You may remember this post from about a month ago. I bought 3 rather large tins of crushed tomatoes. I made sure that I had a plan for how to use/store nearly 3kg of crushed tomatoes once the can was opened. This is important to make sure that nothing goes to waste.
I opened one a couple of days ago and used 2 cups of it in a dish I was making. The remainder are now frozen in quantities which are a similar size to a regular 400g can of tomatoes.
We have arrived home after a couple of night away at Sale which is about 4 hours drive from home. You can read all about it here.
Apart from the obvious holiday we used the travel wisely to source some grocery items with having to deviate too far out of our way.
The route took us through Melbourne so we took advantage of the fact that it was Tuesday and we called in to Graina at Moonee Ponds where we buy most of our bulk dry goods. Each Tuesday they offer a 20% discount if you bring your own containers which I always do anyway. I did not have too much on my list but managed to top up a few things. I also stopped at Ray’s Top Nuts nearby for a couple of other things.
As we continued towards Sale I noticed a roadside stall, The Spud Shed with a board advertising potatoes for $1/kg. I made a note to check this out on our return trip. The advertised potatoes were clearly small/seconds but they suit our needs perfectly and I selected a couple of kilos.
Our next stop was in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne at the warehouse for Australian Organic Products. I had ordered a 20 litre drum of laundry liquid by Kin Kin Naturals. The laundry and dishwashing products are produced by a small family business in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, not far from where we lived in Queensland where I bought them in recycled containers, directly from the maker, Felix. I had to change my purchasing arrangements once we relocated to Victoria and I discovered I could source the products through Australian Organic Products but the delivery costs are pretty steep to our regional location so I used the opportunity to pick up my order directly from the warehouse.
We usually do our regular grocery shopping in Bendigo at a greengrocer and Aldi but since we were traversing the suburbs of Melbourne we took advantage of suitable hops along the route.
This is everything I bought in our travels apart from the 20 litre drum of laundry liquid.
The weather is tipped to be cold and wet tomorrow so I am looking forward to staying indoors and working on some more of the patchwork blocks.
Decluttering and minimalism are all about eschewing ‘stuff’ and some people seem to think that life is bland and missing something without possessions.
Now, I am not suggesting for one moment that I do not have stuff or that I am even a minimalist although I certainly do have less possessions than many people.
Experiences are valuable and mean much more to me than a house filled with possessions. Travel is always high on my list of experiences. Sometimes we travel specifically for art experiences and at other times we find cultural experiences along the way.
Just 12 months ago we went to Hobart for the express purpose of going to an exhibition titled ‘Lands of Light’ by Lloyd Rees at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
We discovered a very different but equally interesting exhibition in the adjacent gallery.
The next few months are filled with various artistic and cultural events. Some are very local, such as the Maldon Portrait Prize which celebrates local artists. We plan to view the entries at a local gallery sometime in the next week. Other planned trips include Bendigo to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition and well as going to the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne to see ‘French Impressionism’ from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. We are also going further afield over the next couple of months to Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale to see ‘Turner and Australia’ which explores the influence of JMW Turner on the Australian art scene and the Art Gallery of South Australia for an exhibition titled, ‘Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890 – 1940’.
Of course, art encompasses some many other mediums and we have tickets to several performances over the next few months beginning with our younger daughter’s dance concert tomorrow afternoon. Two live theatre productions round out our adventures for July. Live theatre is one of my great loves and I am looking forward to seeing Justine Clarke in a one-woman play, ‘Julia’ about Julia Gillard, Australia’s first (and so far, only female Prime Minister). The other is called Mother Play which premiered on Broadway in 2024. This version stars on of my favourite Australian actresses, Sigrid Thornton.
The opportunity to experience such diverse cultural experiences is worth more to me than a cupboard full of things.
What about you?
There are many things that we can repair, mend or upcycle ourselves but some are just beyond our range.
What do you do with shoes that are no longer wearable? This was GMan’s dilemma recently. The first step is to examine them and understand why they can no longer be worn. A pair of casual leather shoes looked to be in perfectly good nick at first glance but the soles had worn to the stage where there was no remaining grip on the soles and they were positively dangerous. So, a full retread was in order.
We have had this sort of work done on a couple of other pairs of shoes previously, however, we have moved interstate since then so it was a matter of finding a quality bootmaker/cobbler in Melbourne who could do the work. GMan was fortunate to find The Cobbler’s Last. They have turned these shoes that were only good for the bin into wearable footwear with a long life ahead of it.
The cost of this work was $95 which is not insignificant, however, that is about half of the price of a replacing them with a similar shoe. Additionally, the savings created by not seeing these end up in landfill is immeasurable.
This is a follow-up from my last post about buying secondhand in preference to buying new wherever possible.
Of course there are items of our own and that are donated to thrift shops that are really not saleable for one reason or another so a lot of it does unfortunately end up in landfill.
However, when we were shopping for the champagne flutes, I noticed a large piece of patchwork displayed on a wall behind the counter.
This is the note that was pinned to it.
What a great reminder of the possibilities that upcycling affords. I love the design and will definitely consider trying it one day. It reminds me of stained glass.
I have made some fleeting references to some red and black patchwork that I was working on in the latter part of the year but I couldn’t reveal too much as it was a gift.
This is a photo that I took in the very early stages when I was still unsure of the overall plan.
It all came together quite quickly as I used some larger pieces in places rather than all disappearing 9 patch blocks. This after it had been quilted but before the final trimming and binding.
The quilt was not actually a Christmas gift but an early (milestone) birthday present for my brother. I know I won’t be with him to celebrate on the day so this was a good opportunity to be able to give it to him in person.
I was very pleased with the result and I think his smile says it all.
Deadlines are not something that you would generally associate with being retired. Most of the time I coast along comfortably and do what needs doing in a timely manner, often with the aid of a list.
However, now and then I find that I have a project with a completion date that I know will not be met if I continue to just do a bit now and then. So, patchwork is taking priority at the moment.
Here is the work in progress.
This is the first stage of laying out the blocks in preparation for creating Disappearing 9 Patch blocks.
Here is a detailed description of how it is done.
Time to do some more sewing.
This is not the beginning of the pink quilt that I have been planning for some time.
This is another possible project that I am considering. I made these blocks as I begin to play around with some ideas. I do like the red and black theme.
I think I have managed to collect enough suitable fabric for my next patchwork project.
This was a fitted bassinet sheet that I spotted in the op shop yesterday.
I unpicked it and salvaged the elastic.
My basket of new and used elastic of various types and lengths. It is surprising how often it yields just what I need.
Some of the squares have been cut up and added the collection and I will do the rest tomorrow.
The newest pieces are in the bottom right-hand corner. I am looking forward to making a start on the sewing before too long.
Yesterday I made a new discovery – the Bendigo Share and Repair Shed. I stumbled across this gem from a Facebook post advertising a destash sale of art and craft materials. When I arrived at the address I discovered that it was so much more than just a one-off event.
After perusing the various offerings I came home with a selection of goodies – most with a specific purpose in mind.
Two pieces of fabric which will yield a total of about 35 squares for the ‘pink’ quilt that I am preparing to make.
Another piece of fabric suitable for patchwork but no particular project in mind.
A large piece of curtain fabric which will make some great tote bags. I am planning to make some more to donate to the Community Pantry for people to use (and reuse) when collecting groceries.
The final piece of fabric is this fine cotton fabric which is blue with a tiny white spot. I am thinking of making a summer dress for myself. I think this is probably quite old as it is less than 90cm (36 inch) wide. I will have enough as there is more than 2 metres of fabric.
This close-up gives a better indication of the print.
The premise of the Share and Repair Shed is to make a donation/offer and I was happy to pick up all of these pieces for $9 as I will be able to give them new life in various projects.
I also had a quick look at other non-craft items that were available and I was quite excited to pick up these 3 jars to add to my collection for when I am making jams, pickles etc. There are always plenty of jars around but I like to limit my collection to a couple of different styles. These have a wide mouth and are easy to fill.
All in all it was an enlightening and fruitful visit and I am sure I will be back again before too long.
organised castle 