Mountains of Hope

Mountains of Teal

Lately, one of the sewing projects I've been working on has been making quilt blocks depicting mountains. Once again, Kate from Tall Tales from Chiconia put out the call for teal and cream blocks for another wonderful quilt to raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer Society. In her usual clever and fun punning style, Kate has called this year's quilt  Go Teal It on the Mountain. I had put my hand up to make 2 blocks, but ended up making 3.

I live with Mt Warning right at my back door, a mammoth peak that's the remnant of the volcanic shield, and standing at over 1000m, it can be seen from all over the valley, from the Border Ranges in Queensland and from the coast as well..  This mountain is what drew me to the Valley many years ago, and I never tire of seeing and photographing her, in all her moods, rain or shine, and from different angles and views.  Mt Warning... or Wollumbin to give her indigenous name.....is a sacred site to the local Bundjalung people.

So it was obvious Mt Warning was going to be one of my blocks. I decided on an applique block, and used Australiana fabrics to highlight the complex network of steep ridges and valleys that fall away from the heights. These hills and ridges have great names like the Sisters, Brummies, Blue Knob, Egg Rock and Doon Doon!

My second block is also a sacred mountain, far from here. Back in 2014 I joined a group from Australia to make a pilgrimage to Mt Kailash .....Kangrinbroque Peak.....on the high western plateau of Tibet.  We travelled by bus from Lhasa to our base at Darchen, then began the trek, firstly a day's walk to Dirapuk Monastery, where we rested and adjusted to the high altitude.....4800 metres. Then we walked 3 days up through the Dolma-la  Pass (5700m) where the weather changed dramatically and we trudged through snow and freezing, biting sleet. This trail descended back to Darchen, and took us 3 days of walking, trudging really, completing our circuit of the mountain. This brief description does nothing to describe my awe, the sense of 'coming home', and the deep connection I felt being near this mountain, and in those wind swept high mountain passes.

I took all these photos from around Dirapuk Monastery, and from up behind our accommodation.....the buildings in the picture at lower right.

Although the sun was shining and the sky was blue, it was actually freezing at the camp at Dirapuk, and I wanted my block to depict this......the snow laden peak and the cold and remote landscape.

I hadn't planned a 3rd block, but this photo a friend posted on a local facebook group stirred my imagination. I hadn't seen Mt Warning from this angle before, with the curve and sweep of the Tweed River so evident. This was taken recently when westerly winds pushed the dust storms from the central west of the state across the range and into the valley.

Photo with permission Raymond Condon

Although I had deadlines for a couple of other projects, I knew I had to do "something " with this image, and after drawing and fiddling with fabric for a couple of days, came up with this appliqued block, River Dreaming.

I wanted to capture the look the mountain has in certain lights, and different times of day, where it looks like a cardboard cut-out against the sky, with no definition of the network of ridges and valleys that radiate out from the mountain. The Tweed River is the other dominant feature of the landscape here, so I took some creative licence and moved the river source up into the high ridges of the mountain, where it would've flowed from eons ago, eroding and deepening the valleys over time, and then carving out the river's present day basin and flood plain. 

If you'd like to see the other blocks that've been made for this quilt, here's a link to Kate's fundraising quilt page. Do go have a look, there are beautifully-wrought mountains in fabric, many with personal stories and memories for the makers.  They will take your breath away, and Kate will do a wonderful job, as always, of combining them into a magnificent quilt.

Wet, wet, wet

I woke this morning to weak sunshine and an eerie silence

Mt Warning this morning, a beautiful sight

....the constant heavy rain of the last few days had stopped.

Although we've had a ton of water dumped on us, with the threat of more to come, this time with damaging and destructive winds, I can't complain.  There are people up north who were directly in the cyclone's path as it made landfall, and hit with 200+ km/hr winds, and thankfully while no lives have been lost, there's been a lot of damage and hundred's are without power, water or homes.

This image from the Bureau of Meteorology site shows there's still a lot of weather heading this way, so it's just be prepared, and wait and see.  The SES (State Emergency Service) was door-knocking last night to alert us that there was a chance the river would break it's banks.  I always find these visits...while absolutely necessary....scarier than the weather itself......flashing lights in the street, heavy boots on the stairs, the loud and demanding knock, the echo of official voices up and down the street as groups of SES go house to house, dogs going berserk, outlines of large silhouettes in voluminous wet weather gear at the door, they politely check first that all is ok, then the stern command to prepare belongings, no animals thankyou and evacuate if told to, they pass on information about evac centres and are gone again into the night, bright yellow ghosts looking eerie in the emergency vehicle lights. Then the phone rings and there's a shrill klaxon sound, and a robotic voice advising the river's rising and to prepare to evacuate.

I haven't had to yet, and I've seen the river rise to nearly 8 metres, which sees it washing over the bridge.  My house is on the high side of the street, so I always feel quite safe where I am, but it's best to be prepared and ready for anything.

The river this morning, broken through onto the levee, but still a way to go before it's a serious flood.

Mirrhi enoying all the extra water  

It's very slimy and slippery out there....ask me how I know!  I have some nasty grazes and bruises where I took a slide this morning and came down with a crash on my butt and elbow.  I was worried I'd broken my camera, but it seems to have come out of it better than me.  I'll make some soup now, have some hot tea and take it easy for a while, then go do some sewing.....the sky is getting darker and there's a bit of a wind picking up, so all I can do is wait now and see how the day unfolds.

To everyone who's been in touch wishing me well, and checking I'm ok......thankyou.

'til next time....

A new day, a new year

I welcomed 2012 as the first sun of the new year turned the clouds over Mt Warning pink, and tinged the hedge with gold, with a rather chilly (for summer) stroll around my garden

The poinciana is losing the last of it's fiery red blooms, and leafing up beautifully to shade the front of the house from the morning sun, and similarly, the jacaranda out back has lost almost all it's gentle mauve flowers and is providing a dense shade canopy to shield the western side of my house from the fierce afternoon sun.  It also provides deep shade over the chook pen.  At the moment it doesn't feel like that burn of summer will come, as it's still quite cool, even at mid morning.

These shade loving calladiums, impatients and bleeding heart vine provide a burst of summer colour in a sheltered spot under the front stairs.

Snowy white cosmos and petunias glow in the morning sun

I use the leaves from this showy purple red amaranth in salads and juices, and now that it has a seed head, I'll try dyeing with it.

The garden is starting to wind down now, and it's getting too hot to start any new plantings, so soon I'll start to mulch over the beds, and plan the planting for autumn, but the button squash are still producing,
and there's always tomatoes to pick.

These self sown marigolds provide a nice groundcover to keep this bed free of weeds until I'm ready to plant again, and once the flowers start, the bees will come in droves.

 
On the back fence in the lane, the banksia is setting seed. 

These wicked looking seed pods were the villains in Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, an iconic story of the Australian bush, written by May Gibbs and first published in 1918.

The frangipanni is just starting to flower, but already their heady, distinctive perfume fills the air, a scent that always takes me back to my childhood, of long summer school holidays, spent at the beach or in the pool.

Curious chickens, Edie and Juno, hoping for a treat, or even better...to be let out... sorry girls, not until later this afternoon.

                                                

 I'm not sure what this plant is, I've always called it a balsam, but when I looked that up, it looks nothing like this.  I think it might be a weed, but it makes such a bright show against the fence and survives well with no care during the hot weather that I let it have it's way.

I wish everyone an enjoyable day as we start our journey into 2012, and hope the new year brings joy, blessings, peace and happiness for all.