Grandma's Bed

When I was a little girl we would go and stay at Grandma's for a week in the school holidays.  One of the best things for me was being allowed to sleep with Grandma in her big bed, which got me thinking of the John Denver song......

It was nine feet high and six feet wide

And soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty 'leven geese
Took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick.

(You can see John performing a rather different version of the song here.)

Now my Grandma's bed didn't quite have the dimensions of those in the song, but it was high and old fashioned, albeit with a lumpy kapok mattress.  However it did have a nice white Marcella quilt and green eiderdown.  The best thing though was that it had Grandma and she sometimes let me brush her long white hair.

Her Singer treadle sewing machine sat to one side and an old turned leg side table on the other side, under which there was a Big Old Tin Treasure Chest. There was also a big blue chair and blue chest of drawers.

This all took place over a rather short time frame, as she died when I was nine.  I was always rather sentimental and for quite some years loved going into her bedroom, sitting on the big bed and looking at the treasures from the trunk - old photo albums and a huge fat book called "Medicology", which was fascinating.

Many years passed and the room was to be repurposed.  The sewing machine came to me and currently has our TV sitting on it.  The chair and side table are with Mum.  What to do with the bed?  At the time we had own bed and our spare bedroom was set up with lovely old antique beds.  Sadly, I had no room for the bed I loved so much.  In the end my brother took it, used it for a while and then it went into storage, firstly in his garage and them in Mum's.  When Mum moved to the retirement village last year we ended up with the bed, once again in storage.

Finally, now that we have got rid of all the boxes of books we have a room in which to house Grandma's bed.

It is a simple bed, dating form 1927. The timber was rather dry, but other than that is in surprisingly good condition.  After lots of furniture polish and a new mattress it has come up a treat.  

The main design elements are the sweet decals on the head and foot, which is what I loved so much.  However, what I have really noticed is that it isn't really all that big - how perceptions change as we grow older. 

This room is still very much a work in progress.   No one can sleep here as yet, as there is no bedding under the quilt.  I still have to go shopping to make it nice and snug. It is the perfect size for my Nature's Journey quilt.  The Marcella quilt is probably the original one off the bed.

Yes, there is a sewing machine beside the bed, where there always was one, even if it isn't Grandma's. This White was one of our first auction purchases and lived in our bedroom for many years. Apparently, my other grandmother had a White.  We have also had the bedside cupboard on the other side of the bed for many years.  The quilt on the rack is an Anni Downs design I made from a kit not long after she opened her first shop here in town. 

We still have to hang some pictures and add a few bits and bobs to make it welcoming, but it sure looks better than a room full of boxes of books.

Out and About in April - One Very Busy Weekend

The last weekend in April was crazy busy.

QUILTS IN THE SHEARING SHED

Firstly, we headed out to O'Connell to attend "Quilts in the Shearing Shed".  This was an exhibition of over 100 quilts made by Bridget Giblin and her students in a local shearing shed.

We were greeted by members of the local Rural Fire Service, who supervised parking and ferried everyone across to the shearing shed.

First stop was morning tea.  Very civilised, with beautiful china cups.

After visiting the pop up shops, we were taken over the road to the rustic shearing shed.

Inside, it was transformed to display the quilts.  Some amazing work was on display.

BATHURST SHOW

After lunch we then went to the Bathurst Show.  The Show is one of those events you go to every year, for the social side of catching up with friends and acquaintances as much as anything.

The local wholefood co-op always have a great autumn display.

One of the local nursing homes did a great yarn bombed bike for their winning entry.

And of course, sideshow alley comes into its own once it gets dark.

We discovered last year that our front verandah is a great spot to watch the fireworks, so once again we came home to enjoy the spectacle.

SPRINGWOOD QUILT SHOW

On the Sunday, we headed back down the mountains.  This time to visit the Springwood Quilt Show,  Rachaeldaisy had talked me into entering two quilts.  As always, there was a great variety of quilts on display.

I had to take a photo of a Lucy Boston.  This version by Mary de Bruyn.

There is always a great variety of stalls.  So much cuteness.

This quilt by Kyeen McPherson was one of the three viewer's choice winners.  Just gorgeous work.

Rachaeldaisy's quilt was one of the other viewer's choice winners.

The third viewer's choice winner was Ann Langley's Farmers Wife.

No, mine was not a winner, but it was rather exciting having it on display.

My other entry was my little Windmill Mini from some years ago.  Mick designed this one.

If you exhibited a quilt you were expected to make a contribution of  your time.  As we live a couple of hours away, I decided that the easiest way to join in was to help with the pack up on Sunday.  It was great how everyone pitched in to take the quilts down, get them folded ready to collect and then dismantle and pack up all the stands.  We worked solid for an hour and then it was all done. A great team effort.

So. by the time we got home on Sunday night we were somewhat pooped. I think we did well to fit in so much over the weekend.

PS. I just read the roundup blog post for the Springwood Quilt Show here and was surprised to see a picture of me with my quilt.  

Nundle - Girls Day in the Country

THURSDAY

Once all the girls started to arrive this was a common sight.

Yep.  Tears of laughter.  So much laughter.

FRIDAY

Friday saw quite a few of us venture out to The Cottage on the Hill for a little retail therapy.  Notice how the nice sunny blue day of Thursday has vanished.  This was more like the weather we had for the rest of the weekend.

A kit for this quilt, plus a bit extra for borders to make it larger may have just come home with me.

There is always so much inspiration here.

Friday evening saw us all gathering in the camp kitchen for nibblies and  a little show and tell.

Deb's.  

Dzintra, Jo Jo and Kerri's.

Jenny & Chooky's.

Dawnie's.

Sandy's

Susan's

And mine.  (I'm sure Chooky won't mind that I borrowed her photo).

There is so much talent among this group of ladies.  I know I certainly wouldn't have the patience to do so much of the work they do.

SATURDAY

As usual we gathered at the Town Hall.

This is what we received on our table.

And just some of the lovely ladies on our table.

We were introduced to the lovely Bonnie Sullivan who then revealed our project for the day.

Wow!  Rather lovely.

Inside is a pincushion made from upcycled bedspread.

We received pre printed fabric with a lovely saying.  It was so easy to just stitch straight over the printed text.  Here is mine ready to applique to my circle of antique quilt.  How much use must this quilt have had?  The colours so soft and faded.  Yet, it has been beautifully created, with lovely, even, small hand quilting.  I wish I had taken a photo of the back before I stitched through it.  This is a great way to add life to something that would otherwise have been just put at the back of a cupboard.

This is as far as I got on the day - although the bird was stitched down before I left.  I also completed my pincushion.  I love that each sewing box will be different due to the unique scraps of quilt. I opted to have my steamer painted a French blue which should go nicely with the quilt piece.  It won't take long to finish the project.  That can be my Easter project.

There was a trading table of Bonnie's projects.  They really are lovely. 

As always there is a swap on the day.  We were given a design of Bonnie's and could make whatever we liked with it.  I came up with a little sewing holder.  

I received a lovely pin cushion made by Deb to add to my collection.

At the end of the day there was the usual group photo of all the bloggers.  

This one is rather special, as it is the last.  Yes, at the end of the day, rather than announce next year's tutor, Kerry announced that this, the 10th Girls Day in the Country, would be the last.  To say we were sad is an understatement, but we can understand that it is time for Kerry to move on to other things. To achieve what she has over those years is something she should be so proud of.

However, this will not be the end of our get togethers, as plans are afoot for something for next year.  I can't wait.

SUNDAY

So, while most of the girls were tucking into a yummy breakfast, Mick and I were packing up our campsite, ready to drive back home.  We'd enjoyed our stay in Nundle very much.

We travelled home the same way we had come.  I was hoping to see the other big cliff, as you drive out of the Bylong Valley, all lit up with sunshine, but alas, it wasn't to be this time either.

One thing we did notice coming home is just how dry it was on the tablelands, compared to where we had visited.  We had been missing out on all the rain.  Fortunately, that has now changed.

Hopefully, we will get to visit Nundle again in the future, despite the fact that there is no more GDITC.

Can You Believe It - Another Finish

Chookyblue is having a Chookshed Birthday Party this coming weekend.  Of course I will have to join the virtual party.

I told Chooky what I intended to work on - binding a quilt.

On Sunday afternoon I decided to get a head start and attach the binding to the quilt by machine, ready to just do the hand stitching.

Then I decided I'd just make a bit of a start......and ended up stitching two sides of the quilt before my eyes decided they'd had enough and gave me a dizzy headache.

Now I started to think of another goal....

Yesterday I took the quilt to work and managed to stitch another side down during my lunch break.  You can see where this is going...... Today I stitched down the final side in my lunch break.

So.......Ta Da!

My Nature's Journey is finished.

I had the top finished in September, right on track.  My friend Val quilted it in October and it has taken me until now to finish it off.  I had cut out the binding from the same chocolate fabric as the inner border, but could only find half of it after our move.  I searched the stash and came up with a civil war reproduction brown and cream striped fabric, so decided to use it.  If anything it was a better fit for the border, the chocolate may have been too dark.....then of course I found the rest of the original fabric.  I'm glad I went with the stripe.  The only fabric I bought especially for this quilt was a wide back for the backing.  Everything else was from stash, and much was from scraps, not that it has made any impression in the mountain of fabric I have.

It is also my first finish for my new sewing room.  Got to be happy with that.

Now I will have to find something else to work on for the weekend.  I think there may be one or two projects lurking in there.