SKOW – Making Progress – Don’t You Just Love a Wet Sunday

This weekend was much quieter for us.  Mick had to work on Saturday, so I just stayed home and pottered.  I’d planned to spend the afternoon making sashings for the SKOW quilt, but it didn’t happen.  I did, however, make a yummy baked lemon cheesecake from this recipe, cooked perfect poached eggs using Lucy’s tutorial (yes, I am probably the only person that didn’t know of the magic of vinegar) and had my first foray into jewellery making, but more on that another day.

Sunday was to be spent with my Dad at the Sofala Show, which is a great little country show, while Mick was still at work.  However, it started to rain, so that idea was cancelled.  Therefore, I had a lovely wet day to spend sewing and having friends around to help eat the yummy cheesecake.  Mick even had to knock off early due to the weather, so he could also enjoy a lazy wet Sunday.  It was so nice to actually stay home for the entire weekend.

So, what did I achieve….

I made all the sashings, except for the top row, which needs a stitchery to be completed.  December is completed.

As is January.

Like everyone else, I have found it hard to get a photo once it was all sewn together.

My plan was to be up to date by the end of February – I still have 2 days to go, but it is not looking very promising.  Then again, if I really make an effort….we’ll see.

Olga Goes on an Outing

Continuing on our busy weekends theme, we had another early start on Saturday, this time heading up to Orange for the Classic Motorcycle Rally.  This was a great excuse to take “Olga” the old girl on an outing, not to mention that we enjoy the friendly rally.

It is based that the Scouts Camp at Lake Canobolas and we take the tent and camp overnight.

It was just the perfect morning to be out and about.  Do you think I am getting a bit of a thing for taking photos of the sky?

I love it when we get to see our shadow of the bike as we ride along.

There was a great roll up of bikes, ranging from a 1916 Harley sidecar to the latest models.

The green bike next to Olga is from our Club.  Her name is, surprisingly, “Kermit” and it was her maiden voyage to a rally.  She ran really well and drew a lot of attention.  There was quite a good roll up from Bathurst and from our Club.

Having travelled to Orange for the start of the Rally, we then proceeded to ride back to Bathurst via Blayney for lunch and a display of the bikes.  There was a good roll up of sidecars and also BMW R75s (the same as Olga), which was good to see (not that I am biased).

This beauty won the Best Bike in the rally.  It is a very early Rudge in totally unrestored condition, however it goes really well and is seen in several rallies. It is not at all showy, but a real workhorse.  A well deserved award.

After lunch we headed back towards Orange via the Ophir Road, which has only recently had the last little bit sealed.  Another great motorcycling route that has now been opened up. 

Doesn’t this stretch of road with the tunnel of elms just out of Bathurst remind you of an English lane, especially with the old British bike and MG car.

How the scenery changes…… this is only about a mile further on.  Check out the lovely sky.

Turn the next corner to then be greeted by this!!!  That doesn’t look too promising when  you are travelling on a bike.

Fortunately, we dodged the storms all the way to Orange.  We had a tiny sprinkle and went on some very wet roads, but didn’t need to get out the wet weather gear.

Unfortunately, Kermit didn’t have quite as good a run in the afternoon.  She had a puncture in the rear tyre.  Not to worry, once back at camp, the boys got in and put in a spare tube and she was ready to go again for the run on Sunday morning.

One of the most important events on a weekend like this is “Happy Hour”. Six of our group camped over, so we had a nice leisurely hour or so sitting in the afternoon sun.

The presentation Dinner is held outdoors, but in a big tin shelter shed, which was just as well, as didn’t we cop the biggest storm!  The thunder, lightning and torrential rain lasted for a couple of hours, but fortunately, stopped not long after we went to bed. After that it cleared up to a starry night and lovely morning.

On Sunday us girls decided not to go on the ride, so Mick found a substitute passenger.  They have a lot of fun.

While they were on the ride we strolled over to Lake Canobolas.  We sat and watched this little family for ages. There was another duckling as well, but it was a bit of a rebel and kept swimming off.

The lake has a wonderful setting and it was so peaceful early in the morning.

When it was time to head home a couple of us decided to ride along the Ophir Road again, as it really is lovely.  It is also amazing how different the scenery can be when ridden in the opposite direction.

There is one spot half way along where there is a little dirt road heading up to the very top of a hill and Mick wanted to go up there to see what he could see.  Well, he could see a lot.  You felt like you were on top of the world and once again, check out that sky.  We could have sat there for ages, but had to get on our way.

We had a great weekend, although Olga had a couple of little coughs along the way.  She is now in surgery, as Mick is going to have a bit of a look into her innards to see if he can’t get her running a little better.  Hopefully she won’t be in hospital for too long, as we do like riding her.

Our next bike adventure will be on “Snubby” in March.  I can’t wait.

Another Swap Meet

Now that Christmas and the holidays are out of the way our weekends are starting to get a little busy.  Also, I’m a little slow in getting around to telling about them.

The week after our Swap Meet we went along to the one at the little village of Newbridge and had another little stall.  It is always nice to be able to just turn up and not have to be doing the work.

It meant a very early start, as the early bird catches the worm and it helps if the worm is actually there to be caught.

This is really a great way to declutter.  

There were some rather interesting things that turned up for sale.

What a procession.  Behind the cream car there was also an old bike.

I think they all went home on the same truck they arrived on.

We sold a little bit, but I think the best bit is sitting in the sun, catching up with friends that were there and just and having a chat to lots of people browsing.  Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

Here’s Cheers

One of my best friends had her birthday recently and it was good excuse to try out a tutorial for a wine tote I found  here.

It’s not the best photo, as it was taken as I was about to run out the door.  I think it turned out not too bad, although the pattern was a little fiddly.  I used insulbrite for the wadding, so it should even keep the wine cool, and the fabric is rather appropriate.

It is certainly something I would make again.

Swap Meet Time Again

The first Sunday in February always sees the Bathurst Swap Meet take place at the Showground and keeps us very busy. You can see previous years here, here and here.   It is the major fundraiser for the Bathurst Historic Car Club and also allows us to make some great donations to local charities.

We were down there bright and early on the Saturday getting everything set up.  There was, however, time to do a bit of stitching before the we manned the gates in the afternoon for lots of the stallholders to come in and set up for the next day.

It has been wet here all week, although nowhere nearly as bad as some places.  Mick’s phone ran hot in the few days before with people wanting to know if it was raining, if it was flooding and if it was still on.  Someone must have been looking down on us because it was fine on Saturday, with just a light sprinkle in the evening.  Then the sky lit up, boding well for Sunday.

We camped in our little camper trailer overnight, ready for the early start at 4.30am when people started to turn up.  It really is a case of the early bird coming to catch the worm.

We had a stall again this year.  Mick took down the old Douglas bike to sell and it was just amazing how it worked as a magnet.  People literally flocked to look at it and find out all about it and how much it was. The flow on effect was that they then looked at the stall and lots even bought things.  Mick had a big clean out in the shed. No, the Douglas didn’t sell, but we really don’t mind.

I didn’t do too badly with my section of the stall either.  Once again, having a big clean out of the cupboards.  We collect too many things and the house is about to explode.

During the morning this little fellow took a liking to a little green china vase.  He walked around and around it for ages.  The number of people that came up and asked if it was real or part of the the vase. He really did keep me amused.

The weather was just glorious and I think lots of people just wanted to get out in the sunshine, so they came down for a look.  Therefore, all the stallholders that I spoke to had a very successful day, as did the Club.  We have been so blessed, as in the 26 years of the Swap Meet we have never been washed out.

We were both really strong and didn’t even look at any other stalls.  It is the first time that I didn’t even go for a walk around, except to get breakfast and lunch.  It was the only way I could be sure that I wouldn’t defeat the purpose by bringing more “treasures” home.

Next Sunday we will do it all again at the little village of Newbridge.  We really enjoy attending their Swap Meet as we just turn up and don’t have to do any work. Hopefully, we will get rid of a bit more of our surplus stuff.

It’s the End of the Month

Here it is the last day of the month and no finish for OPAM.  It’s not that I haven’t been sewing, just no finishes to show.

Well, we can’t have that, so when I got home from work I thought I’d better make something little so the sidebar isn’t empty…..but what?

Then I thought of “Pink Phone”. 

I have a rather uneasy relationship with mobile phones….ie… I am completely hopeless with them.  I forget to charge them, and when I finally do, I proceed to leave them in the car. I have no idea how to  send or read a text and can only call someone if their number is written down in my little black book. When I went to Queensland when Dad was sick I was caught out in a tiny town and no digital cover, only Next G.  As I was intending to drive Dad home, freshly out of hospital I had to buy a better phone and ended up with “Pink Phone”. 

There is very little choice in a tiny Queensland town and the salespeople don’t know how they work.  I couldn’t get any help off the web, as my computer wouldn’t work there either.  So I ended up not being very good friends with this phone, except for the fact that I was able to change the back cover to a pink one.

We are gradually getting to know one another and I’m doing my best to keep her charged and in my bag so it would be nice if I made her a little cover.

Jenny has put out a bit of a challenge for repurposing.  I supposed I could do something along those lines.  A while ago I found some more linen clothes in an op shop and they have been languishing in the cupboard.  I bought this blouse thinking it would team with white for a French look.

I might do something one day to incorporate the lovely pin tucks, but not tonight.

I then went rummaging through some fabrics and came up with this combination.

Then it was just have a bit of a fiddle.  I used the same principle that I’d used to make a tissue cover a couple of years ago.  I used the thin iron on pellon, as I didn’t want it to be too bulky.  I’m rather pleased with the outcome.

The linen wriggled a bit and was probably a bit light weight, but the pellon stabilised it nicely.  The pearl button is just one I found in among my collection of button jars and the hat elastic came from a swing tag.

“Pink Phone” fits in nice and snug.  Now I just have to learn how to use her.

I think I might make a few more accessories for my hand bag using this fabric combination.

So now, at 11pm on 31 January I can add something to my sidebar for OPAM.  Yay!

Reaching a Milestone

Yesterday we had a big celebration for Mum and Dad’s 50th Wedding Anniversary.

I must admit that when we celebrated their 40th Anniversary I wondered if they would realistically  reach this milestone, as they were late starters, so it made it all the more special.

They knew the party was happening, there was no way that I could keep that a secret, but they didn’t know that their bridesmaid and flower girl would be travelling from Queensland to join them. 

It really made the day.

I had fun making a little display of Mum’s wedding dress and a few photos.  Mum made all the dresses (she was a dressmaking teacher at the time) and her wedding dress still looks as good as new.  It was designed to suit the old cameo brooch.  She was so tiny back then and the dress would only just fit on the mannequin for display.

They were joined yesterday by lots of friends and family and I think everyone really enjoyed the day.

Australia Day Outing

I hope everyone had a wonderful Australia Day, even if it was a bit damp.

We had grand plans  of getting a group of us together and motorcycling to Carcoar for their Australia Day Street Fair.  However, as the weather was looking somewhat inclement it was decided to take the car.  In the end there were only two couples, so they just came along with us.

Of course, it didn’t rain at all on the way out there, as Mick kept reminding us.  We could have brought the bikes after all.

Although it was not raining, it was a grey old morning and the usual crowds did not eventuate.  We still had a nice look around the lovely old town and all the stalls.  The things you see wandering the  streets.

There were lots of bric-a-brac stalls and I had a chuckle at one to see items that I had sold at our last Swap Meet, twelve months ago.  The dealer still had them and I was interested to see that her prices were only a little more than what I had charged.  I saved my pennies, except for a lovely scarf at a garage sale.

A feature each year is a re-enactment of the mail coach being held up and the subsequent gun battle.  You wouldn’t want to mess with this feisty old bird.  She is one of the goodies.

Here are the baddies.

If she can’t shoot you dead……

She will jump on top of you and thump you dead.  Like I said, don’t mess with her.

Next we had a look at the toy museum.  This was the first time we have found it to be open when we have been in the area.

My favourites – Kimba and a Rubiks Cube.

Gollies, although none like my old one.

Mick liked the ray guns.

This is for you Fiona, quite a collection of pencil sharpeners.

After fortifying ourselves with scrummy scones with jam and cream we hopped in the car to continue our adventure.  We had no plans, so ended up heading over to Canowindra for the best fish and chips lunch. 

To our delight, it started to rain.  Now there was a valid reason for travelling by car and Mick couldn’t carry on.

We girls had a lovely time exploring the gorgeous gift shops.  This one was especially lovely, although I was strong and didn’t bring anything home with me.

Meanwhile the well trained boys waited patiently.  Yes, that is rain making the photo grainy.

We only looked through the window of the patchwork shop, as it was closed. However, there was a very intriguing item of patchwork in the window.  I took a photo, but it didn’t turn out very well.  It was a combination of recycled tweeds, denim and corduroy.  Now that has definite possibilities.  I do like the look.

After we delivered our friends back home we had one more stop off before we headed home.  My camper trailer quilt has been quilted already.  That was much faster than I could have hoped for and it looks great.  Now I just have to add the binding for a finish.  I’ll aim for January OPAM.  I’ll have to see how I go.