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!

The neighbourhood!

Here it is, all 61 blocks!

One of these days I might have a proper design wall, but for now it's a design bed.

The houses look a bit dull here, don't they?  Take it from me - they aren't.  Next thing is to cut 122 squares of black and white prints......which will get done eventually.  First up is to make a few blocks for the quilt group's BOMs, I had thought that by being away last month I would miss out - but no.  The whip has been cracked by one member (it's not even her block.  I don't care if someone who is away when it's my turn doesn't make a block); fortunately it's a quick easy block, as are the others.  I can see a session in the sewing room during the week, once fabrics have been chosen.

A word of advice - do not, repeat, do not, get sucked into watching 'fail' videos.  They are hilarious, and it's so easy to click on the next, then the next......some things I have learned from watching are:  adults should not, under any circumstances whatsoever and no matter how many alcoholic beverages they may have imbibed, try to use or ride children's playground equipment or toys.  It never ends well.  The ice always wins, and the human body was not designed to fall heavily (or indeed lightly) onto concrete.  One can feel one's self wincing in sympathy.

Oh well.  That's enough time wasted for today.

Last night I really pushed the boat out, and changed the strings on my tenor ukulele.  Now they need to stretch out so they can be properly tuned; goodness knows how long it had been since the last string change, and that gorgeous instrument was sounding muddy and dead.  We can't have that, so something needed to be done.  It's a month until the Eisteddfod performance, and I need to be word and note perfect with my uke sounding good.  Hopefully I don't make too much of a fool of myself.

We all tolerate heat and cold differently, don't they?  It's not unusual to see, on the same day at the same time, someone wearing a puffy jacket with a scarf and someone else in shorts and sandals with bare arms.  I feel the cold so I dress warm, but at the same time I don't mind cool weather......which is probably just as well, because next weekend is forecast to be quite chilly.

I cannot, however, bring myself to wear the puffy jacket, a garment which has been increasing in popularity for some years now.  Anything which makes me look puffed out and bigger than I already am has no place in my sumptuous wardrobe.  Those jackets are made from synthetic fabric and stuffed with synthetic filling, can you imagine how unpleasant that would be to wear?  Many years ago when a friend in the Big Smoke was getting started with a large quilting machine I let her do one of mine, and she talked me into having a synthetic polyester wadding.  Never again.  It's like sleeping under a sheet of plastic - unlike natural fibres it doesn't 'breathe' at all.  I imagine a puffy jacket would feel like that.

There have been no more signs of mice, which is good.  We do not like the mice.

"Tea or coffee should never be poured into a saucer to cool, but sipped from the cup.

If a person wishes to be served with more tea or coffee, he should place his spoon in his saucer.  If he has had sufficient, let it remain in the cup."

My grandfather (I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents as a child, I suspect my mother wanted me out of the house as much as possible) would pour his tea into the saucer to let it cool before drinking it.....something which isn't seen so much these days.

Enjoy your days!

The last of the houses is done

All 61 houses are finished, the neighbourhood is complete.  Lots more cutting and sewing still to come until the quilt is done, but hey.....no hurry.

Two more autumn houses to reflect the season, both made from autumn fabrics bought in Canada.

Considering that, a year ago when the first house was made, there was absolutely no intention whatsoever of making a quilt - it is coming along nicely.  My houses were, in common with many other quilters around the world, a 'lockdown' project......but onlike many of those, mine is still unfinished.

Never mind.  There are no prizes for 'first past the post' in this.

Well, it has turned freezy frosty chilly!  This morning was quite cold, coldest morning of the year so far, and the 'feels like' was several degrees colder than the actual temperature.  (It felt like -6 C overnight, that's a wee bit cool)  We have been promised more of the same for the next week or so; it's just as well we had the chimney cleaned out last week, isn't it?  We can now have a fire to keep us warm without worrying about being smoked out of house and home, which is what happened when we first tried lighting it.

My birthday last weekend was, as it is these days, quiet.  The Annual Phone Call came from our son down south (he does ring more frequently than once a year, that's just my joke; "Oh! it's my Annual Phone Call!" I say when the phone rings on my birthday) and we went out to dinner.  We had thought of lunch but decided against it because most venues were offering 'Mother's Day Lunch' and we had visions of everywhere being full of happy family gatherings with unrestrained children.  The restaurant we chose was busy - and although it was in the evening there were still several small children, one or two per table.  Fortunately they were well behaved......and that's it done and dusted for another year, only another 51 weeks until the next one.

The slow cooker has made its first appearance for the year, yesterday it was used to make pumpkin soup, and jolly nice it was too when we had some at lunch today.....just the thing for a sunny but quite chilly day.  

Ten days ago the remnants of the ukulele group played for a seniors' concert, the first time we have played in public for over 14 months - and it felt so good.  The choir sang too, something we also hadn't been able to do.  Our audience enjoyed the music, we enjoyed performing, and hopefully it will lead on to better things.....and also hopefully, we hope we can get some new members.  

The mouse plague continues.  Earlier in the week Bianca caught one as it emerged from under the dishwasher but we took it away before she could bite into it; we have been spreading baits around, and while we don't mind poisoned mice we don't want a poisoned kitty.  We haven't seen any more signs of activity since - fingers crossed that they have moved on, although the current cold weather may drive them indoors.  They are doing a lot of damage to a widespread area, infesting crops, causing fires by eating electrical wiring both in houses and vehicles, and similar nastiness.  People are looking to buy baits and traps to get rid of the little buggers but they are in short supply everywhere, it seems.  

I'm all for loving the creatures with whom we share our lives on this planet, but I draw the line at letting mice live in the house.

"Do not leave the table before the rest of the family or guests, without asking the head, or host, to excuse you, except at a hotel or boarding house."

The mice don't need to ask to be excused, they can get up and go at any time.  We won't think them impolite if they do so.

Enjoy your days!