A Birthday Giveaway.....

Just dropping in briefly to let you know I am holding a little birthday giveaway.

My birthday but you get the pressies.....

It's to say a big  THANK YOU for visiting, following, commenting, encouraging.

THANK YOU for your support and friendship.

So I have made a sweet, little stitchery incorporating 2 of my favourite things.

♥.....Birds and Bunting....♥

and just a little reminder that,

'If life throws you scraps make bunting.....'

It just popped into my head yesterday, not sure if I read that

somewhere else or it's my version of

'When life throws you scraps make quilts.... '

But I'm going to claim it for my own unless someone else can prove they came up with it first, hehe.....

So here's the deal, I'm running this on Facebook, so if you like you can pop over to my FB page and comment, please read all the details over there.

If you're not a FB user, just leave a comment here to enter the draw.

If you want to share this post, you get an extra entry into the draw.

Pretty straight forward isn't it?!

Now the draw is at 11am on Tuesday the 11th (the big day).....

yes that's right 2 days away, so don't delay girls.....

I'm being very spontaneous, which is most unusual for me.....

Righto, back to the vaccuming......

 Claire XXX

A Creative Mish Mash........

Who pulled the plug out when I wasn't looking?

I had the day planned and all was going well until I got home from town and then it all went awry......

A 4.15am start didn't help.

 Hubby and son needed to be driven to the airport for an early morning flight north.....

Away for the weekend they'll be enjoying 26 degree days up in Queensland.

Still it gave me the chance to have a breakfast catchup with my sister. Get some shopping done, goods exchanged, shoes ordered  fabric bought sort of stuff and get home and still have half a day left to sew......right?!

Ha...

Someone pulled the plug once I got home and did a few jobs.....crank up the heater, wash bought fabrics, put away shopping, pat the cat and have lunch that was it.....

So here I am.....finally posting after uploading pics for the 3rd, yes, 3rd time, grrr!

A mix of recent makes......tea cosies for an order, a little stitchery and some seasonal stuff to follow.

Grab a cuppa, I'm playing catchup here girls.....

My latest stitchery 

'Miss Mousie'

Makes me happy looking at all the bright, cheery colours.

Something a little different for me and a little wire heart hanger instead of the Silver Birch twigs I have been using.....

It is looking for a new home, just email me if you would like to know more.....

Bluebell tea cosy.....love these colours.

I planted some Bluebells in the Wild Wood last season I hope they flower this year......

Last Saturday it rained...... It was beautiful, the golden, coppery tones of the leaves still hanging on made my heart sing....

It was the sort of day where I couldn't wipe the smile of my face. 

We definitely needed the rain (almost 3 inches) and listening to it on the roof or watching it fall whilst cosied up at home or in a cafe having coffee is just the best.

Definitely soup, stew and dumplings weather.....

Love distorted rain on windscreen effects......♥

More happy colours.....

Love a little woodland scene,

"The woods were buzzing with the news.

 Mr. Whiskers was holding a tea party and everyone was invited...

But the wise, old owl knew every trick in Mr. Whiskers book

 he'd seen it all before....."

 and there had to be more Foxgloves too....

Taken before I headed away recently, our Maples put on a wonderful, fiery red display.

There were still quite a few leaves doggedly hanging on when I returned home, but this week......they're almost gone.

I love the carpet effect they create underneath the tree.

The last cosy to show you.

Head over to

The Empty Nest 

face book page and have a look at my inspiration

Now I've done the fun part of the cosies, I 

 need to crack on and finish them off.

Of course with cold, wet Wintry weather, soup is a must.

I dug up some overgrown Parsnips to see what I would find.

Well, as expected they were monster size, half of this one was cut  off by the shovel!!

 I chopped and cut off the fibrous centre and just boiled it.

Then I 'zjooshed' it up with the stick mixer, threw in a knob of butter and tasted it.

It was surprisingly

 AWESOME

So I then turned the puree into soup.

If it had've been a dud, the chooks would've enjoyed a hot meal, but I have enough soup to last me for a couple of days and there are still more Parsnips in the garden.

No.1 on seeing me serve dinner that night, wondered why I had cooked so much potato mash!!

"Would he like some?" 

"Well, seeing as though you cooked so much I better have some"

"No wait a minute" he exclaimed "what' in it?"

Almost got him, hehe......

I love cooking on the wood stove in the gathering twilight and just looking out at the hills.

Wanted to share my view with you even if it is a little dim outside....

A final pic to share......an op shop find,

 the last day in Byron Bay.

I wandered through those op shops for 3 days, just browsing as you do.

On the last day I spied the polka dots and vintage green....be still my beating heart!

A chipped spout and crazed glaze on the inside did not detract from it's beauty......

50 cents really?

Wasn't until I got it home and had a good look, that I could see the Beswick Ware stamp on it's bottom.

I also found a copy of

 From Lark Rise to Candleford

just my sort of book, loving it.

Oops, almost forgot to show you my new door mat.

Lifelike isn't it?

Guess who nearly got stepped on?

It's time to feed the chooks, throw another log on the fire and think about what's for dinner.

Soup perhaps?

Most definitely....are you a Parsnip lover or hater?

I have just discovered that

Kirstie's Vintage Home

is on the ABC on Thursday nights.

Squeeeeal with excitement.....

I read about things on UK blogs and then it takes months to find it's way Downunder....

So don't ring me at 8.30pm 'cos I won't answer!!

Ooh, hello it's just started to rain, I didn't expect that.

I do love Winter.....

Hoping you are all well and feeling creative and inspired.

Take care,

Claire X

Heading North for the Winter....or part of it....

I've packed my bag and headed North for a week or so

 with No. 1.......

I'm taking on the role of unpaid roadie/relief driver as he heads North gigging on the way up to 

Blues on Broadbeach  

music festival on the Gold Coast.

Before I left home I needed to whip up a few Owlies for the local gallery, stock was getting low....

My last sewing fix hope it lasts till I get home......

So here we are in Byron Bay we've had 3 nights here and it's been lovely and relaxing.

Today was a little overcast and cool but nothing like the weather 

I left behind.......

We've spent time in cane country, surrounded by walls of green....

Where the rivers are wide and the bridges are hooouuuge.....

I've spent time crocheting and trying out a new pattern thanks to Ale over at Homemade at My Place

I've enjoyed the most beautiful scenery.

Views that have made me smile, made me happy. 

You all know how much I love Winter and rugging up etc. but it's just gorgeous here.

 I have to be honest and say that I'm not looking forward to heading home to colder temps......

I can understand why folk hitch up their little home on wheels and head North for the Winter.

Our view from the hotel room in Yamba

Breakfast at Caper Berry Cafe

Ashby Market...Saturday morning

A quick change of pace......

Mr Foxy Loxy here is a quick little brooch I stitched up last week.

You know one of those ideas that you get when time is limited but you can't leave it till later......

Sorry the pic is a little fuzzy but if you want to see a great fox post head over to Knatolee's World.

She's been watching mama fox and her brood of cute as offspring......

And finally some sweet birdy love.....

A Wonga Pigeon snapped in my sister's garden last week.

This lovely, birdy is fluffed up against the cold and believe me it was cold!!

They don't live in my neck of the woods, so I enjoyed our meeting and

 yes and I know what you're all thinking!!

She/he would make a nice meal...

  

Whilst away I've kept an eagle eye out for op shops.

My search thus far, has yielded nothing more than a sweet little hand embroidered serviette.....

I'm looking forward to getting back to my sewing machine and working on a few new ideas.

I've also bought my crocheted blanket away with me and have been hooking a round or two....slowly getting closer to finishing it.

Think I'm going to need it when I get home, hehe.....

So what have you all been up to?

Love to hear what's going on with you.

Any new discoveries, ideas, creations?

Thanks for visiting, it's lovely to have you here,

Take care,

Claire X

The Woodlings, A Win and lots of Wonderful Things.......

Hello there girls, yes, another post, twice in one week......

I've surprised myself.

 Been a while since I've managed that.

Another little woodland creature has been added to the collection today.

Thanks to Deirdre McCracken of Felted Fido page on Face Book they have now been named 

"The Woodlings"

I think this is the perfect name for them, thanks Deirdre.

Check out Felted Fido for some amazing felt creations.....

Autumn colour found it's way into the design......

How could I resist?

"Together they shared life's adventures....."

"The Woodlings"

I've also been up to my elbows in green tomato pickles.

Slicing and dicing onions and tomatoes.

Then juggling pots on the wood stove to cook them.

It's the first time I've ever made them and they turned out well, which is great 'cos it made over 20 jars worth!!

Washing jars, sterilizing them cooking and doing the dishes.

It was a business all right.

 Won't need to make any for the next couple of years I think.

Mind you I've already given away 6 jars, so they may not last quite as long!!

I was also given half a rather large pumpkin from a workmate, so there's been soup making going on as well.

A cold change is forecast for Sunday, so it will be the perfect weather for soup.....♥

A new potholder was also needed.
 Now that the wood stove has been fired up,

  you could never find one when you needed it.

But it's all sorted now....

After nearly 5 months of flowering, I have picked the last bunch of Zinnias for the season......

Till next year....♥

Another wonderful parcel found it's way to my letter box recently.

I was the lucky winner of Alessandra's giveaway over at  her blog

Homemade At My Place

Inside the postal bag was this gorgeous zip bag, which will be great to put crochet projects in for travelling.....

Red, pink and blue one of my favourite colour combos.

Inside it was choc a block full of lovely things.

A Japanese crochet book, full of great projects and lots of

informative photos.

Cute little doily patterned sticky notelets, a crocheted heart, a cute little heart peg. A bag full of bright beads, perfect for a crafty project and some of Ale's wonderful crochet.....glass covers.

The colours are gorgeous and her crochet is super neat and even.

I love it all Ale, thank you so much....X

Pop over to her blog and say 'hi' ......

A quick peek at a few of our trees.

They're looking stunning in their Autumn gowns....
'October Glory' Maples, Silver Birches, Forest Pansy tree.....

 A sweet birdy shot... and it's not a Robin, hehe...

I had to be quick to grab the camera and snap a few shots before it flew away.

I believe it's an Eastern Rosella and if it turned around a little more, you would see it's beautiful bright blue feathers..... 
♥♥♥♥♥

I received a phone call out of  the blue this afternoon and Andrea of Harvest With Glee blog was in town.

So I glammed up (almost) and headed in to meet her and hubby Bob (Hi Bob)

and have a cuppa .

We have a mutual friend which was quite a hoot when we realised the connection.....small world eh?

Had a lovely hour or so sitting in the afternoon sunshine and chatting away.

Next time we'll catch up in her neck of the woods and there's a certain cafe in Daylesford where I am going to plant by derriere,

 drink coffee, watch the passers by, chat, do a round or two or three of crochet and enjoy the company of friends old and new.....
Sorry there's no pics, we were too busy chatting!!


Exciting news that's just come in this morning.

A parcel of 

Sweet Birdy Love 
teacosies and stitcheries have arrived at

 The Empty Nest

 shop
 in
 Warrenton Virginia USA

Take the link and visit Janet's shop.
 This is one multi talented and inspirational lady who has encouraged and supported my creative ventures on my blog from the beginning.

She also blogs at

 The Empty Nest

So thanks for coming by girls, hope your week is going well and  you are finding time to be creative and also enjoy the seaonal beauty around you.

Wishing all mum's celebrating Mothers Day on Sunday a wonderful day.....
Hope you are spoilt with hugs and love and maybe brekky in bed or lunch out..... you deserve it ♥♥♥

Take care,

Claire x

Autumn Musings........

Hello girls, hope I can stay awake long enough to finish this post, I'm a tad weary this evening......

If you're visiting from the  UK I hope you enjoyed your Bank Holiday weekend.

I've been doing a little stitching today, some new tea cosy designs.

I had a full day of snipping and stitching planned but woke up feeling a little off colour, so my plans went out the window.

However, I managed to salvage the day after all and even got into the garden to do a bit of tidying up, so not all was lost.

Hyacinths in a bowl.....I love their perfume.

Last week I made a friend for Fenja and called her Fern

 (obvious choice really!!)

We had a little photo shoot out in the Wild Wood where she felt very much at home amongst the Silver Birches and Autumn leaves.

These little Woodland Creatures are fun to make so I'm sure there will be more in the future......so many ideas!

Last Thursday a friend asked me to give her a hand in her vegie garden.

 So, armed with my gardening gloves and secateurs I headed over there.

There were 4 of us, digging, picking, pruning and gathering.

Out in the fresh air and sunshine it was alot of fun and didn't seem like work at all.

At the end of the morning we lined the produce up on the verandah to see exactly what there was.

The last Autumn harvest, yielded capsicums, green tomatoes for pickles, red tomatoes for hmm, not sure what she was going to use them for. Chilli's and peppers, carrots, eggplant a red cabbage, a watermelon and a  basket full of purple potatoes.

Not bad at all.......

So today when I was feeling better, I got out into my own vegie garden and harvested the last of the toms both red and green and I will have a go at making some green tomato pickles on Wednesday.

The red ones will be cooked down, put through a sieve and frozen as Passata......

Lee anne's garden is run on Permaculture principals.

Vegies in with flowers etc. it looks a little higgeldy piggeldy at first glance but believe me there is a lot of planning that goes into it all.

The Cosmos were putting on a lovely display, the bees enjoying the blooms.

I heard recently that a bee has to visit a flower 1000 times to  to make one teaspoon of honey.

Think your job's tough? 

Friday was a coffee catchup morning in town.

 I picked 3 bunches of Zinnias, I could've picked double the amount and still had more left in the garden.

2 bunches for friends and the last bunch would be given away to

someone who was least expecting it.

Gotta love surprises, hehe......

This Autumn has been rather glorious once the heat of Summer passed. The trees have been putting on a magnificent display.

Just down the road from my home, someone planted a row of Chinese Pistachio trees. Their growth had been rather stunted during the drought but they are slowly taking off and when the sun is shining on them they are breathtakingly beautiful.

I really had to stop to admire them and take some pics to show you.....

Out in the Wild Wood Tiggy was trying his best to blend in with the golden tones.

 I think he was doing a pretty good job

.......and sadly I've had to say farewell to my faithful outdoor boots.

They had a blow out in the toe a few weeks ago and the soles are well worn but I have continued to use them.

They are comfortable and easy to get on in a hurry.

I have a new pair of boots sitting in their box in the wardrobe, but I hate breaking new boots in..... 

I also intended to show you the lovely giveaway I won recently over on Alessandra's blog.

But the pics must still be on my camera, I was sure I had uploaded them....next time.

I have been fortunate to win 2 giveaways and a raffle recently....

I have also been working away on my granny square blanket, the end is in sight. I've decided to do another round of colours and that should make it the right size. So that means another 9 rounds.

Better get cracking on it, you'll be sick of me prattling on about it.

So this week there will be more sewing, some pickles cooked, some crochet taking place and no doubt time spent in the garden if this lovely weather continues.

What have you got planned?

Anything exciting?

Thanks for popping by for a visit, it's always lovely to hear

 from you......

Take Care,

Claire X