A Fun Day Out at the Sunflowers

On Sunday we had our first Fun Day Out together for the year.

Last year, after the event, we heard about a sunflower farm being opened to the public to raise funds for charity.  It was the first year of the event, so when we heard that it was on again this year we put it in the diary to go and have a look see.  Sunday was the day that finally worked for us.

After several days of temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s, Sunday was a bit better, with some rain about the district, not that we received more than a sprinkle here at home. It did however, make some stunning scenery of the summer grasses against the dark sky.

Our first stop was at the pub in Newbridge for a nice counter lunch and a mosey in the craft and bric-a-brac store next door.  Mick found a vintage LP and Wilbur Smith book and I found a metre of 1970s cotton to add to my growing collection.

We knew roughly where to find the sunflowers, at Hobbys Yards, but it wasn’t until you were nearly there that there was any signage.  You can’t see it from the main road, rather you have to turn up a very minor country road.

The story behind this is that the lady owner of the property wanted to plant some sunflowers, so last year they planted five acres, just for fun.  When there was quite a bit of interest, they opened it as a fund raiser.  This year their charity is Motor Neurone Disease, with the aim to raise $1,000.  They are confident of reaching their goal.  So what do they do with the sunflowers after they have finished flowering?  They let their sheep into the paddock and they make short work of eating them all.

When you get there, there is a paddock for parking and just the paddock of sunflowers.  There is an honesty box for donations and a bucket with a couple of pairs of secateurs for you to pick some flowers.  They are open every day from sunrise to sunset.

The flowers are looking a little worse for wear this year, as the weather has not been very kind.  It has been so hot and dry that they are suffering.  However, they are still lovely to visit.

We had a nice wander around.  We were surprised that there were only a couple of other cars in the car park, so you felt like you had the flowers to yourself.

The bees were enjoying themselves.

We took the obligatory selfie.

And picked a small bunch to take home.

It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

Our bunch of blooms are making the kitchen look nice and cheerful.  

To cap off a wonderful day, we were treated to a firey sunset.

My February Wishes

February will have a bit more going on than January, so my wishes will be tailored accordingly. 

MY MAIN MONTHLY GOAL

My main goal for the month is to finish my Swoon Quilt.  The top was completed in January 2023. Another quilt that was added to the quilting queue for when I was brave enough to quilt it on Monique. The binding had already been prepared, but there was no backing fabric with it.  Fortunately, there was a suitable wideback in the stash. Now is its time to shine.

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE AND BETTY BLOCKS

The colour this month is Green.  It won’t take me too long to get these pieced.  I have plenty of green scraps to make the crumb blocks and to make Betty’s strip.

USING ELLY MAY

The Swoon Quilt is the only goal for the month.  It would be nice to do some more, but any will be a bonus.

STITCHING DAYS

I really don’t know what I will work on.  Now that my Christmas tree skirt stitcheries are done I have to made a decision. I’ll let you know at the end of the month.

KNITTING AND CROCHET

Once again, there are no plans set in concrete.  I have a few options that I will consider, but I do want to work on something.

SECRET STITCHING

I have something in the back of my mind that I think I would like to make, so would like to make a start this month.

15  MINUTES A DAY

Of course, I would like to work on something for at least 15 minutes each day.

As you can see, my goals are rather vague and fluid at this stage.  Hopefully, there will be plenty of progress to share as the month progresses.

NON STITCHING WISHES

They are pretty much the same as usual:

1. Try a new recipe.

2. Read a book.  I still haven’t finished the half read one sitting beside my chair.

3. Have a fun day out.

4. Finish my jigsaw.  It didn’t get finished in January.  It really needs to be completed so we can reclaim the dining table.

It is a short month and we will be heading away for a few days, so we’ll see how we go with everything.

Other Happenings in January

Other than stitching, there were a few other bits and bobs happening in the background and I had those other few wishes to achieve.

Let’s start with my wishes.

TRY A NEW RECIPE

Yes, I made the quiche with the wrap instead of pastry.  Very simple, but ticked the box.

READ A BOOK

Well, I never did finish the book sitting beside my chair.  I still need to get back to that one.

However, I did listen to two audio books.  They came up on the list on Borrow Box when I was looking for something else.  They were both very light hearted, but a nice listen.  I have reserved the third in the series and hope it becomes available soon.

They are the Tea Lady series, set in the fashion district in Surry Hills, Sydney in the 1960s.  These are cosy murder stories.  I’m finding I prefer that style rather than gore and guts lately.  An interesting look at how things were back then, and incorporating some current happenings that affected the way we lived.  The narration really made them.  I think the audio books would be better than just reading them.

HAVE A FUN DAY OUT

That didn’t really happen for me, but Mick had one.

While watching Day Four of the Sydney Test Cricket, it became apparent that there would be a fifth day that could prove to be interesting.  At short notice, Mick and his brother decided to drive down and have the day at the cricket.  Despite being a Test Cricket tragic, Mick has never been to one.  They had a fantastic day out.

It was extra special, as it was the last day that Usman Khawaja played for Australia.

We did go for a nice walk along the river, here in town one morning, before it got too hot.

There were a couple of water dragons sitting quietly beside the path.  They weren’t the least bit disturbed by us walking past.

We did notice a lot of corellas having a drink.

COMPLETE THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

That hasn’t happened.  Mick has put in a few pieces, but I have done very little.  I really need to get it done and off the dining table.

On the home front, it has been hot.  Very hot.  We can normally get the occasional day reaching the low 40s C, but we have had over a week of it and also lots in the high 30s.  Add in some hot winds, and the garden is really suffering.  We are fortunate that the orientation of our house means that our living areas are not on the north west side, so cooler than it could otherwise be.

Our garden has been providing zucchinis.  The beans have taken a beating.  They may come good again.  We hope so.  There are lots of flowers.  The tomatoes have pretty much failed.  That seems to be the story right across town.  We are getting enough for eating, but there won’t be enough to make sauce or relish, which is a shame, as we are down to our last bottle of sauce.  We may have to buy tomatoes to make more.  That is not good at all.  Anyway, there is nothing we can do about it.  Just hope for better seasons in the future.

So, that is January in a nutshell.  Now to look foward to February.

Stitching Recap for January

I went into January with some rather lofty stitching goals.  I was hopeful, although not thoroughly confident, that I could tick them off the list, as we didn’t have a lot of plans for the month.

I’m very happy to say that everything was done, and even a little exceeded. That can be put down to a couple of Chooky Zoom sessions, on New Year’s Day, the evening before Australia Day and on Australia Day.  The best way to spend time in exceedingly hot weather.

So, what did I achieve?

(Do you like my button border?  I used to paste one I found on the interweb, but I can’t get it to go into my posts now, so created my own from some of my button collection.)

We’ll start with the new projects that I have already started in 2026.  

These first ones are all projects that will be worked on over the next year.

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

I started two new projects, the Black and White Potato Chip blocks and the solid crosses blocks, and have added my crumb pieced blocks to the list.

I am continuing to join in with Betty’s group quilts.  We were requested to make a strip and send to her.  Well, I have ended up making three.  Two have been posted (the blue and purple) and the third will get sent down when I have another to add to the envelope.

I have started another project….of course I have…… It is a little Christmas tree skirt from an Anni Downs kit.  The grand plan was that this would be my hand stitching project for the next little while at my stitching days, starting this month. 

Well, thanks to the Zoom sessions, particularly the one on Australia Day, all the motifs have had their appliqué added and have been stitched.  That is more than expected.  I now have to work out what I do next on the pattern.  The motifs will have to be appliquéd down, but I’m not sure how much I need to do before that stage.

Oh, and I may have had another start as well.  I have been seeing some cute Blossie Baskets by Craftapalooza and there is a stitch along.  Of course I had to join in.  It is a nice, quick, simple project.  I started and had all the hexies stitched at my stitching day on Wednesday.  I finished it off on the last day of the month.  So, that is my first start that has already been finished this year.

That’s five starts already for the year.  That doesn’t look too promising for ending the year with less projects on the go than at the start of the year.

Now to the UFOs that were worked on.

First up, the Spiked Granny Square Rug that has been hanging around for too long was finished.  Now I can start a new knitting project, guilt free.

Then it was time to play with Elly May.  Four quilts have been completed and ticked off the Quilting Queue.

Five and Dime

Secret Garden

William Morris

Wensleydale

Last year, while on a day out, we popped into the op shop at Portland and I purchased this little book for $1.  One of those purchases that you can’t resist, but when you get it home you wonder why, as you probably won’t use it.  Well, I’m using it.  It is perfect for recording the details of all the quilts that I quilt using Elly May.  Size and name of design etc.  It has proved to be just what I needed. Happy dance.

The other UFO that I worked on was my Leader and Ender, being Bonnie Lass.  I managed to make a further 40 units.  I now have 220 of the 392 units made.  I could have made quite a few more, but ran out of cut pieces of fabric.  That needs to be addressed. 

Therefore, other than the Leader and Ender, I’ve concentrated on one UFO at a time, and finished it, which is a nice change.

HOW I FINISHED UP

Five starts for the month.

Six finishes for the month!  I consider anything that was not completed at the end of 2025 to be a UFO.  Therefore, I have completed FIVE UFOs!  My goal is to complete twelve this year. Go me! I only completed five UFOs in all of 2025.  

I now have one less project on the go than at the start of the year.  That’s a good start.

How did I go with my wish of 15 minutes a day?

January =   30/31

Year to date =   30/31 = 96.77%

Not too bad.

Finally, I  managed to empty 4 spools of thread, to add to my pretty jar. 

All in all, January was a very good start to the year.  I am under no illusions that the year will continue to be as productive, but I’ll take a win when I can.

The Final January Finish - Blossie Basket

I have been seeing some rather cute Blossie Baskets popping up here and there.  It is a design by Nic of Craftapalooza, a West Australian designer.

She announced that she was having a stitch along, so I decided to join in.  Why not?  It is a quick and easy project.

The hardest decision is the fabric choice.  There are so many versions out there in so many different styles.  In the end I decided to raid my 1930s fabrics.  Initially, I was going to use a variety of colours, but in the end just used a selection of pretty blues.  Then to choose the contrast fabric or fabrics.  The winner ended up being a micro dot with red and green dots.  It is actually a Christmas print, but works well here.

The next fun part was making all the hexies.  They were the ideal project to work on at my Wednesday stitching group last week.  The pattern suggested hand quilting each hexy, but I like the finish of machine sewn…….and I’m lazy.

Today, I joined them into the little lidded basket.  So sweet.

Inside, the bottom hexy is reversed.  The pattern calls for a felt needle keep under the lid.  I was also too lazy to make that, but wanted a neat finish to the elastic closure.  The mini hexy finishes it off nicely.

This is my first project that was started and finished in 2026.  Happy dance.