Caution - Mundane Post

I finally got to the sewing machine today and got the binding sewn on to my Kaffe Fassett quilt.  There is still some hand quilting to be done right up to the edge so I have chosen to put the binding on before trimming this time.  It just suit me better to do it this way this time.  Hope it works out to be straight or I am in trouble.  It is not a prize winning quilt anyway, just a quilt I have loved doing and look forward to using on our bed.


 
Speaking of our bed, I have had to put another blanket on this past week.  This is a woollen blanket I bought at a garage sale about 20 years ago.  It was in perfect condition and still is.  One of the jobs I love to do is make the bed every morning.  It gives an opportunity to let your mind wander onto what the day may bring.  A mundane task, but satisfying.
 
Now, to brighten this post up, a very happy little Lilian doing what she likes best - playing in dirt.

Butterfly Postcard

Lately I have been making a few of these postcards with a garden theme.   I am thinking of putting them on our sales table at the quilt exhibition.


I enjoy doing a little free hand embroidery on them to give added texture.  They are so much fun to make.  My machine still doesn't like satin stitching the edging though.  Will try a different tack next time - any suggestions gratefully received.

I am loving orange at the moment thanks to a stitchin fingers friend, Jennie.  It gives the pieces 'pop' I feel.  I am seeing a lot more orange in my future.

Chilly Weather and Comfort Food

We have had some very chilly south west to westerly winds here the past few days. This morning it went down to 3 deg.  In this sort of weather we seem to be constantly hunting food. 


The night before last we had one of our favourites.  Something you can't eat regularly but is nice now and again.
Smoked Cod:  As you can see I poach mine in a bit of milk with a good grinding of black pepper.
Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of parsley.



Last night  it was home-baked pizza (which we shared with our neighbours).








Here are the bases ready to be 'topped'
 This is the first time I have ever done my own pizza dough, it won't be the last.  Beats the socks off any ol' bases you buy at the supermarket and is so much better than take out pizza.  If you would like to have a go, the recipe is right here.  I didn't get a photo of the finished pizzas as I cooked them at the neighbours and didn't have my camera with me.


It must be a record, but yesterday morning I did not get out of my PJ's until about 11.00am!!  It was utterly gorgeous and a real treat.

Crochet & RSI

Why do we do it?? We know we should listen to our bodies....but no... we keep on going.


Yesterday I decided to crochet a dishcloth with some cotton I got at a very fine price at the Peachester quilt show.  Just wanted to finish it in one day!  Tonight I am paying the price.  Have rubbed some ointment into my arm and now sitting with a hot pack on it.  Looks like I will be taking a rest over the next little time with the crochet and hand quilting!!     
                       

 Here is the culprit - the funkiest dishcloth ever.  A little rough around the edges but my crochet is a little rusty. 


Here is our little granddaughter with her great Papa.

Hats and Nudes etc.

An interesting day.... First a visit to the Brisbane Art Gallery where a couple of friends and myself took in the exhibition  'Hats -an anthology by Stephen Jones'

 Here is Joan and Alison as we are ready to enter this wonderful exhibition.  The exhibition was very well set out and we spent a long time checking out all the different types of hats made from an enormous variety of materials.  Some of the hats belong to the V & A, some were from the collection of Stephen Jones and others.  All in all well worth the drive to Brisbane.

 Following 'Hats", we visited  the Gallery of Modern Art to see the Ron Mueck exhibition.  A little confronting (okay a lot) but quite awesome.

 Some of the sculptures were very very big like this baby,

and then some were quite small like these little old ladies.

 But all were in beautiful proportion and the features all so very realistic.

My Poor Neglected Blog

Dear Blog,
I am so sorry for neglecting you.  Life has been pretty darned boring around here.  All work and no 'play'.
When I do have some spare time I have been two-timing you over on Stitchin Fingers.  It is so inspiring over there and I have made some lovely SF friends too.  From now on, I will try and give you a little more of my time.


Last Tuesday a group of us went down the mountain range to Gatton and enjoyed the Queensland Quilters picnic with around 400 other quilters from all over South East Queensland.

The picnic was held in the grounds of the Gatton Historical Village and these are just a couple of the buildings we were able to explore.

Look at this dandy chair.  It had hidden secrets.

It was made out of old wooden crates.  The perfect place to store your chamber pot!
This chair was inside an old slab hut.  Our early settlers built these types of houses and one can only imagine how cold they were in winter with all their cracks in the floor and walls.

This hexagon quilt on an old iron bed would have kept a little of the cold out. (See that big opening between the wall slats?  Brrrrrr)

And look at this for ingenuity.  A chest of drawers made out of old kerosene tins.  Three cheers for recycling.

One of the highlights of the day was seeing this attempt at the World's Largest Hexagon quilt.  It was quite something.  I did a couple of flowerettes, but alas did not have all day and night to look for them......


I  am not one for statistics.  My brain likes to just sketch over things and move on to the next thing, but Judie Bellingham over at bellaonline.com has all the stats on this amazing quilt. Here  is the link.


You can also see a little about the construction of the quilt etc. on the Sew Creative Gatton website.

A very nice social day out and a break away from the office work.

Crazy Block - Brisbane

This blog post is dedicated to my dear friend Shirley who has endeavoured  to teach me some ribbon embroidery.  These rosebuds were done by instructions via an email from Shirley as we live some 1 3/4 hours away from each other.  Shirley always gives so freely to me and is a wealth of knowledge on anything embroidery.  She is quite the 'star' on Stitchin Fingers as she shows her work from present times and times past.  She kicked off the current frenzy to show your needlecase over on SF.  Anyway, Shirl, I know you will read this and hope these little rosebuds don't disappoint you too much.  Some turned out better than others!
 
 
This is the Brisbane Block and represents that part of our life spent in our very first home.  We were there from 1981 to 1992 and they were truly fun times.  We still keep in touch with our old neighbours.  Both our daughters were born while we lived here and  the memories evoked while stitching and looking at this block are very special.
 
Blackberries, done as per the instructions in Robyn Ginn's embroidery book.  We lived in Blackberry Street.