Friendship Block - Heart Tutorial

Recently my sewing group made friendship blocks for a quilt for a sick member. Hearts (floral) was chosen as the theme and we could do what we wanted on a cream background. I decided to do a postage stamp patchwork heart and constructed my fabric using 1.5 inch squares.

I traced my heart shape on to light-weight non-fusible interfacing and placed it on top of the constructed fabric. I then sewed completely around on the line. I trimmed the block to 1/4 inch seam allowance, cut a small slit in the interfacing, and turned the heart right way out. I 'smoothed' the edges with a blunt chopstick.

I then trimmed away the excess interfacing behind the block to reduce bulk.

Here is my completed heart with beautiful smooth edges.

I machine appliquéd the heart to my cream background. I used a blind hem stitch.

We all got our blocks done very quickly and the quilt has since been finished. I hope to be able to get photos of the other blocks and the completed quilt. If and when I do, I will show you. It's a very lovely quilt for a very lovely lady.

The Last Holiday Post

Our young friend had a birthday the day before we got home.

The young man in the middle turned 8.

We knew we were getting closer to home when we got to Widgiemooltha.

They had great coffee (very important with all that driving).

Not far to go now. The grass was greener as we neared 'civilisation'.

In total we travelled 6,657 kms.

We had a great adventure and would love to do it all again sometime -

but next time with warmer nights!

Back to WA

Ceduna, South Australia.

The South Australia/Western Australia border.

The "Big Galah" was at Kimba SA.

Apparently this is the point that is half-way across Australia.

Eucla, Western Australia.

The Southern Ocean is home to many whales and it's a big part of the tourism industry.

Note that sections of the road are designated emergency airstrips for the

Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Sadly, they do get used from time to time.

Woomera

After Coober Pedy we managed a quick stop at Woomera.

Originally a defense weapons research and testing facility, Woomera is now a sleepy village for tourists, although some of the facility is still used for defense and private purposes.

We covered a lot of road.

In the distance is the Flinders Range, South Australia.

Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy is an amazing place. It's dry, dusty and feels like how I imagine an American Old West town would feel. It felt 'frontier' and on the edge of civilisation. And while there were structures and homes above ground - anywhere you could see a ventilation pipe sticking out of the ground you knew someone lived underneath.

The underground church. Acoustics were great and a nice temperature.

I especially like the lectern.

This is a private residence opened for us to see. It costs $5 per person and was well worth it. It was built by a woman and her two girlfriends in the 1960's. Faye certainly sounds like a very interesting woman.

I have only a few more photos to sort through and will post them when I'm organised.

In the meantime I hope to generate something quilty!

Alice Springs Assorted

The trans-continental passenger train, The Ghan, was in the Alice Springs station. A kind employee got permission to give us a quick tour. Shaun definitely wanted to travel in style.

We visited the School of the Air. Children living in remote locations attend school via computer and satellite internet. They used to be taught by pedal-powered radio.

Some years ago the kids made a quilt.

And one of metal.

A few random photos. Mr Fixit is sitting in the cockpit of a display plane at the Royal Flying Doctor Service visitors' centre. Shaun is sitting on the quarantine bin for South Australia. I tired to get a picture of a road train. Needed a panorama camera I think. Massive things. Green tree frog just hanging around. And Mr Fixit assessing possible damage.

Footprints & Signs

Emu and goanna? Me?

Do they get points for trying?

Uluru (Ayer's Rock)

Shaun had his little climb while I enjoyed the amazing scenery of the Mala Walk at the base of Uluru.

Mr Fixit elected to climb the rock - a childhood dream fulfilled.

Sunset viewing of Uluru.

More of this...

Lasseter's Cave

Lasseter was an explorer who perished when his camels bolted and left him without food or water. He claimed to have found a fabulous reef of gold years before then perished when he returned to look for it. But that's not all of the story. Some claim he was a conman who convinced people to fund his expedition to re-find this gold, then faked his death and took off with the money. In any event, it's part of the Australian folklore and we definitely had to have a look since we were right there anyway! Shaun certainly had fun...

You can see the cave was quite small and shallow.

Dry river beds have a certain beauty.

If it had rained we would have been totally stuck in the mud.

A Little Look...

This is a little look at the Superpit and Kalgoorlie.

They turned the statue of Paddy Hannan in to a drinking fountain.

This is our campsite in the bush outside Laverton and then the roadhouse at Tjukayirla.

This is the Giles Weather Station. Very very cool.

It was great to see the weather balloon and how it was all done.

And of course we saw lots and lots of this.

More to come.

This post is dedicated to Helen (no blog).

She is encouraging me to get back online.

Lasseter's Cave