New crochet stiches

 I think I must be getting better at crocheting as the last three weeks, not only have I been able to do it but also managed to do a six inch swatch during the two hours.

 

The blue is called bead stitch, the green is hatch and the red is c2c standing for corner to corner and it is done on the diagonal. 

We had asked for a little more complex stitch and as no-one had attempted c2c, not even our tutor, she decided that she needed to step outside her comfort zone, learn it and then teach us. 

A little difficult at first as it is different but really so easy once it gets going, it like making bricks then joining them together as you go.

 I have made this square since crochet group yesterday, its 45cms square or will be when I finish it. It would be too heavy to keep going so I will do six squares and sew together. The wool is variegated so they will be different but with the same colours. My new favourite stitch.

The Yachties

 Having coffee at the beach and we noticed a couple of yachts then a couple more.

It seems that they were racing and we located the buoys that they needed to go around. Two more yachts were brought to shore ready ti launch while we were watching and I was surprised by their size.

They were model yachts but from the tip of the sails to the keel, they were about four feet in height, sails were almost the same size as the keel.

Warren told me that they were only remote in the changing of the sails, no motor involved. Fast little devils they were, they had to do a 360 around the buoys before heading out to the next one, that sorted the men from the boys. 

The winner! 

Outside room of the quiet book.

 So I have done the camp-fire, now it is time for the tent.

The tent was very big and took up most of the "room" so inside the tent is a sleeping bag and separate soft pillow, oops forgot to include that in the photo. Pillow can be on the sleeping bag or the floor. 

The ribbon says merry Christmas, it was the only ribbon that I had but trying to use what I have so that was it.

My sewing room is in a mess but I have finished sewing the day, I shut the door. Tomorrow is ear marked to tidy it and iron the bits and pieces and get them into an orderly manner. Two bedrooms to do plus kichen and bathroom.

Crafty days

 Got the second blanket made from the wool that I didnt like the colours.sewn it up this morning.

Doesnt look too bad now but hopefully it will keep someone warm.

Finished the lounge room and one of the outside, a camp fire, there is no panels to peak through but there are different colours and numbers of stars.

 The windows pull across to show the moon.

Old cars

 Driving to Redcliffe on Sunday I was excited to see this on the road.

It is a Valiant, some discussion in the car and we think it us a 67 or it could be a 66. I should look it up. The following year or model at least had the spare wheel on the outside, the model after that list the fins and it was a more rounded back.

First time that I have seen a Valiant this old. This was back in the days when cars had a distinctive look about them.

 Got a closer look as we were pulled up behind them at lights.

Dollys quiet book.

 First page/ front door is finished, why oh why dud I decide on some many flowers. Each curve required stopping tge sewing machine with the needle in the fabric and turning the fabric a fraction, then there were the buttons to hand sew! Silly me!

Each window opens with curtains behind and I have added a door knob.

Next room is the lounge room, trying curtains that push back.

Last nights dinner

 I had prepared a tray if vegetables and they were cooking the air fryer, no idea what to have with them. 

Then Warren reminded me  it was parkrun eve and he would prefer somelught light fir dinner.

Suits me, I suggested an omelette. His had mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and cheese, I also made a but of a mess with it when I folded it.

This was mine, I g had more spinach abd no tomatoes. 

Dinner went down a treat and he took another 25 seconds off his run. 

A sew along

 One of my friends listed a post on face book the other day, it was for a sew along of a dolls quiet book. It was free to follow and started a couple if days ago.

It looked interesting and while  i dont anyone to make it for,  I thought I would give it a go. 

The course is free and there is a video to watch  each day, advertised as seven days, first two were to prepare, sort fabrics and cut out the pieces. 

The pattern wasnt free but once bought, it could be downloaded and printed in a short time.

Phew, heaps of pieces and tiny bits. Of course I havent cut all the fabric out, I will do that just when I need them. 

Today I made the "dolls" which are a kitten, bear and a mouse and made a start on the front of the house.

My oops monent

 I decided to make a cheese sandwich but there was one wrap left so I used that insteaď.

 Grated cheese inside a wrap is a bit boring so decided to zap it in the microwave.

All good, 40 secs was all it took.

A nice ring of cheese around the plate. What a mess to clean up I thought but no, it peeled off nicely, just needed a wipe over with warm damp cloth. Live and learn. 

Soup weather

 Somehow it has been come cooler and tins of soup were on special when I went shopping. I usually make my own soups from scratch but at 89 cents a can I figured that it would be a good base. 

I gave Warren the option of tomato and bacon, chicken and corn or pea and ham. He decided on chicken and corn, buggar when I went to the pantry that was one that I didnt buy but I did have chicken and creamed corn, just took a little longer.  

Each day since we have been home, we have had soup either for lunch or dinner.

Yesterdays lunch, pumpkin soup from the freezer with some cocktail franks as we didnt want breaď, I often make a toasted cheese sandwich to have with soup.

New blanket

 I took my crocheting along on holidays as I usually do, often nothing gets done but I did want to get this one finished so I started crocheting while driving. That's me in the passenger seat and Warren driving.

I figure that I crochet while watching TV so not much different. When theres miles and miles of bugger all but that white line, it helped to pass the time.

I dont like the colours if the wool so I am going as fast as I can to use it up. I bought it as a kit with pattern and it is supposed to be a country garden. Def not me so making granny squares with each ball and putting them together. One is complete and I am working on a second and then it will be done and dusted. I have the next two blankets in mind.

Home

 Lucy in the car waiting to go.

We put her in the car early leaving the back up, she can see us and know that she is not being left behind and she is out of our road so we can pack up. We dont have a set routine to pack up but we just seem to know what needs to done next.

As it was the last day, I didnt pack a flask and we picked up late breakfast/early lunch at Warrick and drove for a few kilometres to a rest stop. One hundred and fifty eight ks and it took four hours. Several roadworks where we had to stop, then an accident on the outskirts of Brisbane, three lanes down to one, then we were in the peak hours as it was the start of a long weekend.

We travelled down Cunninghams gap which we havent been on fir about thirty years, down is much better than up as it is a very long climb.

 

Yelonbon

 This was our last stop before home and we stayed at the old railway station. A caretaker met us as we were driving in, she had been checking someone else in. She introduced herself as Barb, handed me an envelope to put our details in the outside and directed Warren into the spot. It was $15 cash that had to go into the envelope as well.

Barb lives in a big bus between two small museums at the park and has a pet black cat that she walks around the park on a harness and lead.

Across from the park was a lagoon that Lucy and I walked and found ducks (and a cache).

Orche beds

 Just out from Bourke, there are orche beds which the aborginals use for body painting and other rock paintings. I had never seen such a place before. We stopped to take a better look after reading about it.

For an earth cache we had to answer some questions about it. The area was flooded and so we coukdnt get the last answer but I sent in what we had with a photo showing the floods, hoping that we could claim it with what we had.

I got an affirmative answer with a request to post the photo as well as the owner had not seen it in flood. We could onky get within 30 metres of where we should have been. 

The orche colours vary from yellow to orange, red and brown depending on the level if the iron in the soil. It was orange in the area.

On to Thallon

 Thallon has a painted silo, we stopped and had a cuppa here. There was a huge pull over area with toilets, camping was allowed for 72 hours and there were about eight different type of rigs parked up.

Dont need to be on top of each other in this area.

Then we have a life sized hairy nosed wombat, thankfulky they are not that size now. Stood about five feet high and for the kids of today, it had climbing lugs up tge side of it.

We continued out the road for another 8 to 900 metres to grab a cache, another one that had a familiar name in the lig book

Dirrinbungee or Lightning Ridge.

 We opted to stay at Lightning Ridge, we went there for a long weekend when we had our first camper trailer.

Then we went down in one of rhe mines on a supervised tour, unfortunately with the high public liability insurance hike they had to pull the pin on that. Can still do a walk in mine, its at ground level and only about 50 or 60 metres with windows to see equipment etc used.

The township itself has five or six blocks and then it has windy dirt tracks that follow coloured car doors. There is a yellow and red car doors on one side of town with green on the other which needs a 4wd mist of the time.

Yellow car door.

At the cp where we stayed.

Eulo to Bourke

 Bit if a mishap here, we were heading to St George for two nights, instead we found ourselves on the road to Bourke. Thirty kms off the NSW border when we realised it. 

No hassle as we didnt have to be anywhere at a particular time so we continued to Bourke and stayed for the next two nights.

We had been to Bourke before and it was a problem area, with lots of stores closed in the town, roller doors and steel fencing in front if others. We had done a great tour there which took us around towñ and then out to farms, we went to a Jojoba farm and saw it being harvested, next was a cotton farm and saw that being picked finally to an orange grading plant.

The town appears to have had a big turn around and is a great place to visit now. Lots of water comes down and some areas had been under water.

We did a couple of hours caching, did some washing and shopping and rested.