As I was trying to work out where I should draw colour inspiration for today’s post from, nature volunteered. This was tonight’s sunset, as seen from our back patio. The colours were brief, but some of the very best we’ve had since we moved here.
Good timing, Mother Nature. Just glorious, thank you!
Pinks, yellows and oranges and last minutes on the Lunarcy too
Progress continues on the Lunarcy quilt this week. I now have a Pig block to go with the Rat block from last week. I only finished the pig appliqué this afternoon, getting photos just before the sunlight disappeared in that blaze of glory.
Including the weeds. This week we have been madly helping out with weed control around the Arkaroola village. It’s a crucial few days where the weeds are big enough to easily identify amongst all the beneficial plants, but haven’t started dropping seed yet. The window of opportunity is short, and for the Bindii is almost shut already.
Between that, and schooling, I have still managed a little sightseeing and a little sewing. It helps that we had a public holiday yesterday to get a few things done. I’ve got all my Lunar New Year animal appliqués cut out. And a flimsy sewn, ready to put them on.
And apart from the one, lonely boatman bug next to the frog in our colour board, there are no creepy crawlies in this week’s post. You might not have guessed it from last week, but there is actually a bit more to the Outback than bugs and flies!
I know this can happen anywhere, but it seems to me that Arkaroola is in the grip of some strange sort of time warp phenomenon thingy. I work really hard, do and see so many things and yet time stands still. Nothing changes, every day is the same. But then I find that the calendar has skipped an entire month….. and everything has changed while I was looking but not noticing. And it still feels like no time has passed….
But it must have, because I have finally done some sewing. Lunarcy is coming your way very soon! If I don’t go batty first from the flies first, that is ….. yuck!
I have been into the Australian Outback many times in the last 20 years, but this unique environment never fails to amaze me. It is resilient and diverse, and just because everything is bone dry, it doesn’t mean that everything is dead. On the contrary – when the conditions are right…… BAM! Life emerges from places and in forms you wouldn’t believe! Two nights ago I saw what looked like an ant that was only about 1/4 inch long, but with an antennae over an inch in length. It was investigating around about itself in an action very much like a blind person using a white cane. Curious company in the ladies’ room here, that’s for sure!
Anyway, you’ll hopefully remember that drought-stricken Arkaroola, where I currently live, received a large amount of rain about 3 weeks ago. Not enough to break the drought, but enough for a reprieve. And while I was disappointed not to be here when it fell, the runner-up’s prize is being able to stay here long enough to see the landscape respond to the water that fell, before the dryness resumes. Let me show you some of the interesting things that are appearing.
And then, I can show you, I’ve also added water to my new Island Batik fabrics. They are all washed and ironed, and poised to start on our Lunarcy New Year Quilt prototype. Here’s hoping that BAM! – that quilt top will appear quite quickly now that those conditions are right too!
Hoping to be past the dramas and back to sewing soon
Sorry that I missed you last Tuesday. We were on the road and it all got too hard in the end….. as you will find out shortly(!). It’s taken three attempts since School Induction week for us to make it back to Arkaroola, but third time’s the charm! We have been here for a week now, and almost settled into a routine. Not the routine that I think is sustainable for the year, but a routine nonetheless. Regular food, laundry, ablutions, schooling and sleep. Now to sneak in blogging and sewing somewhere! And perhaps some exercise……
But mostly the blogging and sewing. Because……. my fabrics for our new BOM have arrived from Island Batik. Yay! Yup, fabrics from the other side of the world only took a week longer to get here than I did! That’s how much trouble we’ve had!
Let me tell you about our latest adventures….. and my new glorious Island Batik fabrics! And then you can tell me what you’ve been up to at our (usually) weekly party. Fingers crossed that life is more predictable for a while and the Chameleon can get back to regular creating and partying.
