She Was A Curious Little Creature.......

Hello girls, how's your weekend going? 

Are you enjoying some lovely, Spring weather

 or the delights of Autumn?

It's been a lovely day here, blue skies, a few clouds but a pleasant temperature.

My camera/computer has been giving me the run around trying to upload photos, but finally it's behaving despite the first pic!!

I've had a lovely day stitching, snipping and finishing off a little project, I've been thinking about for a while.....

You know how much I love Autumn and all it's glorious colours.....

Beautiful, scarlet rose hips and coppery leaves

'She was a curious little creature.

Her blue eyes full of wonder,

Her heart full of love and her arms outstretched to

help others'.....

I needle felted some wool into the Oak leaves, to add a touch

of colour.....

Just need to hand stitch her closed and she's finished.

I'm quite happy with the way she's turned out, although I wanted her hat to look a little more 'slouchy' but hey,

 first time 'n all that.

I've called her Fenja (love that name) she lives in the forest and has a natural affinity with all the woodland creatures.

A visit to local gallery on Wednesday saw me buying 2 bags of wool tops. 

I've never bought them before, but the wool is so incredibly soft and the colours are just stunning.

 Coppery reds, green, purples....so many different colours hidden away among the folds.

Blues and purples, the colours in the pic aren't quite true....but I'm sure I'm going to have some fun with some needle felting projects soon.

Out in the garden one lonely Hollyhock spire is reaching for the sky in a last ditch effort before frosts arrive.

I watched it shooting upwards, wondering if it would manage to flower......

The sky was a dramatic, inky blue yesterday morning when I was feeding the chooks. 

Had to race and grab my camera and snap away before  it all changed.

It looked a little stormy but there was no rain forecast.......

The Chrysanthemums are starting to bloom.

The long, hot Summer almost killed them, but thankfully they're tough.....

Tig has done his contortionist impression and made himself comfortable in the box Ted arrived in from Devon.......

Fortunately Ted had long vacated it and made himself comfy elsewhere.

He's settled in nicely and thankyou all for your name suggestions.

Mrs Micawber thought it should be something suggestive of faded splendour and Annie @ Knitsofacto felt it should be something with gravitas so that's the direction I'm  heading in.

 I'll keep you posted but if you have any more suggestions along these lines, please let me know.

It's been a big week for celebrations here.

Hubby and I celebrated 20 years of marriage on Wednesday

 He took me out for a lovely lunch and had bought me some very thoughtful gifts.

 It's hard to believe it's 20 years...in the blink of an eye!!

Tomorrow No.1 celebrates his 22nd. birthday.

He'll be away, working on his birthday,

 playing at St. Alban's Folk Festival,

 but somehow I don't think he'll mind!

 He's doing what he loves so what more can you ask for.

Well I think I can stay awake long enough to do another round on my granny square blanket. Takes that little bit longer each round, but I am getting there......slowly.

Thanks for the lovely comments you all left on my last post.

I have some new followers so  welcome to all of you.

Have a great weekend girls and thanks so much for coming over to visit...... 

Claire X 

Cooeeeeeee I'm Back

Hello there, how are you all?

Sorry I have been away for longer than usual.......it's been a little busy here.

We spent Easter in Canberra at the National Folk Festival. No.1 was on the bill for the first time, so the three of us headed north for the break.

We had a lovely time, Canberra is a very picturesque city and more so in Autumn with all the English trees changing colour and beautiful parklands....

I did manage to visit an Op shop or two on Saturday morning but no treasures leaped out at me.

Normal life has resumed now we're back home and a little sewing project had me side tracked today........

Some sweet Babushka print fabric from Spotlight has been turned into key fobs......

After a bit of snipping and sewing they just need a little stitching to finish them off and some hand embroidery gives them a personal finishing touch.

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A cold snap over Easter had me searching for some extra warmth Saturday night.....

Fortunately, there was a stall at the Festival market selling the most wonderful, fingerless gloves and hats.

They are Fair Trade, hand made in Peru and 100% organic. So many beautiful designs, colours and all beautifully soft.

These gloves will get plenty of wear this Winter.....I love the colours, design and the comfort factor is very high.

Reading some of the information about the products and how they are made proved quite an eye opener......

"The women use urine from young boys which is fermented for 2 weeks and then used to help 'fix' the indigo blue dye.

The urine has to be collected from the children as it doesn't contain alcohol!"

If you would like to have a look at some more of their products take the link.......

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Beautiful Autumn weather continues here and the days have warmed a little....

The garden is putting on a colourful show in one way or another...shall we?...

Beautiful Camp David roses are reaching for the sky, or the roof at least.

The blooms are huge,

velvety, highly perfumed and quite voluptuous.....

The photo doesn't do them justice, but you get the picture...

Under the Manchurian Pear there's a carpet of Autumn leaves.

The colours are glorious....reds, golds, burnt orange....

Maples along the driveway continue to colour up adding to the overall display in the garden...

Chrysanthemums are starting to unfurl their Autumnal beauty......

lovin' those colours...

I picked the pumpkins yesterday as we had a couple of frosts recently......

These pumpkins grew on a vine that popped up in the garden after I dug some compost in.

20 seedlings poked their heads through the soil and we pulled them all out bar one. Initially only 2 pumpkins were growing on the vine a poor harvest......but in the last couple of months more pumpkins appeared and I have picked 6 and I think there might still be one or two hiding under the leaves.

Guess what we are going to be eating over the colder months?

Pumpkin soup, scones, roast pumpkin,

hmmm, any more suggestions please leave a comment.

By the way, they are Kent pumpkins and generally very tasty indeed...

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Now let me introduce you to my new friend, Wilfred.....

During a visit to the Op shop yesterday as I passed the toy section this sweet, little bunny caught my eye.

Perhaps it was the hand knitted pants and jacket that swayed me.

Or, perhaps it was the fact that he was just so darn cute.....

Whatever the reason he was coming home with me...

Someone took great care to knit his outfit as they made sure there was a spot for his little cottontail.

Wilfred has settled in to his new home and

become firm friends with Tigger, hehe.....

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Well, my blogging voice is in full swing again, but as for my own voice it's coming and going thanks to a cold.

I'm on the improve but I have been squeaking and croaking for the last few days which has been quite comical at times.......

Whilst typing up this blog post there was a knock at the door and my wonderful and thoughtful neighbour ( you know the kind they are real treasures) Lindy popped by with a mug full of delicious, steaming hot, home made pumpkin soup and some slices of scrummy Milawa Ciabatta bread.

I had dropped in to visit her this afternoon and deliver a 'thankyou' gift for looking after our animals while we were away.

She knew I was on my own for dinner this evening......

what a sweetie.

Do you have wonderful neighbours?

I hope you are all well and enjoying some lovely Autumn/Spring weather wherever you are....

Thanks for stopping by to read my ramblings and say 'hi' always enjoyable reading your comments and a big welcome to all new followers.

Take care,

Claire X

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