The quilt group has a new home

The announcement has been made that we have a new meeting place, a building used by many craft groups, the 'Craft Shed'.  The shed has its own membership which we don't have to take out; when we first moved here I joined but left after a few years as it wasn't quite....."me".  Still, at least we have somewhere to go and it's not far from home, but oh......we will miss the meeting room at the back of the shop because of the convenience of the cafe.  That means we are back to taking a (probably unexciting) packed lunch along with us.  Oh joy......

This week's blocks, a spring rainbow house and an autumn oak leaf and acorn house with a very pink roof.

Some cutting has happened, more of the 2-1/2 in square green pieces have been cut for the outer setting triangles.  There are now 101 cut, 176 to go....yes, I keep a running total so I don't run short.  Odd shaped green fabrics are trimmed and cut into strips then squares while larger pieces are being left for other projects.

Stitching down the applique on the Canadian blocks is also coming along well, only four blocks left to go.

A couple of days ago we had rain - the pattern for a few weeks now has been rain late in the week then dry after the weekend; the coming week's forecast is for more of the same - we have noticed that the kangaroos on the hill seem to enjoy rain.  There were several roos hopping around, this one came close to the fence.  One was a fairly small joey which reminded me of an out-of-control baby just learning to walk, it hopped a little unsteadily for a few steps then veered off in another direction entirely before falling over.

Our unglamorous wire fence is a barrier to a marauding roo but doesn't obstruct our view, this is one of the smaller roos in the mob.

When we moved here it was such a joy to see these animals so close.  I grew up here but don't ever remember kangaroos being so close to town, and during the drought they were coming right into town to take advantage of what green there was in people's gardens.  As the years go by we remember the Big Smoke less and less, it feels like we have always lived here......and we both say, we couldn't go back now.  It's been a good move.

We managed to get the masked hunting and gathering done last week without too many acrimonious words.  I don't think I have ever moved so fast around the supermarket while throwing things in the trolley.  Once we arrived at the checkout (where, fortunately for once, there was no line) I was out of there, the mask came off as soon as I stepped out into the car park.  

The date and maple syrup cake/muffin was very nice.  Now that the pantry holds pecans it just might get made again, with the addition of nuts next time.

The knitting is coming along although my right arm complains if I do too much, so I suspect little and often is the way to go as it gets used to knitting a whole garment again.  Over the years a lot of my knitting has been done on car trips, but with so much of our world shut down again who knows when the next outing will be?

Sigh......

"The old-fashioned habit of abstaining from taking the last piece on the plate is no longer observed.  It is to be supposed that the vacancy can be supplied, if necessary."

I wonder how the custom even started, of leaving the last piece on a plate?

Enjoy your days!

Half the year is done

According to the fount of wisdom which is the internet (how did we ever manage before it?  Greatest thing every invented, in my humble but honest opinion) two days ago, 2nd July, we reached the half-way point of the year; 182 days had passed since last year's end, and there were 182 to go.  Now we are the downward slide.

Nothing, however, will be said about the Big C occasion just before the year's end.......

Thursday, 1st July, was marked by making date and maple syrup muffins using maple syrup from Canada, but instead of making 12 muffins I made a cake.  You eat a whole muffin whether or not you need a whole muffin, don't you?  So the mix became a nine inch square cake, yielding much more than 12 serves, and it's quite nice.  It would have been even nicer with chopped pecans added but the pantry held none.

This week's completed house blocks, a purple house with a scribbly border, and a cat on a hot tin roof house with almost the last of this chrysanthemum print.

These blocks are such fun - I really like how the black and white sets them off.  Considering that there was no intention of making another quilt when the first few blocks were made, it's coming along nicely.....as are (finally!) the Canadian blocks with seven having their stitching finished, six to go.

On our trip down south, on a warm sunny day in April, we stopped off in Blayney to pay our respects to two members of Kevin's circus family.

Charles Henry Perry was a cousin of Kevin's grandmother.  Back in June 1923 Perry's Circus was setting up for a performance in Blayney when both men were killed in a gas explosion.  Charles' sister Elizabeth was married to William Sole, so she lost a husband and a brother in one evening; Charles Perry had recently sold the circus to William Sole as he intended to retire, but had stayed on for a few weeks to help out.  Both men are buried in one grave, and newspaper reports of their funeral the following day indicate that it was the largest ever seen in Blayney.

On arriving at the cemetery we couldn't at first find the grave, so I asked a couple of young blokes who were, to judge by the sign on their work truck, familiar with many cemeteries in the area.  They took me straight to it and one bloke, in particular, was really interested; he said he had often wondered why the grave was so big and why there were two names as double graves are unusual.  We chatted for a while and he said that the company they worked for was one of the last remaining in the region which restores and makes grave markers and headstones......"it's a dying trade", he said.  I bith my thongue and didn't laugh because I didn't know whether he was making a joke or being serious.......but yes, I suppose in these days of people being cremated and their ashes scattered, instead of having a grave with a marker, it has meant that there is a lot less work than there once was in the monument industry.  It also means no headstones for family historians which is a shame, as they often contain interesting information.

It's been a quiet week as we - particularly me - have been lying low.  An edict has come from the state government in the Big Smoke that everyone in the state, regardless of where they live or how far away they are from cases of the current plague, must wear a mask in public.  That's a problem for me because as soon as I put a mask on I can't breathe then I have a panic attack.  So I stay home, which is fine.  However as Kevin did such a bad job of shopping last week (most of the items on the list were missing when he finished, including chopped pecans for the date and maple syrup muffins/cake) I fear that I will have to run the gauntlet of the hunting and gathering tomorrow while he pushes the trolley.  He's not getting out of it.  

I would rather stay home, and breathe, and sew.

"Do not find fault with the food."

This is probably tactful, no matter whether you are dining at your own home or someone else's.

Enjoy your days!

A new start

It's time to meet the new starter in the knitting stakes.

The new jumper has been started, this is the back.  The colour is called 'Mustard' but is more brown than it looks here, a warm cinnamon brown, rather than yellow.  Perhaps the camera's flashing 'charge battery' light means the photo colour isn't very true.

This week's houses.  The purple house was the first ever house made last year - I like its cheerful hippy dippy flower power daisies, while the other house is surrounded by a grassy jungle.

There has also been progress made on the Canadian blocks......my goodness, there's a lot of stitching required to hold all that applique down......but it will be worth it when it's done.

Unwelcome news came through this week.  We have two quilt shops here, and the announcement was made that one of them - my favourite - is closing in September; the building has been sold, and rather than negotiate a new lease the owners have decided to retire.  We wish them well, however they and their store, which includes a really nice cafe, will be much missed.  There is a large classroom at the rear of the shop which is where both my quilt group and sewing group, and many other groups, meet so the shop's closure will leave many groups with nowhere to go.  I have been told that at least one group will be folding as a result.  It's well set up with tables, power, etc., and while there are other halls around town they all have drawbacks.  It is also very handy at a group meeting to be able to pop into the shop if supplies such as thread - even fabric! - are needed in a hurry.  The shop is also a Bernina dealer, but one of the owners has said he will continue to service our machines until someone else takes on the dealership.

Yesterday the backing, a bright red solid, was bought for the Canadian quilt at the 'closing down' sale price, possibly my last (or one of the last) purchase from there.  It's very tempting to go overboard and buy lots more lovely fabrics at the sale prices but honestly, do I need it?  No.  Do I want it?  Probably.  Would I like it?  Oh yes!  So back to:  but do I really need it?  No......

There is another quilt shop here but I avoid shopping there as the owner can be rude and abrupt.  When she first opened several years ago I went in out of curiosity but her manner was very off-putting, so I seldom went back.  She moved to larger premises (which I never even set foot inside) for a few years before moving to where she is now, and I have only been in the current shop twice.  The fabric for the inner border of my tumbler quilt was found there on the second visit, and it really bummed me out to buy it......but it was just so right for the quilt that I couldn't leave it, even though I resented putting money in her pocket.  At least the fabric for the outer border came from the other shop.

Sigh......

Yesterday's Eisteddfod performance went well, although I didn't win.  One of the judges said to me later "you know, you were on the short list" but honestly - I don't mind.  Several people came up to me afterwards to say how much they enjoyed my song, and my performance, and coming from fellow musicians that means a lot.  However - I have been asked to do a solo spot at our choir concert late in the year!  Our choir director went along to hear the music; he has heard me sing before, but so enjoyed yesterday's effort that he wants a repeat.  Who knew - fame and glory at my advanced age!  

"Never lean back in your chair, nor sit too near or too far from the table.

Keep your elbows at your side, so that you may not inconvenience your neighbours."

Indeed.  If you sit too far back you run the risk of dropping food into your lap, too near and it will be awkward to eat.  As for elbows......no more needs to be said.

Enjoy your days!

The house smells really good......

There is cauliflower and chorizo soup in the slow cooker.  It used to be made with bacon - perhaps I found the recipe online, I disremember - however on one occasion we didn't have any bacon, but there was chorizo in the fridge so I used it instead.  We liked it so much better that I don't use bacon in that recipe anymore, we much prefer the smokey flavour of chorizo.

Then just after lunch I really pushed the boat out and made a fruit slice, a favourite of ours.  Every time it's made there are variations; originally I used 'fruit medley' but over the years all manner of fruit has been used, depending on what's in the pantry.  So long as the amount of fruit is correct it doesn't matter what is used; I often chuck in a handful of nuts as part of the weight, either walnuts or pecans are good, and make up the total with dried fruit.  This time it's crimson raisins (because there were some in the pantry), fruit medley (ditto), and fresh walnuts given to us by a nice man at Sofala on our trip south in April.  He was harvesting walnuts from his tree before the birds ate them all, we stopped to chat on our way back to the car, and he shared some of his bounty with us......how nice was that!  We have tried a piece of slice each, and agree that it's not bad at all.

There is a finish to report this week.

The scarf which has been simmering along is finally done!  Pattern is Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf on Ravelry, yarn is Bis-Sock from Quebec bought in Courteney, B.C. on our last trip to Canada, made on a 4.5 mm needle.  The colourway is called "A la Belle Etoile", and it will be cosy and cheerful for our current cool weather.

Stitches have been cast on for a new jumper, and it will be shown when there is a bit more progress.

This week's additions.  The pink spotted house looks as though it is being whirled around in a cyclone, while the lime print is surrounded by birds' nests.  Or perhaps alien life forms......

Just for fun I laid them out on the fabric which will be used for the narrow sashing between blocks, and have decided it's a good choice.  The pattern calls for 'fabric for sashing to equal one yard', and my piece is almost a full metre - it's two inches over a yard, so it will be Just Right.

It was bought many years ago when we lived in the Big Smoke, at a quilt guild market day.  The family of a well known quilter was selling fabrics and books from her estate and I fell in love with this bright yellow fabric as soon as I saw it, even though I didn't have a use for it at the time.  Now it can have its turn in the sun as walkways through the neighbourhood.

We seem to have left the really really cold weather behind for now.  Next weekend is the start of school holidays, so it will probably turn cold and wet again......never fails, does it.......

Next Saturday afternoon I will once again make a fool of myself in public and sing a song, accompanied of course by my gorgeous tenor ukulele, in the Mature Performers section of the Eisteddfod.  This year's effort (which would have been last year's, had not the world shut down) is a parody of 'La Vie En Rose'; it is all in French, but consists of words strung together with brand names and familiar phrases.  I don't enter expecting to win......good heavens no, the winner has to have a photograph taken with their trophy and I have a severe allergy to having my photo taken......but just to have fun.  Next year's song has also been chosen.

"Eat neither too fast nor too slow."

Sage advice.  Too fast and you may cause discomfort to yourself, too slow and you may inconvenience your table companions - although I have always been a slow eater since childhood, but I try to keep pace with my fellow diners.

Enjoy your days!

It must be cold in Antarctica!

Because the air blasting up from there is downright freezing.  It's really really cold air, as we found out this week.  Much snow fell barely an hour from here and has made for pretty pictures on the news, giving the news readers something else to talk about other than the covid plague and the mouse plague.  There was so much rain that the river which flows through town broke its banks in several places, as did several other creeks whish flow into it.  Fortunately it is warming up again - although "warming up" is still a long way from being what some would describe as 'warm'.

Despite temperatures being broken this week - coldest June day since 1998, third coldest June day ever - winter chill is preferable to sumer's heat.  You can always add another layer, can't you?

Two more houses were done.

One of these days the 'done' houses will be spread out on the fabric chosen for the narrow sashing to try it out, in case it turns out to be a bad choice.....but how can yellow fabric with black dotty things on it ever be a bad choice?

Yesterday the choir went to 'Kurrumbede', a home formerly owned by the family of Dorothea Mackellar, to perform.  I don't like to get people in my photos, but sometimes there is no choice.  The front of the home overlooks a wonderful view......

......as the line in her poem 'My country' says, "A land of sweeping plains".

The hills in the far distance were obscured by rain clouds moving quickly, and it soon started raining.  The house is tenanted so was unavailable to be entered, but it was possible to ramble the extensive grounds, gardens and outbuildings.  The land today is owned by a coal mine conglomerate but they have donated the house and surrounds to the local historical society, and have also given a sum of money with a large number of noughts on the end to restore the gardens and outbuildings.  Perhaps one day there will be another 'open day' - hopefully on a day without the cold wind and chilly rain which marred yesterday.

The knitted scarf is near enough as dammit to being finished.  While trying to do so last night I started making silly mistakes so it was put away, and will be finished later today.  Then.....the new jumper can be cast on, yay!

It has been an unexciting week.  The cold kept us home unless it was really necessary to go out; one has to eat, however, so we did need to pop out a few times, but those pops were as brief as we could make them so we could hasten back to our warm house.

'Unexciting' seems to be the order of our days now.  Sometimes I think it would be fun to go wild (something I did very little of in my giddy youth, I must say, so there is a lot to make up for) but then something hurts, and I say to myself......"nah......maybe not today......".  The excitement of casting on for a new knitting project, or slicing fabric for a sewing project, is about as good as it gets now.

Back in the days when I was growing up in a country town girls did not go wild.  I wish I had defied my mother (which would have taken some doing, let me tell you; she was very controlling) and kicked up my heels, and danced in the rain, and not married because it was expected of me.  By the time I realised I was making a mistake going ahead, barely ten days before getting married, I wasn't brave enough to deny my mother her 'mother of the bride' moment and say "I am not doing this".  A few years later I did gather my courage and walk away, but I wish I had been game enough to do it sooner.

Sigh......

"Never, if possible, cough or sneeze at the table.

At home fold your napkin when you are done with it and place it in your ring.  If you are visiting, leave your napkin unfolded beside your plate."

Although it is not stated, I am sure it would be considered really poor form to use a napkin as a handkerchief should a cough or sneeze take you unawares.

Enjoy your days!

Freezy frosty houses

Mornings have been freezy frosty chilly, especially today, but the houses are almost tropical.

I really like the swirly print.  The plan is to use each black and white fabric once, then double up on any that I want to use again.  There are goodness knows how many fabrics in the black and white stash; they have not been counted, but there are quite a few.....it's a wonderful neutral, don't you think?  

While on our trip Down South in April I did manage to visit a few quilt shops and replenish the stash of white and black fabrics; no doubt these new additions will find their way into the house quilt.

Thank goodness for the fire, we say!  It has kept us warm on these chilly mornings and cool days, with more cold to come.  Next week's forecast is for very much colder cold than we have already had, rain, possible sleet, snow not far away......the works.  Good weather to stay in and sew, or read, or knit - and still preferable to the heat of summer.

The scarf which is on the needles (needle, actually; just one circular) is coming along nicely so it's time to turn one's mind to thinking of another knitting project.  A couple of years ago I bought some yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills in a colour called 'Mustard'.  It will be cast on soon for - probably - a jumper, or - perhaps - a cardigan.  No matter which is made the back and sleeves are the same, so they can be made first then a Big Decision made as to the final style.  My favourite book of basic designs was a casualty of the October flood in 2017 but I managed to find a replacement online.

Making a whole garment, whether jumper or cardy, in one piece from the neck down has become quite popular because it means no sewing of seams.  When one is less than sylph-like, however, it is preferable to make separate pieces then sew them together, otherwise one row can take a very very long time.  "I won't be long, dear, I'll just finish this row......"......three hours later "all right, it's done now!"  When I became interesting in knitting garments in the early 1970s (my heavens, was it really 50 years ago?  am I that old?) making separate pieces then seaming together was how everything was made, unless perhaps you were making a garment for a very small baby.  Having just moved to the Big Smoke at the time and knowing almost no one while being married to a bloke who was on shifts meant plenty of time to spare, so off I went to the nearest 'wool shop' (as they were called then), bought a pattern and some woollen yarn, dark green of course, and made a cardigan.  It had cables - first time I had done cables - and went together very easily, so I was on my way.  That cardy was a staple of my wardrobe for more years than I can remember and those cables were the first of many, becoming more and more complicated over subsequent garments.

"Always make use of the butter-knife, sugar-spoon and salt-spoon, instead of using your knife, spoon or fingers."

When we visited my posh Melbourne grandparents salt was served in a 'cellar', a tiny glass bowl, with its own even tinier spoon.  Salt was placed on one's plate and food dipped in, a custom from before the days of salt shakers - quite an eye-opener to three kids from the Small Smoke living in a distinctly non-posh household.  With the eagle eye of our grandparents upon us, we would not ever have dreamed of using our fingers.

Enjoy your days!

The next row begins

The next stage in the Cunning Plan for the neighbourhood houses has started.

Four triangles to turn the block on point, a chance (yet another) to dip into the black and white stash.  Each block only requires two, 5-1/4 in squares cut once on the diagonal so this will be easy; the goal is to do two a week which, even with my sometimes hectic life, is possible.

The step after this requires 277, 2-1/2 in green squares.  I reckon if I cut just a few from as many green fabrics as possible it will be done before we know it, particularly as there are about 70 already cut.  The blocks are sashed, but the sashing is quite narrow - one inch cut, so only 1/2 in finished.  I have a yellow and black fabric which will, I think, turn out to be The Very Thing to make sashing pathways between the houses.

Those BOMs have been finished.  When I went to do the block given by the whip cracker I found it was already sewn - it was in a plastic bag, and she didn't check if it was completed.  That made one less.  Jolly good.

We are having quite a taste of winter lately!  Days have been sunny but fairly cool - downright chilly at times - and nights and mornings have been frosty.  Trees around town are shedding the last of their autumn colour now; it won't be long until they are bare for a few months.

Our state government has been handing out goodies as if there is no tomorrow, to keep the economy moving after lockdowns.  We have vouchers so we can go out and eat - two each for "dining", and vouchers so we can "discover" something.  In our case that probably means going to the movies or the theatre, but right now there is nothing at the movies which appeals to either of us.  We don't do superheroes or blokey action movies, don't do 'rom coms' (whatever they are), most certainly do not do teenage angst, and a friend recently pointed out that while there are movies being made about older people they all seem to have the theme of dementia and are quite depressing. Which doesn't leave much choice, does it?  Living away from the Big Smoke means that there aren't the opportunities for "discovery" that city slickers have.  

Oh well......if we can't use them, then we can't.

It would have been nice if they were able to be used in fabric shops......or music shops......speaking of which my tenor uke is loving its new strings, it sounds gorgeous again.  We have a music shop here in town, but after a few attempts to buy strings from them I have given up and will not spend my dollars there.  Their service is poor and their knowledge of music no better.  Given a choice I will always support a local business, but there's no choice in this.  There is an excellent music shop in a town an hour north; I would rather make the trek up there, or buy strings online from an interstate retailer who gives excellent service.

"If by chance anything unpleasant is found in the food, such as a hair in the bread or a fly in the coffee, remove it without remark.  Even though your own appetite be spoiled, it is well not to prejudice others."

Besides which, there might not be enough to go around.

Enjoy your days!