Yes I know it has been awhile since I last posted to this blog. Life has a knack of getting in the way sometime. The most exciting thing happened just before Proston showday. Phil the woodchopping builder decided he just had to come for the show and install an upstairs shower in the bathroom for us. I think his wife also enjoyed spending our money on all the fittings. She certainly does a good job for her clients. This first photo is of the existing wall in the very corner of the house. Perfect spot for a shower don't you think.
After a few hours of measuring, cutting holes in the tongue and groove, packing to make it all square , we then had a shower base on the floor and slots for some taps.
A few more hours went by and the adhesive applied , the plastic backing installed, then the figuring out of the doors and hey presto, we now have a corner unit shower. The photo is a bit distorted due to the small space. 3 days later the plumber turned up and installed some new pipes downstairs. Came back 2 days later and it was finally functional. No more showers downstairs with the toads and the breeze coming under the wall.
The door opens into the middle of the room. The next thing to purchase will probably be some sort of blind for the window. The electrician is supposed to be coming back and installing a ventilation unit sometime. I bought a small heater to take the chill off the air in winter.
Sewing wise I went to Yeppoon and spent a weekend teaching kaliedoscopes in March. The girls were busy as usual. I then spent a lot of time preparing for my venture to Coffs Harbour in NSW for 2 workshops with one of my quilting heroes Hollis Chatelain. If you google her you will see her Precious Water quilt. This was the first quilt of hers I ever saw in a magazine. I would love to see it in real life.Another quilt of hers I love is the one with Desmond Tutu with the african children in it.She dye paints then quilts. Her idea of quilting is YOU MUST SEE THE THREAD. Some of her quilts are just a dye painted background with the images constructed solely from thread.
I spent a day learning to paint with dye, I think I did well considering I have not painted pictures since Primary School. It is certainly a different medium to work with.
The second day was a huge discussion on threads, quilting and design. I would now love to join her 10 year class, where you go once a year and learn from the design up. Hope the dollar stays high so I might get there for the colour class.
Just to show it was not a dream, here is a photo of me and my teacher, standing in front of her
"The Gift " quilt. The stitching is awesome, photos do not do it justice. The quilt is about a philipino girl working on a cruise ship ( that Hollis was on ) as a masseur and she had to send all her earnings home to her family. Hollis could feel the tension in her and said she had an amazing rapport with her and ended up making a quilt from the experience.
I managed to bring home my 2 artists palettes with my leftover dye paints in and now have 3 small dye paintings to wash out in synthrapol after curing. Off to patchwork again tomorrow. I need a bit of a break from the work routine as I have been involved in too many "Massive Blood Transfusions" lately, with some not good outcomes happening.
Will try too post a bit more frequently also. The next renovation work is replacing the windows at the back and installing the second wood heater. I had to remind the tradespeople AGAIN today for the quotes.
This is the northern wall of the kitchen/dining area. Looks a forlorn sight on a very cold windy morning, a wood heater waiting patiently for the plumber to come along and install it. After numerous phone calls waiting for a quote to arrive, I suggested to the dear man about the house, how about he make another phone call. He dutifully did and hey presto, NO QUOTE , BUT WE'LL BE OUT TOMORROW TO INSTALL IT!!!!!!
