And Now for the Weather

I've been rather remiss since our holiday to Queensland to post very much on my little blog, so there is quite a bit of catching up to do.

I think the weather is rather topical, following the weekend we just had........

So, let's start at the beginning.......

While we were enjoying the warmth of Queensland in May, Bathurst received some snow.  We don't get snow in town very often, so that was quite novel, and early for the season.  There was snow on the surrounding hills again in June.

Other than that, it has been a very dry and warm winter.

When I was a kid, we used to go and stay at Grandma's (about an hour's drive away) during the spring holidays, which back then were the last week of August and the first week of September.  If we were lucky, during the second week, after lunch, we may be able to sit in the sun on the north facing verandah and take our jumper off and soak up the sun in a tee shirt.............This year I did that in our back yard in July!!!!!  We've had several days reaching 17 and 18 degrees C.  That is unheard of during July.

July was one of our warmest on record, with temperatures regularly 3 or 4 degrees above average.

Now to the other extreme......

We haven't had too many severe frosts, but our back yard seems to pool the cold air near our thermometer.

This was the most extreme we experienced - -10 degrees C!  But it didn't look all that frosty outside, because it is so dry.

We had a lovely "red in the morning" sunrise one day, but no rain eventuated.

We have had bits and pieces of rain, but nothing substantial and the level of Ben Chifley Dam, our local water supply, continues to drop.  We will commence serious water restrictions in the middle of October unless we get some major rainfall....but nothing like that is forecast.  At least our town isn't having to truck in water, unlike quite a few are now doing, with more getting very close to needing that.

As a consequence of it being so dry, we haven't had many of our well known fogs.  However, one Saturday we had a doozy.

Mick and I headed out at about 9.30am and this is what greeted us just down the road.

Now that is quite some frost.

So pretty.

I took this photo of our dripping tap at about 10.30am on the same morning.  It was a bit fresh that day.

Generally, we had been lulled into complacency that the worst of winter was over.......but we should never forget where we live, and that it can snow well into October and Mick remembers, when he  was a kid and lived in the surrounding high country, having a white Christmas!

All last week they were forecasting an "Arctic Blast" and "Polar Conditions" for the coming weekend, but locals were just saying they were exaggerating and we always get a "cold snap".  Well, we certainly did get a cold snap....quite an extreme one......

It started on Thursday night and Friday was freezing.  Snow started to fall then on the hills.  

On Saturday, as Mick was heading off to work (fortunately he was working inside), we notice that Mount Panorama had a white dusting.

After a while I had a look outside and was surprised to see it snowing here too. They were big flakes, although they don't show up well in the photo.  Sadly, nothing settled here in town.

Mount Panorama is supposed to be in the background of this photo.

The surrounding towns of Oberon, Orange and Blayney, as well as the Blue Mountains, received good falls all through Saturday and into Sunday as well.  The Oberon area was reported as receiving up to 40cm of snow!

We only reached 2.7 degrees C on Saturday and Orange only reached 2.1 degrees C.  Their coldest maximum temperature on record!

Two of my work colleagues were unable to get to work today and I expect one of them will not be able to get in tomorrow either.

So, after all that excitement, today was a beautiful day, reaching 13 degrees C.  We are supposed to get some serious frosts this week, but with lovely days.  By the weekend we are expected to reach 17 degrees again.

The weather is definitely crazy.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge for August

For a change, I already have my blocks completed for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month.  The colour is light blue.

Only two more months of blocks to go before I start putting them all together.  I had originally planned on making 30 blocks, but then decided to add another row, so another six blocks.  I haven't started them as yet, so we'll see if I do that or go with the original plan.  Mind you, they are so quick and easy it won't take much to do the extras........The hardest part will be pulling the fabrics and getting cutting.

Pop over to So Scrappy to see what other blue items have been made this month.

A New Crochet Project

Back in June, when Mick and I attended the craft show in Sydney I had an item to shop for.  Mum is knitting a blanket and needed a bigger circular knitting needle.  I hadn't been able to buy one locally. 

The night before we went to Sydney I was trawling the internet, looking at prices and what is around.  I then expanded what I was looking at and started looking at crochet scarves and shawls, as you do.  I had really enjoyed crocheting my simple scarf at the beginning of our holidays. (By the way, I've been wearing it lots this winter.)  I then started looking at yarns on line as well. Just browsing, not buying. That was that.....or so I thought.....

It took a bit of a look around the craft show to find the knitting needle, but we found one.  However, while looking we discovered several stalls selling beautiful yarn.  Coincidentally, one of the stalls was one of the websites I had been looking at the night before... and had the yarn I was looking at... and had a sample of the shawl I had been looking at made up in the yarn.......Of course you can see where this is going.....

The yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend and made in Turkey.  It has four strands and the colours change by one strand at a time, with tiny knots of that strand.

The pattern I had been looking at was the Virus Shawl.  It is a free pattern and there are a few Youtube tutorials.  There is also a version called the Virus Meets Granny Shawl and a fellow called Fiber Spider has the most detailed tutorial, over 3 parts.  It certainly makes it easy to learn the pattern.  Many versions are in 8-ply yarn, but this yarn is much finer, so I hope it will be nice and drapey to wear as a scarf.

I went with the Virus meets Granny version, just to create a bit of visual interest, and the granny sections are quick and easy to work.  Always a bonus for me.

I got started at the beginning of July.  The pattern is fairly easy, once you've seen the tutorial. The yarn is rather splitty, which means I have to take a bit extra care, but so worth it.

It has been something nice to work on when sitting in front of the heater.  The sewing room is shut off from the general living area of our house and gets rather cold, so it isn't really practical or pleasant to just duck in to do a few minutes' stitching, rather I need to get the room warm and make the best use of that time. Therefore, it was nice to have something else to work on.

Initially I had my project living in a plastic bag, but then I remembered the beautiful knitting bag I received from Oddbjorg in the Secret Santa Christmas Swap back in 2015.  It has been absolutely perfect for keeping things together and taking it along to work to do a little in my lunch breaks.  It is so nice to be using it.

This is where I am up to now.  I have to do another band of granny clusters and then another three rows of scallops and I think it will be finished.  Each row does take quite a bit of time now, so if I get a row done each day I'm happy.

The graduation of the colours isn't all that noticeable, but I think there will be enough yarn left on the ball to make a second version from the lighter part of the ball.

I've never blocked anything before, but this will definitely need it.  Something else to learn.

I haven't included this in my goals for August, as it isn't sewing, but I do hope to have it finished this month.  I'm really happy to say that I haven't created any new UFOs in the last year or so, and I intend to keep that record going.  Also, I want to get it finished while the pattern is still in my head.

I will then still have the other half of the ball of yarn to use for something else, probably something similar to this, but with some variation.  

Oh, and I bought another ball of Caron Cake yarn when it was on special, this time in a neutral colour palette.  I'm not sure what pattern I will use, but it will be something simple once again.  It would be nice to have it ready for next winter.

I just thought I'd show you where Mum is up to with her rug.  She has a nice little corner where she sits in the sun and knits and crochets.  (If she isn't knitting, she is crocheting tops on kitchen hand towels, having made about a hundred int the last year or so, all to raise funds for the church fete.)  Mum has made several of these rugs over the years using two yarns at a time.  She gets one yarn, generally a dark colour that she uses throughout and then adds in other colours, using up all sorts of scraps of yarn.

This time she is using a lovely blue that is on a cone.  It was quite a bit bigger than this when she started the rug.

Who knows where she got it from, but it is rather old and originally comes from a woollen mill in Ipswich Queensland.  I'm sure the mill will be long gone.

I'll never be as proficient in these crafts as Mum, who has made some beautiful things over the years and is always rather prolific, but it is nice to be having a bit of a go.

One Monthly Goal - August

The time has come around again to set my goals for the month.  This is the best challenge for me, as the accountability means I am actually meeting my goals, whereas it would otherwise be too easy to just put things off until "later", whenever that would be.

This month the decision wasn't too hard. Following my project of the twister table runner last month I have a little pile of scraps.

The larger left over parts of the fat quarters were returned to my little box of Anni Downs fabrics, but I was left with this pile.

Using the twister ruler creates quite a bit of waste. I didn't take a photo of the actual cutting, but the cutting diagram from the instructions shows all those little squares.  They aren't on the true bias, but just wonky.  As I have made two of the table runners there are 48 little squares, together with a lot of lopsided brown triangles and a bit of the border and binding fabric.  I'm hopeless at throwing away fabric, but I don't want them to languish in a scrap bucket.

Therefore, my goal for August is to make "something" with them.  It will be a mystery project, as I have no idea what I will, or can, make with them.  It will be fun playing, if nothing else.

Of course, in the background, I will be creating my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  The colour for this month hasn't been announced as yet, so we will just go with the flow.

I also hope to make four Splendid Sampler 2 blocks, although more would be nice.  We'll see how we go.

My One Project a Month goal will be my twister scraps project.

That little lot should keep me out of trouble.....I hope.  Wish me luck.

You can see what other goals have been set by popping over to Elm Street Quilts.

One Monthly Goal for July

As usual, it took to the very end of the month for me to meet my goal for the month, but we got there.  Thank goodness for accountable goals to get me over the line.

My goal was to turn this little pile of fabric into a table runner, the same as I made as a swap gift some years ago.

Happily I met my goal. The twister ruler gives such an effective pattern.

The fabrics in the centre are from one of Anni Downs' ranges.  The outer border is not hers but compliments it beautifully.

I quilted it with my walking foot.  Lots of twists and turns as I echo quilted each windmill section. 

I do love the colours.  They go rather nicely with our old table and dresser.

Not only is this my One Monthly Goal, it is also a finish for One Project a Month with Kris.  There were also a couple of  "in the background" goals as well, which I met and shared here. 

I'm so happy to have met my goals each month this year.  While I haven't completed many UFOs, I haven't created any more.  That is a great feeling.

Pop over to Elms Street Quilts to see what everyone else achieved during the month.

Now to decide what to work on next month.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Splendid Sampler for July

Each month I set myself some stitching goals.  Firstly, my One Monthly Goal (OMG) and in the background the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) and Splendid Sampler 2 (SS2) and I like to have a finish for One Project a Month (OPAM). Don't you love an acronym.  

My challenge before sewing anything this month was to excavate the cutting and sewing tables.  That started a big sort out of my sewing room.......not that anyone could tell if they visited.  It still has far, far too much stuff in there.  However, I did find some treasures that had not seen the light of day for a very long time.

So, back to the stitching......

The colour for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month was Pink.  This month I made four blocks, which are always nice and easy.

My goal with SS2 was to make four blocks.   In my archaeological dig of my sewing room I discovered another little stash of 1930s prints.  Bonus.   There were even a couple of charm squares in there. Some of these have been around from when I had not long been quilting......I had pre-washed a couple of fat quarters. That doesn't happen any more. Anyway, I decided that I would use these new to the collection fabrics this month.

Ta da!  There were some very pretty fabrics in the little collection.

Now, to keep it real, I was showing my completed blocks to Mick when I noticed a little boo boo.  

Do you see it? At least by being on the corner it didn't take much to turn the two blocks around the right way.  I'm glad I found it when I did.

I'm still working on the table runner for my OMG, which is also my OPAM, but it is getting there.   No worries, I still have a whole three days up my sleeve.

I'm linking up for the RSC over at So Scrappy.

Before and After - The Laundry

We've been wanting to spruce up our laundry for quite some time.  It is rather plain, with a back door, door into the kitchen and door into the garage.

Before we went on holidays we brought our hanging zygocactus inside, out of the frost, and just had it sitting on the bench.  Once we returned Joey accidentally knocked it off the bench.  It overbalanced because the plant was all on one side of the pot, no fault of Joey's.  Fortunately, the plant survived relatively unscathed.

It did however spur us into action to hang the plant and tidy up the laundry.

So, to some before photos..........not quite before, as we forgot to take any before we installed the new shelf on the wall.

From the back door, towards the garage.

From the kitchen.  When we moved in we took the end door off the cupboards so that we could hide Joey's litter tray and give him access with some privacy.  

Towards the back door.

Now for the after....

From the kitchen.  A white basket tidies up Joey's food nicely.  I found a cute basket to put on the bench for Joeys' sachets.  The fabric basket next to it will be moved shortly. We have a bit of a zygocactus nursery happening, as I stuck the bits that broke off the main plant into pots to see if they will strike.

It was fun to find some of our vintage laundry bits and bobs and lamps. There will be more tucked away that may get added later. 

Towards the laundry door with the large zygocactus hanging up.  

Getting the hook in place was quite a feat for Mick, as it is right in the corner of the house and access was very difficult to add a solid support in the ceiling space.  He did well.

Now, all these photos look nice and light, but that is because the light was on and I used a flash.  The room is actually rather dark.  You can see the wattle tree out the window in the photos above.  It was wonderful after Mick removed the trees, but still not all that light.

We then had a light bulb moment......pardon the pun......

How's that for a difference!  The glass door, which wasn't very expensive at all, makes such a wonderful improvement.  We keep thinking the door has been left open, when the morning light streams in.  Joey likes it too, as he can see outside.  He still likes to sit in his usual spot on the blue laundry powder container in front of the window.  Joey is not a small cat, most people actually comment how big he is, so he does well to perch on it.

We're very happy with the change to the laundry for very little expense and not a real lot of effort. It certainly has made an improvement.

Before and After - The Garden

While I didn't get much stitching done in June, lots of other things happened here at home.

I've shared earlier here and here that we started a new garden out the front. Before we went on our holiday we planted 50 mixed daffodils, some foxgloves, pansies, box shrubs and lavenders.  However, we had to wait until we returned home to buy the centrepiece.

We now have a nicely shaped weeping cherry.  The garden bed should put on a nice show in the spring.

Now that the raspberries had finished fruiting it was time to tidy them up.  The rule of thumb is that you remove canes that have fruited and next year's fruit grow on second year growth.  However, I read on a blog that autumn fruiting varieties can be cut back to the ground.  Our plants were given to us by a friend, so we had no idea what variety they were, but in their first year they seemed to fruit more in autumn that early summer, so last winter we cut them right back.  It worked beautifully, and is so much tidier during winter.

Also, before we went away, Mick cleared out our raised vege beds of the spent plants and dug in some worm castings from our worm farm.

Here it all is, nice and tidy, on a frosty morning.  All that was left is the parsley, silver beet we planted in early autumn and tarragon.  The white things you can see in the centre of the beds are worm tubes.  They are just sewer pipe with lots of holes drilled in the sides set deep in the beds.  Add a handful of worm farm worms and feed them kitchen scraps.  They act as a feeding station for the worms, where the eat the scraps and then go through the beds doing whatever worms do to improve the soil.  They work surprisingly well.  We top them up with scraps every month or so.

When we returned home we planted some peas and broad beans, which are just starting to poke their heads through the soil.

Next on the agenda was to remove some wattle trees at the end of our back verandah.

The wattles provided good shade in the summer but always looked messy.

They were also rather large for their position.

After a busy day, and a very full trailer, things look rather different.  We were amazed at how much extra light came into the yard.  Not something only realised by us.  Our next door neighbour also gets lots more light into her kitchen. 

The plan is to build a frame off the end of the verandah and plant a wisteria, which should still provide summer shade, but let in winter light, as well as have beautiful flowers.  Mick is busy scheming on how he will build the frame.  I think that will be his next project to have ready for when we can buy a wisteria plant in spring.

Some more tidying up will take place closer to spring, but we are happy with progress so far.

One Monthly Goal for July

It is once again time to set my achievable stitching goal for the month.  Decisions, decisions........

After the mad scramble at the end of last month I do hope to be a little more organised, and to kill two birds with one stone by making my goal to complete something, so that it also meets my One Project a Month goal as well.

Way back in 2013 I made a table runner for Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap and my swap partner was Caro in the Netherlands.  I made a table runner for her, which I was delighted to see on her table in several of her following blog posts.  I really liked the way it turned out, so set aside the remainder of the fabrics to make a version for us.  As you can guess, it never happened.........until now.

The fabrics have been waiting patiently in their little baggie.  Other than the green one on top, they are from an Anni Downs range from back then. I still love the colours.  The pattern is made with the Lil Twister Ruler.  A fun method, which is easier than it looks, although rather wasteful of fabric.

In the background, I will be making my pink Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks and hope to make at least four Splendid Sampler 2 blocks.  That little lot should keep me amused.

Pop over to Elm Street Quilts to see what the other clever ladies will be up to.