Okay, I hear you say, yes, she must be off her rocker, because what on earth is she rabbiting on about now?????
Well, I have foolishly embarked upon tidying up my Girl's Nest (aka The Black Hole of Kaycutta aka My Sewing room) and whilst I was sorting and organising my mountains of craft fabrics (did I ever tell you that I used to do a lot of quilting?), I picked up on old pink dishraggy-looking piece of linen, it was all crumpled and was nearly just thrown in the bin without a second glance (sorry, forgot to take a pic of it at that stage).
But then, I spied a Homespun Elegance pattern beneath it and I took a second look, gave it a quick press and found this treasure......
.... and can you see it is very nearly FINISHED??????
... and that I started it in 2002?
.... so it has been languishing,
forgotten and unloved in the cupboard for FOURTEEN YEARS??????
I told you, right at the start of this post, I amMAD, SENILE and BATTY!
Seriously, I must be because why else would I have abandoned it so close to finishing it?
Anyway, long story short ... one evening of stitching later (two and a half hours to be precise) and
VOILA!
"In a Garden"
Homesun Elegance
Unknown pink over-dyed linen
Unknown floss (I know that I changed some of the threads from the suggested palette)
Then, of course, I had another play with Fotojet and PicMonkey.....
So, that is all for me today! Off to dive back into my fabric stash - who know what other treasures I will find?
Okay, so let me explain - my first M is Mad Max, of course! Not the one with Tom Hardy (very disappointing, I thought although Charlize Theron was fantastic!) but our very own Mel Gibson, of course (before he turned into an idiot) -when he was young and gorgeous!
... and of course, he is driving along the Mad Max Highway - just as we did in this post and this one!
Next up are Magpies, now in nesting season they are a real danger to cyclists Downunder - so much so that you need to resort to wearing sunglasses on the back of your bike helmet or spikes!
My last M is the iconic poem by one of our most famous poets, A.B. "Banjo" Patterson. Everyone in Australia has heard of the famous The Man from Snowy River.
THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
That the colt from old Regret had got away,
And had joined the wild bush horses - he was worth a thousand pound,
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,
And the stockhorse snuffs the battle with delight.
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup,
The old man with his hair as white as snow;
But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up -
He would go wherever horse and man could go.
And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand,
No better horseman ever held the reins;
For never horse could throw him while the saddle girths would stand,
He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast,
He was something like a racehorse undersized,
With a touch of Timor pony - three parts thoroughbred at least -
And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.
He was hard and tough and wiry - just the sort that won't say die -
There was courage in his quick impatient tread;
And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye,
And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.
But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay,
And the old man said, "That horse will never do
For a long a tiring gallop - lad, you'd better stop away,
Those hills are far too rough for such as you."
So he waited sad and wistful - only Clancy stood his friend -
"I think we ought to let him come," he said;
"I warrant he'll be with us when he's wanted at the end,
For both his horse and he are mountain bred.
"He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side,
Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough,
Where a horse's hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride,
The man that holds his own is good enough.
And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home,
Where the river runs those giant hills between;
I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam,
But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen."
So he went - they found the horses by the big mimosa clump -
They raced away towards the mountain's brow,
And the old man gave his orders, "Boys, go at them from the jump,
No use to try for fancy riding now.
And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right.
Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills,
For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight,
If once they gain the shelter of those hills."
So Clancy rode to wheel them - he was racing on the wing
Where the best and boldest riders take their place,
And he raced his stockhorse past them, and he made the ranges ring
With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face.
Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash,
But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view,
And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash,
And off into the mountain scrub they flew.
Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep and black
Resounded to the thunder of their tread,
And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back
From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way,
Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide;
And the old man muttered fiercely, "We may bid the mob good day,
No man can hold them down the other side."
When they reached the mountain's summit, even Clancy took a pull,
It well might make the boldest hold their breath,
The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full
Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.
But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head,
And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer,
And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed,
While the others stood and watched in very fear.
He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,
He cleared the fallen timber in his stride,
And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat -
It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
Through the stringybarks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound,
At the bottom of that terrible descent.
He was right among the horses as they climbed the further hill,
And the watchers on the mountain standing mute,
Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely, he was right among them still,
As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.
Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met
In the ranges, but a final glimpse reveals
On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet,
With the man from Snowy River at their heels.
And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam.
He followed like a bloodhound on their track,
Till they halted cowed and beaten, then he turned their heads for home,
And alone and unassisted brought them back.
But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot,
He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur;
But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot,
For never yet was mountain horse a cur.
And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
Their torn and rugged battlements on high,
Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
And where around The Overflow the reed beds sweep and sway
To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,
The man from Snowy River is a household word today,
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
The Bulletin, 26 April 1890.
So, those are my three "M"s for this month.
Now, if you are not sure what The Alphabet Club is all about ....
Well, it is the brainchild of Chiara from The Grey Tail and Jo from Serendipitous Stitching and is loosely based on the premise of the movie "The Breakfast Club" - you can see the button for The Alphabet Club on my right sidebar.
On the first Saturday of each month, members of the club have "detention" and have to post about something that will enlighten others about their culture (as blogland is so diverse). Of course, there should/could be something stitchy in there, if possible. Each month will be a different letter of the alphabet - hence the club's name - and, of course, we started with "A" and now we are up to "M".
If you want to see what the other detainees have been up to, please have a look here.
.... just some bits and pieces that I want to share with you, really.
First up is, we had some spectacular morning and evening skies the other week - just so very pretty - apparently it all had to do with some particular meteorological conditions which were in play at the time.
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Next up, the other night I went to my friend's husband's book launch - it was lots of fun and I cannot wait to read the book. Isn't the cover cool?
Then the next night, TraderVic and I went out to a great little Thai restaurant in Thornbury with some friends. We had this delicious snapper dish - but look, my dinner is looking at me!
... and then on my travels around Melbourne, I have taken what I think are some nice pics. This is the old match factory, which has now been renovated.
A gorgeous, blue winter sky.
One of Melbourne's many cool cafes....
... and, of course, a couple of Furio pics. Here he is banished to the chair, when he kept jumping up onto the table and sitting on my laptop whilst I was trying to work.
... and then he got himself back into my good books when later that evening, when I had ducked out to visit a friend around the corner, there he was, waiting for me, like a faithful little puppy!
... and lastly, an update on my Magnificent Obssession.... getting close.
Okay, now you may (or may not - lol!) have noticed that I have not posted for other two weeks now! I have missed posting for IHSW, Gifted Gorgeousness and Friday Frolics - oh no! I have not started either a Hallowe'en or Christmas Ornie (oops, just realised that my Christmas July ornie is stitched - phew!) for those two SALs and Tudor Tuesdays, Americana and Prairie Schooler have all been neglected!!!!!!!!!
What on earth is going on? Well, the reason for my absence is two-fold.
The first reason is boring as anything - I have so much freelance publishing work happening that I am "chained" to my laptop working on it and once I am done for the day I do not feel like blogging - boring, I know.
The second reason is the Obsession of the title of this post. Many of my days (not all, I have been out and about doing a few other things, too - but they get in the way of blogging, as well - lol!) since getting back from Roma have been a bit like this:
5 am - get up and start work, work through to about lunchtime
Lunchtime - catch up with a friend (stitchy or otherwise) for lunch
Afternoon - stitch on my Obsession
Late afternoon - a bit more publishing work/cook dinner
Evenings - Obsession time again
So, what is this Obsession?, I hear you ask.
Well, a number of weeks back, I happened to pick up this Mill Hill Kit from my LNS, Lazy Daisy.
For some reason, it really 'spoke' to me, so despite having lots of other WIPs on the go and a number of stitching commitments, I began it and I tell you, I have not been able to put it down since!
I am using a gorgeous 25ct Wedgwood Lugana (sorry, for some reason it is looking a bit washed out in the pics) that I happened to have in my stash - it is a dream to stitch on - and now I am up to the beading. Oh, how I wish that my camera could catch the gleam and sparkle of the beads properly - it is looking so pretty already.
So, that is my confession about my Obsession.
I hope to have a finish by early next week - then Normal Transmission (ie blog posts) will resume, I hope.
Have a great weekend everyone,
I am off to take my Dear Sister 2 to the dentist to have two teeth extracted (one of them an impacted molar - ouch!) shortly but you all know what I would rather be doing! lol!
Well, it was with great sadness that TraderVic and I said goodbye to DS1 and DDIL. But all good things must come to an end and we have had to hit the road again to travel back to Brisbane to catch our flight home. This time, we are breaking up the trip with an overnight stay in Toowoomba - Australia's 16th largest city.
Now, I must apologise on two counts. One, there are no photos of DS1 but this is because he was teaching all week and so we spent most of our time with our DDIL. Two, no kitty cat photos on this post - so sorry!
My DDIL has taken to knitting with a passion, so much so that after only two nights after I taught her to knit she was trying to teach the daughter of one of her friends - lol!
But don't worry, we did manage to sneak in another cross stitch lesson and I have introduced her to the wonders of Flosstube for when she needs to look up how to do something - phew!
So, this morning, it was a last coffee in a cute, Melbourne-style cafe in Roma, The Queen's Beans.
Then it was time to hit the road, Jack, back along the Mad Max Highway to Toowoomba.
(We stopped for lunch in Chinchilla and the roadhouse had this cute heater)
Below is what we call a mountain in Australia - lol!
... and here is my stitchy progress on today's road trip.
