The Footy's Back

Went to the Footy last night at the Gabba (or the Gabbatoir as we Brisbane Lions footy fans like to call it).  I went with my sister and her partner, who are getting married tomorrow BTW, her 2 kids and his son.  The family group is seriously divided when it comes to the footy as Ian and therefore his son are fanatical Carlton fans. I'm a Brisbane Lions fan, but not too fanatical about it.  My niece has sided with the Carlton supporters and my nephew is a Lions fan.  My sister couldn't really care less, especially as she ends up dealing with the highs and lows of the fast moving game of Australian Football - ie who is sulking when their team is losing, trying to ration the food, and making sure that all fans in a 2 metre radius don't have their eye poked out with the stick that the flags are tied to.



Our seats were in the nosebleed section, but good for taking a photo - the game was sold out, and the atmosphere was great.  Of course the best team won, made all the more exciting by the fact that we stole Fev, one of Carlton's star forwards, so it was his first game against his old club.  There were a few scuffles but no big punchup.   Fev is a bit of a bad boy, so half of Carlton fans said 'good riddance' and half of the Lions fans weren't too keen to have him, but we've decided that he's a bad boy, but he's our bad boy.



The only other drama was that the guy behind me spilt half his beer down my back, but I suppose these things happen when the game gets exciting.  At the start of the game the teams run through these big banners that have a message on them.  Ours was a nod to how important sponsorship is which was disappointing, but the opposition cashed in on a bit of controversy about the Lions logo being changed this year.  Cheeky, huh?



Anyway the season goes on, and in a rare nanosecond of sunshine I snapped a pic from my seat of the flowers my friend picked out of her garden for me.  Lovely deep colour.  I also bought some cotton and bamboo yesterday to do a bit of crochet, like I need another UFO...

Wedding tomorrow so that will keep me busy, so maybe some sewing on Sunday.  I hope everyone has a happy and safe Easter - please be careful on the roads.

Men!

Pretty quiet here on the island apart from the goings on at the building site next door. The lady who owns it is quite frustrated over the treatment she is getting from some of the workmen. This is a topic I was discussing with a friend just the other day - in this day and age it continues to amaze me how many men still treat women as though they are stupid and incapable of doing things that men can do. I've been having trouble with my mainland car, the battery has been flat twice since my alternator was replaced. Each time I've had to get the autoclub to jump start the car for me, then I've driven the to the battery shop and this week to the auto electrician. It's supposedly fixed now, but we'll see. The auto club man was talking to me like I had no idea what would flatten a battery, and actually said "are you sure you didn't leave the door open just a little bit? That could drain the battery." Duh, like I didn't know that. I park the car in a public carpark on the mainland which is not at all secure, so of course I shut the door properly!



I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is the most recent of a number of similar incidents - if I was a man, do you think the guy would've asked him if he left the door to the car half open? No, I didn't think so. I'm a single woman who owns a house (paid for by me, not through a divorce settlement or similar), I have a job, 2 cars and a boat, and manage to live life without a man - fancy that? In fact there seem to be a lot more women around who are managing quite well on their own. I was in a relationship a few years ago which I ended, and truly, when all was said and done the only things I had to do after he moved out (which I had to arrange) was mow the lawn and take out the compost - 2 things I was doing before he came along. Oh and much less housework! 

BTW the arrival of the house next door is still a few weeks away.  I've been getting up in the morning and having a look out the window half expecting it to have arrived in the night.



Anyway, off my soapbox now, sorry for that but I had to get it out!  I spent half the day yesterday on the computer looking at all sorts of things, especially knitting and crochet blogs and sites now that there is a hint of coolness in the air.  For the crocheters among you I enjoyed reading this colourful blog by Sarah London, and absolutely love this Flickr photostream by Eclectic Gipsyland - the colours! 

Anyway while I was trawling through Ravelry I saw a bag that was made out of a rectangle of knitting so I thought I'd try it with fabric. This is a prototype which turned out a bit big I think, and would benefit from some interfacing or something. Everybody else probably knows how to do this, but it was a revelation to me!  Bit hard to see the diagonal seam across the front.  I'll try it with my library books which have to go back today.

Speaking of library books, I borrowed one about tatting.  My Mum knows how to tatt, so I thought I might make the effort and learn.  It does have its limitations, but I saw a photo of a tatted cuff which was made out of a gold coloured thread, and just made me think about how to make something out of a craft that to me just screams doilies doilies and more doilies.  Crochet has been a bit like that, so it's nice to see some of these crafts traditionally used for handkerchief edgings become a bit more relevant.  So much to do, so little time, right?

I'm back at work after a pretty decent break, so I'm finding that all my spare time is gone. I have done some more on the Postage Stamp blocks, but that's about it.




I did receive the lovely fabric that Betsy offered me, along with a FQ and a lovely card. I've sent some magazines to her, so hopefully she will enjoy them.



Not much more activity on the block next door - the tree stump has been dug out of the ground by a mechanical digger, and there is now a hole there that covers about half the block.  The trunk is huge too.  I'm hoping that the house arrives when I'm home so I can take some photos.  They tend to do it at night so I hope I'm not at work.





I found what I think was a half-built nest in the branches.  It looks like it wasn't in use.  The bird has used some man-made materials  - see the blue string, and to the left you can see some white cord that has been wrapped a few times around a twig.



Otherwise the only thing I've been doing is a bit of a novelty - cooking.  I just made a quiche but it is a pretty slap-dash affair now that I look at it.  I should have used the quiche dish as there is too much pastry above the filling, and I didn't make any effort to make the pastry look nice.  This should see me through a week of dinners - the joys of living alone!

Going, Going, Gone...

Where once there was a big old tree, now nothing. I do understand that if you want to put a house on your small block of land and there's a great big tree in the middle of it, then the tree has to go.



But it doesn't stop me feeling sad about it. How old this Gum Tree is I don't know, but it'd have a few years up I'm sure.



The neighbours were glad that the owner had brought the pro's in as last week she had a dodgy old guy with a chainsaw looking at it, so at least these guys did it in a safe way, and it came down just the way they planned it.



My view has improved slightly but I would rather have had the tree.  What can you do?  The good news is that the house coming to that block of land has been pre-built in a factory and comes over in two pieces on a barge.  The few weeks they should take to get it stumped and plumbed in will be nothing compared with the average 6 months of hammering and noise created by a couple of builders.



In quilting news I've been working on the Postage Stamp Quilt (see button for Quilt Along in side bar).  Lots of mindless sewing and ironing, with moments of frustration when the bobbin runs out about 10 long seams ago and I haven't realised.  My next sewing machine (in Fantasy Land about 10 years in the future) will have 2 important features.  Needle Up - Needle Down, and some system that will alert me when the bobbin is empty.  My machine gives you no warning at all.  No change in the sound, no little rattle, no nothing.  Does anyone have a machine that does both these things?  If so I'll be keeping it in mind.

I've switched to this new 'thing' on blogger which changes the way I upload photos and stuff.  I'll get used to it eventually, I'm sure.  I still write links with the 'a href' business, so I need to upgrade.  I'm still using Bloglines too - I wonder if that will be phased out now that there are blog followers.

Oh Happy Happy Day

There's an awful lot of blog posting going on in Fairybread Land lately, and the sad thing is that one day I'll just disappear again. But then with winter not too far away hopefully I'll stay true.


Today is a Happy Day. The postman came bearing fabric from the US (in a blo*dy big box). Normally I get one or two envelopes, but this time a box. The order was dispatched from Whittle's Fabric last Saturday, and here it is on the Monday 9 days after. Pretty good service. Whittle's say on their shipping page that they don't ship to Australia, but they do. They bent under some pretty heavy blogger pressure apparently.

I usually buy 1800s Repro fabric, but this time I bought some modern and/or bright fabric. I've been reading my Material Obsession books bought el-cheapo from the Book Depository in the UK. I'm quite inspired. *Aussie and Kiwi alert* all the books are heaps cheaper than in Australia, plus postage is always free. Compare the prices - you can easily pay double here. It's very fast, less than 10 days, and you can have all the prices displayed in A$ on the site if you like. HIGHLY recommended.


Anyway, back to the fabric. Bought some dots, stripes and stuff from modern designers, but I think the floral is my favourite. I bought 4 yards so I can use it as a border or something. Better than Christmas!

Would Anybody Like It?

It's a bit scary to admit this, but I bought 2 of the same magazine this month. We are deprived of US Quilt mags here, so when I see this one I snap it up. I thought the cover looked familiar, but I sometimes look at the webpage for this mag so I thought I must have seen it there. Not til I got home and had a browse did I realise I already had it.


If anybody would like it please let me know. I think just Aussies and Kiwis as everyone else would have easy access to it.

Will Somebody PLEASE Save Me From Myself...

Oh God! What is it about these things that suck me in? My first thought was "you've got to be joking!" but for the 12 or so hours since then I've been thinking about it most of the time. Think of those tubs of boring fabric acquired in the early days of quilting that could be used up. In fact, why do I still have that fabric? I sold a lot of that stuff on ebay some time back, then used the funds to buy more fabric, of course. I seem to have this huge amount of boring green that could be hidden in this quilt among brighter fabrics.

I'm still thinking about it, but I did buy a huge amount of plain white fabric today, just in case I ever need it... It's sort of like looking at a train wreck - you don't want to look but you can't help yourself. BTW I know there has been a terrible train crash in Belgium, and I hope no blogger has family or friends involved.

If you still want to know what this is about, look here, but don't say I didn't warn you.

O M G it's H O T. It's weather for sitting still, as any movement causes sweat to roll down your face and drip off your chin. It's a day for lying on the deck in the shade, but only with about 10 layers of mossie repellent on, as the mosquitos are vicious after the recent rain. Even the heat off the laptop feels worse today.

I've been doing some hexagons as the thought of sitting in front of the machine isn't attractive. It feels sinful to be making these huge hexagons as they grow so quickly, but if it means I might finish it this year rather than next then it's a good thing.

I've been trying to use big prints for the plain hexagons and have re-discovered this piece of fabric. I know it's been there, but I've only really started to appreciate it since I've been working on this project. It doesn't have any writing on the selvage as it isn't a very big piece, but I've got a feeling it could be a Sharon Yenter print. I might try and have a look for it, but I'm sure it's out of print now. I'm trying to use green and pink as the primary colours for this quilt. The colours in the photos look a bit washed out due to the strong sunlight. Chloe is sitting in the sun in one of the photos, but I can assure you she didn't last long!

Feeling the Heat

This is Simon (official name Simon's Secret) but I don't call him that unless he's in serious trouble, but it makes no difference anyway. He does whatever he wants and I let him - he has it made. Si is getting old now. He's 13 and I've had him for 12 of those 13 years. He is a sweet soft old gentleman who doesn't much bother anyone, knows his place in the pack which is at the bottom mostly, out of trouble. He will put up a bit of a growl if young Chloe is foolish enough to try and steal his bone or food, as there is one constant in life and that is that NOTHING comes between Simon and his food.

He can be flat out puffing and panting like in the photo, but if I move toward the kitchen bench the head comes up and tilts to the side, then if I go into the pantry where the dog food is kept he's young again, springing and twirling like a puppy. Then the bum hits the floor and he somehow manages to move backward, sideways or wherever he thinks the food bowl is going to land without getting up from a sit. It is truly something to be seen.


He loves his mother too - that's me of course - and as you can see he sleeps on the bed. If I leave him say in a friend's yard with them and their dogs while I dash home to grab something, he sits at the gate waiting for my return. Unable to be distracted, except momentarily of course by food, he's back at the gate, occasionally letting out a mournful WoooOOoooOoo... til I come back. Heart wrenching.

I was reading about Kipper and Thomas today, and remembering Libby's Harper who recently went to where all Good Dogs go - I hope I have Simon for a few years yet.

More Hexagons

I've started doing some more hexagons to have a hand project, inspired by these amazing quilts on the Fun with Barb and Mary blog. I emailed Barb and she said it's ok to link to her, so have a look at these fantastic hex quilts on her blog. Barb's quilt was made using 3 inch hexagons with the smaller diamonds, but I decided to do mine 2 1/2 inches as at the time the LQS had the 2 different sized diamonds to go with that measurement, but no 2 1/2 inch hexagons. I thought to myself that I would get started on the diamonds and look online for the big hexagon papers and template.

Trust me to decide on 2 1/2 inch hexagons as they don't seem to exist. Hex papers go up in half inch sizes til you get to 2 inch, then go straight to 3 inch. I have searched the world looking for them with no luck. So I thought 'well I'll have to make them'. I'm all for convenience so I always buy papers and a template, however after half an hour in Officeworks this week, I have learnt some new and useful things. I didn't know that copying paper was 80 gsm, and that there are all different weights of paper up to 200gsm which is a light cardboard. Fancy that? I bought 100 sheets of 200gsm for $10, then paid a dollar or so for them to photocopy onto about 15 sheets, and have enough leftover paper to print hexagons for a few years.

First I printed off the hexagons from this website, but even though I put 2.5 inches in the box, when printed the hexagon was a bit smaller than this. So I photocopied the page at 105% and it came out the right size. Only 2 hexagons will fit on the page so I'll make up a page with the 2 hexagons and some diamonds in the gaps and use that as my original. I also bought a sheet of template plastic to make a template.

It's been fun cutting the fabric to make stripes or fussy cutting flowers or berries and stuff. I have the scrap bins out and am trying to use some of them. I'm trying for green and pink as the main colours in this quilt.

I've finished the quilting in the light hexagons, and am arguing with myself about doing the red ones. I could probably get away with not doing them, but that's no attitude, is it? I'll think about it.


Meanwhile I looked out the bathroom window this morning to see this tree branch down, just missing my fence and the banana tree. Close call. It would be nice not to have a fence while all this empty space is around me, but with beagles there is no option. It's quite a big gum tree, and I've been told that they can be called "widow makers", as the branch soaks up water from the rain, then gets heavy and falls on your head without warning. There has been plenty of rain over the last few days but not much wind, so I'd say that's what must have happened.


I love having the big trees around, but when you see this you have to admit that the whole tree could fall over and land on the roof...

It's raining today, in fact the rain on the roof woke me up this morning. The good news is that the tanks will be full, but the bad news is that the house will be smelling like a wet dog before long. Chloe wants to be outside, but she doesn't like to get wet. I sent her out to do what dogs need to do outside, and watched her spring over a patch of wet grass to land on a different patch of wet grass. Whatever. I try to take photos of the rain, but it doesn't really work. Beyond the trees you can usually see the water of the bay, and Nth Stradbroke Island, but not today. Can you see the water pouring down the road?

Anyway, it isn't good for taking photos today. I'm slowly coming along with Mum's Christmas Present (Last Minute Lucy). I have ironed on the Pellon, which I think might also be called Vliesofix, to the backing fabric and basted. Then I tried to do some handquilting with pitiful results. Needless to say I'm booked into a handquilting class (hoop free) later in the month. I tried to do it with the machine and it isn't too bad. I'll finish it this way.

I took this photo this morning to email to my friend Di as she gave me this plant and can't believe that it's still alive. Well it is, and it's flowering! After I took the photo I noticed the "No Gimmicks, Just Cheap Cars" in the foreground. Need to look at the whole photo, not just the thing I'm photographing. So I took it again, then noticed all the other cr*p on the table. Really I need to have a cleanup today.

Way in the background is the sailing pile - ie 2 sails plus the boom, 2 PFDs, a towel, water bottle etc.

Behind the plant you will notice the life of a beagle owner. Absolutely everything must be up on the table or bench, not too close to the edge and with all the chairs left in at all times. The star blocks I've been cutting out while watching the cricket, Mum's hexagons, and all the scrap bins and assorted other fabrics because I have started more hexagons.

The problems of an open plan house - there isn't any hiding of the mess. Luckily I live in the sort of place where you don't get many people just 'dropping in'. It's such a pain to get here that people ring first to arrange a visit, but I like it. I like having a bit of space around me, I like living alone and I like a bit of isolation.

Laura's Quilt

Laura's quilt is one of the Christmas presents I still need to finish. I just got it out of the bag that I brought it home in from Christmas Day (!) and took a few photos. It's draped on the couch which is why it looks a bit upside down. I've tried to do some free-motion quilting as I've decided that this year is the year I will learn to quilt more than straight lines.




If you look at the Flickr Chinese Coins group you will see that this back is fairly unimaginative, but then she doesn't know that! Worked well with all the bits of pink fabric I had. Laura has a sign in her room that says "If it's Not Pink, it's not Worth Having".

Luckily it's not quilt weather here in Australia, so there isn't a great deal of pressure.

Nursing

Now I know there are plenty of nurses out there, and I've noticed that quite a few bloggers are doing nursing training. I've been nursing for 28 years, so when I see something like this list that has come in an email, I can identify and have a laugh. Please don't be offended - and the one thing I will stop at is eating out of a bedpan no matter how clean!

You know you’re a nurse when...

1. The front of your scrubs reads, ‘Nurses... here to save your ass, not kiss it!’

2. You occasionally park in the space with the ‘physicians only’ sign – and knock it over.

3. You believe some patients are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them.

4. You recognize that you can’t cure stupid.

5. You own at least three pens with the names of prescription medications on them.

6. You believe there’s a special place in hell for the inventor of the call light.

7. You believe that saying, ‘it can’t get any worse’ causes it to get worse just to show you it can.

8. You wash your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom.

9. You believe that any job where you can drive to work in your pyjamas is a cool one.

10. You consider a tongue depressor an eating utensil.

11. Eating microwave popcorn out of a clean bedpan is perfectly natural.

12. You’ve been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider it a form of birth control.

13. You’ve heard a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring, twelve earrings and covered in tattoos say, “I’m afraid of injections.”

14. You’ve ever placed a bet on someone’s blood alcohol level.

15. You’ve told a confused patient that your name is that of a co-worker and to call if they need help.

16. Your bladder can expand to the size of a Winnebago’s water tank.

17. You have seen more penises than any prostitute could dream of.

18. You believe that not all patients are annoying. Some are unconscious.

19. Your family and friends refuse to watch medical sitcoms with you because you spend the whole time correcting everyone and pointing out upside down x-rays.

20. You don’t get excited about blood, unless it’s your own.

21. You’ve sworn to have ‘do not resuscitate’ tattooed on your chest. Soon.

22. Discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal is perfectly normal to you.

23. Your idea of fine dining is anywhere you can sit down to eat.

24. Your idea of a good time is a cardiac arrest – at shift change.

25. You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac.

26. You believe that ‘shallow gene pool’ should be a recognized diagnosis.

27. You believe that the government should require permits to reproduce.

28. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall anyone who utters the phrase, “Wow, it’s really quiet, isn’t it?”

29. You have ever wanted to write a book entitled, ‘Suicide: getting it right the first time.’

30. You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say, “I have no idea how that got stuck in there.”

Technical Help - Fixed Thanks

A couple of bloggers have told me that I am "no reply" in comments. I have looked everywhere, even in help, for a way to turn this on, but I can't. Can anybody help please?

I've been making a few more checkerboard blocks. I've tried to use some ugly fabrics, I tend not to use them if I don't like them, but really I should use them up if I can. I don't like the brown fabric that's with the blue/green one, but no doubt it will get lost in the final quilt. I like the yellow and grey one, the yellow is from the range with a name like Honey and Pewter.


I have also tried to make blocks with low contrast between the two fabrics as is done in the original quilt. I like the block with the 2 purple/pinks.


I've also cut some star blocks for future use. This is very unlike me as I really don't like cutting for a quilt. I've been watching the cricket (aahhh I miss work like a hole in the head), and while doing so I've been cutting. I now have a little pile of star blocks that are blue with cream, but for some of them I've added a little bit of red, pink or cheddar.


Sailing day today, so the cricket will have to go on without me. It looks pretty clear that we will thrash Pakistan, so no need to worry.

Sailing

One of the reasons I haven't been doing a lot of sewing, apart from the heat and being lazy, is that I've been sailing. I haven't had the boat long, and have had problems with the trailer and getting the mast up on my own, but I'm working on it. Today is going to be a bit hot, and there is just enough wind, so I'm going to go out. I have the 30+ sunscreen at the ready, plus my hat and sunproof shirt, 4 litres of water and a bit of lunch.


I'll be able to have a swim which will be nice. A scheduled swim I should say as I don't want to have bad sailing karma and fall in. Luckily the boat tends to sail itself into the wind, so if I fall off I should be able to catch it, but of course we don't talk about things like that. Not enough wind today anyway. Life jacket always on just in case.

I feel for some of the poor Aussies like Mereth who are having terrible heat today, and there are bushfire warnings out for some parts of the country. After the terrible fires last year where many people were killed, there is a new warning category which is 'catastrophic'. Some of the warnings out at the moment are in this category. Some people stay to defend their homes, but if it were me I'd have the dogs in the car and I'd be long gone. Maybe some of the stash too if there was time!

Cutting Strips

I've been working on Mum's hexagons but had to stop because I didn't have the stuff to put in the middle. I've decided on using some Pellon - not sure what the rest of the world calls it - I managed to buy some yesterday.


I've been watching the cricket on TV, but with no handwork I felt like I was sort of wasting the day. I don't like the cutting fabric part of any project, so I decided to do some strip cutting while watching TV. I've been cutting 2 inch strips for the Checkerboard quilt plus some random strips for future use. Then I cut a 2 1/2 inch strip from each fabric before I put it away. I love looking in my fabric boxes which I've sorted into colour groups. I love this blue toned one, but I realise that I hardly use blue repro fabrics - I'll have to make a red white and blue quilt. Or maybe blue and cream.


Then there is this purple box which I love. I have had a bit of trouble cutting some of the fabrics, because if I use it, then it's gone! I've also tried very hard to cut strips from the fabrics I don't really like.
I buy most of my fabric online from the US (so cheap), and I pretty well know what things are going to look like in the flesh. Occasionally I go to the LQS to have a look at everything, but I rarely buy anything. It's not right really, but I just can't pay the big money. Most fabric here costs A$22 = US$19.70 a metre, where I can buy fabric from the US for US$4 = A$4.45 a yard or US$8. What can you do? I also find that you get spoilt seeing things on the internet that the shops here haven't got in yet. I went to the LQS ready to buy some of the Rouenneries fabric I'm using for Mum's hexagons, but although it was available on the net they didn't have it yet. It had arrived to my house from the US and they still didn't have it.


Anyway, where I was going with this is that occasionally I buy something online that isn't that nice in the flesh. I wouldn't have bought the 2 blue fabrics in this photo, but then the black and cream fabric is really lovely, but when I ordered it I wasn't too sure.

The cricket is on again today but delayed due to rain at the moment, and it's going to be too windy to go sailing. I'll keep cutting strips and pinning Checkerboard blocks.

Finishing Hexagon Edges

Of course I didn't get the sewing finished in time, but Laura had so many presents I don't think she cared, and Mum understood. I've been thinking about how to finish off the hexagons. I've tried to add a few half hexagons to straighten the sides, but I don't like it.

I put the call out on the Hexagon blog of which I am a very bad member, and was directed to this video by Valentina who doesn't seem to have a blog but is part of the Sister Hexagon blog. It shows you how to put a facing on the back so that you can keep the points. I'll take the pink ones out and give this a go. Thanks Valentina.