Finally......quilting has started!

Yesterday the sewing room was re-organised, small tables were moved to better positions to support the weight, and today the first quilting stitches were taken on Euan's quilt.

 It's quite bright.......that orange sashing and border is only one inch wide, so I am quilting a wavy line down the middle using the walking foot.  My first thought was something more adventurous but it is for a baby, so the quilting doesn't need to be worthy of taking first prize in an international show.

As promised, here are some of the flowers and buds on one of our pretty correa plants.

It's not very big yet, so I hope you appreciate that I had to get down on hands and knees to take this.  Getting down is still not too bad, but getting up again is a different story.........

On Tuesday I had a minor medical procedure.  For some time now there has been a blemish right smack dab in the middle of my forehead; it has been frozen/burnt off twice but still comes back, so I made an appointment to have it seen to.  The doctor didn't think it is anything ominous but as Australia has the highest rate of melanoma and other skin cancers in the world, I felt it was worth checking.  I almost wish I hadn't, now.......first there was an injection at the edge of the blemish, then a couple of minutes later another one nearby.....I don't like injections at the best of times, and having to have two - TWO! - in my forehead was a bit much......then he took two scrapings of skin to be sent for biopsy, one for each injection, because there were two patches of scaly skin.....then the nurse slapped on a large white dressing, and I was given instructions on how to care for the wound.  The dressing looked like a headlight, a beacon shining forth from my head, but as the instructions were to soak it off in the shower the following morning the indignity of wearing it was only for one day.  Then there was the delight of having a scabby forehead that looked as though I had taken on someone bigger and stronger than myself, and lost.......but it is healing nicely now, although a small bruise next to the wound will, I suspect, take a little longer to go away.

If the biopsies don't show a problem then nothing more needs to be done, but if there is cause for concern I will be notified about a follow-up visit.  No news yet, so fingers crossed!

Like many Australians my ancestry is from the British Isles, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, and like many Aussies I have skin which would be better off in a milder climate away from our harsh sun.  However I was born here, my parents were born here, two of my four grandparents were born here, some of my great-grandparents were born here, great-great-grandparents too......my family roots in this country go back to at least 1800.  Like many people of my generation we were sent outside to play, we wore no hat, no sunscreen, no shirt - skin cancer hadn't been invented then, obviously.  I can recall being quite badly burnt more than once in my life, and people of my generation are now paying the price for that neglect.

"To remove freckles.
A good freckle lotion is made of honey, one ounce, mixed with one pint of luke-warm water.  Apply when cold."

Ladies in 1885 were really concerned about having freckled skin.  Apparently the reason was, a woman who wasn't a lady might spend time outside, gardening, working in the fields, hanging out washing.....but a true lady didn't do those things.  She stayed inside to preserve her complexion, and if she needed to venture forth she wore a hat, long sleeves, gloves, and kept a parasol over her head at all times.  The emergence of a freckle would have been greeted with horror.

Enjoy your days!

Poor neglected blog

Finally - a chance to sit down and compose some thoughts, without having to race out the door for practice, or to a gig, or to chauffeur Kevin who had an eye operation last week and is doing very well thank you but couldn't drive for a couple of days, or.......or......

A couple of nights ago the last stitches were taken on the fourth large flower basket block, here are all four laid out.  Each block is 18in square finished, and each will be quilted before being joined into a quilt.

 When one is short, as one is, and one has to stand on a chair (which one never quite feels secure about doing) to be able to get far enough away to get all blocks in one photo, one just snaps a quick pic and gets down.  Which one did.  Which is why this is far from being a prize-winning shot.

Last year we fell in love with this pretty Aussie native plant and ordered two from a local nursery.  The young bloke who works there kept shaking his head and saying "you shouldn't be able to grow correas where you are......I love correas but I can't get them to grow for me, they don't grow well in this town" however they are thriving in our garden so well that they are now flowering!  When it stops raining I will sit on the ground to photograph them (because the plants aren't yet very tall, although they are growing beautifully) and you can seen their pretty pink bells.  To give an idea of scale, each flower bell is about three quarters to one inch long.

The music festival is over and the uke group has no more gigs for a while, so Euan's quilt can be layered, pinned and quilted.  The orange sashing will have a vine design, the blocks will have a variation on a continuous curve design, and the borders will have cats on two borders with dogs on the other two.  Euan's parents have a dog and his Other Grandparents have a dog, but we have a cat so he might as well learn early that dogs aren't the only animals in the whole universe.

Uke class starts again next week, and the other day I pushed the boat out and changed the strings on my uke because they were sounding muddy and didn't have the clear ring that new strings do.  It should have been done before our festival gigs but it's a bit late to think of that now, isn't it?  Now one item on tomorrow's 'to do' list is 'call in at music shop and buy new set of strings' because it's a good idea to keep a spare set.

By golly, those new strings do sound nice......

Not only has it been raining again, it has turned quite cool for this time of year.  Not that we are complaining - it makes a change from being too hot.  Our plants are very happy with the rain, because restrictions mean that we can only water them sparingly.

"Signature of ladies.
A married lady should not sign herself with the "Mrs." before her baptismal name, or a single lady with the "Miss."  In writing to strangers who do not know whether to address you as Mrs. or Miss, the address should be given in full, after signing your letter, as "Mrs John Smith," followed by the direction; or if unmarried, the "Miss" should be placed in brackets a short distance preceding the signature.
Only the letters of unmarried ladies and widows are addressed with their baptismal names.  The letters of married ladies are addressed with their husbands' names, as "Mrs John Smith."

In other words, when a woman married in the 1800s she ceased to exist as herself and became "Mrs husband's-first-and-last-name".  I wonder what the good folk of that time would have thought of the idea, now widely used, of married women retaining their maiden name - whether for business (as our daughter-in-law does) or personal purposes?

Enjoy your days!

Happy New Year to everyone!

As it's the first time we have been together since the start of the new year, I would like to send everyone best wishes for a wonderful 2015.

Meet our grandkid Euan, who is a nice little feller.

He was 16 days old when this was taken, and supposedly a few weeks early when born......doesn't look undercooked, does he?  Like all babies at this age he does very little other than eat, poop, sleep and cry, but as he gets a little older that will change......and by the time we get together again in a few months he will no doubt be walking and talking.

We enjoyed our trip to Canberra, and of course loved meeting the newest twig on the family tree and his parents, and the Other Grandparents (with whom we stayed).  While I didn't get to the fabric shop or the book shop, they will still be there in a few months calling my name.  We did manage to each get some new summer sandals, and some undies for me (because here in the Small Smoke we only have one specialist lingerie shop, although we can of course buy undies in various chain stores) and some lovely scented lotions as I was given a gift card to the Beautifully Scented Lotion Shop for Christmas.

We enjoyed the trip each way although it is a long drive, but it takes us through some interesting small towns and it is fun finding places to stop for coffee or lunch.  Each trip we enjoy revisiting places we like, and looking for new ones.

Visitors are arriving in town for the big huge country music festival which starts here next week - some hit town early last month, that's keenness for you!  It's not unknown to have 50,000 extra people in town.  Some locals love the festival and the crowds, most tolerate it, some hate it, while one woman I know loathes it, detests it with a passion, and is very nasty and vitriolic about it.  I don't see the point of that; it's been happening for over 40 years, she hasn't lived here for that long so would have known about it before she moved in.  Many people leave town for the duration and often let out their houses to festival goers, while others move in with friends or family and rent out their house to get some extra money for their mortgage or household expenses.

By the end of the month it will all be over for another year, and next year it will happen again. The world keeps turning, doesn't it?

The uke group has two gigs; we will be opening one concert at a popular venue (yay for us!) and playing at an outdoor concert, once again opening for a couple of well-known performers......not well-known to me, I'm afraid.  I don't follow modern country music, although I don't mind some of it - but my tastes run to old country music, the older the better.  Think Hank Williams......early Johnny Cash......1950s, and even before.  Songs to which we all know the words, and probably sing along with every time we hear them.

"Be always mild and cheerful in their presence, communicative, but never extravagant, trifling or vulgar in language or gesture.  Never trifle with a child nor speak beseechingly when it is doing wrong."

Indeed.  We shall endeavour to remember this advice when next we meet up with our grandkid.

Enjoy your days!

Rain!

We have had rain!  Wet stuff has fallen from the sky!  So much rain has fallen this month that a new record has been set - the previous December rain record was set four years ago, and this month we had much more.  Quite ironic really, considering we are still in drought......

Gardens in the town are looking lush and green and healthy, and gardeners are smiling, and local farmers are over the moon.

On Tuesday we will be driving to Canberra to meet the smallest twig on the family tree, and the rain means that we won't have to fret about our garden while we are away.

 

Even the roses are enjoying the rain. This was taken a couple of years ago before we lost our tree in a storm, but the rose is just the same.

The new skirt is nearly done, only the hem needs to be pinned and sewn (by hand - I prefer hand-sewn hems) now.  It may even accompany me to Canberra, because it will be cool and comfortable in the expected warm weather.....and a new skirt makes one feel like a new woman, yes?

While in Canberra we will be staying with our son's in-laws, which will be really nice - it will give us a chance to get to know them better.  We will even see the new year in while we are there, if we can stay up long enough.  Young Euan has no doubt been told that Grandmama Jennifer and Whatsisname (who hasn't yet decided what he would like to be called) will be visiting, and we trust he will be on his best behaviour.

I am hopeful of fitting in a little shopping whilst in Canberra, I know where there is a wonderful fabric shop.....lots of quilting fabrics on one side, a very good selection of dressmaking fabric on the other, and in the middle enough haberdashery to make a semster's eyes light up with glee.

Isn't 'semster' a wonderful word?  It's very old and was in use before 1000AD, meaning 'one who sews', although it was eventually replaced by 'seamstress'.  So much better than 'sewer', don't you think?  Or - my pet hate - 'sewist', which doesn't even appear in a dictionary.

"New-Year's Calls.
The custom of New-Year's calling is prevalent in some cities, and most villages in the country, and so agreeable a custom is it, that it is becoming more in favour every year.  This is the day when gentlemen keep up their acquaintanceship with ladies and families, some of whom they are unable to see, probably, during the whole year."

An interesting custom, and it seems to have been fairly new in 1885 when this was written.  Best wishes to all for a happy start to 2015, we won't meet again until next year.

Enjoy your days!

Best wishes for Christmas!

And if it happens that you don't celebrate Christmas - best wishes, anyway!

Our grandkid has arrived!

This morning our son rang to tell us that Euan Patrick arrived in the world today at stupid early o'clock, three weeks early.....Cricket has a name!  Everyone is well, and to judge by a photo online he is a cute little guy, nicely filled out despite being early.  His hand, wrist and face (all we can see) certainly don't look scrawny or undercooked.  His names are a nod to the Scots and Irish in his ancestry.

A lovely way to wind down the year.

We will be driving to Canberra a few days after Christmas to meet him.  We had Plans in place to arrive the day before the due date, but of course that date is now gone out the window and a New Plan thought out.  Our Christmas lunch at a local restaurant had been booked and paid for, and it is a lot of money to throw away........so we will enjoy that, and let young Euan and his parents settle in before we descend on their town with flags flying and banners waving..

His quilt is not yet layered and quilted but that will get done in time for our subsequent visit at Easter.

The other day at sewing guild advice was asked for, received and taken, and a new skirt was cut out - what do you think of this fabric, isn't it gorgeous?

 It was a smidgeon narrow for the flared skirt planned from this pattern, but the selvedge will be hidden inside the side seam and hem so no one will ever see it.

It's been in my stash for a couple of years, and this will be the eighth time I have used this pattern so it will be a quick make - a simple flared skirt with a hip yoke, just right for such a fancy print.  The fabric is a cotton blend so will be cool and comfortable in our hot summers; in my sumptuous wardrobe are a red top, and two orange tops, and a yellow top, all of which will go well with this skirt.  Life is too short to be dull, yes?

Uke group has finished for the year but we still have a performance at the markets in the main street on Sunday.  We also have two performances at the big country music festival next month so there will be plenty of music to keep me happy, and I intend to take my uke to Canberra so I can practice.

At this time of year there's much reason to turn the TV on, is there?  Repeats (which, admittedly, are only repeats if you have seen already them), bad reality shows which are completely unreal, and ghastly programs made in hospital emergency rooms - why would anyone want to be the focus of that?  There you are lying in an uncomfortable bed surrounded by tubes going in and out of various orifices and machines making peculiar noises, and wearing the oh-so-beautiful backless hospital gown......no, thank you.  Kevin has instructions that, should I ever be in that situation, he is to send the cameras away forthwith and immediately, if not sooner.  I have promised to do the same for him.  Sometimes one sees a politician grinning his/her way through a hospital visit, and one sympathises with the poor patients on show.

Perhaps they are not really patients, just actors hired for the occasion?  If I were in hospital wearing a nightie and a politician, his/her entourage and a camera crew came near me, I would throw a bedpan at them.......preferably one which hadn't been emptied.......and scream.  Loudly.

"Remember that children are men and women in miniature, and though they should be allowed to act as children, still our dealings with them should be manly and not morose.  Remember also that every word, tone and gesture, nay, even your dress, makes an impression."

This means, hopefully, that young Euan will regard his Grandmama Jennifer as a bright cheerful person who likes flowers, if my new skirt is any indication.

Enjoy your days!

Did you know......

.......that kangaroos can be quite nasty?  When they are lazing around on a hot day (the sun was so bright it was difficult to get a good photo) they look almost tame.

 However - they are not, so there was no way I was going for the close-up shot.

Did you also know that trees can be strangled by other trees?

 We learnt about these at school.  A seed is carried by a bird, or by the wind, and deposited high in a tree whereupon it germinates and sends down roots.....down, down, down to the ground, while the upper branches and leaves reach for the sky.  Those roots get stronger and it's not unknown for the 'host' tree to die, strangled.

Some of the sights on our recent holiday.

We have had rain!  While that may not mean much to some, it is cause for much rejoicing here.  We are well below the average annual rainfall, only about two-thirds of the average has fallen this year, but December is well up on average and it's not even half over yet.  More rain is forecast for tonight and the next couple of days, so fingers crossed that it does indeed fall where it's needed.  Our garden is smiling, and the hill behind us is now carpeted in green grass which barely a week ago was dry, brown and dead.

Only a month now until Cricket/ette pops out to greet the world.  We will be driving All That Way to Canberra (nine hours or so including an overnight stop, because we have decided that we are too old to do it in one day) to join the other grandparents in saying 'hello' and patting him/her on the head.  If the quilt is finished it will go with us to be handed over - if not, we will be in Canberra again at Easter and it will be gifted then.  Either way, I'm sure Cricket/ette won't mind.

And of course - we will know whether it is Cricket or Crickette!  Crickette would be nice......there have been too many blokes in my life.....no sisters, I had two younger brothers.  No daughters, I had two sons.  Even the cousins we played with as children were boys.  I did have girl cousins on my father's side but they lived interstate; I only remember seeing them two or three times during my childhood and, because of a split in the family, not at all afterwards.

Anyone else having trouble with blogger's robot verification?  It seems to have been turned on again, even on blogs which didn't use it.  Thanks to a link on Fiona's blog I have fixed it, it was easy - here is the link.  Many thanks, Fiona!

"Never introduce unpleasant topics, nor describe revolting scenes in general company."

Indeed.  Why is it that some folk seem bent on doing just that?  We know the world is not all sweetness and light, but dark topics do not need to be dwelt on and emphasised out of all proportion.

Enjoy your days!