Gremlins, spam and F2F Block Swap

First, though, I'll get the gremlins and spam out of the way. I had had no comments on my last two posts, which I found puzzling, as apart from having a loyal bunch of dedicated readers, my stats were showing lots of page views. Where was everybody?  I felt sure you weren't all fickle enough to go off and find more verdant blog pastures when I failed to show up for a while, so was relieved when  Chelle mentioned that perhaps Blogger was playing up, as she'd  left a comment but it hadn't shown up.  So after doing some investigating, not only did I find my 'email comments for moderation' ..... unticked, but there you all were, tucked up safe and sound with the trolls in Spam! So you've been released, and I've replied to all the comments on my last Carnival of Flowers post, and apologise for not doing so on the previous post. It just shows it's not a good idea to neglect your blog, because the gremlins get in and play.

So on to F2FBlock Swap, which stands for Foot Square Freestyle, a block swap dreamt up by Kate from Tales from Chiconia, where each participant chooses their colours, and month by month, we make our choice of 12 inch (foot square) block (freestyle). You can go here to the dedicated blog if you'd like to see the participants colour choices, the gallery of blocks made and sent already this year, or check out the blocks made in the two previous years. There's a few quilts too, beautiful quilts, that have been made from blocks received.

I have been Miss September in this year's swap, and chose any shade of blue with pops of blush pink for my colours. I have a predominantly blue lounge room, with an indigo blue sofa, and a dark blue and turquoise tv cabinet/bookcase, which incidentally, I picked up for $10 from the op shop, and painted.  I already have cushions in various shades of blue, with the contrast of blush/dusty pink to soften all that blue.  

There's also a very blank wall over the sofa, and I plan to make some of my blocks  into a wall quilt, and the rest will be for a lap quilt /throw.  

A black and white dog adds some drama and contrast! 

And in case you were wondering, this is my view from the chaise. Nice hey? 

Down to the river and out to the Border Ranges. On a clear day, Mt Warning is clearly visible. 

And I've been enjoying the arrival of the squishie parcels in the mail, from around the world.  

These arrived from Lynn in France, including one of her famous hedgehogs, which I was delighted to receive.

 Then Kathy's, from South Dakota, USA.

 These from Claire, also from France

 And closest to home, from Kate, in Mackay, Nth Queensland.

Lastly, so far, from Sue, in Washington State USA

Sue

I had asked for baskets and/or applique if anyone felt like doing these, and I'm really happy to have my hoped-for baskets, one from Kate with appliqued hexies. 

I have this partially finished one I made myself, but will wait now until the last lot arrive before I make anymore, so I can spread the colours out a bit if need be.

I'm currently working on blocks for Miss October'.....Moira.........who has asked for shades of brown....assorted golden, tan and dark, with accents of blue grey.  It's always an interesting challenge to stretch myself and work with colours I wouldn't usually choose.

till next time........

Carnival of Flowers

A couple of friends and I loaded up the little blue car and headed out of town and up the range, down the other side and through very dry and brown countryside to Toowoomba, where the Carnival of Flowers is held every year.

Their slogan was Eat, Stay, Laugh, Play and we certainly did all those things.  There are a couple of Council gardens that had amazing displays of flowers, and we wondered as we wandered...how did they get them all to bloom at the same time ......a bus driver told us they snip off the buds in the weeks leading up to Carnival, then let them bloom in time for the big week.  May be true, may be not, but a lot of work certainly went into producing all the vibrant colour, amazing displays and delicious scents.

The clever garden displays celebrating the 2018 Commonwealth Games 

Garden displays in Laurel Bank Park

The bees worked overtime

As well as being known as the Garden City, Toowoomba is also surrounded by great national parks, and has plenty of well-preserved heritage buildings, such as these.    

There was such a lot to see and do, either as part of the structured events of the Carnival, or just exploring a new city, and we only managed a very small part of it. We did a lot of walking, and enjoyed wandering and finding an impressive collection of street art murals by highly talented local and international artists. I love the creativity and life this kind of art brings to a city, and I think exploring the laneways, not knowing what we might find round each corner, was one of my favourite parts of the trip. 

My little camera had trouble capturing the full scope of these huge murals 

We splurged and bought tickets for an all day tour of the private open gardens, and which also gave us a lunch at the University and ringside seats for the Grand Parade.  While I loved the spectacle of the formal parks and gardens, I think I became a little blase after a while, seeing so many stunning gardens full of tulips, stocks and snapdragons, and the rest of the spring annuals, it was a little overwhelming. So it was quite a pleasure to visit a couple of award-winning native and bush-themed open gardens that were very much my favourites. 

I enjoyed the quirky and clever use of old tools and tin to make all sorts of garden ornaments and displays 

There's much that we did I've not told you about, but it can get boring after a while, so here's some last glimpses........of the street parade, views over the escarpment to the east and the Japanese Gardens, to finish off.

We arrived home right before hail, thunderstorms and heavy rain, so I'm glad to have the little blue car safely under cover. It's lovely to have the rain though, when so much of the country is suffering crippling drought, but I'm glad to be safe and sound and off the road, and I can hear my garden thirstily slurping up. all that moisture.

Till next time.............

Ho hum- beginning again

A scrappy catch-up post.....bits of my days and bits of fabric

So I'm back from my unintentional blogging break. It's been a few months of all sorts....busy fun, supporting friends who've been sick and/or hospitalised, dealing with some family 'stuff", which, while not mine, needed my attention from time to time, as well as the day to day tasks of home making - cooking, cleaning, taking care of my animals ...and repeat. After a while, it just got easier  to not blog, so I've made the effort today because it's ScrapHappy Day (maybe it still is the 15th somewhere?)  organised by Kate and Gun and it seemed like a good time to jump back in and post about my latest scrap projects.  Lest you think I've been tardy, however, here's a brief catch up of the last...umm.....however many  weeks it's been.

There were a number of distractions to start with....

Nimbin Mardi Grass  Nimbin's a small village about 30km south west of here, and although it's been a farming area for generations, and still is, in the 70s crowds of hippies piled into town for the first Age of Aqaurius Festival. Most of these stayed on in this quiet little hamlet of deep valleys and dense rainforest, planted their (illegal) crops of cannabis and spent their days quietly stoned...dropped out and tripping. Others developed a strong counter-culture, becoming activists and protestors, while at the same time, many mainstream businesses like yoga, healing and natural therapies grew out of the idealogies of the Aquarian festival, and people started growing organic food, setting up multiple occupancies (communes) permaculture farms and co-operatives. The Mardi Grass is an annual rally and celebration held to protest drug laws while celebrating the unique culture of Nimbin, and overall, having fun.  I love Nimbin, not just for it's counter-culture and history, or it's nude bicycle race but for the quaintness of the town, and the great sense of community, of artists, permaculturists and yes, even the activists.  I could write a whole blog post on Nimbin, but not today, so if you're interested you can read more here or ask Mr Google. I went to the mardi Grass this year to help a friend who had a market stall, so it was a busy time of fun and work.

Gunja fairies in the Festival Parade ! Yes, really.

Then along came MAT...Murwillumbah Art Trail......."A showcase of contemporary art at it's best, with exhibitions, free events, workshops, good food and music and all day and into the night"
You could just grab a map follow the numbers and walk the town, enjoying art and food and having fun. I did more work than play throughout this week, as a number of friends either had their own galleries open to the public, or were exhibiting in pop up galleries. As most of them have day jobs, I filled in to mind their spaces for them, meet and greet and sell their excellent art woks......10 days of work and fun.

Just follow the numbers on the map

Then there were the three big birthdays on the same weekend .....my friend Tash's daughter turned 18th, and I was roped in to help organise and set up.  Luckily I also had a 50th to attend, so was excused from the 18 year old's bash pretty early.  The next day I met up with Tash again to celebrate her baby's 1st birthday, which was a very tame affair after the other two.....strawberry sponge cake and apple juice....then dashed off to host another celebration for the 50 year old for friend's who couldn't be here for the night before.
Then there was gardening, because the weather has been just wonderful, and way too nice to be inside.

sowing 

growing 

and eating 

There was some house painting while the weather was sunny but cool. Outdoor chores are so much more enjoyabe with zero humidity. The outside of the house was brown and cream, it's all this nice blue-green now. I was sure I had some before photos, but they're being elusive.

 with grey railings and trim

On the few cold rainy days we did have have, I did some pink,

Blue 

and yellow sewing.

 ...........knitted a couple of beanies which went to Thursday Island for school boy footy teams.....State of Origin colours.

I did some hand sewing and beading and made a pretty bag for a friend's birthday.

and there was a soft toy or two that dashed out of here to bring some cheer to children in hospital.

So now I'm caught up, on to my ScrapHappy project......there's two actually. Firstly, a friend decided she wanted some pale blue in her life, and was considering buying a $300 quilt she'd seen in town......yikes!  So I suggested I make her one, on the understanding it wouldn't be a quick finish, and she happily accepted.

I'd seen a few bowtie quilts pop up on various blogs featuring their  Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects, then I saw that Sue of the Magpie's Nest was making them too, so I jumped on the bandwagon as well. Here they are pinned on the design wall, I think that darker blob in the middle is my shadow!?  I'm using light and medium blues, and as I don't have enough blue scraps there'll be some fabrics used twice, or more, and in a couple of blocks I've joined pieces to get the 4.5 inch size square I needed. I've made 15 so far, and try to sew a few every day, making sure I cut some ready when I've finished sewing, so I can just go straight to the machine the next day.

My second use of scraps is a bit different. I've tied the white trimmings and leftovers of projects onto a string across my garden beds of kale and chinese cabbage, to deter the cabbage moths from laying their eggs. Apparently they see the white fluttering in the breeze and thinking it's rival moths,  they move on.  It seems to be working, no holey greens since I did it.

Hop over to Kate's blog to see what others are doing with their scraps, or to get the details if you have scrappiness you'd like to share.

Till next time..........