NOVEMBER HOLIDAY PART 2

 Well, after another hectic month and another trip away for 2 family matters and all the difficulties I'm having with Windows 11, I've decided I miss blogging and being able to catch up with my blog pals I've made over the years. Too much change has left me bewildered.😕

After the last post about Hill End & Sofala, our next part of the adventure took us down the Lachlan Valley Sculpture Trail and onto The Utes in the Paddock.  I've picked out some of both my favourite photos, plus some of the better ones to show.  I didn't get the plaques about each sculpture, so just browse what I've shown.

Here we go....................

K posing with the giant Goanna

Amazing through the windscreen, so not the best.

Can't remember what this was.

This one was call "Bird in Hand" made from what looked like large chain links.

Another that I do know but can't remember at this moment.

Brumby's Run.

.  

Not too sure what the 2 below were called.

Next, we adventured further to do the Utes in the Paddock towards Condobolin.  These are Holden Utes from different years found in a paddock.  They were removed to here, and a lovely visitor centre built recently with a cafe as well. I'm just showing a few of what is on display

An overall photo I tried to capture before it rained again.

EMUTE.

MUTE UTE

UTE OPIA

UTEZILA

UTE OF ARMS

There were more, but my photos weren't the best for these. 

A couple more photos, just because.

Pelicans, ducks and other water birds on what I think is a billabong of the Lachlan River.

The landscaping in progress with a rotunda and gardens being established.

Oh..............and of course I loved the beautifully sculptured goanna.

OK, I'll leave it at that for now and this time hopefully post again on Thursday/Friday before we have a hectic weekend with car club.  It's pick newsletters up from printer, fold, label & then distribute as many as possible Saturday morning, then post the remainder.  Sunday is an outing with said club, so maybe I'll have photos for another post later this month.

Our very recent trip also took up lots of our time for my younger brother, but we did manage to do a few things for ourselves as well.  One of these was catching up friends in Bathurst/Orange area, then a BIG birthday party.................my Uncle turned 100!!!!!!!!!  We came home quite exhausted due to it being very hot over many days and also doing some work for brother at his unit.  Enough, I must get some things done instead of sitting here in the study.

Hope you all have a great week, take care and hugs from down under.

Susan.

AT LAST.................Another post.

 Last year we had several trips to Sydney to sort things for my younger brother, but we took one holiday in early November just for us.

It involved seeing friends in Bathurst & Orange at the start of the trip, so I am going to show a small selection of photos from a day out to Hill End & Sofala, old gold mining towns from our early days of settlement here in Oz.

An old church we saw along the way.

More old buildings and I was taking these through the window, as it drizzled for some time during the morning.

Once we reached Hill End, it was lovely to see the kangaroos roaming about freely.

Also, a naughty goat trying to eat the leaves from a tree.
We know that too well, as many, many years ago we had a pet goat called William.
He loved the leaves on our huge cherry tree.

Second town for the day was Sofala, where we browsed all sorts of odd places,
including a vintage bric a brac shop, along with a few fascinating other places.

In the said shop, we had a good laugh at this and later in the week DH said he wished we'd bought it for fun.

Couldn't help but notice this.  What people think up is amazing.

I've always been amused by this name we see quite often on old buildings.

Next, while wandering we saw this old car.

OH.................and what could I see lurking behind the tree...........a Morris Minor.
We just had to investigate further.

A bit of fun with this lovely old panel van
and 
below as well.

Wandering further along we did have a giggle at these mocked up loos as chairs.
So much imagination on someone's part.

Does anyone remember what these are.
If you do I expect you are of my vintage. 😉
A silent cop.

The shed full of wonderful memories for many.

Ooh, who is this loitering along the lane.

Captured!!!!!!!

As everyone knows, I love all the murals we see these days, and this is definitely a good one.

Clicking on any of the photos will bring them up full size so you can see more.  This has taken way longer than I intended, so hopefully tomorrow I can get to the next part of our trip and show the Lachlan Valley Sculpture Trail, then lots more to follow through next week too.

Have been sewing a little until my gorgeous Bernina had a hissy fit and had to be fixed, but I did finish this for myself.

A sewing caddy I made to keep over the arm of the lounge I sit on of a night.

I'll leave it at that for now and hopefully post again tomorrow afternoon, after Car Club meeting.             It's been hot again today around 30° so an easy tea tonight of salmon & veg.  

Take care all and thanks if you are still following.

Hugs from Susan.

MY FIRST POST FOR 2025.

 WILL I STILL HAVE ANY FOLLOWERS?

I can finally download photos from my camera and would like to start catching up from last year.  It wasn't the best year with the storm in February playing havoc with my PC, DD moving to Sydney, young brother with lots of health issues, my long arm not playing properly and just losing any motivation for anything.  Weather has also been very strange of late.

I'll start with a few photos of one of our travels up to Sydney, then across to Canberra to visit out younger son & grandkids.  Then a catch up of some quilts, most still flimsies.

Here goes....................

We stumbled across a car show at Berry, somewhere we know well, as when we lived in the Shoalhaven area I worked at the branch of the bank here as a casual, occasionally.

Whilst in Canberra, we visited Floriade, where the tulip display is out of this world.

I love seeing these organs.

                                                                     Gnomes above and below.

On the way home, we stopped at the lookout above Lakes Entrance and saw 2 pelicans flying about.

One of our gorgeous gums along a path near Jervis Bay.

NOW FOR A BIT OF CRAFTING FROM LAST YEAR.

A candlestick &candle DH had fun making.

CASCADE, a pattern from Canuck Quilting and gifted to Windgap Foundation for their Christmas Raffle.  This is part of the group where my brother attends Life after Work or better known as LAW,

My own pattern & made many times and shown here on the blog, which used the many Flower Faeries panels I had.  This was also gifted to a young Mum at our Fruit/Veg shop.

Two quilts I've been putting together from the myriad scraps I have accumulated over 48 years of quilting.  Above a very random piece which I will quilt once I get my confidence back with the Bubs, my longarm machine.

The one below I designed to use the cat stitcheries I was doing of a nighttime from a very, very old Quilters Newsletter magazine.  I wasn't sure about their setting, so ended up with this.  Also awaiting to be quilted.

OK, enough from me today as this Windows 11 is just so different with how things work, but I've got this far, so hopefully over the next few weeks/months I'll do a lot of catching up.

Thanks to anyone who is game enough to read this and I'm wondering how the comments bit will work, as I've had so much trouble leaving comments on some of the blogs I follow.

Hugs to you all.

Susan.

A QUILTY CATCHUP............Hoping this all works.

 Over most of this year I've been struggling with technical issues in all areas, including this PC, my laptop, our home phone and my very old mobile which I've replaced too.  Oh...... and my long-arm machine has also thrown a few hissy fits, probably because I've been so stressed and lost a lot of mojo for everything.  Along with all that my younger brother has had health issues.

Putting all that on my blog, may help me get started with this blog again.  Loading photos has been an issue, so if I've already shown some of these I apologise.  Most of these were made in 2023/4, and not all are quilted yet, so here goes.

MALTED MYSTERY.

This first photo is a QAL I was participating in with Cheryl Brickey from Meadow Mist Quilting blog & although this photo hasn't got the outer borders, it is now awaiting quilting.

TINKER TOYS.

I saw that my friend Sandra from MMM quilts had a lovely pattern in a recent magazine, so purchased the said magazine & used some lovely little sweet pea panels for the centre of the blocks.  This photo doesn't show the colours all that well & I'm still getting to grips with how the photo app works.  This is also waiting in the to-be quilted tub.  I may rename this, but this is Sandra's name for it.

MEMORIES.

One of my own designs to showcase an embroidery I did last year.  I got the beautiful embroidery from the internet, so not one I could even hope to draw myself.  I'm pleased with how it turned out so far.  To be quilted too and named properly.

ALL TOGETHER.

This was another QAL with Cheryl using her latest book Just Two Charm Pack Quilts.  I chose to use 3 different blocks from the book & work out how to fit them together.  I'm so pleased with the result & it is quilted.  We had a fun photo shoot day down on the coast overlooking Bass Strait.

CUDDLES.

Now this little baby quilt is one of my own design to use some "baby" fabric I had in my stash, ready for a little one coming & not knowing whether it was a boy or girl.  HE is here now & the quilt winged its way across the sky & ended up in beautiful Yorkshire.

MEADOW FLOWERS.

Now this is a fun photo of a very, very old quilt I made and never taken a photo or labelled it.  Out one day and seeing this great little Morris not far from home, made me think I could do a silly photo shoot.  It was hard to get a good shot with both bright sunlight & wind.  Anyway, I did the best I could.

WHITE ROSE OF YORKSHIRE QUILT.

Another not so good photo, but I may try again at some stage.  The centre of this quilt happens to be the White Rose of Yorkshire, which I did way back at the beginning of my blog in 2013/4 and last year I turned it into this and did straight line quilting on my ordinary machine.  I'm so pleased with the result.

TONKA TOYS.

Lost the plot here a bit with where I want to type, but I'll do this one differently.  

One of my own designs which reminded of the toys our sons used to play with when little boys.

I've only just done this so not quilted as yet, but did want to include it here.

HAPPPY SCRAPPY

Last, but not least and this was a fun day out for a quilt photo shoot.  Taken up at the very small rail museum at Noojee in the foothills north of us on the way to Mt. Baw Baw.  I designed this for using up some of my mountains of scraps.  It is quilted & awaiting its label.

OK enough for today & hope I can get this posted and will try and do a few posts over the coming weeks of a couple of great times away, though not a lot of good photos, due to not knowing how to download the photos from my camera to this Windows 11 setup.  Is there anyone out there with similar problems.  Just call me old-fashioned or maybe ancient.

Thanks for reading this if you come along & find me again,

Take care and hugs from Susan.