How Did My Other June Goals Go?

Having met all my stitching goals for the month of June, which you can see here, here and here, how did my other goals go?

Happily, not too shabby.

1. READ A BOOK

Yes, I actually read two.  Here and here.

2. TRY A NEW RECIPE

Yes. Once again we tried two.  Here is one.

The second one was also out of the Bathurst on a Plate recipe book.

Ginger Snaps.  They are so decadent and sweet.  Mick has already requested we make them again.

We also made a couple of other slices that I forgot to photograph.  We are both enjoying this baking caper, making old favourites as well as trying new recipes.

3. GO FOR WALKS

Yes.  Not lots of walk, but long walks.

We seem to keep returning to the river.  It is approximately 10kms by the time we get home.  The old Denison bridge crossing the Macquarie River is a feature.

We returned by a different walkway last time and the Raglan Creek was looking a picture.  I grew up just down the road from this creek.  Back then, us kids didn't even know it had a name and just called it "The Drain".  We used to see tiny fish swimming in it.  I didn't see any the other day, but the water was nice and clear.  The recent rains have made such a difference to the landscape.

4. GO FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE.

Yes.  Yesterday.

The Panorama Club had their Sunday ride yesterday and our destination was the pub at Mandurama.  The weather wasn't too bad for this time of year, but we were very well rugged up.  That worked well, as we didn't freeze our bits off.  We took Sophia the Moto Guzzi this time.  She keeps up better than the sidecars.

I've never been in this pub, so was looking forward to seeing what it was like.  You can imagine out disappointment when we arrived to find it had been booked out by another group.

They suggested we could probably get a meal at the Carcoar pub, so off we went.  Carcoar is located just west of Blayney and describes itself as "The Village that time forgot".  It is has been classified as a historic village, with beautiful buildings. 

Our main concern was whether or not the pub would be doing meals.  When we arrived in the village we were surprised to see so many cars.  You were battling to find a parking spot.  We wondered what was on, but it seemed to be just people getting out and about.

The pub was doing meals, but was absolutely packed out.  Fortunately there was a new little coffee shop that was doing coffee and pies.  That suited us just fine.  The pies were really tasty.

Many of our group of bikes didn't worry about getting anything to eat and just headed home.

We had a quick little walk around and have decided we need to return mid week when things are a little quieter and have a better wander around.   

It is one of those places that sometimes has lots to see, and at other times lots seem to have shut down.  At the moment it is going well.  

We normally visit on Australia Day when they have a big street fair.  It will be nice to have a wander when it is quieter.

5. HAVE A WEEKEND AWAY IN THE CARAVAN

Yes.  We are so happy that we finally go to use our van.

You can read about our weekend to Lake Cargelligo here.  It was the perfect destination for our return to travelling.

So, all in all, a very successful month.

A Bit More Stitching

I've managed to get a little bit more stitching done in the last few days.

Firstly, I made the latest Blockheads 3 block on the day it was released.  That is the first time I've done that for a little while.

The end of the month is fast approaching and I still had quite a few of my self imposed goals to finish off.

I had made the pineapple block for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but those pesky drunkard path blocks weren't going to make themselves, so I bit the bullet to make a start.  However, it was cold in the sewing room.......

Why not take them outside into the back yard to pin them?  

The weather was absolutely glorious on Friday.  Quite a welcome change after the previous few days, which had been bleak, cold and damp, with unbroken thick cloud.  

That didn't take long at all, so why not take my WOOFA stitching out as well.  The seat in our vege patch is a real little sun trap.

A bit more progress.

Yesterday I put my big girl pants on and stitched the drunkard path blocks together.  Six months down, four to go.  I'm sure when I stitch them together into a project they will be fine.  

Another of my little goals is to make something Christmassy each month.  I didn't really have anything in mind, and knew I wouldn't have the chance to make anything substantial, so looked for an idea to make a simple ornament.

I found one using scraps to make a Christmas tree.

You simply fuse scraps onto backing fabric and stitch down with decorative stitches on your machine.  Too easy.  I dug into the scrap bags and found some little scraps that any sane person would have chucked in the bin. Next, to find some felt for a backing.  I found some felt with an adhesive side.  Now, that made things really easy - just lay the fabric on without any need for fusible webbing.  It worked like a treat.  At this rate I thought I may make a few.

You know when things are coming together so well, that it seems to be too good to be true. Well, everything was going swimmingly until I started to do my decorative stitching.  I'd only stitched a bit over an inch and stitches were being missed.  The machine was threaded correctly.  Everything looked right. But.....the adhesive was gumming up the needle.  Blast!  Fortunately, I was able to get the short runs done without it playing up.  At the end of each run I'd wipe down the needle.  For the longer runs I'd stitch till it started to miss, cut the thread, unpick the few stitches, wipe down the needle and go again.  What a pain!

Finally, I got it finished and it is rather cute.  If I make any more I will use normal felt and a fusible.  This also counts for my one tiny finish for OPAM hosted by Kris.

I've made a bit more progress on my UFO for the WOOFA Challenge hosted by Cheryll.  I didn't set myself any goal for how far I would progress my table runner this month.  In the end I'd hoped to have the stitchery completed this month and hopefully work out a design and actually make the runner next month.  I'm still stitching away on my cupcakes, but the month isn't at an end just yet.  There is a chance I will get that final cupcake stitched.

I haven't made any progress on my crochet shawlette since the Chookshed Party,  but, once again, the month isn't over yet.  I may make a little more progress.

Now I'm off to link up with all my challenges.  Click on the links and see what others are up to.

Friday Fun Day

Last Friday saw us out and about once again. This was a rather unplanned day, but one we enjoyed. 

We’ve been on the lookout for a certain heritage rose called Zephirine Drouhin. It is a climber, with hot pink blooms and no thorns. We used to have one when we lived out of town and would like another. Anyway, we tracked one down at a nursery at Clarence, just the other side of Lithgow. 

We drove into Lithgow via the old highway.  I hadn't been on this little part of the road for probably 30 years.  I'd forgotten how you get a great view of the old and new railway viaducts.

This was the first time we had ventured east of Lithgow since the bushfires ravaged the area at the beginning of the year. It is rather interesting to see how the landscape is looking six months down the track. 

Some areas are just dead trees. They were obviously areas where the fires were really intense. 

Other areas are coming back quite a bit. Some trees are still really black, with little bits of regrowing.

Others species must have shed their burnt bark and look starkly pale, with quite a bit of regrowth.   At ground level there are also signs of plants starting to grow. Thank goodness the weather in autumn was favourable. 

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You see where some houses are located and marvel at how they were saved. Having said that, you can also see cleared areas where a home had obviously been lost. 

The weather was not too bad so after we collected our rose we headed a little further east to the small village of Mount Wilson, which is renowned for its spectacular gardens. The last time we visited here was in the autumn over 30 years ago.

Most gardens are closed during the winter months, but “Windyridge” was open. 

We had a lovely wander around. There was a surprising amount of colour. You see a garden with fresh eyes in the winter, noticing the structures of stone walls, sculptures and tracery of the limbs of the deciduous trees. I'll just share a bit of what we say.

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the garden, but it was so nice to visit without the crowds associated with spring and autumn. 

We drove a bit further into the village and came across its pretty little church.

So sweet.  I wonder what it is like inside?

The vegetation is rather lush in this area, with lots of ferns.  They did so well to save it from the bushfires.

By then we were getting a bit peckish, headed back to Lithgow for lunch. 

We enjoyed a yummy burger at The Tin Shed, what turned out to be a very popular venue. The building was interesting with all the old structural beams now exposed. 

As we were leaving I noticed this rather cute little old sewing machine on display in the cafe. Now, wouldn’t that look good in my sewing room. However, I think they would have noticed if I had it tucked under my arm. 

After lunch we went for a bit of a wander up and down the street. 

The crochet on the trees brightened up a cold day. 

The day out was a nice little interlude. We had hoped to have lots of Friday Fun Days, now that neither of us work on Thursday or Friday, but obviously that hasn’t happened as yet. Gradually, as restrictions ease we will get out and about more. We keep jotting down ideas of things to do and places to go. All in good time. 

The main thing is that the rose has been acquired and planted. 

Cheers

Janice

A Stitching Update

I made a late start on some of my June stitching.  I blame a Zoom party, getting my Splendid Sampler 2 top together and going away for a long weekend.  All good excuses and great fun.

Firstly, I have made my pink pineapple block for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I really enjoy making these blocks.

I still have to make my pink drunkard path blocks.

Then it was on to my Blockheads 3 blocks.  I hadn't done any for this month.  Now I am up to date......until tomorrow, when the next block is release.  These are all 8 inch versions.

The last two blocks have loads of tiny white corners.  The first one has 32 one and a half inch squares and the last one has 64 one and a quarter inch squares........all needing a diagonal line drawn on them.

One lady in the Facebook group shared how she drew up a grid of the cutting lines and then drew all the diagonal lines before cutting.  Pure genius!  This was very timely, as it was just before I was going to cut my blocks.  It worked a treat.  My large rotating cutting mat came into its own.

Now to get back to stitching the other things on my June goals list.