Halfway through Arboretum!

Blocks 49 and 50 were made during the week.  As the quilt needs 99 blocks that's halfway through, yes?

Another blue fabric used in Summertime Blues, one with a slight tropical lagoon feel.  The contrast is a mottled blue/green/brown, a bit muddy as batiks can be, but ideal for this purpose.

Another golden brown tree....I didn't realise how many golden brown batiks were in the Big Basket until I started making trees!  However, they make ideal autumn foliage.  The contrast has been in the stash for quite some time, and does a good job of pretending to be textured tree bark.

This week's achievements, numbers 49 and 50.

The handing sleeve for Autumn Rhapsody is in the process of being re-made, as the original was too long.  Once that's finished and sewn to the quilt it will finally be considered 'finished', and taken to a park to be photographed.  One of the features in the chosen park is an old-fashioned bandstand with four or five steps up to a stage area, and the wooden railing around the stage looks to be an ideal place to drape a large quilt.

Stitches have been sewn and knitted, and the back of the jumper/cardy is progressing up the armhole decreases.  Words have been read.  Songs have been plinked and sung, and my party pieces - one poem, and one song - for next Sunday's Eisteddfod performance have been scrolling through my mind on a continuous loop so they are firmly entrenched in my brain.  The usual weekly hunting and gathering ensured that we won't starve (although we might have to if the price of food keeps going up) and so another week rolls along.

The hole in my elbow is slowly healing, and the visit to the doctor on Friday yields the information that the Thing which was biopsied is an actinic keratosis.  Such Things apparently can, over time, develop into cancer, but given my advanced age already I'm not too concerned.  After it has a month to heal, said the doctor, there's a cream to use which will make it go away.  Jolly good, I said.  I can do that.  It's better than surgery.....mind you, anything is better than surgery, isn't it.

So, that's that.

I wonder if those folk who wear (almost wear!) their bum-baring swimsuits will be given the same news by their doctor in years to come?  There is probably a good chance that they will, given the nature of the Australian sun.  Just imagine having to have bits of your cheeks cut out.....oooh ouch......

My generation grew up before sunscreens had been invented and children back then were sent outside to play without hats or sun protection, although very young babies often wore a hat.  I can recall being horrendously sunburnt more than once, often badly enough to the point of blistering then peeling - ouch - and both my brothers were too.  When I was a slender young thing of 17 I was allowed to go to the Big Smoke for a holiday all by myself, and while there spent time on a beach in my brand new bikini; here in the Small Smoke there were no beaches although there was an outdoor swimming pool, so time at the beach was to be savoured.  The last day before going home the entire day was spent on the beach so of course I was really cooked, so much so that the new bikini had to be worn as underwear for the next week, because it fitted inside the white lines on the skin.  There is still a freckled patch on the outside of my upper thigh where the worst of that burn happened.

Silly me.  Unfortunately we didn't know better in those days; we had no idea that in years to come many of us would be having bits burnt, frozen and scraped out as a result of those decisions made - or not made at all - when young.

We have come to the end of the chapter on Etiquette of Travelling, so now we move onto Courtship and Marriage.

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

It is indeed.  Young men and young ladies may need guidance in such matters.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Forty seven, forty eight......

The Arboretum is now up to four dozen trees.

It is getting difficult to fit them all in one photo.....and it's even better than I envisaged it would be.  

One of this week's trees, the second almost but not quite purple fabric from my prize bundle, which also made an appearance in Summertime Blues..  There was a small amount of this striking orange in the bag of strips, and it makes a good contrast.  

A softer greenish-brown with a glorious golden yellow contrast which, if memory serves me correctly, was also used in Summertime Blues.    

I'm more than happy with this week's trees.....but then, I usually am.

The yellow will make a gorgeous tree too, when it has its turn; it's the same colour as our wattle bush which is now covered in tiny buds and which in a couple of months will be spectacular, so of course there needs to be a wattle tree in the Arboretum.

How has everyone been this week?  Words have been read, and stitches sewn and knitted.  Songs have been plinked and sung.  We hunted and gathered.  A visit to the doctor for me to have a Thing on my right elbow looked at was far from being a highlight of the week, let me tell you.  There is now a painful hole in my upper elbow from where a biopsy sample was taken, but at least my arm hasn't fallen off.... although it hurts.

Before my hair started to go grey my hair was red - not pale ginger as my father's was, thank goodness, but deep rich auburn.  It has now been scientifically established that redheads bleed more when injured, and we feel pain more readily than other people; if we are being given anesthetic it takes more to knock us out too.  There is a lot of information online about the subject, here is one site that you or redheaded members of your family may find interesting.  When my second baby was born he came out so quickly that I suffered slight tearing, and when the doctor was stitching me up I complained that he was hurting me.  Rubbish, he said, I gave you a local anesthetic first.  Well, it's not working, I said.  With what is now known about redheads and pain, it's not surprising that it was painful.

That is perhaps why my elbow is still so sore several days after its very minor operation, although it's probably not surprising considering the hole.  It's so deep that it could go clear through to the other side of the world, you know.

Old Man Winter has arrived with a vengeance.  The wind is quite chilly and there isn't much sun - not that there would be much warmth from it, anyway - the fire is burning, and it is a better day to be in looking out than out looking in.  It's a good day to sew, or knit, or just sit with a coffee and read a chapter or two.  Or three, or four......

One thing I don't do is read much online news, or watch news on TV.  There is so much murder and mayhem and gloom and doom that, if you let it, it will drag you down, so in the interests of my mental elf I am carefully choosing what to take in and what to ignore.  An Olde Pharte such as me has no power to influence what is happening in the world in general, and we do need to look after our mental elf, don't we?

"Trusting the driver.

While driving with another who holds the rains, you must not interfere with the driver, as anything of this kind implies a reproof, which is very offensive.  If you think his conduct wrong, or are in fear of danger resulting, you may delicately suggest a change, apologizing therefor.  You should resign yourself to the driver's control, and be perfectly calm and self-possessed during the course of a drive."

One could suggest the same for passengers in a contemporary motor vehicle, yes?

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

A sunset tree

An Aussie sunset tree, at that.  This is the only batik fabric in the Big Basket which has an Aussie design, of eucalypt leaves and blossoms.  The colours are 'late afternoon/sunset', aren't they?  The contrast is a deep creamy colour.

Another fabric used in Summertime Blues.  The contrast is a smokey grey/green with more colours than it shows here; it reminds me of some species of eucalypt leaves which are grey/green colour rather than bright green.

An interesting pair, taking the total up to 46.

The knitting's progress.  The back of whatever it is going to be - jumper probably, cardigan possibly - is now long enough that decreasing for the armholes can start.

I like the colours, but am not sure that I love the stripes - I was hoping for more random patterning.  Never mind; it will probably be worn at home rather than out, as when one is no longer in the first slenderness of youth (not like I was once.....sigh......) horizontal stripes are not flattering. This blue/purple/green colourway is not as green as I thought it might be, to judge from the sample yarn in the colour card, but I can live with it.

I remember when yarns with more than one colour first appeared on the market, and what a novelty they were!  Most were variegated shades of one colour, but some were multicoloured; many was the child in those days (late 1960s/early 70s) who wore bright multi-coloured jumpers, so much more cheerful than the single coloured yarns previously available.  I remember making and wearing a sleeveless crocheted buttoned vest, in variegated mossy green.....it went very well with a white shirt with a big wide collar (also made by me, as were most of my clothes in those days) and a long dark green woollen skirt made of woven fabric, not knitted or crocheted.  Long woollen skirts were The Very Thing back then, as was crocheted clothing, and I certainly made and wore my share. 

One of my 'makes' was a crocheted top in good quality (read: expensive) bright red wool yarn, .  The body was plain crochet with a lace work yoke, and the tops of the short sleeves were the same lace design.  It was pretty, I wore it with pride, until one day it needed to be washed and the bloke to whom I was married at the time threw it in the washing machine with everything else.....I wasn't home at the time to throw up my hands in horror and say "fergawdssake don't do that!"......and, of course, it shrunk and felted.  It still fitted - just - but had lost the crisp stitch definition.  As you can probably guess, I wasn't impressed.

Many of those patterns came from women's magazines of the time.  In later years those same magazines were derided by feminists for their recipes and knitting and crocheted patterns, and while many of them are still around they now seem to be filled with rubbish articles on so-called "celebrities", people we neither know nor care about.  At least those magazines of years gone by were useful.

Last week's rain has resulted in the garden looking lush and green, and the weeds doing amazingly well.  More is forecast for the coming week, enough to keep those weeds growing higher and higher.  Now it is June, winter is lurking around the corner, and those warm jumpers of mine will come into their own.

Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn and knitted.  Notes have been plinked and words sung.  We hunted and gathered and ran around a bit, and so another week passed us by.

"In assisting a lady to enter a carriage, a gentleman will take care that the skirt of her dress is not allowed to hang outside.  A carriage robe should be provided to protect her dress from the mud and dust of the road.  The gentleman should provide the lady with her parasol, fan and shawl, and see that she is comfortable in every way, before he seats himself."

Taking a carriage ride in those days was quite a business, wasn't it?  All those things to remember, although most of them are just common sense.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

In which we had rain

Fortunately, however, nowhere near as much as some areas.  Folks over at the coast, just a few hours east of us, have been flooded out of house and home, many businesses have been lost and farmers have lost livestock.  Sadly, there have been fatalities.  We had *some* rain but not enough for major flooding; the river is flowing well with water from further upstream, enough to tip over the shallow banks, not enough for bridge closures but many roads were closed for a few days.

It's been good weather to stay inside and make trees.  

This uses two of the fabrics from 'Summertime Blues' - there are many different shades of blue in that quilt.  This is almost but not quite purple, although it looks lighter here.

A golden brown tree with turquoise contrast.  The brown was used in another autumn quilt, the turquoise was also in 'Summertime Blues'.

A interesting pair.  That makes 44 trees.

Several years ago I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on a Canadian blog, and these were the goodies which duly arrived.  Every one of these fabrics was used for 'Summertime Blues' - plus, of course, many others - and they are also making interesting trees.  This week's blue tree was one of the fabrics, second from the bottom on the right, while the contrast on the golden brown tree is second from the bottom on the left.

Last weekend's vintage quilt display prompted me to get out my antique orphan block, bought many years ago when we lived in the Big Smoke.

I don't remember where it was bought - probably at a quilt show.  The antique shop is no longer in business.  The diamonds were sewn 'on the line' rather than over papers, which is also my preferred method.  Life is too short to fuss around with papers when you can just sew a seam.

I also have an antique quilt which uses a similar green/yellow print, it was evidently a popular fabric at the time.  It needs to come out of the cupboard for a photo.

Diamonds have been joined into hexies this week, and more cut.....on the line, no papers.  Stitches were knitted, and trees were made.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked, and songs sung.  The usual running around filled our days, we avoided most of the rain, and so passed another week.

This morning's temperature was the coldest of the year so far, a little taste of what is to come.  Time to dig out the warmer jumpers and scarves; after all this is the last week of May, soon it will be June, then the cold weather really starts.  Despite that, I don't think I could live in a tropical climate....the humidity would be very unpleasant.

One of the current fashions which apparently offends some people and makes others defensive (usually those who wear it) is the fad for almost-barely-there bikinis, especially the bottoms.  Yes, you can wear whatever you like.  Yes, those of us who don't like it are probably old out-of-date fuddy-duddies.  Personally I don't think it does you any favours, and I can imagine in years to come that many of you will be getting skin cancers cut painfully out of your bums.  Same with many of the garments worn on the red carpet; just because your stylist said you should wear it doesn't mean to say we think it looks good on you.

Gawd....I must be getting old.

"Assisting ladies to alight.

A gentleman must first alight from a carriage, even if he has to pass before a lady in doing so.  He must then assist the ladies to alight.  If there is a servant with the carriage, the latter may hold open the door, but the gentleman must by all means furnish the ladies the required assistance.  If a lady has occasion to leave the carriage before the gentleman accompanying her, he must alight to assist her out, and if she wishes to resume her seat, he must again alight to help her to do so."

Well, yes, he should.  He could be in and out like a jack-in-the-box, but he should do as he is told.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Opal tree

We all know that opals don't grow on trees.  My opal jewellery (I am lucky enough to have some) certainly didn't - but if it had, it might have been from a tree such as this one.  The fabric used for trunk and branches looks very opal-y, doesn't it?  (I know there's no such word, but I don't know what it should be.....opalescent, perhaps?)  The tree fabric has a look of William Morris about it.

Water puddles in a tree, another fabric used in 'Summertime Blues'.  We have had a little rain in recent days, and more is forecast for the next couple of days too.

An interesting pair of trees for the week, taking the total so far to 42.  The original quilt used 99 blocks.

This morning some of the members of my quilt group attended a trunk show put on by a quilter visiting from interstate.  Her quilts were all antique - and even if they didn't meet the definition of a true "antique"  (an article over 100 years old) they were certainly vintage, and each and every one was hand-quilted.  Many were pieced and appliqué quilts from the 1920s-30s; this was described as being "from the time of the American Civil War, early 1860s".  I don't know if it is or not, I suspect perhaps not, but it appealed to me most of all.

A couple of the blocks showing fabrics used.  I like the red used for the alternate squares.

Not all the light fabrics in this block were the same; two of the nine-patches use a different print to the other three.

The same blue fabric was used in all the blocks, and the sashings between blocks were a different blue fabric - but once again, all used the same blue.  The tan setting triangles were the same throughout the quilt, although faded in some places more than others.

How has everyone's been been?  Ours was, as usual, fairly quiet.....stitched were stitched, words were read, songs were plinked and sung.  We went out foraging for food and similar Stuff, and that was about it.  

All very unexciting, I suppose, but at least we haven't been affected by the blackouts happening in other parts of town caused by fruit bats roosting in electricity transformers.  We are supposed to love all creatures, but bats are a species of which I am not fond - especially these bats.  They are usually more prevalent at the coast a few hours east of us, but habitat clearing sends them inland looking for just the right flowering trees.  It seems that we have an abundance of the correct trees, so that means we have thousands upon thousands of bats.  Apart from some wildlife people no one likes them, but we are stuck with them until they move on....which they will, eventually, although that can't come soon enough for those poor folk who keep losing power.  A couple in the choir were saying on Thursday night that their part of town is the worst affected; the noise and particularly the smell are difficult to live with, but as horrible as it is they cheer themselves up by saying "at least we don't live in Gaza."

Eventually the bats will move away as they have before, and we will all breathe a deep sigh of relief.  Then one day they will return......

Continuing with last week's quote.

"Driving.

The place of honor is on the right hand of the seat facing the horses.  This is also the seat of the hostess, which she never resigns.  If she is not driving, it must be offered to the most distinguished lady.  A person should enter a carriage with the back to the seat, so as to prevent turning around in the carriage.  A gentleman must be careful not to trample upon or crush a lady's dress.  In driving, one should always remember that the rule of the road is to keep to the left."

Now, that is interesting.  This book is adapted for "the Australasian colonies" from an American publication, and Americans - and indeed the citizens of many other countries - certainly don't drive on the left these days.  Perhaps the advent of the horseless carriage brought about the change of custom?

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Birthday trees

On Friday I completed another circuit around the sun.  I am not saying how old I am now, suffice it to say that I am probably older than dirt.  It was a pleasant day and I was taken out to lunch; I always enjoy a meal I haven't had to cook and I never cook on my birthday anyway, so it was doubly enjoyable.

And now I am a bigger number.

This week's trees, started on Friday and finished yesterday, so they can still be called birthday trees.

A geometric tree, just right for autumn.  The contrast was used for a tree several weeks ago, and it suits this print well.....I quite like the combination.

Another blue and green tree, because it's a pairing that always works.  The blue is leftover from 'Summertime Blues', and the green is a tone on tone from the Big Basket.  The contrast was originally going to be a different fabric but it was one which suffered from the flooding several years ago - the fabrics were dried off but not checked at the time for any problems as we had to put the house back together and replace ruined carpets, furniture, etc.  Damaged fabric was the least of my worries.

A pair of interesting trees.

We haven't seen the kangaroos on the hill behind us for some time because this herd of cattle roam around, and we are told that kangaroos don't like cattle and vice versa.  We think they belong to a bloke on the other side of the hill.

The breed is 'Speckle Park', or 'dalmatian cows' as our son called them when we told him.  They are apparently good eating.  When they visit, we notice that the air wafting around is definitely more.....rural.

How has everyone been this week?  Apart from Birthday Friday it was the usual uneventful week; stitches were sewn, words were read.  Songs were plinked and sung.  Hunting and gathering occurred, and that was about it.  It is now Mother's Day which we are spending quietly, with a welcome phone call from our Canberra son earlier.

During the week the previous U3A leader contacted me to say she would be absent for some time as she has shoulder problems, the message was very affable and friendly.  I have not replied, because I don't care.  She left me in the lurch last year without a word of warning or apology when I was still recovering from the broken arm and other injuries, so she can take a running jump.  I'm not usually nasty unless I consider I have been wronged, and in this case I do.  All sweetness and light, that's me, folks.

Moving right along.

It's been cool enough at night to have a fire burning, although we let it go out in the mornings.  This house cools down once the sun moves around by mid-afternoon, so it feels a little cooler than we like to be.  Having the fire burning on low all night means that the house warms up quickly when the sun hits it, rather than having to wait for the warmth of the sun to do so.  The first couple of winters after moving here we wondered why it was so cold in winter despite the fire, and closing doors to rooms not in use at the time etc., so we had the ceiling checked - only to find that there was absolutely no insulation in the ceiling at all.  Not a skerrick, as my Nana Davis used to say.  We soon had that remedied, and immediately noticed the difference.  There seem to have been budgetary short-cuts taken in many areas of this house when it was built; some we have had fixed, others we can live with.

"Driving.

The choicest seat in a double carriage is the one facing the horses, and gentlemen should always yield this seat to the ladies.  If only one gentleman and one lady are riding in a two-seated carriage, the gentleman must sit opposite the lady, unless she invites him to a seat by her side."

This week's quote is a wee bit long, so we will have the rest next week.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

May the fourth, and all that Stuff

Although I'm not a Star Wars fan....my brain doesn't do science fiction, I have never seen any of the movies and don't really care for the music either, but they are popular.  So, May the fourth be with you, and all that.

Moving right along.

This print has different background colours including pink and green but many of the flowers on the green background have solid petals, making them dark blobs.  That might be good on a larger block but not one this size, so just the orange background was used.  

This blue fabric was the back of Summertime Blues - as soon my eyes hit on it at the quilt shop, I knew it was perfect.  The orange fabric has been used on another tree, a dark green one, but it looks different here because of the background.  I'm not going to be precious about only using fabrics once....if they look good they will be used, and this looks good.

This week's bright trees.

During our visit to Canberra in March we managed to find a parking spot at the National Arboretum, a rare thing indeed as it's a very popular place to visit, so we had lunch at their cafe with the wonderful views.  We were too early for the autumn colour, although some plantings were starting to change.  We don't visit the Arboretum every time we are in Canberra, but we go often enough that we can enjoy its progress over time.

How have you all been?  We survived an election yesterday; some people may be disappointed by the result but, as it was well and truly a majority win, many people are obviously pleased.  Our MP has been returned....he wasn't part of the winning team....perhaps one day he won't be our MP any more, either.  We can only live in hope.

Words have been read, and music has been sorted.  Stitches have been sewn.  There is mending in the sewing room waiting to be done, a bed sheet which has a small hole to be fixed before it gets washed, otherwise that small hole may become a much larger hole during its time in the washing machine.  Songs were sung at choir.  We hunted and gathered to avert starvation, and that was the week.

Best of all, it's definitely autumn!  For the past few nights we have had a fire to keep us warm, and to stop the house from cooling down too much overnight.  Earlier in the week the slow cooker came out for the first time in quite a while, to be used for maple mustard chicken; it's a bit like honey mustard but with maple syrup instead of honey - it's quite yummy.  Shorts have been put away and longer sleeves brought out.  I don't mind cooler weather but do feel the cold, so need to warmly dressed for it; the maximum daytime temperature is deceiving, as the wind chill takes it down several degrees.  Lovely in the sun, but as soon as you turn a corner into that south-easterly breeze it's a different story.

We have an anniversary coming up this week - on Wednesday 7th May it will be 15 years since we shook the dust of the city off our heels and moved here, to the Small Smoke.  It's been a good decision; nowhere in the world is perfect, but it comes pretty darn close for us.  15 years is a whole decade and a half....it doesn't seem that long!

"Assisting a lady to alight from her horse.

After the ride, the gentleman must assist his companion to alight.  She must first free her knee from the pommel, and be certain that her habit is entirely disengaged.  He must then take her left hand in his right, and offer his left hand as a step for her foot.  He then lowers his hand slowly and allows her to reach the ground gently without springing.  A lady should not attempt to spring from the saddle."

That sounds complicated, doesn't it?  I wouldn't blame a lady for springing, you know.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer