Budgies, Brooches, Blooms, Birds.........Bed !

Helloooooooo girls, it's me......yes, I'm still here

Albeit, sporadically, occasionally.......well sometimes!!

Mind you I do pop by for a visit and comment, so I haven't completely disappeared.

Thanks to Anne of Ungardened Moments for a lovely email checking to see if all was OK as I had been missing in action for some time.

You see I am now one of those Bloggers who has gone over to play in the Facebook playground and stayed there.......they have different toys over there and bright, shiny things and well.....I know there's no excuse.

But here I am, I hope you are all well, we won't talk about how the year has flown, but here we are in November......

Things here at Sweet Birdy Love are busy.

 Spring has been stunning and continues to thrill me with all the Roses in full bloom now.

My Hollyhocks have self seeded and are popping up wherever they can.

I hope I get a variety of colour....:)

We are also planting vegie seedlings and the garden is filling up quickly.

The weather has been quite changeable....last Thursday night I was kicking the blankets off it was so warm and then Saturday I was adding an extra one as it had turned quite cool.

I hold on to the cooler temps and enjoy them as much as I can as I know Summer is just around the corner and along with it the heat!

I also love this time of year as farmers slash and bale their paddocks for hay/silage. From the great room window I watch the green paddocks turn a patchwork of gold as the grass is cut, left to dry, raked and baled. I love hearing the rumble of tractors towing balers down the road throughout the day.

As usual there is plenty of sewing taking place and Budgies are featuring at the moment.

Hubby was given a gorgeous, green blanket last week and I couldn't wait to start cutting and stitching.

This little fella is going to be a sewing needle book for a market in December.

A few more needle books for the market.

Of course I couldn't stop at one Budgie, they are such fun to stitch.........

I've also whipped up some brooches and I couldn't go past a cute little Hedgehog with a couple of oak leaves.

I do love the woodland theme..... 

Let's duck outside for a little fresh air shall we?....

William Morris rose planted last season has burst into bloom and is  just beautiful but I'm afraid I'm somewhat disappointed with the lack of scent.

I can't believe I bought a Rose that doesn't have much of a perfume!!

This photo was taken about 3 weeks ago and you can see how green everything was. It has dried off a little, but still quite green.

The Dutch Irises in the Wild Wood, put on another lovely display.

 I noticed the leaves growing but then always get a surprise to see the flowers.

They blend in with the white trunks of the Birches so well.

They're very happy in this posi and have been there for about 4 years now.

 I also planted the Blue variety of Dutch Irises but only got one flower this year.

 Hopefully next year a few more will bloom.

The Lilac was stunning and I just love the purple of the flower  and turquoise of the vase......the perfume is beautiful and I picked quite a few bunches to bring inside and enjoy.

It's also Magpie season and the hatched young ones spend the days in our garden with their beaks open calling to be fed.

I love watching them they're such characters. 

But I would be happier if they didn't stand outside the bedroom window at 6am waiting to be fed!!

The Magpies inspired me to stitch a textile picture for our local art show which opened a week ago.

I've forgotten to up load it, oops....next time!!

This is one of the 4 pieces I entered in the show.

Watercolour and stitching on canvas.

I haven't done this before, so was quite pleased with the

overall effect.

Thankfully, all of my pieces sold, so I didn't have to bring them home and find somewhere to store them.

I love seeing what everyone enters.

 There are some very creative and talented people living in the area.

Unbeknown to me No.1 son actually bought a piece of art at the show and surprised me with it tonight when he arrived home.

It's a beautiful pastel drawing of a Flame Robin sitting on a rusty old star picket.

 I was a bit gobsmacked I have to say, but totally thrilled.

I'm sure you all know by now how much I love seeing those Robins in Winter.

He bought so that I didn't have to wait till Winter to see them!

I'll post a pic next time..... 

A little more stitching......another "Woodling' but this one is a little different.

She was part of an order I sent over to Janet at The Empty Nest in Warrenton Virginia.

Janet has been selling my work in her gorgeous shop.

So part of what I am working on at the moment will find it's way to The Empty Nest as well.......

Finally, I just  had to share this pic of Tigger with you.

What is it about cats and boxes?

He quite happily curled up and went to sleep in it, despite there not being alot of room to stretch.

Wouldn't that be a great attribute to have?

 Being able to curl up anywhere and nod off.

Talking about nodding off, it's time I did.....

So there you have it a quick little post of what I've been up to recently.

Just the usual things happening. The year is drawing to a close and that pair of socks I intended to knit this year, hasn't

eventuated. 

My sister and BIL from Wakefield in the UK were visiting about a fortnight ago. It was lovely to see them.

 Our last catch up was in 2007 when we headed over to the UK.

We had a lovely time together and they enjoyed the warmer weather . Not sure if they were enjoying the 41deg as they headed towards Port Augusta last week!!

So a busy week ahead of me. Stacks of sewing to get through.

Ukulele class is on tomorrow night and the Friday night

Yackandandah World Record Bunting Attempt happening so it's all go here.......

Hope all is well with you and thanks for visiting.

Take care,

Claire X 

Not Such a Bright Idea.......

Hello girls, how are you all?

Hope you've had a great weekend and enjoyed some lovely weather

wherever you are.....

I've been a busy stitching away, aiming for my first market stall at Bright this year to be held on Saturday.

  

For a change I stitched up some gum leaves,nuts and flowers on a sewing needle book. I loved the end and result and the final touch..... a native blue banded bee....

I've been having fun stitching up little brooches......

Some garden scenes and flowers in polka dot jugs.

Some sleepy time, blanket bunnies waiting patiently to have their nether regions stitched up.

Whilst I'm warm and cosy stitching away inside, it's been quite damp outside this week.

I had to race and grab the camera before the view changed.

The sun was filtering through the cloud, it was quite spectacular.

Wee birds nests have been discovered now that leaves have dropped from trees and shrubs....

This one belongs to the Mistletoe bird. 

It's made from matted plant down and cobwebs. 

I'll take my creative hat off to the gal who made this....the time and effort that went into making this is amazing. 

It's like felt, quite strong yet pleasingly soft.

 It looks like  a small bag suspended from the twig and this pic was taken 10 days ago, when we were having lovely, sunny days after frosty mornings.

Back to the stitching.......

My friend and talented artist  Ella asked me to make some soft toys in the style of the "Woodlings', as gifts for her friend who recently had her second child.

One was for big sister Meadow.....she loves the outdoors and appreciates the beauty of her natural surroundings

A little colour in the cheeks and lips made all the difference.....

Diamonds or a birds nest?

Which treasure would you prefer?

The second was for new brother Geordi,his dad loves the bush and  

no doubt will share his love of it with his son, as he grows.

Possum and gum trees

Now you see the reason behind the native flora inspiration ....

A closeup of the Echidna, funny little creatures that they are.....

As is my way, things came down to the last minute in preparing for the market.

When the alarm went off at 5.30am Saturday it was raining, but I was ready to go whatever the weather.

 Would've been too disappointing not to.

The river in Bright was a ranging torrent after recent heavy rain.

It looked like melted milk chocolate.......

Underfoot it was wet in areas of the park, just as well I packed my gumboots........

I set up my stall along with a few others

.

There was laughter and chit chat and a warm welcome back from stall holders.

Shame the weather wasn't quite as welcoming.

The sun put in appearance and people ventured out, but when it was obvious more rain was on the way,

I packed up early and headed off to have a coffee and catchup  somewhere warm with fellow stall holder Sandy.

Still, I enjoyed my trip to Bright and what do they say?

'Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain' ......

The past week, we've had some very stormy weather and 4 inches of rain and during that time 3 calves were born.

Great timing girls!!

These little bundles of energy are such great time wasters.

I love watching them take their first wobbly steps, gaining confidence, learning to run and  playing together.....  

So the mayhem that ensues preparing for a market is over and I can relax for a bit.......

This week I will be packing away the sewing machine and giving my  sewing room a good tidy up as well as giving the garden a bit of a spruce up too

Then I will be packing my suit case and next week, I will be flying over to Canada to join hubby and son on the last leg of the tour ........

I will be there for the last 3 festivals in Canmore and Calgary Alberta. Then a gig in Kelowna and the last festival in

 Salmon Arm BC.....

So I am wondering if any of you Canadian bloggers or those who have travelled to these places have any suggestions on places to visit or things to do while we are there as the week will be free between festivals......

I'm looking forward to some Canadian hospitality, seeing some of your beautiful countryside and some warmer temps....but of course I will be missing out on some of our Winter!!

So what's going on in your neck of the woods?

Are you enjoying Summer or Winter weather?

Staying put or heading off on holidays?

Hope you have time to stop and say 'hi'.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week,

Take care,

Claire X