VERY LATE CRAFTY CATCHUP.

Catching up after quite a long break, due to a very hectic time of late & not feeling like I've achieved anything much.  DD is leaving to go back to Sydney for her hubby's work, which I'm finding hard to deal with, little brother's needs are always being seen to with this scheme the government brought in some years ago & seems like lots of signing of papers is never ending & lots of phone calls too. 

Garden is getting out of hand with both my back problems & weather, plus the never ending blueberry picking at this time of year.  I do enjoy giving them away though.  Oh the weather..........it's been strange.

Also, we have internet problems plus my old laptop doesn't do what it used to.  Blogger seems just a bit different too and I have  a hard time leaving comments at times.   OK.......enough of my complaining.

Le'ts play catchup..................firstly an amazing sunset one night & I've not done anything to this photo.

And this next photo is one mornings pick of blueberries.  One of these tubs went to a friend for making jam & another day I gave one of our neighbours a similar tub for her jam making too.

Now for a few bits'n'bobs of craft.............

I've been crocheting these blocks from all my leftover Attic 24 bundles I've done over the years.

They are granny squares with the idea coming from a book by Jemima Flendt called Quilt It, Crochet It.

So far it's been fun, but now the sewing together must start...........soon I hope.

A few tops I've done and possibly not shown.

1.   

This one I've call SCRAPS APLENTY  and is one of my own designs.

2.     

Another one of my designs which I have named "S" is for...............

3.                    

I made this one last year from one of Sandra's patterns from mmmquilts., but alas it is also waiting to be quilted.

4.    I have joined in with a couple of quiltalongs with Cheryl Brickey from Meadow Mist Designs.

The first one is the Malted Mystery and we have now made the centre for this medallion type quilt.

Mine so far....................

The other one I have started is from her newest book Just Two Charm Pack Quilts and we can make any one and have a sort of time line.  I'm being naughty old me and having fun with this, but not telling which one I'm doing.

The fabrics I'm using from a layer cake I've shared with a friend who is doing this challenge too.

A little peak at some HST's I've done so far.

Another thing I'm "TRYING" to do is the Chookshed Challenge which I have made the list for here.

Whoops................can't seem to download this one, so we'll leave that till I can work out how to upload the document I did.😞

Now lastly for this post, I have a fun photo of the beautiful container DH made recently sitting on my chest of drawers in the sewing room.  Isn't it just amazing!!!

All for now, but I do hope to do some more catching up with some recent places we've been which may interest a few of my blogpals.  Hopefully after this hiatus I still have a few followers.

I do read all my sidebar blogs, but can only leave comments occasionally.  

Another little problem has been my eyes and hopefully at some stage this year they will do the cataract removal, which I need when they deem necessary.

Thanks to anyone who reads this.  Take care all and hugs from Susan.

 

A BIT OF THIS........A BIT OF THAT.

 Oh dear, here I am on catch-up once again.  Let's just say it's been a stupidly hectic month so far with all sorts & Easter holidays thrown in as well, which seems to throw us into disarray for some reason.

I'll start with a bit of craft I've been doing.

This is what I've done so far for a QAL with Sandra from mmm.quilts in Canada.
It is Rainbow Neighbourhood Houses quilt, which I'm putting a little twist on.
More of that later.

My Dune crochet rug from an Attic 24 pattern.
DD gave me the pack for combined birthday/mothers day gift last year.
Enjoy doing this of an evening, along with below.

I do enjoy embroidery too and these kitty kats were in a very old QNM magazine which I kept, because DD loved them.  They have been keeping me amused lately & I have an idea of my own for the final quilt.

The Silo Trail continues..............

                                                                   COLBINNABIN

These were amazing and I took quite a few individual photos too, but we were surprised when this pulled up in the car park...............

We'd seen this before, when a gentleman gave a talk at our Car Club one morning and it always amazes me when you run into someone from near to your own town, when you are on the other side of the state.

Both the photos below were still in Colbinnabin.

A beautiful carved platypus on the log.

I love some of our older churches in country towns too.

                                                                            ROCHESTER.

I captured the art on these silos with I'm afraid a lot of background.

A possum and a kingfisher.

This time we have a painted platypus.

We've been hoping to get into the garden & do some tidying plus get in some good walking around & about, but the weather just hasn't been playing along.  I was hoping for lots of photos of quilts etc., in the wild and just get out in the fresh air.  There will be a few more posts containing the rest of the Silo Trail and hopefully lots more craft/garden etc..  One more pic for today is this......

Corellas sitting all over the roof of one of the houses behind us.  They come in huge flocks, flying around & squawking.  One of the little girls in the house directly behind us was amazed & we heard her say OMG & giggling.

Just remembered something I said I'd show once finished.

The framed jigsaw I wrote about last month.  To have it framed professionally, would probably have set us back around $200, but a very nice second hand frame purchased from a vintage shop cost all of $50 and looks great.  We are ever so pleased.

OK, I'll finish up here for today.  The sun tried valiantly to shine a few minutes ago, but is dreary again now.  

Take care all & hugs.

Susan.

HOT, HOT, HOT.......A WEEK OF MUGGINESS.

 Well, I said I'd do a couple of catchups, but with such humid weather, I've felt very lethargic & not coming into the study due to it's lack of cooling vent, but let's see what has been happening on the home front.  I'm still wary about going anywhere much, but we still keep busy & out into local countryside.  The next two pics are for my friend Kate as she planted the idea.

Bulrushes jut below Middle Farm that I talk about.  We regularly walk passed these from home and someone has used the spare bit of ground to plant up some pumpkins, which they then come and collect when fully grown.

My "leftovers" crochet rug, which I'm just finishing some borders on, thrown over a stone gateway wall just out of town.  Made up the rows as I went.

Yesterday as we were driving back from a drive to the coast & a very quick walk along a beach to the south on Bass Strait, we saw this..............

an old bus parked near Loch where there is a lovely lookout with panorama out to Westernport Bay.   Not something we'd seen there before.

BUSY BOY.

DH has been busy making bird breeding boxes for our friend who breeds Budgies, Canaries & Quail.

Hope she is pleased with them.

It's taken me some time to get my sewjo back, but a design of my own that has been on my to-do list for quite some time has come to fruition and now needs the quilter to work some magic, but then that is another story.

Bubs hasn't been behaving of late, so need to get in touch with my technician once he's back from holidays and maybe a service will be needed.

We've also been flat out picking blueberries early before the heat hits.

This mornings haul of 2150 grams.

THE GARDEN.

I've not had much mojo to garden either in this heat/humidity and last year was a bit wayward too, so just a few photos I've snapped this morning.

One pathetic looking raised bed with a couple of zucchini & a few tomato plants, which luckily have produce on them, as seen below.

The netted blueberries before and during the thunderstorm this morning.  We had 10mls in the rain gauge in an hour.  And we now have another storm brewing with the clouds getting heavy & grey and thunder rolling around now.  Wonder how much rain we'll get from this one?

And the experiment that didn't work as we actually went away for a week before Christmas, though a few marigold seedlings have appeared, so as soon as this humid weather wanes, I''ll be back into the garden, as I've missed it.

Best go as it has just started to rain & the lightning and thunder are too close for me to be still attempting to work on the computer in case there is a blackout.

Hope all is well with everyone and I'll be back next one with a few catchups & crafty bits.

Take care all and hugs.  Did you all hear that...................an almighty crack of thunder.😞

Susan.  xxx

CRAFTY CATCH UP.

 Many thanks to blogging friends who are helping me keep this little archive of happenings going.  I nearly had a meltdown over this past weekend & chucked it in, but a phone call from Joy made me take stock & we will get through this hard time at some point.  Hopefully sooner than later.  Not being able to go ANYWHERE, other than to pick up groceries (1 person per household only) or for medical reasons within 5kms is hard & 1 hour of exercise outside our home within our local area is all we are allowed till restrictions are lifted.  I have been "doing", but slowly & procrastinating over everything I do and wonder whether it is all worthwhile.  DH has been pottering too.  Some photos follow of a few bits and pieces we've been up to.

A sign for his shed has appeared & really looks good.  He has been busy this past week redesigning his saw bench.

A very little bit of produce from the garden. 3 different varieties of tomatoes that are finally ripening, 2 more strawberries & there was a patty pan squash, but I must have removed it for some reason.  Most things are taking their time to ripen due to all the cloudy & wet weather we've experienced lately.  This coming week is supposed to be all sunshine & in the low to mid 30s, so a lot more should ripen.

The corner of the verandah with my potty pursuits, looking quite good at the moment.

Actually quite pink and these two, a dianthus & geranium are nearly the same colour.

This was quilted and bound last week.  A top that has been sitting in the tub of shame for a couple of years & will be given to friends in our car club, whose little two year old is so cute.  She has had a very small baby quilt I'd finished a few years back, but needs something a little bigger now to take to grandma's house when she is being baby-sat.

I was working on this over the weekend, a project in colours that felt right for the mood I was in.  I designed an oblong log cabin some years back & put some black/grey fabrics aside for it and as I was tidying after purchasing a new cube shelf, which I'd actually put together myself with a little help from DH for the screws at the end.  All sorts came to light from the old tubs and the new system is getting me started on a few finishes hopefully & some bits to the Op Shop.

Time to put it aside and work on a QAL with my friend Joy who has been talking me into doing this for some time now.  Watch this space..............AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH   I'm being brave.

The new shelves & the basket sets I've purchased to put the UFO's in.  I went to get 2 more a couple of weeks ago & there weren't any left, but a new shipment should be in soon.  Makes it much easier to just pick out a basket & get a few finishes under my belt.  I even know why one was put away as the instructions are rubbish with a few errors for cutting measurements.  I will try and resurrect the little quilt so I can gift it to someone.

A little crochet is happening too with wool leftover from the rugs I've done over the last few years.  Hopefully this will go as planned.  It is a Mile-a-Minute Crohetalong & another thing my friend Joy is co-hosting, which you can read about here.

OK, enough from this old lady & I will keep blogging as it helpful for me in knowing what I've been up to over the years and for the wonderful friends I've made who keep me sane as much as our crafts, garden & home.  I know I'm not alone in this crisis we are experiencing, even though I do feel lonely at times and we will see the it through.

Take care all, stay safe & warm.

Hugs from Susan.

IT'S SATURDAY.

 Not much of a title, but then each day seems to come and go at the moment with not much meaning to it.

Just plodding along at home, not venturing out & wondering if this is what the rest of our lives will be like, though I've had the camera handy to capture whatever the imagination can find.

A walk very early this week near one of our new estates netted this.................something I actually detest!

The benching of the hillside into little blocks that are flat.
UGH!!!!!ugly.

TODAY..............weather!!!!

Looking from the study window at about midday.

The back verandah a little later covered in itty-bitty hail (sago snow).

Looking along the back paving beside the steps & retaining wall.

We also had a thunderstorm amidst all this and at 3.30pm as I type this it is 6.5℃  It is cold & the fire is lit, though the sun has just appeared briefly with lots more grey storm clouds on the horizon.

A FINISH and A PHOTO SHOOT.

My quilt now named "Whimsy" inspired by the colours of Attic 24's dahlia rug is now quilted & bound.
I took this photo today after waiting for a break in our weather, but it hasn't come so this is the best I could do.

I also finally finished this butterfly embroidery, which has similar colours, though I started it a couple of years ago.  Not sure how to finish the back now it's in the hoop.  Any suggestions?

This is one that didn't really come out how I'd envisioned, but I did use what I had available in my stash.  It was designed by me on trusty Quilt Wizard & I'd thought of using a plain tone on tone mauve, but this was about the only mauve fabric I had.  It is quilted and bound & although not what I planned, I don't hate it.  I've come up with the name Sonora & can't fathom why.
A very "pandamic" quilt I think.😖

Just a quick lot today after being a misery guts for most of the week, due to weather, a computer that's been playing silly, not venturing out & missing family.
Luckily I've a little project to do for a newborn bub.  That makes me happy & busy at the same time with purpose.
Take care all, stay safe & huge huggles from down under.
Susan.

PS:  Still having trouble using this new blogger.  How's everyone else coping?