Monday, April 16, 2012

To Do or Not To Do?.... that is the question.

Hello there, did you all have a relaxing weekend and enjoy some beautiful weather?

I hope so......

My 'to do' list has been keeping me busy with a market coming up this Saturday.......

I've been working on another tea cosy or two......



Autumn's beauty surrounds us here.......

Hmmm, a dodgy camera angle has my cosy looking slightly wonky on one side.

'Autumn burned brightly, a running flame
through the mountains, a torch flung
to the trees......'

Faith Baldwin

I love this saying........

The good old gum trees have a beauty of their own but you can't beat English trees in Autumn.......






Saturday afternoon on a whim, I grabbed florals and polka dots to have a play and see what came out of it.......

Truth be told I was avoiding one of the jobs on my 'to do' list....




I didn't want to be too particular with the lettering.

You know I prefer wonky and frayed to straight and perfect.
I like the character and texture machine embroidery adds.......

The longest part is deciding on fabrics and design. Maybe it's just me but boy, it can take a while to get a pleasing design happening....


In preparation for the market I have been finishing off some crochet flower brooches. For some time, I have been searching for a picture frame to use as a brooch display.
I finally found a suitable frame, although a little larger would've been perfect, but I could work with this.




It was silver but a quick spray with Cherry Red has it looking rather spiffy and eye catching.......

Adding a contrasting yarn to the 'petals' of the flower has given them some more definition and interest.... I like the effect.
There are still more waiting to be finished off so my little brooch stand will be simply blooming.....


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I couldn't let you go without showing you a treasure or two from the garden now could I ?

The Forest Pansy tree is a myriad of colour and when the afternoon sun shines on it........

It literally glows, in the gathering dusk with the last of the sun's rays catching the leaves.

They may be smaller than the mid Summer blooms, but the splash of colour in the shrubbery brightens the day.......

Rain is forecast for later in the week, which is great as the garden is rather dry...



It's Feijoa season, yay.....

(Feijoa/Pineapple Guava/Guavasteen - an evergreen shrub growing to between 1-7 metres, it's native to the southern highlands of Brazil and other South American Countries. Widely cultivated as a garden plant and a fruiting tree in New Zealand.
For more info. ask Mr. Google it's quite interesting...)

The first for the season were all mine on Sunday afternoon as the boys have been away during the week and I found these nestling in the grass.


I was told recently that 'they aren't ripe till they drop off the tree'...... I wasn't going to argue with this 'font of knowledge' as he seemed to be a rather self appointed expert on a number of things, hehe.....

They explode in your mouth with their fruity cocktail of flavours....
Believe it or not, some people have them growing in their gardens and are blissfully unaware that the fruit is edible!!

I'll have to look carefully when I'm in the orchard next as the egg shaped fruit are well camouflaged amongst the grass.

-----OOOOO------

The 'to do' list is a little shorter now, but the job I was avoiding is still on it, hmmm.....I can't put it off any longer.

The boys are home after spending the week in Adelaide.
I had the house clean and tidy for their arrival and shortly after they walked in there was 'stuff' on just about every horizontal surface and a load of washing piled up in the laundry.....

Welcome home ♥♥

Thanks for all your lovely comments.
I enjoy reading every one of them....now I'm off to rediscover my horizontal surfaces!!

Have a great week, thanks for visiting and take care,

Claire ❀❀❀









20 comments:

  1. The feijoa - whowhatarethey? We are still enjoying daffodils as I enjoy your autumn leaves.

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  2. Love your tea cosies - they are gorgeous!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  3. Claire - love your tea cosies - will think about you every time I have a 'Keep Calm and Have a Cup of Tea' day. I'm another one who hasn't sampled a feijoa. They sound delicious.

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  4. I have just discovered your blog on the blog list at Tea at Weasel's. I love your work!! It is such fun.

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  5. Very pretty tea cosies, if only I had a tea pot. Not sure they would have quite the same effect on my kettle hehe.
    And I'm a third asking what is a Feijoa? We don't get them here and they sure look yummy.
    What lovely pictures of Autumn. They are a stark contrast to my seedlings and emerging tulips.
    Hopefully that new Brooch display will help you in Market season.
    Thank you for all the lovely comments you have left me. I love reading them
    xx

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  6. oh your pictures....so beautifull as always!!!! i love your tea cosies so much!!! i cant wait to own a sewing machine so that i can try and make one myself. your garden must be heaven...but what is a feijoa???

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  7. Forget the feijoa - what's a pansy tree??

    We have tulip trees here, but haven't come across a pansy tree yet.

    Lovely work, Claire.
    You are such a little beaver.

    cheers
    Fi

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  8. Beautiful tea cosie's, can't go wrong with florals and spots, all the best for the market

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  9. Golly you're good at embroidered writing!
    Hello Claire lovely to meet you ~ I am imagining you at Cliffy's in the window, blow it a kiss from me...Good luck at the market, I ma sure your things will be a huge success,

    Sarah -x-

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  10. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such encouraging comments. Your tea cosies are so sweet! And it's interesting to me how our seasons differ; I'm having spring blooms and you're having fall colors. Incredible!

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  11. Mmm... I love feijoas, feijoa muffins, feijoa icecream, feijoa crumbles, and just plain ole feijoas by themselves... mmm might have to head back out to the kitchen for a snack...

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  12. Love the cosies - especially the autumn one. And thank you for sharing the beautiful autumn leaves photo(it's strange to think that other parts of the world are experience autumn right now).
    Enjoy the rest of the week!
    Carly
    x

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  13. Just catching up, and catching my breath...wow how talented you are I love your tea cosies, I am sure they will go to lovely homes and help make those houses into real homes.
    Now I am off to do another to do job on my must do list, so glad I am not the only one. Take care x

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  14. LOVE these cosies Claire - just gorgeous :) That's a fab way to display brooches - very ingenious! 'Feijoas' sound yummy and very exotic, have no idea how you pronounce them tho, hehe :)
    All the best with your fair on Saturday - will be thinking of you at mine :)

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  15. What a fabulous post, love the tea cosies... You rock!

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  16. Awesome tea cosies, wowzer the writing is amazing.
    I've never had a feijoa, they sound delicious you lucky thing.
    x

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  17. Love your tea cozies, especially the Autumn one.
    We got our first feijoas of the season this week too! The best thing was giving some to my 16 month old son. He did the "ooh this is sour" wince, gave a little shiver and then stuck his little hand straight out for another bit accompanied by a big grin!

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  18. I'm just catching up 'cos I'm way behind with my blog reading.

    I've never heard of Feijoas either!

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