Good news - bad news, for me that is

yes I know, I'm slack. I'm so excited about being in the shed. I've had to divide my days into sections otherwise I would live out there. Mornings on Mon, Wed and Fri are for my house, you know the horrible stuff - housework etc. Afternoons are for the Sew'n'sew (sns) shed and evenings are for hand sewing, tv shows and the computer, at the moment the computer is losing.

In town the other day I got the foam for my design wall. Have also finally designed my "Chook Quilt". These blocks were made by a group I was part of in Brisbane a few years ago, we would meet once a month and we were "The Chooks". My name was 'Cacklin' Daisy, well we decided (as you do) to make a swap quilt. We all did 9 or 10 blocks of a chook we found somewhere in brights and then swapped them, mine have been hanging on the wall in the sewing sleepout for 3½ yrs and I swore I wouldn't put them back on the design wall when I moved out into the sns shed — and I haven't. One step ahead there.

the good news
my shed is going along just wonderful. I haven't allowed food of any description out there, because otherwise I would eat all afternoon like I do in the house (restless and procrastinating) and I'm finding that I am getting a lot of projects passed the finished line.

Mum and Dad's hanging for the lectern in their church is now bound and this afternoon I will be sewing the hand embroidered label on. One down just a few more to go - 1000 or so. The quilting on the cat panel that was jointly sewn by my craft club is almost finished. Will take a photo to post here before I hand it back in.

My DSIL Lyns and my joint project - the quilt for my DB's 50th birthday is one step closer to the quilting machine. Lyn found a piece of fireman material, it is covered in firemen overalls, firebuckets, hoses etc. I will put it in as sashing between the backing blocks and also as the backing border.

My DS Jen had another birthday last Sunday. Last year when she was visiting she started the embroidery on 'Im not aging, I just need repotting' so I finished it and have framed it for her. Have to now work out how I'm going to get it to Brisbane without breaking it.

now the bad news
Last Friday had a little pain in my right hip which worsened over the weekend so much so that I could hardly walk by Monday. Went to the Dr and for a CT scan and have found out it is disc bulge between vertebrae, thankfully not serious enough for surgery - which I am not allowing anyway, have heard too many horror stories, but have to now work on pain management, so my Dr put me on Digesic, I hope no one out there in cyberspace knows of any bad side effects to this drug as I'm on 6-8 daily and look to it being that way for quite a while. The good news is that the Dr said I'm to do "a little bit of sitting, a little bit of standing, a little bit of walking" and isn't that exactly how we cut, use the sewing machine, the ironing board, the design wall.

What a Week

Today I spent the day in the Sew'n'sew Shed — SEWING. I have nearly finished putting things away and so I thought I would spend the day doing something different. So I finished the quilting on the panel for my Mum and Dad's church lectern. Now I just have to bind it and put the label on it for them.

These are photos of THE Shed

Now this has been a busy week! - is there ever any other sort?

We have friends staying (Hans & Marg), they brought their own caravan and will be staying with us for a couple of months before they head off to warmer places (Cairns) for the rest of winter.

Last weekend we went over to Gayndah to have a look at the biennial Orange Festival and it was really good. Saturday they have the street parade with stalls lining both sides of the main street. The traffic is detoured through the town via the back streets.

One of the Festival's Princesses

The Golden Oldies - A new meaning to an old saying

Katie and Pete with family in tow arrived to knock on the caravan door just after 8am.

Does it look as though it might have been cold? B****y oath it was!!

At the Sports Oval on Sunday morning there was a Bush Poet's Breakfast run by a very talented compere and poet whose name I never did find out, but we spent our $2 for a sausage, bacon and egg roll and listened to a few local poets compete for prize money. If I had of known I would have given it a go myself, though I would have had to read the poem from the book. Really good poem too, about a horse that used to be owned by a priest. Oh well there's always next year.

We then went off to the Rodeo and spent most of the day sitting in the sun. Doesn't that make you feel jealous.

I'm In - sorta

Hectic is what I call the pace around here. One day when I retire I'll have more time to do the things that I want to do.

Hang on - I am retired!!!!

I have two days a week where I go out - Tuesdays to craft and Thursdays to art lessons with shopping in Bundy afterwards, most days I feel that it is the other way round and I've finally worked out why. At home I have so much to do that on the days I go out I relax.

I am being a good granma. I have already got Tanee in hand helping me sewing.



Yesterday friends (Hans & Marg) arrived with their caravan in tow to stay 2,3,6 or 8 weeks, will work it out as we go along. We have already decided that next month we're all heading off for two weeks. We'll start by going to Woodgate, then up to Bargara, Moore Park and then head up the old road staying where we feel like ending up at Agnes Waters and 1770. Does anyone know if there are any free camps at those areas? We haven't seen Woodgate yet and by all the talk around here its growing very quickly. New estates are popping up everywhere.

I am in the shed. At least my stuff and my machines are in the shed, I'm still busy trying to get my house in order. I haven't been able to find the floor in the side sleepout for 3 years, but all the bugs and spiders did, you wouldn't believe the mess that was there when we shifted all the boxes. So I have been madly washing the ceilings, walls and floors in the side and front sleepout so that I can the move furniture in. Today Ian and Hans moved the beautiful desk that (scq) Stacey and Troy gave me into the study and I have now got one room that is at least in order. Yeah! Tidiness here I come. Here are before and after photos of the side and front sleepouts.

This was the side sleepout


and now ....


...... and the front.

The after photo of the front sleepout didn't turn out. Something about it being nightime and too dark. The lighting in this room is atrocious so will take another photo tomorrow.

It's DONE!!!

Well, after I wash the floor, it's done!

Ian and I have spent the last 3 days since Jen left finishing off the sewing shed. One of my craft friends said I should call it the Sew'n'Sew Shed. I'm thinking about it.

It took us a couple of days to build the dividing wall and then today we built the shelves.

Ian says "where do we go from here?"

The finished shelves, just need to take some pointy bits off.

Now I suppose you're all wondering why there are 2 shelves missing on the right. That's for my roll of wadding. Ian is now going to make a big toilet roll holder to go there and that will control the wadding roll nicely. I can't build the storage shelves any higher, that power point up top is for the air conditioner.

I have all my stash in those plastic bins with wheels, one for reds, one for blues and so on, and then I have a couple or three for my dressmaking material and then one for my teddy bear supplies and so on and so on. I think I have about 20 - 25 all up. I even have 4 that at the moment live under the cutting table and they hold my sewing threads and all my sewing books and folders and that's not counting my magazines. It will be great being able to put them on display on the bookshelf. Hope I have enough bookshelves?

We have broken up our hippeastrums (a friend's DH calls them hysterectomies ) and planted them and crocus' along the bank outside my entrance. The rest of them we planted out the end and back of the shed.

This is the view from the back of the shed. All that lovely green you can see is sugarcane.

and this view is from the front of the shed.

Tomorrow we line the storage side of the dividing wall and then I can move in with a clear conscience, cause once I start moving I ain't stopping till everything is put away where it's supposed to go and then I can start moving things into their proper places in the house.

...... and first thing tomorrow is to draft that pattern that keeps getting put on the backburner.

Busy, busy

I've had the loveliest week. My only sister Jenelle (Jen) stayed with us from Sunday to Thursday when I put her on the tilt train for the trip back to Brissie. We had Monday in Bundaberg where after lunch we visited my fantastic masseuse Kay Hock (nimble knuckles as Ian calls him) and we each had the most wonderful relaxing massage and he worked some of the kinks out. DSIL Lyn wants the same treatment next time she is visiting. I think she is tired of me singing his praises and wants to try him out to see if I'm exaggerating.

Well I've been up for an hour trying to get a few things done.

I've promised one of my niece's to draft a skirt pattern for her when I saw her at the beginning of the month. It has been nagging me so I think I had better do it and get it in the post. Belinda is just through her first trimester of her first pregnancy and is starting to show, she has decided that the most comfortable outfits for her are longish Aline skirts with a stretchy tummy panel and a big tshirt covering the tummy. So that is the next job on my long list for today.

The shed is coming along very nicely, yesterday Ian and I sheeted the dividing wall to my end but it is not fully screwed as yet, come to think of it none on the internal walls are fully screwed as yet. The shed walls inside and out are tin, trimdeck on the outside and corrugated on the inside where we used the grey underside of the colourbond to help lighten the room. With the lights turned on the brightness bounces everywhere. We have insulated the ceilings and walls, I have 2 ceiling fans and will be buying and getting an air conditioner installed in the next few months. Won't be moving in this weekend but today we are working on the storage shelves. I will take a progress photo tonight and post it here. It looks fantastic!!!!!

This week I have finished my Japanese Churn Dash blocks ready for swapping next Tuesday and my rag rug is finally photographed to show you all.

I used hessian for the backing and made it like a latchhook. I cut narrow strips of anything and everything and then pulled them through. I am so thrilled with it I have decided to make another one. This one was going to go in front of the laundry tub but now is going in the guest bedroom beside the bed, so I will need two. There I go again making more work for myself.

Jen and I pinned a hanging I talked my Mum into buying at S&C and now have to quilt for her. I started quilting it at craft last Tuesday morning. It will hang from the lectern at her church. I'm going to have to seriously look at the how to book for my camera. This hanging is blue albiet a dark one - it looks black and where are the reds and greens that are in the hanging? Another job on the list.

Progress Report

Would you believe all the electrical work on the shed is finished. If only I could just move all my stuff in and start sewing.

Ian and Ken finished lining the three walls in my end of the shed on Wednesday. The electricians came on Friday to finish everything off. I have power points everywhere even 2 hanging ones and the lights, it's like Queen Street in there and its a nice bright white light.

Since Wednesday Ian was supposed to slow down, he is in agony with his arms and back, but he took it easier on Thursday and last night was in bed before 7.30, still working but not so hard. That's his idea of taking time off.

We had framework from Samford and he has used that to make the walls for the ensuite and the half wall between the store room and the car garage This afternoon when I arrived home from Sew What's Crafty in Bundaberg (more on that later) he had my whole dividing wall in and the door hung. Tomorrow we will be hanging the last of the lining in my sewing room. Then I can move in? ..... No!! Have to build all the shelves first.

BUT — I might, just might be in by next weekend. Fingers crossed.

Bundaberg has its own little stitches and craft show run by one of the local schools and a good job they do of it too. There was non stop entertainment on the stage. They drew the lucky door prizes all day, though I wasn't lucky enough to win one. As usual I had some retail therapy and bought the rest of the material for my club's churn dash swap and scquilters cobblestone swap Also picked up the stiffening for my Japanese woven bag.

The green and yellow will be for cobblestones, purple and green (yes it is purple) will be for churn dash and so will the sea and sand in the front.

I spent the evening last night making the cards to go with my healing hearts and were posted off this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed making them, I haven't had the time lately. I belong to a card of the month club and each month I get the fixings to make 4-5 cards, well I have the last 3 months sitting here waiting to be done. I've been too busy with the shed to even think of the cards. Once the study is back to a study only and I have some shelves up in here too, things will be a bit more organised ... and those of you who know me well can stop laughing!!!

The quilt

For the last two days while the blokes were busy in the shed, Lyn and I have been working like trojans on 'Trev's Quilt' and we have almost completed the top.

We have incorporated as many facets of Trev's life in the quilt as we can. Firstly, he's a fireman so we couldn't leave that out, we also put an Alsatian in remembrance of Sam (his favourite dog), crabs and fish for his love of fishing along with a few other little comical inferences here and there in the quilt.

We are very pleased with the final layout. We used the pattern from Patchwork and Quilting, 'Flannel Stars' by Carolyn Fuller. Of course we put our own twist into the final layout.

We realised after the photo was taken that the sawtooth border, bottom left was the wrong way round. It's fixed now.

We were lucky enough at S&C to find a fat quarter of fireman's material. We have put a 10"x4" block in the middle of each side in the last border. I now have to needle turn applique a fire and rescue symbol in each corner and then the top is finished.

But you should see what we're going to do to the backing!!!!