Backpack

I have slowly been making some gifts for Christmas. I have a little granddaughter who loves all things with Dora on them, so I came across some Dora fabric and made backpack for her. She starts school next year so maybe the backpack will come in handy.

So of course I had to make another one for her brother who loves Dinosaurs, so I have made a library bag for him. They will be in the same class next year.

Then I had this pattern for a basket to go with the table runner that I made earlier in the year so I have made it up to go on the table for Christmas, possibly with a few sweets or nibbles to go in it should look good.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and an enjoyable time with your family. It is always great to catch up with family at this time of the year.

Wedding

Last weekend we had our eldest son's wedding at south Stradbroke Island.
It was a very nice setting for a wedding.So now I have 2 DIL's both with the same name.

Jia Bag

I purchased the pattern for this bag at the recent Craft Show in Brisbane. I made this bag using some of my Japanese fabrics. It has a couple of good sized pockets in it, and of course it also involved some reverse sewing although the instructions were very well written for it.

Spring blossoms

I love the colours of spring, the jacaranda trees are out in full blossom and also the native orchids are flowering. They are growing in the tops of the trees on the farm with no special treatment, it makes one truly appreciate the wonders of nature. Today is just one of those perfect spring days.

Back into things

 

 

The pattern was purchased as a kit from Canningtown Patchwork who was a merchant at our club's exhibition in September.



 

Last weekend I went to our quilting retreat run by the club and held at a Recreation facility at a dam, where we sew all weekend and dont have to plan any meals, all is catered for. We had a Christmas swap at the retreat- I made a wine cooler to carry a bottle of wine in for Christmas and in exchange I received a bag to store the ham in. I also got some sewing finished which was great, a Table runner which I shall use at Christmas time.

 

 

 

 

 

Moving slowly

We have slowly progressed along the track. We spent most of the week with relatives, a few days at a property near the carnavon ranges and then down to another property outside Morven. It was interesting to see how they do their farming practices here and cattle management. We are now camping at Mitchell on the weir. It is a very nice quiet spot.

Moving on

We had a very enjoyable evening cruise on the Thompson river at sunset last Thursday which included dinner served on the banks of the river and entertainment for the night, we were picked up from the campsite and dropped off by the coach after the evening finished. We have now moved on down the track a bit more, went through Barcaldine-saw the tree of Knowledge in the main street, also came across the first Patchwork Shop in my travels so had a little retail therapy.

We are now at the Blackall Caravan Park and I have been able to get batteries recharged and computer data upto date etc. Went out to the Woolscour shed here today, it was a huge operation in its heyday. I did not know that they washed the fleeces of wool before they sold it to overseas. The machinery to do it was a big operation and now they are trying to preserve it but of course the cost beats them.

The water here is all artesian and is hot coming out of the ground. It has an awful smell about it, so cups of tea or coffee or juice are about all I like to drink- cant quite take to having a glass of water here.

It's off to Tambo tomorrow. I will check out the Tambo Teddies.

 Sunset on the river

Reflection of a white egret, Artesian bore

Bouganvillia

The bouganvillia bushes are in full bloom around here.

Photos

 

 Bladensburg Nat. Park

 Dinosaur for Hayley

 Inside hall of Fame

 Water bird on river

 Collection of saddles in hall of Fame

 Reflections on Thompson river

 Campsite in Longreach

Longreach

We are now in Longreach.Went out to Stockmans Hall of Fame today. There is a lot of history there for you to go through and read about the pioneers and early settlers. We are camping at the Apex Park a free campsite on the Thompson River.Tomorrow we will have a look around the town and on Thursday we have booked to go on a River cruise at Sunset. There is a lot of birdlife here too. The nights are still rather cool, but the days are very warm.

Wildlife

A couple of Red Roos grazing.

Winton

We have moved on to Winton, the country out here is very flat, looks dry to us but they say they have had a good season. We bush camped at carisbrooke station for a couple of days, went to the dinosaur museum at Lark Quarry where they discovered the bones and footprints of the animals. we are now camping at a Waterhole on the outskirts of Winton and plan to go into town tomorrow and go through the Waltzing Matilda display,the open air theatre and a couple of other displays before moving on to Longreach. The weather has been really good, cooler nights but the days are nice and summery.The roads around here are very dusty, I am learning to put a lid on what ever I want the dust to stay out of.

Charters Towers

We had a look around the town today. There are lots of old buildings that have been preserved from the gold mining days. We even did a bit of family history and found a marked grave in the cemetry for James Kenneffe. We caught up with Joan R from TQ and had lunch at one of the pubs in town. Next move is onto Hughenden.

Burdekin Dam

Burdekin Dam

Rosetta Creek

Cattle Country
Saturday,Left the van at Eaglefield and went up to Burdekin Dam,it is very large dam and was full and overflowing , the road to the other side of the dam was closed as it goes along the bottom of the spillway.The creeks around are here are full of sand.  
Francis had another look at the connection for the cable and it seems to be working better today, so have added some photos.
We will be moving onto Charters Towers tomorrow.
The mornings here are rather cool but the days soon warm up.

Walking the cattle along the road.

Moving cattle

Today we helped walk a mob of cattle about 13 klms along the road from the yards to another paddock. Francis had a horse to ride and I was given the job to drive the truck and collect any baby calves that got tired of walking.
It is very slow adding photos so will give that a miss for now.

Central Qld trip

We have got away and started our trip through to Central Qld,there have been plenty of roadworks on the way which has made the days a bit longer. We free camped at Dululu on our way to Eaglefield Stn, outside Nebo. Along the way the wattle trees have been very colourful along the roadside and ridges. Some of the country has been very flat grazing country a bit different to what we usually see, and also saw some evidence of the mining in the area.We are having a R & R day today and then a bit of a look around the area tomorrow. The days are warmer here too.

Bali Strings

Well I have finished another quilt. I seem to be getting a few of those projects out of the cupboard that have been sitting there for some time taking up space. I think I will call this a Gunna Doo project. I dare not think about how many are sitting there waiting to see the light of day. I had it quilted by Kathy Adams from KoolKat Quilting in an overall pattern.

Jumpers N Jazz

last Saturday I went to Warwick and checked out the festival that the town has each year. It displays a variety of trees dressed up during the week by local businesses

This is the start of my journal and diary of  what I enjoy doing and what occupys my time

Hope you enjoy reading it and coming along with me.