Quilting is done!

Sides have been trimmed......now to add binding and sleeve.  Finished will be a good feeling.

I am not, and never have been, a fan of stippling as a quilt design but it suits this picture, creating a sense of air movement and wind around the leaves and branches.

After all - wind is the reason there are so few leaves left on the tree!

The edges of the leaves are left unstitched, all were cut from one piece of fabric.

A couple of weeks ago when we bought our new rosemary and lavender plants I couldn't resist this pretty cyclamen.

It's difficult to get a good photo; the petals are so large that light shining through them washes out the colour, but you can see those petals have a white edge.  The bird baths are in a shady corner of the garden.

Have you all had a good week?  We have still been staying home except for hunting and gathering, and the weekly drug run.  We used to sweeten said drug run by stopping off in a cafe for coffee and sometimes a treat, but haven't done that now for nearly three months.  Oh well......perhaps one day soon. 

Some more stitches have been knitted on the scarf, more tumblers have been joined.  More books have been read.  Some TV has been watched, even an occasional movie.

We have noticed a popular trend in home renno shows is to get rid of any carpet and replace it with wood floors, while in older houses ceilings  are removed so beams/rafters can be exposed or installed.  Add to that the open plan so popular nowadays with all its togetherness, and bare uncurtained windows........don't these people ever realise how cold and how noisy that house has now become?  Factor in a clodhopping clumping loud-music-loving teenage male or two......I would leave.  Yes, I know carpet has to be cleaned.  We have carpet in some rooms, and tile in others.  We have an open plan kitchen/family room too, but overall it's not a noisy cold house because of the carpet and curtains.

If you have ever had a coffee or a meal in a restaurant with polished cement floors, no window coverings and no seat cushions - a trendy thing over the past few years - you will know how noisy that is, making it difficult to converse with one's table companion/s.  Now imagine living in those surroundings, day in, day out, with no escape.  No, thank you.

Winter has definitely arrived.  Each morning this week has been colder than the day before, and we have even been visited by Jack Frost......a taste of weather to come, no doubt.  Having a fire is lovely - and of course, Bianca thinks so too.

While reading a social media page on fashions of the past I came across the comment "it used to be regarded as a social responsibility to dress as well as possible".  'Social responsibility'......I like that, and I wish it still held.

"Indifference to dress.
Indifference and inattention to dress is a defect of character rather than virtue, and often denotes indolence and slovenliness.  Every woman should aim to make herself look as well as possible with the means at her command.  Among the rich, a fondness for dress promotes exertion and activity of the mental powers, cultivates a correct taste, and fosters industry and ingenuity among those who seek to procure for them the material and designs for dress,  Among the middle classes it encourages diligence, contrivance, planning and deftness of handiwork, and among the poorer classes it promotes industry and economy.  A fondness for dress, when it does not degenerate into vain show, has an elevating and refining influence on society."

You could say so.  Perhaps it's not so much that standards of dress are slipping, as that some people just have very low standards and do their best not to exceed them......which is not quite the same.

Enjoy your days!

Where has the time gone?

Do you ever feel as though life has been flashing by while you sit back and watch?  That's been us recently, life has been very busy but we don't seem to have much to show for it.  Ah well.

Nothing to report on the home repair front.  When all this rigmarole first started Kevin thought it would all be sorted and we would have new floors within a week......blokes can be very naive, can't they?  He is now starting to believe me when I say it won't be finished before it is cold enough to light our fire, something I have been saying for a while thinking I was talking to empty air.  Looks like it is starting to sink in.

The ukies had another moment of fame and glory at the Seniors' Week concert early last week.  There are no more gigs on the horizon but we keep playing together, just the same, because we never know when another call to fame will come.

My hurt toe is quite sore and tender but so far hasn't fallen off, which is a good sign.  I am still keeping it strapped to its neighbour; even slight pressure from the edge of a sandal strap is very painful so the tape gives a little padding and protection.  Hopefully it will be healed by the time the weather is cold enough to wear closed-in shoes.

My blue and yellow star quilt is quilted, and it looks truly gorgeous!  In the few spare moments available lately nine strips of binding fabric were cut and are now starting to be pinned together, however nine may not be enough.  When they are joined into one long strip I'll measure it, there is plenty of fabric if I need to cut more because when it was bought all those years ago - more than I can remember, actually - I bought one whole metre, and would you believe it's green, dark mossy green?

Many of the fabrics used are florals with touches of green, hence the choice of green for binding.

Here it is between the top border fabric and backing fabric.  Green is a difficult colour to photograph - it seems to be affected by lighting more than any other colour.  The actual tone is somewhere between these two pictures.  My goal is to have it bound and finished by Saturday of next week, quite achievable in the time frame if it weren't for so many other commitments.  Oh well, we can only do what we can do, can't we?

It seems there is a bonus to the bare shoulder fashion that I don't like.  A nurse friend is now giving flu shots and said that makes it easy for her because the women wearing them don't have to roll up a sleeve!  But I still don't like it.......

"Extravagance in dress.
Dress, to be in perfect taste, need not be costly.  It is unfortunate that in Australia too much attention is paid to dress by those who have neither the excuse of ample means nor of social culture.  The wife of a poorly paid clerk, or of a young man just starting in business, aims at dressing as stylishly as does the wealthiest among her acquaintances.  The sewing girl, the shop girl, the chambermaid, and even the cook, must have their elegantly trimmed silk dresses and expensive cloaks for Sunday and holiday wear, and the injury done by this state of things to the morals and manners of the poorer classes is incalculable."

Nothing wrong with an elegantly trimmed silk dress, I would have thought.

Enjoy your days!

What a week

Let's not get too hung up on negatives, though......the world is still (mostly!) an amazing place.

Last week we went for a Nice Sunday Drive on Friday to a small village 40 minutes away and stopped off at a water storage lake which we last visited in mid-September, when there was much less water in it than there is now.

Water in this section of the lake was nowhere near as high as here, and the trees now in the water were still a long way from the bank a couple of months ago.

As promised (sorry, can't remember who was promised but I know I told someone there would be pics) the backing for my Winding Ways quilt.

 The backing has to be joined, so why not make a feature of the join?  The centre two stripes are four inches finished, the next two are eight inches, and I have forgotten how wide the two outside stripes are but they were duly measured and cut.  I quite like this idea and may use it again.

 Lots of circles in these prints.  The quilt is being finished - finally - for my group challenge, which this year is "Circles", hence the decision to get a move on because it fits in with the theme.

Mind you, it still may not be completely finished by the deadline which is two weeks from tomorrow.......never mind, it can still be taken along and flourished aloft, then brought home to be completed.  Quilting will follow the lines of the circles in the blocks on the front and will be done with the walking foot, using a black and white variegated thread.

And I can tell you now that Madame President won't like it.  Not enough garish colour for her taste, but it's my quilt and I do like it.  I like it a lot.  I'm thinking of calling it "The long and winding road".

Last weekend we had a tutor visiting from the Big Smoke, it was lovely to renew our acquaintance; many many years ago we were members of the same group.  I have long admired her work and it was interesting to have a go at machine embroidery/thread painting/whatever you like to call it.  The background is different tones of silver-grey and is more textured than it looks here, the large copper-coloured leaf will be finished once a new bobbin is wound with dark maroon thread and the remaining white spaces filled in with colour.

This technique is quite hard on one's neck, shoulders and back, and the fact that my machine was sitting on a regular table and not in my own lower sewing table with my own chair adjusted for my own short self made it even more difficult; I was quite stiff and sore by Sunday evening and haven't sewn a stitch since.  Despite that it's now number two on the list of Stuff That I Really Want To Finish, and will have its turn after Winding Ways is done.

We're having a little taste of summer now with the occasional warmer day - today isn't too hot but it is, surprisingly for here, a little humid.  Rain is forecast for tomorrow, that might explain it......for once my hair isn't dead straight!

Every now and then the thought crosses my mind to get my hair cut shorter and just as quickly my mind says "oh, don't be silly.  If you have it cut you will look the same as all the other old ladies in town."  So I don't listen to the thought and I keep my hair long, because I like to be a little different.  Perhaps when it's all grey or white might be the time to cut it shorter and have coloured streaks put in - green, of course - but, considering my somewhat advanced age (big significant birthday coming up next year, you know; I'm trying to ignore it) there is still a lot of its natural auburn colour left, so while I still have it I'm going to flaunt it.  Nothing like wearing one's hair up with a flower pinned in to make a slightly frivolous statement, is there?

The uke group has a gig next Sunday morning so yes, there will be flowers.  I'm thinking the blue orchids, because my plan is to wear bright blue clothes.

"The dress for the theatre.
The promenade dress with the addition of a handsome cloak or shawl, which may be thrown aside if it is uncomfortable, is suitable for a theatre,  The dress should be quiet and plain, without any attempt at display.  Either a bonnet or hat may be worn.  Gloves should be dark, harmonizing with the dress."

Well......we will be performing but not in a theatre, we will be outdoors in a garden at the local racecourse, and considering that it could be anything from a bit warm to stinking hot we'll give the cloak or shawl a miss.  Definitely be wearing a hat though, my wardrobe includes several Noosa hats which keep the sun off my face in, hopefully, quite a stylish way.

Enjoy your days!

In which we are feeling very stressed

A few days ago our house sitter, who was booked in early May, told us she was unable to sit for us due to a death in her family and associated dramas.  While I am sorry for her, she had already known for six weeks - six weeks! - when she finally deigned to inform us, and then only in reply to an email from us about the garden.  If we hadn't written to her first we are wondering when we would have been told......the day before she was due to arrive, perhaps?  Because of the late notice we hold out no hopes at all of getting a house sitter, so Bianca has been booked into Deb's cat holiday shack (she has holidayed at Deb's before and has coped well) and we are arranging for someone to mow the lawn and tidy up the garden.  Nearly eight weeks is a long time to leave the house unoccupied.

This has taken some of the pleasure out of our holiday, let me tell you.  We aren't fabulously wealthy and our home is our greatest asset, so we would like it to still be here when we return.  Added to that is the expense of Bianca's being boarded and garden maintenance (all of which would have been done by our sitter for free) and our holiday has just become a little more expensive.  Yesterday we were told about a local woman who house sits, we contacted her and she told us that she charges $35 a day - that's nearly three times what it will cost for Bianca's holiday!  Needless to say, we declined.

Is it any wonder I am feeling somewhat stressed?

Perhaps I should just take some of those amazing tablets the doctor prescribed for the flight, and just sleep away the time until we leave......they work really well, as I found out earlier in the week......

On a much happier note, last week my new jumper was finished.

In real life it's a little less blue and a little more purple than this.  Yarn is 100% alpaca from Bendigo Woollen Mills, bought many many years ago on our so far one-and-only trip to Bendigo, and is equivalent to Aussie 8 ply or DK.  Pattern is from an old Patons Classics book, a raglan sleeved jumper with a diagonal rib stitch on the bottom, neckband and cuffs instead of the plain K1 P1 rib as in the pattern.  Alpaca is reputed to be very warm, so that should keep me cosy should it be cold in Canada.

Only 16 days to go........it's been so busy lately that my ukes and guitar have barely been touched.....only one more lesson and the current term will be done, I won't be back until a few weeks before the end of the lesson year.

Recently we went to the movies to see a documentary, "The Women He's Undressed" - sounds quite salacious, doesn't it? - but it wasn't.  It was about a Hollywood costume designer whose career spanned over three decades, Orry-Kelly, and who was born in the small Aussie seaside town of Kiama, something not widely known until recently.  Non-movie buffs would enjoy it, and anyone interested in sewing, costume design, or history of fashion will find it fascinating.  Apparently dressing Bette Davis' bosom was quite difficult.....poor Bette!

This morning our local historical society held its Spring Fair, and a lovely early spring day it was too.  Lady members were dressed in long black skirts and old-fashioned white blouses, topped with white aprons......all quite Edwardian.  I was selling ice creams for a couple of hours, they were very popular!  Came home with a few books, one of which may accompany me on the plane.  I have a tablet with a Kindle app for reading but I'm a quick reader and would read so much that the battery would die long before the flight ended, so I thought a paper book (actually, two books in one) may be a better choice.

"A home.
After marriage one of the first requirements for happiness is a home.  It will best be found in a house or even a cottage apart from the immediate association of relatives or friends, acquaintances or strangers, and here husband and wife may begin in reality that new life of which they have had fond dreams, and upon their own actions must depend their future welfare."

Home is a very important place for any of us, and we hope ours is still standing when we return.

Enjoy your days!

We're having a heatwave.....

.......a tropical heatwave,
It isn't surprising the temperature's rising,
She certainly can.....can can!

Remember that song?

We are indeed having a heatwave, although it's not tropical.  For over a week now it's been very hot with the occasional day of 40 deg C, that's over 100F in old numbers, and more to come in the next week or so.  Bush fires have burnt many properties in different states, although, touch wood, so far no lives have been lost.  But people have lost their homes, businesses, all their possessions, schools have gone; while it's not as catastrophic as the fires of a few years ago it's not over yet.  Coastal towns which usually have milder temperatures than we get have been hot - some even hotter than us.

These are some of the bags which came home from Canada with me.  Isn't this a fun bag?  The pattern and fabric were a gift from Rose Marie when we stayed with her.

The fabric is Stonehenge by Northcott, both the prints and the black tone-on-tone, and is beautiful fabric to work with.  The pattern didn't use lining, but I added one - the base is quite sturdy so I felt the sides needed more than one layer of fabric.

This is a bag from my friend Lois who doesn't have a blog, it's a Canadian postcard print - I would love to visit all the places in the pictures!  It's a good-sized bag, both ends fold in and are closed with studs; when the studs are open it holds a lot of shopping.  Or knitting.  Or fabric.......Lois and I had a great time at a quilt shop, you know.  I could have come home with much more fabric than I did........and I feel very lucky to have such generous friends.

 Last but definitely not least a small bag won on Bev's blog which contained some sewing goodies - spotted white fabric, thread in a very useful colour, a tape measure and a packet of emery nail files.  Rough fingernail edges can catch on fabric edges, so emery files are very handy.  The bag lining fabric is a black on white print of vintage sewing machines, and yes, the zipper on the bag is indeed purple.  Bev and I were hoping to get to meet while we were in Toronto, but sadly it was not able to happen.

Last week I mentioned to my doctor that I was having trouble with a very sore ankle which didn't want to work properly, probably because I hurt my right foot while in Canada - it's difficult to walk when every step hurts, which it did for several weeks, indeed the foot and ankle are still swollen a couple of months later - she suggested having an X-ray to see what happened in there, and guess what she told me today......my foot had indeed been broken.  The second little toe broke, and the rest of the foot was bruised and injured.  But being a tough Aussie I just continued walking on it.....walked round Butchart Gardens and goodness knows where else......I drew the line at climbing up Mount Doug in Victoria, B.C. even though the view was glorious, because that did hurt.

While at the doctor today we saw a sight that is still burned on my eyelids.  Picture, if you will, a somewhat-less-than-slender middle aged woman wearing a summer dress, floor length as are many of the current styles, the top being two triangles joined onto the waistband.....not all the sagging flesh was contained, if you get my meaning......front, back and sides.......it was not pretty.  Unfortunately the current hot weather has brought out the worst in some people's clothing taste.  While at home I do admit to wearing very casual clothing, but out in public - no.

The new pjs are progressing nicely considering that the broken foot is the pedal foot, so the sewing is being done in short bursts rather than long marathons.  Next project will be a kid's charity quilt, the blocks for which which have been sitting in my sewing room for over a year - then fabrics will be gathered for one of my Canadian patterns.  There are some batiks in my stash which are calling my name......

My own radio program is getting closer, there have been a couple of training sessions with more to come.  Once I get the hang of which button to press, and when, and some other details to remember, I might be ready.

"Dress for morning calls.
Morning calls may be made either in walking or carriage dress, provided the latter is justified by the presence of the carriage,  The dress should be silk; collar and cuffs of the finest lace; light gloves; a full dress bonnet and jewellery of gold, either dead, burnished or enamelled, or of cameo or coral.  Diamonds are not usually worn in daylight.  A dress of black or neutral tint, in which light colours are introduced only in small quantities, is the most appropriate for a morning call."

Well.....this morning's woman did wear (but only just) a dress of black and white, while small quantities of light colours were introduced by way of the tattoo on her back.  And it was morning, even though a visit to the doctor is not considered a social call.  However, as she wore no bonnet or gloves, or collar and cuffs, her dress probably would not be considered appropriate.

Enjoy your days!

Slaving over a hot quilt

This quilt has been pinned ready to be quilted for several months, life just happened in the meantime.....but now it is having its turn under the machine needle. The sashing is done and now I am working on the blocks.

Its name is "Black and White Rag", after the old tune written in 1908 by George Botsford, as it has quite a lot of black and white (albeit with some green and orange) and a piano key border. I like my quilts' names to have a musical allusion.
It was started about five years ago in a class taught by Donna Ward of New Zealand, when she was visiting Sydney. Donna taught us a quilt as you go technique, but I liked the idea of working on the whole quilt in one go.

And now it is on the homeward stretch, yay! I have stopped sewing long enough to have a coffee and blogging break.

Another view of our Fireworks grevillea, isn't it a fun plant? That's some of our front verandah behind it.

Been a bit busy this week, as well as sporadically working on the quilt. After last weekend's wintry weather (by gosh it was cold, really really cold) we are well and truly into spring now. Flowers are popping up everywhere one looks and trees are showing their new green growth, don't you just love that bright fresh colour? Last night was the first time for a few months that we didn't light the fire. While we are plunging headlong into spring our friends and family in the northern hemisphere are dropping into autumn, you lucky people. Never mind, in seven or eight months we will be there too. Not that I am wishing my life away, you understand - I'm just planning how to survive summer.

Tomorrow afternoon the Monday night choir is singing for the residents at a local aged care complex, we are doing the same program as our concert two weeks ago with a couple of songs dropped out. Let's hope the audience enjoys it as much as the previous one did. And the Thursday night choir is having lots of fun too, one of the songs we are learning is "Land of Hope and Glory" which is being played on the radio as we speak. I will try not to deafen you while I sing along......we are also learning some of the oldies from the 60s. Many of us don't need the words because we can remember them all from our giddy youth. Songs then were such fun, weren't they?

Have been looking in local shop windows, and watching some of the locals in their new spring togs. What's with the dippy drippy hemlines? I thought that style came and went just a few years ago, now it seems to be back - although if I dig into my memory last time it was skirts only; this time it seems skirts and tops have uneven hems. Many of the clothes are made from light stretch fabric and to my eye, for what it's worth, in my opinion, they look as they have gone one too many rounds with the washing machine.......and lost. Have you ever had one of those disasters where a garment has tangled with other clothing in the washing machine and emerged saggy and stretched out of shape - so much so that you threw it out or used it for washing the car? That's what the current fashions bring to my mind. Needless to say, I don't plan on wearing them.

However I do love those handkerchief hems on clothes from the 1920s and 30s. Fabrics were different then, no saggy knits for those women; they used soft georgette and silk fabrics so their skirts gently drifted. And their dresses were lined or at least worn with a petticoat, so they didn't cling. Clothing which clings too closely is not kind.

"As fashions are constantly changing, those who do not adopt the extremes, as there are so many of the prevailing modes at present, can find something to suit every form and face."

Probably as true today as it was in 1885, when it was written.

Enjoy your days!