Australia Day

Today is Australia Day, 26th January. It was on this day that the first settlement of white people started in 1788 in what is now Sydney. Needless to say, Sydney has a big hooley and the rest of the state less so. Other states don't celebrate much at all, I believe.

So because it's our national day I will show you some Aussie birds. First, a little blue wren. (could have cropped it and done all sorts of wondrous things to enhance it, couldn't I.....but I haven't) They are sweet little birds, are about the size of a slightly small sparrow and can be very shy. The brilliant blue head shows that this is a male in his courting livery; females are brown. If this little feller came calling he would be hard to resist.

Some of my favourites, galahs. They can be quite raucous especially in the early morning and at dusk, but I must admit to having a soft spot for them. We have a lot round here. To call someone "a silly galah" is a good-natured Aussie insult, not at all malicious.
Both those pics were taken late last year when some lovely local gardens had an open day. Two gardens more than half an hour apart, both very different.

The funeral yesterday went off well but several of us agreed that Ruth's timing was off.....it was very hot.....she could have waited until later in the year when it's cooler.........

It's hot today too, I haven't ventured out to check the beer garden thermometer but I suspect it must be close to 40 deg C, that's well over 100 deg C. Not nice. And I am drinking hot coffee.

Today I made a friendship block for a member of one of my quilt groups. No doubt about it, friendship blocks give you something interesting to try - this one was "Snail's Trail" in any shade of brown plus white, not difficult, but a bit fiddly just making one block; if you were making enough for a quilt it would be easy to chain piece. I have also started quilting my small Canadian hanging, the one with the fiddly foundation-pieced blocks. Now that it's all together it doesn't look too bad. In this heat I am taking it easy even though machine quilting isn't a particularly hot activity, but when one is sitting with one's head bent one's neck and shoulders feel quite warm after a while, and one feels quite......moist.

"Remedy for moist hands.

People afflicted with moist hands should revolutionize their habits, take more out-door exercise and more frequent baths. They should adopt a nutritious but not over-stimulating diet, and perhaps take a tonic of some sort. Local applications of starch-powder and the juice of a lemon may be used to advantage."

Perhaps it's time to revolutionize my habits.

Enjoy your days!

We survived our first country music festival

But only just......we were out every night until after midnight. It was worth it though, because the ♪music♪ we heard was great.

We ventured downtown to the main street one day to hear the buskers......what can I say.......while we expected to find many using microphones and amplifiers we were very surprised at how many were using a backing tape, playing along with their guitar and singing to a recording. Now I don't know how you all feel, but to me that's not giving an honest performance - it's karaoke. There were a few exceptions and we enjoyed their performances because they were genuine, just the musicians and their instruments, but come on folks, if you are not good enough or confident enough to sing by yourself with your own accompaniment then stay home. It wasn't only solo singers, it was even bands - one three-piece band had a backing tape! The buskers we enjoyed most were four young blokes who were a bit rough round the edges but their music was fun and they were enjoying themselves......so the audience enjoyed them too.

Didn't put any pics in this post because I believe blogger is having some issues with pictures. Over the past ten days we were out late, so we slept in, so that left less time in the days to do things including wasting spending time on the computer. And when we were here I was a bit too tired to do much. But things are getting back to what passes for normal in this household.

One thing I did start doing (because it didn't require much brainpower) was sorting my quilting and sewing magazines. They were already in shelf boxes but were in no order whatsoever. Now they are, and the boxes are even labelled. Still have to do the books. When we unpacked last year Kevin did the books while I did my sewing stuff, and while he put all the books on shelves they are not in much semblance of order. I am at the stage where I need them organised because it is difficult to find what I am looking for, and as an ex-library assistant of many years' standing I know how to do that. Just have to be in the mood........

According to the forecast we are in for a few very hot days, Wednesday is supposed to be 41deg C (about 106degF). That's a bit warm for this little black duck. But as we now live inland the humidity level won't be as high as when we lived in Sydney, so hopefully the heat won't be as unbearable. It's the difference between an oven and a sauna. So you folks on the other wide of the world complaining about the cold, just think of us melting here in sunny Oz.

Tomorrow I will be attending a funeral, a woman I have known since we were teenagers, to whom I am related by marriage as my brother married her sister. The funeral notice in the local paper advised that bright coloured clothing was to be worn, perhaps that may make what is usually a sombre occasion a little less so.

"The saddest of all ceremonies is that attendant upon the death of relatives and friends, and it becomes us to show, in every possible way, the utmost consideration for the feelings of the bereaved, and the deepest respect for the melancholy occasion. Of late the forms of ostentation at funerals are gradually diminishing, and by some people of intelligence even mourning habiliments are rejected in whole or in part."

So there you have it, I am a person of intelligence.

Enjoy your days!

What a week it has been

Like the rest of Australia and much of the world we have been watching and reading media coverage on the floods in Queensland, New South Wales and now Victoria. Stories of unbelievable heartbreak, and also of great courage. Stories of ordinary people, whose lives will never be the same again. My heart goes out to everyone involved.

And now the clean-up has started, tons and tons of mud and muck to be shifted and cleaned out of homes, gardens and businesses. Offers of help have been coming from everywhere, however what is needed at present are helping hands - literally - to clean up, and money to get people back on their feet again. Toni is co-ordinating auctions from goods donated by craftspeople. Other people have started making quilts and other items for when they will be needed. Here is an official government site with details for donations.

Over the past few months parts of Australia that were in drought until recently have been having rain......so much rain, in fact, that the water-logged ground could not hold any more. But the rain went on to fill rivers and creeks and dams even more than they already were, and they joined together across the land, until now we have an area half the size of Europe under water. We had El Nina weather conditions like this in late 1973-early 1974. Officials were expecting this flood to be bigger than the one that put much of Brisbane, Queensland, under water in January 1974......but this time the water was a metre less in height. However land that was empty then is built on now, so the damage will probably be much greater.

Although the floods are some hours away from here this town will still be affected. So far attendance at The Festival - the big country music festival held here in January - is down, roads to the north have been closed so some people can't get here, and some attendees and performers live in areas affected by floods. One couple who arrived here last week and were in a campground saw their house on TV as it went under the floodwaters. The Festival brings a lot of money to our town but that will be down this year too. Various sports organisations collect fees for letting people use their grounds for camping, fees which are then used to improve the grounds and amenities for the players, but there will less this year. Motel bookings are down, and restaurant/food outlet takings will be less. While this is nothing compared to the losses suffered by people in flooded areas the effects reach far and wide.

But the wombat household had some good things happen, my prize from Quilting Gallery's Birthday Bash Giveaway arrived! So far I have read "Wild Goose Chase" and enjoyed it, what a fun read. Terri Thayer is the author, they arrived direct from her - and they are signed too! Thank you Michelle for having the giveaway, and thank you Terri for the books.
Isn't this interesting? It's made from, I think, wheat and came from my Secret Santa Lucy in the UK. This is a fun exchange run each year on a music list - I was 'Santa' to Allison in New Hampshire. Last year my 'Santa' was in Northumberland, England, and my 'Santee' was in Texas.....so you see, it's very international.
Lucy made everything she sent including a pretty necklace with green beads, a bright yellow bracelet, and a beautiful star ornament. While it looks like a Christmas star I am thinking it could hang in my sewing room to be enjoyed all year round. Santa's elves were so busy that it arrived a little after Christmas but that didn't matter at all, such lovely pieces were worth waiting for, weren't they?

Our lovely neighbours moved out last weekend, and the new ones moved in today. We had to ask the removalists to shift their truck, which they had parked right across our driveway while they were unloading - asking us if we needed to get our car out first would have been courteous. As it happens, we did. While we know that was the fault of the removalists and not of the new newcomers it doesn't start the neighbourly relationship off well, does it?

Tonight, and each night for the next week, we will both be volunteering at festival concerts - we are looking forward to seeing some performers whose work we have previously enjoyed, and also those new to us.......volunteers get free tickets, woo hoo!

"During the performance complete quiet should be preserved, that the audience may not be prevented from seeing or hearing. Between the acts it is perfectly proper to converse, but it should be done in a low tone, so as not to attract attention. Neither should one whisper. There should be no loud talking, boisterous laughter, violent gestures, lover-like demonstrations or anything in manners or speech to attract the attention of others."

We know how to conduct ourselves properly at a concert. Let's hope the rest of the audience does, too.

Enjoy your days!

The stash hunt was successful!

As you can see below, the diagonal striped fabric was found! The spotted fabric was also found, but not in my stash - it was purchased in a local shop. The stash has enough tone-on-tone fabrics for the stars so, with a bit of luck, I shouldn't need to buy anything more until it's time for the backing.

This is the beautiful gardenia given to me when I left Sydney - has it really been more than eight months ago now? My lovely friend Liz of the beautiful voice bought it on behalf of the folk club. It has grown really well and recently started to flower.
Of course the flowers start off white but I didn't take the pic at the right time.....you can see a shy white bud hiding in the foliage.......however, I love the creamy colour of the flowers after they have been out in bloom for a couple of days. This was taken on a rainy day.
The Dresden Plate block I mentioned in the last post. Life is too short to be dull, isn't it?
At present I am working on a small hanging that was a kit bought on our visit to Canada - was it really so long ago? - in October, 2009. It's foundation-pieced with an autumn scene, and three small blocks underneath. Heavens, isn't foundation piecing fiddly? I haven't done any for some time and now I know why. Probably won't do any more for a long time to come either. But it does make working with tiny pieces easier; the three small blocks are only three inches square, and some of the pieces in them are weeny indeed. There is a bird feeder - which will have a very small cardinal appliqued on it - a maple leaf of course, and a basket of apples. It should look good when done, if the fiddles don't get me first.

One of the green frogs visited last night, Bianca The Beautiful (but slightly brainless) white cat was agitated by something outside the back door - turned out to be a frog hopping around.

Things are changing in our town because The Festival is coming. Each January this town holds a very large country music festival with concerts, awards and all sorts of stuff. Normal population is about 50,000 and it more than doubles for half of January, isn't that a scary thought? We knew about it of course, but it didn't stop us moving here. Despite having grown up here and moving away as a sweet young thing I have never been to The Festival, it was started after I left. Not sure if we are looking forward to it or dreading it....probably a little of each, if I'm honest. We are looking forward to a series of concerts run by a musician we know from attending folk festivals for several years, but everything else will be new to us. Reaction from locals varies from enjoyment, to tolerance, to dislike, to absolute vitriolic hatred.

At The Festival I believe there is an inordinate amount of line dancing, boot scooting or whatever it's called......scary. Line dancers never look as though they are enjoying themselves, do they? They remind me of free-range chooks pecking round a farmyard. Having seen some in action all I can say is that ladies of A Certain Age should not wear tight (to the point of pain) jeans or satin shirts with fringing. Satin is a very unkind fabric.......

"Evening dress for ladies.

Evening dress for ladies may be as rich, elegant and gay as one chooses to make it. It is everywhere the custom to wear full evening dress in brilliant evening assemblages. It may be cut either high or low at the neck, yet no lady should wear her dress so low as to make it quite noticeable or a special subject of remark. Evening dress is what is commonly known as "full dress", and will serve for a large evening party, ball or dinner. No directions will be laid down with reference to it, as fashion devises how it is to be made and what material used."

Now I am going to fiddle some more with tiny pieces of fabric. However should I still be sewing when evening arrives, I shall make sure I am correctly attired. The daggy shorts and tee currently adorning my person may not be suitable.

Enjoy your days!

It's all go here.......

How are you all recovering from Christmas and New Year? We had our older son and his girlfriend visiting, then we had a lovely catch-up with friends on their way back to the Big Smoke.

Since Christmas My Lovely New Bernina has been powering along like a little steam engine.......two new pairs of pyjamas are now gracing my wardrobe, a quilt block has been made because Kiera-Oona and I are making blocks to swap - we decided on Dresden Plate for our first block - a friendship block is finished for one of my quilt groups, and I took a look at this year's challenge for my other group. This 12in block is called "Lotus Flower" and is to be set three across by four down as shown below. I drew it out in EQ7 then started playing with it, because I have to say it didn't float my boat when I first saw it and I was hoping for Inspiration to strike. In fact, I was somewhat underwhelmed.

However......by some judicious use of colour, and by eliminating some of the lines inside the block, this is what it turned into.
Any resemblance to the eponymous Lotus Flower is purely coincidental.

I am thinking a small black-on-white print for the background....teeny stars or small dots, something like that.......with bright tone-on-tone fabrics for the large whirly stars and a slightly paler fabric for the pinwheels. Deep in my stash is a fabric printed with cheerfully bright narrow diagonal stripes, each edged with a fine black line. I think. It's been a while since I dove that deep into the stash, however it would make a great border for this quilt so I shall mount an expedition, pack a lunch and hunt for it. I was hovering between a black solid or black and white print with more black than white for a narrow border, but that looked somewhat gloomy on the screen, so I am thinking one or two bright narrow inner borders might be more suited. We're talking cheerful here, folks. Not gloomy.

This will be the year I will tackle quilting some of the tops in my cupboard. I am encouraged by my recent machine quilting efforts, so have decided that I will pin one together and have a go at quilting it. When that's done, I will pin another together and quilt that. I am not in a race to see how quickly they can get done because I still intend to be working on other piecing and clothing projects in the meantime. But if I feel like quilting then there will be a quilt waiting to be worked on.....if I want to piece, there will be a project to be done too. If I want to make clothing there is also plenty of fabric waiting to be used.

I am not making resolutions, just trying to set a few goals. By the end of this year I hope to have more things to show for my time.

"Idleness a source of misery.

Perhaps the greatest cause of misery and wretchedness in social life is idleness. The want of something to do is what makes people wicked and miserable. It breeds selfishness, mischief-making, envy, jealousy and vice, in all its most dreadful forms."

My goodness! Does this mean we are not allowed to go to bed and sleep? Because I don't know about you, but I think I'm quite idle when sleeping.

Enjoy your days!

Happy New Year!

It is nine minutes into 2011 - so best wishes for a fantabulous New Year!