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..........

Painting

or rather.....*should be painting*

When I bought this house 18 months ago, one of the decorating details that I was keen to be rid of was the wallpaper throughout the house.  I had imagined days or weeksof steaming and scraping it off the walls, but when it came time to remove it, I discovered it was attached to plywood panelling and came off  very easily.  Sadly I have no 'before' photos, they were all lost when I left my camera outside and it rained that night!!

There were lots of surprises under that horrible old wallpaper.....beautiful original teakwood tongue and groove boards were the best, but also gaps above the doorways where transom windows had been.  These were a feature of houses built in the tropics and sub tropics, as they could be adjusted to let breezes through, and to let extra light in, as the wide verandahs, while cool shady places to retreat to, left the interiors rather dark.

Transoms above the bedrooms.

Here's some photos I found online of original transom windows.......the one on the left had been painted over ....I have one like that..........and that's it cleaned up on the right.

 Here's another original,propped open to catch a breeze.

Most transoms were panes of glass, but some were made of wood, carved into fancy fretwork patterns, like this one, below.

So.....the urgency to paint?  Well I have the glazier coming tomorrow to replace the transoms, and before he does that, the frames need to be painted.....that's my job.  There's 4 frames to be done.....the two in the picture above, over the bedroom doors, one above my sewing room, which was originally a verandah, back in the mists of time, and at some point in this house's life, it was enclosed and makes a fine sewing room now.

The other one is in the front hallway. This doorway would've been the original front door, off the verandah, also closed in at some point.

As you can see, not much to do, but I've been putting it off for a while for a few reasons......those frames are fairly high, and I have to stand on a table to reach, then stretch up a bit......this never feels safe.......I've  had sinus/hayfever for a few weeks and the thought of being up close to paint fumes, even though it is low voc,  is not a thrilling idea.  Thirdly, the sun's out, there's a light breeze and it's quite pleasant outside, which is where I'd much rather be.  Someone else thinks that's a much better idea too.

But there's no use putting it off any longer, I have everything ready to go, so it's time to get started.  I know I'll be pleased I did when the glazier comes in the morning. 

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