Here We Go Again........

Hello there my lovelies.........

Am I the only one that thinks Mondays are rolling around just a little bit too fast?

A day at home and sewing was on the agenda. I wanted to whip up a few bits and pieces for my first market of 2012, but somehow I found myself cutting into a recycled woollen blanket and before I knew it a teacosy was taking shape.

Autumn's making it's presence felt inside as well as out.......

'Delicious Autumn, my very soul is wedded to it

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive Autumns.'

George Elliot

Does that verse resonate with you too?

I'm happy with the finished result......now what was I meant to be making today!!

Come with me as I take a wander outside in the sunshine......

Let's feast on that beautiful blue sky, you see we nary got a look at it this past week.

It's been raining cats and dogs for the most part.

We've had 296.5mls over the last seven days.The creek's turned into a lake and there's been road closures but overall things are fine in this neck of the woods.

Unfortunately, folk in other parts of the state haven't fared so well

Umbels of Parsnip flowers........beautiful, lime green

This was the first time I had grown Parsnips......love them roasted, the smooth, nutty flavour.

Sadly, they weren't a great success. I have since found out there was too much manure in the soil which caused them to grow into some weird, munted looking thing.

Still the 'bits' I did use were very tasty.

I won't be put off and will try them again .

Once outside, I thought I would do a bit of pruning.

My poor neglected garden was looking a little sad, so half an hour with the secateurs has it looking a little neater and tidier.

The Dahlias are about to finish flowering, so this will be the last bunch I pick.

I love that white/crimson bloom......

It was a surprise buried under some of the foliage.

Tig is enjoying the dry weather, he can get outside and do what cats do best....sleep in weird and wonderful positions!!

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You know I had a week of being cocooned inside while the rain beat down outside and I loved every minute of it. Hearing it on the roof at night, watching it beat against the window.......I love it all.

The boys were away for the weekend, so early Saturday evening when it was bucketing down.....I made a very important decision.

I decided to light the wood heater.....

I know, I know, it wasn't particularly cold or anything, although it was the weather for long sleeves and slippers but I needed some company and you know a fire is great for bringing a bit of life into the room.

I sat there with a milo and marshmallows and enjoyed the evening twilight......bliss.

So that's a little bit of what I have been doing......nothing too outrageous or even wildly exciting just 'doing the do'.

So what have you all been up to?

Thanks for coming over for a visit, hope you've got time to say 'hi'

Take care,

Claire XX

What's Making Me Happy?..............

I'm happy because I have finally finished this tea cosie/cozy/cosy !!

It's for a dear friend and was ordered some time ago.

Every time we caught up for coffee, I secretly hoped she wouldn't ask how it was going.........

Well, now it's done, hooray. I hope she likes it...........

I added a little more detail to the cups and teapot........

I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Now to the other 3 cosies on the list of UFO's...........

A few posts ago, I showed you how I made my Autumn Leaf Wreath.

Quite a few leaves were left over, so I decided to do a little more decorating with them.

I was hoping to create a 'windblown' effect............

We had friends visiting from Queensland on Wednesday night.

They commented on how lovely the leaves were.

For O/S readers, Queensland doesn't really have the 4 distinct seasons like we do here in Victoria.

They miss out on the beautiful Autumn colour and Spring bulbs, but then they don't get frosty mornings and cold weather like we do here and they can grow Mangoes and Avocados in their backyards.............How good would that be?

When I lived in Queensland I really missed the seasons, I was so happy to move back here and enjoy all those wonderful seasonal differences.

I'm happy because this beautiful Sasanqua Camellia has finally flowered for the first time.

It's been in the ground for oh, 3 years, but due to the drought, has struggled and looked very sad.

Last Summer all the rain we received kick started a growth spurt and now we have lovely delicate flowers.

No words needed for the above pic..........

Cheery Jonquils brightening up the kitchen.......... heady perfume, I just love them.

I planted half a dozen Jonquil bulbs when I lived in Queensland, hoping against hope that they would grow and flower.............one actually did and that one flower perfumed the whole house.

As soon as you opened the front door you could smell the perfume.

It was at the time when we were selling our house and moving back to Victoria.

Certainly beat the good old percolated coffee aroma as a house selling tip........

Last but not least this DVD just happened to fall out of it's rack at the supermarket and land in my trolley..............really? Of course..........not!!

I saw this wonderful film at the cinema and loved every second of it.

If you haven't seen it, beg borrow or hire a copy, it's worth it.

Meryl Streep is brilliant as Julia Child along side Amy Adams who plays fledgling writer Julie Powell and Stanley Tucci is wonderful as Meryl's husband.

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Things here in the Sweet Birdy Love household have been a little on the quiet side this week. Not alot of crafting going, still getting back into the swing of things.

No. 1 has been away in Melbourne visiting friends and doing some recording with them.

But he's home now and things are no longer quiet..............he bought a new amp.............

Don't get me wrong.......I'm more than happy to have him home, nothing like one of his hugs, he rests his chin on the top of my head.

Wasn't it just yesterday, when he was cradled in my arms?

I started back at work, after 3 weeks holidays...........I survived and didn't need retraining !!

Feet were a little sore after standing up all day, it was nice to get home, kick my shoes off and let out a sigh of relief.......

It's also been quite cold, well, cold for this neck of the woods, so time on the couch in front of the heater with a crochet project has been a must.

Reading your blog posts makes me happy too, seeing what you're all up to in different parts of the globe.

So thanks for popping by mine and if you have time to say 'hi', I always love to hear from you.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Let's get cosy

A tea cosy for a friend who loves a good old cuppa...........

Some WIP pics.......... 'i's still need to be dotted

Bright colours and polka dots were the order of the day.

The red and green together make me happy, there's something about them that makes me smile and reminds me of................... Summer !!

The other side still needs some work.

A little bit of stitchy decoration on the teapot and cups just to lift them and add a bit more interest.

My creative mojo has been lost while I was on hols.

A reward is offered if anyone can find it.

The tea cosy is an order that has been on the back burner.

I thought I should crack on with it while waiting for the return of my mojo.........

Talking about hols, I managed a bloggy catchup with some lovely bloggers........

Tanya from Suburban Jubilee hosted the get together at Resurekt the wonderful shop she spends two days playing in.

I say playing as it can't be work when you are surrounded by wonderful, creative products made using recycled items and between customers you get to whip up items to sell in the shop.

Sounds like a dream job to me...........

We were also joined by Lee from Killiecrankie Farm and wee Herman who was feeling under the weather but was so well behaved .

We spent a couple of lovely hours getting to know each other better and discussing all sorts of subjects.

It was so much fun meeting these ladies face to face.

If you ever get the chance for a bloggy catchup go for it.

Lee spoilt me with some handmade gifts, the 'apple cosy' above which I have actually put on a mandarin as no apples were available for the pic. I love the bright colour and the gorgeous button. I have secretly admired these on her blog, so I was very happy to unwrap it.

I also received some wonderful birds Lee whipped up.

I wonder how she knew red and pale blue are one of my fave colour combos?

Ooh, I would love to look out the window and see some of these beauties in the garden.

I have just realised I forgot to upload a pic of the beautiful card Lee painted for me.

A fab picture of the Rotunda in The Gorge, Launceston...........next time.

Some people have so much talent.........

Tanya had put out a blog call out to any other bloggers in the area who would like to join us and Chris from Chrisartist dropped by, a lovely surprise.

Funny thing is, Chris has met my son and hubby. She is one of the organisers of the Tamar Valley Folk Festival which No. 1 has played at for the last two years.

Small world isn't it?

You may remember back in December one of my chooks hatched 3 chicks, 2 of which turned out to be roosters..........

Well, as they grew it became apparent that they were not going to be best buddies (something I knew, but fingers crossed there wouldn't be any problems........tell her she's dreaming!!)

A decision had to be made about which to keep and which to rehome.

Noddy above is now King of the Castle and the other rooster who was very handsome has gone to live at the home of a work colleague.

I am yet to hear how he is going, I hope he has settled in............

Noddy needs a wing clipped as he likes to escape from the run and come over to the house and let me know it's time for their breakfast.

Guess, he's just doing his job and looking after the girls.

Sheesh, can't anyone have a little sleep in?!!

I secretly, suspect he's checking out the flight path..........over the fence and into the paddock.

Or just surveying his domain.

Before our trip away, we had a family dinner here.

It was a double birthday celebration for hubby and I as we both celebrated significant birthdays.................

I wanted to show what you can do with some milk cartons cut in half and a tealight candle.

No. 1 and I ran around in the late afternoon setting them up in the 'wild wood' and lighting them.

The light shining at the base of the Silver Birches was very effective.

They looked beautiful in the gathering dusk and when the daylight had completely disappeared it was absolutely magical.

A little bit of effort and the effect was stunning.

I had told my family to arrive at 6 sharpish as unbeknowns to them I had some 'entertainment ' organised and didn't want to give the game away.

Sister no. 2 decided to come out early to see if I needed a hand.

She rocked up at 5.30pm thereby missing out on the light show........... I had to insist that she stay inside as we lit the candles and then come out to have a look.

Not quite the same but hey.........

At 6.30pm my 'visitor' turned up (no pics sorry) and No. 1 had been primed to look after him.

At the appointed time I asked my guests to don coats and we all went out to the verandah.

With oil lamps providing light along the dam wall a piper played 3 tunes I had chosen

Scotland the Brave

Amazing Grace

Mull of Kintyre

In the beautiful starry night, the sound carried across the valley, this was my birthday treat to myself.

I had wanted to do this for ages and it was beautiful until the lamps went out and he was standing there in the darkness of the night, hehehe...............

I love the bagpipes, I know they are either love 'em or hate 'em instrument.

Anyway, it was a night to remember and I'm so glad I did it............

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Well, here we are at the end of June.

One month of Winter over, two more to go...........

I'm still enjoying it and looking forward to many more hot chocolates, wood fires, rugging up, warming soups and all those things I love doing in the cold weather.

But it's back to work on Monday which means getting up at 5am, in the dark and cold, euughhhh.

Oh well, that's the way it goes...........holidays and then back to work to help pay off the bill.

I hope you are enjoying the season wherever you are.

Thanks for dropping by and for leaving a comment, I love reading them and finding out where you are visiting from.

Til next time, take care,

Claire X

One Perfect Day

How would you describe your perfect day?

Well today was a perfect day for me.

I slept in till 8am, the room was dark as it was a cloudy morning. It had been raining during the night... rain on a tin roof, bliss!

Breakfast in bed ( actually I do that every morning!!) looking out at the hills swathed in low swirling cloud.

A few domestic duties to get out of the way, followed by a coffee made using the coffee machine. Yes, I think I have mastered it!! A little 'surfing' on the net to see what everyone is up to and then plug in the machine and sew to my hearts content.

Sitting inside with the wood heater going, looking out at the rain, clouds and the last of the Autumn colour, it was just wonderful, peaceful and I feel very blessed to have been able to do so.


Here is the finished Autumn tea cosy.
I lined it with a burnt orange cotton. 'twas a bit of a fiddle at first but then the brain kicked in, I thought about it for a few minutes, changed my whole plan of action and it worked out beautifully.
Will either sell it through the local gallery or on my little market stall, but at the moment I just want to look at it and enjoy the picture.

Back view - quote reads:- 'The creation of a thousand forests is one acorn ' by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I love it and when you think about it ...............

Here is another already on the go, I think I need to add another leaf or two.

The quote on the back ( sorry no photo) reads :- 'I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers' - Claude Monet.

I love tulips, I remember buying a pack of bulbs and growing them when I was a teenager, I was so proud of them.

Finally, I finished a pincushion I started a few weeks ago. I bought the button for it and then misplaced it......found it last night and finished it off, very satisfying to get another UFO off the list!!

View of the mountains through my kitchen door, taken about 11.30am.

The Wisteria has turned a lovely gold, it covers a walk way to the chook house -Cluckingham Palace. Underneath there is a beautiful golden carpet of leaves. To the right are the espalliered fruit trees and a pear is colouring up nicely. So much beauty around in Autumn, you can't help but be inspired by it.

Out through the kitchen door is a weeping cherry and it has the most beautiful range of reds, yellows and oranges.

Sometimes I wish I were a painter or a poet so I could capture the beauty around me in either a picture or with words, but all I can do is take a photo to share with you.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to take a walk through the Botanic gardens in Albury.Something I haven't done for quite a long time. It was a beautiful sunny day and I took my camera to capture some of it's beauty.

Don't you just love the combination of dusky pink and lime green in these hydrangeas?

This is a beautiful Gingko Biloba -Maidenhair tree in the foreground. With the sun shining it was positively glowing. You can see the beautiful carpet beneath it.

In the background you can make out a Nyssa Sylvatica -Tupelo, gorgeous reds and oranges.

Love this photo, the colours, the palms in the background and the old world lamp in the foreground.

There were quite a few people making use of the gardens which was lovely to see. Families having picnics, someone having a birthday party, young couples enjoying each others company and me and my camera.

Ah, when my boys come home, guess where I am taking them?

I hope that you have been able to enjoy 'a perfect day' recently.

No matter what the season even in the middle of a drought, there is beauty! All it takes is for us to stop and take the time to look.

Inspiration is all around us hope you have been able to put pen to paper, paint to canvas or thread to fabric and create something that inspires others.

As I don't have an etsy shop if you are inspired by anything I make and would like to own it, please email me.

Thankyou for dropping by and leaving a comment, I appreciate them all and it's lovely to think that someone who lives on the other side of this globe, has taken the time read my blog and spend some time in my 'neck of the woods'

Have a wonderful week, till next time.

Claire X