Happy New Year!

We tell ourselves it will be better than the past two years, don't we.....because it's good to be optimistic, pessimism only drags us down.  Glass half full, and stuff like that.  

As usual no resolutions were made, but as usual there are hopes......

These Aussie-themed blocks have been in my stash forever, and one day they will be made into something.  I did get as far as cutting them out and bordering them with our national colours of green and gold, and have also made a hand-appliquéd block (which still needs embroidery details added) for a centrepiece.

One day......

The old year was finished by making the setting triangles for my house quilt.  First five squares were made, each seven rows of seven 2-1/2 inch squares.....

......then they were cut on the diagonal......

......then they were cut again......

......and, for fun, mixed around.

Each of these triangles, 20 in all, will be for the sides, top and bottom.  Some of the greens are greener than others, but they are all green even if the camera hasn't pick up their green-ness.  Green can be a difficult colour to photograph; many years ago I was a project editor for a quilt magazine and we were cautious about having green quilts submitted and chosen for publication, because photography never did them justice.

Did you all manage to stay awake long enough to farewell the old year?  We didn't, although we did send it on its way with some bubbles - and last night we welcomed in the new year with some more.  Someone somewhere was setting off fireworks on NYE; we could hear them as we lay in bed, but couldn't tell where they came from.  Could have been a very long way away, because sounds travels at night.

Our new year was off to a good start with friends popping in for a visit - so good to catch up, it's been several months!

My new calendars are hanging for us to enjoy.  A friend on Vancouver Island sends a scenic calendar each year with drool-worthy photos which sometimes show a place we have visited, always a bonus!  My sewing room has two calendars from wombat rescue organisations; the calendars are a way of fundraising for them, one I am always happy to support.  One was bought from Rocklily Wombats (I have bought a calendars from them for several years now, one for me and one for our son in Canada) and the other, a gift from our family down south, is from the Native Animal Rescue Group.  All the wombats are gorgeous.  I like wombats.

Our music festival gigs are off, sadly.  The craft market at which we were to perform has been cancelled and we have decided not to do the other concert even if it is held, which at this stage is very doubtful.  With plague numbers fairly high still I don't think the festival itself should go ahead, but the organiser bloke who pops up frequently on the news spruiking its value is adamant that it will.  There have been reports that many people have already cancelled their accommodation bookings and at least one good-sized venue has decided, while it will remain open, not to have any music......because the limited numbers of people currently forced on venues mean that, taking staff wages and other costs into account, they would not make enough money to make it worthwhile.  At the end of the day they are a business, not a charity, and have already lost a lot over the past couple of years.

Sigh.......

"An After-Call.

After a ball, an after-call is due the lady of the house at which you were entertained, and should be made as soon as convenient - within two weeks at the furthest.  The call loses its significance entirely, and passes into remissness, when a longer time is permitted to elapse.  If it is not possible to make a call, send your card or leave it at the door.  It has become customary of late for a lady who has no weekly reception day, in sending invitations to a ball, to inclose her card in each invitation for one or more receptions, in order that the after-calls due her may be made on that day."

Sounds very civilised, doesn't it?  I wonder, though, if those after-ball receptions were hot beds of gossip......"did you see what she was wearing, at her age?"....."that colour did nothing for her complexion, you know"....."did you notice that they danced together three times in a row - can we expect an engagement to be announced?"  

Enjoy your days!

As we wind down to the end of another year......

What a year it has been; some of it good, some not so good.  None of us have a crystal ball to know what's coming next year, do we?  Which, the way the world is now, is probably a Good Thing.

I hope all had a peaceful Christmas with some yummy munchies - we did, for sure.  There are munchies still to be eaten, a much better situation than running out!  My collection of Christmas wombats now has a few new additions too, thanks to our family down south.

Our hot summer weather has eased, for now at least.  A light shower of welcome rain is falling and the air smells clean and fresh.

I am happy with what I managed this year.  Probably more could have been done, but I suspect most of us can say that - yes?  My quilt 'Weeds of Grace' was finished which was quite an achievement, and significent progress made on my Canadian quilt which is ready for borders to be added and quilted.  

Today's messy sewing table.  The green fabrics will be the outer setting triangles for my house quilt; the box on the left holds the completed blocks and the yet-to-be-cut sashing fabric.  The red fabric will be the backing for the borders of my Canadian quilt, the pile of batting in the corner is also for the borders, and the light blue is a tee shirt which needs a sleeve hem restitched because the stitching came undone......don't you hate that?

Progress was also made on a quilt which has been in progress for quite a long time, a quilt of 225 six inch flower basket blocks.  It was started many years ago as a portable project; all 225 blocks were made, then joined into nines.

It has since hung around for a few years because.....just because.  My first thought was to quilt it in blocks then join them (each of those nine basket blocks measures 18 inches square) but I couldn't decide on a design, so it was shelved.  After finishing the hand work on my tumbler quilt I thought....."why not just go for it?"  So the top is being finished by hand, and it will be farmed out to be quilted.  The green backing fabric was bought early in the year; all the print fabrics are florals, many of them containing green, so the green back will tie them all together.  All those 25 blocks of nine have been joined into five rows; joining rows one and two is now my TV project because it's too big to be carted around and it will get even bigger before it's done.

Which is a roundabout way of saying, perhaps a new portable project is needed......a few thoughts are percolating around in my brain......

Music was played, the ukulele group even had two gigs!  We have learned several new songs and had high hopes of two gigs during next month's country music festival, but the mask rule is back in place as are other covid rules - and how can we sing in masks?  At this stage we don't know if our gigs can go ahead at all.

Sigh.......

"Receiving guests.

The custom of the host and hostess receiving together, is not now prevalent.  The receiving devolves upon the hostess, but it is the duty of the host to remain within sight until after the arrivals are principally over, that he may be easily found by any one seeking him.  The same duty devolves upon the sons, who that evening must share their attentions with all.  The daughters, as well as the sons, will look after partners for the young ladies who desire to dance, and they will try to see that no one is neglected before they join the dancers themselves."

Someone interested in social history (a passion of mine too) once remarked to me that back in the 1800s, in Australia at least, if you couldn't or didn't dance there was a very good chance you would not marry.  So much meeting and mingling took place at dances, there were opportunities for flirting and the chance to hold the hand of someone you might fancy without being frowned on, the possibility of fluttering your eyelashes at that nice young feller you fancied (and who you were pretty sure fancied you back) as he steered you around in a ladies' chain.....and if you didn't attend those dances, you would miss out on the chance to find your soul mate.

Enjoy your days!

Done done done!

The last three houses have their surrounds done, just in time for the Big Occasion next weekend.

A musical house......an autumn house.......and a very purple and pink house.  Plus a (quite small) tree with jingly bells, and one of the Christmas wombats.

The black and white fabrics can be packed away until another idea for them takes root in my brain, and the green setting triangles can be made.

The borders for the Canadian quilt have all been cut out, as is the border backing.  Now to see if my quilt-as-you-go idea works.

Just in time for Christmas, summer is here with a vengeance.  We have enjoyed a fairly mild spring because of rain, but Mother Nature is making up for lost time this week.  I am not a great fan of summer....it's something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

The fat bloke in the red suit is out and about - I feel sorry for him in this heat, I'm sure he would love to swap his fur-lined boots for sandals, and his pants and jacket for shorts and tee shirt.  To say nothing of the beard and hat; a wide-brimmed hat is far more practical in summer for keeping the sun off one's face.  If I was a reindeer I would go on strike in this heat.

Early in the week Kevin, Bianca the geriatric white cat, and yours truly were peacefully minding our own business when we heard a loud thud.....what could it be, we wondered?  The neighbouring kids had been in their pool earlier, but were quiet by then; Kevin took a trot outside, walked around, listened - nothing seemed amiss.  While checking a local weather page on social media a short while later I found out that the noise was caused by a gas explosion way over on the other side of town; a large cylinder of liquid nitrogen had exploded and been blown into the air, flying quite high until gravity took over and down it came.  One person had minor injuries, fortunately no one else was hurt.  The shockwave caused by the bang was heard over a wide area on this side of the river and was the cause of the 'thud' we heard.  The bloke who runs the weather page lives not far away from the site, and the soaring cylinder captured by his weather camera was shown on the evening news.

Just around the corner from there is a cemetery in which some of my family rests.....I wonder if any of them rolled over with the shock?

Sometimes the retired life is far too exciting......

Continuing our quote:

"Introductions at a ball.

Introductions take place in a ball-room in order to provide ladies with partners, or between persons residing in different cities.  In all other cases permission is asked before giving introductions.  But where a hostess is sufficiently discriminating in the selection of her guests, those assembled under her roof should remember that they are, in a certain sense, made known to one another, and ought, therefore, to be able to converse freely without introductions."

It's quite a long chapter, so is better broken up for our weekly quote.

Enjoy your days!

In which we were battered by storms and Stuff

Storms are far more excitement than we like, but a few nights ago we were assailed - that's the only word I can think of - by a storm which started with strong winds and rain, then hail and heavy rain, more wind, even heavier rain......we kept expecting a blackout but were, fortunately, lucky not to have one although we did lose internet connection for a while.  When we checked outside next morning there didn't seem to be any damage - we haven't climbed up on the roof to check though, our roof-climbing days are long done!

We don't like storms.  We still have memories of the time our house was badly damaged in The Great Sefton Hailstorm of 1990, one of the few times that Sefton (normally a very quiet suburb 30-40 minutes from the centre of the Big Smoke) was in the news apart from the odd murder at a local pub.  There were very few houses in the area left unscathed, we had several windows and skylights broken and our fence knocked down by water because of drains blocked by hail; schools were closed until damage could be repaired, and there were tarps on roofs for weeks afterwards.  That was quite a scary experience, and one I don't wish to live through again.....although roof repairers and window replacers did very well out of it.

This week's houses.

Some paisley, and a cat house - the design on the black and white fabric is the word "meow" repeated; it seemed appropriate to put around a house of cats.  Only three houses are left to have their black and white surrounds done, yay!  Next step will be to complete the setting triangles; these are pieced green 2-1/2 in squares, lots and lots of squares, which have been joined into strips of seven.  Seven of these strips will be joined to make larger squares - five of them - they will each be cut into four, and that will make the side triangles.  

The plan to cut the borders for the Canadian quilt went astray......but as Scarlett once said, tomorrow is another day.

The blue and green blocks were received with favour by those present at quilt group and no moans were heard, probably because there wasn't a triangle in sight.

It started a conversation about colour pairings.  I remarked that I can cope with most colour pairs although orange and purple together have always set my teeth on edge.....as do pink and yellow, pink and orange, red and pink......although perhaps if the purple was on the blue side of the colour spectrum rather than the red and the orange tending towards gold it could work.  I remember reading once that you can put two colours together, any colours you like, and they will always look good so long as white is added to the mix.  Perhaps so......but I think it would take more than white to reconcile me to red and pink together.

This was back in the days of hearing that "blue and green should never be seen, without another colour in between" - I think we have moved on from that thinking; what about blue sky and green plants?

Back then we were also told not to mix stripes, florals, checks, whatever, in our clothing, but what can be a bit too much on the human form can work out wonderfully well in a quilt, yes?

We are hoping that the rules about wearing a face mask in many situations will be relaxed this week, as the state government has promised they would be.  At present masks don't have to be worn outdoors so we can stroll along the main drag without one, but must pull it up if going into a shop or café.  This means that, as happened earlier in the week, we can walk down the street sans mask, pull it up to walk into our favourite café, take it off to have our coffee, put it on again to walk a few steps out the door, take it off again.......I can cope with most of the restrictions but the face mask is too distressing, for me.  So except for a few mask-less situations I stay home rather than go out, and am in danger of turning into a hermit as a result.

Continuing on from last week's quote :

"Introductions at a ball.

It is for this reason that here, as in England, ladies are expected to bow first, while on the Continent it is the gentlemen who give the first marks of recognition, or better still, simultaneously, when the recognition is simultaneous.  The one who recognizes first should be the first to show that recognition."

Nothing is said about not recognising someone wearing a face mask, even though that person is normally well known to you.

Enjoy your days!

Back in the saddle again

Remember that song?  I know it, too......someone once asked me if I knew every song every written, and I replied "no, but I'm working on it....."

The saddle - or should that be the horse? - is my Canadian quilt, which now needs borders.

A narrow black border (already cut), then a slightly wider white border (not yet cut), and the outer border in this gorgeous batik fabric.  The Cunning Plan is to hopefully start on it this week.

Two more houses, cats roaming around the rooftop at night, and a cheerful house with one of my favourite prints around it.

Just five more houses to go.

On Tuesday it will be my turn to take along morning tea to quilt group (which will be something seasonal from a shop, it's fruit mince pie season after all) and a block of the month for anyone who wishes to make it.  I have been toying for a while with the idea of simple blocks in a limited colour scheme, and came up with just blue and green.

The blocks fit together like a jigsaw; the small ones are six inches square finished, while the long ones are six by twelve inches when finished and are easily made from 2-1/2 inch strips.

What do you reckon?  I think it could be fun; I enjoyed making the first three, so made a few more.  The people who whinge at the merest slightest thought of even the hint of a triangle should be happy too.

Don't laugh.  You haven't heard them complain.......

Another night out on Thursday night for the choir end of year dinner, at the same restaurant I ate at last weekend.  Once again, a delicious meal I enjoyed because I didn't have to think about it; it was just put in front of me and I ate it.  

We are being assailed on all sides now every time we turn on the TV with large happy families celebrating Christmas together, from the cheerful smiling (always youthful, of course) grandparents to the cute never messy toddlers and babies, and everyone is genetically blessed and oh-so-photogenic.  That's all well and good......but what about smaller families or people who don't have anyone they wish to celebrate with?  Why can't we see more diversity at this time of year?  Not everyone who spends the day alone is unhappy to be doing so, you know.  These days not so many in this country keep Christmas as a religious occasion any more; people who have come here from other countries have their own special celebration times too, but that message doesn't seem to have gotten through to the people who make TV ads.  

We have booked into a restaurant for dinner on Christmas night, something we started doing when both our sons were overseas and it was just the two of us.  It makes the day a bit more special than just sitting around at home and grinning at each other, doesn't it?

Besides which, it's one more meal I won't have to cook......

Because the ukulele group has been meeting here on Mondays there might just be a few Chrissy decorations strewn about.  Only two more Mondays and we will have a break until next year, with a market gig lined up for January.

"Introductions at a ball.

Gentlemen who are introduced to ladies at a ball, solely for the purpose of dancing, wait to be recognized before speaking with ladies upon meeting afterwards, but they are at liberty to recall themselves by lifting their hats in passing.  Here as in England a ball-room acquaintance rarely goes any further, until they have met at more balls than one; also, a gentleman cannot after being introduced to a young lady, ask her for more than two dances during the same evening.  Here, as in England, an introduction given for dancing purposes does not constitute acquaintanceship."

This being a long paragraph it will, as they say, be continued in our next.  The "here" mentioned in the quote might be America or it might be Australia, as the book was first published in America in 1885 then revised and published in Melbourne, Australia, in 1886.  My copy is a facsimile reprint, an exact copy, published in 1980 and was bought at a library surplus sale in the Big Smoke many years ago.....how could I leave such a treasure?

Enjoy your days!

Another "Ta-da!" moment

The centre panel of my Canadian quilt is done.

Oops.....chopped off some of Saskatchewan on the bottom left corner.  The borders still need to be added, but that will be done after a couple of other obligations are cleared up in the sewing room.

This one plus the completed tumbler quilt were duly flashed around at yesterday's quilt group meeting for show and tell, and were duly admired by our group, and also by another group sewing in the room next door.  We then adjourned to a restaurant just out of town for a very nice lunch.

I always enjoy a delicious meal I haven't had to plan, prepare, cook, and clean up after, don't you?

This week's houses, kangaroos with cockatoos flying in a bright blue sky, and an autumn house.  The swirly print is for the kangaroos who seldom hop in a straight line and for the cockies flying erratically overhead, while I haven't decided on what the little things in the other print are......caterpillars? leaves? branching coral?  Something, anyway.

Only seven more houses need to be set with their black and white triangles, yay!

Well......it has rained, it has poured, it has flooded.  Twice during the week flooding caused the closure of two of the three river crossings from one side of town to the other.  Right now as we speak at this very minute it is not raining, but that can - and probably will - change again.  My trip to the restaurant yesterday meant driving across bridges over swirling flood waters which added to the excitement of the day, for sure.  The main bridge doesn't go (fortunately!) under water very often; the bridge used for my trip home is above the river level but the road onto the western side of that bridge is lower, so the approach road rather the bridge is closed.  The river was still over the banks at that point and had flooded into a grassy car park, where for once there were no picnickers or people dropping a line in the river.  The nearby sporting fields were no longer under water, but they were covered in a coating of brown mud instead of the usual lush green grass.

Perhaps it will have to be hosed off.  The thought of hosing the grass clean with water which would then flow into the river has me chuckling, considering how much water is currently in the river anyway.

Kevin had plans to go to a small town north of here to play lawn bowls, but with so many roads closed, and the fact that is was still raining, his team decided not to go.  It was a fun day for the club's anniversary.

We have made the sad decision not to attend next year's big folk festival at Easter in Canberra.  The current restrictions mean that all performers will be Aussies, no visiting overseas performers at all, and while we have some great local artists many of those will also be here in January for the annual country music festival.....and their music isn't to our taste.  Over the years we have been lucky enough to see some wonderful musicians from overseas and hopefully we will be able to again, one day.  We have always enjoyed catching up with friends in the camping area, but that has also changed.

We still have plans to visit Canberra after Easter because autumn is such a lovely time down there, and with a bit of luck I may be able to time it for a craft fair at the same time.....how good would that be!  Our craft fairs have mostly been cancelled for the past year or two because of lockdowns and shutdowns and 'stay inside' orders; I heard of one which was cancelled at literally the last minute, when stallholders were already unpacking and setting up their stores.

Oh well.  Perhaps one day, in the dim and distant future, the world will once again be something that we can consider 'normal', whatever that is.

"The dances.

The dances should be arranged beforehand, and for large balls programmes are printed with a list of the dances.  Usually a ball opens with a waltz, followed by a quadrille, and these are suceeded by galops, lancers, polkas, quadrilles and waltzes in turn."

Would it surprise you to know that I can dance, and indeed have danced, each and every one of these dances?

Enjoy your days!

'Weeds of Grace' is finished!

My magnum opus is done, and what an opus it is.  Had the weather been kinder some very artistic pics could have been taken outside, perhaps even in a park - but it has been, still is, and will continue to rain so inside it had to be.

To give an idea of size, this is on a queen sized bed.  The back is not boring either.

You can see the backing, a wide fabric bought in Canberra on our trip south earlier in the year......when I saw it I knew it would be The Very Thing.  It's the first time I have used a wide backing fabric, and it won't be the last.

The label is hand embroidered on a fabric used for some of the tumblers, and edged with a piece of leftover binding.

The week has been productive, more of the Canadian quilt is done, and there is only one block to go - yee har!  I want to have the centre panel done before next Saturday for the big reveal; our challenge this year was to finish a UFO, and this was mine.  Borders won't be done by then, but it is much further along than it was in February when we started.

'Weeds of Grace' will also go along to be flashed around for show and tell, another finished UFO.

This week's houses, butterflies around a striped house and bicycles around a fishy house.  There is a saying "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" which was coined by the women's movement in 1970, so I couldn't resist putting the fish and bikes together.

There are not many houses left to be bordered now.

This morning the ukulele group played our first gig since February, and great fun it was too!  We played at a charity fair and were allocated a spot under cover (fortunately, because......rain) so we had an audience the whole time.  We tried some songs which were new to us and some old favourites; we had people singing along, and were given many compliments.  Considering how out-of-practice we are at playing for an audience, we did very well indeed - let's hope that next year brings more opportunities to play.

According to a web page which has information about what is being celebrated on a particular day, week or month, today is World Television Day.  It will probably be marked in this household by leaving the television off, because there is a lot which just doesn't appeal to us.  Perhaps we're just weird......Kevin is currently watching a car race.  With the sound off.  Because sports commentary is mind-numbingly unutterably boring and far too loud, to me.  We came to an agreement many years ago whereby he watches sport, and I listen to something else.

"The music.

Four musicians are enough for a "dance".  When the dancing room is small, the flageolet is preferable to the horn, as it is less noisy and marks the time as well.  The piano and violin form the mainstay of the band; but when the rooms are large enough a larger band may be employed."

Some of our songs this morning could have been danced to, but no one did.  In the past I have played in bands for dances and loved it.  A flageolet is a wind instrument similar to a recorder; I wonder if it would have been heard when being played for dancers?  Perhaps if the dancing room was small enough, it would have been all right.

Enjoy your days!