphic look of just black and white, and managed to make nine blocks during and just after the workshop.

 Some more fabrics......since this was taken a few fabrics have been removed from the pile because they weren't black or white enough.

We had the option of purchasing acrylic templates for rotary cutting, and when it makes construction so much easier - why wouldn't you?  Once the pieces are cut, they are swapped round so each block had both lighter and darker fabrics.  I kept cutting for a while, then those blocks were made up.  Now there are 23 completed blocks and I would like to make seven rows of seven blocks, so another 26 are needed (how's that for mathematical genius, eh?)......four of which have already been cut.

I am thinking about a 2in solid black border around the blocks, then a row of half-blocks for a pieced border to finish the quilt.  Possibly.  Eventually.

The fiddly-diddly applique block has been glued down using fusible web and still needs to be stitched.  I usually use matching thread and machine buttonhole stitch, but for this I decided to use poly thread so the whole thing can be stitched without having to constantly change colours.  Every time I go into my sewing room it's there looking at me, I just want to get it done so I can go onto my own much more interesting projects but really don't feel enthused about it, and the heat has fried my brain anyway which makes it difficult to concentrate on anything.

Ah well.  The quicker I get to it, the quicker it will be finished.

Last Wednesday I took my not-very-lovely aging skin to the doctor and pointed to a few blemishes.  No worries, he says, they are just freckles (I have so many freckles I couldn't begin to count them) but the ones on the back of your right hand and the outside of your left elbow are sun spots.  We can leave them or I can burn them off, says he.  Get rid of them, says I.  So he did.  Geez, that hurts.  I'm sure giving birth wasn't that painful.  Now they are blistered and the blisters keep leaking......sorry about that, it's gross I know, but that's what is happening.....but once they are healed they will be gone forever.  The back of my hand isn't too bad although it does get bumped occasionally (and leaks again), but the one just above the pointy bit of my left elbow is not in a good place.  You don't realise how much you lean on your elbow until you can't.

February is nearly over, and it has been the hottest driest February ever for the Small Smoke.  Our maximum temperature has been three degrees hotter than average and our monthly rainfall total is way out of reach - only about six drops have fallen this month.  Surprisingly, though, the minimum temperature has been a degree cooler than the long term February average!  We're hoping for better weather in March and maybe, just possibly, perhaps even some rain.

"To remove freckles.
A good freckle lotion is made of honey, one ounce, mixed with one pint of luke-warm water.  Apply when cold."

Sounds easy, doesn't it?  I am assuming that one is meant to apply the lotion once it has cooled down, not in winter time only.

Enjoy your days!

Black and white and white and black

Last year I took a class to learn how to make the Winding Ways quilt block. I made nine. They are not yet sewn together.
Several more blocks have been cut out, waiting to be assembled.
And of course there is more fabric still to be cut......!

What a day. I noticed this morning that the not-quite-healed wound on my chest was red around the surgical tape. Now I always thought that red colour around a break in the skin = infection but not always, it seems. After a hasty trip back to the doctor to have it checked, apparently all is OK.

Off to Canberra tomorrow for a 60th birthday party, two friends (a married couple) are celebrating. It will be good to catch up with Canberra friends as we haven't seen them since Easter, over six months ago. Have just tried on the skirt I intended to wear, it's tight in the waist but wearable. So long as I don't pop a button on the waistband all will be well. Might take along a couple of safety pins to be sure!

Which makes the need for losing weight more pressing. I never thought I would be this huge and this unhealthy. I know I'm not "fat" - even the doctor says I'm not - but the blood pressure problems make losing some weight imperative. So........walking in the evenings after the sting has gone out of the sun (it won't be possible tonight). What a waste of 30 minutes. If only there was a way to lose weight by swallowing a magic pill. Let's see if there are any changes by Christmas, I'm told it takes three months to notice any difference but with a bit of luck it might be a little less.

Now I am going to have a coffee and practice my songs to sing at the music club tonight.

Bianca's rain forecast hasn't happened yet. We are still waiting..........and waiting.........