Christmas Quilt Flimsy Done

 I was determined to have a Christmas quilt finished for Christmas this year. I'm almost there the top is done. I decided to do this one using blanket stitch applique because it's just a lot faster for me. Some was done while travelling in the car so don't look too hard. Now I have to be determined enough to quilt it myself before Christmas .

It's  a Michelle Ridgeway design called " A Holly Cottage Christmas" with one block changed to add a Santa.

On my design wall waiting to be quilted 

I added a bit of poetic license here and added a Santa instead of a bird I think.

May have left a few flowers off the cottage as well . I think I was going back to do it and got too excited about piecing it. Oh well I can still do it.

I

When I entered the churn dash challenge I just knew I could not do a quilt so being practical I went for a table runner for my kitchen island. I also matched it with a quilt I have in the lounge which is visible from the kitchen. I used some of the same fabric as in the quilt for the block  centres.  I'm pleased with the results.  This is my churn dash journey.

I've also put up a picture of my "macadamia nut"  harvest . The only thing is they are very hard to crack , I really don't know how the cockatoos break them open. 

A little rustic quilting around the edges

Matches my flowers perfectly

My quilt 

The macadamia nut harvest . They have 2 shells a firm leathery one and then that cracks open to reveal a rock hard shell. I just have to crack them now 

A Tour Around my Area of the World

Last weekend we had a visit from my husbands brother and his wife . They live in North Queensland about 1800 Km from us. Near the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef for our overseas readers  so a drive around the west was on the agenda.  A short drive  approximately two and half hours west , south west of Goondiwindi you will experience some small country towns that have a lot to offer. We drove from Goondiwindi to Mungindi where you will find a town split in two by the Queensland/ NSW border which is the Barwon River. We drove from Goondiwinid to Mungindi to Thallon to St George then Nindy Gully To Talwood and then home.  Nindy Gully is at the join in the road North of Weengallon.

Cameron's 1 Ton Survey Post is a timber post 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) high and roughly square in section and is shaped into a pyramid at the top. It is carved with "J. CAMERON GS"  Basically if you look at the Queensland New South Wales border this post marks the end of the straight line . They say he chose a one ton post because he didnt want it to get "Lost" over time.

The river looking from the survey post 

This is a dam built to hold the irrigation water they use for cotton farming ,commonly
known as a ring tank.

The northern hairy-nosed wombat is one of the most endangered species of the Australian marsupials. These animals are so endangered that they’re now restricted to a three-kilometre range inside the Epping Forest National Park in Queensland, Australia. 

Facing the threat of wild dogs, the wombats population had reduced to slightly over 100 in 2003. As a result, the Queensland government built a 20-kilometre predator-proof fence around the area inhabited by wombats at the Epping Forest National Park to protect them from extinction.

The Thallon Silos 

St George and the Balonne River . Looking so good after the long drought 

The jetty on the Balonne River 

We stayed over night at The Nindy Gully Pub ,one of Queensland's oldest pubs. They say this hotel holds the oldest continuous hotel licence in Queensland .est. 1864 as a Cob and Co Stage Coach stop over point. The Pub is on the Moonie River.

Enjoying a fire , dinner and drinks at the Nindy Gully Hotel

Nindy Gully was the setting for the movie "Paper Back Hero",
Yes a very young Hugh Jackman was the star.

This is an interesting spot of cultural significance, "The Weengallon Rock Wells."  It's so close to home but still sort of in the middle of nowhere so I haven't stopped here before now. 

 I'm glad I did though it was really interesting and educational.

These are sharpening marks, who knows how many years old.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour.

Churn Dash Started

 Last weekend we had another zoom day. I love catching up with everyone. It's so cool how you can never have met some people in person but live on zoom its almost the same. You actually are face to face so there are no questions  like when you just write, just genuine friends.  Love it, it's like another sewing group to go to.

I've started our churn dash challenge using some fabric from a quilt I have made in the past. I love the native flowers. I'm going to make a table runner this time.

Quilts in Pink Finished and delivered

 I was recently asked to do two quilts for two different people and I have finally finished them both. 

One was a memory quilt for a friend's mum and the other was a baby quilt for a nephew and his wife.

While I don't mind, I really stress when I have to make something for someone else. 

The black dots are actually lace medallions . The fabric is from her mum's dresses. I chose geometric as all the fabric was jersey so I chose a simple design and put it onto visa-flex to stabilize and glue .

Quilting prep

Quilting prep

Whoops I forgot to take the finished photo before I posted it..

Glen Innes

 We have just had 4 days in the Glen Innes area in Northern New South Wales. It was very cold and crisp but I loved it and our caravan is well equipped for the cold. We did some trout fishing at Deano's trout farm near Guyra. You get to fish but you have to buy the fish you catch. I had a delicious trout for breakfast today.

Trout fishing at Deano's, our catch

Rainbow trout for breakfast 

Many small towns are painting murals on silos and public buildings to attract tourists. This art work is on the toilet block at Yetman Sports ground.  You can stay there with your caravan , every bit of income helps these small towns survive. 

Mens

Ladies 

The area has a strong Celtic heritage and almost everything is named after somewhere or something in Scotland. 

The Celtic Stonehenge look a like is the introduction to the town, the little lake is a part of the trout farm and the building is a retired "Red Lion Inn"

Sorry about the double up here but the other two photos are typical of the area. The balancing rock and some of the many poplar trees.

A very Frosty -5 C  morning at the Glen Innes showgrounds. This is where we camped. 

 It's been a full weekend of projects for us. Hubby is home and cooking up a storm. He got a new camp oven last weekend and we had a big stew cooked in it. This weekend it was home made bread rolls and roast pork from him and I stocked up the freezer with chicken soup. 

A friend of mine asked me to make a memory quilt for her sister in law. They had collected squares of fabric from her mum's clothes and tried to put it together without much luck as all the fabric was knit fabric or jersey... not for quilts really. So this is how it landed in my lap. I didn't know what type of fabric it was when I said yes. I opened the bag and really did think oh dear what have I got myself into....

After some thought and time this is what I have come up with. Not finished yet of course. I used fusible to firm up the knit fabric and went for simple hexies.  Pieces of black lace were also in the bag so I'm going to stitch them on.

Chicken soup 

Roast pork with perfect crackle

Home made bread rolls

Camp oven cooking 

A good hearty stew 

Vietnam Veterans Quilt for John Toohey

 This quilt was very important for me to make. Gail is a very good friend of mine and her husband is a Vietnam veteran who has supported our school by speaking on ANZAC day for many years. He was the RSL( Returned Soldiers League) Goondiwindi  president for many years and conducted the ANZAC Dawn Service in our town for many years. Recently he has undergone the most horrific surgeries due to many facial cancers possibly due to being drenched in agent orange in Vietnam  He is now missing half his face. No eye, no nose on the left side of his face. John continues to go on never complaining. He has now developed other malignant cancers in his body and is having immunotherapy treatment.. He deserves this quilt. John loves it and has it on his bed every day. It was coincidence that the campaign mentioned in the border of the quilt was the actual one he was involved in. 

In appreciation, thank you for your service Pte J.C.P Toohey B Company 4RAR/NZ Bn