Scatterday O - Week 28

Scatterday O - Week 28
Originally uploaded by dijobbins

When Michelle and Dy announced this week's assignment I almost choked on my orange juice, dropped my book and pricked my finger! However I need not have worried because, as you can see, I already had it sorted!

Our letter this week is O.

Something you would find in a library -
Books by the authors George Orwell (Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four) and Michael Ondaatje (In the Skin of a Lion and The English Patient).

Sweet things -
An orange.

Hawaiian -
An ornament I bought in Honolulu 16 years ago, a china thimble from the grand hotel, the Royal Hawaiian. Keep something long enough and it's bound to come in handy, eh?

Scatterday H - Week 27

...and even shorter this week!

The letter is H and the categories are:

Games - Pointy Things - and Colour

So here I am, playing "Hide and Seek" (as one does!), and pointing, with my hand, to the pointy handle of my brush, which is just protruding from beneath my new hot pink blouse. Good enough?

[Chortles and chuffed grin here :-)]

My Roebuck Quilt (1)

The original Roebuck Chintz Quilt has been described by quilt historian Dr Annette Gero in her book "Historic Australian Quilts" -


George Douglas Roebuck from Scotland served in the East India Company's military service from 1817 to his death in 1846. His wife and four children returned to Scotland but in 1860/61 sailed to Australia and settled in Queensland. It is thought that the quilt was worked by Lizzie and Margaret on their voyage to Australia.


My Roebuck Quilt, begun in a class taught by Robyn Evans at Quiltsmith last February, started with this beautiful central medallion, from a piece of Julie Wallace's "Saint Croix" collection. I planned to use a delicate palate of dusty pinks and greens.



However I soon abandoned this safe - but bland - plan as this wonderfully scrappy quilt soon took on a life of its own, even crying out for scraps of blues and golds, browns and burgundies. And while I delved deep into my stash for snippets of fabrics left over from previous projects I have to confess to [gasp] buying the odd fat quarter, just so I had even more 'scraps'!

I've loved working on this quilt which I have entirely hand-pieced, and it has been a perfect take-along project whenever I'm out and about - even if it was a rather 'bossy' quilt in the way it insisted I include more and more quirky fabrics.

My Roebuck Quilt (2)

All those large plain triangles called for appliqueed hexagons, and I (and my quilt buddies who were also making Roebucks) had such fun fussy-cutting them and swapping fragments of fabrics.

My Roebuck Quilt (3)

At this point there remained only two borders to complete the quilt - a straight strip, and an outside border of hourglass blocks. This would have made the finished quilt approximately 85" x 85". However I wanted to make mine a little larger (the original Roebuck Quilt was 94" x 94").





So I added a strip, then a scrappy border of 4" squares on-point, then another strip of dark cacky green before my hourglass border. I'm thinking I'll probably use that green to bind it too. Unlike the original, I haven't added separator strips between my hourglass blocks, and I've also occasionally included a fussy-cut whole piece of fabric instead of an hourglass block. (Just because...)

It's taken me almost exactly a year to piece (and applique) this quilt, and I've loved every step of the way. I have to confess I quickly lose interest if I have to repeat a pattern, so being able to change fabrics so often meant I was never bored!

Now all I need to do is to hand-quilt it before it can be used on our queen-sized bed.

You have to admire Lizzie and Margaret back in the 1860s on that swaying ship, don't you? No rotary cutters or calculators, and only a ship-board stash to work with.

The Roebuck Quilt has come a long way since then. Kim McLean won the Founders Award at Houston in 2002 (or 2003?) with her version, adapted from the photo of the original quilt she saw in Annette Gero's book, and there are several versions being taught in quilt shops I know of.

This year my quilt buddies and I have started another medallion quilt, quite reminiscent of the Roebuck. One day I'll show you how it's going. Just look what you started, Lizzie and Margaret!

A visit to Nana and Pa

Yesterday The Princess and I went to visit Nana and Pa.
There were plenty of cuddles....



and games ...


and mischievous looks...

and she sat in the little pink chair that Pa has freshly painted for her - the 4th generation to use it.

...followed by a BIG sleep in the car on the way home.

Scatterday S - Week 26

Scatterday S - Week 26
Originally uploaded by dijobbins

Short and sweet this week.

Fruit - Strawberry

Things that make you itch - My daughter's beautiful black cat, Satchmo. I adore him, but I must remember to wash my hands every time I've patted him, or I suffer!

Gold - Star, a remnant from Christmas that made itself useful on its way to the garbage bin.

I've been TAGGED!

I've been tagged by Julie - thanks very much!

Now, here are THE RULES...
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Here goes -

Did you know......

... that my favourite colour is pink?
... that I've shaken hands with Juan Antonio Samaranch and Prince Michael of Kent?
... that I've dined with a previous Dean of Windsor at his home in Windsor Castle?
... that I enjoy cryptic crosswords?
... that I'm allergic to cats - but live with three?
... that I love the TV programmes "Distant Shores", "Rosemary and Thyme", "Escape to the Country", "Location, Location, Location" and "Relocation, Relocation".
... that I stay up far too late at night?

Now, I tag Cinzia, Michelle, Erica and Lindi (... and did you also know I can't count?)

Valentine's Day

Look what my gorgeous Valentine gave me ....

I love him too!

A brie-licious salad

Three times a year, over a 4 week period, our church's Assistant Minister, Ben, runs a course Exploring Christian Marriage for some of the couples who are soon to be married here. As part of this, after they've been to the evening church service, they all come back to our home (the rectory) where Ben, Boak and I host a sit-down dinner, which has proved a great way to get to know them - and for them to get to know each other.

Cooking creatively for up to 18 can sometimes stretch my imagination and skills, especially as we try to vary the menu over the 4 weeks that we do this. Tonight, the first week of a new course, we served beef, oven-roasted on the barbecue, accompanied by tiny chat potatoes and this melon and brie salad which is a new one I've been trying out recently. Dessert was chocolate panforte (just a sliver), with home-chopped fruit salad.

I thought you might be interested in the salad recipe...

Melon and Brie Salad

(The quantities depend on your own personal taste)

Toast flaked almonds in a pan with a spray of olive oil, tip into a dish and leave to cool. Slice up and scatter bite-sized pieces of honey-dew melon and brie, and halved cherry tomatoes, over a bed of baby salad leaves on a platter. Just before serving drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the salad and grind some black pepper and rock salt over as well. Then top it all with a sprinkling of the cooled toasted almond flakes. Yummm!

Scatterday I - Week 25

This week our inquiries took us to images illustrating the interesting and intriguing letter I.

Ideas????

The first category was YELLOW...

On our trip to a conference in Italy last year we were entertained in the grand Sala Gione (Yellow Room) of the Palazzo Normannii, the seat of the Sicilian Parliament. So here is a taste of a yellow INTERIOR.
You might also like to see some yellow ITALIAN IMAGES that I took on my travels....

Our second category was AUSTRALIAN...

Here's my intelligent daughter Sarah with an INDIGENOUS animal, a koala. Sarah is an animal geneticist researching chlamydia in koalas for her PhD.

Our final category gave me the most difficulty.

SOMETHING YOU WOULD FIND IN THE AIR...

However I found it while I was browsing my Italian trip photos. Can you guess what it is?

ICE!

On our international flight (something else you would find in the air) as the morning sun was coming over the horizon (somewhere over Greece) I slid up the shutter to see this crystalline cluster on the plane's window.

Why did I photograph such a trivial sight? I must have known that one day this ice - which I found in the air - would save my bacon on Scatterday!

Scatterday Z Free-for-all...

Scatterday Z
Originally uploaded by dijobbins

Thanks, Michelle, for being gentle with us and not setting any categories this week!

This challenge has been fun - so much so, in fact, that I had lots of Z things I could have included. I omitted my zygocactus in its hanging pot under a tree in my garden, a zucchini, and my Zimbabwean friend Wendi, because I liked the way the colours went together in my mosaic just as it is....aahhh, pretty!

So here you have, firstly, a zebra, which I photographed myself when I visited the beautiful Singapore Zoo last year. I must say, too, that the animals in that zoo look very happy and contented.

I've included a photo of the entrance to the Singapore Zoo too.

The zinnias in my garden are creating a splash of summery colour.

And this bright red zipper is cheery too!

Zounds! I did it!