SSCS parcel posted

My SSCS parcel is now making its way to somebody somewhere - hooray! Now to finish more secret sewing - I'm in 3 Christmas swaps - how mad is that!

Good times

The Mr and I have been on a little motoring holiday to NSW. Being the first of many trips (I hope) of our retirement, it was quite special.
But what made it even more special (for me, and the Mr didn't mind a bit) was being able to attend a bloggers' get-together in Bathurst, organised by the legendary Chookyblue.
And what a gathering it was. People had come a LONG way to be there and it was lovely to meet longtime friends like Chooky and Peg for the first time, reconnect with stitching buddies in the on-line group I belonged to for several years and meet people who were new to me (and of course now I have a lot more blogs to read!) There were swaps and some truly amazing show-and-tells and lots of laughs and friendship. Oh, and shopping - visiting Anni Downs' Hatched and Patched store for the first time was a great treat and yes, some lovely fabrics and such came home with me.

While  I was socialising, the Mr was hanging out with the old school friend we were staying with so he didn't miss me a bit.

Before Bathurst we'd had a night in Beechworth at a gorgeous B and B (Barnsley House); we'd stayed there before and it was just as good as we remembered. I spent a lot of time sitting out on the verandah off our room, admiring the garden and listening to the birds.

In Benalla we stopped to smell the roses (literally, the rose garden is gorgeous) and admire the statue of Weary Dunlop.

After Bathurst was Mudgee (such a friendly town) and Orange, which is a pretty city with good shops and lovely parks. And some rain, too, which I know many of the blogging girls would have loved to see in their home patches - most of the countryside we passed through was alarmingly dry.

Then came Corowa on the Murray, where we stayed in a comfy cabin in a holiday park. It's not  the sort of place we'd stay in during the holiday season but at a  quiet time it was just fine. The river was just behind us and a kookaburra joined us at teatime. And lunch in a winery café and tasting at another winery just across the river was pretty good too.

Lunch on the way home was a picnic beside the lagoon in Wagga Wagga, where we lived for a while way back when. It's a really busy town, with some fine old buildings and a good art gallery.

And somewhere along the way we fitted in a stop in Cowra. Cowra is probably best known for the break-out of Japanese prisoners from its POW camp. We'd been there before, and had limited time, so we opted to visit the newish Japanese garden nearby. As a place of reflection, and symbolising friendship between Australia and Japan, it was an attractive, thought-provoking place to visit (and feeding the fish was fun too.)

Oh, and a visit to Hill End, the famous former mining town, was fascinating, not so much because of  what's there, more because of what's no longer there. At the height of the roaring days of the goldrushes, Hill End was thriving, with pubs, schools, flash emporiums, a hospital and all manner of entertainments and opportunities. These days, it's very quiet, with a small population.

And I nearly forgot Gulgong - such a pretty little town and its Henry Lawson centre is well worth a visit.

Eight days away from home and it was back to reality - and a mountain of washing. I'm still patting my fabric purchases and reading more blogs and hoping we'll be back on the road again soon.

Colour

We've had some very grey, wet days in my neck of the woods (Ballarat, Vic) and some lovely sunny days too. This is some of the colour I've been enjoying in my garden and beyond.

Our two little darlings Katie and Gus - if they look sleepy it's because they are - I woke them up so I could take this photo (and forgot to give them a treat afterwards; no wonder they are looking a bit disgruntled).

My Angel Face (I think) rose with philadelphus in the background - both so pretty and fragrant.

Our front garden - the photo doesn't show the real lime green colour of the gleditsia trees - they are looking spectacular right now.

The back yard - wallflowers, quince tree, purple thing that I forget the name of and miniature pink tea-tree, which looks better in the pic than in real life because it is infested with spiders' webs and I keep threatening to dig it up.

And the quilt-covered car parked outside the Mining Exchange- where miners once swapped their gold finds for cash and which is now used for all sorts of events - pointing out the way to the Ballaarat Quilters' exhibition last weekend.

Tomorrow Mr LRH and I are leaving it all behind and going on a little road trip to NSW. We can't wait to visit pastures new (or at least different) and I am feeling very excited, and very lucky, to be joining lots of bloggers for a day out in Bathurst. Hooray!

Eventful

Life is usually pretty quiet at my place but  it's been eventful these last few months.

Event 1:  I retired three months ago - hooray! I have time to do stuff - or not to do stuff - or just think about doing stuff - loving that. Today I went to the library where I used to work and took part in a watercolour painting workshop. I produced a slightly lopsided cupcake which I am nevertheless awfully proud of. It's so nice to do something different.

Event 2: Crafty Hijinks in Ballarat - what a great event that was. Catching up with old friends, meeting blogging friends for real, eating, chatting, buying stuff, doing a little bit of sewing - what larks. Thanks to Jodie Ric-Rac and Gillian ( - from Adelaide, no less; that girl does like a road trip!) for having a little idea for a little get-together that grew - from little things big things grow, and all that.

Event 3: My lovely aunt and uncle from NZ came to stay for a few days following a visit to their daughter in Adelaide. My family is Scottish and my uncle David and his brother Alan in Glasgow are the only survivors of  a family of eight children, who included my dad. He's the fine young chap on the right; this was taken when he was with the RAF Wireless Unit in the Middle East Forces during the war (all duly and neatly noted on the back of the pic).  My aunt and uncle also brought me some beautiful crocheted doilies made by my Auntie Molly, who died a few years ago. I feel so lucky to have all these special family things.

The weather was kind to us and we spent a great day at Sovereign Hill and the next day enjoyed a wander by the lake and the Botanical Gardens near home.

Event 4: My husband retired last week - hooray! and we finally bought a record player - hooray! again. Mind you, these two events are purely coincidental. We're having fun relaxing together, pottering around home and delving into the record box for gems not heard for many years. We still remember all the words of our favourite songs though!

Event 5: TBA - a road trip to my husband's old home town of Forbes in the central west of NSW. It will be a happy trip this time; the last visit there was earlier this year for his sister's funeral. It was, of course, a very sad occasion, but good all the same to catch up with friends and other family members. Oh, and I went to visit a blogger - Simone who lives in the town and was lovely to meet. On the way to Forbes we are detouring to Bathurst for a bloggers' get-together (I know - two in one year - yep, I'm spoilt!) It's organised by the wonderful Chookyblue who I am dying to meet. What fun!

That's it so far for this year - who knows what other fun stuff is around the corner?

Making more than just a mess

Thanks, girls, for the feedback on my last post - good to know that I'm not alone! I'm sorry to have to tell you, though, that my sewing room is even messier now than in the photo - I decided to tackle the over-stuffed wardrobe as well (that's over-stuffed as in full of stuff I haven't seen/used/remembered for ages.) The plus side of that exercise is that now I know I won't have to buy any cushion inserts for a long, long time. The minus side is taking up even more floor space than in the previous photo.

And I probably won't have time/energy to do much about it today. The sun is shining (hooray! rain was forecast but the sky is still blue) and I'm on duty at one of the local polling booths for a couple of hours.

My crafting mojo went AWOL for a while but has returned and I'm delighting in making little things - like these little bags and baby shoes. There's been an influx of babies among my friends and acquaintances and I'm thrilled to bits to be making little gifts. I've made so many of these bags - they're from a tutorial from the lovely Spoonful of Sugar blog and are a great scrap project. With the addition of some nice smellies, they'll be off to new homes in Ballarat, WA and France (I have a lovely piece of Leesa Chandler's wildflower fabric picked out for that one) soon.

Many years ago, I used to knit socks for my three younger brothers to wear. We called them 'gummy socks' as they were worn with their gumboots. I haven't made socks since then (and that was at least 50 years ago) because the idea of knitting 'proper' socks wrestling with four needs scares the pants off me. These little cuties are a two-needle job from a Debbie Bliss book and are for Marius in France. Marius' mum Anne-Laure is very special to us; we'd kept in touch since she stayed with our family in Tasmania as a 17-year-old French exchange student and we were so excited when she and her boyfriend, Marius's dad, visited us in Ballarat a few years ago. We've got to know Anne's  parents, too, and have stayed with them several times. We've all had some happy times together and feel like part of each other's families.

The little shoes are from a lovely book called Vintage Knits for Modern Babies; they're for a new arrival in WA whose mum and my daughter Rosy started primary school together. Marina's family and mine were great friends in the early days then they moved from Sydney to WA and we lost touch until a few years ago. It was lovely  to visit them in WA and catch up on each other's lives and reminisce about old times. My niece in Townsville is expecting her second baby soon and I'm hoping for a little girl this time so I can make another pair of these shoes - they're so cute.

Must go and get ready for the day and enjoy the sun while it's still shining.

Sorting out

 Why do I never learn that trying to sort out my sewing room is always a horrible, messy process? On the plus side, I found some linen  and some pretty fabrics and other stuff I'd forgotten about. The minus side is too long a list. Wish me luck (I'll need it). I think I'll just shut the door and forget about it for a while.

It's June already!!

I haven't posted for a few months - where did April and May go? I can't believe we're nearly halfway through the year.

And I can't believe I didn't make anything last month - a few starts, yes, but no finishes. One of the starts  was May's bag project in Chookyblue's SAL. I really like this bag, which is designed by Anni Downs, so why haven't I finished it? No excuses.

And here's another start, which is progressing nicely. It's for my daughter Rosy, who lives in China and has been too far away for too long. She'll love the sentiment, and the pink thread too. Mentioning her name reminds me of a lovely find in Bendigo a few weeks back. The prettiness and the price of this coffee pot ( $9 - what a bargain) were both a big attraction but what really sold it was the wording on the base. And I still feel all warm and fuzzy whenever I look at it.

Last month's main attraction was Launceston blogger Cathy's visit to Ballarat. Cathy blogs as Highland Quilter; we have a shared interest in all things quilty (and kilty) and for several years were both members of  an online stitching group. We've read and commented on each other's blogs over the years but hadn't met previously - but when we met it's as if we've known each other for years. We had a wonderful day - she didn't actually get to see much of Ballarat (which is in Victoria's Central Highlands, by the way) as we spent most of our time at wonderful Mill Rose in Ballan. And we talked all the time - except when perusing fabric and enjoying our delicious lunches; such activities demand serious attention! We had a little birthday gift swap and as I forgot to take my camera, I've pinched these from Cathy's blog.

This is what I gave Cathy - a little drawstring bag in Liberty's "Catherine" print; scissor fob from Marg Low's new book, dress-shape bookmark and my favourite soap.

And Cathy gave me these  gorgeous things. "Nothing warms the heart like an old friend" - such a lovely sentiment.

Lovely Lizzie at Mill Rose took our photos; she's such a good photographer you'd think she'd know how to make me look taller and younger, wouldn't you! (Not showing you the one where it I look as short as I really am!)

 

I hope June is just as much fun - and that I have more finishes than starts.