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

The bear went over the mountain

On Thursday we will be heading south, this time sans caravan.  After so many years it's going to seem a bit strange not to take our home with us.....but never mind; we will still have fun.

Because we had a busy day yesterday, this week's post is a little late.

Before I retired a work colleague and her husband enjoyed a cruise to Alaska, and she very kindly brought me (and another colleague who was also a quilter) some Alaskan fabric with bears and moose.  Some of mine has already been used in one autumn quilt, but there was still a big enough piece to make a tree.

The bear is nearly disguised among the branches, ready to pounce on an unwary passer-by.  The choice had to be made between using the bears, or the moose.  As moose don't climb trees and bears do, it just had to be the bear - yes?  Unfortunately the remaining fabric isn't long enough to cut another tree, so those errant moose will be used for something else.

Another peacock, this time featuring more peacock-like colours than the last one.

The bear and the peacock.  

Part of the fun of making these blocks is making fabric decisions.  Sometimes a contrast is the right choice - as in this peacock block - and sometimes a co-ordinating fabric, as with the bear and its tree, is better.  Fabrics for the next two blocks have been chosen, and they will be made after we return.

How has everyone been?  We've had a busy few days; on Saturday we took ourselves for our annual drive to Armidale for a quilt show.  As usual there were some very interesting quilts; each year they have a theme for their 'entrance quilts' - small quilts hung immediately in front of the door, the first to be seen on entering the hall - this year's theme was birds, and they ranged from very realistic birds to funny cartoon birds.  

The elevation of our town is about 400 metres above sea level, and Armidale is over 1,000, so there is usually quite a difference in climate....as there was on Saturday, but that, of course, means a downhill run home; unfortunately it took my ears a painfully long time to 'pop' afterward.

Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed a visit to the theatre to see the play written and directed by our choir leader, the second time we had seen it (although last time was several years ago).  The story:  the idea of reviving the fortunes of a very small outback town by growing.....ahem......illegal leafy plants in derelict mining tunnels was the brainchild of a few of the local blokes, but of course it's difficult to keep a secret in such a small place!  The usual Sunday night zoom trivia quiz with The One And Only Grandkid, his mother and her parents (his Other Grandparents), our usual Sunday evening activity, finished off our busy weekend.

This week will be appointments, and clothes washing, and lunch on Wednesday, before starting our drive on Thursday.  Even though it will be a short week, it will be somewhat busy.

Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn, and more diamonds cut.  Songs were plinked and sung by the hummers and strummers of the ukulele group, and now they will have to do without me for three days.  I'm sure they will cope.  Our neighbour Yvonne has friends who were interested in buying our caravan but they have decided against it, so after we come home we are expecting a woman to come from interstate to check it out; she seems quite keen.  While we will miss it, we know we have made the right decision.

Last weekend's rain was a bit of a non-event.  For quite some time forecasters had been saying our region would get a lot of rain, but no.  We had "some" rain.  We did not get "a lot" of rain.  What we received was very welcome but summer has been quite hot and dry, so while we fared better than the folk further north who suffered floods and associated damage even more would have been appreciated.  

Never mind.  Thursday is the autumn equinox and autumn can be rainy, so we are still cautiously optimistic.

"Learning to ride.

The first thing to do is to learn to ride, and no one should attempt to appear in public until a few preliminary lessons in riding are taken.  Until a person has learned to appear at ease on horseback, he or she should not appear in public.  The advice given in the old rhyme should be kept in mind, viz:

        Keep up your head and your heart,

            Your hands and your heels keep down;

        Press your knees close to your horse's sides,

            And your elbows close to your own."

As I have no intention whatsoever of learning to ride, I can probably safely disregard that sage advice.

Back in a few weeks, but until then - 

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Only a few days until we leave

Or three more sleeps, if you count nights.

More diamonds have been cut, but once again none have been sewn as they are being saved for holiday sewing.  Recently it occurred to me that a pattern bought several years ago on one of our Canadian trips could also come along......after all, we'll be gone for over five weeks and one needs something to do, doesn't one.

The pattern came with the small skein of overdyed thread, the others are from my collection and are the correct colours used.  My fabric - there's not a whole heap of embroidery fabric choices here in the Small Smoke, you know - is greyer than on the sample picture, but it is bluer than it looks.

I haven't done any cross stitch for ages, it will be interesting to get back to some again.  The fabric needs to be cut as it's much too big, and overlocked around the edges....a little task for later today.

Yesterday was, I believe, International Quilting Day, so I marked it by attending a quilt show in a town north of here.  The group has an annual show - never huge, but always interesting - and yesterday's was no exception.  This year marks their 40th anniversary so there were several red quilts, as 40th anniversary is ruby.  It was a pleasant day for a Nice Sunday Drive; we shouted ourselves lunch at a club, and I enjoyed seeing the quilts.  Yes, I know it wasn't Sunday.  A Nice Sunday Drive can be taken any day of the week, you know.

This weekend there has been a craft show here.  Before we moved here, so I have been told, it used to be held annually then stopped, but started up again several years ago.  After a few years it stopped again; this weekend's show was the first since well before the plague, and I have to say it was disappointing.  My one and only purchase on Friday was a portable table light.  There were a few quilt shops selling their wares, but nothing tempting.  One of Helen Godden's quilts was on display....her huge Australian quilt, which was amazing......she was doing a 2-hour class on a painted design, but that's not something I do.  I just sew fabric together.

It's not the largest quilt I have ever seen, though.  On one of our Canadian visits I was fortunate to see the "Quilt of Belonging", which is incredible - and 120 feet long.

This was taken on one of our trips to Canberra.  The closer those swans came to us, the more menacing they looked!

Swans are quite large birds.  I could have gone closer for a better pic, but no.  Not me.

Stitches have been knitted, yesterday's drive provided an opportunity to get several rows done.  The yarn is knitting up very interestingly, more so than a single colour would.  Words have been read,  Notes have been plinked and sung, and of course a ukulele will be going away with me too.  A little - very little - hunting and gathering today for a few things which will be needed on the trip, and that's it.

Even though we will be busy packing and organising we plan to take some time out on Tuesday to celebrate our wedding anniversary - 48 years!  And neither of us has yet committed murder!!

We will back at the end of April.  Until then, I leave you with some words of wisdom about Etiquette in Public Places, Conduct in Opera, Theatre or Public Hall:

"On entering the hall, theatre or opera house the gentleman should walk side by side with his companion unless the aisle is too narrow, in which case he should precede her.  Upon reaching the seats, he should allow her to take the inner one, assuming the outer one himself."

Of course he should.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Sniffle sniff....

Wretched hayfever....it certainly is a bad season this year.  I don't usually succumb to spring sniffles, mine are more common in autumn due to tree pollen, but not this time.  The spring equinox was yesterday afternoon and, according to Those Who Know, it is a bad hayfever season.

Oh well.  This, too, will pass.  In the meantime, it just leaves me feeling miserable.  And sniffly.

Our quilt group's show was yesterday and this morning, packing up was done just after lunch today, and the quilts are now back in their respective homes.  We have learned a lot and the decision has been made to hold a show every two years, it was felt that is often enough; there is a lot of organising to be done, and as it was the first for this group we had a lot of learning to do.  We aren't a large group which is fortunate as the venue isn't large, either.

Because my brain just wasn't functioning (blame the sniffles) I forgot to take pics of the show, but my quilts were well received.  It was decided not to have a "viewer's choice" vote.  How do you single out just one quilt?  The makers all put their heart and soul into their quilts, and if they don't appeal to one person they will appeal to another anyway.  

Let's see what we can find in the picture vaults.  We are heading into our warm time, so some autumn pics from our last holiday in Canada will be just the thing to cool us down.

I have often taken a photo of just one fallen leaf on the ground.  This one appealed because of the contrast between the bright leaf and the granite pebbles - however it's not a big leaf and the pebbles are quite small, so it was a "squat down and hope I can get up again" pic!

Lake Huron on a windy day.  Even though it is landlocked, it can whip up some fearsome stormy weather.

There is a reason for the green.....it was a drizzly day when we visited.

Another "squat down." pic.  

Sometimes interesting Stuff is at ground level, isn't it?  So we just have to grit our teeth, and bend or squat and hope we don't get stuck, because without a fancy-nancy big camera with lots of whoopi-doo lenses it's only possible to zoom in a certain amount without losing clarity.

Unlike many of you, I don't take photos with my phone.  Correction - one photo has been taken of autumn leaves on the ground, which was made into the home screen.  That is it.  Many people have their lives documented on their phone; it is whipped out so the rest of us (whether we want to or not) can duly admire the latest grandchild, or a dish served in a restaurant, or a view from a recent holiday.  All well and good until the phone is lost or stolen, or dropped and run over by a car......it's all gone then.  We download our photos onto our computer and yes, I know computers can fail too.  When we had those two plumbing floods several years ago we lost some older photos, but we seldom looked at them anyway.  Perhaps one day we will go through them and just keep a few.

Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked and sung, we played for a birthday function on Wednesday for one of the local VIEW Clubs which was celebrating its 55th birthday - the ladies had fun singing along with us, some even jumped up and danced!  Diamonds have been joined, but the supply is quite low so more need to be cut.  

The next couple of weeks will not be as busy as usual.  No uke on Monday afternoons as it's school holidays and some members have grandparent duty, the same for our Thursday afternoon U3A uke group.  Choir continues, as it's an evening activity.  There are no pending appointments, although hunting and gathering will continue because we need to eat.

"Avoiding carriages.

For a lady to run across the street to avoid an approaching carriage is inelegant and also dangerous. To attempt to cross the street between the carriages of a funeral procession, is rude and disrespectful.  The foreign custom of removing the hat and standing in a respectful attitude until the melancholy train has passed, is a commendable one to be followed in this country."

This is good advice.  

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Forty seven years and counting......

Yesterday was the 47th anniversary of the day we stood up in front of family and friends, and said nice words to each other.  47 years!  My gawd, that's a long time!

To mark the occasion we harnessed up the trusty steed and drove up the hill to a town an hour north, because their annual quilt show was being held.  I entertained myself at the show for a while, and Kevin strolled around enjoying the architecture and streets of Armidale.  Once again I met up with my Armidale namesake - another Jennifer Richards, how cool is that?  Her quilts on show were lovely, and her hand quilting beautiful.  I have been to that show before; it's not a large one as the hall isn't big, the group isn't huge, and because they have an annual exhibition there is usually only one year's worth of quilts to be shown.  I was impressed by the standard, however, especially the quilts of this young feller.....he is very talented and has great colour sense, while his quilting is superb.

It was International Quilting Day on Saturday, so a show on that weekend is very appropriate!  Here's a few of my quilts, even though they weren't done at the weekend.

Every quilter, it is said, has a blue and yellow quilt.  This is one of mine.

This was made from the leftover star triangles of the quilt above - same blue and yellow fabrics, different borders.

Love this one, just a study in black and white.  It was started in a class back in the Big Smoke and finished here.

Autumn - my favourite season!  Started in another class with the same tutor, after moving here here to the Small Smoke.

A soft pretty quilt made for a friend undergoing some health issues.

If I was asked which of all my quilts is my favourite - and of course there more than these shown - this one would be very close to the top of the list.  I love its exuberance, how could you not?

Words have been read this week, stitches have been knitted.  No diamonds have been joined - indeed, more need to be cut so as to have enough to take away for a few weeks in the caravan; it is only two weeks now until we leave so I had better get cracking with the cutting.  More music has been sorted, in fact I can almost - almost! - see the bottom of those piles.  Songs have been plinked and sung.

It's going to be a busy couple of weeks with shopping, a musical gig, and various appointments for both of us.  Once we are in the car heading off down the road, I suspect there will be a big collective sigh of relief.  We are going down south to catch up with the family, and for me to attend the big folk festival.  Kevin will probably spend time with our son while I am off making music, they can do Boy Stuff together and perhaps The One And Only Grandkid will join them for some of it.  There has been a marriage split so the aforementioned Grandkid now lives with his mother, although of course he spends time with his father.

We will just keep out of the way as much as we can, and smile sweetly while offering no opinion on anything or anybody.

Continuing on with Etiquette of the Street:

"Carrying packages.

A gentleman will never permit a lady with whom he is walking to carry a package of any kind, but will insist on relieving her of it.  He may even accost a lady when he sees her overburdened and offer his assistance, if their ways lie in the same direction."

Not sure about the use of the word "accost"?  These days it has cme to mean "to approach someone boldly or aggressively", something I hope a proper gentleman would not do to a lady of his acquaintance.

Enjoy your days!

A momentous week

It has been, indeed!

First up: on Friday 19th March Kevin and I celebrated the 45th anniversary of the evening we stood up in front of family and friends, and plighted our troth.  Forty five years.....and neither of us has yet committed murder!

The forty five year anniversary gem is, it seems, sapphire.  Are these not gorgeous?

My jewellery collection, though no doubt modest by many standards, has some very pretty things including some earrings from Annette Piper; I like her designs and how she puts colours together.

Nothing was posted last weekend because - I went to a quilt show, the first for a couple of years!  A town an hour north of here has their show each March, but of course last year's had to be cancelled with not much notice.  This year's was a little smaller than usual, no doubt due to the restrictions on how many people can be in one place at a time, but the quilts were wonderful and it was good to be 'somewhere'.

Two houses have been made, a red swirly house, and an Aussie kangaroo house with grass for them to enjoy and cockatoos flying through the sky.  Only four more to be done; they will be a "when we are home again" project.

Work is happening on the flower basket quilt.  The date on this pic is 26th November, 2014 - these blocks have been sitting for a while, haven't they?  Never mind; they are now progressing.

All the triangles for the autumn quilt have been trimmed and they are now in their box ready for the next step which will involve lots of lovely mindless sewing.  No doubt you can see the gleam of my shiny halo from your place.

We had more rain during the week, and we even had a flood.  When I say "we had a flood" I don't mean Kevin and I, but the town!  Yes indeed, the river rose above the banks and flooded farmland and sports fields, two out of the three bridges were closed because they were under water, but as far as I know no buildings were damaged here......which is more than can be said for many other parts of the state.  There has been a lot of damage to a large area - why, oh why do councils permit building on areas known to be flood plains?  The more that natural drainage such as grass, undeveloped fields and creeks is covered by buildings and roads, the more damage there is.

When I rule the world, things will be different.

The day after tomorrow we are heading south for our holiday, to catch up with family and friends and to enjoy some autumn colour.  I probably won't have a chance to keep up with reading blogs on my aging tablet, but will resume when we are home again late next month.

"Refrain from making a noise when eating, or supping from a spoon, and from smacking the lips or breathing heavily while masticating food, as they are marks of ill-breeding.  The lips should be kept closed in eating as much as possible."

As children we were told "keep your mouth closed while you are eating", but judging from the behavious of people I have seen eating in public - not everyone was.  I wish they had been.

Enjoy your days!

In which small steps have been taken

Steps without the boot!  Not under medical supervision, just because I am getting tired of it, so today I decided to try some gentle steps on a level surface inside at home.  Probably not such a good idea, as the fractured bit still twinges......what can I say......six and a half weeks now, you would think it should be healed wouldn't you......suppose I will find out next week, when the next X-ray is done.

Had my moment of fame and glory at the Eisteddfod on Friday night, and while as I expected I wasn't chosen to be the winner I had fun, as I suspect did everyone who performed.  Yesterday's rock 'n' roll ukulele group gig went well, we had much audience involvement because, being of A Certain Generation, they knew all the words to those songs from the late 1950s-early 1960s.

Apart from more hand stitching of tumblers, a most enjoyable activity, no stitching has happened.  However a project which has been languishing is the Canadian mystery quilt I signed up for in October 2015, a block for each province and territory, all applique.  Two household floods plus the subsequent clean-ups and rebuilds meant that project has been on the back burner for ages, so earlier this week it was taken out of hiding and pieces for another block traced.  On our trip last year I saw a completed quilt and it is lovely, so I am determined to finish mine.

Pictures haven't been taken this week as nothing worthy of being photographed has happened, but here are some from last year's Big Trip.

This plant is called Burning Bush - it is a really bright vivid red, spectacular in autumn.

 Lots of granite in Parry Sound......grey, pink, you name it.  The granite colours along the highway were gorgeous.  Parry Sound also has a wonderful book store.

 I have no idea what this interesting striped plant is called.  It was photographed in Midland but we also saw it growing in Toronto not far from our apartment, in a garden which we passed on our treks to the big amazing supermarket.

 Looks like the good folk in Bayfield trim their trees as badly as we do here, around the wires.......poor trees......this would have been glorious left untrimmed.

Not sure what this week has in store, nothing out of the ordinary I suspect, which means time to sew, and time to play music, and time to read......probably should sweep a floor or two......

The annual quilt show was held in the Big Smoke this week but I haven't been for years.  Winners are here if you would like to feast your eyes.  Early in the year I did think of going, but then that's the weekend of the Eisteddfod and the uke gig, and I was on morning tea/BOM roster for the quilt group, and it all became too bothersome to make arrangements.  Perhaps I will get there again one day, but I don't know when.  It has crossed my mind to head down to Canberra for their quilt show in August instead; we would take the caravan, have time with our family and I could enjoy the quilt exhibition and craft show.  Not this year, though, as I don't know what's happening after next week's hospital visit - arrangements for surgery to my foot may have to be made.  Not being able to plan ahead is a bit of a nuisance.

"Idleness a source of misery.

Perhaps the greatest cause of misery and wretchedness in social life is idleness.  The want of something to do is what makes people wicked and miserable.  It breeds selfishness, mischief-making, envy, jealousy and vice, in all its most dreadful forms."

Envy and jealousy both?  Well, well......and here was I thinking they were both the same side of the one coin.

Enjoy your days!

Back to nearly normal

We arrived home a week ago but have been busy since then, and I have been reclining on my bed of pain and suffering.  However, the lurgy seems to be on its way out the door, the fractured foot which has come back to haunt me is being treated, and all is slowly getting better with the world.

We had a good time - and would you believe, slacko that I am, no photos were taken?   Not one?  Probably because we have been to Canberra so often, and to the towns en route, that it would need to be something special to make me get out the camera.

Never mind......here are some pics taken on previous trips of some of the towns we drove through or stayed at.  This is the Japanese Gardens at Cowra, in the late afternoon.

 A pale camellia against one of the big rocks in the garden.

 Bathurst, which has lovely parks and gorgeous historic buildings.....

 .......and Sofala, a former gold rush town.  This magnificent tree 'disappeared' one night, taken down by a couple of locals with a chainsaw because they didn't like it, and Sofala today is much emptier without its canopy.

 We had an extra day on the way south and stayed in Cowra for two nights instead of the usual one, to see a quilt exhibition at the local regional gallery.  This tells you a little about it - the exhibition has now finished, but you can see one of the quilts.  Something not seen at many quilt exhibitions was the number of men present, both accompanying their female partner and on their own; perhaps the idea of recuperating soldiers making quilts and military tailors sewing was of interest to them.  It was really amazing and we are so glad to have had the chance to see those quilts and read their stories.

The costume exhibition from "The Dressmaker" was not large, but wonderful.......oh, those frocks!  Most of them silk, either vintage or newly made from vintage fabrics.  Sigh.......

In past years we have stayed on in Canberra at Exhibition Park, the site of the folk festival, but this year we were told to clear out by lunchtime on the Tuesday straight after Easter.  Scram.  Vamoose.  Seems the site was booked for a rock festival the following weekend and we didn't want to be around for that anyway, so we moved to Yass for a further week and commuted to Canberra as we needed to.

A little retail therapy was indulged in.......

 ......the black and white prints are for the background of a quilt, and the orange batik was just because I loved it.

Aren't these gorgeous flowers?  They arrived yesterday while we were out at lunch, a birthday gift from Young Euan and his parents.  He is four now and is shooting up like a weed after rain, with an interest in super heroes and fantasy characters - his father's son all over again.

That's a little of what we have been up to over the past few weeks.

"How to have shoes made.

The great fault with modern shoes is that their soles are made too narrow.  If one would secure perfect healthfulness of the feet he should go to the shoemaker and step with his stockinged feet on a sheet of paper.  Let the shoemaker mark with a pencil upon the paper the exact size of his foot, and then make him a shoe whose sole shall be as broad as this outlined foot."

Not a word about having a rigid heavy moon boot - not the most comfy shoe I have ever worn - made for a fractured foot, you notice.

Enjoy your days!

We have had precipitation!

Some rain has fallen from the sky this week, enough to put a little - very little - green on the hill behind us, such a change from the dry dead brown it has been for a few months.  Forecasts are a bit optimistic so hopefully there will be more to come.  Fingers, toes and everything else which can be crossed are crossed.

A little cutting out (easily my least favourite part of sewing) has happened.

 The rainbow fabrics will be part of a kaleidoscope quilt, the idea of which was born at a workshop a couple of years ago.  Like many projects, it has been languishing because of having to put the house back together after two floods in 2017.......but it is getting closer.  Now to cut several hundred pieces (!) of black and white prints.

A while ago I laid out some of the tumblers to see how they looked.  Not bad, I thought to myself, fan-freakin'-tastic actually, whether sideways......

 or upsie-downsies.  They were first sewn together in pairs, a lighter fabric to a darker fabric, taking no notice whatsoever at all of colours, except to not join two greens, two reds, etc.  Currently the pairs are being joined into fours, each and every stitch by hand.

Several of the fabrics are stripes or directional prints so they were cut both horizontally and vertically for variety, and absolutely none - not one fabric - was fussy cut.  If the cut went through a flower bouquet that didn't matter, I didn't want it to look planned to within an inch of its life.  Some folk just can't do random......I have no problem with it.  (not sure what that says about me......)  Some of these prints have been in my stash for nigh on 20 years or so, some are much newer, while just a few light gold fabrics were specially bought for this project to add variety.

Those tumblers had a lovely time traipsing around Canada with us last year, and in a few weeks they will be heading south to Canberra to enjoy a folk festival and some autumn colours.  This is going to be a well-travelled quilt by the time it's done.  Perhaps it should be called Travelling Tumbleweeds.

This morning's uke gig at a local monthly church market went very well.  We enjoy playing for them, they are really nice folk, and they love having us.  We will play again in late May as not everyone in the group can commit to a monthly gig; we were missing a few people this morning, but it's amazing how good just five people can sound when they put their minds to it.

Last weekend we took a Nice Sunday Drive - on Sunday! - so I could take in a quilt show at a town north of here.  Their show is annual, never huge but with some really nice quilts, and although I don't get every year I enjoy it when I do.

Big day during the week, our anniversary on Tuesday......43 years......that is a long time, you know.  Here's a chuckle for you; Kevin was wondering what the traditional gift is for 45 years (I like a bloke who is organised and thinks ahead, don't you?) so I just looked it up, and the answer is sapphire.  The list also says the traditional gift for 90 years married is engraved marble or granite.  Well yes, I suppose it would be......

"Courtship and marriage.
The correct behavior of young men toward young ladies, and of young ladies toward young men during that portion of their lives when they are respectively paying attention to, and receiving attention from, one another, is a matter which requires consideration in a work of this nature."

The book then goes on to give points of etiquette in various aspects of behaviour during one's courtship, engagement and marriage, useful knowledge for most of us, I would imagine.

Enjoy your days!

Back in the Small Smoke again

No doubt about it, travel is good, one gets to see interesting places and meet fascinating people.....but to be back in one's own bed with one's own pillow under one's cheek is bliss.

Had fun last week in the Big Smoke, at the craft show and associated quilt show......oh my, the standard of quilts this year was very high.  Quite a lot of repro quilts so that style is still hanging round, not so many of the shabby chic style so perhaps that's on the way out?  Not even a lot of bright quilts this year, many colours were quiet and muted and the country colours from several years ago seem to be making a comeback.  Should you so desire you can view the winners here; this page shows the Special Awards, if you click on the headings "Professional", "Amateur", "Open" and "Junior" you can see all other winners.  The quilt which won Best of Show is really exquisite, and I can honestly say in all my years of attending quilt shows......over 25 years, now.........I have never seen one quilt win so many awards.

This is the usual view looking up the hill behind our house, our back fence is in the foreground.

 A few times this week it has been replaced by a very different view.

Foggy and frosty mornings are here to stay for a while now.  Fog can be quite eerie, can't it?

Progress is being made on a new skirt.  The Monday night choir's performing outfit for women is black pants or long black skirt, and a white shirt.  I have always worn pants as I don't own a long black skirt, but recently decided that a long skirt could be handy for times when the musical director decrees that all the women in the front row should wear skirts, because "it makes a nice line"........as she did with just a few day's notice for last year's Christmas concert, which I didn't take part in because I missed too many rehearsals while we were in Canada.  Because I am short I sometimes sing in the front line - we are arranged by height - I have been keeping an eye out in the local op shops (thrift shops) but so far haven't found a long black skirt in my size.  Never mind, thought I, I shall make one.  So a pattern has been duly bought, and some black fabric, and the pattern is currently being tweaked to take four inches (10 cm) off the length before the fabric is cut.  Yes, I am that short.  Extra wide black fabric is in short supply here but a black damask found in the curtain/upholstery section will do nicely; the skirt is flared and the front is seamless, hence the need for wide fabric.  It's not because I am huge.  Even though I am not the slender little thing I used to be.......sigh.

Road works between here and town are proceeding well.  Like most of the locals we have been taking the "short term pain for long term gain" point of view but we will be so glad when it's all done.  I feel sorry for the people living along that road, the dust from the various digging and scraping machines must be awful at times.

The uke group is getting brave, our latest piece is "Hotel California" which has some fiendish chord changes. Never mind, either they will get easier with practice or my fingers will fall off, which is more likely.

"Evening dress for ladies.
Evening dress for ladies may be as rich, elegant and gay as one chooses to make it.  It is everywhere the custom to wear full evening dress in brilliant evening assemblages.  It may be cut either high or low at the neck, yet no lady should wear her dress so low as to make it quite noticeable or a special subject of remark. Evening dress is what is commonly  known as "full dress," and will serve for a large evening party, ball or dinner.  No directions will be laid down with reference to it, as fashion devises how it is to be made and what material used."

No low necks for the choir ladies, our dress is so modest as to be a teensy bit boring.  There is also a long scarf knotted in front with the ends hanging down......as I said, boring.  At least it's not beige.

Enjoy your days!

Falling out of fall.........

....and into winter.Winter has arrived, frosty mornings, fog and cold nights.  Warm clothing, and cats spending their time by the fire.

Although these pics were taken on our visit to North Bay, Canada, last fall they could have been taken here today......even the Queensland Blue pumpkins, which are available here now!

 I love the idea of decorating for different seasons, Australians don't do much of that except for Christmas.  I haven't seen these interesting shapes and colours of squash here either.

 It was a very tempting pile of orange goodies!  But you will be pleased to know that we obeyed the signs and did not grimpez sur les citrouilles.

The walking continues.  There are several dogs hereabouts who also trot round on their morning walk, one little terrier drags his hapless owner along as though he has the world to organise and needs to get home quickly to do it.  One nods one's head and mumbles "morning" to other walkers, who smile and cheerily reply.  One does not wave and smile a cheery smile back at them.  They should consider themselves lucky to get a mumble, really.  I am not doing it to improve my social life.

Those autumn leaf blocks were won by someone else, which was a shame as I quite liked them.  But as the fiddle factor involved in making them is more than I can be bothered with, it's probably just as well; I shall stick to my Bear's Paw blocks made using my gorgeous autumn leaf prints, which are a leisurely leader and ender project.  No hurry to get them done and made into a quilt, because I still haven't decided on a setting for them.......although ideas are percolating in my little brain.  Ideas involving lots of small squares.......

There will be no blog post next week as I will be visiting the Big Smoke, staying with my friend Nola and attending a quilt and craft show.  One of the few things about living here in the Small Smoke is the lack of local quilt shows, although there will be one in a month in a small town an hour north of here.  Most of big city life I don't miss at all.  Certainly don't miss the traffic, which by the time we moved out was horrendous.  Here, if there is a line of six or eight cars during what passes for peak hour.......that is considered really bad by the locals.  We laugh.  Ha ha, we say.  These people do not know heavy traffic.

Meanwhile the road construction between here and town continues, and sometimes can be rather exciting.   We had some good rain last weekend and the potholes which it opened up in the little strip of road we have to drive on made for interesting driving, especially with a large truck or semi coming the other way.  Did I mention that little strip of road is quite narrow in parts and carries two lanes of traffic, one each way?  During the day the lanes can also swap and change, which makes for even more excitement when the lane we drove on going into town has changed completely by the time we come home an hour later.  If only the road could be closed completely it would probably have been finished some time ago, but as it is the main (almost the only) way into town for many locals, and is also a minor highway leading north, it has to be kept open.

Life is never dull here, folks.

"Never turn a corner at full speed or you may find yourself knocked down, or may knock down another, by the violent contact.  Always look in the way you are going or you may chance to meet some awkward collision.  People are very rude and vulgar who do not look the way they are going; it annoys others.

Although this advice was meant for pedestrians it can also apply to some of the drivers with whom we are sharing our de-constructed road.

Enjoy your days!

Back home again

Last week was fun - visiting with my friend, catching up with other friends at the quilt show, and of course the quilt show itself.  The winners are here, so make yourself a cup of your favourite drink and enjoy.  Di also has some pics on her blog.  I thought the standard was very high, and was surprised by how many reproductions quilts were on show - quilts made with reproduction fabrics, or copies of old designs from Australia and overseas, or new designs which were influenced by quilts of the 19th century.  Perhaps that's all part of yearning for a time when things seemed simpler - I wonder what next year's trend will be?

But enjoyable as my visit was, it's good to be home.  Fortunately this year's train trip was uneventful, and I didn't have a snoring bloke next to me.  It's a very pleasant trip which goes through some lovely countryside.

This is not a prize-winning quilt.

 Each month one of my quilt groups makes blocks, many of which end up in quilts for children staying at the local Ronald Macdonald House while undergoing treatment in hospital.  We take turns at 'winning' the blocks, and these were some I took home and put together.

The sashing fabrics were donated to the group for this purpose, and the border fabric was bought last week in the Big Smoke.  It's backed with light green fleece, and will be warm and cuddly for a little kiddie-widdie.

Now that trip is over we can look forward to the next one in October, which will be to Canada - yay!  It will be so good to see our son and his lovely girlfriend again.  Wonder if we can bundle them up and bring them home with us?  Perhaps not.........but we would love to......we will also be able to catch up with friends made on our last trip, which we are very much looking forward to doing.  Travelling is good, seeing different places is interesting, but it's the people we meet and friendships we make that are the real highlights of a holiday.  

Today is rather cool, although the sun is shining it doesn't have much warmth, so the fire is very welcome.  There is chicken, bacon and vegetable soup simmering in the slow cooker which smells really good, and there are leftovers for dinner.  What more could a person want on a cold day?  My new jacket is toasty warm and may even accompany me to Canada, as it will be much colder when we land in Vancouver and Toronto than it will be when we leave Sydney.  Way way up there in the sky it can also be rather cool, so a cosy jacket could be a Good Thing.  I remember on our last visit that late afternoon in Toronto, in early October, was not hot.

"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 to do the carving and waiting.  The 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."

Somehow I think we will be serving ourselves to our leftovers tonight, I haven't seen a servant for a long time.......and never in this house.

Enjoy your days!