confessions of a bad blogger.........

I must confess that I am so far behind on blog reading it isn't funny...........

I think I am now 2 months behind on most.......so if I comment on several at once that's why.........i'm catching up....very slowly........the days are flashing by way to fast......

I had a quick zoom last night my time...........apologies about the time for those it does not suit but I can't change the clock.........having said that we had about 17 pop thru in a couple hours..........mostly Australia but also one from Germany, UK, Norway and USA........

I managed to do limited sewing but I did get 6 white hexies attached and quit when I got a knot in my thread..........

the days have been glorious.............

the plants are blooming and the bees humming.............there is a mass of white stamens under this cadagi tree........

Enjoy the rest of your weekend........

off to a 4th birthday party.......

Catch you later...........

Chookyblue.......

this and that........

Saturday's sewing on zoom was Miss Elizabeth again..............

Just joining hexies to add to the sides of my panels............

more stormy skies.......4 mm sat afternoon and 8mm yesterday afternoon.........more rain forecast this weekend into next week...........I will be gone on retreat by then so all good hopefully......

Hmmm  what projects to pack.........its not like I don't have a list a mile long..........

So what's your "must not forget" item when going on retreat?????

Or

"your favourite thing" to take on retreat????

Catch you later..........

Chookyblue.........

Bridget, Chookshed Stitchers and storms..........

Someone found her way into the garden..........and she brought her baby with her...........

Hippeastrums are looking gorgeous...........

great time catching up with the Chookshed Stitchers again.........it had been a little while since we met last............

numbers vary all day.............so many time zones its always interesting to ask what time it is.........some pop in and say good morning or good night........and others say the reverse back........lol

I worked on Miss Elizabeth..........

Slowly you can see there was progress.........

two rows of diamonds added and started to join two sections.........

Last night we had a phenomenal light show..........it was close to constant flashing..........

the gap of light below isn't a reflection (on water) it's underneath the clouds...........

I was going to upload a video but I cannot work out how to get it here and I am heading to bed...........

it was so still for ages I sat and watched it at my front window and you could hear the crickets and frogs..........went out several times and took some videos and photos............we got 20mm.........

The Churn Dash SAL is waiting in the wings.....to much other stuff happening and I could not get the other fabrics so pretty frustrated with that...........maybe i'll get it done by the end of November.........the weather situation better change as so many roads are closed in my part of the world due to flooding..........at present it would add minimum 1hr extra to go to my retreat next month.........some will be open soon but it would not take much for them to close again............and we are in laNina......and she sure is strutting her stuff at present...........

I did fix all my work shirts that have stupid button positions and added an extra button at the bottom..........they look so much better..........gosh people make crap clothes now days.......I managed to work out how to do a button hole again it's been years and I must say they look great.......Lucky Peta reminded me to pin across the end when cutting the button hole open.....I didn't stuff one up and cut it too far..............

Catch you all later.............

Chookyblue........

 

Lucy got some fresh air......

After doing nothing for the first 1.5hrs I finally dug Lucy out.............

It's time she got some fresh air having not worked on her since Feb (the last pics I found)

I worked on the bottom right corner pieces...........

I think we had about 26 people pop thru during the day........some popping in and out several times..........I only took this pic........always great to see everyone and have a chat.........

chatter about the Queen was a definite topic........so sad but so pleased she died as Queen.........

So the four Lucy blocks in the bottom corner got bits added to them then added to the quilt.........she is coming together.........then this also needs to happen on the bottom left corner..........and adding a few bits around the edges that are missing........

these trees are in mass flower............no idea what the name is........but they are out in the paddock and there is a thick patch near the front gate so easy to enjoy..........

The country side is pretty with flowers in lots of places..........wild rape growing here.......looked so pretty with the rain clouds forming..........

Catch you later..........

Chookyblue......

zoom aka Chookshed Stitchers, binding, epp.....

wow.........where do I start..............what a weekend.........

Since getting home it's been a bit busy with lots of things so I wasn't even sure what I was going to be up to over the weekend but I knew I could not do a big zoom day...........

Being harassed by Lou and someone else pleased Lou harassed me (no names mentioned J*%@&) I had emailed the zoom list late in the week to say keep an eye on the emails if I decide to zoom........

We started off late (for me) on Sat morning and went thru til lunch...........

I worked on the EPP above.....part of Miss Elizabeth......I had worked on it a bit while away.........

Zoom Sat night above..........I missed taking a pic from Sat morning.......bugger........very slack of me........

Sat night I also remembered to tell the girls before we signed off about our new name and logo.........thanks to Lou's daughter for the logo..........its on the sidebar above the names and now we are "Chookshed Stitchers" thanks to Gail for the name........

Its not an exclusive group but it very special.........

So as the conversation developed Sat night we were trying to talk Sylvia into coming to Scrub Stitchin'............

Well guess what.............

Sunday night we had a special inpromtu session as Sylvia is coming...flights are booked.......some of the girls who go to SS were also online........so that was fun............and of course Lou and Raewyn are also joining us again from NZ.........OMG how am I going to keep my excitement down.......its my special time with so many friends.........

Sandy popped in also on Sunday night and the exciting news with Sandy is we got to meet on my trip...........I was stalking her shop sending her messages and she came down and opened up.....lucky me.....

I found a few treasures below and also the binding for a quilt Fairy Girl made....(not in the pic)

We then went out and enjoyed dinner together (that was planned prior)

Was so nice to finally meet we have been friends online for a long time......many many years.........

Sunday night I ran out of sewing and I remember this quilt was on the lounge waiting patiently to have the binding sewn down........I worked on binding a babies quilt Saturday and then frustrated with a couple of corner issues on that I started sewing this one down..........its a big quilt and nearly one side is done...............

This pic is from hols - one of my favourite locations........

And finally to summarise I ended up with lots more zoom then what I thought as the weather wasn't so nice and I jammed a couple of jobs in and even lazed on the lounge both afternoons and Sunday I managed a good sleep.............

to all you girls who I know were sick on the weekend I do hope your better very soon.....there was lots.....lucky it's virtual......

Hope you had a great weekend....

Catch you later........

Chookyblue.....

update Churn Dash SAL.....

End of June update............

Junes' been pretty hectic....Sheep work, shearing, visitors, trip north, starting a short course and sadly back to work.......loved my long service leave....Lucky I got in and got some sewing done right at the start as not much else has happened sewing wise.........

Over the long weekend I had brought the Churn Dash fabrics in and started cutting them on the end of the bench.....I got some cutting done.......they look a little washed out here they are richer in real life.......we had visitors and it was cold..........

EDIT: This pic above is pretty true to colour. Just not the first photo in this post....... 

Since I got home I thought I better bring the background in and check it then I can start cutting............

woops.........I'm not sure.........do you think the fabrics at the bottom of the pic will stand out enough.......pinks, burgundies, greens, mustard & browns.........

will it work???? might need to make one......

Of course I already shared the double churn dash blocks earlier but since it is the end of the month putting it all together in one post........

While away I got a Lucy block finished.......took me two days in between baby distractions.....

I did work on a section of Miss Elizabeth after this but missing a pic.........

One of the pics from being away.........sunrise on the Barkly......This highway is one lane for maybe 80-90% or more of it..........and we had driven 250km before we passed a vehicle which you mostly have to get off the road to pass.........we had 4 more vehicles in the next 100km...........

I'm sorry I am way behind in blog reading but trying to catch up......no mobile service where we were so I have not read blogs since mid month........I will get there just busy with a few things......I have started with a couple..........slow and steady........

Catch you later..........

Chookyblue.........

zoom sewing day.....

It was a big day once again and I got lots of sewing done too so even better.......

Its just too wet to do anything around the farm so I signed off for the day........

The garden light catching the drips of water on the trees was pretty.......its was so wet with dew but not raining............this was when I headed out to the Chookshed to start zoom...........

zoom kicked off bright and early as usual and I was working on the binding I had attached on Friday afternoon..........I started stitching it down Friday night and got it finished first up Saturday morning on zoom.............

At one point I could not get out the door due to Bridget blocking the door.........

she loves camping on the deck..........

once that binding was finished I started on Miss Elizabeth............I had found some fabrics in a box that needed to be glued so I did that then I thought I would join them............

by the end of the day I got the three rows joined up............there was only about 10 joined at the start of the day............I realised I need 4 sets of this and I only have 3 sets made so need to cut some more fabrics for a few more hexies.......that would explain why I had spare hexies..........woops.......

&&&&

zoom was a wonderful mix of girls popping in and out all day...........

with so many time zones you never know whos popping in when..........

some stay up really late........others rise super early.........35 girls from 7 countries joined in and it is amazing how wide and varied our topics are during the day..........and we are always learning something about another country............

This was the creek on Friday afternoon and it is the same or slightly higher this morning............

it was such a warm day yesterday I had to turn the air on on in the Chookshed for a few patches........cloudy again this morning...........hoping for some dry days so I can go to town...............

Check out a few new patchwork shops..........

ok best go find a quilt binding, cut some more hexies and photograph a few quilts if I can find mud free spots.............

Have a wonderful Sunday...........

Keep the love of blogging alive.......

Catch you later.......

Chookyblue.......

PS I will be starting a new scrappy churn dash quilt if anyone wants to join me.......theres a few keen.........

zoom massacre end.......

Yes a dramatic blog title.......I will explain below.........what a wonderful day on zoom........

We rounded up 28 girls popping in and out from 7 countries.........

Eventually Lucy came out and played.........Chris and Lou were also working on Lucy

This morning I needed a massive clean of the Chookshed see below..........but I was looking at my table and wondering what does your space looks like........

computer screen, laptop, coffee, soda water, champagne glass, sewing gear and bin, treats, phone cord....notepad and bit of the project scattered around..........but everything in close reach......

Lucy still is in lots of pieces....she's scattered right around me when I look at this pic......

Love seeing everyone's progress during the day......all encouraging each other.......

***

Later in the night I went to turn the air con off and realised I had been invaded by earwigs......100's and 1000's i'm sure.....they were crawling everywhere up towards the aircon end of the Chookshed........

So out came the spray and drowned them and me and zoom finished.........:(

Now the problem this morning is cleaning up the massacre.......look in the pic close...........1/2 the shed floor looked like this......the other 1/2 not as bad.......had to go get the big vacumn to tackle this job.....

then cleaning the floor and room led to cleaning one set of sliding doors (thanks Denice where are you??????) I could not look at them any more after the window cleaning discussion in zoom........

But lets move onto Lucy's progress............above the section was only partly joined maybe 3-4 edges.......below I got that on and the filler in the right corner........

I have 4 on the left joined together prior to today which was a nice surprise as I had forgotten about it......just adding two fillers and it can get joined.......but I started working on joining the 4 on the right side........she's growing.......

******

As this post got disrupted during writing I have now cleaned (inside and out) all but the long window........That's two sets of sliding doors and a set of windows that big and then another more normal size window.........

*********

Now I have been asked by a few people about joining zoom............do you need a blog???? 

Well as we can only see each other through our blogs that is how we have all connected.........

given the chatter yesterday we have been blogging for a long time........

hundreds of years if I added up just who was on yesterday.........

we had a lot of discussion about when we started blogging yesterday......

yes I do have a few friends who don't have blogs join but I know who they are and they have joined me on retreats and been in contact over a longer period of time..........

You can always start a blog.........it's very easy......one of the girls who wanted to join has been working on her new blog........

I don't do "the dark side" aka facebook and your very welcome to start your own zoom group but I do like to keep up with what you are doing between zoom sessions and that is by reading your blog and interactions thru comments......I hope you understand......

We've all been making new friends thru zoom/blogs as not everyone knew each's blogs......

Happy Sunday........

Catch you later.......

Chookyblue......

Australia Day.......

Australia Day zoom went off well......

I worked on Lucy again and got the to filter block and the side filler block attached........The others I added between the last post I shared and now.........My dad's staying and he thinks I'm crazy...... How am I doing this.....I had to bring the bigger piece in to show him....... Then I show my progress after stitching for awhile and his comment was "well that is very slow & it's going to take a long time"....... Lol......i did agree.......

Green and Gold was the order of the day and I wore my green dress.....

You can see some of the girls wore green and gold or hung up some fabric...... It was once again a short session but great fun and Lucy is progressing.....I started attaching the piece above to the main quilt.......

This gorgeous cactus surprised me in the garden.........

Have a great weekend.......

Catch you later......

Chookyblue......

Lucy & zoom......

Sorry to those who missed the quick zoom this morning...... Well when I say quick we did only go for 4 hrs so pretty quick....... Starting at sparrow's fart as usual if you weren't up early in Oz you missed out......Sorry......

This is what this section was up to...... I've added to it during the week since the last photo I shared......

Buggered up in the centre top as that was supposed to be on a side..... Oh well I'll just add some bits to it and it will work......

We added some new girls to zoom also......

Marika and Ellen from Germany and Jennifer from Australia....

This is what I got to this morning...... Since then I have added a block to the top right.......

Monday we finished harvest...... This paddock should be golden stems of ripened crop..... They are there but there should not be all the green grass....... Usually we would be finished harvest in November early December but with all the rain we only got onto the ground this year........ Harvest was very slow.... The grass has grown heaps and caused issues....... The grain we got was down graded due to all the rain but atleast we got it all off......... Thankfully crap wheat is worth something this year........

(An old photo but this is what the paddock should look like once harvest is finished)

So pleased we are done......I suggested we should head the header towards home on Monday afternoon as some rain was forecast. Lucky we did as where the crop is we got 4 inches of rain the next morning........ Only a tiny bit at home and Mr Chooky was able to pick up the header the next morning where we left it and drive the rest of the way home.......

Ok best go......10 mins sleep and back into something..........

Catch you later.....

Chookyblue.........

Rusty collection.......

those who have been on zoom may have seen this pic.....my rusty old machine collection........I have a couple more in another spot also.........9 here so I think I have 11 in total..........always happy to gather a few more.........the one on the front left that still has some board on it I have since sat it on some bricks in the garden....

   see my cute little chickens on the edge of the pavers too.....

I've got a bit more of Lucy joined......

Was thinking we may be able to zoom next Saturday but we have a planned power outage so unless it gets too wet during the week and it gets canned that won't work........so I'll keep working on a plan and get back to you when I work something out.......

pic of the dam...........I've been over here for many trips as I need to start a pump every time I want to water the garden........yesterday there was more of an issue with the old pipes so we got the wheel of death down from the neighbour's and dug trenches to lay new pipe.....what a crap job on a very hot afternoon....I faded and called in assistance.......we would never have got it finished last night..........still got some trenches to dig from the end of the trench to the pump by hand but I will pass on that job.........

ALSO in that job we ran a new power supply for the Chookshed so I can get a bigger air conditioner in there.........OMG I cannot wait for that.........

My poor little air con is just not big enough but runs off normal power.....

Anyway.....that's enough for one post......hope you are all well......

Catch you later......

Chookyblue.......