October's Stitching

Reading my most recent posts you would think that I have turned into a travel blogger and not been doing any stitching.  One thing about being able to be out and about is that my stitching time is reduced.  However, I have still been getting some done.

I was a bit frustrated by my Janome sewing machine needing a service.  Finally, once lockdown had been lifted I was able to take it and Mick's Mum's Elna in to the shop that arranges services.  I hadn't used this person before.  I was delighted to have them back in just a few days and my Janome is running like a dream again.  It was fine using my Mum's Elna, but I do appreciate needle up and needle down, as well as the knee lift.

Let's see how  my goals for the month went.

1.    ONE MONTHLY GOAL    

Firstly, I was lucky enough to be one of the winners in last month's draw, being the recipient of a $25 voucher to the Fat Quarter Shop.  Thanks Patty for drawing out my name.

My goal this month was to fill a post pack with Santa Sacks to send down to Jan Mac in Melbourne for children in need.

I managed to make fifteen, which I am happy about.

2.     WOOFA CHALLENGE

This month I planned to work on another donation quilt.  

I had hoped to have this totally completed, but all these days out have eaten into my time.  I did get the top together on Sunday, so I should at least get it finished next month.  Its a nice and cheerful quilt.

3.    CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE

I didn't make any progress on a project with my redwork stitcheries - still procrastinating.  I did start a secret project but no pic - it's secret.

4.    MAKE A DONATION PROJECT

The first two projects are for donations, which is nice.

5.    FRIDAY NIGHT WITH FRIENDS

It was fun to join in.

6.    ONE PROJECT A MONTH

I think fifteen Santa sacks will count.

7.    ZOOM SEWING    

This didn't end up happening, but there is always next time.

8.    MY LAUNDRY BASKET MYSTERY QUILT

 I wasn't sure how far I would get with this quilt.  I managed to add the borders and have it to my quilting fairy fairly early in the month.  I think the borders ended up suiting it really well.

She worked her magic and had it back to me last week.  Slack me has not prepared the binding as yet.  I need to get on to that and get it finished.  I'm looking forward to having it on our bed for a while.  I love swapping out the quilts, as a different quilt gives the room a whole new look.  Something else I would like to have finished next month.

I like to thank the girls who arrange the challenges I join in.  They make stitching such fun.

The month isn't over yet, so I may get to sneak in a little more, but there are other plans afoots, so we'll see how we go.

Kandos Museum

When we visited Kandos a week ago, our main destination was the Museum.  Have a look around the town on my last post.

The museum is only relatively new, commencing in 1988.

It is housed in a beautiful old building, with a commanding view over the town to the front and to the old Cement Works site to the rear. Originally, it was built as the Methodist Church. It is unusual, in that it is built from cement, not bricks.  It makes perfect sense, though.

You can read the details here, if you zoom in.

Let's have a look around.

These skips transported the lime from the quarry to the cement works.  The cables ran across the main road, so you drove under an arch with steel pylons and a mesh under the skips to stop anything falling on your car.  This continued up to 2011, when the cement works closed.

There was industrial equipment outside, but we didn't have much of a look, as it was about to rain.

This is a rather weird contraption from the cement works.  It is a very early AD/DC converter.  I'm amazed that it has survived intact, or at all.

Of course I homed in on any sewing machines, and there were a few.  This was the most intriguing.

More modern cement bags.  They would still have to have been sewn by something.

The main display area is in the hall of the church.  It is lovely and light.  The coloured windows seem to glow.  So different for our usual churches.  Apparently, the floor was originally tiered, but was leveled when they started the museum.

There is a wide variety of exhibits, all so well displayed.

I love this wall showing the changes in technology.  I do remember using some like these.  I'm glad they have included some more recent machines, as they are often overlooked, and before long there won't be many around at all.

Isn't this the most impressive pram you ever saw.  A German couple, who started a family in the late 1950s, had it imported from Germany.

This takes me back to my childhood.  I was never a Brownie.  I so wanted to be, but circumstances meant it didn't happen.  There was quite a bit of memorabilia from the Scouts, Guides and Brownies.

I was also impressed with this early Kenwood Chef.  I have seen plenty of early Sunbeam mix masters, but hadn't seen any Kenwoods earlier than the popular 1970s versions.  It's in beautiful condition.

A high school student made this ensemble from cement bags for a street parade.  I'm pleased it has made it to the museum.

Another item that caught my attention was this little boiler suit made from flour and oat bags.  Quite unusual.  The ladies knew nothing of its background.

Finally, the old Cement Works ambulance is looking in fine condition.  It is still used on occasions in parades and the likes.

There were a lot of photos of the old cement works, which was the whole reason for the town's existence, but there was too much reflection to take photos.  There was also a film showing of the early days of the cement works.  The old trucks and excavators were very impressive.  They are so fortunate  to have movie footage from those early days.

We really enjoyed having a look around the museum and it was nice to have the place to ourselves, to take as long as we liked to wander around.  Everything was well displayed and the rooms were nice and bright.  It was the perfect time to pop over and have a visit.

It Was a Friday - So We Had Fun

The first Friday after we were out of lock down saw us in the car and off for a little adventure - but what would we do and where would we go?

It was a miserable day, weather wise, so it had to be something that wasn't all outside.  Sydney is still unable to visit regional NSW until  the start of December, so it was a good chance to go somewhere that would ordinarily be popular with Sydneysiders.  We thought of Lithgow, but the venue we wished to visit hasn't reopened as yet.

In the end we headed over to Kandos and Rylstone.  They are two little towns that are just 7kms apart.  They are about 100kms from here.

Rylstone is the older of the towns and has some lovely old sandstone buildings. 

It is a popular place for people to visit in conjunction with Mudgee and as travelling along the Bylong Way.  

We often stop in here and the last time we used our caravan it was to attend the Rylstone Swap Meet.

We found a little cafe and enjoyed a nice lunch.

It was fairly quiet, which was good and everywhere we went the people were very Covid safe.

The old Railway Station appears to be deserted.

Another lovely old building in the main street.

Kandos is quite a different town.  It was built around the Cement Works, which opened in 1913 and a local coal mine. 

Being an industrial town, right from the start it does not have the architectural history of Rylstone, with all the houses being built in the 20th Century.  

Also, you have to turn off the main road to drive up the main street of Kandos, so it is usually passed by.

I have a soft spot for Kandos, as back in 1996, I travelled over each day for two months to establish a branch of the Credit Union, where I worked at the time.  Banks were closing in small towns, much like today, and Kandos was losing its bank.  The bank closed its doors on the Friday and we were trading in the premises on the Monday.  I'm very happy to see that the branch is still trading today. (Silly me, forgot to take a photo.)

The Cement Works closed in 2011 and the mine in 2015, which both created a decline in the town.  However, there is a new breed of residents starting to arrive, due to its proximity to both Sydney and Mudgee and the cheap housing.  I do hope there will be a revival of its fortunes.

The main street has changed a lot since 1996.  Alan Jacksons was still trading as a old fashioned store with clothing, manchester and the likes.  It now houses a rather impressive Community Charity Shop.  

Down the street, the newsagents has closed and houses Nanna's Haberdashery.  This is a fascinating little store.  It is a mix of new and vintage haby.  There were even quite a few unfinished cross stitches and tapestries.  Apparently, it started from the elderly owner's craft room contents.  I did find one little piece of patchwork fabric to bring home.

Kandos hosts a hot rod weekend each year and this mural celebrates that event.

The main reason we were visiting was to have a look at the Kandos Museum, which we had heard about.  It deserves a post of its own, as this one is getting far too long as it is.

On the way home, we took a detour through the little village of Clandulla and came across another old railway station.  This one is much more solid than the one in Rylstone, being built from brick rather than weatherboard.  It appears to be having some works done to it as well, which is nice to see.

Our first Friday Fun Day was very enjoyable, and we even seemed to dodge all the rain while we were out of the car.  Here's looking forward to many more days out.

Another Picnic

After our motorcycle ride and picnic we decided to have another picnic the following weekend, but where?

After much deliberation we headed out towards Trunkey Creek.  This time we took the ute, rather than a bike.  

Of course we had to find some little dirt roads.

There was water in the causeways, which is always nice to see.  It really has been a wonderful spring, rain wise.

We didn't stop in Trunkey Creek, rather our destination was just a little further along at Grove Creek Falls.  Mick suggested this, as the waterfall should be running well.

Yep, it really was looking good.  The water was nice and clear, but plenty was going over the falls.  Last time we were here there was barely a trickle, as it was in the drought.  Quite some years ago, a group of us camped at Abercrombie Caves, just a few kilometres upstream from here.  That was also in a dry time.  We all walked along the creek and sat on the rocks at the top of the waterfall.

This tree, growing in the rocks intrigued me.

We found a nice pleasant place to sit and enjoy our picnic.

We generally visit here at this time of year, as we like to attend the Trunkey Creek Show.  Coincidentally, it would have been on that particular day if things were normal, as would the Bathurst 1000 car races.

As usual, when we are out and about I keep my eyes open for wild flowers. I was rewarded with heaps in the open woodland between the carpark and the water falls.  They were all tiny.

I had seen larger fringed lilies before, but not these tiny ones, on the top left.

I was rather excited to find the little pink spider orchid (top right), as I had only ever seen them once before, in the Pilliga Scrub last spring.

I always like to find the little rock fern tucked into crevices.  You can see below the sort of place you find then, along with a few of the other flowers we saw. 

There were more flowers, but not successfully photographed.

Mick also saw a rather large goanna, but it shot up a tree and into a hollow branch, so I missed seeing it.

After lunch, we continued on our way on minor roads and ended up in the area where Mick grew up on a farm.

Not far from where he lived is this little bridge.

It was built in the late 50s or early 60s by the local men, including Mick's Dad.

We took a few photos, as there was a sign announcing that there would be about half a million dollars spent on this bridge as part of the "Fixing Country Bridges Program", with an expected completion date of the end of 2022.  It will be interesting to see what they do.  This bridge may be very different by then.

Finally, as we were driving along an echidna crossed the road.  It was very busy digging itself into the ground as I went over to take a photo.  They are an incredible little creature.

So, another very pleasant day out, enjoying the quiet places in our district and enjoying the perfect weather.  We are pleased we went when we did, as the following day the weather returned to very wintry conditions.