Mystery Quilt - Another Catch up

The last Progress report on my Mystery Quilt from Jemima's Creative Quilting was back in March where I had just finished Part 10.

Part 11 involved making 24 Rosettes which were to begin the rows that Square up the Quilt.

They were all finished by the 11th June.

The quilt is getting much bigger and I can no longer work on my knee while watching TV.

The hexagons were also getting damaged requiring some repairs. 

So moving to the sewing table was the best place for stitching them to the growing quilt. 

However - At that time we were also Cat Sitting for our Son. 

Doogal apparently, is an undercover member of the Quilt Police and decided I needed to be observed intently!

In the meantime I have been unsettled with working on this project.  I remember that I started this to take me out of my 'comfort zone' in Colour and Fabrics but there was just something that wasn't right.

DH came to the conclusion that the Centre was "Too Light and Unbalanced" and suggested replacing the centre Hexagon 
(Yes - the First piece of the Quilt) 
with a darker fabric.

It took a bit of work to reinsert all the papers carefully back into the Second row before unpicking the Central Light hexagon and replacing it with a Dark Blue. 

His idea, was that this will now draw your eye to the Centre and not be overwhelmed by a lot of Lights.

It is better but in hindsight I would choose different Light Tones for the Quilt. 

There was just not enough definition between my lights and mediums for the Centre.

Part 11 is now complete.

I am working on Part 12.  

Now that The Quilt is no longer a Mystery, I can choose to work on each row or complete a Corner at a time.

Something to Contemplate!

Half Hexi Challenge.

Since January I have been participating in a Challenge Group on Instagram that is making Blocks from Focus (Fussy) Cutting HALF HEXAGONS.

It would seem that I haven't given my Blog Readers an Update on this project since April.

MARCH: Our Theme was BOOKS 

(and International Women's Day)

My Blocks featured:

The Adventures of Blinky Bill
Pooh Bear
Jungle Book

The Thursday Next Series
as well as A Bookworm in the Library

Also a Tribute to all the Women in Science

APRIL: Had a Theme of GARDENS.

My Blocks showed that I have a Bee Hive in my Garden,

New Holland Honeyeaters visit  our Grevilleas on occasion

and Snails  - They come out at night and graze on the Lawn!

As well as the Fish Pond - with no fish at the moment.

MAY: Was a month that featured the SENSES.

I used our Trip away as inspiration.

Starting with the Sound of Music I also included the Sound of the Train on the Tracks.

The Smell of freshly Ground Coffee. (A Good Cup was hard to find.)

Sight - A Classic Aussie Outback Sunset.

Taste - The Food and Wine that was available for all to enjoy and Finally Touch. 

My block was made of 'Gold Leaves' for our visit to the Perth Mint.

JUNE: The Theme was TRAVEL.

Was I ahead of my Time or an Inspiration? I didn't ask!

These blocks saw me finding Fabric with Medallions from all the Capitol Cities in Australia (That I have visited.)

The Wheels on a Yellow School Bus from Michigan was my Hidden motif.

Caravanning "Down the Peninsula"  hit the brief for our Pattern Matching week.

AND - April in Paris!  A 'Never in my Wildest Imagination' Trip away.

That brings me up to date with the Focus Cutting Challenge - marking our halfway point with Week 26.

Note:  You can see my Posts on these Individual blocks on AUSSIE.KILTED.QUILTER on Instagram.

Constantly playing Catch up.

In my defense - My Laptop has died! So - This post is being brought to you by...

My Mother's very ancient and never used Dell Inspiron which is running Windows 7.  
It's a long story involving DB, a Nephew that moved to Darwin and a Mother that is a HUGE technophobe.

We are in Lock down - AGAIN. Version 5.0 and the shops are shut for anything other than Click and Collect. So what better time to work out if I actually need a new 'you beaut, all the whistles and bells' computer just to write my Blog?

The poor thing has no programs to speak of other than Office 2010 so I will have to find a photo editing program that will actually work on Windows 7.  Maybe there is something in the "Great Stack of Useless" before they go to Recycle?

I suppose that this experiment will also help with the Other question which is "What do I do with a 14 year old laptop that is basically in Mint Condition!"

The Verdict?

It is actually a nice machine with a large non reflective screen.  I think it will certainly make a very good back-up for Word processing and Internet searching and watching Tutorial Videos in the Sewing Room. And the odd 'Instagram Style' Blog Post.

Sydney - The Final Chapter.

 21st May 2021

Today is the last day of our holiday and we had planned a Harbour Cruise and Lunch.  Until it was cancelled. 

So, what better way for a Quilter to "Drown her Sorrows" but to make a side trip to her favourite Quilt Shop!

They have come to me at many Melbourne Craft and Quilt shows - Now I can finally visit them.

DH was wonderful - reminding me I hadn't been to any shows for 18 months. 

It was a good thing that we had plenty of room in our luggage for the trip home!

The afternoon was spent heading back across the Harbour.

We passed many Luxury Craft and .. Is that A Pirate Ship?

Our destination - 

The Suburb of Manly.

There are many Interesting looking Shops and Hotels that we thought bore a closer look and maybe an excuse to return.

But our reason for being here is to complete our Quest.

From the

Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean

And By Public Transport!

Mission Accomplished!

Here's to 40 Years Together.

Now to plot and Plan
the Next Adventure.

For more information on The Great Australian Train Journeys Visit

 Journey Beyond Rail

Sydney - Hornby Lighthouse

 20th May 2021

The best way for a Tourist to get to the Pacific Ocean from Sydney CBD is to head down to Circular Quay and catch a Ferry.

We headed off  across Sydney Harbour towards South Head where I have read is Sydney's "Most Adorable" Lighthouse.

This is a Lighthouse that has stood faithfully guarding the Shores and and protecting Mariners since 1858.

They say 'Its Bright Colours and Visible lantern give it a Touch of Carnival Mischief'.

All I found was a Sad and Faded Beauty that is in dire need of Restoration.

(In the very least - a conversation with the Lighthouse Keepers at Rottnest Island.)

At Her feet Waves crash on Rocks where the Pacific Ocean rolls in to the Harbour. 

But this is as close as we could get to completing our Quest today.

We return back to Circular Quay past One of the most recognisable Australian Landmarks.  

The Sydney Opera House.

Walking around its huge plaza we were certainly adding to our Step count today.

As were the Local Police who were more than happy to assist some tourists with their photographs.

It is here the Sun sets on our Day behind Sydney's other most recognisable Landmark.

The Harbour Bridge.

Indian Pacific - Broken Hill to Sydney

 19th May 2021

We travelled 843 Km through the night to wake to - 

A totally different landscape enrobed in Fog and Frost

Where are we and how cold is it exactly?

A check of my BOM weather app
 - showed we were in Bathurst NSW 

and it was indeed COLD!

I watched the Sun rise over the Misty paddocks - It should be a beautiful day - Just 210km of our journey remained.

There was one last Off-Train excursion - A Day tour of the Blue Mountains.  

Many of our companions left the Indian Pacific at Mt. Victoria to continue to Sydney on another train later in the day.

For us - it was all about the Train Journey on the Indian Pacific -
So we chose to stay on board and continue the remaining 125 km to Sydney.  

Watching the ever changing scenery of the Blue Mountains at times we could see where were had been!

Someone called for Last drinks and Farewells in the Lounge.  

This was not the time to stay in your Cabin.

We were packed and Ready to Go.

Our Cabin in Gold Class was Cosy... but enough to stow our Stuff, retreat to during the day if needed.
And the Seating turned down by the Staff each night into comfy-enough bunks.


As I said at the start of this journal - You get to stay in some interesting places!

For Us - it was the end of an Epic 4,352km Trans Continental Train Ride from Perth to Sydney.  

For others their journey was only about to begin.  The Train has a 3 hour turnaround at Sydney before heading back. 

Could we sneak back on again? - Maybe another day!

Our Quest was to go from 

The Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean
We are not there yet.

That is still another day or two away!

Indian Pacific - Adelaide to Broken Hill

 18th May 2021

Somewhere in the middle of the night we passed out of the Nullarbor Plain into more familiar territory of Port Augusta.    This is the point where The Ghan and the Indian Pacific meet to continue their journeys into Adelaide.

The black line is our 780km route from Cook to Port Augusta - The Blue is the road trip we did back in 2012 when the closest we got to the Nullarbor was Streaky Bay. The Inland patches of Blue are all Salt lakes. 

Our next stop is Adelaide - Rolling in to the Parklands Station at 7:30am and then spending the first hour of a 2 hour stopover waiting while the Police pulled every traveller from VICTORIA aside to check if we had been to a COVID hotspot.

Our travellers from Mildura were not impressed! - (For International readers - Mildura is in the top Northwest of the State and a 543 km drive from the closest COVID hotspot in Melbourne.)

We have spent some time over various trips in Adelaide so the choice of Off-Train excursions left us wondering "What haven't we seen?"

A Bus tour of the City culminating in Breakfast at the Adelaide Oval (Cricket) was DH's choice.

It wasn't nearly enough time to enjoy the Sights or the Breakfast before we were bustled back to the Train. 

Stopping briefly at the Station for souvenirs and some much needed *Antihistamines.

We were now behind schedule -

With the Engine having been moved to the other end of the Train, We return back up the track to Port Pirie, where we divert towards the NSW Border and Broken Hill.

Settling back into the routine of "Life on board a Long distance Train" we watched the scenery change from Urban to Outback over the course of the day.



The Sun set early and it was dusk by the time we arrived in Broken Hill at 6:00pm.

Broken Hill has one of the World's largest Lead-Zinc-Silver deposits and mines other Minerals as well.

The town has also embraced the popularity gained when it was used as a Location for the Movie "Pricilla Queen of the Desert".

At this point I'd like to share a close up of the previous photo.

The Lady with the walking frame joined us in Adelaide.
She is 86 and was such a Character! Proving you are never too old to Travel.

Always dressed to the Nines with jewellery, hair and makeup impeccably done and NEVER without her Six inch Heels!

Tonight she was off to see the Drag Show! 

We opted for the Tour of the City and a Visit to the Art Gallery. 

Housed in the historic (1885) Sully's Emporium Building, the building itself was a joy to visit

Opened in 1904 it is the Oldest Regional Art Gallery in NSW. 

It is well worth visiting or browsing through their Website to see the wealth of Artwork that is in their Collection.

Time to head back while listening to Silly Stories and Tales of Yester-year from our Very Informative Bus driver.

There was so much to Broken Hill that we didn't see - so much to consider coming back and spending more time here ... One Day!

* * * * *

* I spent a good time of the trip explaining to people that I have a Perfume Allergy and the scent of hand sanitiser on board affected it badly - I am sure that everyone thought I had Covid....