Tuesday, February 25, 2014

The Little Bookroom

I called in to one of our local Op Shops yesterday on the hunt for something to read and found in very good condition, a copy of "The Little Bookroom" by Eleanor Farjeon. It is a 1972 edition and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone, whose drawings reflect so successfully the mood of the stories. The dust cover has been protected by the type of plastic that the library uses and the pages are very clean. I am enjoying revisiting one of the books of my childhood.

I also bought a couple of vintage treasures, an old fashioned measuring glass and a little glass coaster. This one is clear but I have a few others in pink and blue. It was a very happy little shopping spree and I spent a total of $3.00.

 

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Not so instant, Instagram

I don't have one of those clever phones, mine is just for urgent calls and has no data allowance. There is no point because where we live, our mobile reception is rubbish. So I don't know why I joined Instagram. I can still use photos from my camera after they have been loaded onto the ipad and I can enjoy following others. But there won't be any quick updates any time soon about what I am working on. (Just as well because probably nobody cares!) Anyway it is fun to learn more about technology even if you can't use it.

 

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Quilts for Patea New Guinea

I enjoyed making these two quilts last year and have decided to send them to Patea, New Guinea. The first lot of quilts and rugs arrived recently and were well received.

 

 

Sunday, February 16, 2014

We Need Some Rain.

There was a bit of relief from the smoke of the coal mine fire today with a fresh wind change, but just a few spots of rain to tease us. There is no green anywhere around the hills and we have started feeding the hay we need for Winter to the cows.

This evening I drafted sheep for shearing tomorrow in clouds of dust, and it was still quite hot out of the wind in the yards. It has been a harsh Summer and there are places much worse off than here, so roll on the Autumn break, we are ready for you! At least my Frangipani doesn't mind the heat.

 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Reading Matters.

I accidentally deleted my Blog List recently and have been trawling through the Quilting Gallery's 398 pages, building a new one. A pattern emerged very quickly about what type of blogs I prefer to read. Abbreviations put me off straight away and some fonts are very hard to read on the Ipad. I also find it mildly annoying when people put a lot of full stops between sentences or phrases. I can imagine them tapping impatiently at the full stop key.

The blogs I have in my list now, are mainly about Patchwork, with a bit of family, garden and weather thrown in, and the occasional recipe. I also enjoy seeing what people are knitting and crocheting as well as other sewing and crafts.

Reading actual books is still very much a part of my everyday life. I usually find a few at the op shop and after reading them, they go back or are given to someone else. Childhood favourites are often re read and I don't mind some of the more recently written children's books. I thought the Harry Potter series was great, particularly the first three. Anything that gets young people reading is wonderful, but sometimes you realise a book has been written to be made into something commercial.

I read a book recently that was just that and seemed to be based very closely on the JK Rowling series. It had a lot less detail, but the similarity to the Harry Potter story was blatant. I won't be reading any more of the series, but hopefully they will be widely read and enjoyed by many young people.

 

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Thread Matching

Usually I can match a thread colour to a fabric very quickly, but I am having all sorts of problems with a green Kona cotton for my "Roar" Quilt. I have decided to go with a variegated thread because I just cannot match it at all. The green thread I used on the little one was a reel of Drima I already had ( no idea where from) and, of course, no longer available. I love the colour range of the Kona cottons but I am now reluctant to use them again because of the difficulty matching them to a thread colour. The variegated threads should work very nicely on these fabrics.

 

Modern Baby Quilt

I finished this quilt in good time for a new arrival thinking it was a neutral pattern and colour scheme. It is a Disappearing Nine Patch B...