A Taste of Early Spring!

There hasn't been a lot of sewing happening lately but I have certainly been busy!  We've had a wonderful taste of early Spring this past couple of weeks here on the North Coast so being outdoors has been a must!

I have been keeping up with my CW blocks however!

#30 Peterson's Stars & Stripes.  Because my applique skills are not to my liking I decided to modify this block and used a pieced star instead at 5 1/2" x  5 1/2" and added a sort of strippy border fabric.   Matching up those seams was a bit of challenge and I see they are not sitting exactly on the line!

#31 Empty Spools.  Now this block I'm definitely not happy with!!!  Way too much open space!  The dimensions of this block don't seem to fit with the others so I'm going to do another one, only thing is I can't decide which one of three alternatives I have played with on EQ to actually make.  I'd better make up my mind before the next block is due this coming weekend LOL!!!!

As I've said we've had an early taste of Spring weather here and it's just been too wonderful to stay inside.  I decided to do some yard work/gardening/pruning but my old wheelbarrow has really seen better days!  afterall it is 20yrs old, so off to the local hardware store to buy a new one!   There was a bit of choice, didn't want the tray to be too shallow, but not too deep either, and who would have thought you could buy a flat-pack!!!   A wheelbarrow you could assemble yourself!!  Never seen the likes of it!!! but the price was good and the style was what I was after!   So I spent an afternoon assembling my new wheelbarrow!!!

From this to this!!!!

Isn't that amazing!!!  It took a couple of hours, and yes I did have some masculine helpLOL!!!  it was a rather awkward thing to put together, but I'm as pleased as I can be, and with a new pitchfork too, I was about to get very dangerous in the garden LOL!!!!

After a couple of days working to get the garden looking halfway decent before Spring really sets in a girl has to have a bit of fun!!!  Right!!!

This comes in the form of a vintage car, a trip down the highway, lunch in a cute little village and of course a visit to a quilt shop - where a purchase or two just had to be made LOL!!!!

This is another of my special vintage girls!  No she doesn't sew a stitch but she sure dak-daks along very well!!!  I've had this little gem for 33 years!!!  This 1970 1500S beetle has done a lot of miles, been to the outback and up and down the east coast of Australia without much trouble at all.  She's also had a bit of cosmetic surgery, a nip & tick here and there!   I mean a girl has to be able to grow old with grace and style!!!!  Nowadays her life is more leisurely and she only gets taken out on sunny days just for the fun of it!!!!  

With a friend we headed south on the Pacific Highway to a delightful little riverside village called Maclean.

Found a great park in the shade!  Inside the large building on the right with the verandahs is actually a modern supermarket.  You'd never know!  It really is about keeping the visual integrity of the this quaint historical village!

Another beautiful old builidng!

Around the corner and the main street!

Maclean was founded by Scottish farming settlers in 1862.  They established several sugar mills in the area and a nearby mill at Harwood is the oldest operating sugar mill in Australia.  The area also supports fishing and farming. 

Maclean is called 'The Scottish Town in Australia' and many street signs are written in Gaelic as well as English.  Australia's oldest Free Presbyterian Church still holds services for the descendants of the early settlers.  There is also a large Scottish cairn constructed from rocks from around Australia and Scotland in a Memorial Park, overlooking the Clarence river.

There is a cute little nursery!!

Some of the old builings are just wonderful, but I think this Hotel needs a new iron roof!!!!

Most if not all the large electricity poles have a different tartan pattern painted on them. 

There is just one small quilt shop in Maclean, they supply all craft needs and I did make a small purchase.
Because I was a happy-camper that day, I bought this gorgeous little charm pack and a couple of stitch cutters glued into wooden handles.  The handles are handcrafted by a local man who uses native timbers.  These ones are Myrtle and Leatherwood.   I will make a small lapsize quilt from the Charms for my Red Beast!!!!  I'll drape it over the back seat!

After a good coffee and lunch we meandered around the village and visited a couple of second-hand/collectable shops.  Next post I will show you what I managed to find!!!

The next few pictures show the drive home, along the cane farms, where harvesting is currently happening and the sugar mill in full swing at Broadwater!  

The wattle trees are in full bloom too at this time of year and are wonderful to see along the side of the highway!!

I also had a birthday this past week as well, and I received a lovely package from a dear quilty friend!!!!
A wonderful variety to add to my stash!!!   Thankyou Sharon!

This has been a long post, but I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my local area.   We had a wonderful day out and the Bug got a good run as the round trip to Maclean was approximately 150 miles (in the old money!) which is around 240 klms.

Will be catching up with my Quiltbee group tomorrow, so today I'll see if I can't get some sewing time in!
Thanks for dropping by, and keep those sewing fingers busy!!!

Take it easy!
Merilyn