williamsews

  I’ve made a shirt, it’s been a while, I seem to have lost interest and have given away a lot of sewing stuff; three machines and tonnes of fabric. I almost gave away the very old machines but the charity shop didn’t want them and I’m glad now and won’t be that foolish again. It is an unprepossessing shirt, plain blue, but the fabric is soft and pleasant to wear. I had a serious battle with one of my overlockers and had to admit defeat. Perhaps it needs a service.  A wet and mild summer was promised, and it seems to be just that, it’s rained for two weeks and the garden is bright green and lush. I took a cutting from a gardenia last year and it has flowered, the perfume from just one bloom fills the whole room. I hope there will be a lot more flowers as summer progresses. That’s my lot, Take care, Will.

It's been a long time since I have sewn anything and am looking for something to start a spark. It's pleasant to look through my old patterns anyway. I didn't realise that I had so many in my size and have never been used by me. I have made three of these. Haven't made these but one has piqued my interest... This one; long-sleeved version. It's a 1959 pattern - old patterns fit much better because more effort has gone into the fit. Let's hope it happens soon, my sewing machine needs a run. I gave three sewing machines to a charity shop last week, along with a lot of fabric and I actually don't regret it - I just have too much stuff, let someone have the benefit of it all. That's my lot for the day, Take care, Will.

  The last month of spring, actually; it’s been pleasant  and everything is blooming. Jacarandas are in flower and the whole town smells honey-sweet, the trees will soon lay their purple carpet as the flowers fall. Not a great photograph and it doesn’t show the Poincianas vying for gaudy supremacy. It’s a wonderful sight to see purple and red trees everywhere. Native Bottlebrushes are beautiful, and the parrots love their nectar. My jungle. A birds-nest fern I planted decades ago, it’s now about 2 metres across and beginning to unfurl new fronds. I was speaking to a friend recently, he’s English and has lived here for a long time but still isn’t used to the upside-down seasons – like Christmas in the middle of summer. When I was young, my parents always had a traditional hot Christmas dinner even if the weather was pushing 40 degrees celsius. Nowadays it’s seafood and white wine, people line up at the fish markets at 4 in the morning to buy their prawns and lobsters, etc. I ha...