A Day with Sydney Southern Cross Quilters

On Saturday I joined the Sydney Southern Cross Quilters (SSCQ, pronounced "squilters") at their first Saturday of the month get-together at the Blue Gum in Waitara, a community on Sydney's north side.

To see more pictures of our day, visit the SSCQ blog here.

I'm grateful for transportation offered by my daughter and Di. On the drive we passed trees changing into autumn colors. With the mild weather I've been enjoying, I have to remind myself that this part of the world is heading into winter.The Blue Gum is a hotel and restaurant. Quilters meet in the area with all the glass topped by the white, dome-shaped roof.

It was a treat to see what everyone was doing: hand applique... knitting, and redwork. Heather is hand-piecing the border for this wonderful, colorful quilt. Her color sense is magnificent. Aren't these blocks in Heather's quilt just delicious!?No surprise... several quilters here are also into hexagons. These are Lyn's flowers for the Dancing Dollies quilt she's making. Pennie has been working on this English paper-pieced diamond-shaped hexagon quilt since 2005.

That's a AUD$2 gold coin (no US coins on me) to give you an idea of the small size of these hexagons. Pennie freely admits she's about sick of hexagons. Well, wouldn't you be? Stitching all those plain white hexies to one another?! Goodness!Here's the back of Pennie's beautiful work.As if she isn't mad enough to do all those hexagons, Pennie's also making minis.

To give you a perspective on the mini-ness of this approximately 6" X 8" quilt, I photographed it with my glasses and a AUD$2 gold piece.

Pennie's nearly finished with the mini Trip Around the World on the left.
I had a good chuckle over Pennie's remark that she is making these minis "to use up her stash."



With me, on the left is Loz. We have a mutual friend in Iowa, Deb.

In March, Loz entered and won first place in my blog giveaway.
How convenient that I could deliver her prize to her!

I thought I was fortunate to spend a Saturday with these ladies last October, so what a treat it was to do so again. It was just like meeting up with quilter-friends at home.

The afternoon concluded with another adventure: riding the train back home. Di dropped me off at the railway station in Hornsby and 41 minutes later I arrived in Burwood where I was picked up by my daughter. Riding the rails was another way to see and experience Sydney for only AUD $4.60 for a one-way ticket.

The train passed over a couple highways. Note cars on the "wrong" side of the road. From experience I can tell you that driving on the left is an ability that does not come easily to me. Even without distractions, and whispering my driving mantra, "Stay on the left. Stay on the left," I've had two occasions when I found myself profusely thanking God for protecting me. Whew.

The train cross waterways too.

I returned home to see these two off for a much-deserved evening out. Don't they look smashing!? Love those red shoes, Jill! You don't look like a mum with a seven month-old.With Celina away for an overnight, Tay and I shared a quiet evening: a bedtime bottle, a bedtime bath, and a bedtime story.

Just another beautiful day in Oz.