Travel Bug is Travelling!

I don't know if you all remember, but sometime ago Holly from AndSewItIs and I each launched a Quilting Travel Bug. They are travelling items that move from geocache to geocache. Mine is 'South' as I live in the southern hemisphere, and Holly's is North as she lives in Oregon.

Mine was sitting in the geocache near the Brisbane Airport hoping to be immediately picked up by an International traveller, and be in the States in a flash. Alas it was picked up by a cacher here on holidays, who took the bug to Canberra where it wandered around the bush and lay in fairly isolated caches for some time.

But this week it was grabbed by a female Canadian cacher who has flown it with her in her luggage to Canada! Too exciting! I know you must think I'm mad, but you launch it out there, and it turns into your little baby, then you worry about it all alone in a damp cache in the wilds of the Australian Bush, that could be ravaged by a bushfire or found by some kids who toss it away!

Anyway, don't mind us, but Holly and I are quite excited to know it has travelled half way around the world in the suitcase of someone we don't even know, and now it's so much closer to its goal. If you look here, you can see how far it has travelled, and that it is now in British Columbia.

As for real quilting content, I've been busy watching the cricket. What's that got to do with quilting you may ask? Hand sewing. Yes the never ending hexagons have made a comeback, and I'm slowly working away at them. I will post an old photo to remind you (I almost needed to look at a photo myself, it was so long since I'd worked on it).

Oh and we lost the cricket to India. If the Aussies had won today they would have won 17 test matches in a row, which is a record. Tracey and I don't want to talk about it. In fact, I think Tracey must be in denial, as she hasn't even mentioned it.

PS thanks for the support re the large spider. The vaccuum cleaner idea is fantastic, thanks. I know someone who thinks that her house is on top of a Portal to the Underworld she gets so many spiders - she has my complete sympathy. Oh and the towel is still outside on the deck!

The Spider Incident

On Thursday night I went into the bathroom to have a shower before bed. When I looked in the mirror, I could see a HUGE Huntsman spider on the ceiling above the door. I spun around to see this

The photo is a bit blurry as I took it with my arm outstretched, and it wasn't too steady.

What to do? I thought of closing the bathroom door and sealing off the gap under the door and going to bed, but in the morning I would have to face up to my denial, and who knows where the spider would be then? Hiding under my towel? So bravely (not) I sprayed it with half a can of flyspray, which did nothing but make it mad. Then it slowly dropped, ninja-style, from the ceiling with its legs outstretched. I watched in horror as it slowly made its way to the floor. When you look at the photo, see the piece of timber that the spider is straddling? It is about 2 inches wide, and note that the spider has only one leg properly extended in the shot? Imagine it with all of them out, and you have 6 inches plus.

I cornered it in the shower recess and tried to toss my towel over it to trap it within the towel, which I then planned to toss out the sliding door in the sewing room, which I had opened in readiness. It took me about 30 mins to get the spider wrapped up, shrieking all the way, as it kept climbing out from under the towel to sit on top. The shrieking was loud enough to wake the dog 70m down the road. Simon (typical male) stayed on the bed, but Chloe got out of her bed and retreated to half way down the stairs, where she sat with a concerned look on her face.

Finally it went out the door, wrapped in the towel, where it will remain for a few weeks I expect. Very dramatic, I tell you. If it had been a snake, I wouldv'e slept in the car, and employed someone to remove it, I tell you! The perils of living alone.

No sewing to report. Just haven't been in the mood, and it just seems too hot and humid to do anything much.

Needle Case

Mum made this needle case for me for Christmas, but when I opened the present, I had to give it straight back to her, as it wasn't quite finished! Perhaps I could say my inability to finish anything is inherited?

But today Mum came over for the day for a visit and brought the finished needle case. Isn't it fantastic? It was shown on the cover of an Inspirations magazine ages ago, and I admired it. Mum remembered, and has been making it on and off for months. There were a few dry comments from Dad on Christmas Day about the frenzied last minute sewing trying to finish it in time, but Mum was inundated with Grandkids the few days before the 25th, who obviously sabotaged the last minute panic sewing!

I almost don't want to use it it's so lovely - I wish I could do embroidery like that, it's so fine. I don't think I have the patience. We had a good day looking at the computer at fabric sites and a few blogs, had lunch, sat out an afternoon storm, and drank coffee with the cricket on in the background. Plus there is always the added benefit of having a clean house, as the impending visit makes me rush around tidying up and washing the floor!

Talking about the cricket, Australia just beat India in a five day Test Match in the last 8 minutes of the game. How's that for close? Michael Clarke came on and bowled 3 of them out for something like 5 runs - incredible.

Simon and Chloe have been to the Vet recently, emptying the bank account. Chloe had started doing an occasional wee in the house, which was making me very annoyed. I'm thinking that she was trying to get me back for taking her to dog training, but someone suggested she may have a urinary tract infection. Simon was obviously feeling off colour too, as he whimpered one night when he was getting up, and he seemed to have a sore tummy. I thought "it's a sign", so on the 31st we headed for the Vet with a jar of urine, caught from Chloe with great difficulty, and tried to explain that I was really only there on the offchance that something might be wrong with one or the other. It turns out Chloe does have a UTI, and Simon has his usual mystery symptoms which can't be diagnosed after a battery of expensive tests. They both had a shot of an anti-inflammatory, Chloe also had some antibiotics, and I walked out with a special diet for Chloe, antibiotic tablets and minus over $300. Sigh...

Chloe is already obviously feeling better, despite the occasional accident (I think because she doesn't want to go out in the rain), and Simon is 'much' better, so he was obviously in pain. I've given him the same anti-inflammatory in a tablet form since the Vet visit, and he is much more active. So we will have to go back for a blood test, then expensive radiological investigations no doubt. Great.

In quilting news, I have the backing fabric and batting for the couch quilt, but I'm procrastinating about pinning it and quilting it, as it's my least favourite bit. I have 8 metres of a brown fabric I bought off ebay a few years ago, which will do for the back. Soon I promise, Girl Guide's Honour.

The Couch Quilt Top

Well, Christmas is over - quite a pleasant day it was too. Not too hot which was a blessing, especially in the kitchen. Not that we had much hot food - in fact baked potatoes were the only things cooked on the day. All the family was there, with no dramas.

Here is the finished quilt top for the Couch Quilt, as it has come to be known. This project has been notoriously difficult to photograph. The light is bad during the day as it is overcast with showers, and at night the flash makes it look lighter than it is. The flash picks up the lightest parts of each fabric and accentuates them. Also my camera is far from great. I did put in a few lighter blocks, but made them less obvious by putting red in the centre rather than a dark brown fabric.

The most worrying block is the greyish one with the brown diagonal lines on it, with the pink centre. It is the experimental block I made before I started the quilt, and although it is brownish, it stands out a bit, not just in the photo. I have two other blocks I could replace it with, but I'm not too keen on undoing that area to put another block in.

I have been watching/listening to the cricket today. The Boxing Day Test Match is always popular, and Australia is playing India this year. In India they say that there is only one sport, and that cricket rivals religion in that country. There has also been a lot of talk about Australia's domination of the game worldwide, and what should be done about it. All the other cricketing nations ought to train harder - that's what ought to be done about it! Poor losers. However, I must admit that things looked a bit grim after the first day's play, with India's bowlers making a meal of the Australian side. But, today, Australia returned the favour, and we are now over 100 runs ahead. I know Tracey will be as relieved as I am. She is also a "cricket tragic". Then there is the sailing to look at.

Quite a cornucopia of sport, luckily, to distract me from the fact that everything you could want to buy in the shops is on sale. In fact it was reported on the news tonight that so much is being spent, mainly on the plastic, that inflation is tipped to rise to 4%, which could trigger an interest rate rise in February. Amazing, isn't it? Only 8 weeks or so ago people were crying poor because interest rates had gone up 0.25%, and now we (Australians) are spending billions of dollars in the shops. Hard to come to grips with at times. Anyway, I'm not there. I'd rather spend my limited funds on fabric - I've got my priorities right!

Fabric

I couldn't manage to stop myself buying a little bit of fabric for the latest quilt. I went to a fabric shop nearby called the Bargain Box, which has dress materials and quilting fabric. The lady who owns it quilts, and sells all her quilting fabrics half price at A$12 per metre. Still expensive by US standards, but there's nothing like some instant gratification!

She has quite a few reproductions, but not the latest fabrics, and only assorted fabrics of different ranges. She is having a 20% off sale between Christmas and New Year, so I may have to go and have another look...

Tonight I am going to some friend's for dinner, so I have to go to the Mainland today. I thought I might take the opportunity to do some geocaching, as I have found 92, and although a lot of people say "it's not about the numbers" (as they scurry around clocking up their 1000 mark), I feel suddenly that 100 finds is just over the horizon. So if I can find 8 today I'll be there, but that may be too many for me to find in 1 afternoon. Still I'll go and look for some and see how I go.

Otherwise, Christmas looms, and I don't have to worry about it as all gifts are bought, I have bought the food I need to take on Christmas Day to my Sister's, so that's that. Too easy! The weather forecast for Tuesday is 30 deg C (86 F) with afternoon showers, so hopefully it won't be too hot and humid. We will be having lunch outside in the BBQ area, while the kids jump on their new trampoline, I'm told.

Couch Quilt

I can't seem to get a good photo of these blocks tonight. They look so different when I look at them with the naked eye. Much darker... and bigger. Perhaps I'll try again in the morning.

I have about 43 of these made, and I'm only going to make 49. They're not all up on the wall obviously, but this is a good representation. The neutral one is only an audition - I was thinking of making 3 or 4 neutral ones with a dark centre, but I'm not sure.

This is all from the stash. I have the urge to buy some plain brown or coffee coloured plain, but the budget is tight, and I'm sure I can get by with what's in the cupboard. When looking at them on the wall, I get the feeling that it would be best not to overthink it, and just sew them all together and it will be OK. I'll have another look at it in the morning.

Here is a photo of Ms Chloe reclining on the spare bed, who has graduated from Dog Obedience 101 tonight, far from trained, but much improved. She was the best there, so that doesn't say much for the others! They really train the owner who then has to train the dog, but she is responding well, and will get much better with ongoing training. We picked up Simon, who survived the tick incident without any symptoms thank doG, from my friend's place on the way home - he has been going there while I've been out with Chloe as he yelps and cries if left alone. Chloe celebrated her graduation by disappearing into the dark of Jettie's vegetable garden when it was time to go home, and wouldn't come to get in the car. Great! It turns out she found a bone in there, and had to be flushed out to go home. Once a beagle, always a beagle I'm afraid...

Oh What a Night...

Oh what a night, all right. I was going to bed last night at about 1.30am, when I found an engorged paralysis tick on Simon's shoulder. Panic Stations! I tore downstairs for the tick brochure on the fridge, then the tweezers, and removed it trying not to squeeze the toxin into Simon. He yelped (I've had one and they are really painful to remove), and gave me the Death Stare. My mind did a fast rewind through the day looking for symptoms - breathing? Ok. Swallowing? Ok. Vomiting? Did I hear someone having a chuck outside about dinnertime?? Walking? Ok. I rang the 24hr Vet and they advised me to keep him as quiet as possible, and watch closely for symptoms over the next day. Also to check for another one - good advice as I found another one in his groin.

The level of co-operation to remove the second one was quite low, as he knew it was going to hurt, and at one stage I thought of waking the neighbours to help me, but after I wrapped a crepe bandage in a figure 8 around his neck and mouth, leaned on him and pulled it off, we were right. He let out another (muffled) yelp, and tried to take off. Luckily I had closed the door, and he was trapped, but I was thinking to myself that he was far from 'kept quiet' during that little procedure. I checked and checked him all over, checked Chloe a few times, then went to bed with the alarm set for every 2 hours through the night.

The bottom line is that we have been very very lucky, and all plans for the weekend have been cancelled so I can stay home and watch him. His normal daily routine consists of sleeping and following me from room to room, so if I leave the room for a quick dash downstairs I just shut the door so he can't follow me.

We have been able to have a big sleep in (awakened every 2 hours), so I am not too exhausted, but I still feel a bit anxious that symptoms could yet develop. What a drama. Made worse of course by the fact that it isn't just a 'jump in the car and off to the Vet' when you live on a small island, but wait til the first Waterbus (4.40 am on a Saturday, 6am on a Sunday) somehow getting 19kg (42lb) of dog down 2 flights of stairs, into the car, out of the car and onto the boat, walk to the car park to get into the other car, then a 15 min drive to the Vet, when he is supposed to be "kept quiet". There is another alternative, as a Vet lives on the next island who will pick you up in her private boat and take you to the Mainland, but it still is quite a carry-on.

So fingers crossed, and to all of you who have pets, anti-tick treatment is worth nothing - examination of the entire dog or cat every day is the only chance you have.

Onto quilting news. Inspired by my new couch and Diary of a Mad Fabriholic, I have started a new quilt. It is hard to get a photo of the couch as it is quite a dark brown, but it is a great improvement on the 40 year old hand-me-down I had, that was in poor repair.

It hasn't been easy to get a photo of these blocks either, as I havent' had them up on the wall yet. Thought some of you might enjoy the sight of a little bit of sunshine in photo 2.

I am using the brownest browns primarily from the Repro stash, with red, mauve and pink centres. I learnt my lesson from the blocks that have the fabric beside the coloured bit around the wrong way, and have since cut them out differently. The blocks are 10 inches finished, so hopefully it will go together quickly. This quilt is to sit on the new couch, providing something to sit on in the hot weather so the backs of the legs don't stick to the leather, to lie under in cold weather, and to keep dog toenails off it, as they will get up on it when my back is turned.

I am enjoying looking at all the blogs that have snow and 'proper Christmas' stuff to look at - it feels hard to get enthused about it in the heat. If you have children I expect it is entirely different. School is out for the summer as of yesterday, so I will have to go and visit my sister's house to get some Christmas Spirit. The family is going there for Christmas this year, so that lets me off the hook for another 12 months. I think my turn must be coming around again.

PS what is going on with my header I just don't know. Last week the frame had gone from around the photo. Now it's back. Then the last word jumped off the photo - now it's back up. Now the photo is to one side of the frame instead of being in the centre. It's not me...

Weather Report

I've just looked at Joyce's blog and she has a weather report there, with words like "Temp falling to minus 21 in the afternoon. Wind chill minus 34!!"

This is mine: Cloudy periods with a shower or two. Moderate SE winds.
Max 27 (81F) min 19 (66F).
UV index 13 (extreme) UV alert from 07.40 to 15.50.
Relative humidity 70%.

It is just after 2pm and I have been doing some vaccuuming as my new couch is coming today (at last!) and I had sweat dripping off me in minutes. It's ok if you sit still, but any time you do anything, the humidity kills you. I wouldn't mind a bit of that wind chill when I'm going for a walk later!

Talking About the Stash

There is always a lot of talk on quilting blogs about using up the stash. I love fabric, and have never been tempted to go on a self-inflicted Fabric Diet. The only thing that sends me into a zero fabric buying period is lack of funds.

I certainly bought my fair share of duds when I first started quilting. For quite some time I couldn't toss anything out, even though I knew I wouldn't use it, especially as fabric is so expensive here. I still feel that way a bit, as I often read about quilters who use their ugly fabrics in a scrap quilt and the ugliness miraculously goes away, so you never know when it might get used up. I was reading Mereth's blog today, and she shows a quilt just like that.

Then I discovered the joys of fabric buying from the US via the internet. So cheap! Then I got smart and started selling half of what I bought on ebay to pay for the half that I kept. Free fabric - can't go wrong there. But of course that leads to having to think about what would sell and what wouldn't, and there starts the complicated business of buying for the market. I quickly learnt that just because I like it, doesn't mean other people would - in fact I was constantly amazed by what would sell and what wouldn't.

So then I found I was left with fabric I didn't like. I quickly figured out that I had to buy fabric that the customers might like, that I also didn't mind being left with if it didn't sell. In the meantime though, I ended up with some fabric I didn't really want.

I stopped selling in the end as the competition was becoming fierce and ebay put up its fees, so it wasn't worth it anymore. About 6 months ago, I was in need of a bit of extra cash, so I went through the stash and dragged out everything I didn't really want, and listed it all on ebay quite cheaply. I sold most of it, and then spent the money on a big internet fabric buy, just for me! So much for needing the money for other things - but I did need fabric too! Here is what I bought.

So now I have quite a big stash I feel - big enough for me, but most of it is fabric that I like and will use, or else fabric that I'm not in love with, but could use in a scrap or charity quilt. The 'over-pink flowery number' springs to mind.

Also my tastes have changed and broadened over the last few years. I just love the reproduction fabrics, the extra benefit with them is that they never go out of date. I have a large Japanese fabric collection (container top left of photo that is only partly visible), and also some more modern fabrics like Kaffe and Amy Butler. I have the black and white bins, the plain fabric bins, and a few other bits and pieces, mainly brights and neutrals. The 1800s fabric is by far the largest category, and I love it all. I can spend time just looking at it all, refolding and rearranging. I'm also now trying to keep my scraps and strips sorted out, and have even cut a few fabrics into strips that I don't think I'll use in a particular quilt. I've started an orphan block bin too.

So no voluntary Fabric Diets for this girl. What happened to Tazzie could happen to me - and we don't want that!

Nearly There

Nearly finished. Just have to add a few corners, and the borders. I have the pink for the outer border, but no blue for the inner border as yet. Might have to do some shopping after all.

Can you have 2 humility blocks? I'm feeling pretty humble after this experience! I've just found a second block turned the wrong way - it's right in the middle. The quilt should be nice and big when finished, as the centre hangs just over the sides and bottom of the bed.

What a relief to have the main part done. I must be the only quilter in the world that can stuff up a 4patch - is there any easier a pattern?

I might do the corners, then have the rest of the night off and watch some TV, not that there is much on now that Christmas is almost upon us.

Funny Christmas Story

I just read the funniest Christmas story on Kim's blog. I know some of you have already read it, but I couldn't help myself - it's priceless! Scroll down to the pink lady shown in the post ...

I can't seem to find the Christmas spirit here. It's hard when it's so hot and humid, and I will be going to my Sister's house for Christmas so there doesn't seem any point in decorating the house. Some of the neighbours have their Christmas lights up, so I may put my fairy lights on the deck railing, but that will be it I'm afraid.

As for the 4Patch, I've decided to "pull myself together" ( a bit of a family joke) and crack on with it. I have resurrected the disaster from the other day, and made it into a corner that is 90 deg from the original corner, and I will adjust the lengths of the rows I have already sewn together. It isn't much of a photo, but this is the bit I saved. There is one block in there around the wrong way, but I have decided that it can be my 'humility' block, as God knows I could never make something perfect even if I tried! It's not going to beat me.

Otherwise, not much to report. We had a big storm at 2.30am this morning which woke me up with the thunder and lightning, and the torrential downpour. The tanks will all be full, and we will have another humid day today. I had to get up and run around closing all the windows, as it wasn't expected. The sky was clear when I went to bed. I've been for my morning walk with Simon - Chloe had a relapse this morning and wouldn't come - so back to square one. When I got home she let me put the lead on her, but it didn't seem right to reward her for that.

So the rest of the morning will be devoted to the 4patch, so hopefully I will make some significant progress. I'll have to make the rest of the quilt top then join it to this piece.

4 Patch Disaster

Oh it's a disaster! I just haven't been paying enough attention. I sewed and sewed at one of the corners of the 4 patch, then I looked at it and thought 'hang on - something's wrong!' How did I not notice? The longest row I had added on had all the 4 patches pointing the wrong way, and some of the ones below it were wrong too. So I took off the long double row, took off the end bits with the triangles, thinking I just had to turn it around. I turned it round, and it still wasn't right! Huh?? I look again, turn it again, scratch my head, look again... What I've done is sew all of those blocks you can see in the corner bit turned 90 deg compared with the blocks in the rows I've already sewn. So to cut a long story short, the whole corner bit has to be dismantled and the 4 patches turned 90 degrees! Sob sob sob. What was I thinking? Or what was I thinking about, as it obviously wasn't the quilt...

I'm so mad at myself. The whole project has gone like this - maybe I ought to put it aside to 'rest', and work on something a bit less complicated (what could be less complicated than a 4 patch one might ask?) Perhaps the string quilt that still hangs on the wall?

Or maybe I should just get changed and go to the shop and buy a big bar of chocolate and forget about the whole lot. I could look at fabric sites, but I have already put the Scarlett Sturbridges into and out of an online shopping basket twice this week, giving myself a stern lecture about the sad state of my budget and the need to buy Christmas presents, pay the Car Rego, phone and internet, and my parking bills. Too depressing for words!

I have already done some gardening today, and we have just had an afternoon storm so everything's wet, and I finished my book last night. What a state of affairs!? I think I'm leaning back towards the chocolate idea...

Picked some long beans today (some call them snake beans), and I've given some away as I have a bumper crop. The cucumbers are producing, I have a few pumpkins that have come up out of the compost, and I have some lettuce and rocket growing under shade cloth. I have 1 passionfruit on the vine, and some more cherry tomatoes coming on.

I'm trying to encourage good bugs to the garden with the flowers that you see there. I buy seeds from Green Harvest, and they have a mix called "Good Bug Mix" which has marigolds, cosmos, queen anne's lace, coriander and all sorts of plants that encourage bees and the good bugs to eat all the bad bugs. We only like the 'right sort' of bugs to visit here!

Chloe is doing well - we went to Dog Training Class last night, and the Training Lady was quite impressed with her progress. She has a lot of experience with beagles having been a beagle handler at the Quarantine Service, and she likened the white tip of the tail visible in the grass to a beagle version of giving the owner "the finger". I had to laugh - so true. Chloe showed up the smarty pants Border Collies, and that is always an achievement!

They each had a large bone today, so all is well in beagle land, and they are now both fast asleep in the room with me.

Well, off to get that chocolate I think!

It's Easy to be "Anonymous"

"Anonymous" need not fear that Chloe is being starved. Reduced rations for 2 days, offered as treats/rewards as opposed to being in her bowl, have resulted in a miraculous change in behaviour. Slowly introduced, with food rewards, Chloe is now coming when called, sitting, allowing her lead to be put on, and walking quite well on the lead. At no time has she been "starved", only alerted to the fact that she needs to pay attention.

I have been working on the 4Patch, adding the end blocks and the side triangles. I printed out the outline of the quilt from EQ, and have been working from that. I knew I would not have enough of the double pink (there was not enough in stock), so I ordered some extra of the Charleston pinks to finish the quilt. I have saved enough of the original fabric for the border, so I am using the others to finish off the blocks and side triangles. It will be good to see it come together after all this time.

Tough Love

Well, how's this for a sad face? Yes, Chloe is using her new quilt, but she is not very happy with me as she has been prescribed some Tough Love by the Dog Training Lady. The DTLady has many years experience with beagles at the Quarantine Service, and she says the only way to Chloe's brain is via her stomach.

So Chloe is now only being fed as treats - the bowl has been put away. Treats are given only as rewards for allowing the training harness to be put on, and when it is on, for walking properly. Poor Chloe... She is very stubborn, and must be getting a bit peckish by now, but still she resists some of the time. Sometimes she just turns her head when I try to put the lead on, other times she will allow it if I have food in my hand. When we get it on she is walking quite well on it in the house and yard, so she is getting some food, but I suspect from the looks I am getting that the tummy is rumbling a bit. The big question is can I be strong enough to wait her out??

In quilting news, I have laid out the blocks I have for the 4patch, and now I feel I either didn't make enough, or I can't find some. This is the problem when you make something over a 12 month period - each time you get back to it you can't remember what you're doing or where you've put everything. My latest calculations indicate that I need 255 4 patch blocks. A blog entry some time back indicates that I was going to make 248. Pretty close really. However when I counted up what I had I could only count 211. So I re-searched, and found another 11 which takes me to 222. Where the rest are, or whether I actually made them, I don't know.

So I think I'll just make some more and if the others turn up one day I can make a doll quilt out of them. I have some strips left over and will make a few from newer fabrics, then get to it. Why do I always make it so hard for myself

In other news, Mum had my old Sunbeam mixmaster fixed this week. It was actually my Grandmother's (Mum's Mum), and my Mum can remember it when she was a teenager, so that makes it circa 1950-ish. I have one original bowl, and a replacement bowl, and the beaters which are a bit mangled looking, but they work.

Mum's Mixmaster is younger obviously but still pretty ancient, and this week we have been looking on ebay for some new beaters for hers, and maybe a back up pair for mine, but I tell you, there are many many shapes and models.

I have bought one pair, which I suspect will fit Mum's machine, as her's has a bigger gap between the beaters, so it can accommodate bigger beaters. So when they arrive we will see. I feel like I should make a cake just because I can. For the last couple of years I have had to search for recipes that don't start with "cream the butter and the sugar", and I'll give you the tip - most recipes start that way!

I have been perusing the recipe books but can't make up my mind. Anyway better dash as it is our Federal Election Day here in Australia, and it is compulsory to vote here. I'd better go and do it now so I don't forget.

PS Something's happened to my header - the last word has dropped off the photo. Why do these things happen? I've been in to try and fix it, but can't.

World Diabetes Day

I was lucky enough to receive a free World Diabetes Day geocoin from Groundspeak. Geocaching.com has an association with Unite for Diabetes and have released these geocoins to travel the world in geocaches to promote awareness of Diabetes. The coins were issued to commemorate the passage of UN Resolution 61/225 and mark the First UN-observed World Diabetes Day on November 14th 2007.

Sadly it is not mine to keep, I am only its guardian, and my job is to release it asap so that others can discover it and hear the message about diabetes. So I thought I'd spread the message here too. For more information go to http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/

As for quilting info, I managed to get up my EQ file from when I tried to work out the yardage for the setting squares, and I have discovered that I need to make 4 rows of 29 blocks, 2 of 27, 2 of 25 and so on til I get down to 1 block in 2 of the corners. So that is all sorted out, thank goodness.

A few people have asked which book the photo of the original was in. It is actually in 2 books that I own. One is The Quilter's Resource Book, and the other is American Quilt Classics.

The other thing I wanted to do here is add my recipe for Scones. I have always wondered about what those in the US call "biscuits", as in a photo they always look like scones to me. What we call a biscuit is a cookie in the US. Recently on Bren's blog Pieces From Me I spied a photo of these biscuits on the side of a plate of food she had photographed. So I asked the question, and she has posted the recipe. It seems there is a recipe mix that is commonly used to make them, but she has provided a link to a site that explains what is in the recipe mix. I always make them from scratch, but the recipe we use is much simpler, and we eat scones with butter, or with jam and cream with tea or coffee, not with our meal.

I like to make them with dates added, or sultanas, and sometimes I add some cinnamon because I love it and put it in everything I can! You can add herbs to the recipe or maybe some cheese to make them savoury.

Here is my recipe: (I'll do it in imperial measurements too, although we are up to date in Australia and use metric like the rest of the civilised world!!)

SCONES

8 ounces (500g) of plain flour + 5 teaspoons of baking powder
OR 8 ounces (500g) of Self Raising Flour
1 tablespoon of butter
a pinch of salt (I leave this out - who needs it?)
6-7 fluid ounces of milk (don't know the metric as I always add it bit by bit and go by feel)
1 dessertspoon of sugar ( I leave this out too as there is sweetness in the dates or sultanas)
1/2 cup of chopped dried dates or sultanas (optional)


Preheat oven to 450 deg F (230 deg C or 210 - 220 deg C for fan forced)

Sift the flour ( and baking powder if using plain flour).
With the fingertips rub the butter through the flour until no lumps of butter are left.
Add the dried fruit and mix well.
Add about 3/4 of the milk and mix well with a flat blade knife. Add further milk as required until you have a soft dough. If it is a little sticky this is ok as you add a bit of flour when shaping the scones.
Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly then pat the dough out about 1 inch (2.5cm) thick with floured hands.
Cut into scone shapes with a round scone cutter or the rim of a small drinking glass.
Place on baking tray.
Glaze the tops with a little milk and place in the oven.
Cook for 12 - 15 mins until golden brown. Don't overcook.

Serve with butter, or strawberry jam and whipped cream.

In unrelated news, Ms Chloe Beagle is in the bad books today. We got up at the Crack of Dawn to go on our walk, and she would not come to me to have her lead put on. This is becoming a big problem and she has been left at home on 2 occasions as a result. Today during "the run away, see if you can catch me" game, she slipped out of the gate and was off. It took me over 30mins to catch her, and I think I would still be chasing her now if not for the fact that she ran under a lady's house (who we know luckily) and she came out and helped me to corner her. She is outside at the moment, and I can hear her scratching at the door to be let in, but I am not responding. She needs some time to think over the fact that a serious adjustment in attitude is required! What I am going to do with her I don't know. Maybe I will have to give in and stop using the lead that she hates. I don't like to give in - I'm the boss - but it is becoming ridiculous. Any experience or thoughts Dog Lovers?

Simon is a good boy who loves his walk and stands at the gate waiting to go.

4 Patches, 4 patches and more 4 patches

I'm sewing, which is the good news. I'm chain piecing these 4 patches, and I feel like I'm just sewing and sewing and they don't seem to ever stop! You probably don't recall, but I made the 4 patch blocks (3 inch finished) ages ago, then the project was put on hold as I didn't have the fabric for the setting squares, and I couldn't find something I liked that I could afford. The quilt is inspired by this old one and I wanted to find a nice double pink. As you would know, double pinks are very popular, and rarely make it to the sale bins, and as I needed 6+ metres, I was hoping to find something a little cheaper than normal. If I had bought it here in Australia it would've cost me A$150, so I was prepared to wait.

Then I saw this one some time ago, and I snapped it up. So I have been sewing and sewing and sewing, then I thought to myself last night, 'maybe I should be thinking about how long the rows are going to be before I sew everything together'. Of course I couldn't find my book that had the calculations in it about how much fabric I needed and how many 4 patches I needed to make. Eventually I found it, and I have to tell you that it didn't help at all! How I worked it out I have no idea.

So now I'm thinking I'll have to try and draw a diagram - the problem being that I want to set the blocks on point... I'm thinking I may have to try and do it in EQ, which I own but never use, as it just doesn't make sense to me. Not logical, so I've never taken to it, plus I'm not much of a planner when it comes to quilts, I'm more a 'seat of your pants' type designer. Maybe this is why I don't get much finished - oh and also because I make everything Queen Sized. Hopeless.

Oh well, I'll have to do something, otherwise I can see myself having these great long rows of blocks that will have to be unpicked as they are too long.

My slump must be lifting as I am now nearly up to date with my bloglines. A few weeks ago the little message would come up saying I had over 3500 posts to read... a bit daunting. So now I have almost caught up with 2 of my Playlists, the first being Doglovers, the second being Favourite Quilters. There are still plenty of unread posts in the Knitting etc List, but it's summer, and I only get the knitting fever in winter. So I'm sorry if I've neglected some of you who I would regularly visit, as I havent' been able to leave comments on all the blogs I've visited, but trust me, I've probably been there. I had a visit from a fairly new blogger called JulieK - I went to her blog today, and was wowed by her beautiful quilts. She is a nurse too and works a lot by the sound of it, so where she finds the time I don't know. Makes me feel pretty slack actually. Many of you already know about her blog, but if not go over and visit. Lots of nice old and traditional quilts, and some amazing hand quilting.

Otherwise, not much happening here. It's a funny old day today - overcast but not raining. I will now go and start up the EQ and see if I can remember what to do. Or I could watch the cricket...

On My Bed

As usual I'm a bit late with everything, but I thought I'd still show what is on my bed. I had to close the door to keep the beagle off the bed, but as for quilts I use my string quilt, then my first ever quilt (Irish Chain) as my back-up quilt.

Still not doing a lot of sewing, but at least I'm blog reading, which is a start. I've had a bit of a dental trauma this week and have been having headaches as a result. A tooth that I had filled last visit has been giving me trouble, which suddenly got worse this last week. The news is all bad, the bottom line being that it is inevitable that I lose the tooth eventually, and no matter which course of action I follow with it, I will be up for Big Bucks. Sadly I don't really have the money, so I am praying that it holds out a little longer. If it comes out eventually I will need to get an implant or something $$$$$$$$$. So I haven't felt too happy, nor have I felt 100%, as there is a little bit of infection there apparently. Sigh...

I really need to do some work in the yard today and mow the lawn, but I don't really feel like it. In fact I think I might go back to bed, as I was up at the crack of dawn to go for a walk. Chloe stayed home this morning as she wouldn't let me put her lead on her. She doesn't like the lead I'm using as it doesn't let her pull, so she has started this thing where she runs away from me when I try to put it on. So today she was left behind. I wonder how she will be tomorrow.

I cooked up the tomatoes after my last post, and yesterday I made some Tzatziki which was nice. The garlic should be really strong today, so I will enjoy finishing that off. I bought a piece of fresh salmon which will be my dinner tonight, so I'll have it with that and some bread and salad.

I Can't Believe It - It's Raining Again

It's such a lovely day today - showers coming across the Bay all day. Such a great day for being inside with the light on. I've spent a fair bit of time on the computer, quilted and sewn the binding on Chloe's little quilt, and made some ricotta cheese. I've never done it before, but thought I'd give it a go after reading about it in a magazine. It's funny how you see a group of things that relate to each other now and then. Mum gave me a yoghurt making kit recently, and then I saw this article which talked about making ricotta, yoghurt and soft cheese from yoghurt. As you are away from the shops here, it's good to be able to make stuff like that occasionally, so I gave it a go.

I now understand why fresh ricotta is so expensive, as you don't get much cheese from your milk. This is what I got from 1 litre of low fat milk, but I think that I could've maybe got more if I had added some more vinegar/lemon juice. I had a look in my vegetarian cookbooks and in a Hare Krishna one I have it said I should add more lemon juice til the whey is clear, whereas mine was still a bit milky. It was really interesting reading, as it talks about why cows are sacred in that religion, mainly because they produce milk which is a major protein source, and that milk is good for your physical and spiritual health. A cow that feels happy and content because she knows she will not be killed once her milk runs dry, gives better sweeter milk, so they say. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, the next thing I'll try is to make it from LongLife milk, which would be ideal. I also want to make some yoghurt cheese, which is just yoghurt with the water drained out of it. You can add herbs and spices to it, or use it as the base for dips and so on. I feel in the mood for cooking - must be the gloomy day, but there isn't much food here to cook. I have a bit of a tomato harvest from the garden, so I might cook them up. The egg or Roma tomatoes look great, but they're a bit floury inside which I don't like that much, so I've been baking them along with the cherry tomatoes with some olive oil and herbs to make a sauce for pasta.

I have been doing a little sewing today too, and have finished the quilting on Chloe's little quilt. It's a really quick job and I've put the binding on too. Just the hand sewing to do now which I might get done tonight. My eyes, my right eye in particular, has really deteriorated lately, so I may have to start using my reading glasses more often. I'm still a bit in denial about it, as I've always had perfect eyesight, and can't get used to the idea that I'm getting old. Plus I prefer to not have the house brightly lit - mood lighting works for me - so that doesn't help with night-time sewing. I'll have to get a lamp just for sewing I suppose with a 100 watt bulb in it!

It's starting to get dark now as it is 6pm and still raining. The dogs are both asleep here on the spare bed, and I could have a lie down too, but I'd better not - too late in the day now. Better think about dinner and have an early night I think.

Travel Bug Tracking

Just a quick post as a few people have asked about watching our "I've Got the Quilting Bug" Travel Bugs.

I have not released mine yet, but I will this week, and Holly's has been picked up by someone but not yet put back in a geocache. The waiting is going to be torture!

If you would like to check in on them occasionally, go to this page http://www.geocaching.com/track . It is the Trackables page and is appropriately headed "Live vicariously through inanimate objects".

All you need to do is type in- I've Got the Quilting Bug -in the 'search by name' field, and they will both come up together. So far they have both travelled 0 km.

Maybe I'm Back...

I might just have the quilting mojo back. This is the little top I have done for Chloe's bed - I'll just bind it in red. I had to wonder to myself if I washed the red fabric, but I think I did. It had the look of a piece of fabric that had been washed then ironed, so here's hoping.

I even did a bit of blog surfing just before, and saw some lovely Repro fabrics that I instantly desired. My mouse went to Start-Favourites-fabric stores and hovered over Z & S, then I thought NO! The budget is tight and I don't need any more fabric (well not at the moment). How strong was that? I'm just not even going to look.

Tomorrow I'm going out on the Bay. Mum and Dad have a boat and they are swinging by the jetty at 10am to pick me up for a day out. I have even been thinking that I should take some hand work to do, but my big hexagon quilt is too big for that now. I did start some small 1930s hexagons ages ago, so I might try and find them tonight. I must be getting better...

I've taken my Q4P badge off too. I can't really keep up with the ring requirements at the moment, and now I find that it is folding all together. It seems someone is going to start the ring all over again using the same name, but I actually feel fairly good about making the decision to drop off. I know this is a quilting blog, but I would like to be able to post more often about some other things, so it's all for the best 'for me'.