Nature, Scraps and Memories

Last Thursday, these baby Willy Wagtails left their nest. Mum and Dad had been very busy raising them and continue to feed them as I've spotted them around the house since.  This is their second brood, the first nest built just outside our back door ... parents would get quite upset when we kept walking past so ... they actually pulled their first nest apart and rebuilt on the other side of the house where it was much quieter.

My crepe myrtle seems to be late blooming this year but has certainly put on a beautiful show. 

Last seam sewn today and "Calendar Quilt" is a completed TOP. I had to scroll way back through the blog to find where I first posted.  Commenced in 2009, it involved 1" strips for each day of each month so there are 365 different fabrics in this quilt. Quilting friends donated scraps here and there and I can see many past projects in these scraps.  In my defence, I finished the months in that year and just couldn't decide what to use as the sashings. As a UFO Challenge in 2018, I decided on the 4 patch set on point and made about half ... then it was back to storage. My thoughts once quilted (don't hold your breath) I'll bind in a red.

Another on my 'to do' list is Lucy Boston and I did say this would be my Zoom project ... so I've decided it can also be my project for our local patchwork days ... saves me having to think of projects, pack the sewing machine and everything else etc.

Update on the Temperature Quilt ... I've sewn the 2nd half of the geese ranging from 21deg to 40deg at the top. Just waiting for the final instructions.

Finally, my blog book arrived ... again 2 years in one as my blogging has gone by the wayside. This mother possum and her baby hold special memories. In the middle of town, beside a busy roadway. this mother found a quite garden in hospital grounds, to make her home and raise her baby. 

Nature never ceases to amaze. 
 

FNWF Report

Thank you Cheryll for hosting once again in 2018 ... happy to report I was pleased with my efforts and enjoyed a lovely night in.  First off was some tracing to get me back on track with Ruth's Quilt ... stitcheries 10 to 15 for December and January.

November stitcheries 7, 8, 9 were finished off the night before.

While making a quick trip to my Brother's place yesterday, this friendly feathered friend stopped by to share my snack by the roadside. I was sitting in the car with the door open so it used the top of the door for a perch.

Home again and after some more gardening in the late evening, I put the finishes stitches in the January block for AHCC which I had started on Friday night.

With the temperatures rising this morning, this happy chapping was taking advantage of the solar panel for our landline radio telephone.

Now I'm off to see what else others were making on Friday night.

Happy Easter

Our week that was ...

FNWF - Mudcake or Brownies?

Oh the dilemma! First I cooked brownies, followed by a choc mud cake before popping a lasagna in the oven now that the weather had cooled down enough to even consider turning the oven on.

Brownies and a milo ....

Then back to business ... putting the final stitches into this sweet pattern.

Thank you Cheryll for another lovely Friday Night with Friends xx

After all that beautiful rain and some amazing rainfall totals in neighbouring areas, all that water has to go somewhere. Taking most things in it's path.

This road is the one I travel on to get to work...once the river is high enough to spill over the dam spillway, water backs up the creeks.

If it's flooded ... forget it!

This weather also plays havoc with my internet. Just to post took ages so not much blog hopping happening ... most times I get "error loading" and then nothing happens.

Wrapping Up 2015

As 2015 comes to a close, I have a couple of finishes to share. The first is a design by Michelle Ridgway which I had been working on for a while. The stitchery had been done and waiting for a sewing spree which finally happened... just in time to wrap for my Christmas Swap Gift at our Patchwork Group Break-up on December 14. Loved making this tote and needle case.

I also finished the second red Santa Face knitted dishcloth but there was no way I could get my camera to take a reasonable picture. There was a little reverse knitting required at Patchwork Day. Then to use up the remaining blue and green cotton, I knitted up this cloth for a spare for myself.

With all the gifts wrapped and feeling organised for once ... I decided to check out where I'm up to with 'A Merry Christmas Garden' ... hoping to focus on this quilt for 2016.  Block 2 is almost finished and just needed the rectangle and square pieces cut out and a star made before sewing together. So then I spread out blocks 3 to 6 and cut all the fabric for these to make sure all my fabrics were distributed as evenly as possible.

Block 2

We have also had some very noisy visitors. Twice a year a large flock of Black Cockatoos fly over our house in the late afternoon and again at early morning. The sky can be almost black with them and a few stop off to chow down on trees around our house.

Christmas Day was a relaxed day with family ... some we hadn't caught up with in quite a while. Gorgeous Master J was busy trying out his new trike from Aunty L.

Looking forward to a new year with wonderful new memories to make and lots of crafty finishes too.

FNSI, CTTY and 1 Xmas Item

Seems a lot for one small dish cloth to live up to but I finished it off on Friday night and it's going in the gift draw ready for Christmas ... which scarily is getting very close.

Thank you Wendy and Anthea for keeping the fun and friendship in crafting.  Pop over to 1 Xmas Item A Month after the 25th to see more lovely projects.

My next dishcloth is going to be in green ... just like our lawn at the moment after some lovely rain and also this little friend who was busy having dinner on the outside of my kitchen window.

Anyone For Tea?

This was last Friday

Today was a beautiful afternoon for a pot of tea

Happy weekend     >^..^<

No Power, No Sew

Friday night sewing just didn't happen for me :(  Once I was ready to sit and stitch, a storm was almost upon us and by the time I'd gone around the house checking windows ... packing towels under the back door ... the power went out! Nothing left to do but go to bed and listen to the rain on the roof and watch the light show outside.

Photo taken Summer 2014

I think we received about an inch of rain Friday night ... missed out last night and it's already steaming up for today ... more storms forecast. Head the warnings, be prepared and stay safe.

I haven't been able to access my bloglovin for a few weeks now so I finally gave up yesterday and have started again from scratch ... giving Feedly a go.

Green Hills and Dam

Now that title is sounding a lot like someone's favourite story.  Computer is also charged and operational ... so much nicer all round. What a difference some good rain can make.

Beautiful red from the poinciana tree and the mock orange tree's white blossom has the most lovely fragrance.

We've fenced off some of the house yard so the horses can have a treat.

Still busy moving cattle about so that they all get access to some new green grass. There's not a lot of it yet ( a long way to grow back) so some have gone back to their paddock and the others are rotated about to give the grasses a chance to rejuvenate.

So time to get organized for Christmas with a few last minute chores around the house before family arrive in a couple of days.

To all my lovely blogger friends and visitors, I wish you a Merry Christmas full of love and laughter with those near and dear to you. 

May 2015 be everything you hope for and the weather be kind to all.

Oh The Excitement!

It's our turn ... woohoo!  Under today's storm .... 44 mm of rain over the front half of our property ... hubby went for a drive after and still dusty over the back paddocks.

May everyone get their turn several times over.

Like Rain Drops

My posts have become like the rain drops ... too few and too far between.  Yesterday started off looking good ...

only to measure 4 1/2 mm  while neighbouring areas were receiving between 40 and 80 mm (happy for them and hoping it's our turn next).  We've been forecast a wet week so everything is crossed that it delivers widespread soaking rains to all...and them some follow-up rain.

Two weeks ago I took some leave from work, swapped my playground duty hat and summer sandals for an akubra and riding boots to saddle up (after 20+ years) and help DH with the cattle. There's no feed left in most paddocks, so we take them out each day to find something to eat while still feeding hay to our breeders. My parents have been coming over each week to lend a hand also. Myself, hubby and dad... even my poor old pony has had to come out of retirement.

Needless to say, anything sewing related is non-existent and blogging has taken a back seat although I do a quick skip around a few favourites each night just for some 'normality'.

Over the last few years, we've been from flood to drought, broken by more floods and straight back into drought ... isn't it time for a regular, normal, reasonable season?

Buy A Bale

The Buy A Bale group made a hay drop in our area yesterday and we were very grateful to be recipients as we continue to feed our cows and wait for grass growing rains.  To find out more about this group and the fantastic work they are doing to help the farmers, click  on this link.

Our local newspaper has printed a story about our area delivery and how funds were raised at a Masquerade Ball in Gladstone organised by Sarah Baldwin. Check out the full story at this link.

Big thanks to our fellow Aussies for their generous support to this cause.

And The Beat Goes On

I have no clue how but these words just popped into my head when thinking of a title and now I have the tune stuck in my head. Off to do a search and found NOT the one in my head ... another search and here it is by Sonny and Cher.

Just a little bit of blanket applique happening here on a secret project and I did manage to prepare the lettering for LMF.

One more week of travelling to and fro and then a two week change of pace ... I'm really hoping to be able to get back into the swing of sewing and also have some major gardening planned.

As for my title, I was thinking that even though I've been feeling 'stuck in a rut' ... the days keep rolling over ... the rain clouds promise and then disappoint ... the roos come in for an evening drink ... (the white rail at the bottom of pic is the top rail of our house fence)

and Millie trots around like she owns the place.  "Will I or won't I go give the working dogs a helping paw?"

"Nah!  Mum needs help with the stitching I'm sure"

And the beat goes on     >^..^<