They call me mellow yellow

How many of you remember that song from back in our hippie days?  Yellow is a glorious happy colour, so here are some yellows from our recent trip.

The rose garden café where we breakfasted before leaving Cowra:

I'm always drawn to yellow/gold roses rather than pink or red.

Lovely molten gold roses, like this one.  There may have been a label telling its name but, if so, it was at ground level, and I don't get down that far because getting up again in a dignified manner....well......

I don't know what these pretties are called, I thought perhaps autumn crocus, but the leaves look wrong....I thought autumn crocus leaves were quite skinny, and these aren't.  Taken in Molong at the 'Yarn Cottage', a visitor information centre in a cottage dating from 1860 or so, with a Cobb & Co Coach House at the back; these flowers were growing in its garden.

Some fabrics bought in Canberra for the yellow quilt, the plan is to hopefully start it before the year is out.

Hopefully......not too sure about the fabric on the right, it could be a bit brown, but we'll see.

And these because I couldn't resist them, they were bought in Tumut at The Cotton Merchants:

Because one day there may be another autumn quilt in my future. 

How has everyone been?  Hopefully we have caught up with various appointments - for now, at least - and we won't starve, because some hunting and foraging has been done.  Words have been read, stitches have been knitted and sewn.  My right wrist is a little limited at present; it was broken in the fall two years ago (two years this coming week, actually) and, while it's mostly not giving much trouble, of late it has been sore.  On Friday the chiropractor said it appeared to have a slight sprain and recommended wearing a brace for a while....well, how lucky, there is a right hand brace in the drawer as it was worn after the plaster was removed.  So now my wrist is braced again, but the support helps with the discomfort so it can stay on.  It makes some activities a bit tricky but provided it's worn more than it's not worn, it can be taken off occasionally.

Best of all, summer has drawn its last breath!  Daytime temps have still been fairly warm, but last night a cooler breeze blew through....quite cool, and now it's properly autumn.  Today is cold enough to wear long sleeves, and even proper shoes with socks rather than sandals.  Some rain would be welcome, though, as it's been a couple of months since any rain worthy of the name fell from the skies.

The blocks for Arboretum are in the process of being laid out as we speak, and oh - they look so good!  There is a red house BOM to be made for my quilt group, and as soon as that's out of the way the trees can be sewn together.  More diamonds need to be cut, over 400 three-diamond hexagons have been made (although I don't think of it as a hexagon quilt) and diamonds for only another 10-12 triples need to be cut.  Without the brace.  The cooler weather gives my brain a boost, and it's easier to get motivated to do Stuff when one's brain cells aren't frying.

Continuing on with our wise words on Breaking an Engagement:

"It is generally best to break an engagement by letter.  By this means one can express himself or herself more clearly, and give the true reason for his or her course much better than in a personal interview.  The letter breaking the engagement should be accompanied by everything, by way of portraits, letters or gifts, that has been received during the engagement.  Such letters should be acknowledged in a dignified manner, and no efforts should be made or measure be taken to change the decision of the writer, unless it is manifest that he or she is greatly mistaken in his or her premises,  A similar return of letters, portraits and gifts should be made."

I can remember a song from the radio during my childhood 'A broken engagement is like a divorce'.  These days it would probably be considered a somewhat mournful country song....it was certainly mournful when my mother sang along with it, for sure.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Green, green, it's green they say....

....on the far side of the hill.....

Anyone else remember that song?  It seems appropriate, considering that I've been cutting green fabrics for the outer border of the neighbourhood.  This is what's been cut so far.

But - there is still lots to go, because in my wisdom (not sure that it was very wise, but there you are) I have been cutting short pieces, and it's a fairly big quilt.  It might be a good idea to get cracking and cut some longer strips, those shorter pieces can be used between the longer ones.

This is Butchart Garden on Vancouver Island, Canada, in autumn.  That garden is famed world-wide for it's wonderful floral displays but when it's not flower season all the tones of green are highlighted, as they were back in November 2012 when this was taken.

Speaking of colour - no doubt you may have already heard that the Pantone colour of the year for 2026 has been released, and after so many colourful years it seems like a cop-out that white has been chosen.  It's been gussied up with a fancy name.....'Cloud Dancer'.....but white is still white.  I always thought that white was the absence of colour - yes?  If that's so, how can it be chosen as colour of the year?  I must admit to being somewhat....underwhelmed.

Here's a site I found which shows the colours of the year going back to 2000.  While I don't care for them all (although I do quite like 2017's colour) each and every one of them is more inspiring than boring white.

For many years now home renno shows have been showing white kitchens, which remind me of hospital laboratories.  Give me some colour any day.  Our kitchen (which came with the house but we like it, so it's been left) is light creamy-beige; it's not brown, it has warm yellow undertones with enough colour not to be boring but is still light enough to be practical.  There is also a fad on those shows to have dark kitchens with dark floors, dark cabinets, dark bench tops.....why, fergawdssake?  You would have to have the lights on all day, and even then you would need a magnifying glass to chop vegies so you didn't chop your fingers instead.

We have had more storms, and a few more small branches have fallen from our front yard tree.  They seem to recover, though, so we won't panic just yet.  Don't want to waste a good panic, do we.

The festive season is getting closer.  On Wednesday my sewing group had our Christmas lunch and jolly nice it was too, while the ukulele group finished for the year on Monday.  One of the members, Chris, gave me a jar of sweet onion chutney that she made herself (which is very nice too, it's already been opened and tried) together with a card, the hand-written message inside thanking me for, as Chris put it, "sharing your love of music with us".....isn't that sweet?  So, that's the end of music groups for the year...but I can always plink and sing away to myself, can't I.

Words have been read.  Stitches have been knitted and sewn but that summer top isn't yet repaired, as time just ran away from me; while the coming week also has some appointments, I live in hope that the top will be done by next weekend.  We hunted and foraged and will do some more this week because, even though there will just be the two of us for Christmas, we can still enjoy some festive foods.  The idea of going out to a restaurant for an indulgent Christmas lunch has been left in the dirt as these days it's way out of our budget, so we will just have to indulge at home.

When you are the person responsible for meal planning, and shopping, and preparation, though, Christmas is just like any other day.  Compared to a meal which someone else has prepared, served and cleaned up here's nothing special about a meal you have had to make yourself, is there?

The One And Only Grandkid has an upcoming birthday.  He will turn eleven next Friday.  We have deposited some money in his father's account so he can be taken shopping and choose what he would like; there is an excellent children's book shop in Canberra, and we are told there are also good toy shops.  We don't see him enough to know what he would like (although you can bet that fantasy/superheroes would feature somewhere, just like his father at that age) so it's better that he makes his own choice and has something he would like.

"How to treat a refusal.

As a woman is not bound to accept the first offer that is made to her, so no sensible man will think the worse of her, nor feel himself personally injured by a refusal.  That it will give him pain is most probable.  A scornful "no" or a simpering promise to "think about it" is the reverse of generous."

We certainly don't wish to be ungenerous, do we?

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Cool rainy day trees

Today is definitely a better day to be in looking out, than to be out looking in.  The wind is a bit nasty, the sun has forgotten to shine, and every now and then blustery rain hits the windows.

Last night the final stitches were taken on the hanging sleeve of Autumn Rhapsody, so yay goody for me!  It can now finally be counted as a finish.

This week's trees, numbers 61 and 62.  We're getting through the blue fabrics - not many more to go, now.  This pinkish-orange (or is it orange-ish pink?) makes a good contrast.

I remember buying this leaf fabric in Canada, at a quilt show in Kincardine.  How did I get to know about a quilt show on the other side of the world, I hear you ask?  Back in late 2012 we were waiting at Sydney Airport for those l-o-o-o-n-g flights to Canada, so to keep myself entertained I had taken along some hand-piecing.  Another woman who was waiting sat beside me and we started chatting; her name was Mary, she was from Kincardine, and she mentioned her group's quilt show.  We hired a car and off we set for some exploring in towns along Lake Huron, one of which was Kincardine, and goodness me - look at that sign, dear, there's a quilt show at Knox Presbyterian Church today!  Fancy that!!

The contrast is left from my tree hanging.  It made an excellent trunk then, and it makes another good one today.

Slightly shaded trees, because the cloudy day means lights have to be on.

Thoughts have been thought about the yellow quilt, and fabrics pulled from the stash.  Lots of tone on tones, checks, florals, spots......you name it.  A couple of fabrics have some orange on them, which really pops; I was unsure about them at first, but they can stay in.  The fabric with blue flowers may go, however, as I have already made two yellow and blue quilts.

Many years ago....many, many years ago......I fell in love with this fabric and bought some intending to use it for borders, but have now changed my mind.  It will make an excellent backing instead.

A pattern in a magazine from about 2007 is inspiration, but rather than the original designer's plain borders mine will be pieced.  This has been percolating in my mind for many years, so it's about time it popped out, yes?  There is a lot of cutting out to be done, my least favourite part of the quilt-making process, but the rotary cutter will have a new blade inserted and it will be good to go.

Never mind about all the other projects waiting in the wings......

The view from my sewing room window a couple of days ago, while making trees.  The sun was getting ready to set, but the trees further up the hill had a golden light on their tops.  In the short time it took me to go outside the light changed but it hadn't completely gone, so I took this pic.

How has everyone been this week?  We have had the usual uneventful week: we hunted, we gathered.  We drove to a smaller town half an hour away to take the new(ish) car for a bit of a run and to visit its two butchers, both of whom have very good meat and most of which is now in our freezer. Stitches have been sewn, words have been read.  Songs have been plinked and sung.  That's about it, really.  We've been staying inside out of the weather.

There has been so much rain this week that roads have been closed, the river has had a minor flood, and more water is probably still making its way downstream toward us as we speak.  A check of the rain radar shows showers all around us, so we may still get more before we turn off the day and go to bed later.

It's better than being in drought, though.

"Thorough acquaintance as a basis for marriage.

Perhaps there is such a thing as love at first sight, but love alone is a very uncertain foundation upon which to base marriage.  There should be thorough acquaintanceship and a certain knowledge of harmony of tastes and temperaments before matrimony is ventured upon."

This is probably true.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

A couple of late trees

Yesterday afternoon we were at the theatre, so this week's post is a trifle late.

First, a turquoise tree.....

....then an azurite/malachite tree......

.....and these make 60 trees finished!

If memory serves me correctly these are the last trees made from fabrics from my prize bundle, and they were both, of course, used in Summertime Blues.

Azurite/malachite is a real mineral.  It has both deep blue azurite and rich green malachite, and examples I found online were quite spectacular.  I can see it making beautiful jewellery, I could fancy some earrings....or a ring.....yummm......

Yesterday's theatrical afternoon was a play with music about the life of George Formby, a British performer of years gone by, whose trademark was his ukulele.  Many of his songs are still popular today, however his career, like that of several others, fizzled away after the end of World War II.  His morale-boosting concerts and films did a lot to lift the spirits of civilians and servicemen and women alike, but once the war was over people didn't want to be reminded of those sad times so they turned away in droves.  He was only 56 when he died, just a few months after his wife Beryl, but his songs live on.  The play was very clever, just two performers, a real-life mother and son; mother played the parts of George's mother and of his beloved Beryl, while son played George.  With just a few props and some quick on-stage costume changes, the story was very cleverly done.

How has everyone been this week?  Apart from our jaunt to the theatre it's been a busy week; the choir's charity concert on Saturday night went off well and I had the chance to repeat my award-winning performances with both song and poem, which was fun and which was well received.  Stitches have been sewn but not knitted, one of these days the knitting will be picked up again, however the two-part hanging sleeve on my autumn quilt is now half done.  Once it's finished, those needles and yarn will once more take the quilt's place on my lap.  We hunted and gathered, so we won't starve.

The new car is very comfortable to ride in.  It has now been in our lives for several days and we are getting used to looking at a different shade of silver/grey than in the past.  It might look slightly posh, but it's still a boring colour.  We have had a silver/grey vee-hickle since 2002 so we should be used to boring by now, shouldn't we.

Lime green would have been so nice.....sunshine yellow would be lovely....deep golden orange would be scrumptious, or perhaps bright turquoise......anything but silver/grey.  This will be the last car we ever buy, however, so I suppose we are stuck with boring.

Oh well.  Sigh......at least we have a car.....

Winter continues with some quite chilly mornings.  Earlier this year the long-range forecast was for a warmer than average winter, but so far it's been fairly cool; days are nice, but mornings are definitely not for roaming around barefoot in the grass.  Some rain has fallen and more is forecast which is good, as winter is usually our driest season.  The fire has been doing its job of keeping us warm.

My thoughts have been turning to cutting fabric for another quilt, something I really don't need to do - yet - but after Arboretum is done that might be the time.  For many many years I have wanted to make a yellow quilt, the fabrics have been pulled, and it just might have its turn once those trees are finished.  A search through an older magazine has yielded an easy design, so perhaps that will be The One.  Just think, sunshine gold....lemon yellow.....mustard....butter yellow......wattle flowers and daffodils and other yellow flowers....the more I think about it, the more I want to fondle those fabrics.

Way back when I first started patchwork in the early 1990s yellow was a difficult colour to find, so I bought it when I found it.  It's easier to source these days, but I really don't need to go shopping for yellow fabric as that golden stash is calling.

"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."

I had to look twice at the heading.....and yes, accepting a gentleman at first sight seems somewhat impetuous, to me.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

A sunset tree

An Aussie sunset tree, at that.  This is the only batik fabric in the Big Basket which has an Aussie design, of eucalypt leaves and blossoms.  The colours are 'late afternoon/sunset', aren't they?  The contrast is a deep creamy colour.

Another fabric used in Summertime Blues.  The contrast is a smokey grey/green with more colours than it shows here; it reminds me of some species of eucalypt leaves which are grey/green colour rather than bright green.

An interesting pair, taking the total up to 46.

The knitting's progress.  The back of whatever it is going to be - jumper probably, cardigan possibly - is now long enough that decreasing for the armholes can start.

I like the colours, but am not sure that I love the stripes - I was hoping for more random patterning.  Never mind; it will probably be worn at home rather than out, as when one is no longer in the first slenderness of youth (not like I was once.....sigh......) horizontal stripes are not flattering. This blue/purple/green colourway is not as green as I thought it might be, to judge from the sample yarn in the colour card, but I can live with it.

I remember when yarns with more than one colour first appeared on the market, and what a novelty they were!  Most were variegated shades of one colour, but some were multicoloured; many was the child in those days (late 1960s/early 70s) who wore bright multi-coloured jumpers, so much more cheerful than the single coloured yarns previously available.  I remember making and wearing a sleeveless crocheted buttoned vest, in variegated mossy green.....it went very well with a white shirt with a big wide collar (also made by me, as were most of my clothes in those days) and a long dark green woollen skirt made of woven fabric, not knitted or crocheted.  Long woollen skirts were The Very Thing back then, as was crocheted clothing, and I certainly made and wore my share. 

One of my 'makes' was a crocheted top in good quality (read: expensive) bright red wool yarn, .  The body was plain crochet with a lace work yoke, and the tops of the short sleeves were the same lace design.  It was pretty, I wore it with pride, until one day it needed to be washed and the bloke to whom I was married at the time threw it in the washing machine with everything else.....I wasn't home at the time to throw up my hands in horror and say "fergawdssake don't do that!"......and, of course, it shrunk and felted.  It still fitted - just - but had lost the crisp stitch definition.  As you can probably guess, I wasn't impressed.

Many of those patterns came from women's magazines of the time.  In later years those same magazines were derided by feminists for their recipes and knitting and crocheted patterns, and while many of them are still around they now seem to be filled with rubbish articles on so-called "celebrities", people we neither know nor care about.  At least those magazines of years gone by were useful.

Last week's rain has resulted in the garden looking lush and green, and the weeds doing amazingly well.  More is forecast for the coming week, enough to keep those weeds growing higher and higher.  Now it is June, winter is lurking around the corner, and those warm jumpers of mine will come into their own.

Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn and knitted.  Notes have been plinked and words sung.  We hunted and gathered and ran around a bit, and so another week passed us by.

"In assisting a lady to enter a carriage, a gentleman will take care that the skirt of her dress is not allowed to hang outside.  A carriage robe should be provided to protect her dress from the mud and dust of the road.  The gentleman should provide the lady with her parasol, fan and shawl, and see that she is comfortable in every way, before he seats himself."

Taking a carriage ride in those days was quite a business, wasn't it?  All those things to remember, although most of them are just common sense.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Forwards and backwards

The computer has been back in hospital....doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it, they said.....I'm not convinced.  Anyway, it's back home for now.

How has everyone been?  It's been a busy couple of weeks; we're in the hottest part of the year and as usual the heat is quite unpleasant but it, too, will eventually pass.  The country music festival has come and gone, we had a new musical friend staying (I don't know where he gets his stamina from; his time was spent running from one gig to another and he had some very late nights, although he never disturbed us no matter how late he came home) and we enjoyed going to a few concerts.

No trees were made last week but the binding has been machined down on Autumn Rhapsody, and it's now being hand-sewn down on the back.  My bad hand doesn't enjoy long marathon sewing sessions, but so far it's behaving.  The panic over the too-short binding turned out to be misplaced in the end, as that extra strip wasn't needed after all.

Never waste a good panic.  You don't know when it may be needed for something really important.

If we were to hop in the trusty chariot and drive an hour or so south, we would be in sunflower territory.

A sunflower tree for the farmers who grow the sunflowers, and for tourists who love taking selfies in a field of big golden blooms.  Some farmers are now planting a field of flowers just for that purpose as it keeps the aforementioned tourists from trampling their precious crop, and the 'selfie fee' still raises some welcome money for their coffers or for charity.

Not sure what sort of tree this one is, but it's very colourful!

Don't they look good together?  

A reminder that one day this enervating heat will come to an end, and autumn will be with us once more.

To answer the comment from 'Anonymous' on my last post about a purple tree:  my least favourite colour in the whole spectrum is pink.  My second least favourite is purple, therefore a purple tree may continue to be missing.  There will, however, be more green and yellow trees to come.

Yesterday was Australia Day.  We spent the morning at home and the afternoon at a concert enjoying our musical guest's talents, before saying 'farewell' to the performers until next year.  As usual many words have been read and spoken on the subject of "should we celebrate Australia Day when it commemorates the arrival of European settlers to the detriment of the First Peoples" but I don't think the answer is simple, as any alternative date put forward is also problematic for some reason or another.  The date also marks the date of 26th January, 1949, when the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 was enacted.  That meant that we all became Australian citizens; prior to that date we were considered British subjects and even had to travel on British passports....and that, to me, is something worth celebrating.

My Posh Melbourne Grandmother, Florence, was one of five girls and two boys born in Sydney to Phoebe and Arthur Nelson.  (She and her new hubby moved to Melbourne after their marriage and spent the rest of their lives there.)  For several years from the mid-1890s Arthur, an engineer with his own business, was a member of the N.S.W. Legislative Assembly, and according to information found on Trove he attended Federation conferences in both Melbourne and Adelaide, prior to Federation in 1901.  In those days the prospect of Federation - all Australian states and territories combining to form one country - was obviously on Arthur and Phoebe's mind, so much so that a daughter born in 1887 was named 'Australia'.

She seems to have gone by her middle name of Mae.  Can't say I blame her, really.

Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked.  Stitches have been sewn, by hand and by machine.  We managed to avoid the festival crowds (not always an easy exercise when there are over 50,000 of them to avoid) in order to hunt and gather because the food supply was getting a bit low, but we are stocked up again now.  We keep out of the heat as much as possible, although it's a struggle to stay cool sometimes.

Further to our last point of etiquette:

"It shows a great lack of proper manners to see two ladies, or a lady and gentleman, occupy a seat in front of them and fill it with their wraps and bundles, retaining it in spite of the entreating or remonstrating looks of fellow-passengers.  In such case any person who desires a seat is justified in removing the baggage and taking possession of the unused seat."

It's even worse when people put their feet on the opposite seat.  Who would want to pick up someone else's feetsies and place them on the floor?  Not me.  Not even I.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Adding to the forest

This week's blocks have been made.  First a yellow and blue tree.....

......then a sort of reddish-pinkish-goldish tree......

then they stood side by side.

The reddish-pinkish-goldish fabric was included in a kit bought several years ago in Canada; all the leaves were cut from the one fabric, and fabric quantities included with the kit were very generous so there is more than enough left to make a tree.

The different fabric tones made the leaves come alive on that project, and now the leftovers can be part of Arboretum.

How has everyone's week been?  We have had a busy time running here and running there, and trying to stay cool....not always easy when the temperatures is as hot as it has been.  We have had a little rain but nothing to get excited about, so we didn't, but the frog in the drainpipe certainly did.  Some rumbly thunder from time to time, and that was about it.

The mangoes are all sliced, diced and in the freezer, just waiting to be eaten.  It occurred to me that I have a mango recipe which might appeal to some of you; it was published (typed by hand, of course) in the 1988 Bicentennial Cook Book put out by the primary school our sons attended in the 1980s.  You will need:

1 mango

1 tub sour cream, 200 ml - 250 ml.  You can use light sour cream if you wish, but it must be sour cream not regular cream

Flaked coconut.  If you can't get flaked you could use desiccated.  I don't recommend using shredded coconut as it's drippy and messy.

Peel your mango, cut off the flesh and mash with a fork.  Stir in as much sour cream as you need; the quantity will depend on how juicy the mango is, and how runny the sour cream.  You want to have a slightly runny but not liquid consistency.  Lastly, stir in the flaked coconut (as much as the mango/sour cream mix happily takes), cover and store in fridge overnight.  The coconut will absorb some of the sour cream/mango mixture, and it will thicken.  Serve dolloped on fruit salad, or if you really want to push the boat out it can be served in a pretty glass bowl surrounded by cut fruit for dipping - peach/nectarine/apricot slices, strawberries, orange slices, whatever your little heart desires.  This is when you will be pleased that you didn't use shredded coconut.  If memory serves me correctly, it's called 'Mango Fruit Dip'.

Each year Pantone, the colour people, release a 'Colour of the Year' based on trends happing around the world, and the colour for 2025 has been announced.  It is 'Mocha Mousse', and is a rather unfortunate shade of brown.  Now I like coffee, and chocolate, and cocoa, and mousse - all of those - but like many others I lived through the 1970s when brown ruled supreme and 'Mission Brown' was the colour of the decade!  I can only assume that the folk who chose Mocha Mousse weren't alive back in those days.

Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn.  Notes have been plinked and sung.  The U3A uke group has been getting into the odd seasonal song or two.  We hunted and we gathered, and that was about it.

A few months ago Emma physio loaned me a piece of equipment for the strength exercises which were part of my daily routine, so this week I made an appointment to take it back and to check on how my arm and hand were doing.  Quite well, it seems, especially considering the severity of the injury and the fact that it was on a joint - joint injuries take longer to heal.  Emma has a folding ruler that is used to measure the angle my wrist can bend forward and backward, and it is much more advanced that it was on the last visit.  She also has a grip gadget for measuring strength and, while my right hand isn't yet as strong as the left, it has certainly improved.  Both Emma and I were pleased with the visit.  She felt that it would take a year for my wrist and hand to get back to what they were before the fall, and it certainly seems as though that will be the case - next week will be eight months, so it's on track for a year.

"Attending to the wants of others.

See everywhere and at all times that ladies and elderly people have their wants supplied before you think of your own.  Nor is there need for unmanly haste or pushing in entering or leaving.  There is always time enough allowed for each passenger to enter in a gentlemanly manner and with a due regard to the rights of others."

Of course there is.  There is no need for a gentleman to be ungentlemanly.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Melting moments

'Melting moments', for those of you who don't live in the wonderful land of Oz, are a favourite Aussie treat which have been around for a long time.  There are many recipes online, to make it easy I found one for you....Melting moments......not having tried it I can't vouch for it, but I'm sure they are yummy.

We've been having our own moments of melting this week.  It has been, and continues to be, very very hot with not much relief at night for sleeping....although the daytime heat is so tiring that the night time warmth certainly hasn't kept me awake.  In C degrees we have been nudging 40 for the past several days with those temps to continue for much of the coming week.  (That's over 100 deg F in old money)  We stay indoors as much as possible and drink plenty of water, we know that one day it will be cooler, and then we will feel better.

A few nights ago there was, as they say on the news, quite a bit of storm activity around.  Here on the northern edge of town we had a bit of wind, some lightning and thunder and about half a dozen drops of rain, while on the other side of the river there were blackouts, trees down, car accidents (because people don't know how to drive in anything other than bright sunny weather, do they) and teeming rain, even hail.  The official weather station at the airport on the south-west of town received - not one drop.  So, it didn't happen.

Unfortunately the heat fries my brain making it difficult to concentrate so not much has been achieved, but I did manage to get the three blocks made that I need for next month's BOM.

The two blocks on the right will be cut once diagonally.  There will be one intact block left to show the group what is expected (there will of course be a pic on the instructions which I will hand out); two of the cut blocks will be joined with black sashing, while the remaining two will be left so I can explain my idea.  I has also occurred to me earlier today that those blocks could be cut twice through the middle - up and down, and across, mixed around and sashed with black - but I like the diagonal idea better.  If you want to try it for yourself the centre square is cut 3-1/2 in, and the surrounding strips are all cut 2 inches.

It will not be long until the season is upon us, the musical wreath will be hung on the front door once more.....probably during the coming week.  Ding a ling.

Last night the ukulele group played for a Christmas carols evening at a small village 15 minutes out of town, and it was fun.  Despite the horrible heat we enjoyed ourselves, the audience seemed to as well, and we all had fun singing along with Christmas songs old and new.  The choir included one of the Australian Christmas carols......yes, there are some; in fact there are 15.....in their set, and we sang another.  My generation grew up singing them at school so of course are familiar with them, and they do reflect an Aussie Christmas more than carols from colder climes.  When there is a total fire ban (as there is again today) we would certainly not think of roasting our chestnuts on a fire, open or otherwise; in the words of 'The North Wind': "The north wind is tossing the leaves, the red dust is over the town....the sparrows are under the eaves, and the grass in the paddock is brown......" which is Australia in summer, and Australia at Christmas.

Some work was done on the neighbourhood at quilt group on Tuesday, then the bobbin thread ran out halfway through adding a setting triangle to the end of a house row.  It was nearly packing-up time anyway, so - when it's not quite so hot and when the social seasonal happenings let up for a while - it will be finished off at home.

Diamonds have been joined.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked and sung; choir has now finished for the year, and U3A ukulele group finishes next Thursday with lunch at the club where we hold our weekly meetings......first we will eat then we will play and sing, which sounds good to me.  Hunting and gathering, as usual, happened, and a birthday gift was posted off to The One And Only Grandkid who will soon turn nine.

Each year a 'Colour of the Year' is released by Pantone, and next year's colour was released this week.....'Peach Fuzz'.  Now I don't know about you but I would call it 'Blergh'.....or perhaps 'Bare Bum'.  I can't see it setting my world on fire, that's for sure.  When I posted about it on my online quilt group it reminded many members of sampler quilts they made in the 1980s-1990s which were peach/apricot with pale green or blue - a scheme they thought (hoped!) had gone forever.

Continuing on with Etiquette of Public Places, Conduct in Church:

"People should preserve the utmost silence and decorum in church, and avoid whispering, laughing, staring, or making a noise of any kind with the feet or hands."

Indeed.  Attending a church is not the same as attending a theatrical performance, although there is an element of theatre just the same.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

In which we were battered by storms and Stuff

Storms are far more excitement than we like, but a few nights ago we were assailed - that's the only word I can think of - by a storm which started with strong winds and rain, then hail and heavy rain, more wind, even heavier rain......we kept expecting a blackout but were, fortunately, lucky not to have one although we did lose internet connection for a while.  When we checked outside next morning there didn't seem to be any damage - we haven't climbed up on the roof to check though, our roof-climbing days are long done!

We don't like storms.  We still have memories of the time our house was badly damaged in The Great Sefton Hailstorm of 1990, one of the few times that Sefton (normally a very quiet suburb 30-40 minutes from the centre of the Big Smoke) was in the news apart from the odd murder at a local pub.  There were very few houses in the area left unscathed, we had several windows and skylights broken and our fence knocked down by water because of drains blocked by hail; schools were closed until damage could be repaired, and there were tarps on roofs for weeks afterwards.  That was quite a scary experience, and one I don't wish to live through again.....although roof repairers and window replacers did very well out of it.

This week's houses.

Some paisley, and a cat house - the design on the black and white fabric is the word "meow" repeated; it seemed appropriate to put around a house of cats.  Only three houses are left to have their black and white surrounds done, yay!  Next step will be to complete the setting triangles; these are pieced green 2-1/2 in squares, lots and lots of squares, which have been joined into strips of seven.  Seven of these strips will be joined to make larger squares - five of them - they will each be cut into four, and that will make the side triangles.  

The plan to cut the borders for the Canadian quilt went astray......but as Scarlett once said, tomorrow is another day.

The blue and green blocks were received with favour by those present at quilt group and no moans were heard, probably because there wasn't a triangle in sight.

It started a conversation about colour pairings.  I remarked that I can cope with most colour pairs although orange and purple together have always set my teeth on edge.....as do pink and yellow, pink and orange, red and pink......although perhaps if the purple was on the blue side of the colour spectrum rather than the red and the orange tending towards gold it could work.  I remember reading once that you can put two colours together, any colours you like, and they will always look good so long as white is added to the mix.  Perhaps so......but I think it would take more than white to reconcile me to red and pink together.

This was back in the days of hearing that "blue and green should never be seen, without another colour in between" - I think we have moved on from that thinking; what about blue sky and green plants?

Back then we were also told not to mix stripes, florals, checks, whatever, in our clothing, but what can be a bit too much on the human form can work out wonderfully well in a quilt, yes?

We are hoping that the rules about wearing a face mask in many situations will be relaxed this week, as the state government has promised they would be.  At present masks don't have to be worn outdoors so we can stroll along the main drag without one, but must pull it up if going into a shop or café.  This means that, as happened earlier in the week, we can walk down the street sans mask, pull it up to walk into our favourite café, take it off to have our coffee, put it on again to walk a few steps out the door, take it off again.......I can cope with most of the restrictions but the face mask is too distressing, for me.  So except for a few mask-less situations I stay home rather than go out, and am in danger of turning into a hermit as a result.

Continuing on from last week's quote :

"Introductions at a ball.

It is for this reason that here, as in England, ladies are expected to bow first, while on the Continent it is the gentlemen who give the first marks of recognition, or better still, simultaneously, when the recognition is simultaneous.  The one who recognizes first should be the first to show that recognition."

Nothing is said about not recognising someone wearing a face mask, even though that person is normally well known to you.

Enjoy your days!

The village is growing

Two houses were made this week.

Bright pink spots - my stash is not entirely lacking in pink - and I don't know what you would call the house on the left, rust, perhaps?  Brick?  It's not quite brown, anyway.  My village will not be Dullsville, and there are a few more cut out ready to be sewn.

It needs a witty name, but that will come in time......probably in a blinding flash of brilliance when least expected.  In the shower, perhaps.

More black and white fabrics have been cut.  A new blade in one's rotary cutter makes a world of difference!  That one does have a name - 'Imprismed', because of the rainbow which will flow through it.

Stitches have been sewn on the tumbler quilt, and the panels are becoming larger; the first of three wide panels is now underway, each panel is eight tumblers wide.  

Blogger has been playing up a little of late - why are we not surprised?  A couple of comments didn't make it into my email inbox, they were dumped into my spam folder which I only check when I remember to, so if you leave a comment and I don't get back to you fairly soon don't worry.  It's in hand.

Our local birds have been active this week.  A male Crested Pigeon has been strutting his stuff to no avail; the object of his affection seems to be muttering "dirty devil" under her breath as she flutters away from him.  Doesn't stop him from pursuing her, though - they are quite funny.  A pair of magpies pop in regularly for some steak, a Grey Butcherbird is aso a regular visitor, a family of Magpie Larks - peewees - tells the larger magpies off, and a Red Wattlebird tells them all off.  Talk about the pecking order......they are very entertaining.

No special outings to report this week, just the usual hunting and gathering.  Quilt group met on Tuesday, choir was on Thursday night - suitably distanced with everyone sitting, as it has been since we resumed - and tomorrow afternoon the remnants of the ukulele group are coming here to play together for the first time in over six months.  If we meet at the golf club (as we did for quite a while) we have to abide by government regulations of sitting, no standing or walking around......most of us prefer to stand while playing......signing in, etc.  By coming here we can be more relaxed and informal.  Our town hasn't had a case of the covid plague since April so we feel confident to go ahead.  Most cases are happening in bigger cities with much larger populations, but everyone has to abide by the same regulations.

The thought of playing music with friends again has me all a-flutter with excitement, I can tell you - notes have even been plinked in preparation!

 "Duties of a hostess and host.

Tact and self-possession are demanded of the hostess, in order that she may perform her duties agreeably, which are not onerous.  She should instruct her servants not to remove her plate until her guests have finished.  If she speaks of any omission by which her servants have inconvenienced her guests, she must do it with dignity, not betraying any undue annoyance.  She must put her guests at their ease, and pay every possible attention to the requirement of each and all around her.  No accident must disturb her; no disappointments embarrass her.  If her precious china and her rare glass are broken before her eyes, she must seem to take but little or no notice of it."

I shall endeavour to be a gracious ukulele hostess tomorrow, but won't be using the precious china or rare glass.

Enjoy your days!

It's a big world out there

I didn't realise it was so huge!  Best of all, I can sew - or read, or knit, or do just about anything - without having to stop for frequent breaks because of muscle tiredness around my eyes.  The deterioration was probably such a gradual process for several years that I hadn't realised how bad it had become, so when the surgeon muttered words like "take out at least seven to eight millimetres" which is way over a quarter of an inch......all I could think of was "ohmygawd", but every millimetre has been worth it.  Thankfully the bruises are finally fading now and stitches are becoming less noticeable.

Another house was made, this time twice as big.

It's a bit on the lairy side, isn't it?  For the non-Aussies "lairy" is a word meaning flashy or showy; it is first documented in print in 1906 but sadly isn't heard as much these days, although was still common when I was growing up.  The world needs more lairy houses, doesn't it?

Because our quilt group didn't meet for several months I missed out on my turns for block of the month, so when Madame Presidente asked if I would do one for early October I thought I should say yes.  I did think of handing out the instructions for my little houses but, because some members seem to have an aversion to anything with small pieces, the house size was doubled to 12 inches.  These blocks are often used to make kids' quilts for charity, so bright houses will be fine.  That pink/purple/gold/black stripe is one of my "whatever was I thinking when I bought this?" fabrics but it makes a cheerful house, while the yellow door is nearly the last of that fabric; I shall miss it.

Spring has been springing ever higher now.  Wattle Day came and went with nary a morsel of gold on our little bush, but there has still been plenty of golden gorgeousness around town.

Speaking of lairy houses, isn't it about time that grey has had its day?  It has been popular, inside and out, for some time now.  While we're making changes, whose bright idea was it to paint ceilings and/or walls black, and add dark floors?  Dark kitchens too - dark cupboard doors with black (granite, of course) bench tops suck the light out of a room.  I'm not a fan of white on white kitchens - too cold and clinical for me - but surely there is a happy medium which is not grey.

Those folk who hand over the keys to a renovator and give them carte blanche to do what they like are very trusting, aren't they? I would be saying no black, no grey, absolutely no pink whatsoever, no red, purple or shades thereof, no white, grey or black kitchen, no granite or marble at all.......it still leaves green, and blue, and yellow, and orange, and cream, which is warmer than white.

We have also noticed tables disappearing in some houses, replaced by a high island at which one perches on a stool.  Not for me; I like to sit on a proper chair at a proper table, thank you, and enjoy my meal.

While looking at accommodation options online before our last trip to Canada we saw some apartments which had no table, just the aforementioned bench with stools - which is why the apartment we rented had a table and chairs by a window, with a view over a sometimes busy but always interesting street.

"Dinner a la Russe.

The latest and most satisfactory plan for serving dinners is the dinner a la Russe (the Russian style) - all the food being placed upon a side table, and servants do the carving and waiting.  This style gives an opportunity for more profuse ornamentation of the table, which, as the meal progresses, does not become encumbered with partially empty dishes and platters."

That sounds very civilised to me, but due to the lack of servants in this household is unlikely to happen.

Enjoy your days!

There is no more pink!

Those walls are all cream now, and the whole house looks lighter and brighter as a result.  There is more painting to do but, as it means painting a lighter shade of cream over a slightly darker shade, it won't be as obvious.

Before buying this house we looked at others, and one thing we noticed was that coloured 'feature' walls were popular.  Brightly coloured bedrooms were too; one house had a lime green and deep blue bedroom (very teenage boy, but we no longer had teenage boys) and a fairy floss sugar Barbie doll pink and lilac bedroom which was enough to make one feel quite nauseous.  There were several reasons not to buy that house, those coloured rooms were just one.

In comparison, our pink walls were quite tame......but they were rather pink.

I don't mind pink flowers, so long as they stay outside.  I just don't want pink in my house, or on my person.

A pink rose which used to be in our front garden, when it was removed early this year we gave it to a neighbour.

 A pink nerine lily which pops up every year or so, a legacy from the previous pink-wall-loving owner.  The pink walls were a slightly deeper shade of this colour.

 I suppose this is deep pink?  A cyclamen which is doing well to this day, still in the same pot too.

 An Aussie native, Geraldton Wax Flower, a gift from a neighbour's garden.  A large clump was 'pruned' from their plant when a branch fell from a higher tree and broke this one off, so we enjoyed it until it wilted.

 The most heavenly smelling rose I have ever smelled in my life.  Such a shame it wasn't yellow.

 Isn't this interesting?  I have no idea what it is, we saw it last year in Toronto.

With the exception of the vase of Geraldton Wax Flower these were all taken outside.  Not inside.  That's quite all right, you know.

When I was a child my mother sometimes dressed me in pink, and believe me it wasn't a pretty sight.  Way back in the dark ages when I was young every mother's ideal little girl was a slightly chubby blue-eyed curly-haired blonde moppet.  I wasn't.  I was slightly skinny (but no longer, sadly) with auburn hair, dark brown eyes, and freckles.  My mother made it clear that I was a disappointment from the moment I crawled into the world, a fact made worse by the lack of blue eyes and blonde hair.  Some redheads look great in pink - I, alas, am not one of them; my skin tone doesn't take kindly to pink.

Now green, on the other hand......any shade of green.......or teal, or blue, or aqua, or peacock......even yellow, which is a hard colour to wear for some people, and orange.......black is good......not white, or cream, or brown.  I lived through the seventies, I did brown then, I don't need to do brown again.  The seventies were a very brown decade, weren't they?

The maple leaf table runner has had some quilting done, the leaves have been quilted in the ditch, and now I need to get artistic and swirly in the background.    Artistic and swirly aren't always natural for me, you know......it's much easier to draw a line with a ruler than to swirl freehand.

Following on from last week's quote from my 1885 etiquette book:

"There is no society where smiles, pleasant looks and animal spirits are not welcomed and deemed of more importance than sallies of wit, or refinements of understanding.  The little civilities which form the small change of life may appear separately of little movement, but, like the spare pennies which amount to such large fortunes in a lifetime, they owe their importance to repetition and accumulation."

Indeed.  How much nicer it is to be the giver or recipient of more than one kindness, even if it's only a smile.

Enjoy your days!

A foggy day.....in the Small Smoke......

Not quite as good as the original song!  The Small Smoke was enveloped, as they say (love those media clichés, don't you?) in heavy fog this morning, and it didn't lift until midday or so.  Usually fog burns off as the sun rises, but not today.  Our view up the hill looking slightly right:

 Looking left:

 Getting artistic here, taking in some of our garden as well as the hill:

Shame about the unlovely wire fence, but as the view is focused on it disappears from one's vision.

Out the front we could see the houses across the road - just - but nothing beyond them.  No glorious view of the valley, no distant hills, nothing.  Just wet misty whiteness.

One pink wall has gone gone gone!  The wall behind the computer desk, the largest of the pink walls, is now buttery cream......and it looks good enough to eat.  The entrance hall is now being done (Kevin is wielding roller and applying undercoat as we speak) and, with the removal of so much pink, the whole colour of the house is changing.  With the exception of doors and windows every wall in the almost-square entrance hall was pink, so as one entered the house one felt as though one was being gobbled up by a rose.  At night with the lights on it was even more noticeable.  Once the hall is done there is only one small pink wall remaining; once that is repainted all other walls, currently a darker cream than our chosen colour, will be painted to match.

I, for one, am looking forward to that!

Because life has been somewhat hectic lately the gorgeous autumn-toned variegated thread bought to quilt the maple leaf table runner hasn't even been wound onto a bobbin.  There might be a chance tomorrow......there's a possible small window of opportunity which is looking hopeful......all has not been completely untouched in the sewing room, however, as the ten black and white Winding Ways blocks which were cut out have been made up.  They, together with the 23 previously made, are reposing on the design wall, i.e. the spare bed.  It is looking good so far, she says modestly.  That quilt was to have 49 blocks set seven across by seven down and no borders, but now my mind is leaning towards a light (black on white) inner border then a dark (white on black) outer border.  It would mean purchasing fabric though and I am trying to just use what is in my stash apart from buying backing so we shall see........decisions, decisions......at least the binding fabric has been selected, an uneven black and white plaid which will be cut on the bias.

Making a completely colourless quilt is a departure from my usual cheerful choices.  It has been said that "value does the work but colour gets the credit" so here is my chance to prove it.  Some of my fabrics are dark when paired with lighter fabrics but lighter when paired with something darker so the interlocking circles of the design keep changing direction or disappearing, only to re-emerge somewhere else on the quilt.

That sounds as though I know what I'm talking about, doesn't it?

Don't be fooled.  I really haven't a clue.

"The importance of trifles"
Some people are wont to depreciate kind and tender qualities as trifles; but trifles, it must be remembered, make up the aggregate of human life.  The petty incivilities, slight rudenesses and neglects of which men are guilty, without thought, or from lack of foresight or sympathy, are often remembered, while the great acts performed by the same person are often forgotten."

Sadly, that is true.  How often we fasten on the negative, to the detriment of something more joyful and positive.

Enjoy your days!