Following the Trail of Burke and Wills

 We loved our time camping on the banks of the Cooper Creek and following the trail of Burke and Wills as they attempted to cross Australia and claim more land for Victoria.

 We also took a day to explore Coongie Lakes which is a freshwater body of water in the middle of the desert just near Innamincka.

 More pioneers blazed a trail on the trees.

 We saw many dingoes scavenging at the local tip of Innanmincka but only managed to get one in shot on this camera.

We loved our time at Birdsville and it was one of the highlights of our trip so far. One of the highlights was that I ate a curried camel pie- it's an award winner for the local bakery there. Tasted OK but the meat was a bit stringy.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Snapshots of Broken Hill

 We really enjoyed our visit to Broken Hill in NSW. It has the largest base for the Flying Doctor Service which provides much needed health care in the outback.

 We took a tour of the Flying Doctor base and heard about the wonderful work they do for remote communities as well as for people traveling in the outback.

 Another highlight was visiting Jack Absalom's art gallery as well as meeting him in person. We have many of his DVDs on outback survival techniques and it was lovely to meet him and see his beautiful art work of the outback. He is self-taught and very talented.

 We also visited Silverton which is a nearby mining town. There aren't many people living here now but it's a popular tourist area to see some of our historic sites.

 I visited the Silverton cemetery as well and the ages on the gravestones shows what a hard life it was for our pioneers.

I love the red sand and bright blue sky of the outback and will share more very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Out of Range

 I really had intended to keep blogging regularly but a lack of phone and internet reception made that impossible. We are just waiting and resting up before we head to The Cape and I finally have some time to post blogs about our trip. I think I'll shelve the travel blog for now as just trying to upload photos to one blog will be challenge enough. We met up with a small group of 4wd friends in Broken Hill and traveled with them for a week, following the Burke and Wills' trail.

 We found a lovely freshwater lake on our way to Innamincka and it is such a rarity in this area that we had to stop and inspect it.

 We also found Sturt's depot camp and early cemetery.

 The early explorers blazed their intitials and date into trees to mark their passage but not all the trees have survived.

 Many children of the pioneers died at a young age.

 We climbed for 1.5km to reach the summit of this part of the range, overlooking Sturt's bush camp, named Depot Glen.

Sturt had his men build a cairn of rocks (plenty to chose from) to prevent boredom while they waited for favourable weather conditions to allow them to continue home. The cairn is 18' by 20' and is on a mountain named Mt Poole for one one Sturt's men who died here. The expedition took place in 1845 and was part of our trip to visit all the corners where our States adjoin.
  More to come if internet connection allows. We're having a lovely time with beautiful sunny days and cool nights. The new camper is traveling well and it's been relaxing to sit around the fire and enjoy some quiet time.
Sorry I've been MIA for a while and although phone connection is lacking in a lot of areas here I hope to update more frequently.
Hugs, Jan Mac

We're Off

 We are finally on the road again after delaying our trip to celebrate my dad's 88th birthday. We had a lovely family party and he enjoyed the day. One of my borthers flew in from Darwin to surprise him and almsot all of the grandchildren and great grand children were able to attend as well as Dad's four children. We had a lovely time chatting and laughing and it's always fin to get together.

We're now on our trip through the outback of NSW and Qld and then up to Cape York. Ray has asked me to start a travel blog for the trip and I'll post more photos there as internet connection allows. The blog is http://rayjanmac.blogspot.com.au On The Road Again. Our first night was spent at a bush camp between Mildura (Vic) and Renmark (SA). More to come. I've also been crocheting while we are driving and have 10 sqs made in 2 days.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A Taste of Things to Come

 It's been a very busy week with lots of night shifts, trip preparations and not a lot of time for stitching.
 I have started a new project to work on while we are away. The star blocks are stitched over paper in the English method. Yes I could have just hand stitched them but I think the paper will make it easier for me to be accurate when the lighting isn't as good as at home.
 The Seven Sisters stars are the other project I'm taking ans as they also use 1930s reproduction fabrics I can use the leftovers from the Blazing Star blocks to make the stars for the Seven Sisters as I am just using random pieces for those.

 I also made a few more Broken Dishes blocks but have packed them away now as we have a busy weekend with my Dad's 88th birthday party and then more nights to work before we leave.
The weather is lovely and sunny today after an early frost and we are keen to get on the road again. Only a few days left before we leave. DH has asked me to start a travel blog so I'll be posting photos and trip notes on that blog and will re-direct from here when we start.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Applique Fun

 Yesterday was the meeting day for my applique group which is always fun as it gives us a chance to catch up with applique- addicts from around the State. Of course there is always some stitching to be done as well as some eating and of course some shopping.
I took a few photos of Show and Tell and the first photo is of A Tribute to Mrs Williams. It is a lovely pattern and I'm looking forward to getting mine finished. I've packed it all away today as I need to focus on packing for our trip as well as a lot working a lot more nights before we leave.
 The second photo is of a New York Beauty quilt and the third is one of Kim McLean's Springs and Stars pattern. They were all much brighter than the photos indicate and it's always inspiring to see beautiful quilts finished by group members.
   No stitching today but I did get quite a lot done on my new project yesterday. I was going to take it with me on our travels but I have changed my mind yet again and will take some English Paper Piecing with 1930s repros instead. That should be my final decision but time will tell. lol!
Hugs, Jan Mac

 

Sorting Scraps and Stitching

 I couldn't resist making another of these Square in a Square tops to use up the very ordinary 9 patch blocks I had in a container. I've had to make some more 9 patches but the container is not overflowing now. I'm supposed to be sorting through all my scraps and putting them away before we go away but I couldn't resist starting a new scrap project. I was given a large box of 4.5 inch squares and there are numerous squares of the same fabric so I've been dithering about which pattern to use. I finally decided on Broken Dishes and am just working with greens and browns with a contrast light fabric with a pale yellow design as my main fabric to contrast with the browns and greens. They go together quickly and will be ideal for a male quilt. I really need to sort those scraps but I have been pulling out some of the FQ's to cut more squares for more variety.
 I also need to get back to working on my projects too so I should set aside time tomorrow for that. I guess I'll be tempted to stitch some more Broken Dishes blocks as well.
Hugs, Jan Mac