Oh Say It Isn't So

"Oh say it isn't so" is an old Irving Berlin song that went to number1 way back in 1932. As a young girl I grew up with this song being sung and whistled by my dear old daddy, and I can still hear him sing it, mostly that one line, slipping those bits of lyrics into a sentence in his clear tenor, holding the note on the word 'sayyy-' and sliding down the scale through the 'it isn't so" bit. I had no idea the lyrics were so sad! - the way he sang it I didn't even pick up on the song's meaning. I have just always associated it with my dad's cheerful singing.

But surprise, surprise, it's quite a mournful old ditty.

I've thought of this one line, heard his voice and remembered my daddy's good natured approach to, well, everything, so many times in the past months as an issue in our back yard has come to light, and demanded our attention and a 'whole lotta' resources! "Oh say it isn't so!"

Months and months of liaising with an engineering firm, seeking legal advice, considering options, trying to understand the engineering issues, deciphering PDFs of building codes and laws, jumping hoops and hurdles, the unfortunate presence of sewer lines, significant setbacks, contractor's quotes, trying to discern who best to work with, hemming and hawing, applying for approvals, waiting, worrying, waiting...AND FINALLY...

...we emptied our pool and were ready to begin. 

Our home sits high to a view of the hill country and there is a 2.5 meters drop to our rear neighbour. Not a problem unless your retaining walls fail. And ours have, critically.  With 225 cubic meters of earth to remove from our backyard (and store in great tall mounds on our front yard), and no access for heavy digging machinery, this became a job for...

...the good old shovel and spade, big guns, and a strong back and work ethic!

Yes, discouraging for our back pockets and for our contractor, was the realisation that this huge earthworks project would, by necessity, be carried out by hand, the old fashioned way.

We gathered the necessary bits and pieces...

Like portable facilities and construction fences, 

...and the earth began to move and shift with the aid of huge mine site conveyor belts which hauled our back yard to the front just as fast as the men shovelled.

Follow the conveyor trail with me...

Shovel load after shovel load later, the first of the 3 offending walls was unearthed.

You can see the brick wall beginning to show its ugly face!

And WELCOME to "Cole Ridge" (now I get to share some of Robert's clever names for different parts of this project. This first, is a play on words of our street name, Coleridge Place).

So much rock and rubble tipped us over into the category of a "hard dig", naturally, not part of our original quotation. "Oh say it isn't so".

These skip bins were delivered and then carted off at full capacity many times over.

There came the end of one particular work day, when the "Wailing Wall" (thank you Robert), now relieved of its' load, had one last evening to stand, albeit at a shocking 9degrees off vertical, before demolition. Although I have caught myself so many times feeling sorry for myself for being in this predicament, I am truly thankful that this wall did its job of bearing so much for so long. An avalanche of house, yard and pool onto the neighbour below, would not have been cool. "We'll bring the pool!" Umm, maybe not.

Down to bare bones we are here, thus a good time for a smoko. 

Here's a great shot of "The Money Pit" in all its' glory!

One day this was sitting at my front door...

...which was great because it meant the arrival of these enormous 200UB18 galvanised steel posts and their transfer, all 22 of them, from truck to yard.

I made myself scarce while these lengths were negotiated through our alley then over the brink and down into the pit.

Twenty two post holes were hand augered to a depth of 3.5 meters - down down down - 2 per day. Painstaking precision work, but I can't tell you much about those kinds of engineering specs- back slopes, levels, moment of inertia, surcharge loads, compaction density - but I believe it all leans inwards at 1.5 degrees off 90 and that this is quite purposeful. And I know that this job and scope of work is an unprecedented residential project. We are very special.

I was not game to negotiate the pool edge and ladder down into the pit to photograph those holes, but I wish I had asked the men to take a pic for me.

Eventually things began to look like this...

Today's progress looks like so...

Quite a fair way to go still, but coming along, and timed for a Christmas finish!??!

 It's a genuine tip all around our place. But without fail as I drive up the hill and approach our property, in its current state of chaos, or look out at that money pit, I am grateful- 

-for progress

-for a solution that although complicated is effective

-for the conservative caution of engineers because I know we are doing all the correct things

-for our contractor who has talked me down when upset, assured me and tried so hard not to disrupt our family during his work, and for his willingness to do the hard yards

-for the men working by the sweat of their brow in the Aussie sun. They turn up each day smiling and respectful and they take pride in their work

-for the encouragement and help of friends as I wade through this

-for my family's patience

-for Robert's logical advice and calm approach to life's setbacks 

-for my dad in my ear and my head

And last but not least, for God's provision and help!

Children are a Gift From the Lord

I have a very precious friend who makes it her aim to encourage me in countless ways. It has been a rough year for me, and she has been careful to prop me up time and again. It has been a big year for her as well, and so in my estimation, her care about me and care of me, is even more precious.

Early in the year, my friend, we'll call her "Charlotte", in an effort to affirm my gifts and provide me with some worthwhile work, gave me my first official quilt commission. Two in fact! She asked me to create cuddle rugs for newborns arriving in August and September. 

Charlotte has always praised my creativity. She makes me feel that my artistic flair is a remarkable aspect of, me! That it's a gift that translates into good for my family and others. During a time when I was questioning my own value, Charlotte wisely provided me with an opportunity to be my(valuable)self- to be my busy-hands, colour-loving, ticking-with-ideas, creative self. I can hear her say, "this is a season where you can be yourself". Ahhh, my clever Charlotte could see the connection between quilt commissions and a reworked self esteem.

So let me share a few photos, taken throughout this year, of the process of creating baby quilts, which started a lot of other good things too.

One of the many things I admire about Charlotte is that she operates in advance. (Such a bewildering concept!) So we began well in advance of those August and September due dates. This meant we didn't yet know if I was sewing for a boy or a girl, and I took the punt that one of each could work. We shopped for a pretty palate of softly-coloured, delicate prints for mystery baby #1. I decided to set these prints amongst crisp white triangles and used a pattern from one of my favourite designers, Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. (Each week I look forward to her progress posts with gorgeous photos and details of the new baby blankets Rita creates. She has surely made one client after another extremely delighted with their purchases!)

An aspect of patchwork that I avoid like the plague is quilting. I knew that I would need to overcome my reluctance to stitch through all the layers this instance. I have a new-to-me beautiful Janome that I believed would take some of the perceived sting out of the process. I've worked in the shop's workroom long enough to know the how-to's of prepping for quilting and I was careful to pin baste this puppy to within an inch of its' life!

I discovered the extremely gratifying outcome of the '6 (edited) p's of preparation' and how they relate to performance.

And, I established a respectful rapport with my new machine and its' dual feed built-in walking foot, learning early on that slow and slooower-er-er and very steady is the only way a new quilter should approach this task. Big tick✅, I have nicely machine quilted my first ever (tiny, mind you) piece! The 'nicely' bit is the imperative here, -I knew I could quilt it poorly, I didn't know I would quilt it well, and ENJOY THE PROCESS!

Ahhhh, that is where we leave this little candy-coated quilt for a princess, because, you see, the baby BOY, for whom I was sewing, as it turned out, would require something less dainty. Both boys would, in fact!

So, we moved on to this stack of ultra cool, urban looking prints. Isn't variety the spice of life? For me, the more prints, the merrier! And what could be better than starting a new project midstream? I have no problem with that, at all. Charlotte encouraged me to use my own design this time, and that's just more fun too, as far as I'm concerned. 

I focused on this dear little seagull in his yellow galoshes, and kept it so so simple. Sometimes, the straightforward just works. 

The 9-patch block I used is an old and basic utility block. The clever bit to this quilt is the way the colours jump and play around together, and the name we gave it, which we came up with together - "Puddle Jumper", after the yellow-booted birdy hopping round the blocks in his rain gear. And that's it. Simple, sweet. 

More happy time spent practising quilting!

(I love the 'Big Finish' of the royal blue stripe!)

And it was packaged up on time (but not early, never early, (so sorry Charlotte!)) for the dear little fellow that was prayed over throughout the process!

And boy, did that feel GOOD!

Little boy #2's rug proved a bit more painstaking in its' design inception, and required one, two, three do-overs. Do you know that sometimes, if it sees too much use, you must replace your seam ripper? Haha! I discovered this fact! A new, sharp, "un-picker" works wonders! 

After much debate during the design wall stage, and miles of reverse sewing, "Baby Gem" was finally finished! You can pray a lot for a youngster when you have to sew and pick and re-sew a few times over! It was my pleasure.

"Children are a gift from the Lord", Psalm 127 sings out. Charlotte asked me to include this promise somewhere on the quilt, and so stitched into the binding is this very testament. It's a tiny bit of print which packs a big message - God's good Word always does. It's a reminder that these boys are a promised blessing to their parents, of the Lord's generosity to us, all things coming from Him, and of His amazing, intricate, unique creations...each of us!

A Day Well Spent

Yesterday was full of good things! And I will be careful to chronicle its' events, first as eucharisteo; "to find the gifts and the grace in the moments of each day", but also, to act as a reference; grace and gifts stored, nudging out any foothold gained by a gloom that follows close, even the following day! "Count and Name your blessings" - years ago, a Rhode Island woman, Pixie Wright, held my hands and looked into my eyes as if to will into me this truth. I will never forget the impact of her words. So here goes the listing of yesterday's blessings:

Saturday morning began by packing up the car with many pretty props which I would use in my quilting presentation at a local Support Group called Flourish. At this point, I was a little nervous, being stretched beyond my comfort zone, (I've never considered public speaking to be my strength), yet keen and even anticipating the opportunity, confident that I had something worthwhile to share. Let me say, I wasn't certain I would communicate perfectly, but I was counting on my pretty quilt visuals to get me over the line. So I wrapped myself up in the tangible hug that a quilt can offer and set off, review and set-up logistics competing with tummy flutters and let's face it, that rushing/running-slightly-behind-schedule-yikes-feeling.

Flourish "is a support group for people who have a physical disability, disorder or chronic illness, or who have family members affected, or who work in the area of disability".
The meeting includes discussion time, small group interaction, 'compassion knowledge' and a segment which includes performing or creative arts. I gave a great deal of thought to what I would say about this hands-on topic, knowing that some in the group do not have the use of their hands. Honestly, I didn't end up with an answer to this, except that I wanted to inspire and encourage, and I prayed to this end. One of my first assurances upon arrival, was from the group's facilitator Jenny, who explained to me the therapeutic impact of a beautiful visual for a person suffering with a chronic condition. I hope I'm not oversimplifying it Jenny, but my interpretation of what you said, is that the stimulating visual can be a distraction from pain, it can be the something lovely to concentrate on in the midst of the difficult, it's like the pop of good to dwell on that can spark the series of positive thoughts...  What great motivation for creating an eye-catching display from my bank of quilts. Quietly, I offered up a prayer that my work could be a means, even during this next hour, of someone feeling encouraged or better off.

You can imagine my pleasure when at the end of the morning, the other guest speaker, school psychologist Chris, came to me and said that one of my quilts in her line of vision became the help she needed during her presentation. Chris was a beautiful communicator, passionate and inspiring, but she said she felt nervous (not apparent to the rest of us!) and kept referring to my (well Charlotte's)  'birds of a feather' quilt and this calmed her and gave her focus!

The morning unfolded with several more highlights. I met Sandra. Her eyes lit up with pride when she introduced herself as a fellow quilter. She told me of her quilting resume and I do believe her expertise far outshines mine. Her hands will no longer co-operate,and many projects now lay idle, mid-process. This is sad. But somehow in her telling, I sensed Sandra's pride that these unfinished quilts, rather than reflecting what she can no longer accomplish, are pure evidence of her wealth of creativity - the overflow of ideas that you have to put to fabric and stitches whether or not they ever become completed pieces.

I spent some time in a small discussion group with Marjorie, Gladys and May. Beautiful women walking hard paths but they encouraged me greatly. I have 2 new telephone numbers, how often does that happen? Crossing paths is never a coincidence.

Can you tell that in the midst of it all, I failed to take any photos? Well, only one in fact. 

This is Michael. I was drawn to his sweater vest instantly and hoped he'd understand 'what I'm on about'. And sure enough, he seemed enthused. He is a local mosaic artist, a Kaffe fan (Kaffe Fassett first began his career in the medium of mosaics and yarn) and Michael's vest is actually from a Kaffe pattern. No wonder it caught my eye. Michael's work is entirely commission based, and ALL his profits are sent to Africa for a project dear to his heart. 

I had hoped I wouldn't be asked any questions. ??? I guess because, I could prepare as much as I liked for my talk, but audience participation is an unknown. But, of course, the questions were welcomed and easily answered. Silly me. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my morning. I didn't see the rolling out of blessing coming my way but am thankful for it! 

It continued, once back at home, with a healthy lunch prepared by in-house nutritionist Anna, and a car ride where we shared that comfortable companionship and easy chit chat while enroute to Leah's Open Day. Miss Bird's year 6 classroom is alive with colour and creativity. She displayed her student's work and art everywhere and those children must have been so proud to present their efforts to their families and visitors. What a lovely rapport Leah enjoys with her colleagues and her students. I hope the flow of praise buoyed her up! 

What a great day! 

Thank you to Jenny for the opportunity to speak at Flourish - what a great kickstart to the day!

________________________________________________________________________________________

Did you know September 8th - 14th was Invisible Illness Week? I only learned of it yesterday morning.
Over 133 million people live with a chronic condition. In my own circle of family/loved ones/friends/acquaintances, I know people who bravely walk through each day with Lyme, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, chronic fatigue, addiction, anxiety, migraines, diabetes, insomnia, endometriosis, mental illness, cancer, eating disorders - their struggles and pain and symptoms largely hidden to others. 

Old Habits, and Getting Comfortable

The Birdie family has some nice, new sofas. 

Can you spot that sweet Labrador on the left in this photo? He feels displaced as he can no longer recline in his usual place-of-preference. (The old sofas) Poor baby.

For several days, Bower didn't know where to put himself! Giving credit to his intellect, he only had to be told once and then understood clearly that this new furniture was strictly NO PETS ALLOWED!

But the old fellow really didn't know what to do while hanging out with his pack in the living room! He would stand around and look at us pathetically, pace the room and whine unhappily. He stood through a few nights of "The Block", which made us all feel bad, and so, I took action - he now has a new beaut bed of his very own where he can join us in the lounge room in the kind of comfort to which he is accustomed!

We purchased another, smaller version for Bob, our cat, and you will notice it is unoccupied. Typically indifferent, Bob wouldn't venture near it, inspite of our efforts to lure him onto it with food treats, cuddles etc. (I will add though, that Bob had no problem hopping up on Bower's bigger bed. What!) 

So there was some hooting and clapping on the day when we found Bobby comfortably snuggled into his OWN bed, all relaxed and hanging with his doggie-pal.

Everyone is now happy and comfortable. 

Yes, very comfortable indeed- Here he is, busted, not just resting along the bottom of the bed, his other favourite spot, but nestled right up on my pillow! (The bedding is now out flapping in the breeze on the clothesline as I type this. ) 

Wonder Women Continued...

Let me set the scene...

We are at a beautiful retreat centre surrounded by WA bush and sunshine, 

And I was introducing you to some talented women with whom I was sharing a weekend of patchwork...

My blog posts are few and far between as it turns out. How that works in my favour in this instance, is now I can show you some progress pics! 

Do you remember Pat and her gorgeous appliqué blocks?

Well, her William Morris blocks now look like this!

And, she has stitched these teeny mini setting blocks for in between the rows, and has progressed with a gorgeous scalloped border. Beautiful!

I showed you this photo last time. Could you fathom that these pinwheels could evolve into this?:

Now seriously, the above represents such a great deal of effort, of time, of enjoyment! It's magnificent! Marg has worked on "Urban Owls" over the year, as a block of the month.  It is designed by Wendy Williams of Material Obsession in Sydney. 

Lizzy,... I would have to upload photo after photo to accurately record all she has sewn in between  blog posts, but her blue and cream heritage tumbling blocks that once spilled over the table, are complete, naturally, 

And her pleased-as-punch grin says it all!

But I have to show you a couple more of Lizzy's accomplishments:

Another Material Obsession design, this time by owner Kathy Doherty, and,

first to finish "Swoon" in her wildly eclectic style! I love it Liz!

Speaking of Swoon, a 9-block queen size quilt, made from big ol' friendly gal 24" blocks, has become a project that many of us are working on. I'll show you more of that later, in another post. In the meantime, Linda has stitched some pretty swoon blocks, 

So pretty! Now, I have said before that often people "match" their projects, which makes perfect sense since usually we wear clothing that we like, and we choose fabrics that we like. Linda, you and your swoon blocks are making a very pretty vignette!

Robin's swoon is kicking goals!

All Rob needs is sashing and borders and it's a wrap! 

Everyone was so delighted for Robin when she WON the raffle quilt made by the WA Quilter's Association! Robin is prolific. She knows every technical trick in the book for perfect, I mean PERFECT patchwork! She graciously and patiently shares her knowledge with the rest of us. I'm so happy that Robin received the blessing of this pretty win!

We come to these retreats with our boot-loads of patchwork essentials. We all have supplies we consider to be essential. I was fascinated with Pip's very fine collection of Gutermann threads. So pretty! How does she choose?

This next photo may mean absolutely NOTHING to you. But, if you know Blogger, and if you use Blogger on the iPad, you will understand that I have typed this entire post blindly, as for some unknown  reason, my alphabet keyboard is completely blank! Tonight I am thinking with fondness of my Grade 9 and 10 typing teacher who drilled into me the 8 finger alphabet keyboard. And then predictive text has helped as well. Whew! This has been a bit of a labour, and I've concentrated more on typing than on my narrative, so please excuse me if this is a little bland.