Soon there will be a back side too

A few days ago the backing fabric for the quilt in my last post was spread out, measured - all 6.4 metres of it - stroked and fondled, and now it has been cut into backing-sized pieces.  It was bought in......oh, about 2004, give or take a year or two, when we spent a weekend on the New South Wales south coast with friends.....in Milton, from a quilt shop which may or may not still be there.  Google tells me there is still a quilt shop in Milton but I wouldn't know if it's the same, the name doesn't ring even the tiniest tingle in my memory.

 As soon as I saw it I knew it would be Just The Very Thing to back that blue and yellow quilt, what do you reckon?

To make the backing big enough it will, of course, have to be pieced so I whipped up three more star blocks using some of the leftover fabrics from all those years ago, and set them with corner triangles to make them wider.  This is how they look lying on the backing; a strip of backing fabrics with stars inserted will run down the centre back.

 A bit like this one, although the strip on this quilt is off-centre - my preference -  but those maths don't work for the bigger quilt, so centred it will have to be.

After so many years I am really looking forward to having that quilt done, dusted and finished.  Binding will be a deep mossy green.

The worst of the hot weather seems to have well and truly gone, for which we are thankful.  It's much easier to sleep on cooler nights.

Today I am trying to decide which of my sumptuous creations to wear for the choir/ukulele gig on Saturday night.  Our performing "uniform" (which isn't a uniform at all, really) is black bottoms, pants or skirt, and a bright solid colour top; solid, because 35 or so people wearing patterned tops would leave the audience cross-eyed.  I have black pants and a calf-length flared black cotton skirt and tops in green, yellow, green, red, green, blue, green, orange........and green.  Considering it is still summer it will probably be a skirt with, perhaps, a beaded yellow top and sparkly earrings.  Nothing like a bit of tizz at night, is there?  The ukulele players will follow the lead of the choir, so those of us who perform with both won't look out of place with either.

One thing it won't be is bare-shouldered......I thoroughly completely dislike (hate is a very strong word, but I really don't like them at all) the current fashion for tops with a hole over the shoulder.  Is it supposed to be sexy or what?  Probably or what......it seems to be popular with older women, worn very loose so it appears to be falling off the shoulders.  Who told them it looked good, I wonder?  It certainly wasn't me.  That fashion will probably disappear when colder weather arrives and, with a bit of luck, won't be revived next summer.  It's lasted two summers already, that's two more than it should have.

Ms 64 will be moving, hopefully soon, as her house has been sold.  We hope she takes her wandering cats with her.  Not a neighbourhood tear will be shed when she goes.

We have had a builder call in to assess the damage to the kitchen cupboards, and he said the cupboard under the sink will have to be replaced.  Good news though - the damaged cupboard can be pulled out and another slotted in its place with the door re-used, so the kitchen will look the same as it does now.  The kick boards will be taken off and either replaced with new ones, or sanded and re-laminated.  Another builder will be coming to do an assessment, and the insurance company will make the choice.  Then we sit back and wait......all the floor tiles will be taken up and replaced.  All.  That's the entrance hall, family room, kitchen room......it's a big area......even into my sewing room.  Not looking forward to the noise, dust and mess with that.......we might move out for a few days, we can set up our little caravan at a local camp ground for the duration.  Bianca will be going to visit a cattery, because it would be a very traumatic experience for an old puss.  It won't be all that great for two Olde Phartes like us, either.

We are just drifting with the flow.  Not much else we can do.

"Dress for lecture and concert.
For the lecture or concert, silk is an appropriate dress, and should be worn with lace collars and cuffs and jewellery.  A rich shawl or velvet promenade cloak, or opera cloak for a concert is an appropriate outer garment.  The later may or may not be kept on the shoulders during the evening.  White or light kid gloves should be worn."

We won't be wearing gloves.  I haven't tried it, but I imagine it could be tricky trying to play ukulele while wearing kid gloves.  I'll pass on the lace collars and cuffs, too.

Enjoy your days!

It's about time

Last year I decided to finish all my quilt tops, even if it meant paying to have the larger ones quilted.  The first step in that process was taken yesterday when my star quilt was booked in with a local long-armer, and you have no idea how good it feels.

 Even though it has just been a finished top for umpteen years and would probably be considered old-fashioned now I still like it.  How many other quilters went through the "French Provincial blue and yellow" phase, I wonder?  Sadly it's just too big for me to quilt without pain and discomfort, much as I would love to do so.

Now to make the backing from another pretty blue and yellow floral print, also bought many years ago and patiently waiting ever since.

All those cut-off triangle points weren't wasted, either.  This was made from the leftovers.  I paid good money for that fabric, and I wasn't going to chuck it out.

It's not as big, so I was able to quilt it without too much difficulty.

The proper applique continues slowly.  It has only been worked on at night while watching TV, one tree is finished and two more are still to be done.

The cortisone injection two weeks ago seems to be kicking in and my hip is nowhere near as bad, for which I am thankful.  Kevin probably is too.  This morning my regular masseuse said one of her clients, a big burly bloke, was in tears on her table one day with bursitis pain; we decided it was something we wouldn't inflict on our worst enemy.  Then again, perhaps we would......

The latest on the house:  last Friday two people from the remediation company came in to remove the last of the dead carpet and to unpack every cupboard and bookshelf in our living room ready for when new carpet is laid.  One was the female half of our first nice young couple, the other was guess who......yes, The Bloke referred to in my last post.  I hung around barely long enough to be sociable then went shopping, and by the time I returned he had gone.

So now our house is darker because grey concrete is deeper toned than beige carpet, and the rooms echo because they are emptier.  All my quilting, sewing, music and cook books, and all our music CDs, are packed in boxes in the garage.  I did keep out a few music books and some CDs, but I miss the packed-up ones.

We also found that we will need to replace our big computer desk and a wooden filing cabinet because of water damage to the bases.  Another bloke is coming tomorrow morning to look at the kitchen cupboards and assess any damage to them.

Last week's heatwave has ended and gone, thank goodness.  Each subsequent day broke new heat records, and the town recorded its hottest ever temperatures.  It was quite unpleasant; last month we had really good rain, but recent heat has dried everything out so much that any benefit from the rain is gone.

Never mind - one day autumn will happen.

"Squint-eyes and cross eyes.
Parents should also be careful that their children do not become squint or cross-eyed through any carelessness.  A child's hair hanging down loosely over its eyes, or a bonnet projecting too far over them, or a loose ribbon or tape fluttering over the forehead, is sometimes sufficient to direct the sight irregularly until it becomes permanently crossed."

Bet you didn't know that, did you?  Just think of all those little eyes blighted because a careless parent allowed a loose ribbon to flutter......

Enjoy your days!

Oh, boy

The stress levels here have been rising, but I am trying to keep a lid on mine.  Kevin is starting to wonder "what if......what if......." and I am saying "don't worry about it.  What happens will happen."

More remediators have been, and we are now two large bookshelves less than we were before The Flood.  The timber end grain soaked up water like a sponge and, as they weren't solid timber, they can't be saved.  Bugger......they were 30 years old but there was nothing wrong with them.......so long as they didn't get wet.  All the books they contained have been packed away.  Everything else in every cupboard in that room will be packed away tomorrow to facilitate laying of new carpet when the time comes, and we don't know how long it will be until it can be accessed again.

Oh well.  What happens, will happen.

Our first two remediators who removed damaged carpets and set up the noisy fans were a cheery young couple who worked like Trojans, but I didn't warm to the second two, a younger bloke and an older bloke.  The younger bloke was fine, also a cheery young feller, but the older bloke (and he isn't as old as we are, he just seems older) is one of those blokes who comes storming in like a bull at a gate.  We haven't been through this experience before so are not sure of what happens, and a little gentleness goes a long way.  His voice was loud, his personality was loud.  I don't want him in my home again.  The remediation company is sending people again tomorrow and, if that bloke walks in the front door, I will be walking straight out the back, into the car and down the road and not coming home until he has gone.

Yesterday the insurance company sent an assessor to check out the kitchen cupboards and floor tiles, and his recommendation is that all the tiles be replaced as so many have come loose.  If the flood hadn't been hot water they would have probably stayed stuck down, but the glue under them has dissolved.  The cupboards are, as yet, a still unknown quantity - until someone can get under and behind them we won't know the extent of damage or mould.

On to happier things......

Get a load of this!  Proper applique!!

 Nothing lick 'n' stick about this lot!

Love those fabrics......

I suspect my sewing room will become even more of a refuge than it usually is for the next few months.  That might bode well for a few UFOs......or I could say I am off working on my PHD, Projects Half Done.  Sounds good, doesn't it?  Especially for one who didn't finish high school......

Last Thursday night at choir Carol and I were chatting to a new member (who was slightly appalled to find out that we don't use music, but she'll soon get over that) and Carol and I, who hadn't sat down and chatted before although we have been sitting a row apart for six months, worked out that we had been at school together. Fancy that.  I have never kept in touch with anyone from my school days, they weren't the best days of my life and don't need to be revisited.  Carol was asking the names of girls in my social circle and I couldn't remember.

In a couple of weeks the choir is performing at a charity concert and our leader has asked if the uke group can perform.  There are five members of both choir and uke group but two won't be available, so we're calling in reinforcements.  It seems to have fallen on my shoulders, woo hoo!  Oh, the power......I'm not picking any songs that I don't like, they will be oldies because our concerts attract an older audience who probably wouldn't like heavy metal goth headbanging ukulele music - if so, they will be sadly disappointed.

"Introducing yourself.

If, on entering a drawing room to pay a visit, you are not recognized, mention your name immediately.  If you know but one member of the family and you find others only in the room, introduce yourself to them.  Unless this is done, much awkwardness may be occasioned."

Exactly.  Don't go barging into someone's home saying, "G'day, where's the toilet?"  I don't care how long you have been driving.

Enjoy your days!

Oh dear.......

Last Wednesday we enjoyed the fiddle concert, in fact all week we attended several concerts and heard some great music.  However, Wednesday wasn't all good.

We took the bus to town because the bus service during the music festival is excellent, and there is a bus stop directly across the road from us.  Spent time at the concert, had lunch, wandered around, chatted to friends, listened to more music, bought ice creams, then because it was hot we decided to catch the 2 P.M. bus home.  Just before leaving home we had turned on the cooler, and during the ride home we were looking forward to walking into a cool house......

......but alas, it was not to be.......

......the hot water tap under the kitchen sink had become disconnected, and hot steamy water was pouring through the kitchen and onto carpets.  The smell has been quite nasty.  We contacted our insurance company who sent a remediation company to take up the damaged carpet and see what damage there was.  They have been and gone today, and the damage is so much worse than we had realised; all the carpets in the family room, bedroom hallway and in our formal living/dining room will have to be replaced.  The bottoms of two bookcases in the living room are soaked, fortunately the contents seem to be all right.  Kick boards have mould behind them, the kitchen has signs of water damage on kick boards, and some of the floor tiles are now loose.  We don't know what damage has been done to the kitchen cupboards, so we don't know if the entire kitchen will have to be replaced too.

We also came home to a blackout because the water had shorted the dishwasher power point under the kitchen sink.  The plumber came, the electrician came, we mopped and mopped and mopped and laid towels on the carpet, but obviously it wasn't enough to deal with all the water.

The remediation folk have left two noisy industrial fans blowing to help dry out any residual moisture.  They are very efficient, but did I mention that they are very noisy?

Right now we are feeling slightly shell shocked.

Moving onto other stuff.......

Not one stitch has been taken on my row by row because we have been out listening to music so much, but now that the festival is over it will be picked up again.  My painful hip means that sitting is easier than standing or walking, so the hand applique will be a good project.  Today the hip had an X-ray and an ultrasound, tomorrow it is having a cortisone injection.  Won't that be fun?

Next week the uke group resumes after their holiday break, and it's very doubtful if I will be with them.  For quite a while now I haven't been learning anything as the class has sunk to the level of the most inexperienced players and Young Michael the teacher isn't good at standing up to a group of older women.  The music school also offers private lessons about which I shall inquire, but as I can't afford fees for both private lessons and class lessons the decision to drop the class lessons is easy to make.  I'll be happy to join them when they have a gig, if they still want me.

One lovely thing happened today!  Our visiting fiddler and I had several chats about music and I mentioned a Quebecois waltz he didn't know but that I really like, Valse Frontenac.  He left here with a copy of the music and promised to record it for me......which he has, it arrived in my inbox this morning.  He plays both guitar and fiddle on the recording and also said he will play with it, perhaps add more instruments.

Geez, those fans are noisy.

Not sure that the earth is smiling for us right now.

"A home.
After marriage one of the first requirements for happiness is a home.  It will best be found in a house or even a cottage apart from the immediate association of relatives or friends, acquaintances or strangers, and here husband and wife may begin in reality that new life of which they have had fond dreams, and upon their own actions must depend their future welfare."

Once the carpet is replaced and any other necessary work carried out, our home will feel like home again.  It will, of course, mean emptying all cupboards and bookshelves......

Those fans are really noisy.

Enjoy your days!

Would anyone like some heat?

Because we have more than enough to spare.

Never mind, it will be autumn in a few months......

Well, it seems that Ms 64 may be moving after all!  A "For Sale" sign has appeared on her front lawn.   As I said in my last post I thought she was just stirring up trouble when she told Mrs 66 that she was selling up and moving, and I have never been so happy to be proven wrong.  So long as she takes her roaming cats with her.......if she leaves them behind I suspect there will be several neighbours who will be getting a cat trap, because they are the cause of much angst.

Moving on to happier topics!

Our visiting fiddler is a nice bloke and we have all had many chats, both musical and otherwise.  He has been generous with his time and this afternoon helped me with some guitar tuning and tension issues.  He has given us tickets to the Golden Fiddle Award concert tomorrow and we are looking forward to it as there will be excellent musicians performing; after that, he will be heading back to the Big Smoke.

He has been a good sport, too.  Our hot water service has packed it in, so cold showers have been the order of the day!  Today a new system was installed so tomorrow morning's showers will again be warm.  Just as well it's been the middle of summer, because let me tell you washing long hair in cold water is not for the faint of heart.

A little has been accomplished in the sewing room.  Some applique preparation has been taking place and I have now modified the tree patterns a little to make turning the seam allowance easier.  There has also been some gorgeous green fabric dug out of the cupboard, and some pattern pieces have been cut.  It will be a new bag - are these not truly scrumptious fabrics?

The print will be the main fabric, and the shot green will be trim and handles.  Zipper will be black.  It's been in the cupboard for 18 months or thereabouts, so time it was made up.

Oh dear, I am falling apart,  It appears that I now have bursitis in my left hip - it is booked in to be treated next week, not looking forward to that but on the other hand it will be nice to be pain-free again - and I have to learn not to lean on my left elbow while at the computer, or reading, or writing, because the nerve in that elbow is inflamed.  It's now strapped with bright blue tape......talk about a fashion statement!

It's all downhill after 25, you know......

"Premature declaration.
It is very injudicious, not to say presumptuous, for a gentleman to make a proposal to a young lady on too brief an acquaintance.  A lady who would accept a gentleman at first sight can hardly possess the discretion needed to make a good wife."

I would have said the same thing myself.

Enjoy your days!

500th post - fancy that!

According to the counter thingy on blogger this is my 500th post, it was started in October 2008.  That's quite a lot of blather, isn't it?  Sometimes serious, often light-hearted.  If, in those years, I have hurt or offended anyone I humbly apologise - it was never my intention, but after all it is my blog so I can say what I like.

A new project for a new has been started, but has ground to a halt because I don't own a small paintbrush.  It has a pieced background with applique so I thought I would try the freezer paper and starch method, something I have never done before, so took myself off to the computer and sat in front of a tutorial to find out how it's done.  It wasn't a fabulous tutorial because of the tutor's hands hiding what was being filmed but I did get the gist of it, so now all the applique shapes have been traced onto freezer paper, cut out, and ironed to their respective fabrics just waiting for that paintbrush to be purchased.

Monday is usually our day for food shopping and socialising, so in addition to buying bananas and milk and other such exciting items I shall buy a small paintbrush.

The first project for 2017 has been started.

The top picture is part of a row by row (blogged about a couple of months ago) which was a gift from a friend in Victoria, Canada, on our last trip.  The pieced strips in front are the background fabrics for the new project, a row by row from northern Ontario - thank you, Rose Marie!  The fabrics are the same, not surprising since they are all by Northcott (under the 'Archives' tab, 2015 Row by Row Experience), and the Cunning Plan is to turn them both into table runners by adding a narrow dark brown border then a wider pine tree green border.

Today in the Small Smoke it is mild with a pleasant breeze blowing, quite a change from the heat of the past week.  I'm sure it's not just me getting older......something over which I have no control, but I would if I could......but summers seem to be getting hotter than they used to be.  Once we would have the occasional few hot days with one or two very hot to spark us up a bit, but now we have a week of heat wave temperatures.  The past week has been nasty, with nights too hot for refreshing sleep.

Never mind, it will be autumn in a few months......

Late in January there is a big humungous ginormous country music festival held here, and the diehards have been arriving since before Christmas.  They quite happily pay camping fees for that extra month to get a good spot.  Our neighbour across the road refers to them as 'the bumpkins'.  They do, however, spend a whopping amount of money while they are here so we are all nice to them.  We were asked by one of the organisers/performers, who runs a fringe festival within the big festival, if we would billet another performer for a few days and we said yes, so we will be having a really good fiddle player staying here!  Yee har!

A couple of days ago our neighbours at No 66 moved out and soon we will have renting tenants living next door.  Ms 64, the cause of their moving, told them that she would be putting her own place on the market too - she is a nasty woman.  It hasn't appeared in real estate listings so far; we are tipping that it won't appear at all, that she was just stirring up trouble and leaving bad feeling behind.  It is quiet now, they have left a lovely garden behind and Mr 66 was out mowing or blowing nearly every day.

"Politeness.
Politeness is kindness of manner.  This is the outgrowth of kindness of heart, of nobleness, and of courage."

Something Ms 64 is lacking in spades.

Enjoy your days!

Settling back home again

Much as I like being away and coming home, unpacking is not much fun......sorting out stuff, washing clothes, putting things away......but it's nearly all done now.

We had a good time except for the heat.  Fortunately it wasn't ~quite~ as hot as our trip one year ago, but inland Australia is usually hot in summer anyway.  Never mind, in a few months it will be cooler.

We had a fun 2nd birthday celebration with Euan, who says "Hello" beautifully.  He had learned "Hello, Gan-puh" by the time we left.  Me, I don't have a label yet......"Grandma" is still being worked out, it seems.  Perhaps it will be achieved by Easter when we see him again.

 He liked his birthday cake.

We also enjoyed our family Christmas, the first one for a few years!  Usually it's just the two of us.

The night before we left I decided that I needed a 'car knitting' project because we would be spending a long time driving, so yarn bought last April in Bendigo, needles and pattern were taken along.  The first stitches were cast on as we left town here, and when it was all measured yesterday - the day after returning - this much has been done of the back, only a few more centimetres remain to the armholes.  Colour is light blue with a hint of lavender.

 Just think of all the knitting time which would have been wasted if it hadn't been taken along!

A day or two before we left the final stitches were taken on Winding Ways, and it was finally photographed yesterday.  As you can see not all black is dark, and not all white is light.

 The back.......yes, they are cows.  A bloke on the other side of the hill owns them and they often come down our side of the hill.  We don't mind seeing them, but at times it smells somewhat......rural.

The next project will be started soon.  Very soon.

While in Canberra we saw two exhibitions,  One was "Versailles" at the National Gallery of Australia, and while it was interesting I don't think I could have lived in that palace.  By the end of our visit I was just about ready to run through the gallery waving my red cap while shouting "Vive la revolution"!

The second exhibition was, to me, more interesting perhaps because it related more to our lives.  "The Sell" at the National Library of Australia - talk about a trip down memory lane!  The oldest article in this exhibition is a small poster from 1796 advertising a play in Sydney at "the Theatre".  The first European settlement in Sydney was in 1788, so there may not have been many theatres eight years later.

On our way home we spent several days in Gulgong, a small town with an interesting history and many old buildings remaining from the gold rush days, including the Prince of Wales Opera House, a glorified tin shed with wonderful acoustics.  Their annual folk festival was held over the new year weekend, and great fun it was too; we spent time catching up with old friends, and making new ones, and listening to music.  Each night there were sessions to join in - playing and singing in the company of like-minded musical friends is, I think, one of the great joys of life.

"Requirements for a happy marriage.
Respect for each other is as necessary to a happy marriage as that the husband and wife should have an affection for one another.  Social equality, intellectual sympathy, and sufficient means are very important matters to be considered by those who contemplate matrimony."

To which I would add, the ability to stay married while sharing a small - very small - caravan for a few weeks.

Enjoy your days!