We’re Off Again

About a week and a half ago we headed off with the van again.  Our first day was a big one…..travelling 110kms to Cowra, where we stayed for three nights.

We stayed in a lovely caravan park, right in town and beside the river.  Very convenient to everything.  The autumn coloured leaves looked so nice in the afternoon light.

The reason we were there was that Mick was playing in a bowls tournament.  His club had won the local Pennants comp and were representing the area in the Zone competition.  

There were eight clubs competing, with each club fielding three teams.  They were divided into two groups. They each played two games on Saturday and one on Sunday morning.  The winner of each group would then go on to play a final to determine which club would represent the Zone at the State level.  The scores were calculated on the combined total points of each club, so two teams could win their games but the third lose by a lot and they may still not get through, if you get my drift.

Anyway, Bathurst managed to achieve the highest score in their group of four teams, so went on to play Binnaway in the final, which Binnaway won by two points.  Mick’s team did win every one of their games, which they were pleased with.  Binnaway has never reached State level before, so they were thrilled and Bathurst will be cheering them on.

In the meantime, what did I get up to?  Well, I didn’t watch bowls for the entire weekend.  I wandered the street for a good look and actually did some sewing.

I packed my baby Stella and finally added the shadows to the crumb blocks that I have made so far for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Before we left home I bought a wool pressing mat that worked beautifully with my $5 garage sale mini iron.

The blocks look good together.  Keep in mind, there will be a sashing in the light grey between them all, which will make the effect so much better, but a good bit of progress.

I also started knitting a new scarf, using my tried and trued pattern for a boomerang scarf.  This one is a festive red colour.  No photo of progress at that stage, as I forgot, but I will update later.

So, that was a nice way to start our latest adventure.  More to follow shortly.

Scrub Stitchin’ - Part 1 - The Lead Up

Although the retreat didn’t start until Wednesday, we headed off with our van on the Sunday.  What could be travelled in about five hours, was going to take the best part of two days.  We were on holidays, so what’s the rush?  

We enjoyed seeing the trees in all their autumn glory as we headed off.

First stop, Wellington for morning tea.  We like to stop at a nice cafe come homewares shop when we travel this way. I love how they use vintage silverware.

While wandering around the store, I noticed a crochet rug draped over the back of a chair.  It wasn’t for sale. It is so simple, but light.  I think I want to make one.  

We’ll see, at least I have a photo.  I may have to venture into Mum’s yarn scraps.

We did notice that the roads were much quieter than normal, particularly the number of caravans.

Our destination for the day was Gilgandra, where we free camped at the Bowling Club.  This area has previously been full, but there were only two vans on the night we were there.  We filled up the truck with fuel and discovered the price was quite a bit cheaper than home, at $3.09/l, which was surprising.

Once we were parked up, Mick went over to the club to see if he could have a roll up.  It turned out that they were just about to start their social bowls, so he was invited to join in.  He had a lovely afternoon.  It is a wonderful way to get to meet the locals.

Meanwhile, I did some of my crochet.

The following morning, while in Gilgandra, a fellow commented that there was a horrible noise coming from one of the van wheels.  Mick had checked them before we left home and there had been a slight issue with one that he thought was fixed.  He had, as a precaution, bought another wheel hub and carried it as a spare.  Fortunately, we were where he could change it over.  Phew!  If the fellow hadn’t commented, Mick reckons the wheel would have literally fallen off very soon.  Before we left town we found a business where he could buy another spare, but all went well from then on.

This did, however, take us to a different part of town to what we normally see and we saw a beautiful old chimney beside the railway line.

From Gilgandra, we took a different route to Baradine, as recommended by the fellows at the bowling club.  Rather than travel through Coonabarabran, where the road is rather hilly, drive to Coonamble and across.  It is 30kms further, but flat, so a much easier drive when towing the van.  The landscape had now changed to the flat country of wide open spaces.  We were noticing that the area was definitely in the grips of a nasty drought.

We topped up with a splash of fuel in Coonamble, with the price being $3.35/l.  Ouch.

The road from Coonamble to Baradine is one that I haven’t travelled before.  We do like going on different roads.  It was a nice drive, so this will be our main way of travelling to Baradine from now on.

We were all set up at Camp Cypress by mid afternoon.

Time for me to bring out my baby Stella and do some last minute stitching that I needed to complete.

We were treated to a beautiful evening.

Chooky arrived in the evening and we spent some time emptying her very full car.  There was just room enough for her.

On Tuesday, the three of us went to Coonabarabran.  First stop was Picton Patchwork to pick up some supplies and maybe a little shopping.

Then into town to have lunch.  Chooky was doing the catering this year, so time to do a very large grocery shop, as well as pick up some click and collect groceries.  Once again, the car was very full.

Back at camp it was time to put all the food away and start setting up the room and goody bags. A few more turned up during the afternoon, so it was all hands on deck.  Before long, the room was all set up and looking calm.  No hint of the chaos that had reigned only a short while before.  Didn’t it look nice.

Dinner was at the Bowling Club, followed by some star gazing at Milroy Observatory.  No photos, as it was dark.  We were blessed with a beautiful, clear, moonless night and were treated to a great display.  What I enjoyed most was seeing the emu that appears in the sky that is well known to Aboriginal people.  It is huge, not what I imagined at all.

It was a very late night, so we slept well before the main event began.

Monday - Mend Day

Let’s just start this post by saying I hate mending and therefore have quite a pile that has been sitting around for who knows how long.  Far too long.

I decided that yesterday was the day to start to tackle it.

On top of the pile was a pair of Mick’s work trousers that had a hole in the knee.  There was a second pair the same, also with a hole.  I have a tub labeled “Mick’s Mending” which I had for his work trousers when he was working.  The only problem was that all that fabric to use for patches was green and his more recent trousers are blue.  Therefore, I sacrificed the more worn of these two to get some patching fabric.  That was one way to avoid sewing on a patch.

Next it was time to get out a machine to do said patching.  My machine does not have a free arm, so time to get out the best one for this job - my Singer Featherweight 222.  It has the tiniest free arm and works beautifully.  The only thing was that I had to pull out the instruction book to work out how to use it, as I so very rarely give it a run.  Every time I get it out I am reminded how lovely and quiet it is to use.  I really should use it more often.

A pair of jeans and a pair of PJs had their hems taken up as well, before I ran out of puff.  There is lots more to do, so maybe I will make next Monday a Mend Day too.  I’ll believe it when I see it.

Preparing for Scrub Stitchin’

It is getting to be the time to prepare all my bits and bobs to take to Scrub Stitchin’.  I have a big long list that I follow each year, which includes “Clean Sewing Machine, Change Sewing Machine Needle and Put Fresh Blades in Rotary Cutters”.  Well my rotary cutters are running quite nicely at the moment, so I’ll leave them be and just take some spare blades in case.

As for my sewing machine, the bottom tension has been a bit strange on my last couple of projects.  I do clean my machine regularly, like each month, so why not have a go at giving it a full service and see if that helps.  What could go wrong?  Hopefully nothing, as I want to use my machine lots while away.

First, find a YouTube tutorial.  Surely there will be one.  There seems to be one on just about everything.  Tick.  Show it to Mick, so he can save me when everything goes pear shaped.  Tick.  Go and buy some high quality grease.  Tick.  Let’s get set up on the dining table.

My machine is a bit over twenty years old and has only had a few services, the most recent about three or four years ago.  

As we started to take the covers off, we propped her up on some books to protect the back.

Once the workings were exposed, I was surprised at how clean she was inside.  There was some old grease that had to be wiped off and lots of tiny bits of fluff that were hiding in various nooks and crannies.  Cotton buds worked well to get into those hard to access spots.

Mick did come and give me a hand, particularly in doing the greasing, as he is much more familiar with what is required, seeing as that was part of his trade.  He also did most of the oiling.  Secretly, I think he was happy to be playing along.

That looks  a lot better.

All went back together nicely and it was time to see how she sewed, using an old rag.  Eeek!  Why is the bottom liked this?  OK, the first thing is always to rethread.  Oh, the bobbin was upside down!  That would do it.  Doh!

OK, let’s have another go at this with the machine threaded correctly.  Ahh, that is so much better and the tension is beautiful.  She always runs quietly, but she is lovely and super quiet now.  

I’m glad we had a go at giving her a thorough once over and now feel confident to do this rather than have to send her to a technician…..unless there is a problem.

Now she is raring and ready to go to Baradine.

Oh, and have we had a look at Monique’s issues yet?  Nope.  That will happen one day, but not today.

The Rest of August

 I still have a few things to share about the rest of August.  Looking at my non stitching goals, I wasn’t as successful as with my stitching.

I didn’t read a book and I have only written one post about our trip to the Isle of Man.  I must do something about that very soon.

Surprisingly, especially to me, I actually tried three new recipes this month.  The first two were only so so, but the third was a resounding success.

You see, we have a rather prolific rhubarb plant.

Therefore, when I saw a recipe called Rhubarb Pudding it had to be tried out.  It is quite a dense texture, using a lot of almond meal, but was delicious.  Next time we will add more rhubarb.  Yes, there will be a next time.

Of course, you have to add ice cream.

While on the food front, after attending the high tea, the following Saturday I attended an afternoon tea party for a sewing friend’s significant birthday.

Oh my!  It was as fancy as any high tea you would attend at a restaurant, and all home catered.  We drank from fine china, the food was presented on beautiful tablecloths and doilies.  There was a lovely selection of teas in beautiful pots and under cute cosies. And the food was to die for.  It was a very special afternoon.

Nice afternoon teas seem to have been a theme this month, as we then had a good friend visit us for afternoon tea.  It was a good excuse to bring out our nice china and was warm enough to sit outside on the verandah.

It was also a good excuse to bake a slice that we haven’t made for many years.  We should make it more often.

It was also a good excuse to pick some pretty little flowers.  When looking for a suitable vase, I spied this tiny jug.  Mum gave it to me when I was in primary school and this is the first time I have ever used it as a vase.  It normally just sits on my little shelf on display.  It’s only taken about fifty years.

The weather has been rather warm for this time of year over the last week or so.  The garden is rocketing away.  Our little plum trees are in flowers.  Let’s hope they do better than their predecessors, which did no good, which is surprising for what is normally a very easy tree to grow.

The warm weather has also come with some rain and even a storm or two.  The sky one evening was rather impressive.

The local swap meet was held a week ago.  We didn’t have a stall, just went along for a look see.  I was happy to find this Singer tin at a very reasonable price.  The tin was in excellent condition.  It is a Godzilla Tin.  They originally came with a nice selection of accessories and an instruction book.

While the tin itself was in great shape, the inside was not.  I have already thrown out an extremely rusty wide hemmer foot.  (I have another one.)  It will clean up enough for me, as let’s face it, the closed tin will just be on display on a shelf.

I didn’t buy the cute little Singer oil can for $75.  That’s for a serious collector, not me.

Finally, yesterday we went out to the tiny village of Burraga, in the Oberon area, to attend the Burraga Sheep Show.  This also doubles as their agricultural show, with pavilion exhibits.  

Sadly, this year the exhibits, both inside and outside, were way down on the last time we attended, which was quite a few years ago.  Also there were very few visitors.

As a consequence, we didn’t stay long and went into Oberon to have lunch at a nice cafe.  It was still a very pleasant drive, seeing all the countryside looking so very green and lots of wattle and blossom trees putting on a show.

And that about wraps up August and winter.  Where is the year going?  Now to look forward to September and spring.

The Rest of April

When I read back over my posts for April they really only cover the purchase of “Frank”, our little Fuso truck, and Scrub Stitchin’.  There was actually quite a bit else that went on as well.  Autumn and spring always seem to be our busiest times of the year.  

The colours of the trees are at their peak, so it has been the best time to be out and about, taking it all in.

We did have our first frost on the day after Anzac Day, which is to be expected.  The dahlias all got zapped so have now been cut back for the winter.

Firstly, in the week before we headed north, I assisted with the set up of the Royal Bathurst Show, in the needlework section.  It was a really interesting process to be involved with.  As we were heading off in the week before the show I was only able to assist with receiving and preparing the entries in readiness for judging.  I didn’t get to see the final display, but a couple of photos were forwarded to me. There were no entries from me this year, as the show was held while we were at Baradine.  I look forward to being involved again next year, and it won’t clash with Scrub Stitchin’, which is good.

In the preparation for Scrub Stitchin’, I cleaned my machine and wound a few bobbins.  I don’t know why I had never previously thought to use a pipe cleaner.  Boy, can you dig in and find some big dust bunnies.

I knew I would be doing a lot of appliqué at Scrub Stitchin' and I use an easy thread needle to weave in the thread ends.  Usually, the needle sits in a pincushion beside my machine.  I don’t know what made me think of it, but I have a cute little suction cap pincushion that I received as a gift, but have never used.  I popped in on my machine and it is the best thing ever.  Love it.  Why didn’t I do this before?

I had fun getting my batik fish ready to take to Baradine, not that I did any work on them.  Mick took this candid shot of me selecting the various threads for the appliqué.  Yep, I have quite a selection of threads to choose from.

We have had some roadworks out the side of our place.  The road has been full of pot holes for years, with just a shovel of tar added after rain.  It really needed doing.  They took just three days to completely rip up the road and then reseal it.  Let’s hope it lasts well.  The sealing took place on the day after we left for Baradine, so it was a nice thing to see it all finished once we returned home.

And the pretty sky on the morning we left for Baradine, showing where the road works were up to.

We have done quite a lot of miles since we returned from Baradine, but in the car, not Frank.  

Firstly, just a few days later, we headed down to Sydney to the Caravan and Camping Show.  It was such a pretty morning as we left town.  The only thing we bought were two more sensors to go on Frank’s dual back wheels.  They let you know if a tyre is going flat or if the wheel is overheating.  We are so glad we are not in the market for a caravan now, as there are just so many to see.  We think it would be rather overwhelming.  It was a nice day out.

I read a book.  It is one that I had picked up at an op shop or street library or somewhere.  A rather enjoyable, light read.

On Anzac Day, after we had attended the Dawn Service, we gave my brother a hand to get a load of firewood for his heater.  We went out to a property his mate owns that has lots of fallen timber from a wild storm a few years ago. My brother took his ute and trailer and we too Frank and our trailer.  It’s been years since we have been out wood carting. As a kid, they were always a fun day out in the bush.

Well, Frank proved that he isn’t a four wheel drive, which we were well aware of.  One incline on the property had really wet, slippery grass and despite several attempts, Frank would not go up, his wheels just spinning.  Let’s face it, he came with very basic road tyres.  

No worries, we just piled into my brother’s ute, filled his trailers and then the boys went back to Frank, swapped trailer and filled ours, before swapping trailers once again before heading home.  Problem solved.

While the boys were swapping trailers I had a nice little wander around.

The timber they were after was stringy bark.

So named for obvious reasons.

There were numerous wombat burrows in this section of scrub.  Mostly unused, as told by the leaf litter at the entrance.

Quite a few were under the roots of a fallen tree.  This one looked more recent. Any wombat in there would have been woken from its slumber with the cutting going on above.  I didn’t even realise this hole was there until they were well into cutting the timber.

The timber on this particular tree was still a little bit green, so they split the logs, ready to store till next year.  When one was split I noticed this little creature.

A witchetty grub.  I’m not sure if this is the ones the aborigines ate, but it looks like it.

Also, there were some interesting tiny fungi growing on the side of a part of the log. So delicate.

Just before we left, I found another wombat hole.  This one is the freshest we found and is obviously in current use.

We did bring home a little bit of wood.  Someone else had cut a couple of lengths of a hollow log and left them there.  We will pop them in the garden and plant something in them.

We did have two more big days out, both on the last weekend of the month, but they will have their own separate posts.

So, that did tick off most of my other goals for the month.  However, there was no new recipe tried, which was a bit slack.  Maybe this month.