Well.....

.....I won!  Yay me!!

You could have knocked me down with the proverbial feather yesterday when my name was announced as the winner of the Mature Performers' concert at the Eisteddfod.  It's a mixed bag......we had poetry reciters, solo singers and various instrumental ensembles ranging from a string ensemble to a clarinet choir, no doubt making the job of the adjudicators a bit difficult.  A bit like comparing oranges and apples, I would think.  The winner is the performer judged to be 'the most entertaining'.  I played my tenor ukulele and sang a song arrangement that I worked out a few years ago, a mix of 'Five foot two, eyes of blue' and 'Ain't she sweet' that I call 'Ain't my girl sweet'.  I could see some of the audience singing along - they even worked out how the songs twisted together, and I was given a great round of applause.

So now I have my own trophy to keep forever (still to have my name engraved), a perpetual trophy (also to be engraved with my name) that I get to keep for a year, and I was even told there will be money.  How about that?

What a year.  A few months ago my hanging won a blue ribbon at the show, then I win at the Eisteddfod.....what next, I wonder?  Where does one go from here?

Not one pic has been taken this week as it's been rather busy, as you can imagine, but we can trawl through the vaults.

Autumn in Canberra is always beautiful; it's a colder climate than here and usually puts on a great display of colour.  These pics were taken at an 'Open Garden' visit.  This has to be the most fragrant rose I have ever smelled, it was climbing along a trellis by a small lake.  If you are into roses it would make a lovely addition to your garden, just look up 'Nahema rose' for details.

 I don't know who, or what or where 'Nahema' is.

The garden had many large pine trees blocking the light and it was an overcast day, so the bright leaves on this plant really shone out.  I don't know what it is....some sort of oak, perhaps?

There was a small lake - the rose trellis was along one side of the water.

Just inside the entrance we were greeted by these colours.

The blue and green blocks currently spread out will be pinned to the sheet under them so it can be rolled up, as the spare bed they are on will be needed for a visitor this week.  I am happy with the layout as it is, and that will keep them in order until they can be sewn together.  The ukulele group has a gig during the week at a retirement complex - we have played for them before; they like our songs and they also put on a scrumptious afternoon tea for us - that will be the last of the current musical calendar for a little while, so sewing can come to the forefront again.

No diamonds have been joined and no more have been cut, although that needs to change soon.  Words have been read and stitches knitted. with not many rows remaining until the front is divided for the neck.  When I receive my prize money it may be spent on some more knitting yarn.....the blues and greens of 'Mystic' appeal to me, but then, so do some of the other colours.....decisions, decisions....

Continuing on with Etiquette of the Street:

"It is rude to sneer at and depreciate goods, and exceedingly discourteous to the salesman.  Use no deceit, but be honest with them, if you wish them to be honest with you."

Indeed.  This is one time when it is probably preferable to say nothing, rather than to be negative.  You can always vote with your feet if you are unhappy with the goods on offer.

Enjoy your days!

A mixed week

Some good things, and some sadness.

Sadness because we had to bid farewell to a good friend, who died recently.  We were unable to get to the funeral but were still able to 'attend' via the wonders of technology.  The world isn't the same without him in it, but we have many memories of sitting with him and his wife over a cuppa and home-made treats (he always enjoyed my fruit slice) here, of meeting them at country pubs for lunch, sharing drinks and dances at folk festivals, and attending concerts together.  

That recipe will be forever known as 'Colin's favourite' in our household from now on.  The recipe is tweaked every time I make it, but it is always good.

One of the good things - the last of my blue and green blocks are done, yay!

Two larger and four smaller......then came the fun of laying them out.  It's difficult to get a good pic when one is short, but a small set of steps helps a bit.  

This may not be the final layout; it will be checked occasionally before starting to sew blocks together so any tweaking as to colour and/or value can be made.  Unlike many quilts it isn't constructed in rows, so a copy has been made for drawing lines on and planning the sewing sequence.  It isn't big - 48 in by 60 in without borders, but that's big enough for a lap quilt if one doesn't have a large lap.  The illustration found online showed borders.  I  would add the link so you can see where it was found, but when I go to click on the link to "quilt for lovers" the computer says "I wouldn't go there if I were you....." so I don't.  However, you may be able to see it here.  If you lashed out at a fabric shop sale and consequently had a roll of 2-1/2 in strips sitting doing nothing, this would be a good way to use it.

Quilting decisions have been made.  I will have a go at quilting it myself using wavy lines going from one side to the other, using as many different blue and green threads as I need.  My first thought was to use one variegated thread.....but which one?  Green?  Blue?  Something in between?  The idea of using a random selection in mixed colours popped into my brain and has stayed there.  The binding may be pieced from different blue and green fabrics too.

Sewing together may not be started this week as there is other Stuff needing my attention.  Next weekend is my annual chance at fame and glory performing in the Eisteddfod, something I have been doing for several years now.  Each year I enter not expecting to win, and so far I have never been disappointed....but, just the same, it is fun.  A run-through of my chosen song a couple of times a day between now and then, and I will be good to go.  I hope.

Stitches have been knitted, my jumper is really coming along quickly considering I only knit in front of TV when there is something I want to watch - a rare occurrence these days.  Words have been read.  Diamonds have been joined but more now need to be cut.

We are now well into freezy frosty chilly season.  Mornings see us waking to a coating of white on anything left outside, while not so far away folk living in frost hollows - yes, frost hollows are a thing - are seeing morning temperatures much colder than us here in our broad valley.  Reading the forecast for later in the coming week makes me think that the Big Green Jumper may have its annual airing.  The winter solstice will happen at some ungodly hour on Thursday morning but I, for one, will not be up and dancing just before 1 a.m. when it does.

Continuing on with Shopping Etiquette:

"It is rude to interrupt friends whom you meet in a shop before they have finished their purchases, or to ask their attention to your own purchases.  It is rude to offer your opinion unasked, upon their judgement or taste, in the selection of goods."

Indeed.  You may think you have better taste than your friend, and perhaps you do, but keep that to yourself unless your friend asks for your opinion - and even then, be tactful.

Enjoy your days!

Counting down to the finish

It has turned freezy frosty chilly, something to be expected now that we are racing through June, making it good weather for inside pursuits such as sewing.  We even had some welcome rain, with more forecast.

This week's finished blocks.

Long blocks behind, small in front.  I hesitated about using the frog fabric as it's not an I-spy quilt, but it's such a fun print (and it's green!) that it had to be included.  I wasn't sure, either, about the print second from left on the top, a green design on a blue background with the blue leaning more toward purple.  Various fabrics were tried with it but in the end the decision was made to go with a sharp acid green, and I think they hold hands nicely.

If my counting is correct there are only two large and four small blocks still to be made, then they can all be laid out and Big Decisions made as to placement.

My house quilt has come back out from its box into daylight once more.  Earlier in the week was quilt group meeting day so I took along my 1950 Singer Featherweight, and tried out its new 1/4 in foot.  I am not used to a foot with an edge guide but it went well, and now all the blocks are joined into diagonal strips.  Next is to join the sashings (strips are already cut) and trim them to the lengths required; as it's set on point the two middle rows are really long.  It's going to be quite a large quilt!  For the label I am thinking of making a house block in very pale colours and embroidering the quilt's name 'There Goes The Neighbourhood' on it.  

Stitches have been knitted - the front of my jumper is now up to the decrease for the armhole, yay!  Words have been read, notes have been plinked and sung.  No diamonds have been joined, but some will be during my time at the gallery on Tuesday afternoon.  On Thursday a couple of friends called in on their way further north, we had a cuppa and some fruit slice together, then waved them off on their journey.

Over the past few years I have been noticing that more and more foods have chili in them.  Now, I have nothing against chili so long as I'm not forced to eat it; when I buy smoked salmon dip I expect it to taste of smoked salmon, not of chili.....although chili doesn't really add flavour, does it?  Just heat, which is not always needed.  In fact chili has to be up there on the list of my least favourite foods, close behind tomato - which is right at the top.  One of my earliest memories is of my mother holding me down with one hand and trying to force-feed me tomato with the other.  I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now.  Don't like the taste, definitely don't like the texture.

I much prefer chocolate.....

This week will be marked by a sad farewell to a good friend, one who enjoyed sharing a cuppa and a piece of fruit slice with us.  I hope the fruit slice is waiting for him, wherever he is.

Continuing on with Shopping Etiquette:

"You should never take hold of a piece of goods or an article which another person is examining.  Wait until it is replaced upon the counter, when you are at liberty to examine it."

That is excellent advice.  If the other person buys the article and you miss out, then it wasn't meant to be yours.  If, on the other hand, you succeed in purchasing it - it was definitely for you.

Enjoy your days!

Turns out I'm not such a wuss, after all

No, indeed.  The figures for May were released a few days ago, and our town had its coldest average minimum May temperature for over 100 years.  We were even named in the article.  It was also the driest May since 1998, not a record we wish to break; some rain would be welcome, but no doubt it will fall in its own sweet time.

So....the week has been taken up with the usual pursuits, stitches were knitted (my jumper is coming along really well), more stitches were sewn on the machine (some blue and green blocks were made), words were read (because who doesn't like to switch off from the world by getting immersed in a book?), diamonds were joined during my volunteer time at a gallery, and notes were plinked and sung, but the room we use for choir was getting a much-needed refurbishment so no choral singing was possible.

The blue and green blocks are coming along nicely.  Thoughts will be thought about its name.

This week's finished blocks, squares on top, rectangles below.  My first block count turned out to be incorrect; I had thought that 21 rectangles and 31 squares were needed, but another count today confirms that 24 rectangles is the final number.  The squares required are still the same, 31.  The blocks fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, some rectangles are set vertically and some horizontally, which makes counting a bit tricky - there are no instructions, I'm working from a picture found online.  Another six rectangles are still to be made, and another eight squares, then laying out the blocks can be done.

The last of the pics taken at the National Rock Garden in Canberra.  This is Hawkesbury sandstone - the carved design would make a good quilting design, yes?

Many of the remaining buildings from the 1800s and early 1900s in the Big Smoke - Sydney - are made from this stone, as it relatively soft and easy to carve.  The elaborate detail so beloved of the Victorians was not too difficult to achieve.

Many of the buildings are decorated with carvings and statues, some of which look a bit overdone to our modern eyes.  However, there is no denying the skill required to make them.  Many years ago we were visiting one of Sydney's historic sites which was having maintenance work done and were pleased that they were using trainee stonemasons, a skill which is changing with time.  Older buildings need maintenance, so those skills will be in demand for a long time.

Some towns are starting to realise that those so-called "old" skills are still interesting - Bendigo is one - I would love to attend one of these.  Our local Historical Society is having its Spring Fair in September, and I have been asked to demonstrate again on one of my 1920s Singer treadle machines.  I have done so twice and it has always generated interest; many people have memories of such a machine in their family...."Mum's auntie had one but I wasn't allowed to touch it" etc.......but not many can remember seeing the machine being used.  I'm sure I could find fabric in my stash to make something......just maybe.....

The afternoon has flown by and there is a song waiting to be arranged, so before we say farewell for another week let's look at the etiquette book.  As Etiquette of the Street is now finished we move on to Shopping Etiquette:

"In inquiring for goods at a shop, do not say to salesman "I want" such an article, but, "Please show me" such an article, or some other polite form of address."

Yes indeed.  An expression which makes me grit my teeth and want to slap the person using it (including our son in Canberra) is "can I grab", as in "can I grab a coffee" to the staff at a café.  What's wrong with "May I please order a coffee"?

Enjoy your days!

It is freakin' cold

It is colder than freezy frosty chilly.  Record-breaking cold temperature cold.  It is downright nasty out there, which is why I'm in here by the fire with coffee brewing.  I'm not silly. 

Progress on the rattled down jumper front:

The cable design is called, very imaginatively, 'Wide cable panel'.....which it is, being 20 stitches wide with eight rows for each pattern repeat.  That makes the centre panel 51 stitches wide, and it is progressing quite quickly.  I am hoping that the vertical panel will make me appear both slimmer and taller but I fear that, at my age and stage of life, both of those hopes are doomed to fail.

Oh well.  It will be warm, at least.

During the week I took my $10 birthday voucher, trotted off to the Big Fabric and Homewares Superstore (which I won't name because they don't pay me to advertise but Aussies will know who it is), and found Just The Very Thing for the backing of my green and blue quilt.

Different shades of green with some blue swirled in.  I had hoped to find a green and blue print but had no fixed preference as to design, although abstract was preferred to a realistic print.  This fits the bill nicely.  At quilt group yesterday I made the odd (slightly smug) comment that my challenge for the year was progressing well....it's coming along nicely, I said.....quite enjoying making it, I said.....

Some blocks have been made, and more have been cut.  A decision about binding is yet to be made but I am thinking perhaps a pieced binding, something I have never done before.  Quilting hasn't been decided on either - it may be sent out for quilting, or I may have a go myself.  This backing fabric would be a good one to try free-motion quilting from the back, wouldn't it?  I might think about that.  Maybe.

This morning's market gig went off well although I don't recommend singing early on a very cold morning; some of our higher notes were a bit thin.  Fortunately we were warm inside the hall; we had fun, and our audience said nice things to us and about us.  We suspect that some of them may have driven home singing "Seven little girls sittin' in the back seat....." so now you can all sing it too.

Diamonds have been joined.  Words have been read.  Stitches have been both knitted and sewn, as you see.  Words were plinked and sung.  Time has progressed in its usual way, and here we are at the end (or the beginning, depending on how your calendar is printed) of another week.

Am I the only person who finds it annoying that everywhere we go, every purchase we make - or so it sometimes seems - we are afterwards contacted and asked "How do you rate our service?"  I let those messages drift by me out to cyberspace somewhere, and ignore them.  If I have a problem, I will tell you.  If I am thrilled to bits about you, I will tell everyone I know how wonderful you are.  That's my best offer, take it or leave it.

Continuing on with Etiquette of the Street:

"Passing before a lady.

When a lady wishes to enter a house or room, if a gentleman accompanies her, he should hold the door open and allow her to enter first, if practicable; for a gentleman must never pass before a lady anywhere if he can avoid it, or without an apology."

That courtesy seems to be a thing of the past in many places, doesn't it?  Many gentlemen still hold the door, but not everyone does.

Enjoy your days!

Rattling it down

Many years ago - many many years - a Scottish woman where I worked referred to pulling knitting undone as "rattling it down".  "I had to rattle it down to fix the mistake", she would say.  Well, I have been rattling my knitting down.....the cable on the front of my jumper was proceeding nicely when I noticed a mistake several rows back, so off I went a-rattling.  It has now been rectified and can proceed, but that will teach me to be careful about keeping track of where I'm up to; over the years I have knitted far more complicated cables than this one, and they always work out in the end.  

That jumper may be needed this winter!  The weather has turned freezy frosty chilly with frosty morning and (mostly) sunny days, although today is grey with a nasty wind blowing.  Inside is definitely the best place to be.

A few days ago Kevin took the secateurs to the bottle brush just outside the garage.  It's been getting ideas above its station and taking over its small part of the universe, so he cut back some of the foliage that was starting to encroach on the garage door.  Don't throw it away, I said, we'll enjoy it inside - and we are.  It's from Western Australia, and is called 'Kings Park Special'.

The day we came home from Tooraweenah we looked back at The Warrumbungles, and although it was a misty view that morning it's still an amazing vista.

Another rock from our Canberra trip.  This is from Victoria, from the Central Goldfields, an area which has seen a lot of gold mining.  Members of my family lived there back in the 1860s.

The note on this plaque pointing out "This specimen contains no gold" is in response to a robbery several years ago, when the original top rock was stolen.

It's not something you can hoist up with one hand!  It would have taken some heavy machinery to lift and remove it, and more than one person too.....a pity such enterprising people couldn't have put their 'talents' to better use, isn't it.

Words have been read, notes have been plinked and sung, practicing for next Sunday morning's market gig,  A little hand piecing has happened, but no machine piecing; the day is not yet over, far from it, but I don't hold out any great hopes.  Never mind.  Stitches have been knitted, both before and after the aforementioned rattling down, and the chosen cable design will suit very well.

My baby wombat picture is now in a framing shop.  A frame has been chosen, and two different mat boards will compliment both the picture and the frame, and my little baby should be home again at the end of next month.  Some of the components had to be ordered as they weren't in stock; I suppose framing shops can't keep huge quantities of every colour board and wooden frame, but I eagerly await my baby's return home.

The funeral for our choir member went off as well as these things do.  We do have some other older members, although Wally had been our oldest - but Bonnie is 93, so one day we may be called upon for a repeat performance.

A couple of much-appreciated comments have been left on my blog recently, but for some reason they haven't arrived in my inbox so haven't been replied to - if you think I'm ignoring you, I'm not!  Thank you for visiting, and I hope you will come again.

Continuing on with Etiquette of the Street:

"Walking with a lady acquaintance.

A gentleman should not join a lady acquaintance on the street for the purpose of walking with her, unless he ascertains that his company would be perfectly agreeable to her.  It might be otherwise, and she should frankly say so, if asked."

She should.  No gentleman worth of the name would force his attentions on a lady of his acquaintance, would he?

Enjoy your days!

Green calm below, blue quietness above

Isn't that lovely?  It comes from the writings of John Greenleaf Whittier, an American writer.  It turned up when I looked for quotes about green and blue together, and could make a suitable name for my green and blue quilt.  Here are some finished blocks, some cut ready to be sewn, and lots more luscious fabrics waiting to be chopped up.

It has made me realise that more of my greens are on the yellow side of the spectrum than the blue side.  Several blocks have been made, and more will be cut - it is turning out to be quite a fun project!

This week has seen me turning a year older.  My birthday was on Tuesday so we went out to lunch - I always enjoy a meal I haven't had to cook - and we even let our hair down with a glass of bubbly too.  I am feeling more ancient with every passing year.....

When we had breakfast with our son while visiting Canberra he gave me an early birthday gift, a beautiful print of a sleeping baby wombat by Alison Dickin.  We have a couple of framing places here so it will soon be taken to get framed; I am thinking perhaps a narrow pale wood, but will see what choices are on offer,

A couple more pics from our visit to the National Rock Garden.  Don't you think a large slab of this limestone, cut and polished, would make a dramatic wall?

Such a shame that the explanatory plaques have been scratched by small-minded people who need to find a more suitable outlet for their so-called 'creativity'.

This Metasomatite was possibly my favourite.  Close up there are many colours in it, and they are more subtle than the limestone above.  

It's quite old, too.  It's even older than I am.

Words have been read, diamonds have been stitched.  Notes have been plinked and sung.  Knitting has been knitted and pulled undone again, because I didn't like how the cable was turning out.  Another cable was found in one of my stitch dictionaries, less ornate than my original choice, but I think it will serve well.  Eventually a final choice will be made, and there will be much rejoicing.

In the morning the choir will be singing at the funeral of one of our long-time members who died recently, aged 95.  A month before Christmas he went into palliative care, we thought that was the beginning of the end - but he rallied, and went home!  However, given his age we knew this day would inevitably come so at his wife's request (she is also a choir member) we have been rehearsing the 23rd Psalm, and tomorrow we will honour our old friend with our voices.

Our little taste of winter has been just that, a little taste, and now we are in the 'cool nights and mornings followed by lovely sunny days' part of autumn.  We know it won't last, but will enjoy it while it does.  Leaves are changing, our few frosty mornings have obviously given them the "it's time now" signal, and finally we can enjoy the beauty of autumn.

Continuing on with Etiquette of the Street:

"Fulfilling an engagement.

When on your way to fill an engagement, if a friend stops you on the street you may, without committing a breach of etiquette, tell him of your appointment, and release yourself from any delay that may be occasioned by a long talk; but do so in a courteous manner, expressing regret for the necessity."

It is good to be courteous.  How many of us, I wonder, have used the "sorry, can't stop, I have an appointment" excuse to get away from someone?  

Enjoy your days!