Joy Is The Flag Flown High...........

Hello there and a late welcome to Tuesday.....

I am sitting at the table pictured with the windows open and a beautiful breeze blowing........it's lovely and cool.

Yesterday the rain finally arrived, during Sunday night we had over 30mls, of steady, gentle, quenching rain.

It continued to rain throughout Monday, but the sun did appear and when it did, ooh , it was rather steamy....not nice.

But, today, ah.........breathing a sigh of relief from the heat.

Last night I finished off the flags for my bunting......I was very good and darned in all the ends and gave them a gentle steam press as one or two unruly corners continued to curl up.

Tonight I shall crochet them all together and hang them up.

I had intended to stick with paler colours but couldn't get the mix quite right and when I added some of the brighter shades, whammo ........

It's been hard to stop crocheting these flags they are soooo addictive and a fun project.

I sat in the main street at my favourite cafe drinking coffee and crocheting, much to the amusement of gathered friends!!

Hey you've gotta push the boundaries sometimes, right?.......

My dining table hasn't been this bare/tidy in oh, ......years!!

No.1 said 'it just doesn't look right' and hubby thought he'd come home to the wrong house!!

Gotta love 'em

Stormy skies yesterday......love the inky blue clouds.......

Hoping the rain will come this way......and it did.

Beautiful, cooling, refreshing rain.....

The garden looks renewed today. It had been wilting in the heat and no matter how much you water it, t needs the rain fall to bring it back to life.......

While it rained yesterday, I moved 'stuff' from the dining room table and put it in the spare room.

Yes, that's it above.

No ta dah moment yet.....probably not for quite some time....

Baltic pine (orange) furniture will have to do and you know what I'm over the moon that I have my own space so the furniture, pffft.

 Does it really matter? 

Not one jot...

I am surprised (ever so slightly) at the amount of 'stuff' I have collected, amassed, found, thrifted..........

I have to find a home for each and every bit, eeek!!

Until it is sorted, or until I can move freely without having to climb over things, I think the sewing thing will be on the back burner.

Crochet will be my craft of choice for the next little while, it's portable and not as messy as the other stuff i 'do'.

I have been drooling over Cecile's crochet at 

Eclectic Gipsyland

Oh, the colours she uses and things she makes are wonderful, beautiful little purses, bags, flowers......all sorts of things.

Pop over and have a browse but make yourself a cuppa first and make sure you have a spare hour, you'll need it.

If you've never crocheted before you're going to want to learn after visiting Cecile's blog.

Well, I am off to enjoy this cool weather, maybe I'll do something exciting like the ironing and dream about my next crochet project.

Thanks for popping by, I wish I could package up some blue sky and sunshine for all in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Sounds like it's turned rather chilly recently.

Lovely to hear from you and take care,

Claire XXX

Colour, Colour Everywhere

Hello and welcome, here we are at the end of another week.......

I had hoped to post earlier but.......

It's been very warm here and on Wednesday our air con. decided to play up, aargh!! No one available to look at it till next Monday, so in the meantime I have been trying to 'keep cool and carry on', hehe.....

In between other projects I have been crocheting some bunting.

Little triangles of colour, you can see them stacked together in the basket. Some blocked, some waiting to have 'their curls tamed'

It's been a great portable, little project. Pop a ball of wool and a crochet hook in a plastic bag and take it with me. Trips in the car have been measured not by distance, but by how many flags I can crochet. I can hook up two flags as we head into 'big town'....

I found Heather's easy to follow tutorial over at

Pink Milk Jewels.

Today I made myself a little helper, she's taking her job of choosing colours for bunting very seriously.

She was inspired by some sweet little fairies Ruth made from the book Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman.

It feels like ages since I made something different, my crafting mojo is returning in fits and starts.

I have been busy, turning the spare bedroom into my sewing room.

The boys have been very good helping move furniture out and furniture in.

My 'space' won't be designer material, but, it will be my space where I can leave everything set up and just walk out and shut the door.

We will reclaim the dining room table,oooh, I am looking forward to that.

Earlier this week I received a parcel from Finland a little Etsy purchase.....

I was very pleased to find it waiting for me in the letter box and check out that gorgeous tape........squirrels and acorns.

Inside a brown paper package and a hand stamped card......

Inside the parcel is the necklace I bought from Delila over at

Robin and the Sage.

She lives in a little village in Finland and makes woodland inspired jewellery.

My necklace has a hand made acorn and lovely beads hanging from it.

It will be a piece of jewellery perfect to wear in Autumn and Winter.

I have admired her work and enjoyed reading her blog for quite some time, so......

If you haven't visited Robin and the Sage before, pop over and take a look and be inspired.

So, what have you been inspired by recently?

I would love to know.

-----OOOOO-----

I'm hoping we will get some rain over the next couple of days, the garden will certainly enjoy it and I think I will go outside and do a little rain dance. It's very dry and watering is quite a chore in the evenings.

I also hope to finish off the 'moving' process into my sewing room this week and find a home for everything. I will no doubt be making another trip to the op shop as I continue to have a sort out.

Looking outside there are some stormy clouds gathering, so maybe we will get some rain a little sooner than expected.....fingers and toes crossed!! B

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thankyou so much for popping by for a visit.

It's always nice to hear from you.

Take care,

Claire X

Goodmorning Sunshine ☀.........

Good morning or evening depending on where you are and

a big welcome to all my new followers.......

Thanks for popping by for a visit.

I hope all is going well in your crafty corner of the globe.

In between trying to stay cool and some other projects I have been doing a little bit of creating.

A lovely lady by the name of Shirley (also a chook lover) gave me a box full of beautiful woollen fabric samples. She asked if I could make her a chook and she chose these colours.

Shirley has a personality to match her colour choice!

So, here's Rosie, she's a bit like the Queen Mary under full steam, but I am quite happy with the way she turned out and the gusset (these things are the bain marie of my life, hehe...)is a success.

Not sure if she's a one off, but for a very long time,I have been thinking of making one.

Sometimes you just need a little push to get you over the hurdle.

I thought a couple of pics in the garden (where chooks often find themselves!!) was appropriate but the sun has washed out her colours.

She did like being out with the flowers, but not so keen on the bees...

For all of you living in cooler climes I thought some blue sky and sunshine pics of my Sunflowers might brighten a gloomy day for you.

They remind me of a choir, all standing up straight with heads held high.......

A bit of blue sky love ♥ going on here too....

They are putting on a great show at the moment...

...and keeping the bees busy.

You know those little fellas were still out at 8pm last night.

Don't they have a home to go to?....

Love the blue sky against the yellow flowers

...just wonderful

It's been pretty warm here this week and I have been wilting in the heat, so I thought it might be wise to pick the roses and bring them inside where I can enjoy them rather than leave them to burn to a crisp in the sun.

L - R

Mothers' Love, William Morris and at the back

Blue Moon with Lady of Megginch.

I placed the vases throughout the house where I could enjoy them.

A pic of the vegie garden

We had a load of wood delivered.....getting ready early for Winter.

Just needs someone to put it away!!

The beans are producing slowly but steadily, there's plenty of tomatoes on the various plants. The Spring Onions are lovely in salads along with the capsicum and there's quite a few little pumpkins developing on the vine.

There's always something from the garden used in our dinner...

There aren't as many Zinnias as in previous years, but they are doing a wonderful job adding colour to the yard.

Tig is doing what he does best.......

Find a disused carton, curl up and go to sleep.

Ah, it's a cat's life.

-----OOOOO-----

Well,it's been very warm this week although not too hot at night for sleeping.

We were planning to head away for the weekend away but it hasn't happened. That's OK later in the year when we have more time and it's not so hard to get accommodation might be better.......

So, they say a change is as good as a holiday and I got a bee in my bonnet this afternoon and entered the SMB shed.

That's 'secret mens business'....just in case you were wondering.

I roped No.1 in to help and we dragged out an old kitchen table which I intend to use for a sewing table.

I also decided it was time to sell a piece of furniture which had been stored for some years.

I rang the local antique dealer he came around half an hour later, gave me a price loaded it up into his car and off he went.

I now have a few dollars to put towards a 2nd hand storage unit of some sort...

So the spare room, becomes my sewing room once the bed is removed.

I have been talking about doing this for some time, today just happened to be THE day...

And, I am going to reclaim my dining table, yay!!

I hope, your week has ended on a good note and things are going according to plan.

Take care,

Claire X

Surprise, Surprise

Shortly before Christmas I found a parcel in the letterbox, addressed to me........

I wasn't expecting one so it was a complete surprise when I opened

it up and found the most amazing teacosy inside.

My clever, creative and amazingly talented friend Meralin had whipped this up for me, intending to give it to me before she moved house to another corner of Victoria. But in between packing boxes and house cleaning and all those squillions of jobs you have to do when moving....she never quite got around to finishing it.......

Anyhoo, here it is........

Last year I showed her how to free motion embroider!!

Check out the other side......she even used a recycled blanket inside it...gorgeous green woollen blanketing too.

Those cup cakes look absolutely yummy and Mez has used seed stitch and bullion stitch to make all those little sprinkles on the swirls of frosting.

Knowing Meralin she probably whipped up a batch of these gorgeous cupcakes and took her inspiration from them.

Her skills don't end with the sewing machine, she's a whizz in the kitchen (move over Nigella)an amazing artist..oils, acrylic, pencils, pastels and then there's the knitting.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention gardening and writing children's stories.....her sense of humour is very sharp.

When creative talents were being handed out, she somehow managed to snag more than most, hehe.......

Am I jealous.....no way.

I love knowing such creative people, they're inspirational, motivational and she has been a great supporter of what I do and encouraged me no end and boy do I miss her.

The little bird on the cupcakes is a nod to

Portlandia - "Put a Bird On It"

I saw this clip on Youtube last year, what a hoot.

Not sure if it still available to see but is

"a sendup of the ubiquity of birds in decor"

"what a sad little tote - I know I'll put a bird on it"

You get the picture and I love birds.........

Surprise, surprise.....no birds here.

Flowers and hearts yes.

Slow stitching (embroidery) yes

In the latest edition of Mollie Makes to arrive at the newsagents

there is an article on Vintage Handmade Gifts.

So, I grabbed an old woollen jumper, some embroidery thread and set too......

Now I have to say that this very idea had been forming in my little old brain for some time.

It was put on the 'To Do' list when I had time, but you know how it goes!!

Anyway, Mollie you have given me the rocket I needed to put said plan into action and here we are.

Just need to embroider the other side and gather the top of the cosy and finish it off.

I'm loving the colours, quite a change from what I normally do.

Another beautiful surprise from my garden is the first flower from William Morris......

a delicate, apricot bloom with a lovely fragrance.

Surrounding him is Mothers Love, hehe.....

The Zinnias continue to add colour to the garden...

Still loving those beautiful, bright, clear colours.

Surprise,surprise this year the Lillium sent up not one but two shoots

Obviously from a little bulblet and I thought they were difficult things to grow!!

It's very happy in it's spot in the garden and has rewarded me with two stems full of gorgeous flowers.

I will bring one stem inside where it will continue to flower and put on a lovely show for some weeks and the second stem I will give to my sister.

I daren't leave them outside in the heat and weather, plus I can't smell their gorgeous perfume if I'm not out there too.

Well after 2 1⁄2 weeks away playing at a festival in Queensland and gigging, No. 1 returned home last night.

A surprise for Tigger who is always up for a cuddle.

He doesn't seem to mind that Rich has just gotten up bed hair 'n all.

Despite the fact that there is 'stuff' strewn through out the house , it's great to have him home again. As I type he's back on the freeway heading to Canberra for a gig tonight. He will return sometime over the weekend and have the pleasure of putting all that 'stuff ' away!!

Hubby flew in last Sunday, so my two weeks of peace and quiet have come to an end, hehe...

Did you know that Peanut butter M &M's make cute little flowers too.

Sadly, these ones don't multiply .....

once they are gone they are gone.

If you've never tried them, hunt them down, they are worth the effort.

Peanut butter and chocolate a wonderful combination. Just don't forget to hide them from the rest of the family in your crochet bag or your tumble dryer!!

Another lovely surprise I received last week is the Liebster Blog award from Anna over at Esme Rudy.

Thankyou very much for that Anna.

As there are soooo many wonderful blogs out there, I always find it hard to pick just 5 to hand the award on to.

I think you all deserve a gold, sticky star for being such a creative lot.

Pop over to Anna's blog and say "hi" and read about her forays into the world of crochet and crafting.

-------00000------

Well, another week has passed, hope it's been a good one for you all wherever you are.

We have had topsy, turvy weather here for Summer......19deg.on Wednesday with snow up in the mountains. High winds as well and it was quite a surprise to hear a loud crack and then watch a tree fall down on the verge and block the road.

It is starting to warm a little today, but is still very pleasant.

I hope you all have a great weekend, thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment, ☎

Till next time,take care,

Claire X

It's In The Bag......well almost

A little project on the side is always good when you hit a snag, don't you think?......

The dress was coming along swimmingly, when suddenly out of nowhere there was a hiccup....

just one,

very small,

quite ladylike really,

but until I could figure it out, I needed a distraction.

An easy, peasy make, that would keep the crafty vibe alive but not cause any hiccups!!

It couldn't get much easier than sewing two rectangles of fabric together.

Because I love this green floral fabric so much, I had bought an extra metre and thought it would make a great bag to keep my crochet in.

I'm very happy with how it has turned out, although if I make another I will tweak it a little.

I love the gingham lining, it was going to be polka dots but I didn't have quite enough fabric, so gingham it is and it looks nice and cheery....

There's a spot for 3 crochet hooks and a pocket for some scissors or some chokky, hehe.....

Good place to hide your chokky stash, the family would never think to look in your crochet bag would they?

There's room for my rug......

hopefully not for much longer as I sit and hook a round or two in the evenings...

It's growing ever so slowly.

Earlier this week a bubble/cardboard/paper wrapped parcel arrived in my letter box.

In it were a couple of books I had ordered from New Zealand and I had been waiting patiently!! for them....

'The Story of My Ruin' and' I know A Garden' by Marion Cran.

They are lovely books, written back in the 1930's telling of her gardening exploits and of renovating old homes in England.

She was also the first gardening radio broadcaster.....

It was a completely different era, with gentler ways.

Who would've thought that a book purchased for 50 cents from a jumble stall at a school fete, would turn into a journey that has given me hours of enjoyment.......

There may be a little less crochet taking place in the evenings now!!

I'm also swooning over those David Austin roses...

Lady of Megginch♥♥

And to end the week, here is my first op shop find for the year.

A lovely woollen blanket, with lots of colours,

MAUVE

BLUE

GREEN

LEMON

PINK

I haven't seen one like this before and hesitated before I bought it BUT I have plans which I am a little bit excited about, as it feels like my sewing mojo may be returning.

In my defence I would like to say that I was at the op shop dropping off bags and boxes of bits and pieces that I can live without.

I was having a little clear out, so when something new comes in, something old has to go.

So, 2 'new to me' books arrived and out went a bag of magazines and 4 books, along with a bag of clothes and some kitchen ware, yay...

It feels great decluttering....

-----00000-----

You can see how much the countryside has dried out in the last little while....less green and more brown, but a beautiful, blue

sky, in the last photo.

We are in for another warm day tomorrow, but hopefully some rain on Sunday which will be lovely.

I hope you enjoy your weekend wherever you are and thank you to everyone who left a lovely, encouraging comment on my previous post.

It's always great to hear from you and a big thanks to Georgia over at Little Blue Mouse for her advice on my hiccups!!

Have a great weekend everyone and take care,

Claire X

P.S. Silly me, forgot to say that Emma over at Lemons for Lemonade is hosting a fab giveaway for those of you who would like to learn how to crochet. Lots of great things to get you 'hooked'

(I just had to , sorry!)

It's open till the 31st. January and she will post worldwide.

Pop on over read her January 4th post and throw you name in the hat and good luck!