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!

Fireworks

Not the ones that light up the night sky......this is a native Aussie grevillea called "Fireworks", and right now it is flowering beautifully. It lives in a large rectangular pot on one end of our front verandah. The other end also has a potted grevillea but it is not a happy plant like this one, in fact we think it may have given up the ghost and gone to God. If that is indeed the case we will replace it with another Fireworks, which obviously likes living up here on the hill.

The is the quilt recently made for Ronald Macdonald House, which will be handed in at quilt group on Monday.
The blocks were made by six different members of the group, I set it together and quilted it. This is the reason for the pink spotted fabric bought recently and I think it works well, hopefully its young owner will like it.

My American friends have been having a tough time of it lately what with storms, and hurricanes, and fires. Just letting you know, we are thinking of you.

Did you all have a good time last Sunday on Father's Day? The Monday night choir (known as The Only Choir In Town until I found out it wasn't) held its spring concert on Sunday afternoon, then in the evening we went to the local theatre for a performance by TaikOz, an Australian percussion group playing Japanese taiko drums........sensational.

It's all good here in the Small Smoke. It will be even better when it rains, as it is promised to do for a couple of days. Then it will turn cold again, and we will have frosts - just to let us know that winter hasn't yet gone, despite the lovely warm sunny weather we have had recently. Many people in Australia are under the impression that seasons dramatically change on the first of the month, that winter finished and spring suddenly started last week on 1st September, but you and I know that is not so. Seasons don't change like that, the change is more gradual despite what Daniel the TV weather man tells us.

The sweet pea seedlings I planted a few months ago are growing well, in fact one flower is almost out; the first to flower will be pink. Other spring flowers are popping up in gardens all over town....but I can't yet smell spring in the air. You all know the scent I mean; in the evening after the sun has been heating up the plants all day their perfumes can be easily smelled, one sniff and we know that spring is here. Judging by that - spring hasn't quite arrived yet.

But local shops have spring clothing in their windows now , and it is nice to see pretty things after the dull colours of winter. Local people are looking for new clothes for the new season and one takes one's life in one's hand sometimes walking along the main street, because people are so busy looking in windows they forget to watch where they are going. The thought of perhaps buying something different has them excited, that's for sure. However there is one shop which will never have lovely new clothes again as it closed recently after more than 120 years in the same family's ownership. One could always find something unusual to wear there, but it is to be replaced by yet another clothing chain store. Local folks are very underwhelmed by the change.

"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."

Just remember that, next time you are window shopping.

Enjoy your days!

Feeling foggy in the Small Smoke

Now that winter is drawing to a close we are getting into both fog and storm seasons - last weekend was fog. These pictures were taken from just inside our back fence looking up at the reserve - the sun had just started making its way through the mist.

The distant trees look quite ghostly, don't they?

If you look carefully at the picture below you can just see a dark blob in the centre of the grass, below the trees on the hill.....that is our shy visiting wallaby.
We went out just after 10.30am and although the fog had lifted on our hill it was still very misty over the valley below, including the airport - we are sure the morning's flights would have been somewhat delayed.

Storm season hit yesterday afternoon too, but was a non-event here on the northern edge of town. It was a different story elsewhere though, a tree at a local high school on the south side (my old school) was hit by lightning, sending a teacher and some pupils to hospital. Everyone is fine now. Things were different in my day; lightning hadn't been invented then, it was so long ago. Parts of town also had very heavy rain during the storm and we didn't get one drop....not even a spit. When we go to town we drive over a low hill, and sometimes it can be raining on one side but not the other. Our side is usually the dry side. We really picked it well, didn't we?

I don't mind watering the plants we wish to look after and keep, but I draw the line at using water on the lawn. Many people in the world don't have access to clean safe drinking water, so why are we wasting using it to keep grass green?

The current project in the sewing room is another quilt for the local Ronald Macdonald House, a very girly quilt. My quilt fabric stash doesn't have much pink, so I bought some....it is very......pink. When it's done I will take a picture so you can all see just what I did with it. When I was a child my mother would sometimes dress me in pink.....not a pretty sight, I'm afraid......my hair was auburn (it's less so now, unfortunately), my eyes are dark brown, and my freckled skin with its yellow tone was not flattered by pink. It was enough to put me off pink for life. There is no pink in my dressmaking stash, but now there is some pink spotted fabric in my quilt stash.

"The full dinner dress.

The full dinner dress for guests admits of great splendor. It may be of any thick texture of silk or velvet for winter, or light rich goods for summer, and should be long and sweeping. Every trifle in a lady's costume should be, as far as she can afford it, faultless. The fan should be perfect in its way, and the gloves should be quite fresh. Diamonds are used in brooches, pendants, ear-rings and bracelets. If artificial flowers are worn in the hair, they should be of the choicest description. All the light neutral tints, and black, dark blue, purple, dark green, garnet, brown and fawn are suited for dinner wear."

You notice that no mention is made of pink? But brown and fawn are allowed......why, for goodness' sake? Those of us who lived through the 70s probably wore more brown and fawn than anybody in their right mind should wear. It was a very brown decade.

Enjoy your days!

Been squeezed and pinched.......

.....and all is well, I received the letter yesterday telling me so. That was very quick. When we lived in the Big Smoke it took weeks after a mammogram to receive the letter. The radiographer here was much gentler than the previous time too, when the woman was rough to the point of cruelty. Thank goodness I don't need to attend that particular clinic any more.

Speaking of pinches, have you ever wondered how much is a pinch? Some recipes stipulate a pinch of something, or a dash of something else, but how much is that? Well.....wonder no longer.

Last weekend I bought this set of measuring spoons, so now I can measure a nip, a smidgen, a pinch or a dash. The nip measure is about the size of my little fingernail. That's not very much.

A pretty clematis, taken last spring when we visited a garden out in the country.
Today is almost spring-like, it's very pleasant out in the sun....but in the shade with a little breeze there is still a slight coolth in the air. If we can have warmth then I reckon we should be able to have coolth.

Much as I like the winter, the restfulness and quiet of it, now that it is coming to an end I am feeling more inspired again to create. Yesterday I cleaned off the desk in my sewing room so some quilting designs can be traced onto thin paper using the light box; that quilt has been pinned ready to be quilted for some months, it's time it was finished. Once the quilt designs are traced they can be pinned on and the quilting done. The queue of projects is getting a little longer so I need to get busy. For me the fun part of sewing, whether clothing or quilts, is sitting at the machine sewing seams together - but there is more to making something than just sewing, isn't there? There is preparation, cutting, finishing........cutting is probably my least favourite part......but I do enjoy the satisfaction of finishing.

Last weekend we had friends from Canberra visiting our Small Smoke and it was lovely to spend time with them. We drove to Nundle - the old shop in the picture is where I bought the measuring spoons above - visited the woolen mill and had a lovely time. However, it was not.....quite......warm. In 1885, the year Nundle was declared a town, my maternal grandfather was born nearby. It's a little town I never tire of visiting.

"Parties in the country.

Morning and afternoon parties in the country, or at watering-places, are of a less formal character than in cities. The hostess introduces such of her guests as she thinks most likely to be mutually agreeable. Music or some amusement is essential to the success of such parties."

Supposing a hostess was uncertain as to the mutual agreeableness of her guests? Does that mean they would all sit (or stand) around avoiding each other? What a dull party that would be, for sure.

Enjoy your days!

What the well-dressed table is wearing

Table runner is finished, and is adding a touch of early spring to the table. Because it's quite long it's a bit tricky trying to get a picture without some distortion, but this shows you the general idea.

Recently the cats were hoping to occupy a cushion on the sofa - both trying to ignore the other. Considering they have been part of the same household for more than eight years now each still pretends she is The Only Cat In The House, something which cats can do very well.

Speaking of cats, when you see a cat washing itself with its legs going in all directions and its tail in another while its head is somewhere unmentionable......doesn't it remind you of a set of bagpipes?

Have you noticed lately that leggings, or whatever they are called these days, are back in fashion? I don't mind them worn under a skirt, definitely don't like them worn with short shorts, and can't stand them when they are worn as outerwear. Some sights are best never seen; just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. They don't flatter a plump behind and legs, and they certainly don't flatter skinny legs no matter what age woman is wearing them. And as for being worn stretched so tight that they become transparent.......not nice. That also includes very tight pretend jeans. Let's just keep them for the gym, shall we?

The coming week looks like being somewhat busy. Another meeting tomorrow afternoon about making the raffle quilt for the state guild (hopefully with some original ideas this time), medical appointment on Wednesday - nothing special, just a check-up - mammogram on Thursday. I shall practice for the mammogram over the next few days by slamming my boobs in the fridge door each time I pass it, and early in the morning when it is still cold I shall lie on the garage floor while Kevin drives the car over my bare chest. It's a necessary procedure for women in my age group, but it isn't a pleasant experience, is it? Hopefully the technician this time will not be as rough and abrupt as the last one was, or this will be the last time I go through this indignity. And it is undignified, having to strip to one's bare skin before strangers is humiliating and embarrassing - at least, that's how I find it; and it's even worse being handled by the aforementioned stranger on my girly bits. If ever I need any surgical procedures done, as far as I am concerned the medical staff will be performing them on my fully clothed body.

To make matters worse our nice weather will be leaving us again this week, Thursday is forecast to be very cold and rainy again! Not a good day for stripping to bare skin, even partly.

"Expressing unfavorable opinions.

You should be exceedingly cautious about expressing an unfavorable opinion relative to a young lady to a young man who appears to be attracted by, and attentive to her. If they should marry, the remembrance of your observations will not be pleasurable to yourself nor the married parties."

Perhaps we had better not make an unfavorable remark about a young lady wearing her jeggings, or tight pretend jeans, in the hearing of a young man who is attentive to her? Wouldn't want to cause any angst, would we.....no matter how unflattering the garment.

Enjoy your days!

We've been counted in

No, not the kangaroos....the one in front looks headless, doesn't it? Taken about six weeks ago from our back yard looking into the reserve.

Last night was Census Night so we duly filled in our form, online this time. Had to chuckle when I heard a few of the locals say they weren't going to fill it in online, but would use the paper form instead....because.......

wait for this......

they didn't want the government to have their details!

Isn't that the whole point of a census? The government finds out how many people it is responsible for, and what its future needs will be based on numbers, locations and ages of the population. The information can also, if you tick the appropriate box, be kept for 99 years which can be a great help to genealogists in the future. We ticked. Doesn't bother us. The government already knows all it wants to know about us, anyway.
On our way home from Canberra at the end of April we stopped off in Sofala, an old town that started life in the gold rush days of the 1850s. This large tree was getting into its autumn clothes, and a week or two after this photo was taken would have been spectacular.

Life has been exciting here this week, we actually had some rain! Not much, and certainly not enough for farmers' needs, but water fell from the sky so that is cause for rejoicing. Considering that last year we had three floods - minor, but still floods with water overflowing creek and river banks - this year has been been very dry. Last year was the wettest year for goodness knows how many years; last month, July, was the driest for more years than the locals can remember. Light rain is sprinkling right now and the garden is thankful; my sweet pea seedlings are growing beautifully.

It's been the sort of weather to stay indoors and not do much, because it's also been cold again. The table runner on which I was working is up to binding stage, my latest knitted creation is coming along nicely, and it's been good weather for reading - we have been reading books by Giles Blunt, we like the 'Canadian-ness' of his writing compared to American, British or Australian writers - and for cooking. The other day I used a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes to make one larger cake, the quantity fitted beautifully into an 8in (20cm) square tin, and rather than use icing as a topping I made a streusel topping with brown sugar, soft butter, walnuts, cinnamon and brown sugar. Yummo. The recipe makes 12 cupcakes, but making it into a larger cake will yield more than 12 pieces.

Yesterday I succumbed to a new book of slow cooker recipes, so right now this very minute tonight's dinner of Coq Au Vin is summering away. Very useful things, slow cookers.

"Promptness in answering.

All invitations requiring answers should be answered as soon as possible after receiving them. The French have a saying, applicable to all notes of invitation, to the effect that it is as important to reply as promptly to a note requiring an answer as it is to a question in speaking. All refined people who are accustomed to the best social forms, consider that it would be an unpardonable negligence to omit for a single day replying to an invitation or a note requiring a reply."

So should you receive an invitation from me to join us for dinner, please don't neglect to reply promptly - otherwise I may not cook enough food for you.

Enjoy your days!

The new cat bed

I did warn you I wasn't arty.

The top is not yet finished, some of the leaves still need to be stitched down, then it needs to be quilted and bound.
A close-up of one of the top corners.
The diagonal bottom corner.

While I don't hate it I am not in love with it. However it won't just get tossed in the back of the cupboard unfinished; it will eventually be finished. (though it may still spend the rest of its days in the back of the cupboard.......) The design is called "Deciduous", the designer and teacher is Amanda Daly.

Meanwhile work on the flowery table runner is proceeding along, the quilting is about all done (both the wobbly vines and the straight lines) so the binding needs to be made and attached.

The other day I was thrown into a bit of a dilemma. One of my local quilt groups here has undertaken to make the raffle quilt for the state guild's Big Exhibition in 2014 (a very organised lot, those quilters; they get things done well in time) so five members, including me - because, I was given to understand, I have used EQ7 to design a few quilts - were asked/chosen/conscripted to be on a sub-committee to oversee the making of said quilt. Now in my ignorance I thought this meant designing something original ourselves, then choosing fabrics and making the quilt. Apparently not. To everyone else but me it means flipping through books owned by one member while all the time saying "I like that....we could make that". Even the mention (by me) of the words "copyright" and "other people's designs" went nowhere. I will give the committee one more meeting, then if I am not happy about the direction things are taking I will resign because in all honesty I can't be part of something like that.

Ah well, she says sighing.

Meanwhile, life here in the Small Smoke proceeds along gently. The birds have been more active lately, probably getting ready to build a nest and do what birdies do in spring (which, to judge by this week's weather, may not be long in coming) and yesterday we were entertained by the visiting kangaroos and/or wallabies who spent quite a long time just grazing. The three horses who visit from time to time have also been ambling around. We have noticed that some of the local wattle trees are in full glorious bloom too. When I was at school Wattle Day was celebrated on 1st August - now it has moved back a month, and is held on 1st September. I remember that a local park had a row of large wattle trees, the whole air seemed golden when they flowered.

"Be moderate.

Always express your own opinions with modesty, and, if called upon, defend them, but without that warmth which may lead to hard feelings. Do not enter into argument. Having spoken your mind, and thus shown you are not cowardly in your beliefs and opinions, drop the subject and lead to some other topic. There is seldom any profit in idle discussion."

Something to keep in mind if I need to express my opinion about the quilt design. I am not usually forthright in expressing my own opinion in the face of others' more definite opinions - I wish to goodness I was - but I shall stand my ground on this, because I believe it is right.

Enjoy your days!