CATCHING UP ---- AGAIN!

Now where do I start?

Ok, we'll begin with the day out to the zoo, last Friday with DD and family.  I'd never been to Melbourne Zoo before and looked forward to seeing the family, but found some of it just a bit stressful.  I'm not sure I like to see large animals without lots of freedom, but that's just me.  I did love the butterfly house and although it sprinkled on and off, I did enjoy the day on the whole.

Peacock posing for many cameras, including mine.

Butterflies feeding.

Isn't this one beautiful.

Saturday saw us set off to Phillip Island to pick up the last of my "SWAP" gifts, which didn't go exactly to plan.  The place (not giving too much away), where we headed was in the throws of renovation and they are marketing their wares differently, hence not being to get exactly what I wanted.  I gave in and purchased something along similar lines and have made the best of it.
Next, we went on a mini adventure to the other end of the small island to see if we could spot seals on the rocks.  Even with our binoculars, I wasn't sure if I could make any out, but do have some great photos to show of the island and some wildlife.

The Nobbies, just beyond the main island.

Many headlands and coves along the island's coast.

Looking down to one of the many coves.

The penguin viewing area, where the Little Penguins cross the beach at dusk every evening on the way to their burrows.It is very controlled and no photos are allowed. 

Cape Barren Geese, one of the island's lovely inhabitants.

Monday I made a Lemon Shortcake and we picked our first blueberries.

Yesterday I finished quilting this.

OK, so this is the back.
I have a 'confession' to make.  I am trying to write a book, but don't know how to write patterns.  I design by using my Quilt Wizard software or on graph paper and just make notes for myself.  I've been asked several times if I have a pattern for something and my mind boggles as to how to put it down in understandable format.  I've produced quite a few tops that DD thought would do well as a book, so now I'll get them quilted and see if I can't do it.

Today I went to the Post Office with this.

Xmas Swap gifts should now be somewhere in the system ready to fly off to their destination.

ANNOUNCEMENT.

"We have frogs in our pond".  Some of the tadpoles are now wee frogs.  I can't believe that they grow legs and lose their tales.  Amazing.  I'll try and get a photo when a little larger.  I find nature so fascinating.


So that has been our week so far and now will settle in for the night after having a lovely massage this afternoon.
Hope everyone is having a good week and take care.
Susan.

A LITTLE OF NOTHING!!!!!

A bit absent of late, but I am still here.  I'll post bits and bobs occasionally till I feel a lot better than I do now.

MY FIRST QUILT.

Most people probably don't know that I made my first ever quilt in 1977 between the birth of my two boys. (Dec 1976 and Jan 1978)  Now work that one out and you realise they were pretty close.  My great aunt suggested it and sort of told me what to do.  Cut 6" squares from leftover dressmaking fabric of which I had a lot from years of making my own clothes, as well as DD's, put in some wadding and a back.  Wadding was so thick back then and I think all polyester.  I possibly sewed the back to the front, put in the wadding, then tried to quilt across it, not very successfully, but it lasted from then till about 2004 when my late cat passed away and it was by then falling to pieces.  The boys played on, under and with it for many years, then our two cats used it to sleep on.  I found this photo of it when sorting through some photos one day.  Glad I have some sort of record.  I've made many more since then.

First quilt.

I've suddenly noticed this photo must have been taken whilst we lived in Tasmania from 1987 to 1994.

Now here is a photo (taken today) of how my sewing machine is set up and is especially for my US blogpal Joanna.  Hope you now understand what I was trying to say in the comment.

Not done too much, though I have managed to quilt the little quilt I showed last time and have even  machined the binding ready to finish.  I've hardly even used the camera much.
I have a large project I really want to get done, as it has been in the pipeline for years.  I thought if I try and get stuck into that it might actually happen, so just another bit of info if I don't get to your blogs a lot over the coming weeks.  I don't want to tell what it is, in case it doesn't happen.

Just a note to end on.  I do wish we could have PEACE in this wonderful world of ours and my thoughts go out to all those affected by this latest incident.

Have a great week all and take care.
Susan.

NOVEMBER CATCHUP

Boy, I am rather behind on posting, so will do a quick catchup.

CRAFTING WITH LEFTOVERS.

2 1/4" strips leftover from bindings.

These are being sewn together 'willy-nilly' and then I'll work on a layout and it will become a picnic rug for the car.  Over the 35+ years I've been quilting I've accumulated a lot of these strips, although some have been given away over the years for charity things.

The above little quilt has been sitting over the machine for a week now.  I made this in the late 90's in a workshop with Mary Ellen Hopkins and will be popped in with the other charity quilts.  I really do have a lot of things to finish.  Oh dear!

THE WEEKEND BEFORE LAST.

On the Sunday, we decided to visit the State Rose Garden of Victoria, as I knew the roses should be well out by now.  We'd had quite a hot week, then on Saturday morning a deluge of rain, but although a bit battered they looked very colourful.  We then went on to visit DD and grandkids before heading back across Melbourne to here.

The above 2 pics are overall views from a rise.

One of the many swags.

A new rose in the trial bed.

OUR GARDEN.

Not a lot to show at the moment.  Weather has been quite erratic with cool days amongst warmer and humid ones and today is about 30 with tomorrow predicted to be only 17 with some rain.  As for rain, last month we had 28mm, the lowest for October that we know about and yet we've already had 24mm this month.  Crazy!

We've netted our two large blueberries to hopefully deter the birds.  It was very hard trying to get a photo of the actual blueberries, but that is a little of what is on the bigger of the two, below.

I'm still not feeling 100%, but am trying to get at least some things done.  This morning I made an easy ginger cake and a date & walnut slice.
I've also been trying to get some Xmas gifts done as well as the 12 Days of Xmas thing I've joined in with, from Jo's blog.  These are all a bit secret so can't show anything.
Well, I'm off to water some pots, do the veg for tea and then just after 7pm will be talking to someone on the other side of the world I hope.

Take care all and have a good week,
Susan.

AHHHH! FINISHED.

The two baby quilts are done and ready to be picked up on Monday, so now I can concentrate on my Xmasy bits.

The two baby quilts.

DVD on whilst I worked, although I don't really watch it, I can hear what is being narrated and look up occasionally.

I do tend to worry whilst working on other people's quilts, which is why I don't do many.

SECRETS THINGS.

I so wish I could show a couple of other things I've been working on, but, alas it's top secret till the festive season.

GARDEN BUSINESS.

Not much has been happening on the garden front, but these few bits have flowered and the veg seemed to have had a growth spurt (as well as the lawn).

My only stem of flowers on the blue ixia.

The water lily is flowering and is actually pale lemon.  Seeing they are only fully out when very sunny, it's hard to get a good photo.

BARGAIN.

Whilst in one of our local supermarkets on Tuesday, I spied these being marked down "for quick sale".  $3 for this small bunch and a couple of heads had fallen off, but lisianthus are so pretty.  I popped them into the vase along with some pittosporum picked from the hedge along our back fence and put them on the hall table.

Purple lisianthus.


AND WHAT ELSE?

One of the baby magpies that seems to have adopted us.  I've called "it" Buddy and most days he visits and hopes I have a little snack waiting.  Not brave enough yet to take it from my hand, but does come quite close.  We had a barbecue one night and he followed hubby about the verandah for  a time.  Best picture I could get as he kept moving.

LAST.
On Sunday we had a lovely drive down to the coast.  Sandy Point looks out over Wilsons Promontory and you can drive along the beach., so we parked the car and ate our lunch, then went for a walk.  The photos aren't great for two reasons.
1.  It was a very hazy day.
2.  I have a dirty mark on my lens.
Hubby checking out the view  and a photo of Wilsons Prom on the horizon.  This is a rather spectacular spit of land which once joined the mainland of Australia with  Tasmania which is now separated by Bass Strait.  Sorry to the lady who walked into the pic as I took it.
I'm having trouble with the photos jumping today and the narrative not going where I want, so will wind this up with a big gap between this and the photos.

Hope you are all having a good week and take care.
Susan.

POOTLING ALONG

A busy week, but not much in the way of photos taken, as it seemed to be made up mostly of appointments and such.
Monday, the doctor, Tuesday, dentist, Wednesday, optometrist and Thursday, a massage.  Friday saw us head towards Melbourne to shop for a couple of things not available here in our area.  On the way home, I stopped off at friend V's and found she'd been hospital to have here gall bladder removed.  As she has a long-arm machine too and not able to use it at the moment, she passed over two baby quilts to be quilted by the end of October.  That's OK as I've nothing on the machine at the moment.

On Saturday we went to the weekly meeting of the WGVRC (West Gippsland Vehicle Restorer's Club) which we recently joined.  On the third Saturday of the month, some of them go on a short run to have a barbecue/picnic, which makes a lovely outing.  This time it was out to Blue Rock Dam, where we sat and ate and chatted.  The others all left around 2pm, but hubby and I stayed and had a walk along part of the Lake and back again.  It was a nice day and not too hot.  I only took one photo.

This was the first part of the walk, then we headed toward the edge of the village and back along a path beside the road, which was shaded by lots of trees.

A LITTLE CRAFTING.
Not a lot has been done this week, but I have managed to get 'this' to a stage where it now only needs the borders.

I think it was back in May 2013, I showed these stitcheries I'd done and not sure how to set them.  A lot of graph paper and browsing through books etc., I came up with a couple of ideas how to set seven individual blocks.  Not all went smoothly, with lots of unpicking, running out of blue fabric and changing a couple of bits around.  Hopefully, once the baby quilts are done, I'll finish this.

I have managed to fit some crocheting in of a night, along with working on a few little things for my Xmas swap partner.

It's growing.

I'm probably not as far along as some, but still enjoying.

Other Stuff.
The Morris Minor is coming along slowly, with the tray sides still to be done.  It has had it's first coat of paint and we actually took it down to town today to pick up some milk.  It's not been out for about 3 months, I'll post a pic soon.
The garden is sort of plodding along and our two baby magpies have taken flight, we think, as the nest is sometimes empty.  It's been fun to watch all the comings and goings from the olive tree.

About all for now.  Have a good week and take care.
Susan.

BITS 'N' BOBS!

I can't believe another week has gone so quickly, since I  last posted.

We've had some atrocious weather with 2 days in the mid 30's, loads of dust and smoke on Tuesday, due to windy conditions.  The fire season has started very early as well as the extreme temperatures.  Not our usual pleasant Octobers.

During the week we did some of this:

A DAY OUT.
During the week we headed for a patchwork shop (Palm Beach Quilting) at Carrum to see if I could get some brown fabric to match the outer corners of that big star quilt.  They had a wideback of the same pattern and nearly the same colour, (probably a different dyelot), so I purchased enough for the borders.  We then mosied along to Mornington and another shop (Mornington Wool & Patchwork Centre), where I purchased just two balls of wool, which cost an arm and a leg (ugh!).  It is made in Peru and one is just baby alpaca and the other alpaca and silk.  It's "beautiful", and I intend making a small cowl.  I just need to download the free pattern, as they were out of printed copies.  We had our lunch then strolled down to the bay.

Boats bobbing on Port Phillip Bay.

The waves were actually breaking over the pier wall occasionally.

 Then we strolled along the beach toward the headland.

Beach huts tucked to one side.  There were a few more, but too many people sunbathing to take decent photos.

The said headland.

ON THE CRAFTING FRONT.
Remember last week, I showed the backing and batting awaiting a quilt.  Well, I got my butt into gear, and here is the result.  A small quilt I made many moons ago from a pattern by Gayle Bong called Thirty Something which was in a magazine.

Back of quilt.

Front.

The crochet along is growing, but I really need to get a few little things done for my Xmas Swap, so this may take a little longer than intended, but, boy, am I loving doing this.

GARDEN PHOTOS.

A  pink boronia out front.

Dutch iris.

Where our caravan is parked.

Overall view of the front garden.

Azalea out the back, now in full flower.

OK, that's it for now, as the photos today seem to have a mind of their own and keep moving around.
I hope all my blogpals have a great weekend and wish us some  rain please.
Take care all,  Susan.

I AM STILL HERE!!!!!!

OK, I know I've been quiet lately, but I've not been well (again!).  Seems like I have a bad case of sinus, which has sent me downhill, with lots of yukky stuff about it, especially not being able to wear my glasses all the time, which makes using the computer a tad difficult.  I'll leave it at that, as I'm sure no-one needs the details.

Now, although I've no mojo or energy, I've been trying to get along with at least a few bits'n'pieces.

READING.
I'll admit to not doing much of this so far this year, but am just finishing one of these.

I read Walking Home first and thoroughly enjoyed it, so borrowed the other and have nearly finished it now.  I have laughed and cried my way through this one so far, and am finding it difficult to put down.  I actually don't want it to finish.

GARDENING.
I have only done a little pottering, but have achieved something, I think.  Tomatoes in pots for now, lettuce in an old tin bath tub, silver beet in a self watering trough and beans and marigolds in the back veg bed that we want to make into raised beds at some time which will be easier on back and ribs. (sigh)!  Some bulbs in pots have flowered too, though are finished now.

CRAFTING - Crochet.
A finish on the crochet front and a new start.

This is now finished and I can't find the photo????

This is the Spice of Life rug that is shown on Jo's blog Through the Keyhole, that is running as a crochetalong.

Quilting.
Back in August, I actually quilted 2 old tops and will probably take them to the children's hospital as a donation.  They were both made a looooong time ago to try out something new or because I liked an element of a particular quilt.  I have the bindings to handsew on both, and this is being done of a night along with the crocheting.

And this has been sitting on the machine ready for a quilt for nearly 3 weeks, as I just can't get my act together.

Well, not a brilliant post for the first time in a month.  We did a lovely walk a couple of weekends ago, so I'll try and post about that over the weekend along with anything else I may have done last month that I've forgotten.
Tomorrow, and I still can't believe this, here in Victoria we are having a 'public' holiday, all because of a football match.  Yikes!!!!
Take care all.
Susan.