My, how time flies...

So... Gentle Readers, last Monday was the first anniversary of my Lovely Ma's death.  Blah.

 We went to the lovely Hunter Valley last weekend, and I gave myself a frozen shoulder by sewing a mazillion lavender bags...which MGF Kaz helped me stuff - we filled half a kilo's worth...

In other news, I have finally left the August Institution after five interesting years, putting travel, managing people and all the other managerial bullshit behind me.  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me, and I'm really enjoying being back in town, shopping, ducking and weaving through the pedestrians, and standing in a queue for a bus.  A bus!  Did I mention I'm not driving the 40kms each way to work any more?  A bus!!

This guy doesn't get a bus either.  

In other creative news, I made a cat. I hate cats.  I made it as a favour to one of my former colleagues... first and last time ever.  The dogs were easy - four parts.  The cat - 16 parts.  A complete pain in the ass.

But... a little cute, yes?

I made some Christmas reindeer, too...

This guy has already gone off to Singapore... and this guy... was a gift for the daughter of a colleague, somebody I've known for years and years, and who I've left behind at the August Institution.

And because I'm now working back in town, I can open my Etsy shop up to the big wide world again... the post office is 100 steps from my new building... 

And we saw this amazing sight last weekend:

Weird.

All pouched up & ready to go...

So they're done, finished, packed, sealed & waiting to be posted. I must admit to some indolence yesterday, I bought MWH the first series of Stargate Atlantis as a Valentines present (after both swearing and declaring that neither of us would buy gifts, of course, Valentines Day being up there with Mothers, Fathers, Ugly Sister and The Pumpkin Coach Association Day as simply opportunities for 'Greetings Card Manufacturers' to make money...) and then promptly sat down to watch it myself.

It's good, I have to say. I like the idea that they have access to interstellar ships which will fit through the gate (I could never work out why SG-1 didn't just rock up on quad bikes, y'know?), so they aren't stuck on their little rock, but can also explore the surrounding galaxy. I like the fact that the person in charge is a woman. I like the fact that the woman in the team is kick-ass tough, and her hair is that amazing colour, Titian. I like the fact that Dr Rodney McKay is Canadian and doesn't feel obliged to say "zee pee em" but can say "zed", like the rest of us in the English speaking world. That's 'UK-English' or 'Australian-English', or, in his case, 'Canadian-English'.

I like the fact that either J P Rowling or the makers of Stargate Atlantis borrowed the bad guy's hair from each other - maybe Draco Malfoy was a wraith in another life? Hmmm.

Anyway, I spent an inordinate amount of time watching TV yesterday, which is not really something I do normally, but hey, it was cold, raining and I was jet-lagged. That trip from Melbourne can be a stinker, y'know? More on that later.

But, in between episodes, I made these two, and yes, I know I said I was going to use up that blue & white swiss cotton, but it's a bit, oh, I don't know, dull. So I went Amy Butler instead. No dull there, that's for sure. Also, I found these on Etsy, and promptly bought them for my niece's upcoming birthday. Check out Angela's store, she has beautiful work (and the best thing - she lives right round the corner from me. Small world, huh?).

I also sent an item to the Etsy Down Under Street Team for inclusion in their OzBushfireAppeal shop - if you have some spare cash, please check these guys out & purchase something - all shipping is free & all proceeds go to the Australian Red Cross's Bushfire Appeal.

How can we help?

I've been very reluctant to post these past few days because I usually try to ignore what's going on outside, in the big world, because most of it is so horrible. Sometimes, however, things happen that you can't ignore, no matter how self-absorbed or disinterested you are. This is one of those times.

I've already made a monetary donation, in keeping with the fact that we make enough money for me to feed my obsession with yarn-related products (spun or woven, I'm not fussy) and to give us a very comfortable life. But my lovely defacto step-sister-in-law (got that?) sent me a very prescient powerpoint the other day, full of comments like "isn't it amazing how we're so asset-rich but time-poor"... anyway, fitting squarely into that category means that every time I sit down at the sewing machine, I'm doing something important, because of all the other things I leave undone (like ironing, cleaning, darning ), for example. Does anybody darn anymore?.... So, making something for the Bushfire victims means that donation has a lot more worth than the money I've already given.

And, as is often the way, my mother was the source of this good idea - she belongs to a patchwork group, in a community group run by the Baptist Church, on the other side of the country. Now, Mum and I are both atheists of the completely sceptical kind, but I have a sneaking admiration for these ladies - they charge a fee to attend their group, classes, quilt show etc etc & the money raised goes to buy sewing machines for women in India who would otherwise be destitute, enabling these women to earn a living by sewing. I think that's the kind of work that anybody interested in practical help for the underprivileged would approve of.

So, these guys are putting some care packages together for the Bushfire victims, and Mum has asked me for a Toilette Bag, for her to fill with the really useful things you don't miss until you don't have them - nail file, nail clippers, little scissors, sewing thread, needles, that kind of thing. So I will be making two today, one from her & one from me, and I will be using these:

Weather thou goest...

Hot. Too hot. Too horrible to comment. Roll on July.

How do you go about your normal routine in the face of something like this? I was going to write a buzzy, chirpy page about all the sewing I did today on my new machine and I just can't do it, it's like singing "Nearer My God to Thee" as the boat goes down. Some stern words about people denying the effects of global warming on our planet are appropriate here, but that isn't going to bring back the people who've lost their lives down in Victoria.

Anyway, pictures of the day's work follow... hopefully the southerly tonight will bring some rain...