Home on the range

Not my home, but one I have wanted to see for ages. On Saturday I drove up the range, past Toowoomba, to a little town called Cambooya. Just outside the town, there was an open house/garden at Harrow Homestead. Since the house is rarely open to the public, I was excited to visit.

After a yummy morning tea of scones (sorry no pic, I was too hungry after the drive), my friend and I strolled around the extensive gardens.

We were able to go into the house and could see into all the rooms, even though we were confined to the hallway. The most striking thing about it was the extensive use of timber, for panelling and even the ceilings. Great craftsmanship in the mantelpieces and a pediment over one door. The house appears to have been built around the 1890s or early Federation.

On our way back through Toowoomba, we stopped to see the gardens in Queen's park, all displaying their Carnival of Flowers beauty. Magnificent!

And best of all, the weather was glorious!

Back to normal

Almost! I have finally come back to earth after my time spent volunteering at the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries Costume Exhibition. What a wonderful experience! So many lovely visitors and fellow volunteers, all with something in common. Many volunteers took the opportunity to dress up for their shifts, however my sister and I waited until the last week before channeling Phryne.

I don't have a photo of me in costume, however, I will share the sewing I did to complete it. Everyone knows that no self-respecting twenties lady would leave home without a hat, so I made a cloche from a pattern I found online.

Actually quite easy to make and finished off with a feather flower.

I had wanted to buy a red lipstick from the gift shop, but I left it too late and they had sold out. I did indulge in a costume catalogue so I can drool over the costumes at my leisure, as well as a lovely bit of bling!

Now that I have dusted off the sewing machine, I hope to get back to some abandoned projects. I just have to adjust my social life a bit. After all, it's a bit hard to sew if you're never at home!

Catching my breath

Sadly, I have no crafty goodness to blog about, I have been too busy wrapped up in 1920s glamour. Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries Costume Exhibition has come to Brisbane and I have spent a lot of time travelling back and forth, attending the official launch, volunteering as a guide and swanning around Old Government House at a Miss Fisher themed lawn party. All very exhausting!

In the dress-up closet at the launch (that's me in the red)

My sister and I at the Lawn Party posing in front of a 1928 Chrysler. The sunnies aren't exactly 1920s, but the sunshine made them necessary! By the way, my sister made her gorgeous frock from an authentic pattern. Isn't it stunning!

Getting into the spirit! There were lots of people dressing up and enjoying the day.

Such a lot of fun!

Stash building

My favourite fabric store here in Ipswich has closed its doors, to much sadness from the local community. As a parting gift to their customers, all stock was sold off at greatly reduced prices. I visited several times in the closing weeks and I am very thrilled with all my purchases.

This should inspire me to get on and complete the scrappy Strip Twist I started on retreat. You'll notice I said should!

I am a very haphazard gardener, but some things I manage not to kill. Lavender is one of them and it seems to thrive in spite of me.

Looks good.. smells divine!

It's been a while

since I posted.. life sure gets away from you at times. I have no actual crafty stuff to share, I have the lazy bug these days.
Back in April, I went to the quilt show held every year in a local church. Through a series of coincidences, I met up for the first time with fellow blogger, Maria, who, I have since found out, is also known by a number of local bloggers I have been following for years. I had morning tea with Maria and her friends and a lovely time was had by all. Maria (through reading my blog) knew of my love for anything with a 'Willow Pattern' and very generously gave me a few embroidered pieces from her collection.

There were lots of lovely quilts on display, unfortunately they don't photograph well inside the church. A couple of favourites.

A close up of the one below.

Love those scrappy ones!

My volunteer work with the National Trust takes up a lot of my time, and as usual, I was involved with 'Great Houses of Ipswich' again in May. I spent the day at 'Notnel', built in the 1860s and very carefully restored and preserved by the family who had owned it for over 25 years.

The house has recently been sold, so it was a great opportunity for locals to see inside.

I am hoping to get back to crafting soon.. I have a project in mind for one of those embroidered pieces,

Out in the country

A couple of weeks ago I had a rare Sunday free from my (self-inflicted) volunteering duties at Wolston House, so I went for a drive out to the Lockyer Valley, not all that far from where I live. I went looking for an Open Garden I had read about in my favourite magazine, but sadly I was unable to locate it.
Undaunted, I headed to Forest Hill via some back roads when I spotted this abandoned cottage along the way.

I am drawn to shabby, neglected things, although they do make me sad. There was more shabby stuff in Forest Hill, although this pub is still a going concern. I was rather taken by the green stuff growing in the gutter!

Just look at the texture of the peeling paint on this fence! 

My next stop was at Cafe 4342 for a spot of morning tea. The number is Forest Hill's postcode and the cafe and gift shop are extensions to the Post Office. My choice for morning tea was this delicious pear and blueberry cake.

My journey home took me through Marburg and Rosewood. There is a fabulous antique shop in Marburg, with some quirky items for sale. I think Superman may be looking for this!

There is a wonderful house in Rosewood which is crying out for some attention. It is hard to see from the road and I don't like to trespass, but the overgrown entry to the property is very romantic.

A very enjoyable day out!

Droughtbreaker

It seems the creating drought has broken.. all it took was a few days away at my favourite retreat - Stacey's at the Gap. The weather even cooperated by being drizzly and damp, perfect sewing weather!

My main project was a quilt for my son.. the last one I gave him is now thirteen years old. Although, when I told him I was making it he said, "But you already made me one".

I chose most of the fabrics when I visited the Australian Quilt Convention, a year or so ago, and decided simple was best (my son is very down to earth) and went with a disappearing nine patch.
This is the original block..

And here it is, sliced, diced and reassembled..

Borders still to come. I also made a start on a quilt for my son-in-law. Apparently his old one has been almost worn to tatters. This is a scrappy one from Bonnie Hunter - Strip Twist.

On my way back down the range, I stopped to have a closer look at the cairn commemorating the discovery of the Gap by Alan Cunningham in 1827. When you drive towards the range you wonder how on earth he spotted it, let alone found his way to it!

The nicest thing about the retreat (apart from finding my sewjo)... the constant sound of bell-birds, broken occasionally by the crack of whip birds... magic!

A new year

It seems that at the beginning of a new year crafters' thoughts turn to UFOs and sorting. I can't claim to be very enthusiastic in this pursuit, however, during a half-hearted attempt to bring some order into the chaos that is my craft room, and possibly come up with some quick and easy projects to put in the gift shop at Wolston House, I found these unfinished projects which I think date back to the turn of the century.

The cross stitch part was finished quite a while back, they just needed making up. Can't think why I didn't do it at the time, it hardly took any time at all.

The design is a Tudor Rose and I bought the kits on my first trip to the UK. 

This is the back. Needle case and scissor keep...so nice that they are actually finished!