A Return to Simplicity.

 Tropical Summer...........Sounds nice doesn't it?  In summer the weather in North Queensland is hot and gets hotter. People find ways to keep cool. Many go to the beach to swim in the cool water, or they find a shady place in a garden or just keep to the indoors and air conditioning.   Townsville has a dry tropical climate that is dominated by two distinct seasons: The wet season, summer (November to April);  and  The dry season, winter (May to October). As you can imagine we do two things here well, when it's fine we have our air-conditioners running and our washing hanging outside and when it's raining we have our dryers going with the washing inside.  I remember the washing lines at home on the farm. There were 3 long lines tied to buildings or posts, with a long stick to keep them from sagging when full of wet washing. I love the smell, the freshness and crispness of sheets that have dried on the line. It's as if a little bit of sunshine has absorbed...

 Last night while the rain steadily fell and to the tune of a hundred frog songs, I decided to work on my Elefantz Block of the Month,  Simple Days .  Of course I didn't start with the first block, but the second, as I love this one the most so far.  I am using Lori Holt fabric as there is quite a bit left over from Granny's Garden Sew-a-long. That one is still in progress with all the main quilt completed and just the borders to go, maybe that will be my project for next month FNSI!   Last night I did a little stitching on the final stitchery for the block.   Can't wait to check out what others have stitched last night. Thanks for stopping by.    

 I think that one of the positives to come out of Covid 19 was the idea of "home", staying home (whether enforced or otherwise), and doing things at home that we didn't do before, or maybe went back to doing.   Whether or not we thought about these things previously we certainly had time now to do so.   There seems to be a revival in sewing, cooking, gardening and home renovation (although this has always been on a lot of peoples to do list) it seemed like the opportunity had finally presented itself.   For myself, I didn't have a problem staying home more than usual (having a husband with bad asthma and at risk from Covid19 ), as it's what I love to do anyway!   There were shortages everywhere especially in the gardening department as people tried their hands at growing there own food. Seedlings were hard to come by and the normal shops such as Bunnings and smaller plant nurseries were often sold out quickly.    Although there were hard to find things...

  I have recently found the series The Great British Sewing Bee after reading about it on a friends blog and it has rekindled a love of sewing garments that I didn't realize I had lost! When did this happen? Why did it happen?   I guess I just got caught up in the commercialism of Social Media and began to buy lower quality mass produced items that hardly last 6 months as a cheap alternative for time poor people.   So cheap it was easy to throw out and replace instead of repairing! I don't believe it's always cheaper to make your own clothes, just that they are better quality and last longer and are unique!   Plus, the enjoyment of creating and wearing a one of a kind! The range and accessibility of fabrics has improved over time and the internet allows delivery to your door, there was not this choice for me while living in a small country town years ago. No internet back then! So I made do with what I could source locally.  Turn the clock fo...

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the weight of living, all the things you need to do in a day, week, year?  Working outside the home and feeling tired and not knowing how to fit everything in?  Working around the home can be the same when you look about and see the piles of work just waiting for you! My father-in-law always had a witty quote for every occasion and we are still using them today many years after his passing.    He didn't say much most of the time but when he did speak it was usually with little gems! One of his favorites was "a lot of little bits make a big bit" and this saying turns up in my life often, such as paying off the home mortgage, saving, cooking, gardening, in fact you can use this in most aspects of living.  Mind you he used to say this about spending too! This little saying translates more so now that I am older and not able to do what I could so many years ago.  Now when I look at what can be perceive...