Playing

I continued to party along with Chookyblue and all the other girls today.  My friend Anne came over to join in the fun.

Anne worked on some wonky stars that she is making for a quilt.

Meanwhile I was fiddling around with fabric scraps for the applique on this month's Nature's Journey blocks.

I showed Anne a little fabric basket I had made  couple of weeks ago using a tutorial by Lisa from A Spoonful of Sugar.  Anne had seen it too, so she made one while here.  They are so quick and easy.  Then we both made a hexagonal version that Lisa had shared the pattern for.

What a difference the fabrics make.  Mine are the ditsy ones at the front, whereas Anne used brighter fabrics.

Mick thought it was a pointless exercise when I made the pink one. It took maybe a quarter of an hour to make and that included fiddling around selecting a fabric and finding a scrap of wadding.

 Not only are they cute, I think they will be handy. 

I have already found a use for the hexy version.  Perfect for holding the hexies for a grandmother's garden block together with the thread while stitching away on the lounge.

I didn't get any more done on by Nature's Journey blocks until later, when I worked away until they were all finished. Boy, were my eyes hanging out by then.

I'm pleased with the way they are turning out.

I've enjoyed playing along with the Chook Shed Party.  I hope everyone else has too.

Party Time

This weekend marks the third birthday of The Chookshed.  It is a great excuse for a lot of girls to have a party.

Of course, all birthday parties need cake.  We couldn’t eat it on our own, so invited Mum over for afternoon tea yesterday.

Mick had the honours of blowing out the candles.

Yummo!  Carrot cake using eggs from the chookshed.

No stitching was achieved until yesterday afternoon, as some lovely person or persons unknown decided to throw a golf ball through Mum’s large lounge room window on Friday night.  There was a bit of mucking around to clean it up, make the window secure and arrange an insurance claim.  It is at times like this that we are glad we are back in town, as we are only a few minutes away, not half a hour.

When Mum came over for afternoon tea she was instructed to bring whatever she was working on so that she could also join in the party.  She brought along some crochet she is working on for the church fete.  I’m plodding away with my Nature’s Journey.  I will have May finished today.  Of course Joey was a great help.  This is his favourite position now the weather has cooled down.

Last night saw no sewing either, as we visited some friends for a pizza night.  Lots of fun.

So I am now, rather belatedly going to get started on some stitching today.  Mick has headed off motorcycling with a mate and I have been  joined by another friend to do some sewing, which will be nice.  More progress later.

Artisan Market

Bathurst has embraced the Artisan Market craze over the last couple of years.  They are only held a few times a year, so are still something special to look forward to.  The latest one was on the same day as the Bathurst 200 party down by the river, so we made a real day of it, being out and about enjoying all that was on offer.

Musical entertainment was provided by a local choir.  They were having a great deal of fun, especially when singing “Like an Egyptian”.

The markets are held in the forecourt of the Library and Art Gallery, so we also took the opportunity of visiting the art gallery display held in conjunction with the Bathurst 200 festivities.  No photos allowed but they were all works of art owned by the gallery.  They really do have some treasures.

It is so good to see markets of this type.  There really are some clever people in our region.

Bathurst’s Birthday Bash

As I mentioned earlier, Bathurst has been celebrating her 200th birthday.

As Kris would say, grab yourself a cuppa…..

Just to refresh your primary school history, after several failed attempts, the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, were finally crossed by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth in 1813. They declared the land that they saw to the west as “The Bathurst Plains”.

Not too long after, Surveyor George Evans followed in their footsteps to map out a road to the west as far as the Macquarie River, which he discovered and named. That’s the statue of Evans in Kings Parade in Bathurst.

Next to follow was William Cox and his band of merry men convicts to build said road from Penrith to the Macquarie River on the Bathurst Plains, just over 100 miles long. Job done inside 6 months.  This little article is worth reading.

By the way, this was my favourite part of history in 2nd Class, as it seemed relevant.  The explorers and the convict road went right past my grandparent’s farm, with Cox’s Pass being just down the road, and I lived in the oldest inland settlement, attending the oldest inland church on a Sunday. Funnily enough, Cox’s Road also travelled right past our place out of town that we have just sold.  I digress……..

Once the road was completed Governor Macquarie went for a little jaunt.  What takes us about three hours in the car then took about 10 days.  Once they reached the Macquarie River he found what he declared to be “a pleasant spot”.  A flagpole was erected and Bathurst was proclaimed as a settlement, the first in inland Australia. Click here to see a painting. Yes, that is Mt Panorama in the background.

A few years ago the Society of Surveyors (or some similar name) had their get together in Bathurst and using old records determined exactly where that old flagstaff had been erected.  I think everyone was a little disappointed to find it was now the site of a nice 1980s toilet block!  Darn!

Not to be perturbed, Council put out a design competition to create a new flagstaff.  The competition was won by a prominent local architect. Canberra has its grass roof and flag pole on Parliament House, Bathurst now has its grass roof and flag pole on a toilet block. Mind you, it is no ordinary toilet block.

Back to the party.  The actual birthday for Bathurst was on Thursday 7 May.  This unfortunately meant that most of us weren’t able to attend a party due to having to go to work – very inconvenient.  Therefore, it was a great excuse to have another party on the Saturday down by the River. I went for a stroll around the park last year and shared it here and here.

There were convicts cooking cobs of corn, an aboriginal camp down by the river, red coats shooting canons, WWII gents shooting guns, bush bands, a bark hut, a colonial costume competition, vintage cars, penny farthings, and displays with all sorts of historical interests.  Let’s go for a stroll.

Our friends in the Historic Car Club were quite involved.

Usually you are told not to touch these old cars, but we were told to get up in this Locomobile Steam Car, recently purchased by one of our club members.  I think I would be a bit nervous travelling around in this.

Another of our members not only has cars. Not only does he have a stagecoach….

He recently acquired a new toy… “Aspro”.

We had a lovely time wandering around, chatting with people we knew and generally soaking up the atmosphere.  Let’s face it, it is pretty special to be a part of all this.

However, there was more to follow……

Bathurst’s Bicentennial – 200 Years of Fashion

There as just so many events taking place this year as part of the Bathurst 200 celebrations. We don’t have a hope of seeing a half of them.

On Sunday, an exhibition of fashions over the last 200 years opened at the Entertainment Centre.  Most of the garments are locally owned.  I’ll just share some random shots.

 

 

It was a wonderful collection to visit.  The detail in the early dresses is astounding.  Once again, the exhibition is on for the next week or so, so try and get along for a look if you are in the area.

Bathurst’s Bicentennial – Peoplescape

Bathurst is celebrating it’s birthday today.  She is 200 years old.

The opening ceremony for the party was last Sunday which incorporated the launch of Peoplescape.  It was the perfect day, with the temperature into the 20s – very unusual for this time of year.

We were entertained by the local conservatorium of music.

Let’s go for a walk.

Locals nominated people they recognise as being significant to the city over the last 200 years. 

From there they decorated a silhouette for their nominee.  Some were simple, others very artistic and some were just plain fun.  Schools and community groups were involved in some “people”, while others were by individuals.

They range from historical figures to current members of the community, those who are prominent, to those just working away quietly in the background.  It was fascinating to learn more of those who have helped shape our home town.

Let’s go for a walk.

Lachlan Macquarie declare this a delightful place on 7 May 1815.

Prime Minister Ben Chifley is probably Bathurst’s most famous son, with a market gardener from the late 1800s and an Aboriginal elder in the background.

Footballer George Rose, artist Brett Whitely and poet AD Hope were all educated here.

There are  those that have had a direct influence on me.

Anne Ashwood, who was one of my English teachers in high school went on to be Mayor and have a sporting field named after her.

Hans Stroeve was my maths teacher (he made maths great fun, bringing in a poker machine to teach about ratios and playing Monty Python tapes while we worked). He still continues teaching at the school now and I presume is still making maths fun for the current generation of students.

Toni Daymond, who worked at the library from when I was quite small, introducing me to a love of books.  She has done so much for so many community groups over the years.  I can even remember making one of those puppets at the library in primary school.

There are too many others to show here.

The display is on for another week or so, so if you are in the Bathurst area, make the time to go and have a look at a terrific display which is both interesting as well as artistic.