Australia: wombats and wallabies, kangaroos and koalas, quokkas and quilts

We returned from our two-week trip to Australia last Monday.  Jet lag from the return trip affected both of us the rest of the week. I left early Friday morning to go to Springfield for the P.E.O. state convention and got back at 6:00 last night.  Now it's Monday morning, June 2.  I hope this week will be more routine.

On to the travelogue.  In one word, it was WONDERFUL.

The  Magpies, the online quilting group I've been part of since 1997, have an in-person meet up every other year.  The Australians have come to the U.S. several times and they declared it was our turn to visit them this year.  A quilt and craft expo in Perth (May 21-24) provided a focus.  There were five U.S. 'Pies, three husbands, and a daughter (plus a sister and brother-in-law who have lived in Australia for many years).  Each of us made independent travel plans before and after meeting in Perth. 

This was the longest and most involved non-Road Scholar trip we've taken. An Alpha Gam sister is a travel agent in a neighboring town. She was very helpful in getting our flights and arranging for side trips.  We decided on three days in Sydney, three days in Melbourne, and five days in Perth. 

We understand now why people take three or four weeks to tour Australia. Not only is there a lot to see but it also takes a long time to get there (and return).  The LAX to SYD leg is 12-1/2 hours (preceded by 4 hours from ORD to LAX). 

In Sydney we stayed at the Sydney Harbour Marriott. It two blocks from Circular Quay (where the ferry boats dock) and in walking distance to the Opera House and other center city attractions.
Thursday, May 15:
*Museum of Sydney, the historical museum, which gave us a refresher about Australian settlement. The special exhibit was about Chinese immigrants. I had forgotten about Australia's 70-year policy of "whites only," which excluded non-Europeans from immigrating. (The Asians already there could stay.)
* Sydney Aquarium -- we went there because it was closer than the Maritime Museum. We had such a wonderful time at the Quebec Aquarium in December and we were not as impressed by this aquarium.

Friday, May 16:
* In the morning we took the ferry to Manly -- the end of the line on the east side. Manly is a beach town. Though May in Australia is November in the U.S., the water was warm enough to wade in!
* In the afternoon we had a bus tour of Sydney provided by AAT Kings (like Grayline). That gave us a good idea of neighborhoods and historic sites.

Saturday, May 17:
* Sydney Opera House tour at 10 a.m.  They're really good at tours--online booking, two groups per hour, lavalier radio receivers so everyone can hear the guide. The building is distinctive outside and in.

***Walking back along the quay toward our hotel I met a librarian friend from Kentucky! 
* We took the ferry to Parramatta -- the end of the line on the west side. We had lunch and walked around the downtown. (Parramatta was a small town west of Sydney that is now a suburb.)
 * We returned to the Opera House at 8 p.m. to hear the Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform Mendelssohn's Elijah.  There were 100 instrumentalists and 200 vocalists. (We purchased discounted tickets after the morning tour.)  It was splendid!

Opera house after the concert

Sunday, May 18:
We had a mid-morning flight from Sydney to Melbourne and arrived at the hotel about 1 p.m. We stayed at the Crown Promenade. The travel agent booked it and I learned a lesson: look it up.  The Crown is part of a big casino complex but moreover it is across the river from downtown. We were able to walk downtown, but we'd have preferred staying in one of the downtown hotels.

Stevens had a meetup!   Norman Young was the youth fellowship leader at the Summit Methodist Church when Stevens was in high school.  Norman returned home to Melbourne after he received his PhD. from Drew.   Stevens had not had any subsequent contact, but a Google search found Norman in connection with the theological college in Melbourne.  Norman came to our hotel and we had a lovely chat. He remembered the Hilyards and many other people from that congregation.

Monday, May 19:  

Captain Cook's cottage

We met Magpie friend Katie and husband Monty (who also stayed at the Crown Promenade) and Magpie Carolyn (at another hotel) for a half-day AAT Kings tour of Melbourne.  We especially liked the stop at the Botanical Garden. After lunch Stevens and I took the tram (trolley bus) around the downtown loop.  

We all had dinner in Chinatown with Elizabeth, another Magpie who lives in Melbourne. (With four former librarians  (Katie, Elizabeth, Stevens, and me) at the table our conversation turned to wacky reference questions we had fielded.)

Tuesday, May 20:

Black wallaby

I was about 10 feet away

Katie, Monty, Carolyn, and we got on yet another bus at 11 a.m.  Destination: Phillip Island. Our tour guide, Nikki, was very enthusiastic and energetic.  We had a bush tucker lunch at Rhyll Farm. (Bush tucker is native food, and we had a garden walk to see the plants.) We stopped at the koala conservation centre and had our first glimpse of these cute marsupials. The conservation centre has boardwalks so that you can see the koalas at eye level (they spend their time high in the eucalyptus trees). We also saw wallabies and heard kookaburras. 

commercial image from the webiste (rotated)

But the goal of the trip was to see the penguins!  Little penguins are 10" tall and are the smallest of the 17 penguin species.  Thousands of them live at Phillip Island. They spend their days at sea and return to their hillside burrows at dusk.  Watching them come ashore has become a great tourist attraction.  (More info here .) We had trail-side bleacher seats!  [Photography is not allowed;the paths have special lighting that doesn't scare the penguins but allows people to watch them.] 

Wednesday, May 20:  up early for our flight to Perth.  It's two time zones and 2,100 miles from Melbourne to Perth. The flight path is mostly over water (the Great Australian Bight).
Terri was at the airport to meet us and take us to the All-Suites Hotel downtown.  All the Magpies gathered that evening:  Katie and Monty (Nebraska), Carolyn (Texas), MJ and daughter Rachel (Texas), Jean and Blaine (Virginia), Sylvia and Ray (Monty's sister and brother-in-law, who live in Brisbane), our hosts Terri and Gilly who live outside Perth, and us.



With Bub the Wombat

Thursday, May 21:   We had a wonderful afternoon at the Caversham Wildlife Park!  We posed with Bub the Wombat, got to stroke a koala's fur, and fed the kangaroos. (There were dozens of kangaroos and large bins with kibble for people to feed to them. A kangaroo's face is sort of like a rabbit, with a delicate, little mouth. The fur is heavy but soft.)










There were exotic and less-exotic birds.
 

 I don't rmember what this carnivore is, but I know it's a marsupial.










Friday, May 22:   the Magpies headed to the Quilt and Craft Fair at the Perth Convention Centre.  (The men were on their own for the day. :))  It was very much like the Orginal Sewing and Quilt Expo -- some quilts but also fashion sewing and, in the case of the Perth event, a lot of papercrafts.  I will post quilt pictures in the next blog post.

Anchors outside the museum

 Saturday, May 23: Terry and Gilly took us to Fremantle on the coast. It's the port at the mouth of the Swan River. (Perth is upstream.)  

The weather turned squally (brief but intense showers). We were glad to be inside the Shipwreck Museum.




kite surfers

the Magpie group portrait

Sunday, May 24:  Stevens and I took the ferry from Perth to    Rottnest Island . It is 11 miles offshore and has become a popular day trip destination.  Only service vehicles, including tour buses, are allowed; no private autos. We took a bus tour from one end of the island to the other. It was a windy day and the scenery was wonderful!   Quokkas are Rottnest's indiginous marsupials. The early Dutch explorers (about whom we learned a lot at the shipwreck museum) mistook them for rats, hence the island's name.  They are naturally nocturnal but they know that people will feed them!  

They put their tails forward when they sleep

Blurry because he wanted the food I offered!



Moreton Bay Fig on Rottnes

West end of Rottnest

We returned from Rottnest in time to join the group at Gilly's house for a final dinner. Gilly's husband Bill  and Terri's husband Jeff and son Matt joined us.  Terri took us to the airport at 9:30 p.m. -- in time for our 12:05 a.m. departure for Sydney.  We arrived in Sydney at 7:30 a.m. and departed for Los Angeles at 10:30 a.m. *That* was the grueling flight. We arrived in LA in the morning -- still Monday, since we crossed the dateline.  One more flight from LA to O'Hare -- and we walked in our front door at 6 p.m.

.50, .20, .10, .05 and $2, $1

Observations:  
* Sydney is like Toronto (British heritage/Queen Victoria) with San Diego climate.  Melbourne is like Chicago with San Antonio climate.  I haven't figured out what Perth compares to.
* I got used to seeing right-hand drive, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to try it.  Australian cars are like U.S. models (same brands).
* So many products were similar or the same, from food to clothing, furniture to books. 
* Many chain restraurants were U.S. franchises: KFC, McDonalds, Subway, 7-11.  We shopped for groceries at the Perth downtown IGA.
* People were friendly and willing to provide directions.
* There were many white Americans, few black or Hispanic Americans.

There was so much we didn't see.  I anticipate a return trip!

What to do, instead

"Every quilt tells a story" was going to be the topic of my program for last evening's Arlington Heights AAUW branch.   I had three boxes of quilts in my car and my presentation ready to go.  The weather report was dire: strong winds, hail, 1-2" of rain, due to hit Chicagoland at 7 p.m.   Arlington Heights is 45 miles from here and I did not want to be on the road in the rain (especially returning home after dark).  So at 3 p.m. -- the sun shining brightly -- I called to cancel.  I'm glad I did because just as predicted the clouds rolled in and the heavens opened. 

What to do with a free evening?  Need you ask? 

Here is the completed Rail Fence Batik flimsy (the "half a flimsy" that I showed yesterday).   I decided against perimeter sashing. The border strips are cut cross-wise, but I was able to match the colors so that the design looks continuous. (I had 1-1/2 yards of that multicolor batik. Usually I buy yards or half-yards -- glad that I made an exception this time, even if I don't remember why. )  The flimsy is 80 x 80 and used approximately 6 yards from stash.   

I will reschedule the Arlington Heights program for fall! 

I won!

Look what UPS delivered today.   I entered Quiltmaker's giveaway for the release of the 9th issue in their "100 blocks" series. In addition to the magazine there's a jelly roll from the Garden Joy line by Clothworks.

Thank you, Quiltmaker!

DWM: a flimsy and a half



The Block Swappers have a quarterly swap of 3.5" nine-patches.  When I sent a batch of 60 off for the May exchange I realized that I have a box full of these cute little blocks. I put some up on the design wall and here's a new flimsy! 

i made a similar quilt a couple of years ago (here) The new flimsy uses the same blue-gray checked fabric --in fact, I didn't have enough of it which is why the setting triangles are red. The border fabric has little red cherries.   [68 x 74]






Here is the half-a-flimsy.

I had a box of 1.5 x 7 batik strips left from the piano key border on Lulu's Baskets .  I sewed them into 6's and trimmed them to 6.5" blocks.  A photo in a quilt magazine gave me the idea for the sashing. I may add sashing/cornerstones around the perimeter, or I may just add a border. I like the low-contrast effect.









More fabric!  These are gifts from library staff and trustees (from the party Saturday).  4-1/2 yards.  I think I've replenished the purple stash.

  

We leave for Australia tomorrow! Even the plastic portfolio that I use to carry itinerary is green  [The hand-sewing hexies are in little AAUW tote.]

See what's other quiltmakers' design walls at  Judy's Patchwork Times.


Happy trails! and a quilt for me

nametags

The public reception was last week -- and the staff party was yesterday!  We'd had Mexican and Italian and Asian menus at other library parties. I chose barbeque. The library staff includes a lot of ace party planners and they had great fun with a nouveau western theme -- keeping my favorite colors of purple and lime. 

Purple and green bandannas were folded around the boot cutout with silverware tucked inside.

Here is the link to more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10152385878547349.1073741885.29373207348&type=1

And here's my quilt! The staff and the trustees signed quilt blocks. Barb set and quilted them. Look at the border fabric!  

On Friday afternoon I finished writing 43 thank you notes. I have some more writing to do this afternoon! (These gift bags have fat quarters, real quarters, a scrapbook for our travel photos, picnicware, and more wonderful, thoughtful gifts.)

 

Maximum capacity

"I have about ten boxes of fabric to give away. Can your guild use it?" wrote Dolly P. in an email message addressed to the  Northern Lake County Quilters Guild .  I get the "info @" messages because I am guild president. I wrote back saying yes.  I drove to Dolly's house on Tuesday.  (I thought that I could put it on the giveaway table at Wednesday's guild meeting.)

Dolly's garage was lined with neatly-packed boxes of fabric and a couple of dozen bolts. She explained that her grandchildren are coming to live with her and her husband so she will no longer have a sewing room. She had considered selling it, but she didn't have the time.  

 We *filled* my CRV. I estimate that the load was 1500 yards!

(The picture was taken after I took the boxes out of the front seat.)

As I drove home -- carefully, because the boxes in the back of the car obscured rear vision and the boxes in the passenger seat obscured the right side mirror -- I realized that I couldn't take it to the guild meeting.  We had a speaker scheduled, and knew from experience that the fabric would distract the audience from the presentation. (That happened last fall.  We had a big giveaway and the speakers were not pleased.) I wondered where I could all this fabric until the guild schedule was more favorable.  Eureka! My buddy Irene has a large studio (see it here).  She lives en route to my house, and thank heavens she was home at 5 p.m. when I pulled into her driveway.  She took one look at the cargo and said she'd give it a good home. 

(We are going to take Dolly's fabric to the July guild meeting, which is our annual ice cream social. The program is "schoolhouse," where members give short lessons on techniques. We will sell the fabric, at $2/yd. The proceeds will go to Karen Musgrave -- who gave the program at the NLCGQ meeting this week -- for her cultural exchange project.)

The notecards are here!

The envelopes have the notecard image

In all the rush of activity last week I didn't get to post this news.  The AAUW notecards have arrived!

Like many organizations, AAUW sends packages of notecards to members and would-be supporters.  Though postal regulations state that the recipient is under no obligation to pay for or return unsolicited merchandise, evidently such solicitations make enough money so that organizations keep doing it. 



Disappearing Four-Patch

Rather than reproducing famous paintings or publishing landscape photos, AAUW invites members to enter pictures of their original artwork. Any medium is welcome.  The pictures are posted on the AAUW website. Members can vote for up to six, once a week, from February 1-28.  The six top vote-getters become the notecards for the year. 

It's partly a matter of good art, and it's partly a matter of getting members to vote for your entry.  I entered two quilts:  Disappearing Four-Patch, a 30 x 20 wallhanging I made in 2012, and Dot's Enough, a lap quilt I made in 2010.   I put the pictures on my Facebook page, on the Waukegan Area Branch Facebook page, and on the AAUW-IL Facebook page. I emailed Illinois branch presidents and asked them to tell their members.   Disappearing Four-Patch won! 

The back of the notecard

Cards are distributed only through the fundraising program. They are not available individually, though I was told I'll get a package of two dozen of my card. (As of this writing I haven't gotten them yet.)   If you are on the mailing list and get a packet of cards, I hope you'll send a check to AAUW Funds.  You'll help break through barriers for all women and girls!

P.S. Here's my other entry. 



Dot's Enough! (2010)

Today's bargains

I needed to get a couple of greeting cards at the Hallmark store. I had a $2.00 rewards card coupon. It would have come in handy had it been with me rather than left on my desk at home. I bought the cards anyway. 

Then I went next door to the Salvation Army.  As I browsed among the women's clothing (you never know; there might be something nearly new and just the right size) a woman holding three sweaters said, "Can I ask you a question?"  It goes to show that even retired librarians have "ask me" invisibly tattooed on their foreheads. She wasn't asking a reference question, though; rather, she wanted to know which of the sweaters was the best color for her. I said, "You're a winter, so this is the best," pointing to the grey-taupe one (rather than the others which had yellower tints to beige). She understood just what I mean by "winter."  Do you remember when Color Me Beautiful was all the rage?  Skin tones and hair/eye colors were sorted by "season." Palettes for clothing, makeup, and jewelry were recommended for each season.  (For years I didn't wear anything black because I'm a "summer" and summers don't wear black.  Even now I won't wear anything black near my face. (Well, my wonderful winter hat is an exception.))  The woman explained that she buys sweaters, unravels them, and re-crochets them. She said, "I got a book from the library that show how to do it."

Our paths crossed a couple more times while we were shopping. I was able to show her what I picked off the textiles rack.  "See the batik?" I said. She admired it.

Here's what I got for $5.75.  The batik is on the left; then a yard, a FQ, and a 14" piece, and a never-used cashmere/silk shawl. In the back is a tablecloth made out of Provencal cotton.

 At home I unfolded the batik and looked at it closely. The sticker and the stamp mean it's genuine, all right.  See the narrow hem (just above the Batik Tjap stamp)? I suspected what it was and when I measured it -- 41 x 84 -- I knew.  it's a sarong. This one was never worn. I guess it was a souvenir.

 

Here's a good article that explains more about Indonesian sarongs: click here .

I don't know if I will see the re-crochet woman again. I hope she'll create something interesting just as I hope I'll be able to use today's bargains.

Party! and an un-convention-al beginning to retirement

What a party! On Thursday the library hosted a public reception for my retirement. I wasn't allowed to go near the meeting room all day as the staff committee worked on decorations. I didn't take any pictures because I was busy talking to the many people who came: friends from AAUW, church, library colleagues, Rotary, Woman's Club, chamber of commerce among them.  The color scheme was purple and lime.
The two beautiful bouquets are from librarian friends.  

Here is a link to the Facebook photos on the library page. I hope you can open it.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10152370265237349.1073741884.29373207348&type=3

The gift suggestion was "fat quarters or real quarters for Nann's sewing machine fund."  I haven't gotten so many presents at one time since we got married! 
Here they are at home. The star balloons say "Princess" -- those were chosen by Ivy, who is 5 years old. (Her grandma is on the library board.)

Look at all the fabric I got!  I counted it -- 193 FQs which is 48-1/8 yards.  Wow.  (I also got rolls of real quarters, and some checks, and some gift cards.)

It's a good thing I have a stash of note cards (see this post) because I have a lot of thank-you notes to write.


Friday morning I was back at the library to host the monthly Coalition for Healthy Communities meeting.  I got home and packed the car and set out for St. Charles for the AAUW-Illinois state convention. I had several responsibilities: I'm finance director, so I am on the board which met from 3-5 p.m. Friday.  I also gave a book review on Friday evening. The books I talked about are listed here .

Book review and raffle quilt

I am standing in front of my version of Orca Bay. I contributed it as this year's raffle quilt.  This is the 12th year or so of raffle quilts at the AAUW convention. Four of those have been Quiltville designs.  This year the raffle raised the most yet!  $750 will go to  Lois List American Fellowship administered by AAUW. (American Fellowships support women scholars who are completing dissertations, planning research leave from accredited institutions, or preparing research for publication.)

I got home at 6 p.m. Saturday and was asleep at 8 p.m. I spent 2-1/2 hours at the library Sunday afternoon and have my office about half cleaned out.  I accumulated a lot of stuff in 11 years, added to everything I brought when I began.  I'm leaving a lot behind, but there are now four boxes in the garage that I have to sort.  But, hey, I'm retired. I don't need to rush! 

Busy week this week: I need to pay AAUW convention bills, I have three lunch meetings, a conference call, P.E.O. Tuesday, quilt guild Wednesday. I have to prepare the quilt program I'm presenting to the Arlington Heights AAUW branch next Monday.  And, oh yes, I have to write those thank you notes.

I'm linking up with other quiltmakers, retired or not, at Judy's Patchwork Times .

 

A tote and a half -- and phasing in retirement

 

I need to make a totebag as a gift for the outgoing chair of a committee on which I serve. I have dozens of totebag patterns already, but it was a pattern in a current magazine (Quilter's World, Spring 2014*) that caught my eye.  It takes me longer to pull fabric than it does to sew, especially for projects like this.  Voila, all finished -- and MUCH smaller than what I wanted.  It's more of a purse and what I need is a totebag. 

 

Back to the cutting table! Here's the work in progress.   

 

(Small tote is about 12 x 13. Large tote will be about 18 x 13 when the sides are sewn.)

You note that neither of these totebags is a t-shirt quilt.  And THAT is what I really need to work on.








But meanwhile: this is my last official week at the library! The public open house is Thursday, which is the 39th anniversary of my first day as a library administrator.  I will come back in on Friday morning to host a meeting, then head to St. Charles for the AAUW-Illinois convention.  I need to clean out my office -- that will have to wait until Sunday.




See what other quiltmakers are working on at Judy's  Patchwork Times.

World Book Night

Sarah and I were ZBPL's WBN Givers this year.

World Book Night was Wednesday, April 23.  This is my column published in the Zion-Benton News on April 24.  I wrote it before I actually gave the books away. My update: people at the train station were pleasantly surprised and receptive. I had a great chat with a man who said, "I read more than a hundred books a year! The library has a great book sale."  I asked him what he's reading now: Charlatan . I've read it, too -- it's good.
I gave away 18 of the 24 copies of The Botany of Desire, and gave the remaining copies away at Rotary on Thursday morning.

Sarah's selection is the first graphic novel in the WBN lineup. She went to Frank's Diner in Kenosha for her giveaway.

A Book in the Hand is Worth Two on the Shelf 

Who was that woman handing out books at the Metra station yesterday? Why, thank you for noticing.  That was me!    

I was one of the 25,000 book lovers across the U.S. who was a “giver” for the 2014 World Book Night.   This was the third year that I’ve participated.  I became a librarian because I wanted to connect books and people.  WBN is an opportunity to do just that.

This year I gave away copies of Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire to Zion Metra commuters.  It’s one of my favorite books.  I was so pleased that it was on the 2014 WBN list. It’s about human interaction with four plants – apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes.  How have we affected them? How have they affected us?  Pollan provides thought-provoking conclusions.

(If you weren’t at the Metra station, to get a copy, don’t despair.  You can check the book out from ZBPL – as a hardcover or a downloadable audiobook.)

As www.worldbooknight.org explains, “WBN is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person.  On April 23, thousands of people go out into their communities and give away half a million free World Book Night paperbacks .  The idea is to put good books into the hands of people who don’t read very much.  It’s also about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives.”  

April 23 is the UNESCO International Day of the Book, as well as Shakespeare’s birthday (1564) and his death (1616). It’s also the day that Miguel de Cervantes died (1616).   World Book Night began in London at a publishers’ conference in 2010 in response to the question, “How can we encourage more adults to read for pleasure?”  They decided that passionate readers are the best promoters for good books! The first WBN giveaway was in the U.K. in 2011. In 2012 the U.S. celebration began. 

WBN books are special editions of recent adult-interest fiction and nonfiction.  An independent panel of booksellers and librarians chooses each year’s selections from among bookseller and library recommendations. WBN givers also provide suggestions.    

ZBPL also has the books I gave away in 2013 and 2012.  Last year’s book was Michael Perry’s memoir, Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time.  Perry is a paramedic, a musician, and a raconteur in New Auburn, Wisconsin. If you’ve ever lived in a small town, you’ll identify with Perry’s stories. In 2012 I gave away Jeannette Walls’ spellbinding memoir The Glass Castle.   Her childhood was like a fairy tale, too bad to be true. But it was true indeed. She thrived in spite of, or because of, her feckless family.  

Of course, you don’t have to wait until the 2015 World Book Night to discover great reading.   Check out all your library has to offer all year long!

Worldwide Parts Swap

the box

The Liberated Quilters  had a Worldwide Parts Swap this spring.  Participants sent boxes with no-longer-loved quilty stuff -- fabric, notions, books, patterns, whatever. I sent a box to Lorri in Iowa.

Here's what I got today from Sue in Indiana.  What a treat!
Thank you, Sue -- and thank you Clare of LibQ for coordinating the swap.

I'm not sure what this means!

notions, magazines, patterns -- and a totebag and paper plates and napkins!

Fabric! What a wonderful assortment!