WIP Wednesday

I've had a busy productive week, much more productive than I had thought it would be this time last week. We were planning on heading to a national park camping spot where we wouldn't have power so hence there would be no machine sewing for me. However it turned out that where we were planning on going wasn't suitable for caravans... well they wouldn't let vans go there so guess it wasn't suitable. Instead we ended up at a campsite by the lake at Yungaburra which was powered so... lots of extra bonus sewing time.

As detailed in my Sunday Stash report I had a number of finishes - 6 hand towels, 2 Christmas Stockings and a casserole cover... so they are no longer works in progress but completed works.

I got stuck into what I have been calling my doily quilt but given I am not real sure how to spell that I am instead going to call it Handwork Heritage. 

The doilies and other pieces of embroidery that I cut up to include in it came from a variety of sources. I have things that came from my Mother, my mother-in-law and my aunt. All of their "stashes" included pieces which belonged to their mothers and aunts as well. They have all become totally mixed up. The handwork I cut up was all soiled or torn. I couldn't bring myself to cut up pieces that were in good condition. I also cut up some embroidery that was machine done - factory produced items. I had no qualms about slicing into those. I had prepped the pieces before I left home to work on whilst away.

Many of the pieces had crocheted edges that I didn't want to lose so I sewed on edging strips to make a new edge (I should have taken a photo of the process as I am having trouble explaining - I put a piece of appropriate width under the lace/crochet and did a flat seam.  I did the same sort of things to make the scalloped edges straight and also to give a backing to the pieces that were more lacey. I made all the pieces 6.5" square.

The next step was to add the 1.5" strips to their edges. I used pink and purple pieces from my scrap box. I have ended up with 121 pieces that are currently 6.5" x 7.5". 

I am almost out of suitable colours. I still have to add the other edge to the blocks which will consist of another 6.5" strip and a 1.5" corner stone. 

The final project that I have been working on this week is the Bonnie Hunter String X quilt. I have called it Scrappy X and Strippy X in other blog posts I believe. Can't hold the proper name in my head.

I had previously made 59 of the string centres of this block and I was tossing up whether to make another 5 when I got home (not have suitable fabric for the foundation piecing) and make it 8 x 8 blocks, or to leave 3 blocks for the back and make it 8 x 7. When doing the Handwork Heritage blocks I found I had enough leftover fabric from the trimmed up items to make another 5 backings. So I went ahead and made 5 more blocks and trimmed them up. Then I went onto the next step in the process - cutting the ends of the strip blocks so that the strips are shaped to run diagonally across the block. Bonnie's instructions involved attaching a triangle of the appropriate size to the underside of a ruler and using that to position the ruler on the block. It worked really well and I now have all 121 boat shaped string pieces. 

I will now have to wait till I get home to finish these blocks off as I didn't bring suitable background fabric. I now also have a pile of little triangles that I will have to do something with... they look very cute - I wonder if they would make a border....

 

I've also started working on the zipper pouches I had prepped for this trip. I have put together 3 of them, all to the same pattern (can't remember where I found it ... sorry) 

I added tabs to this one ... or a little handle and a tab. I was going to add them to all of them but kept forgetting till it was too late. Ho hum you get that.

For one of them I used fabric I had put some iron on contact stuff on.. sort of laminated the fabric. It didn't work so good. The fabric looked fine whilst I sewed it but when I had to scrunch it up to turn the bag back the right way (as you do when you are sewing a lined bag) the fabric wrinkled up a lot and separated a bit from the plastic leaving it looking less than professional. 

Its a shame cause the red zip looked great with the black and white fabric. I'm wondering if I could reiron it very carefully with a cloth between the iron and the plastic... It might not be suitable for resale but Gamer Girl is a keen Pokemon girl so she might find it in her Christmas stocking.

So that is my WIPs for this week. I am happy to be making good progress on various ones. How about you? Have you made any progress on your WIPs this week?

My other big WIP is of course our travels. We are approaching the end of our 3rd week of travels in North Queensland. This last week we have left the coast and have been spending time on the beautiful Atherton Tablelands. We had 4 nights at Yungaburra and enjoyed 4 kayaking trips out on the lake (ok I had 3 and Fixit Guy went out once on his own) and saw Playtypus playing in the water.

 We had a couple of bike rides (one for me 2 for him) We visited The Malanda Markets, the Taste of the Tablelands as well as The Cathedral Fig Tree 

and the Malanda Falls. We also attended Atherton Uniting Church on Sunday.

The front of the Atherton UCA church. 

On Monday we moved on to  Herberton where we spent 2 nights and visited Herberton Historic Village which was beautifully set out and full of fascinating things. I remember going to a museum with my mum and having her exclaim at seeing things she was give as wedding presents in the museum! It was my turn this time - toys I played with as a child featured in their toy display as did books I owned as a child. How to feel old in one fell swoop.

I remember getting one of these dolls on a stick from the local show. I felt soooo spoiled.

We stayed at a really quirky caravan park in Herberton, called The Wild River Caravan park.  It had all sorts of interesting bits and pieces tucked away including a tee pee, totem poles at odd places and the most amazing seat on a verandah.

looking good for a sit

the mail box out the front

They feed the sulphur crested cockatoos in the late afternoon

After 2 nights there we have moved on to Ravenshoe this morning. After setting up the caravan we went for a drive around the district including going on Waterfall Way and visiting 5 waterfalls (and missing the turn into a 6th and deciding not to bother with a 7th)

Souita Falls

Milla Milla Falls

Elinjaa Falls

 Having been waterfall-ed out we went to Mungalli Creek Dairy and enjoyed a cheese tasting and had a Devonshire tea. Then we bought up some chocolate, cheese and yogurt and have returned to our van for a rest. (and to undo the button on our jeans)

We plan to have 2 nights here at Ravenshoe and then... not sure - perhaps Mount Garnet and then onto the brother in laws places. They live on cattle stations north of Charters Towers. We hope to have about 10 days between the two properties to catch up with family 

Sunday Stash report

When we left Mossman we were planning on heading to a national park camping area (or was in State Forest?) Either way we weren't expecting to have electricity whilst we were there. We ensured that we had plenty of water in the tanks and food for a few days. We were looking forward to being able to have a camp fire, going for some hikes (ok walks) through the rainforest and woodlands and putting the kayak in the water for the first time this trip.

I had plans to fill in my quilting/sewing time with some trimming of blocks, sorting of projects and cutting out for some other projects.

When we got to Tinaroo Dam and headed for the camping area we foundthat even though the guide book said caravans were allowed in that the booking system only allowed for tents or camper trailers. We weren't going to risk going against the booking system in case the road wasn't suitable for a van. Didn't want to go down a road we couldn't turn around on.

So instead we found a camping ground at Yungaburra - right on the waters edge (well it would be right on the water but the dam is very low at the moment so its a bit of a walk down to it) Its very convenient for putting the kayak in and we have been for 2 paddles already. And we saw heaps of platypus playing in the creek that feeds into the dam near here. It was so exciting.

We can't have campfires which is a shame BUT we have power ... which means that I can sew. Whoop!

Before I started sewing I did the other jobs that I had put aside to do when we got here ie trimmed up the blocks - the strippy centre piece for the blocks for Strippy X (from Bonnie Hunter's website). I have 59 of them  I can either make the quilt 8 x 7 blocks and have 3 left over or make 5 more and make it 8 x 8. I'm not sure which I'll do yet. The pattern says to make 42 but I want it bigger than that. I don't have any more foundation fabric to cut to make more blocks but I also don't have fabric with me make the background triangles so it can wait till I get home if I do decide to make some more. Or perhaps my SIL will have some scraps I can use. I think it was a worn out table cloth that I cut up to use for the other blocks.

I also went through all the project boxes that I brought with me and sorted things out a bit better. It was a good way to refresh my memory as to what I had bought with me. I got things sorted and tidied up. THEN I started sewing.

First up I finished up 2 of the Christmas Stockings I have been working on. These 2 I am making for gifts for some special someones. The other 4 I have that I have almost finished the fronts of need embroidered names added. My friend Lyndi is making these for me so I won't be able to finish them till I get home. 0.98m used.

Then I finished up a casserole carrier that I had started ages ago. It was made from left over blocks I had inherited from somewhere - my quilt group I think. I only had to put the 3 layers together, quilt and bind them. I don't have the velcro with me to finish them right off but I am counting them as done (I will also have to add the dowel for carriers). 1.53m used.

There was one block left over which I made into a pot holder to match the caserole carrier. I know that really there should be 2 but I only had enough to make one! 0.23m used

 
I made 6 hanging towels - the last of the ones that I had cut out before I left home from the licensed fabric I bought in Brisbane in July. As well as 3 lots of Pokemon fabrics I had Space Invaders, Star Wars, and Alice in Wonderland. They still need to have the Handmade With Love labels stitched as well as the velcro fastening when I get home but I'm counting them as done. 0.59m

So that is 10 finishes for the week (if we count each towel individually :) ) and all since I have been here in Yungaburra unexpectedly sewing. I shall have to call them my bonus finishes.

And once again NO PURCHASES. So all positive territory for me.

To share some of the gorgeous scenery we have been seeing these last few days here at Yungaburra. 3 beautiful sunsets each evening we have been here and yesterday a magnificent rainbow after a brief storm

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

 So my statsfor week 42 are

Fabric used                3.33m        
Fabric added              0.00  
Net                           3.33m

Year to Date
Fabric used               135.40m
Fabric added               78.62
Net                            56.78m

Linking up with Patchwork Times

Mid Month Goal Review

Its the middle of the month so a great time to do a goal review to see how I am tracking with this month's goals that I set my self. These are listed in my sidebar to help keep me on track.

1. Work on 6 Christmas stockings. I have finished 2 of these and the other 4 fronts are done apart from the embroidered names. These will have to wait till I get home in November.

2 Make 25 Zipper pouches (HWL commission) These are done and sent off. I just have to send the lady (a good friend) the HWL bank account details so she can pay for them

3 Work on hand projects I am crocheting water bottle carriers. 4 completed.

4. Work on projects for Handmade with Love.  I have completed 8 hanging towels and have 6 more cut and ready to put together. Also have various zipper pouches prepped in the boxes to work on.

5. Decide on design for Suzu's quilt Still undecided.

6. Workout design for club Mystery Quilt and make extra blocks as required. The quilt top is together and the borders are made.

7. Work on String Quilt  "Strippy X" by Bonnie Hunter. I have made all the centre strippy blocks - well all that I can. I might decide to make 5 more so that I can make a quilt that is 8 blocks by 8 blocks. At the moment I have 59 blocks so it can be 8 x 7 blocks and I'll have 3 to go on the back.

8. Work on Doily quilt I have started sewing the 6.5" x 1.5" strips onto the side of the 6.5" embroidery squares. I have completed all the "whole" squares. Some of them have lace edges that I want to preserve so will need a backing strip sewn onto them some how. I am working on how to do this. I don't have many strips of fabric left in my preferred colours for this quilt - I used up a lot making the strippy blocks in the string quilt. I am tempted to just use what I have but don't want to ruin the quilt by using colours I end up not being happy with. (or make a lot of extra work for myself if I decide to unpick the strips I don't like) I have other projects I can work on so will leave sewing the strips on when I use up my preferred ones.

I have worked on 7 of my 8 goals. One I can't work on really since I am not home with my choice of patterns to work out what I will do for my Japanese granddaughter. I am super pleased with my progress. Hopefully by the end of the month I will have made more progress with the projects for HWL.

How about you? How are your goals for this month going?

Fitness Friday

Friday again. I forgot to weigh myself this morning so the weight update might get edited in tomorrow morning. Meanwhile....

We have been keeping active most of the week and I have managed to meet my 10 000 steps each day. Apart from Friday that is. We have mostly walked along beaches but have had some rainforest walks as well as walking around some attractions - the Rainforest Discovery Centre in the Daintree for one and a museum for another. We also walked along the waterfront in Cairns - not strictly on the beach as it was a boardwalk for much of the way and a cement path the rest.

Art work n the beachfront at Cairns. My first thoughts when I saw it went to Pokemon - look a Staryu

Suspension bridge Mossman Gorge

Vines on the Rainforest boardwalk at Myall Beach

Ducks taking off from Lake Tinaroo

We haven't visited any food attractions this week - afternoon tea with friends being the exception. We had morning tea at the Rainforest Discovery Centre - scones with cream and a jam made from a rainforest fruit. Fixit Guy did buy a bag of chocolate coated honeycomb on Sunday and we have had a piece or two of that some evenings as a treat.

We have cut down on the treats though. We either have a wine and cheese before dinner or desert afterwards - not both. That has to help. If we have wine I have to have something to eat otherwise it goes straight to my head.

Friday 8 476. I thought about jogging on the spot to make my steps but it shakes the whole van so didn't
Saturday 10 093
Sunday16 968 (bonanza day. We walked throught hte rainforest at Mossman Gorge, had a swim and later walked along the beach)
Monday 10, 236
Tuesday13 889
Wednesday 10 765 (and it should have been a good bit more but my fitbit went flat and I didn't realise for a while. This is the day I had 10, 450 before 11 as we walked on the beach. It went flat on the way back and it wasn't till after another beach walk that I realised)
Thursday 10 413. This is good for a travel day. We packed up and drove from the beach to the tablelands. We walked around an art gallery and a museum before going for a long stroll along the lakeside after we got to our new camping spot)

Today we have put our kayak in the water for the first time this trip. We aren't very skilled kayakers (that is putting it mildly) and seem to go in circles an awful lot. My fitbit liked it though and counted my paddling as steps. I figure that is fair enough. We plan to take the bikes off the caravan this afternoon and ride into town. Well Fixit Guy is. I'm still a maybe. Nah I'll go. Might as well have a sore bottom as well as sore shoulders!

Hope you have had a good week too and meeting your activity goals

Take Only Pictures

Take only photos, leave nothing but footprints" is a popular saying at national parks and places of natural beauty. The origins of the saying are muddied by time but 3 years ago when Fixit Guy were on out last big adventure in our camper trailer I saw one that was in my opinion even better 

It was at a national park just south of Sydney where we camped for a few days. The sign at the camping area we stayed in said

"Leave it better than you found it."

What a challenge. To go to these beautiful places and not just not damage it ourselves but repair any damage that others who were not so careful who came before you have done.

I took up the challenge, not just there but at each park or place of natural beauty that we visited that trip and subsequently. Its not much. I certainly don't pick up every bit of rubbish that I see but I try to pick up something; - at the places that we camp I try to pick up the rubbish that previous have left behind so as to leave the campsite cleaner than when we found it. When we walk through the national parks or along beaches I do the same - just a couple of things that I can carry back to the bins in the carpark or to our rubbish bag in the car or the van.

This holiday we have done a lot of walking along beaches. 

Each walk I have found something to bring back to the rubbish bins. Its been intriguing what has washed up with the tide. The beach at Wonga had tomatoes! Yes tomatoes. Along a stretch of a kilometre or so we found about 10 of them on our first walk. I didn't pick them up as I figured they would break down soon enough either on the beach or when they got washed back out to sea. Or the birds or crabs would eat them. I also saw an apple and an orange. It was intriguing to think about how they got there - did someone drop a bag of shopping as they were climbing into a boat or did they go off and get thrown overboard? 

By our last walk 4 days later there were still a couple there but the rest had gone. I didn't take a photo of them. Fixit Guy was very patient as I took photos of waves and foam, 

drift wood, 

the endless stretches of beaches and palm trees 

but figured he might be totally bemused if I started photographing rotting fruit!! And I wasn't planning this post back then.

At one beach we found a little toddlers dress,  dropped some time before, judging by how grubby it was. At another beach,  a little black top that a There was no one on the beach and no cars in the car park so I picked it up too. I found a hat beside a swimming hole in a creek near Mission Beach.

I wondered about leaving these things in case the owners came back looking - the risk being that if they didn't they would be ruined by the weather and would become garbage, littering these beautiful spots.

On Wonga Beach I picked up a thong - one thong (flipflop for those of you who are freaking out that I picked up some used underwear) It was pretty new by the look of it but had been in the sea as it had seaweed draped around it. It was child sized. Can you imagine the cross mum who finds their child has lost a thong yet again. (losing both is bad enough but just one is such a pain. How long do you hold onto that lone piece of footwear before you give in and throw it out- convinced that the other one will turn up as soon as you do)

My favourite piece of detritus I found on the beach this trip this bottle.

Its lid was on but water has seeped inside. There was no message in the bottle but barnacles had started to grow on the lid and the outside. 

I might have kept it but I would have wanted to tip the water out first, imaging just how smelly that water might have become and what if it leaked in my car. To open the lid though I would have knocked off some of the shells - and that is what made the bottle so appealing.

On our 2nd last day at Wonga Beach we went for a really long long walk. We finally had a day at home so to speak - no plans for day long adventures - and so we were able to have a morning walk at low tide. 

We walked for several kilometres northwards towards the Daintree where we had spent such a lovely day the day before. It was beautiful to walk such a long way in the cool morning air although by the time we got home a few hours later it wasn't so cool and we are both now sporting sunburnt calves! (the sun was behind us as we walked home)

I picked up one piece of drift wood to take home. 

Not sure what I will do with it and it might end up on a campfire before we get home. But for the moment I am enjoying its beauty