My Wishes for October

With a bit of luck, this month will be a little quieter than the last. Let’s see what I wish to get up to.

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

This is the easy, obvious.  The colour this month is dark or neutral, or make whatever you need of another colour.  Well, for me, that is lime green, as that is what I prepped at the start of the year.  I need to make the three crumb blocks, as well as the potato chip and solid crosses blocks.

This is the final colour for the year, so then it is time to get the quilt tops together.

MAIN MONTHLY WISH

Can you see where this is going?  However, the decision is whether to get three quilt tops made, or get one completed?  I think I will aim to get one completed.  Watch this space.

BETTY BLOCK

We are still to learn what this is, but it will be a priority.

USE ELLY MAY

Obviously, to quilt a RSC quilt.

KNITTING

I must finish my beanie.  It won’t take long.

I think my alpaca jumper will still remain on hold for now.

CROCHET

I’d like to get some more C2C squares made - at least four.

EXTRAS

I still need to complete my secret stitching, it shouldn’t take long.

There are still four half made bowl cosies.  It will be nice to get them done and dusted and off to the Hospital Auxiliary Shop.

My year is running out and there are a few other projects I would like to finish.  I may have to have a big push…… and not start any new ones.

15 MINUTES A DAY

I’ll try my best.

NON STITCHING WISHES

1. Try a new recipe.  I’ve no idea what at this stage, but I will definitely be making something.

2. Read a book.  We’ll see.

3. Fun day out.  Hopefully something towards the end of the month.

4. Use our caravan.  No, not happening.

5. Catch up on blog posts.  I’m working on it.

The Rest of September

I’ve mentioned already that September was a rather busy month.  Let’s see what we got up to.

In my wishes I had mentioned that I would like to try another new recipe.  I really do seem to be on a roll here.  I tried four.

Firstly, in honour of Dolly Parton, I made the Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa Cake.  It is mentioned in the movie Steel Magnolias.  It consists of:

1 cup SR flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup fruit salad (fruit cocktail) in syrup.

Mix and cook for 45 minutes or there about.  

Serve with ice cream.

Well, that was easy and tasty.  I made it in a 9 inch square pan and cut it into nine pieces.  A success.

Next, I made a jelly slice.  This has been on my wish list for some time and seems to be showing up on instagram a bit, so time to give it a whirl.  Another success.  So much so, that I made it twice more for the Radiation Bus Morning Tea and it was well received.

Now to try something savoury.  I had some chicken and just went with the first recipe that I had saved. It had spinach, ricotta, pasta sauce and a few other bits and bobs.  Super simple and super tasty.  The left over pasta sauce and ricotta were used as a pasta sauce with some frozen seafood.  A double success.

Finally, another instagram recipe.  This time an Impossible Coconut Custard Pie.  It worked and was delicious.

I didn’t read a book during September.

The little shelf in the kitchen did get its spring refresh…..eventually.

We had our fun day out at Rydal and I went to the Radiation Morning Teas.  Although I was helping, it was still fun.

Finally, we did go away again with caravan, although not planning to.  We made a snap decision to visit the Macquarie Marshes.  More on that soon.

And that about sums things up.

A New Discovery - The Falls

Recently, a conversation between Mick and one of his bowling mates included his mate asking Mick if he has visited the waterfall near Orange?  No, what waterfall?  Orange is just up the road, but we didn’t know of it.  That was definitely something to put on the agenda for future reference.

On Monday we had to pop up to Orange and had the afternoon free.  It was the perfect time to find this waterfall.  It turns out that it is on the Ophir Road, which we have travelled many times.

There was a car park just beside the road and a 400 metre walk to the waterfall through pretty open woodland.

We were blessed with a lovely sunny afternoon and a pleasant temperature.  Perfect for a nice and easy stroll.

There were just a few little wildflowers along the way.

We knew we must be getting close when we started to see rocky outcrops.

The waterfall is located on Spring Hill Creek and was well worth the visit.  It isn’t just one drop, rather a cascade. 

So very pretty.

After our visit we decided to continue on home via Ophir.  You end up on gravel road and fairly steep and windy in places.  

There is a peaceful camping and picnic area where you cross the creek. 

Ophir is where the Australian gold rush started in 1851, when Henry Hargreaves discovered some gold, while noticing that the landscape was quite similar to that of the Californian goldfields he had been.  (Apparently, others had already found some, but had kept it quiet.)

There isn’t much evidence of the settlement now, but is a popular camping spot.

We continued on our way home on quiet roads.  We only met two cars for the whole way.

The Macquarie River is looking lovely at Milkers Flat, as we neared Bathurst.

The afternoon’s detour hadn’t been planned, but was so much nicer than just driving back down the highway.

The Radiation Bus Morning Tea

The Radiation Bus is a service run by Bathurst Community Transport to take patients from Bathurst to Orange to receive their cancer radiation treatment.  It runs five days a week and is a free service to the patients.  However, it receives absolutely no government funding, relying solely on community donations.

To assist with that, a group of ladies hold a morning tea in September to raise funds.  This year was the third time it has been held.  I attended the first event as a guest and then gave a helping hand last year.  This has carried over to this year as well.

The morning tea is held in a beautiful old hall, kindly provided rent free.  Last year 110 people attended, which was too many for the space.  It was decided that this year it would be held over two days, being the Tuesday and Thursday of the same week.

On the Monday we went in and got the hall all set up and then went home to bake.  Several people contributed plates of food towards the event.

We had ninety people attend on the Tuesday.  In addition to a lovey home baked morning tea there were lucky dips, a monster raffle and a trading table.  A representative from Community Transport informed everyone about the various services that they provide.

One lady supplied some bowl cosies for the trading table and they all sold on the Tuesday, so that afternoon, after we had cleaned up and had everything set up to go again on the Thursday, I went out to Spotty and bought the cotton batting suitable for use in the microwave to make some more.  With some judicious cutting and piecing of the scraps there was enough to make eight cosies.  I completed four to take along.  The other four are half done.  I was over stitching those very thick seams by then.  Anyway, three sold and the fourth has gone to the Hospital Auxiliary Shop to be sold.

We had another seventy people attend the Thursday event, so it was definitely worth expanding to the two days.   I think everyone enjoyed themselves and if anyone went home hungry it was their own fault.  We even sold containers of leftovers to add more funds to the coffers.

It was a lovely event to be a part of, to all do our little bit to keep this vital service going.

Stitching Round Up for September

As I have previously mentioned, not a great deal of stitching took place in September.  There was too much else going on.  All good things, I may add.

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

The first thing I stitched was the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.

Completed just in time for the last Saturday of the month.

Then it was the Betty Block. 

The next item to go through the sewing machine was a spur of the moment make.  I made four bowl cosies and have another four half made.  

These were to sell on a trading table at the Radiation Bus morning tea.  More on that later.

MAIN MONTHLY GOAL

Finally, my one monthly wish was to complete the little Aeroplane Quilt.   I’m so happy with how this one turned out.  I think it is one of my favourites.  

USE ELLY MAY

Elly May did get used to quilt the Aeroplane Quilt.

CROCHET

In addition, I completed a further three crocheted squares.  Not a great result, but better than none.

KNITTING

My alpaca jumper is still on pause.  I have to psyche myself up to work out how to proceed with it and this wasn’t the month for it.

I did start my new oatmeal beanie……twice….  I made a boo boo first time around, so ripped it back and started again.  It should be finished, but it is close.  I’m up to shaping the crown.  I had bought two 50g balls of wool and as I was working away I realised that it would not be enough.  Add to that, I had bought the last two balls in the shop where I purchased it.  Fortunately, I was able to buy another ball at Spotlight.  I’m presuming it is not the same dye lot, but that doesn’t matter in the least for this.  

15 MINUTES A DAY

September = 22/30

YTD - 223/273 = 81.68%

And that’s about all I did, other than a little secret stitching, which I can’t share as yet.

Here’s hoping next month is somewhat more productive.  I think I will at least have a bit more time on my hands.

Aeroplane Quilt - In By the Skin of My Teeth

My Main Monthly Wish for September was to complete the little Aeroplane Quilt I pieced at Baradine.  I didn’t think that I would get it done, due to a very busy month, but we got there in the end.

This little quilt had its beginning when I purchased a cute pattern from the Sewing Basket stall for $1 at the Sydney Craft and Quilt Show at Darling Harbour in July.  

When it came to thinking about what to take to Baradine to work on in August this came to mind.  To actually make a pattern straight after buying it is quite a novel idea.  Anyway, I traced all the appliqué pieces onto Heat and Bond Lite at one of my patchwork days, cut them out at the next and then spend an entire day choosing fabrics, fusing and cutting out the appliqué shapes and cutting out the rest of the quilt.  It was all ready to go at Baradine.

Appliqué is a great mindless task to work on in a group and these shapes were generally nice and easy to stitch around, other than those small stars.  

The piecing of the top was completed while I was up there. 

I knew it would only take a day to get it quilted and bound, but yesterday was the first free day that I had.  

A simple loopy quilting design was all that was needed and suited the pattern.

It was lovely to be able to have the door open to the outside and see the crab apple in full bloom while working away.

Everything went nice and smoothly and we now have a very cute little quilt.

This quilt will be donated.  

QUILT INFORMATION

Measurements -55" high x 44" wide

Pattern - Sky Dreams by The Country Quilter.  This is a pattern from 2001.

Fabrics - Stash.  

Quilting Design - Loop Meander e2e by QCT6

Batting - Cotton/Poly

Backing and Binding - Left over wideback from Spotlight

Thread - Glide - Cool Mint

Daffodils at Rydal - 13 September 2026

I seem to be perpetually playing catch up lately, but better late than never.

Mick and I had a lovely day visiting the gardens at Rydal, near Lithgow a couple of weeks ago.  It was a beautiful day to be out and about.  This is in great contrast to some previous visits when it has been rather chilly.  Seeing as spring arrived unseasonably early, we were doubtful as to how many daffodils would still be in bloom, but we were pleasantly surprised.

Our first stop was at the Railway Station to buy ticket and enjoy the delightful gardens in the precinct.

There was also a nice selection of market stalls.

Next on the agenda was a walk through Pioneer Park, which graces the side of the hill leading up to the showground.  

Such lovely drifts of flowers.

Throughout the park there are tributes to various local families and identities.  This implement was in memory of our good friends that I mentioned in my previous post in August. I can just see Mick working on something like this.

What a sweet little bridge.

Back in the village, we visited Rose Cottage.

This has always been our favourite garden to see.  We have a few daffodils in our garden that we have bought there over the years and one came home this year too.

It is such a sweet cottage garden and we have enjoyed watching it evolve over the years.

An added bonus this time was a delicious morning tea on offer.  We shared a slice of Greek Custard Tart.

Next, we visited the Catholic Church, a lovely old sandstone building dating back to 1860. They have a nice border of daffodils along the front fence.

Inside, it is a simple building where services are still held four times a year.

Further along is a new home that has been built in the back of a large garden that we have previously visited.  It has fitted in seamlessly.

As we wandered back towards the main street, there is a garden with lots of quirky features on the footpath.  The old implement and truck in a bed of daffodils was rather fun.

The non denominational Union Church is always nicely decorated.

The former Police Station garden wasn’t open this year, but it still looked a picture.

By then it was lunch time and we thought we would get a meal at the Alexander Hotel, which is under new ownership.  Well, that idea was quickly abandoned when we saw the huge queues.  We will return for a drive one week day to test it out when it is less crowded.  A sausage sandwich from the community stall was a far better option on the day.

While eating, we were treated to the Canobolas Pipe Band from Orange entertaining everyone.

The final garden we wished to visit was Karingal.  This is the property that our friends used to own.  Please go back and read my post from 2011 when we visited during Daffodils at Rydal. At that time it had new owners.  The garden and cottage were pretty much how we remembered them.

Well, it has since sold again and undergone quite the transformation.  There are now verandahs all the way around the house.  

The gardens have been formalised with quite a few daffodils removed.  

What was a separate sandstone barn has now had a breezeway added between it and the main house and a big addition along the front.  What a transformation from the bare building that Mick remembers from many parties in his youth.

The old shed has been replaced and new sheds added further down the property.  It all looks really impressive.

Over the road from the property there is still a drift of daffodils along the roadside.

And that concluded our very enjoyable day out.  The event is now only held every second year, so we look forward to visiting again then.