Think about it. The NDIS is the most significant system for providing support for Australians with a disability that there has ever been.

Under the old system, you would likely have been registered with Disability Services and received an annual funding package. In our case, that sum didn’t cover all we required. We paid the shortfall for our son’s services from his pension or from a ‘bucket of funding’ held by the service provider. This old system was inequitable.

The NDIS provides people with individualised support and the flexibility to manage their lives with the help of workers and the services of the participant’s choice. People are better able to achieve their goals and enjoy as ordinary a life as possible than they were before.

Why is it called an insurance scheme?

The NDIS is not welfare. It is social insurance that takes a lifetime approach to support, investing in people with disability early in their lives to improve their outcomes later in life.

Are you eligible to apply for the NDIS?

You will find all application information at the following URL. You can seek help with the application process from Early Childhood Early Intervention Partners ECEIP, Local Area Coordinators LAC and Support Coordinators.

Under the NDIS, you may claim for what is Reasonable and Necessary.

Reasonable and necessary means that the support or service must relate directly to the participant’s disability. It will assist the person to live an ‘ordinary’ life.

Setting goals—for the first twelve months:

It’s easier than you think. Just consider what you want to achieve first. Here are some ideas.

Daily living skills
Showering without a support worker; making a meal, doing grocery shopping.

Transport training
Travelling to the workplace or to a service without help.

Social and community participation
Going to the football or local events.

An example of what is NOT reasonable and necessary is the cost of entry for a participant and a paid support worker to recreational events. Many venues will permit support workers to attend at no cost, as long as the participant they are supporting has a Companion Card. The participant pays for his/her own entry into the event.

It’s that simple. Now think about long-term goals. What can a participant on the NDIS work towards?   

A worker for parts of the day instead of all day.
Mealtimes, ablutions, household tasks, to establish a routine (for however long it takes.)

Moving out of home with support.
Eventually, a participant may only require support in the home for mealtimes and ablutions.

Being supported in a job.
When the participant meets and maintains expectations in the workplace, the support worker can often commit to other duties.  

A worker with a vehicle.
Initially, a participant may need transporting from home to service or to the workplace. Simultaneously, he/she may also receive transport training as part of the daily goals. 

You can access the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits

The website shows all that you can access. You should acquaint yourself with it–it looks overwhelming, but it’s wise to be acquainted with it.

Some things are accessible to you if you self-manage that are not available to you if you are plan or agency managed. 

Look at NDIS management comparisons. NDIS Agency Plan Management is limiting. Or you can engage a Plan Manager in an independent business to submit your invoices to NDIS and pay your service providers. Paying for this comes out of the participant’s funding and it saves you the worry of maintaining the accounts. We manage our son’s funding ourselves because self-managing gives us the flexibility and choice to decide which services to engage to meet his plan goals.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response

The Australian Government enacted the Coronavirus Emergency Response Plan. NDIS participants were accommodated during this period of social distancing. Ring NDIS on 1800 800 110 when you require help. 

Our funding ran out two months before it should have because we went from one worker to a three-participant ratio to one on one after COVID.  We successfully reviewed and acquired an increase in funding to cover this period of social distancing.                       

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It’s created from 100% cotton fabric and wadding.

Made from white snowballed blocks each separated by fabrics in autumn tones, this quilt’s colours are as warm as its qualities as a blanket.

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However, having said that, my mathematics isn’t brilliant, so I’ve learned it is probably better to use a purchased or downloaded free pattern at this stage of my development.

If I am making something entirely from my imagination, it is usually because a piece of fabric has inspired me.

Birds and Chooks

Images of birds and chooks are popular in Australia. Perhaps birds are so appreciated because they are vital components of the eco-system. There is certainly a wide variety of spectacular, interesting or pretty birds in these parts!

I’ve made several runners with this gorgeous fabric using complementing colours for sashing and binding.

This fabric features North American birds. Again, I’ve made runners from the same range of fabric with different sashing and binding to complement. A pair of these sold two days ago – both to the same bird-loving lady. But whatever picture I find in a fabric I can make this kind of runner – and as long or short as you want it. An odd number of pictures often looks the best.

Can you believe it? People are very particular about their chooks. A gentleman wouldn’t take this recently because it didn’t have hens in it. Never mind, I have plenty more chook fabric for the discerning buyer.

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The post The Log Cabin Block appeared first on Rhonda Valentine Dixon.

Patricia taught me this table runner very early in my quilting journey.

It’s a pattern by Carolyn Hutchinson at CarolynsInStitches. https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/CarolynsInStitches

Trish and I just love it. We’ve lost count of how many we’ve made.

They are quick and easy to make and look stunning in any size or colour.

Trisha taught me to use a nine-patch in the centre and to sew the dark 2.5 inch centre squares the entire length of the runner, but when I found some pretty fabric pictures about the same size as a nine-patch, I deviated from the pattern and used the pictures.

I’ve made these with as little as two sets of arms on one side and two on the other side of the nine-patch (the pattern reminds me of the configuration of a herringbone cow shed). Two sets of arms on either side make a lovely placemat. I’ve made up to twelve arms on either side. The latter creates a runner about 1.8 metres long. (The customer had a long table!)

I’ve also had a request to cut off the points. I prefer leaving the points on, but having worked in retail in my early adulthood, I’m told the customer is always right.

Patricia and I have made these:-

• with the same fabric in the same place on either side of the nine-patch
• with different strips of fabric in every place
• with light-coloured centre strips
• with dark centre strips
• used an embroidered centre piece instead of a nine-patch
• used a fabric picture instead of a nine-patch
• used quilted wadding and stitched inside, turned out and top-stitched the sides instead of backing and binding
• backed and bound (I prefer this method to the top-stitched style because the binding frames the runner.)

When I first made them, I would sew the front to wadding already quilted, but some waddings pill after a few washes, so I began using a backing fabric and binding them. There may be some waddings that don’t pill but I haven’t explored that option.

You can be adventurous with the stitching in the ditches with this pattern, too. There are multiple ways of ensuring the stitches make a nice pattern on the back of the runner.

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Though writing has been part of my journey since childhood, and I’m fortunate to be periodically paid for my literary endeavours, I have come upon another craft that gives me enormous joy.

I’ve always loved sewing, but several years ago I discovered quilting. Or more to the point, I found someone who was prepared to teach me how to quilt.

On this page, I introduce you to Patricia Lock, the lovely lady who has taught me so much and from whom I continue to learn. We spend at least one day a week together quilting in her sewing room. You’ll be able to buy from Patricia on this site, too.

Some quilting history.

Quilting has been around for centuries. Women would gather to create a celebratory quilt, for a wedding, birth, or significant life event.

I remember actress, Judy Norton’s character Mary-Ellen Walton vigorously resisting the idea of receiving a quilt (in 1930s rural Virginia) when she became of marriageable age, much to the bitter disappointment of her grandmother. Having a career was on the young lady’s mind, not marrying, procreating, and remaining on Walton’s Mountain. You go, girl, I say, however, quilting is still a wonderful tradition.

A stunning contribution to the history and culture of a new land.

I recall from my family history studies, the convict women from the vessel Rajah who created a quilt. Its embroidered inscription reads:

To the LADIES OF THE CONVICT SHIP COMMITTEE This quilt worked by the Convict (sic) of the ship Rajah during their voyage to Van Dieman’s Land is presented as a testimony of the gratitude with which they remember their exertions for their welfare while in England and during their passage and also of proof that they have not neglected the Ladies kind admonitions of being industrious June 1841.

An interesting inscription, I feel, assumed to have been worked by a free passenger, Miss Kezia Hayter. https://www.nationalquiltregister.org.au/quilts/the-rajah-quilt/

Though some quilters would never dream of using a sewing machine, Patricia and I are happy doing so. Handmade quilts become heirlooms and are very expensive to produce in terms of a woman’s time and sometimes her eyesight, so they’re not ideal for what we want to achieve.

We know recipients and buyers appreciate our machine-sewn work. We have repeat customers and others who buy multiple items in one sale.

Our creative pursuits produce quilts for beds, and cots, throws and knee rugs, wall-hangings and aprons. Our placemats and table runners are always popular.

I will add craft market sale dates to this site as they become available.

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We were astounded at the number of compliments we received, mostly from older women. They also wanted to know: –

What is Steampunk?

It’s a way of celebrating 19th-century fashion with a nod to the technology of the Industrial Revolution.

It’s also a genre of Science Fiction which features steam-powered technology in the historical setting. See https://richarddeescifi.co.uk for his novels encompassing this genre. I mention Richard’s work because he’s a friend.

Do we belong to a group?

Yes, the Facebook group, Steampunk Affaires South East Queensland.

Where do we get our clothes and accessories?

We op-shop buy, alter, upcycle or make our outfits. I confess I’m not era-authentic with fabrics used, but it is all in good fun.

Can anyone belong?

Absolutely. Men and women from all walks of life participate.

Where do we meet?

We regularly have refreshments (tea, coffee, savouries and cakes) at a member’s home. The host/hostess brings out her fine China; we all take a favoured plate of treats to share and enjoy each other’s company for a couple of hours.

Participants dress to go to cafes, the theatre and out to dinner on prearranged dates.

We enjoy arranged outings to community events. Recently, some of us supported the Milliners Association of Australia by walking in the International Hat Parade.

My first outing with the group was by train to Nambour to op-shop.

There are so many community outings we can dress for that we are spoiled for choice, really. And going is never compulsory. We participate in the events when and where we want to.

The Craft Alive Exhibition

So, there we were in our Steampunk gear, perusing and being wonderfully inspired, when I spied a beautiful piece of art. An embroidered panel on the wall of the stall of Tracey Sims  https://traceysimsdesigns.com I said “Lea-Anne, this is amazing.” Tracey Sims said “You look amazing.” A conversation began.

Tracey Sims Designs

Oh, my goodness, the wall hanging was stunning. Tracey, inspired by nature, takes photographs when out and about. Later, in her studio, she turns what she has seen into digitised embroidery designs, fine art paintings and fabric prints.

Tracey has created a collection of patchwork prints ideal for embellishment with embroidery. You can purchase these prints individually or in project kits from her website.

Tracey is the author of seven decorative painting books and her work and articles have been featured in many publications in Australia, USA, and the UK. She also teaches in numerous overseas locations.

Lea-Anne and I chatted to Tracey and her companion for ages about her art. We’d never seen machine embroidery in such abundance before. (My friend Linda Hendry had digitally embroidered on the Steampunk vest I was wearing, but Tracey’s creations were much larger and more complex.) Though embroidery has been around since man created fabric, digitised embroidery came about when man created a ‘process of converting artwork into a digital file using software that allows embroidery machines to understand the needle’s path.’ [1]

Bag End Studios

Lea-Anne and I walked on and found the art coming out of Bag End Studios also amazed us. Bag End is an Art Gallery and Art and Craft supplier and provider of workshops at Yeerongpilly www.bagendstudio.net .

Using t-shirt fabric and Powertex, ‘a non-toxic, environmentally friendly, water-based textile hardener’[2] Natalie Parish teaches and creates ornamental pieces, some of it, Steampunk inspired. We were enchanted, but I certainly don’t have the time or inclination to try another art form. Writing, quilting and card making are my passions and that is most definitely all I can find time for. I purchased some wonderful Steampunk Scrapbooking paper from this stall, though.

Crochet to Dye For

Crochet to Dye For also impressed us. Lynley Buckley came down from the Sunshine Coast to promote her business. She was wearing the most exquisite teeny tiny crochet potplant earrings. As the business name suggests, Lynley hand dyes cotton and yarn. She has a love for crochet, which is also Lea-Anne’s passion so we spent a while talking crochet. https://www.crochettodyefor.com.au/

Card making and Scrapbooking

Card making/scrapbooking stalls are always going to capture my interest. I’ll find techniques to try, and ideas to copy. Stall holders usually give permission when asked if I can photograph cards to try at home. I photographed with gay abandon. There were plenty of paper craft stalls and I bought necessities, but I wasn’t reckless with my spending.

The last stall that had some impressive work to attract our eyes was the Crochet Guild Australia.

The Crochet Guild Australia

I’ve been crocheting since I was eight. I’ve been in Australia since 1984 and didn’t even know there was a Crochet Guild. I’ve even taught crochet in Brisbane for a Sydney firm, Classie, which sold when COVID-19 came to visit. When the borders opened again, I was asked if I wanted to resume teaching for the new business owners, but I’d moved on in my writing and was also embracing quilting.

There are several places you can learn to crochet if that discipline takes your fancy. Crochet Guild Australia is one of them. https://crochetguildaustralia.org.au/ The work on their stall was inspiring, especially for Lea-Anne who has been known to yarn bomb public places.

Yarn Bombing?

It began in the early 2000s when a resident in suburban USA made a cosy for her doorknob. Others noticed and commented, presumably affirmatively, which must have prompted the resident, Magda Sayeg, to yarn bomb other objects in town.

Magda observed how residents began noticing things they hadn’t previously paid attention to. Yarn bombing became increasingly popular, and people from other cities started decorating water pipes, trees, statues, stairs and any part of the cityscape they could.[3] 

Yarn bombing now has its own day, June 11^th each year. It’s a form of graffiti and since graffiti is illegal, yarn bombing is probably illegal too, but it is considerably more endearing and much easier to remove when it fades or degrades, so it seems to be more openly tolerated.

The Alternative Buy, Swap and Sell event.

Lea-Anne and I walked from the Craft Alive exhibition to the Alternative and Goth event in Fortitude Valley. From the railway station, we could see a long tidy wave of black, many youngsters with heads bowed into phones. You couldn’t miss it 🙂 In fact, it was very long and it was slow-moving. Lea-Anne went to the right to find our Steampunk friends and I went to the left to stand in the queue. Lea-Anne eventually came down the queue to join me and soon after, our friends found us.

They’d been into the venue. It was small, dark and so crowded they had difficulty reaching the stalls and couldn’t see them when they did. Vendors shone their phone lights onto the racks so buyers could see the clothes. Don’t organisers realise there is a huge Goth and alternative population in Brisbane? Why such a small venue? And why no lighting?

To cut costs, one would assume. But letting people in two at a time as others emerged was ridiculous. Lea-Anne and I decided not to wait. It was disappointing, but, we’d had a good morning so we weren’t terribly upset.

Other opportunities will arise to buy bits ‘n bobs for our outfits.

[1]Superior Digitizing, What is Embroidery Digitizing?  https://www.superiorinkprinting.com/, Accessed 26 April 2024

[2]Bag End Studio Online Art and Craft https://www.bagendstudio.net/about.html Accessed 26 April 2024

[3]The Foundry Works, What is Yarn Bombing, https://thefoundryworks.co.uk/ Accessed 26 April 2024

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Gerald and Lawrence Durrell

Gerald’s elder brother, Lawrence, was a celebrated novelist. By the end of the 20^th Century Lawrence had become one of the most significant writers in the English language at the time.

If we are to believe the dialogue in the Sid Gentle Films—Masterpiece co-production which serialised the Durrells’ years on Corfu, Lawrence recognised and encouraged his brother’s literary talent when Gerald was only thirteen. The reasoning was that since Lawrence was earning money from writing, surely Gerald could too. His earnings could fund his wildlife acquisitions.

Gerald’s writing style

In My Family and Other Animals, one can’t help but see shades of Dylan Thomas (who died in 1953, three years before Durrell’s biography was published) in the first sentence of Chapter Ten.

“Spring merged slowly into the long, hot, sun-sharp days of summer sung in by cicadas, shrill and excited, making the island vibrate with their cries”.

For me, this sentence easily evokes an impression of the lazy days of Durrell’s Corfu childhood home. Dylan Thomas had been the master of alliteration and lilting syntax in this way when describing life in the Welsh villages of his homeland. It wasn’t hard for me to see the similarity. 

An idyllic existence on the island of Corfu

While on Corfu, Louisa Durrell made several attempts to have her youngest son educated. Gerald resisted, however. He saw no sense in mathematics or English composition when abundant creatures existed at his very doorstep to be studied.

Dr Theodore Stephanides

It was fortuitous for Gerald that, on Corfu, he was introduced to Dr Theodore Stephanides, a Greek poet, author, doctor, and naturalist. Gerald wrote

“…he was the only person I had met who seemed to share my enthusiasm for zoology. Secondly, I was extremely flattered to find that he treated me and talked to me exactly as though I was his own age…as though I was as knowledgeable as he was.”

Theo’s delightful interaction with Gerald features throughout this biography. Gerald later cited that he would have amounted to nothing without Theo’s mentorship. That is debatable, of course. Gerald was such a passionate naturalist. I think his work would have been significant regardless. Nevertheless, the importance of Theo’s influence cannot be disputed.

The menagerie

Gerald’s reminiscences of his friendship with his dog, Roger, are delightful, his descriptions of the olive groves and seaside coves teeming with fauna are comprehensive and enticing.

His accounts of raising and studying various creatures including scorpions, trapdoor spiders, turtles and a Scops Owl are captivating and his humorous recollections of the daily exploits of his intelligent, eccentric, very English family (despite none being born or living in England before WWII) are engaging.

In My Family and Other Animals, the reader is treated to a winner of a yarn.

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Who knew there was a Black Cat Appreciation Day? I didn’t.

A man named Wayne H. Morris had a sister with a twenty-year-old black cat called Sinbad. The lady and the cat both died in 2011, so Morris created Black Cat Appreciation Day to honour them. It occurs each year on October 27^th and has steadily grown in observance ever since.

By edifying black cats, Morris believed he could dispel the myths surrounding them. He sought to encourage people to appreciate them, rather than treat them with suspicion.

So why do black cats get such a bad rap?

Ah, well look at any children’s book featuring a witch and you’ll find that such women, whether they be enchantresses or wicked crones, seem to prefer black cats over any other.

There are plenty of children’s books which highlight black cats who live with witches. Consider Valerie Thomas’ Winnie the Witch (with a black cat called Wilbur), Mary Calhoun’s The Witch of Hissing Hill whose black cat gives birth to a yellow kitten, (which is a catalyst for considerable change,) and The Witch’s Cat by Sonica Ellis. This features a black cat who has difficulty making friends. However, rather than being a sad tale, this book encourages children to be self-accepting and to embrace inclusion and friendship.

Black cats have a reputation for bringing bad luck. This is superstition. They are as beautiful and loving as any other cat.

This silliness persists, though, thankfully it has waned. However, black cats are still less likely to be adopted from animal shelters than any other cat. It’s heartbreaking really.

Sources
AnimalWised, ‘Interesting Characteristics About Black Cats’, https://www.animalwised.com/interesting-characteristics-about-black-cats-2805.html, Accessed 27 October 2021

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I loved the pretty fabrics just the way they were.

It wasn’t until much later, in adulthood, in fact, that I discovered the joy of creating patterns from beautiful fabrics.

I was overjoyed when Patricia offered to teach me to quilt. She started me off with crazy patch. Serious quilters wouldn’t consider crazy patch real quilting at all. Traditionally from North America, it is, arguably, simply fabric art. Or textile art if you add fancy machine and hand stitching or lace in the ditches like this one.

But crazy patch was a start and since Patricia had, over the years, given me many fabric off-cuts, it was an opportunity to use up a lot of little bits that might otherwise have found their way to pre-schools, op-shops or landfill. I should point out here, I’m big on recycling. As a consequence, I’ve made many quilts from fabric bits. Here is another, not only using bits in ‘blocks’ but also bits to make the outer sashing.

This is an ‘I Spy’ quilt that should keep the kids occupied for ages. The inner sashing is different colours because I didn’t have enough of one colour to complete it.

The wadding is 93% cotton and 7% polyester and most of the patches are 100% cotton, however some are polycotton. I’ve used these bits of polycotton in my learning process, but won’t do this in formal quilt patterns. There really is no substitute for cotton in quilting.

I’ve crazy-patched the fabric onto A4 blocks of material I didn’t like. Most people use paper for this stage and carefully rip it off before assembling the quilt. I saw that as a waste of time. I had some wincyette (flannelette to Australians) with a dye fault and saw crazy-patch as an excellent opportunity to use it up.

It also adds to the thickness and warmth of the finished quilt. I’ve found fabric in op-shops with a dye fault or a pull in the weft or weave. Great material to use for this purpose, new, warm, and accessible at a reasonable price.

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