Marching along

A couple of days into February already....where has the year gone?

How is everyone coping with the heat?  We had some very hot weather during the week - including the hottest day of the year.  Fortunately it has eased off a bit now, and once we get further into February it will get a little cooler.  We hope.  At least we are not being flooded out of house and home unlike those poor people in the far north, or burnt out like those in parts of Victoria.  As the poem says: "I love a sunburnt country....droughts and flooding rains" indeed.

Because it has been so hot I didn't get as much of the binding sewn down on my quilt as I had hoped.  There's nothing like a large heavy quilt on one's lap when the temperature hits 40 deg C, is there?

Proof that some binding was, indeed sewn down.  One side is nearly done; the quilt is about 85 inches square, so one side is a lot of stitching with a sometimes tender hand....let along multiplied by four.

This week's trees.  I had hoped to have them done by Australia Day, but it was not to be....never mind, they are done now.  This dull green is the colour of some eucalypt trees; if we drive just an hour north-west, or an hour west, these are the colours we see.  It's very different to the brighter green around here.

A bright yellow block, because our National Flower is the Golden Wattle.

The colours of Australia.

The two fabrics used as trunk and branches were part of a bundle which came home with me from one of our trips to Canada, all of which have been useful for trees.

Our musical guest sent a message the day after arriving home to say he had tested positive for the covid plague, but we have been free of symptoms.  Apparently a few of the musicians also came down with it, but they were spending a lot of time rehearsing, performing or just hanging out together playing music - we attended a few concerts, but we weren't spending time in the same confined spaces as they were.  We certainly weren't still playing music at 2 a.m.  Although I have done so in the past, you know......

Stitches have been sewn.  Words have been read.  Not many notes have been plinked; considering that today is World Play Your Ukulele Day I shall play a few later, because it would be the right thing to do so - yes?  We have ventured out to hunt and to gather, an easier process now that the musical tourists have gone back from whence they came.

We have a good local op shop which posts regularly on social media, and on Thursday - "Random Thursday" - their post showed two really nice chairs.  Hmm....I thought, showed the picture to Kevin who liked them too, so after lunch we drove across the river to check them out......but they were gone!  Already sold!  What a disappointment.  Never mind; while we were there I found something else I have been looking for, so far in vain.  I now have a two-drawer wooden filing cabinet to organise all those sheets of music which have been copied and printed, a piece of furniture which doesn't scream "office" and which can sit neatly in a corner.  Sometimes you can be lucky after all, can't you?

On Wednesday our U3A group had their annual 'Launch Day' for people to put their name down for courses which interest them, and we have a couple of new people for the ukulele group.  A few of the names from last year were nowhere in sight - including the previous leader, the person who with no notice dropped the role in my lap while I was still recovering from the Big Fall and its aftermath.  I know it's probably not very nice of me, but I hope she doesn't come; I always feel she is testing me to see how I am doing and giving me a score of nil out of 20.

Ah well.  We shall see how it goes.

"Retaining possession of a seat. 

A gentleman in travelling may take possession of a seat and then go to purchase tickets or look after baggage or procure a lunch, leaving the seat in charge of a companion, or depositing travelling-bag or overcoat upon it to show that it is engaged.  When a seat is thus occupied, the right of possession must be respected, and no one should presume to take a seat thus previously engaged, even though it may be wanted for a lady.  A gentleman cannot, however, in justice, vacate his seat to take another in the smoking-car, and at the same time reserve his rights to the first seat.  He pays but for one seat, and by taking another he forfeits the first."

These days, if a gentleman left a travelling-bag or overcoat on a seat while stepping away for a short while, he may find his possessions gone and another person occupying the seat in his place.  One would hope that is not the case, but one fears it might be.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

One down.....

.....three to go.

The four border strips have been assembled for Autumn Rhapsody; they were laid out on the design bed to keep them from being creased.  I'm pleased with the fabric choice for the inner border; it had already been rejected for other parts of the quilt, perhaps it was just waiting for its perfect spot.  The design bed is, of course, not flat, but this was enough to give the idea of how it will look.

A short while ago the first border was sewn to the quilt, then pressed......I am more than happy with the result!  The tan/gold/brown inner border is a good buffer between the different background fabrics and the bright border.  

Three more borders still to be added, then the corners will be mitred.  Mitred borders have a higher fiddly-diddly factor than straight borders, but sometimes they are just what the design needs.

How has everyone's week been?  Ours has been fairly quiet; some of my regular activities cease during school holidays, so there is still another quiet week to go.  The following week it will be a case of hitting the ground running, I suspect.

The big thing here is probably the start of daylight saving, which was at stupid dark o'clock this morning.  We set the clocks before we went to bed so at least, when we stirred, we could look at a clock and say "ah.....so that's what time it is!"  There has already been a whinge on social media about it, as there is every year; I'm not bothered enough by it to wail and whine, because that won't change things.  Must admit, not being a morning person, it was nice to have a darker morning again.  Many years ago we were visiting a state which doesn't have daylight saving; after 30 years we were already attuned to it, so having the day start very early (it was getting light at 4 a.m.!) was quite a shock to the system.

Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn by machine and by hand, diamonds have been made into hexagons and more diamonds have been cut.  Exercises have been done, although not as diligently as a few months ago.  We hunted and we gathered, doing our best to avoid school holiday crowds.  Songs have been sung, practice for our world premiere is coming along nicely, and all is well with our world.

A couple of years ago some areas on the north coast were hit by very bad flooding.  Even though one of the towns, Lismore, has a well-deserved reputation as being flood-prone the waters surprised everyone by how high they rose, even higher floors in buildings which were thought to be safe turned out not to be so.  Mind you, it is a low-lying town at the junction of two rivers, and no doubt flooding over many years has brought down silt which has raised the river bed level - so flooding is higher than it once was.  

On some of our trips to Canberra we have visited the Woodworks Gallery at Bungendore, a short drive away, and been amazed by the work on display, none more so than the Hannah Cabinet.  We have seen other cabinets made by Geoff Hannah, but this one is really special - and is worth well over a million dollars.  The people of Lismore raised funds to purchase it and it was, until the last big flood a couple of years ago, in the gallery.  Despite being on a higher floor it suffered a great deal of damage, and having seen up close how beautiful it is, we found that heartbreaking.  (Yes, I know people are more important than 'things'.....but this is a truly exquisite 'thing' of amazing beauty)  A few days ago I read that it is to be restored, the restoration will be overseen by its maker, and it will be beautiful once more......and this time, hopefully, out of flood reach.

"Where gentlemen may keep their hats on.

At garden parties and at all assemblies held in the open air, gentlemen keep their hats on their heads.  If draughts of cold air, or other causes, make it necessary for them to retain their hats on their heads, when in the presence of ladies within doors, they explain the necessity and ask permission of the ladies whom they accompany."

I can remember my maternal grandfather, a man who lived all his life in the country (he was born in 1885) raising his hat to a lady when out and about, and always - always! taking it off inside.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

I have seen the light......

A few months ago when having my annual eye exam the optician recommended getting a task light.....good idea, I said.  I kept meaning to go shopping for one but time flew by then we went away and were busy after coming home again.  However - a few days ago I announced that I (we) would go light shopping.  So I (we) did.

Isn't it a pretty colour?  It goes with my green chair - in the same colour family, at least - and gives a wonderful light for handwork; the flexible neck was pulled down for this pic.  You can also see my new Jennifer table with my Stuff on it, including a wombat coaster for my drink of choice which is usually either water or coffee.

The lighting shop had this colour reduced because - can you believe it - green doesn't always sell as well as other colours do.  It is euphemistically called 'Mint' although I have never seen mint that colour; it's more like aqua, and it holds hands nicely with my smokey turquoise chair.

If you look up 'mint green' a range of colours appears, very few of which I would associate with the bright vibrant green of mint plants.  

Some fallen leaves in Canberra last month, mostly from plane trees.

Even when fallen they make a pretty picture against the grey pavers.

Plinking has happened, practice for the Eisteddfod on Saturday afternoon and the market outside town on Sunday morning.  (No sleep in for me on Sunday!)  Knitting has happened, the first sleeve on the new jumper/cardy is coming along well.  Sewing has happened, a few more diamonds have been sewn together and more have been cut.  My Canadian quilt is now on my work table waiting to have the batting tacked together inside the border layers - not as difficult as it sounds - I am looking forward to having it done.  

Books have been read, some better than others.....I've always been a quick reader, had my own library card when I was about four years old.  Neither of my parents were readers, so I don't know where I came from.

We are now seeing ads for the next sportfest, the Commonwealth Games, which will be happening in the next month or two or three, I don't really know or care.  What I do care about, what really makes my blood boil, is the wording of ads for those games, ads hailing our 'heroes' accompanied by people wearing sports clothes and waving medals.  To me a 'hero' is someone who does something selfless for another, sometimes at the risk of their own life, not someone who can run or swim faster or jump higher than another person.

Another grumble:  last night one of my favourite movies 'The Dressmaker' was on TV so we watched it - and it had scenes cut out!  How annoying was that!  At least we could still admire the wonderful costumes.  Not everyone who sees this movie has enjoyed it but anyone who grew up in a country town would, I think, get it; the pettiness of small town life, the gossip, the closing of ranks against anyone perceived as an outsider.  Our Canberra son's father-in-law also likes it; he grew up in a small town.

We've had some cold frosty mornings and some grey days.  I'm glad I don't live where the sun doesn't shine for months on end.....I can't imagine what that would be like.

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"The difference between a ball and an evening party is, that at a ball there must be dancing, and at an evening party there may or may not be.  A London authority defines a ball to be "an assemblage for dancing of not less than seventy-five persons."

Considering that many dances are for two people, or for two or four couples, I wonder who decided the figure of seventy-five persons was a good number?  Someone who can't count, perhaps.

Enjoy your days!

Not such a wuss after all

We had been thinking, all the time we were away and since returning home, that it was cold....decidedly chilly, in fact....and it seems we were right.  The weather statistics up to the end of last month were released and our state has, indeed, seen the coldest start to winter since the mid-1980s.....and who can remember temperatures from that far back?  Can you remember how cold it was on a particular mid-winter day in, say, 1993?  

Neither can I.

This is The Big Green Jumper, a garment which is worth its (not inconsiderable) weight in gold during cold weather.

It is big, it is deep mossy green, and it is warm.  The pure wool yarn came from Bendigo Woollen Mills a very long time ago, and the pattern was bought a few years before that.  In the original design the rope cables outlining the centre and side front panels had bobbles knitted into them but I don't care for bobbles, so they were omitted.  I can't remember when it was finished, but I do remember knitting it while touring New Zealand in a hired motorhome back in late 2000.  It is warm because there are so many cables in the design and every cable is double thickness - because that's how they are made.

Stitches have been knitted on the latest jumper/cardy, whatever it decides it wants to be, although it is leaning towards being another jumper which would fit my clothing style more than a cardy, and guess what...it will have cables on the front!

Some more three-diamond hexagons have been pieced.  Two blocks were made yesterday, BOMs for the quilt group, so they are now caught up.  

The major project during the coming week is to get out the Canadian quilt, and start working on the borders.  The batting needs to be firmly attached inside the borders, then quilting will happen to hold it all in place.  Then binding....we'll be on the homeward stretch, yay!  And, of, course, a label.

Not much plinking has happened, but it will.  

Soup has been made, cauliflower and chorizo soup.  The original recipe called for bacon but one day I happened to have chorizo instead so thought I would give it a whirl, and we found that we prefer its smokey taste.  One it has cooled down it will be smooshed (technical word, that) with the stick blender, and there will be soup for the coming chilly days.  One thing to be said for cold weather - soup makes it easy to get in one's daily serve of veggies, doesn't it?

A couple of days ago we took a heater to a local op shop as we no longer have need for it, and in this cold weather someone else may need it.  While we were there we checked out the goodies for sale and found Just The Very Thing to sit beside my TV/hand work chair, a small square table with one drawer and room for all my paraphenalia on top.  What a useful little table it is, to be sure!  I was using a slightly ricketty folding tray table - this is more stable, and a better height for me.  I have no idea if it was a bedside table or a low hall table, but it makes a handy dandy Jennifer table and was $20 well spent.

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"In leaving a ball, it is not necessary to wish the lady of the house a good night.  In leaving a small dance or party, it is civil to do so."

Indeed.  That sounds like the right thing to do, doesn't it?

Enjoy your days!

Keeping out of mischief

That's about all has happened this week, actually.

Books have been read.....most not memorable, but enjoyable at the time. 

Stitches have been taken on the flower basket quilt and a name is percolating around in my brain - 'Flower baskets'  - but in French, 'Paniers de fleurs', which sounds more posh and less boring than English, n'est ce pas?  Many years ago a suitable label was bought for that quilt, and last year backing was bought. 

The soft lime green will compliment the flower prints on the front as many of them have green somewhere in the design, and the label will have the details hand-embroidered.  The label is not *quite* square, and not *quite* printed on the straight grain, but I'll make it work.

The diamond templates I ordered have arrived but nothing has been cut yet, as my back decided to be annoying every time I stood up.  Never mind.....it will get done.

Some house blocks have been trimmed, once again the rebellious back made that difficult.  Trim two blocks, sit down for an hour......trim another block.....give up.  Make coffee.  Sit down and read.  Fortunately it is slowly improving.

The big news in this part of the world of late has been floods.  Fortunately we don't live in a flooded area but having undergone two floods in 2017 I can feel for those who have been washed out of their homes - and our water was clean, straight from the town system, not muddy water carrying along trees, dead animals, parts of buildings and sewage in its wake.  Lives have been lost, homes have been irreparably damaged; farmers have lost stock, crops and buildings.  Our hearts go out to them.  I remember bad floods when I was growing up and a family we knew was regularly flooded out of their timber cottage; I remember Mrs Wilson saying to my mother "you can sweep out the mud when it dries but you never get rid of the smell, because it has seeped into the wood".

One of the saddest stories though - to me, anyway - is the damage done to a beautiful piece of furniture, the Hannah Cabinet.  On a visit to the Bungendore Woodworks Gallery several years ago we saw the Hannah Cabinet on display.....and I don't think I have ever seen such an exquisite man-made object; we walked around and ogled it, and watched the video, and walked around some more.....admired the marquetry made from many different woods and stones featuring Aussie birds and flora.  Those of us who make Stuff can appreciate things made by other makers, the hours of work it takes, the skills needed (even if we don't use the same skills), and to have it damaged so badly must be heartbreaking to its maker.  I hope it is able to be saved.

We have been lucky enough to see other pieces of Geoff Hannah's work, one being the cabinet held at 'Yarralumla', the official residence of the Australian Governor General.  Once a year (this was pre-covid, of course) the ground floor public rooms are opened to the public for charity, and we saw the Yarralumla Cabinet there.  I coveted it mightily then, and I still do today......and I love the "secret drawers", so watch it to the end.

We enjoyed a concert from a visiting choir last night, our first outing for a long time.  We even enjoyed a choc top ice cream at interval - our first for two years, how good is that!

More 'Duties of Guests':

"Another duty of guests is that each one should do all in his or her power to contribute to the enjoyment of the evening, and neither hesitate nor decline to be introduced to such guests as the hostess requests."

Sage advice.  The hostess, after all, is trying to keep her guests mingling, and a shy wallflower contributes very little to the occasion.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

September in the rain

Wouldn't that make a good song title?  Oh, wait.......okay......

However it is September, and it has been raining, and many roads hereabouts are closed and the river which flows through town is flooded.  There was a flood a couple of months after we moved here, they happen every so many years; I can remember some really bad floods when I was a child.  We're surrounded by hills, so the river gets a lot of water coming down.

Meanwhile, here's some of our soggy garden.  Our lovely little plant had its name changed some years ago; it used to be called eriostemon myoporoides, but no sooner had I learned to pronounce it than some learned botanists put their heads together and decided it wasn't that at all, it was something else altogether.  It's apparently related to citrus, the leaves smell heavenly when rubbed as they have a lot of oil in them.

 Our somewhat pricey standard grevillea, which makes quite a statement in the front garden.

Hardenbergia, fortunately not the variety which takes over the universe......this one is more discreet.

 Another grevillea, 'Robyn Gordon' - birds love these flowers.

 As promised, the green chair.  It's more turquoise than green, and is so much prettier than when it was an old person's chair!

Don't worry about the mess in the background, I'm not the world's best housekeeper.  Just admire the chair.

Had a good time at the craft show last weekend, even though it was small.  I did buy some fabric for the next hand-pieced project which has started percolating in my brain; those Flower Basket blocks which have been 'on the go' for over ten years will soon be too unwieldy for a portable project, but my fingers will still need something to do.  After much deliberation and cogitation I decided to make a tumbler quilt using my stash of repro fabrics, some of which go back nigh on twenty years, but they needed more neutrals.  This morning I ordered a tumbler template online. and have been fondling my repro fabrics a few times to get acquainted with them.  At this stage I have no idea how big to make it, so I think I will just start sewing and take it from there.

The black and white blocks are coming along nicely.  The whole quilt may or may not be done for the Big Reveal at the end of November, but who's worried?  Not me......it will be done when it's done.

At the Annual General Meeting of our small but quite serious quilt group last year I put up my hand to be our Charity Quilt Co-Ordinator and so far my services haven't been needed.  Recently Madame Presidente contacted me about providing a design and block instructions, and much to my surprise she said she really liked my BOM (last month it was my turn to provide a BOM sample and instructions) so much that she would like our quilt for a Good Cause to use the same block design.  I had fun putting together a few layouts in EQ7, and the diagonal setting was a hands-down winner.  Her mantra is "it's gotta be BRIGHT......make it BRIGHT......it's not BRIGHT enough......" and, while I also like bright colours, there is a point when bright crosses over into garish.  Hopefully any somewhat quieter bright blocks will all play nicely with the louder bright blocks to make the cheerful quilt requested by a children's cancer organisation.

What is it with blokes and the TV remote?  Are they congenitally incapable of keeping their hands off the thing?  Even Euan, who won't turn two for another three months, keeps playing with theirs.  Obviously his grandfather's remote fiddling genes have passed to his father, who has passed them in turn to his son......it is so irritating when one is watching something and, as soon as an ad comes on, the household bloke starts scrolling through the alternatives.  Makes one think that the cultures who chop off a hand for certain misdeeds have the right idea, they could add TV remote fiddling to the list of crimes.

I bet the good folk of the 1880s would have had something to say in the etiquette book about fiddling with the TV remote when one's wife is watching a program.

"The true gentleman.
Politeness is benevolence in all things.  A true gentleman must regard the rights and feelings of others, even in matters the most trivial.  He respects the individuality of others, just as he wishes others to respect his own."

Doesn't that sound to you as though it means "keep your hands off the remote when your wife is watching her program"?  I don't change channels when he is watching sport, sport and more sport, much as I feel like doing so.

Enjoy your days!

Moving right along

Of late the black and white Winding Ways blocks for this year's challenge quilt - the theme is "Circles" - have been trotted out and are being worked on.  Lots of different fabrics - some representational, music, cats, sewing machines - some floral, and some abstract.

Isn't the music print fun?  It looks like a song might sound during some of our uke lessons, with notes everywhere.  I was wondering how to piece the back; the finished quilt will be 49 inches square so it will need more than one width of fabric, but two would be way too wide.  Now my brilliant brain has decided on two prints - one black with white, the other white with black - pieced in stripes, narrow stripes in the middle getting wider at the sides.

Our uke gig went off well last week at the annual Learners Concert, we enjoyed meeting our fellow students, even an ex-member of our group was there with her husband who is learning fiddle; she has given her uke to a grandchild and doesn't play any more.  On Saturday morning the choir sang at a local aged care home and our fearless leader Bill had asked the choir uke people to play, as several members belong to both choir and uke group.  Only one uke player was able to make it......yours truly......so I duly played and sang, and the choir joined in.  We were thanked and complimented afterwards when we joined the residents for morning tea.

One has to take fame and glory where one can, you know.

Some of the money that flew out the door in recent weeks went on having my chair re-upholstered.  A few years ago I bought a used wooden-framed chair with a high back, low legs so my feet can sit on the floor, and low arms which don't get in the way of knitting and sewing.  The upholstery was dark toned floral tapestry which looked like something that had escaped from an old peoples' home but it is soooo comfortable that I put up with it.......until earlier this year I noticed the upholstery was fraying whereupon a trip to a local upholsterer, a browse through their sample books, and a colour called Opal was chosen.  One would have to use one's imagination to see opals in it, I have some opal jewellery and this isn't opal, but it is green!  The fabric was ordered and a few weeks ago my old chair made its trip Across The River (some locals don't like crossing the river, goodness knows what they are afraid of, it's just a small river) and spent a few days in the workshop being rejuvenated.  Even the wooden legs and arms are now green.  I love it.

Perhaps I could have done it myself.......it would certainly have been cheaper......but it wouldn't have been done anywhere near as well as it has been.  Greg The Upholsterer said that style of chair (which he called a TV chair) was one of the best ever made, and he also said that if he decided on a change of career he would go into business building chairs just like it and make his fortune.

This weekend we have a craft show circus here in town. My cunning plan is to go along tomorrow with a small amount of money in my purse and, if I see something I love enough to buy, it may come home with me.  If not - I will come home empty handed, it won't be the first time.  The last craft show I attended was in Canada, the Creativ Festival in Toronto, and I must admit to a certain amount of spending at that one.......but that doesn't count as craft spending, that counts as holiday souvenirs.

"Baldness.
Gentlemen are more liable to baldness than ladies, owing, no doubt, to the use of the close hat, which confines and overheats the head.  If the hair is found to be falling out, the first thing to do is to look to the hat and see that it is light and thoroughly ventilated.  There is no greater enemy to the hair than the silk dress-hat.  It is best to lay this hat aside altogether, and adopt a light felt or straw in its place."

I wonder if gentlemen these days wear silk dress-hats?  Somehow I doubt it, although if silk hats were to be made in the style of baseball caps they just might.

Enjoy your days!