Crosbies Hut Hike

Track Marker

Supplejack vines

A brief respite as I drape myself over the signpost for support

Crosbies Hut and possibly the only photo you'll ever see of The Scout.

View from the hut towards Coromandel - you can just glimpse the sea

On Thursday and Friday, The Scout and I went for an overnight hike without children to Crosbies Hut in the Coromandel.

It doesn't matter how fit you think you are, as soon as you go tramping/hiking you find muscles you never knew existed and spend half the time gasping for breath as you ascend hills.  Carrying a 11kg pack on your back, makes it harder again.  It took us about 5 hours to reach the hut, which was mainly through native bush. There was a lot of uphill hiking which is really no easier, when it becomes downhill (some areas were steep and slippery, and quite muddy)  on the return.  Lots of interesting fungi and mosses were to be seen en route too.

When I reached the final sign saying "Crosbies Hut 10 minutes" my relief was short lived.  I think that was probably the steepest climb of the day.  The first view of the hut was a most welcome sight.  Stunning views out to Table Mountain and Coromandel are to be had.

The hut sleeps 10, and must be booked prior to arrival .  It has cold running water collected from rainfall,  wood and coal are provided for the fire should it be needed. You must take your own food and cooking equipment.   We had two family groups introducing their children to the joys of tramping join us.

Friday morning was cold and drizzly, no stunning views to be had as we made the 5 hour journey back down to our vehicle.

I'm back at work today, with all my aching muscles reminding me of the adventure I've just enjoyed.

Happy weekend to you all.

Gold Coast Holiday

Kangaroo and joey in the hotel grounds

Tree Kangaroo

At the LEGO shop by Dreamworld

All dressed up for the celebratory anniversary dinner

Tiger Island at Dreamworld

Well. I'm back from a very special family holiday.  Somewhat refreshed and definitely finding the cooler temperatures a little bit of a shock.

My in-laws are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and totally spoiled us all, by taking all  their family to the Gold Coast for a celebratory holiday.  We stayed at a beautiful resort, that had kangaroos wandering the grounds, lovely gardens, pools and beautiful rooms and breakfasts.  It was a lovely time of year to visit, not too hot, and some beautiful tropical flowering plants were still in bloom for me to admire.  I also enjoyed being able to wear pieces of my handmade summer wardrobe most days, definitely too cool for that here now.

We spent time with old friends, and my sister and her family who live in Brisbane.

The Scout, Miss B , Mr J and I went to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where I did the Treetops Challenge - this was totally outside my comfort zone, but I can say I did complete the highest course. (No photos for proof unfortunately) This was also a nice wildlife sanctuary to visit, home to some  interesting birds,  Koalas, and other native animals. You can pet the kangaroos there, and it was quite cool to wander through a giant aviary and see the lemurs jumping around the railings too.

My sisters-in-law and I had a morning shopping at Harbour Town (new swimsuits all round) and a night out at a cocktail bar, which was a lot of fun, we were all fit and able the next morning too.  I have discovered I like margaritas.

On Easter Sunday we had full family ( all 17 of us) outing to Dreamworld.  I went on some  roller coasters and other rides, saw the Consentino - the Illusionist.  Probably the highlight for me was Tiger Island.

And if anyone was wondering if I worked on handquilting the hexies I took over, the answer was no.  Though a little stash enhancement that I had ordered was collected and brought home.

We're all home now, bags are unpacked, I have survived my first day back at work and life is slowly reverting back to normal.

Holiday Hexies

I always take a handsewing project away with me, and my upcoming holiday is no exception.  Over the past few days, I have finished joining 1" hexies, removed all  paper templates, then appliqued the large hexagon shape to my cushion fabric, so it is ready for hand quilting. I've worked out what I'm going to do and quilted a little bit to see if I like it. 

Now the big question is, will any hand quilting  actually be done while I'm away?

I'll be taking a little break from the blog, while I have a lovely holiday with family.  Have a lovely Easter, I'll  be back here after then too.

***There may be the odd progress shot or holiday shot on my IG page too - link here***

Comments have been disabled.

Finished - Carolina Chain Quilt

After I finished my making my Highlands Wrap Dress, I set myself a goal to completely finish this quilt before we went on holiday, and before I was allowed to start any other sewing project.  This meant, making a scrappy backing, frankensteining some batting, basting, quilting and attaching the binding.

Well, with a couple of solid stretches at the machine, and a night home alone, I did it.  I pieced the backing from some vintage sheets and a little bit of quilting  fabric.  Batting is a wool polyester blend.

I had forgotten how hard it is to actually machine quilt,  (I'm used to lightweight garment sewing)  my shoulders really felt the effort it took to manoeuvre it through my machine.  Basically it is a giant crosshatch design, quilted through the dark and low volume diagonals.  Admittedly my walking foot was not working properly and was more of a limping foot, so my quilting is possibly not up to my usual standard.

I bound it with a beautiful bright Kaffe Fassett fabric and then proceeded to hand tie it in the intersections where I didn't machine quilt it, using an amethyst toned variegated thread.

I am so pleased to have this knocked off my"WIP to do list", this has now been folded up ready to gift to my local hospice.