Wednesday 6 February 2019

IT STARTED WELL!!!!

Ah, today started with all sorts of plans in my head.  Eat breakfast on the verandah, as it was mild, overcast & fresh.
Being sung to by these two on our TV aerial.
After the usual housework, I decided to get to grips with a quilt that has been languishing on the machine, off the machine for unpicking, then back on the machine.  Photo one taken just after morning tea at about 10.30am
Photo two taken around 11am.
Yes, we are off again, due to a few issues with the belts which are connected to the computerised system of my machine.  While I wait for a phone call about all this, I am doing a long overdue blog post.

Due to all the "extreme" hot weather we've had lately, it's been a bit "stay in & try to keep cool" and I don't enjoy being too housebound.  There has also been so much smoke around from the fires, which are still burning here in both Victoria & Tasmania, which has made being outside unpleasant.  Anyway, lets go on a photo heavy couple of days out.
DAY OUT 1.
Powlett River Mouth.
Our youngest son J, came down from Canberra for a few days with B2 & Little E & one day they thought they'd like to go to the beach.  It was one of our milder days, so we all set off to find somewhere along the coast & we ended up here.
The river near where we had parked.

Walking further down, you have sand dunes on the far side.
Just on the ridge line, we have J & B2 looking out to sea.
DH & I didn't cross the river, as I had shoes on & didn't want to get my feet all sandy to put back into them, but one day we will go across at low tide, which is what it was.  We walked on out to the rocks where the river flows out to sea.
DH making his way along the riverside with the waves breaking just beyond.

Another look at the dunes.

Don't these colours look stunning?  Rocks, crustaceans & seaweed.

I suppose you are now wondering what on earth this is.  As we were walking down along the riverbank, we'd noticed horse hoof prints & came upon this, which both DH & J remarked looked like a dead horse!!  The kids were a bit shocked..............but it was weird decomposing seaweed, which, if you had imagination did resemble a horse in the sand.  We saw more of this decomposition "stuff" as we walked, but mostly in grotty looking lumps.

DAY OUT 2.
Blind Bight & Warneet.
Last weekend on another cooler day, we set off for a drive/walk & ended up going back to a place that we once went into & out again due to time restraints, but always said we'd go back to explore.  This happened to be the day.  Somewhere we'll go to again for some walks.
We headed to the floating jetty at Blind Bight first.
A picnic area looking out over the mudflats & mangroves.

The mudflats at low tide.

I think this sign says it all.

Can you see the jellyfish?

Little mangroves poking through the mud amongst the rocks.
 As we wandered along the track from the mudflats we came to two ponds with a path between them & sitting on one of the posts is a shag.
                                      And here we have a bee in the centre of a gum blossom.
              Hopping back into the car to drive on to Warneet, we stopped to take this photo.
Warneet is only a stones throw from Blind Bight, but quite a different feel, with a long jetty & plenty of boats moored hereabouts.
Some odd photos to finish up on, but I know that we'll be popping back to this area again before long.
People who know me well, won't be surprised to see a tree photo.
I wonder which way the prevailing winds blow?
                                      The new community centre sports this lovely mail box.
 
The boatyard with works in progress.  Whoops, that sounds like a 'quilter' talking.

This said "quilter" is trying to put together a section on my blog called TALKING QUILTS, which I was going to start at the beginning of 2019.  Alas, it's still in my head & hopefully I'll make a start before February ends.  It will deal with how I go about finding ideas, focusing on using my stash, books/magazines (authors/designers will be given credit when used) & how I now play with a computer program as well.  I started out 40+ years ago with absolutely no idea of what I was doing or where it may lead, so for me this will be a bit of documenting my journey.  The gallery pages I hope to update too, with lots of photographic sessions so you see finished quilts instead of only pieced tops.
OK, enough from me today.  This started as photo archive of my day, but we ended up with some long overdue ramblings, because of a long-arm machine glitch. 😊
Take care all & huggles from Susan.

25 comments:

  1. Thank you for taking us with you on your jollies-out. I could smell the warm air and feel the heat. Did I spy some holiday planning going on with breakfast??!

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    1. Thanks Kate. Ah, the AA atlas. We are pondering lots of different things.

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  2. I hope you managed to get your machine sorted out. What lovely places for a couple of days out and about and how nice that your son was with you. That seaweed did look a bit like a horse, it's funny how our eyes can play tricks on us.

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    1. Thanks Jo. Think the machine will be OK now. K tightened the belt & the tension is a lot better.

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  3. good luck getting someone to fix your machine, hope it's up and running soon.

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    1. K tightened the belt & it's running a lot better, so I'll do another couple of rows on the practice piece, then get the other back on.

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  4. Your weather is dry and yet in Townsville where I have a friend they have floods!

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    1. Yes our weather down south has been very dry & I've a cousin in Townsville & do hope all is OK for him. I need to ring again & find out.

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  5. It's always nice to be beside the water, even better to enjoy it with family.
    Hope your quilter got fixed.

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    1. I also love the seaside, having spent my childhood not far from the ocean in Sydney. Machine is a lot better.

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  6. Lovely photos of your days out. Your walk on the mudflats looks fascinating. I hope you manage to get your machine sorted out so you can complete your lovely quilt. Stay safe and cool in all that heat:)

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    1. Thanks Rosie. Machine is hopefully fixed & ready to go. It's been cooler today.

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  7. Good to see a post from you! How annoying that you're having trouble with bubs... looking forward to reading your "talking quilts" series! xx

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    1. Thanks Joy & I think she is on the mend. I've got to pick either a definite date of week of the month for series. Talk soon.

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  8. I love the sea so it is nice to see your coastal wanderings and all the bizarre and beautiful things you came across. X

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    1. I love the sea & need to get there at least once a month if I can.

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  9. Mangroves and mudflats sound so tropical - thank you for the dose of sunshine Susan :) Does your machine do the beautiful finishing pattern stitching you see on quilts ? Good to have a handy mechanic in the house :)

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    1. The mangroves here in Victoria are some of the most southern in the world & we're definitely not in the tropics, but I'm used to them as we had plenty around Sydney too. They act as a slowing barrier if there are tidal waves, so just a trivial piece of info. The machine does do the stitching you see on quilts & K is very clever with his hands & ingenuity. Thanks for asking Fil.

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  10. I look forward to your Talking Quilts section; you have lots to share, I'm sure. Lovely photos, and interesting particulars. That snake crossing sign I saw Blind Bight picture would make me turn around and get back in the car.

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    1. Thanks Joanna & I hope my series works out how it is in my head. Aha, somebody has noticed the "snake" sign. There are lots of those about here in Oz. I have seen them on the odd occasion, but they usually scoot off pretty quickly.

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  11. Another of your amazing posts! Too many gorgeous photos to comment on them all :(

    When you started I thought you were doing a "Day in Pictures" post, but you added lots of lovely other stuff too, see the Atlas is out . . . doing some planning by any chance? (giggle).

    Hope your machine is fixed soon. Would you believe your photos gave me a pang of sadness? I love the way my Millennium stitches, but IMNSHO the Gammill table is far superior and I REALLY MISS IT. If I could put my Millie head on Gammill table I'd be set for life.

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    1. Thanks Jayne & yes it was supposed to be a day in pictures, but you never know what a day in the Smith household bring with it. I didn't have the APQS table, only the head & rollers, but then that is another story in itself.

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  12. A couple of lovely days out, I enjoyed seeing your photos :)

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  13. Hope your machine is sorted now.
    I enjoyed seeing all of your photographs.

    All the best Jan

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  14. Thank you for sharing your photos on a lovely day out, the quilt looks stunning, machine fixed ?
    Amanda xx

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