Something in the Air..........

A month late, but who's counting?.........

This cushion was started back in January after I finished my 'foxy loxy' cushion.

Whilst the weather is still warm here, there is something in the air....... the heavy dew on the grass in the mornings, the cooler nights, the trees starting to change colour........

Autumn is making it's presence felt in so many ways.

This cushion was just begging to be made and I am very happy with how it turned out

The text reads:-

'No finer carpet was ever laid,

than that which

Autumns treasures made.'

I didn't have to search the internet for an appropriate saying, it just popped into my head and I quickly stitched it into place before it disappeared again........

Here it is on the couch in the snug.

A place where I like to spend some quality time, now that No.1 has moved his myriad of guitars, didges and other musical paraphernalia and I can reclaim parts of it......

A little bit of this has been taking place too.

I was going to do loads of granny squares an then sew them together, but knowing myself a little too well, thought I would be better off sticking to the one square.

I am enjoying the rhythm once I get into it and it's very addictive.

I tuck my crochet bag under my wing when I head off somewhere and start hooking away as soon as I am seated, having coffee in town, lunch break at work, you name it......

I figure the more I do and the quicker it grows, then the better the chance that IT WILL get finished.

Just need to head over to Spotlight and grab some more wool, when it is on special.....

And don't worry it's not your eyesight, the square is a little off centre and I am not sure what happened and where, but if you look a little closer the first 4 rounds, have gone awry.

It wasn't until a little too late down the track that I realised this.

Mind you, I do like wonky lines, but more in my sewing rather than my crochet.

When it's all finished and casually thrown over the arm of the couch or someone is snuggling up underneath it, it really won't matter will it?.........

Oh, nearly forgot to ask.......how do all you creative crochet types deal with your ends?

I have managed to crochet some in when adding a new colour, but would like to hear from you about any tips you may have.

Check out these wonderful little stickers I found in our local newsagents yesterday.

How could I resist these little cuties?

I love 'woodlandy' creatures and themes etc.. they just had to come home with me.

Not sure where I am going to stick them, or if I will even use them but for $2.00 I am getting a lot of pleasure out of looking at these and I wouldn't be surprised if a cushion appeared with a woodland theme........

Just had to add a pic from the garden, after all the pruning and chopping was done on Monday, I can now take a better pic of the beautiful Belladonna Lillies.

They sit there for months half in, half out the ground doing nothing at all, making me think they are d .e. a. d.

Then a little stalk, a smidge of greenery starts to appear and I think 'hmm, there is life in there after all' Before I know it there are beautiful blooms.

It seems that quick, I don't even notice the buds about to blossom..........

They belonged to my late mum, I bought them back to my garden and gave them a home.

The little statue in the pic is Curtsy Girl also from mums garden.

My mum had a green thumb and just loved her garden, that's where she directed her creativity.

I have inherited some of that from her and also her haphazard garden design too........

Beautiful memories of mum are scattered around my garden, making me smile and think of her.

There was mist rising from the dam and heavy dew on the grass. I had to put my boots on to go and feed the chooks.

There was a cool edge to the morning air ..............

I love Autumn and welcome it's presence.

GORGEOUS GIVEAWAY

To be entered in a fab giveaway just head over to visit Jules at Little Woollie blog.

She is one creative lady who know how to whip up some wonderful creatures with a crochet hook and yarn. Her giveaway is open to everyone she will post o/s but you must enter before March 7th. So don't dilly dally, head over there right now.

Oh hey, wait a minute .........hey waaaaaait a minute I haven't quite finished.

Well, that's another week over, I have to stop and think what I got up to. Yes, it's been a productive and creative week, a great combination.

Closer to home just 'across the ditch' as they say.

The terrible earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand has been on my mind and thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by it.

While life goes on around here as usual, I realise that for some people, things will never, ever be the same. So I count my blessings and appreciate all that I have.

For a wonderful post with a little insight into what makes us tick pop over to read Anne's 23rd February post at Ungardened Moments . It's food for thought.

So thankyou for your comments and thanks for visiting. I hope your week has been full of creative and productive moments and you have a wonderful weekend, recharge your batteries ready to face the coming week.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Summer, Winter, Summer.................

So here we are into another week, hope you all had a great weekend whatever you did.

My weekend started out a little differently than expected.

I woke very early as I was planning to head to Bright for the monthly market, but it was pouring with rain, so I decided not to go.

As it turned out the market was cancelled, but not before a few die hard stall holders had made the trip and set up.............

I decided it was the perfect morning to head down the road to Beechworth for breakfast. It's a lovely little gold mining town with alot of history, beautiful old buildings and lots of lovely shops.

I took the above photo about 10.30am, one minute it was clear and then the fog rolled in.

It didn't hang around for long, but you know I love this sort of weather.

Mind you it wasn't at all cold, in fact it was quite mild.

We had 36mls of rain all up and it had fined up by lunch time.

It was actually rather steamy which is never pleasant.

The second building on the left is the Beechworth Bakery and in this sort of weather I like to order coffee a savoury scone (or two) the local newspaper and grab a seat in the window, to enjoy a relaxing breakfast, look out into the street and while away a lazy hour.

Hubby and No. 1 son had gone to the Cool Summer Festival at Mt. Hotham for the day.

Apparently, it was quite wet and blowing a gale, but the scenery was spectacular.

The outdoor stage was moved indoors and it sounds like everyone had a good time.

Sunday was the monthly Lions Club market in my little village.

Earlier in the week rain had been forecast for Sunday as well, but it had cleared off Saturday afternoon.

I still had the car packed from the Bright market so off I went.

It was a lovely morning if a little breezy.

I put my basket of Pirate Cats and Blanket Bunnies on a little tray stand covered with one of my op shop tea cloths.

Feb. is usually a quiet month after the rush of Christmas and school hols etc. so this market was a little quiet.

But we still had people coming from far flung parts to visit.

I sold a few things, but nothing like previous markets still that's how it goes, swings and slides..........

I

There was live music, as a fundraiser for the Victorian flood victims.

Gives the market a lovely atmosphere.

It's always a good opportunity to catch up with some locals and have a chat.

I had my crochet with me and almost managed to finish a granny square..............

(No I'm not that slow, just alot of interruptions, welcome ones of course......)

This morning was lovely and sunny and I had promised myself a day in the garden.

More like I had neglected it for so long it was threatening to take over. So armed with secateurs and chopper lopper thingys,I donned the gardening gear and attacked.

I cut chopped, trimmed, pruned and the pile of prunnings grew and grew and grew.

While I'm outside it's a good opportunity to let the girls out of their run for a change of scenery.

They're great little helpers, eating all the little nasties, they have brilliant eyesight.....

Ever seen a chook wearing glasses? Thought not......hehe

Poor Tig felt a little under threat, safer to stay inside whilst Mrs Brown is on her bug hunt.

Here's my secret weapon, in the gardening war.

No 1 son and a ride on mower with trailer.

While I pruned and the piles grew, he gathered them up, loaded them into the trailer and took them into the paddock for the cows to graze on.

There were several loads and the cows had a lovely feast.

We didn't even have to call them, they were mooing and running.

It's not like there's no grass in the paddock for them, but I guess it's a nice change from their usual diet.

By the end of the day I had hacked, mowed and whipper snipped the jungle back into some semblance of order.

As I headed for a nice warm shower with a feeling of contentment at my achievements, I hoped that I hadn't overdone it, as tomorrow I have to go to work.

Always nice to be able to move without sore muscles accompanied by moaning and groaning......

Not a good look when you work in a hospital.....

Tig has the right idea, I plan to do this as soon as I have finished this post.

I'm sure I will sleep soundly tonight.

Hope I don't dream of killer shrubs, their leafy tentacles reaching out to strangle me!

It's a cool, dare I say chilly, evening here, I have had to put on some layers and have dug out my Winter slippers.....

No. 1 started stacking away the wood (see previous post) later this afternoon.

I told him I couldn't wait until we could use the wood heater.

He rolled his eyes, but he's used to me.......

BUT fear not, Summer isn't done here yet, we are expecting temps to climb back up to 30 by the weekend........

So hopefully the zucchinis will keep growing and the tomatoes keep ripening before I have to start using some of that wood........

I hope your week has gotten off to a good start.

Thanks for dropping by and reading my ramblings, it's always nice to hear from you and I must say a big 'WELCOME' to all my new followers.

Look forward to hearing from you all,

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

A Tale of Three Cheeky Bunnies

With all the rain we've been having the bugs, slugs and other creepy crawlies have been breeding like there's no tomorrow.

Also the bunnies and they've found their way into our vegie garden, the cheeky little beggars.

I caught them hiding in amongst the beans.

They thought they were blending in but those big blue eyes gave them away.

No sooner had I spied them amongst the beans then they had headed over to the lettuces.

They were spoilt for choice.

Oh no there's more of them. Didn't their mother ever tell them tales of Peter rabbit and what happened to his dad?

I thought that would've been part of bunny folklore.

Passed down through the generations as a warning .

They certainly don't look worried, do they?

Mini Zinnias, next to the tomatoes.

Oh , where have those bunnies disappeared to, oh there they are.

I managed to grab them before they started doing any damage in the garden and before the furry felines found them, as they are partial to a bit of rabbit.

They are looking a little worried, they must've spied the BBQ outside..............

Worried that they could end up in a pie.....

I came home from work this afternoon and the first thing I noticed as I drove in the gate was this wonderful pile of wood.

Now we're ready for Winter, that is after No. 1 son stacks it into the wood shed...hehe... he doesn't know about my little plan yet.

When we had a load delivered last Autumn, the truck ran over something sharp in the grass and pffffffft, a puncture.

The somewhat elderly gentleman who was delivering it, got out of the truck, just shrugged it off and said that's the 3rd one today..........

The thought of being warm and snug by the wood heater, with a bag of wool by my side and a crochet hook in hand is making me smile.

I hope you have all found lots of things to smile about this week.

Thankyou all for stopping by to visit, always nice to hear from you .

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Be My Honey Bee.................

A beautiful Valentine's evening spent having dinner by Lake Sambell in Beechworth.

Sounds very romantic, but in reality it was fish and chips with hubby and No. 1 son.

It was lovely, beautiful scenery, company and no cooking or dishes.

We fed the ducks and then played cards.

Yes, that's right we played cards and I won, woohoo.

Saturday afternoon, I was invited to tag along as one of the locals went to check his bee hives.

I've been interested in beekeeping for quite some time, but had never had the opportunity to get up close to a bee hive and find out all about it.

CFA overalls are the perfect outfit, when checking bee hives.

A little smoke, helps calm them down, making them easier to handle.

A frame ready for robbing........

Frames in the extractor, spinning out the honey.

As soon as Neil started spinning the frames, the aroma was overwhelming.

It hasn't been a great season for honey, due to all the rain we've had. But it was surprising how much honey he extracted from half a dozen frames.

It was certainly an interesting way to spend a couple of hours.

I wouldn't mind having a bee hive or two in our garden, I'm sure they would love the Zinnias.....

More stunning colours, I just love the brilliant yellow 'star' shaped thingummys around the flower centre.

The colours are vibrant, and eye popping.

Bees wouldn't be able to resist these little beauties

Must make sure I collect some seeds of this colour, I think it's my favourite this season.

They continue to flower adding colour to the garden which at the moment is a myriad of greens, after all the rain this season.

The grass still needs mowing on a fortnightly basis. This time last year when you walked outside, it was crunchy underfoot, with bare patches of dirt.

It's been a busy week, sewing wise.

Pirate Cats and bunnies are piling up for the next market in Bright which is this Saturday.

The mornings are cooling down and the Canadian Maples are starting to change colour, yes, Autumn is creeping closer and closer.

I hope you are having a great week, wherever you are.

Thanks for dropping by and commenting, always lovely to hear from you.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Beware of Floral Fever, There's No Escape......................

With the drop in temperature and the disappearance of recent humidity, I had a hankering to make some flowers.

Saturday was the perfect day.

It was wet, verrrrry wet, no gardening could be done, so it was definitely an inside day.

I found a wonderful tutorial over at Cynthia Shaffer . These little beauties are addictive and once you start well you are well and truly in the grip of "Floral Fever' there is no escaping it, so be warned.

There is a cure and that is to keep whipping up flowers until you use every scrap of fabric in your stash or till you get thoroughly sick of the sight of them.......

The fabric combinations can be endless, but so far the yellow polka dot flower is my favourite.

I'm not exactly sure what type of flower they are......Zinnias perhaps!

Maybe a new David Austin rose?

Not only were there fabric flowers blooming on the weekend but crocheted flowers too.

I had this pattern written down somewhere, but didn't want to go searching for it..........

Yes, it was one of those lazy, dazy days.

I found this tutorial on youtube.

You can whip them up in a very short space of time and it's great for using up leftover yarn.

The tutorial also shows you how to crochet leaves, but I haven't managed to get past the flowers yet.......

Last post, I mentioned some a couple of treasures found at the oppy last week.

Here they are in all their laundered glory.

Tucked away in a corner of the op shop, I gasped in delight when I pulled out the stack of tea towels and found them.

They must've been waiting just for me. I'm sure they couldn't have gone to a better home, as you know how much I love birds and Red Robins are my favourite.

The Robin tea towel is Irish linen made in Ulster.

It had a couple of little marks which disappeared after a wash and for 50 cents each, I think you would have to agree they are a bargain of the utmost kind.............

The second teatowel, must've been a magazine gift from Country Style and I think it's a Willy Wagtail, cheeky little birds..........

Click on the image to enlarge.

Well the rain has disappeared for a couple of days, but will reappear at the end of the week along with the humidity. At least that's what the weather forecasters are telling us.

Today is just glorious, blue skies with a few fluffy, cotton wool clouds.

The temperature is very pleasant.

Here in Australia we have had cyclones and floods up North, more floods down South and over in the West there are bushfires.

It's hard to comprehend the diversity of the landscape and the weather system, but days like this lift your spirits and make you realise that despite the hardship and the problems we all face in life, things are pretty, jolly good.

I hope wherever you are things are going well.

Thankyou for stopping to visit, always lovely to hear from you.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Ahoy There Me Hearties............................

Ahoy there me hearties......... It's Pirate Cat and his First Mate Rat. They're off to sail the Seven Seas.

He's a well seasoned pirate, seen a few battles, hence the scars.

Searched for buried treasure, walked the plank once or twice, but as you know kitty kats have 9 lives.

Well this fellow, has used up several of those so he's taking things a bit easier these days.

Sorry 'bout the slightly blurry pic, but click to enlarge and see the detail.

Just need to sew up his 'nether regions' and he's done, ready for my next market.

Hope the skull and crossbones isn't too gruesome.......... I did use bright, cheery fabric though...

This was the second parcel that turned up in my letter box this week.

All the way from Virginia USA.......

The very clever and creative Janet at The Empty Nest had a giveaway recently.

She whipped up some lovely 'circle scarves'using various yarns. I was lucky enough to win one.

We had a choice of colours as she gave away several. I also received an extra surprise, this gorgeous little crocheted flower brooch. It's sooooooo soft and such beautiful colours.

Thankyou Janet, I love them.

It's going to be a while before the weather is cool enough to use the scarf. This week has been incredibly humid. It's like living in the tropics, not my idea of fun.

Fortunately a thunder storm has just come through cooling everything down and giving the garden a good drink.

We are meant to be in for a wet weekend, up to 4 inches of rain and cooler temps. yay....

A little visit to Spotlight had me drooling over these gorgeous vintage style fabrics. They came in a roll and were 50% off the price. So that was that, nice price and that toadstool fabric, sold.....

Not sure what I will use it for as I am not a quilter, but I am sure I could come up with a few ideas.

In fact.......... the polka dots and the stripes would make nice little eye patches me thinks, hmmm.

Talking about kitty kats, had to take this photo of Tigger, he looked awfully comfortable, I didn't want to disturb him.

Wouldn't you like to be able to sleep anytime anywhere?

What a life they have.

I spotted some acorns in town this afternoon, gorgeous limey green.

It feels like Autumn is on the doorstep................

No doubt some more warm weather to come, but the mornings are cooling, the days are shortening.

Better check out the state of the wood pile !

I had a day in town today. Appointment at the Optometrists for my 2 yearly checkup.

My prescription has changed so new lenses ordered, ouuuuuuuuuuch that hurt.

I needed to visit my favourite op shop afterwards and see if there were any treasures to cheer me up.

For $1.00 I came away with a couple of little beauties which I will show you next post after I have laundered them.

I hope your week is going well.

Thankyou all for taking the time to pay me a visit and say "hi" ,

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Don't You Love It When.....................

Don't you love it when, a little idea comes together and before you know it you have a small herd of baby Heffalumps.........

More singlets for my craft market stall.

I needed something that people could by if they didn't know the sex of the bub to be.

Hopefully these little cuties will fill that gap.

Don't you love it when you find one of these notes in your letter box, telling you there is a parcel waiting to be collected at the post office......................

Don't you love it when you pick up the parcel, start to open it up and there's lovely tissue paper and ribbon........

Don't you love it when what you get is even better than how it looked online..........

This wonderful creation was part of the auction held to raise funds for recent flood victims .

I was the winning bidder in one of the auctions held by Pam over at Cloth to Creation and I just love it.

So much time and effort and creativity has gone into it and I think it's a very appropriate word.

Pam has used beautiful vintage doileys, MOP buttons, lacey flowers and lots of sweet little charms.

My favourite is the gorgeous little butterfly on the 'O', please click on the photo to enlarge it and enjoy the detail.

Pam has used teeny, tiny stitches to sew these things on, she must have great eye sight...............

The auction was a fantastic idea and raised a grand total of $99,089.00 thanks to the generosity of bloggers all over the world.

Don't you love it when a little mystery is solved even if you weren't aware there was a mystery........ run that by me again Claire !

Hubby called me into the orchard one evening last week and pointed me in the direction of a cache of eggs.

I knew we weren't getting many from the girls, but it is Summer and they do slow down egg production a little.

There were 13 all together and without doubt some of them would've been there for quite a while.

I had to get down on my hands and knees and push aside the berry canes to get them.

I very, very, very carefully placed them in a bucket, not wanting any to explode whilst holding them!!!

I realised what had been happening. My new mum Dorothy and her brood had been put into the orchard each day till the chicks were big enough to be around the rest of the flock.

Obviously Dorothy was laying some eggs, then other chooks were adding to the pile .

So what did I do with those egg grenades?

Well No 1 son and I, went into the paddock and lobbed them at a tree that had fallen down.

We had fun, we laughed and laughed, they were rotten to the core and then as the gas wafted our way, we ran, very fast, still laughing and gagging at the same time.

Hey that's life in the country the good the bad and the downright stinky.....

One last 'DYLIW'.............

Don't you love it when, people take time to visit and then comment, encouraging, praising, lovely comments.

Yes, I do love it, so thankyou all for the comments left on my last post, it's so nice to hear from you all.

Oops, one more DYLIW,

Don't you love it when, you get two parcels in the post in the one week.......

But you will have to wait till the next time to find out, so till then

Take care ,

Claire X