A New Season, a New Look

This was our bedroom at our old house.  It was rather spacious with a nice view out the window into the trees outside.  Around to the right of the photo there is a large Edwardian wardrobe and a walk in robe.  It was lovely and restful. 

Our bedroom in the house we are in now is decidedly smaller – just wide enough for the bed and beside tables.  It is also painted Antique White USA.  I never thought I’d be in a white room.  However, we painted the room  for rental purposes before we decided to live here until our house is built.

We have nice big built in wardrobes and there is a little nook to the side, perfect for “Victoria” to reside.

There is even room for the big wardrobe and the blanket box at the end of the bed.  No room for the dressing table or treadle sewing machine, but that is fine. One change we made that made the world of difference was not using the foot of the bed.  It just slides in under the ensemble, so was easy to put away for the time being.  I had to hang our Wedding Sampler that Mum made for us all those years ago.

I loved the look of our bedroom in the summer.  It was really calming walking into this space.  Yes, I do like the white walls and we will use this colour (or lack thereof) in our new house.  It is good being able to try before you buy, so to speak.

Now for the change of season.

Seeing it is now autumn, I changed the quilt to the first one I  ever completed, back in the autumn of 2003.  Yes, I even stitched the label.  This class was at Anni’s shop when it was really new.  Kate Foody was my teacher.

What a difference it has made.  Rather than being a calm room to enter it is now really snug and cosy.

Victoria even has her winter scarf on.

I had to laugh the other day when Mick made the bed.  It was a cool morning so he tucked everyone in.  Awww! Meet “Big Ted”, “Ted” and “Golly”. “Garfield” just sits on the bedside table. 

Mind you, the weather has turned rather warm this last week, reaching the mid 20s.  I think it may be the last hoorah though, as it is forecast to be cool again next week.

By the way, there are lots of scraps from this quilt making an appearance in Nature’s Journey.

Ta Da! – At Last

Finally, I have a completed Some Kind of Wonderful quilt to share.

I finished it at a quarter to twelve the night before our blog meet last Saturday. There was no way I was going to front up without it being finished.

I’ve really enjoyed making this quilt.  There was one stage in the middle of the year where I wondered if I would actually get it done, but then I had some time and got a wriggle on.

My friend Val did the quilting.  Lots of free hand feathers.

She outlined the appliqué beautifully.

I love the pesky petals now that they are all done.  Worth the effort.

Look at all those feathers.

I’m not sure which is my favourite block, but I am rather partial to the suitcase, which was the only block I tailored to suit me.  I just have to make sure that I do visit New Zealand in the not too distant future.

Thanks Chooky for the inspiration and the occasional whipping.  I would never have attempted, let alone completed this quilt otherwise.

So the details are:

“My Favourite Things” designed by Anni Downs.

Completed as part of the Stitch-A-Long arranged by Chookyblue.

Started on Boxing Day 2011. 

Completed 23 November 2012.

Appliquéd using machine blanket stitch.

Coloured fabrics from Anni’s shop as a kit, neutral fabrics from my stash.

Bamboo wadding.

Machine quilted by Val O’Shannessy.

Oh, and it is a bit more significant than a bib for OPAM.

End of the Month Again

Oh, dear!

Here we are again, 8 o’clock on the last day of the month and no finishes.

Let’s do the same as I’ve done for the last four months….. quickly whip up a bib.

I’d hoped to have my great, big “Ta Da” moment to share, but it is not to be.  Hopefully it won’t be too long until I can share my finished SKOW quilt here.  I’m a little disappointed that after everything I’ve missed the dead line, but hey, if that is the worst thing that happens I’m not too worried.

Now that you have seen the finish for the month, here is the reality of my cutting area.

I must do something about that, but not tonight.

Visiting the Chook Shed

I can’t believe that it is a month ago that we made the trek to visit “The Chook Shed”. So much has been happening since then.

Anyway, I’ll tell you all about it now….

It was arranged that Deb and I would visit Chooky for the weekend.  Mick and I also happen to know Chooky’s neighbours through motorcycling as well as stitching, so Mick decided to tag along too.  Unfortunately, at the last minute, Deb was unable to come as life got in the way of things, as it sometimes does, so in the end it was just Mick and I.

We decided to take the Friday off work and take the scenic route, as we tend to do. The trip ended up taking about twice as long as it should have.  As usual, I was snapping photos as we drove along.  The canola was just gorgeous in the paddocks.

We stopped at Dunedoo to visit the White Rose Cafe, which I visited last November and share with you here.  We were disappointed to see that it is now very shut up shop.  Fortunately, all the lovely old original fittings are still there.

There was lots of wattle in bloom in the scrub.

Mendoorin is famous for the murals on the building.  This one is quite impressive.

One thing that I really wanted to do was to visit the Two Eight Two Eight Cafe and Gallery.  In the past it has been closed each time we have been in the area.  This time we were in luck.

I had to chuckle at the Loo sign.

The scenery is quite stunning out this way.

We took Mick’s dirt bike along with us.

The crops were looking rather good.  Just needing some follow up rain to keep them going.

Finally we reached our destination.  Chooky and I got stuck into the stitching straight away, with us both making some bibs.  You can see Chooky’s here.  She did a great job.

On Saturday, us girls spent the day stitching while the boys went exploring on their bikes. They had a great time.

 

Mick bought a rather appropriate bottle of bubbles for us girls, except there only ended up being three of us.  We had a drink for Deb.

(Picture borrowed from Chooky, as mine didn’t turn out.)

I was really happy to finish my SKOW top and we made a start on choosing fabrics for Chooky’s and introducing her to blanket stitch on the machine.  You can read more about our weekend here. The three of us had a great time and all achieved quite a lot as well, despite all the chitty chatter.

This little chappy kept us company through the day.

On Saturday night we had a barbie and sat around the fire.  It was the perfect way to cap off a great day.

The whole weekend was terrific.  It is so good to just get away from everything and spend time with good friends.  Thanks for having us.

SKOW Quilt Top Finished

Seeing as one certain lady has been getting out the whip I thought it was about time to show my progress on the SKOW stitch-a-long.  After plodding along, I’m delighted to announce that the top is all together…. and on time.

The best bit is that this was finally put together on a recent visit to “The Chook Shed” and Chooky actually was present for the “Ta Da” moment. 

I think she is being a little cheeky here –pretending it is her finished quilt.

The worst part was all the “Pesky Petals”, as I called them, on the tree block.  There are 55 separate petals, all needing to be started and finished and then tied off at the back.  For once machine blanket stitch was not the easiest option.

Now I just have to trim all the loose threads and will be delivering the top to my friend Val on Tuesday for her to quilt it.  I can’t wait to get it completely finished. 

As I keep saying, I would never have tackled a project this involved without the encouragement and accountability of the stitch-a-long. Thanks Chooky for keeping us on track.

It’s Spring, Squishy Mail and a Finish

Yes, winter is finally over.  Spring has sprung……

Doesn’t it just look so warm.

OK!  Who am I kidding?  It was minus 6.5 degrees C and the biggest frost.  The second coldest morning this year and the frost was accentuated by the fact that we had a shower of rain yesterday evening.

However, it is now a glorious blue day and should get up to about 14 degrees.

Yesterday when I arrived home from doing the groceries after work (don’t I have just the most riveting social life on a Friday night), there was a squishy parcel waiting for me.

I was strong and waited till after all the groceries were away and we’d had tea before opening it.

Inside were these lovelies.

You see, Lea and her hubby have just returned from participating in ***AND WINNING*** the bash for the Starlight Foundation.  Before she went she had a little guessing competition to see how many sewing notions were in a jar.  There were 152 and I guessed 153.  This is the prize.  Just lovely.  The zippy pouch will be very useful for small projects and the colours are divine. Thanks Lea.

Also, yesterday it dawned on me that it was the end of the month and once again I had no finish to share.  Can’t have that, so whipped up another bib for the gift stash.

I feel a bit of a fraud for OPAM by just doing a little something, but I’m determined to have no months without a finish of some description.

I’m off to my little stitching group this afternoon, so will get some more done on the “Stitching” block of SKOW.  On the down hill run now.

Yes, I’m Still Here

I think I am one of the guilty parties that Chooky referred to when she commented that it is a bit quiet in blogland.  I’ve been having a browse, but that is about all. So, here is a bit of a catch up.

Firstly, last weekend I stayed home……….all weekend………I didn’t go anywhere!  That is quite monumental for me.  It was just delightful.  Actually, our weekends have mainly been quiet recently, which we have really enjoyed.  It is that time of the year.  Mind you, when I look at our calendar, that is all about to change.

So, what have I done with all this time? 

I’ve baked each week.  Mick has to take a packed lunch to the site he is working at and it is nice to have some homemade bikkies and slice. 

I’ve dragged out the recipe folder which includes all those old favourites collected over the years from magazines, friends and from Mum’s recipe book. 

I’ve made things from recipes that I haven’t used in probably 15 years.  They are all good, easy recipes and I wonder why I don’t do this more often.

I ironed…….lots!  Now I just have to keep it under control.

I tidied the pantry……

And the top drawer of my office desk. Oh my goodness!!  You should have seen it before.  The number of times I’ve bought things, when I already had them hiding in the back of that drawer……and the number of old dried out pens!  Hopefully I can keep it under control.

Do you notice that these are indoor things that keep you warm.  Rather appropriate for this time of year.

On the sewing front I have done a bit more on Some Kind of Wonderful, but will do a separate post on that in the next few days.  I’m still making slow progress.

I’ve also signed up for Chooky’s SSCS again this year.  Now I just have to decide what to make when I find out who my partner is.

Friday was Daffodil Day, which coincidently marked the week that the daffodils in our garden have come out.  I took a couple of quick pics before I left for work on Friday morning.

The little Jet Fires are so sweet.

The Hellebores are also looking lovely.

I love violets.  It took me a while to get them going when we first moved out here, before we had many shady spots, but now we have lots.

I bought a bunch of daffodils at the supermarket for Daffodil Day.  They were only just starting to open, but overnight they all woke up and are looking so cheerful in the kitchen.

So, nothing very exciting happening, but I have really enjoyed just pottering around at home.  I think I might have to try  and create some more home time if I can.