We Have A Winner Folks............

Take one top hat when No.1 son isn't looking.

Preferably, while he's not wearing it as he has been known to chase people down who try and run off with it..........

Write down names on pieces of paper and place in upturned hat.

On the appointed day, just after finishing breakfast ask random person (aka hubby) to pull three names out of the hat.

And here they are in drawn order.........

First name drawn was

Emma from Lemons for Lemonade

followed by

Jacquie from Bunny Mummy

and

last but not least

Alison from Tweed Thoughts.

Jacquie and Alison, I have been following their blogs for some time, but Emma's blog is quite new to me.

I found her blog when she wrote a post late November about a pub she visited The Gwdihw in Cardiff which had a lot of owl ornaments.......

We 'chatted' a bit and there was a funny little story unfolding which she posted about recently.

If you haven't 'met' these crafty talented ladies, click on the links and say 'hi'........

It's a stormy evening here .......

Grey skies with the hint of a rainbow.

No rain for us, but someone, somewhere is getting wet.

Screeching Cockatoos, disturbed from their roost, wheeling across the leaden sky.

This is the same view but a different angle.

You can see how things have dried out, but there is still some greenery around.

Yes, we have ripe tomatoes before Christmas, yay....

These are meant to be cherry tomatoes, but they are hoouge.

You can't beat the taste of a homegrown tommie...

My favourite Summer flowers....Zinnias.

The first for the season.

A little red Robin or three came to live in my garden courtesy

of my talented, artistic friend Ella.

She used some above ground pool, corrugated metal and pop riveted some wings and legs to the body.

Sorry about the dark pick , but the wind had whipped up and it was getting late.

I still have to show you the wonderful tea cosy I received from another friend......next time.

It was quite a different story last night......

A beautiful sunset and a freshly washed piece of fabric drying on the line.

I spied this fabric at Spotlight yesterday and had to buy it.

I love the vintagy colours, very CK I thought.

Hopefully it will be put to good use very soon.

Sharing a meal with a friend.....Tigger and Mrs Kafups

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Thank you all for entering my first ever giveaway, I've had a lot fun reading about your blog reading habits and welcome to all my new followers.

Well I do hope you've all had a great week, not too hectic........

We're heading towards a warm weekend with 32deg. forecast for Christmas day and a possible thunderstorm.

Wherever you are and however you spend Christmas day I hope you enjoy the time spent with family and friends.

Till next time, take care

Claire X

Woolly, Winter Bunting

Bunting love continues here in the Sweet Birdy Love household.

Look at those bright, cheery colours. Ooooooh, it's going to be hard to make a decision......

Due to a family dinner on Saturday night, I had to 'pack away' ( read, stash in spare room and close the door quickly!!) all my sewing bits and pieces so we could use the dining table..........

I don't intend to set up my machine again till after we come back from holidays which will be late June.

Well, that's not quite true, hubby has asked very nicely if I could take up some jeans for him. It's a job I don't particularly like and put it off for as long as I can, but I have dragged my machine out again and will hopefully finish this job off tonight.

Anyhoo, I needed a little project to keep my fingers busy and satisfy the creative urge.

Plus, I wanted a small crochet project to take on hols. One that I could pull out and hook away without losing count or losing my place in the pattern and you all know how much I love bunting.

I have finally settled on a red, white and blue theme and have thrown in pink as I love pink and red together.

I think this should do the trick, but I might throw a few extra colours into my bag before heading away.

Just in case I finish my first lot of bunting, you know how it is..........

This morning I decided to head into town for a cuppa.

Monday morning isn't my usual coffee morning, but it was so lovely and sunny and I have today off work.

The rest of the week is going to be busy, so I thought, 'what the heck'

Of course I had my crochet with me and my coffee came in my favourite mug.

Do you think there's a bit of a colour theme happening here?.........

For anyone else wanting to crochet some bunting I have used Jacquie's wonderful tutorial over at Bunny Mummy .

If you have any queries she's more than happy to help you out, so pop over and have a look.

With the arrival of Winter a little bit of seasonal decorating has been taking place this afternoon.

Specifically, my wonderful 'stuffies' from Karen over at Mimilove.

Away, goes the cheeky Cockney Sparrow and out comes..........

My beautiful English Robin with his sidekick Batman.........

And new to the household is Norman the gnome.........

Click on the pic to see all the wonderful hand stitching Karen has put into the picture.

Norman's, holding a little lantern, with glittery, gold beads and thread to light his way home and there are some silvery, snow flakes falling.

"Be it ever so humble there's no place like gnome!" hehehe

Norman, has been hiding away in the dresser until Winter arrived.

It's time to bring him out and hang him on the dresser door.

They make me smile whenever I look at them, too cute.

So go check out Mimilove blog, you'll come away smiling.

There's also a cute little gnome called Tom waiting patiently in her etsy shop, if you'd like to give a cute gnome a home.

Just wanted to end this post with another couple of moon shots I found on hubbies' camera.

I received alot of lovely comments on my last post about some moon pics and then I found these...........

A full moon, reflected in the dam.

No computer enhancement here, just a good camera, bit different from my point and press job and hope for the best...............

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Winter has really kicked in today, it's been lovely and sunny but there's been a wind blowing straight off the snow, chilly.

I've managed to get out in the garden and do some pruning and weeding.

That's because there's been no sewing machine calling me to 'come and play'

Somehow, I imagine by the time our holiday is over I may have crocheted enough bunting to wrap around the whole house............ no machine sewing for close to 3 weeks.

I do plan to take a 'slow stitching' project with me as well. You know the sort, throw your embroidery threads and a bit of fabric in a bag and wait for inspiration to strike.

That's about as much planning as I do sometimes..........

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend and thankyou all for popping by last post.

'Tis always nice to hear from you and I would love to hear what projects you have on the go, or any suggestions for projects I could do whilst away on hols.

I imagine there will be plenty of time during the evenings to get some stitching or hooky creativity happening.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

We're Winter Bound

Ah, more sweet birdy love stitcheries........

Guess who it was inspired by?

Saturday afternoon saw two young Robins visit our patch.

It made working outside all the more enjoyable as they flitted between the bare branches of the Silver Birches looking for a tasty treat or two.

Notice the flash of white on his wing, it makes a very distinct 'V' shape when viewed from behind.

The above pic was taken Sunday morning. Even with the zoom lens at maximum capacity, you will have to click and enlarge the pic to get a good look at him.

I was thinking how the birdlife around here isn't all that varied and colourful compared to say, bird life in the US...........

A few minutes later, I spied these two beautiful Parrots.

Gulp.......

Once again, click on the pic to get a better look.

I have to share a few photos I found on hubby's camera whilst uploading pics I took.

No 1 had been out snapping away at the beautiful Autumn foliage.

Obviously, this pic was taken a few weeks ago, but the colour is stunning and of course 'I just had to show you'....

I remember him taking photos of the full moon last month.

They turned out a treat, not computer enhanced at all, just how it was on the night.

We'll often head outside to enjoy the full moon, it's reflection glinting on the water in the dam. Although, now you definitely need to rug up as it's very chilly.

Occasionally we'll let loose with a howl or two...............

It sets the dogs off across our valley, hehe, I know, I know, but every now and then you have to 'embrace the child within'........

After some birdy stitching this morning I thought I would make a little brooch.

I'm calling this my 'comments brooch'.

Here's a WIP pic.......... wonky lines 'n all, just the way I like it.

There's a plastic pocket for you to put your comments in ........

Maybe answers to questions frequently asked or a statement about how you are feeling that day.

The options are endless.

Certainly made me smile and I can't wait to wear it and see people's reactions.

I 'll tweak the next one and sew straight lines around the pocket so the comment sits neatly inside.

Outside in the orchard last Friday, No. 1 decided it would be a good idea to make an apple pie from the windfall apples............hmmmmm, first time for everything.

Standing back and just explaining a few things here and there, he whipped up a double crust apple pie and I have to say it was delish.

A little bit of adjustment next time and it will be spot on.

The decos on top are my handiwork, flowers and leaves..........no birds.

No he's really not violent and I don't know where he gets the ...................... (fill in the blank, I can't think of the word) from but it's certainly not from me.

I'm the shy retiring type, shun the spotlight 'n all that.

You will notice the carton of custard on the bench, I had suggested home made custard would be preferable but as he was making the pie, he insisted on bought custard and who am I to disagree with the cook?

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I would just like to thank you all for your lovely, encouraging comments on my birdy stitchings from my last post.

I have been asked to do a tutorial on free motion embroidery by a couple of lovely people and I am hoping to post one soon, so as they say "watch this space"

Well, there's only one more day till the official start of Winter.

This is what I wait for all Summer, so I better enjoy it...........

I have dug my red leather gloves, beanie, scarves and jacket out of the wardrobe and drawers.

I intend to put them to good use and enjoy every minute of it, so if you hear me complain at all, feel free to remind me "I love Winter"

I hope this finds you enjoying the weather wherever you are.

Blogger hasn't been playing very nicely recently and I have had a couple of frustrating days trying to get into my account, password wasn't accepted. In the end I changed my password and whether that sorted it, or Blogger decided to behave I don't know, but thought it may be helpful to someone.

If you can't comment, you can always email and say "hi"

Thankyou for stopping by and saying 'hi'.

To all new followers don't forget to bring your bag of breadcrumbs with you when you visit as chances are I will be leading you up the garden path in search of a Robin or two.......

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

Feathers, Flowers, Fowl, Fruit and a Funder Storm ( hmmm,)

Before Christmas I had a weekly catchup with a very good friend and talented, self taught artist Ella.

We had gifts to exchange, which actually hadn't been planned but turned out to be a nice surprise.

My gift to Ella was one of my book covers for her new visual diary, so it wasn't a surprise as such, although she did give me free reign with the design.

I forgot to take a photo, doh.

Ella's gift to me was a beautiful painting of some Red Robins, as she knows how much I love them.

Ella has a very individual style, she said she didn't even know what the Robins looked like, she just did 'her version' of them, which makes the painting all the more special.

She had just returned from taking her mother on a trip to Italy to visit family. When she got back to Australia, she was so worn out after suffering terrible air sickness and with one thing and another, she had lost her painting mojo.

My picture was the first thing she had attempted in a number of weeks.

Thanks Ella, I love it and will treasure it. X

A little wander round the garden yesterday proved to be very worthwhile. I discovered my Lillium, Stargazer had bloomed and as it was threatening to rain, I had to bring it inside to enjoy.

These flowers have the most beautiful perfume, but it can be a bit overpowering for some.

There are 3 blooms open with another 6 buds. It's absolutely stunning and I am thrilled with it. I planted the bulb about 3 years ago and it struggled in the drought and the heat of previous Summers, but kept growing each year. Obviously, it was happy in it's little spot in the shrubbery.

This year I watched it send up a single stem, it kept growing and I kept watering it.

The buds appeared and I held my breath (not literally..) waiting for them to open, wondering what sort of display they would make.

Voila... perfect, well, maybe not florist perfect, but not too far off it.

Did you spy the little ornament in the previous photo?

No.

Good, cos you were meant to be captivated by the stunning bloom.....

This little chooky was a gift from a dear friend from Church.

Auntie Mabs is in her 80's and is as sprightly and with it as you could imagine.

She has known me since I was knee high to the proverbial and was a dear friend to my mum.

Anyway, she gave me a carry bag recently and inside was a box and inside the box were 2 cheeky chooks and a rooster about to devour some beautiful cauliflowers.

She said she saw this in the shop and thought of me and had to buy it.

The funny thing was, a couple of my Isa Browns (breed of chicken) had been escaping from their run that week and getting into the vegie garden, so it was quite a timely gift.

Unfortunately, we have never been able to grow such beautiful big ,white cauliflowers .

Still haven't discovered how the Misses Houdini are escaping, but I think a trim of a wing might be in order.......

Sunday night bought some rather dark ominous clouds on the horizon. I watched them build, enjoying the inky blue colour.

I love the contrast of the sky with the dry grass.

It started to rain and was quite steady, heavy at times. I was worried we were going to get another tropical downpour, but all was well.

We did get 28.4mls (just over an inch in the old scale) which was much appreciated as I had started watering in the evenings.

So everything has had a lovely drink and I won't have to water again this week.

It's quite a chore at times.

Lastly, a bowl of Peacherines. We picked them whilst they are still a little firm as the damp weather has caused an outbreak of Brown Rot. One side of the fruit will look perfect and the other side has turned brown and mushy, yuk.

But these, whilst they have a few marks and a split or two are sweet and juicy and sooooo yummy.

Why a peacherine?

When hubby was planning his stone fruit orchard he was very keen to have , lots of different varieties.

So there are peaches, nectarines and peacharines.......

Now a couple of things I would like to tell you about.

Firstly, the lovely Jenevieve all the way over in Scotland at

Buttons Ribbons and Other Things

is having a giveaway.

She has made a beautiful and unique necklace using seaglass she has found.

If you would like to be part of the giveaway click on the link or her button on my side bar, (had to email her to find out how to do that. Thanks Jen it obviously worked, there's no stopping me now!!) The giveaway is open till the 28th of January.

Secondly, no doubt you are all aware of the devastating floods up in Qld.

Well, from Monday Jan 17th. you can head over to Make It Perfect where you will find a master list of bloggers who are running auctions from their blogs or shops.

The auction will run for a week, with proceeds going to the flood appeal.

A great idea, so join in and help out.

Whilst not having an auction, I will be doing the rounds of the blogs, hoping to be the winning bidder.

Thoughts go out to those folk in Qld who have lost everything, may you find a dry bed and a roof over your head.

Someone to give you a hug, wipe away the tears and put back the hope in your heart that has been washed away.

Till next time, take care and reach out to someone in need.

Claire X

In the Summer Time................

Summer is officially here, not that you would necessarily know it considering the weather we have been having, but it is starting to warm up and as they say "it's getting a little sweaty around the armpits".......

Friday I happened to be in town so thought I would visit a couple of op shops and hooray, after a bit of a drought I found some 'pretties' to take home.

The above tea cloth was purchased for the princely sum of $1.00.

Needs a little soak to remove a couple of marks, but apart from that is perfect.

The design is red and blue ! Tulips.

I was thinking maybe a bag or some such, but once I got it home and had a good look at it, I really don't know how I could even think about cutting it up.

I will pop it in the drawer with the rest of the tea and table cloths (which are actually starting to take up a bit of room...) and think about it for awhile.

When I say "think about it for awhile" I probably mean ..... put them away and forget about them until I need a table cloth, which may be quite some time.....

I also spied these doilies in another op shop and felt they really should come home with me. They were priced at $1.50 each which for this particular op shop is quite cheap.

Some lovely lady with alot of time on her hands had taken them home and laundered them and then carefully sewn them onto card to display them and keep them looking lovely.

I know there are bloggers in the UK who would pick up this lot at a car boot sale for as little as 50p but unfortunately I never see bargains like that around here.

After seeing such beautiful snow photos on blogs I felt I needed a little Wintry Wonderland of my own to enjoy.

You all know how much I love Red Robins..................... well, what else could it be but a beautiful little Robin sitting on a Holly branch fluffed up to keep warm against the falling snow.

This is the first embroidery hoop picture I have made and it was so much fun I made a couple more.

If you would like your own Wintry Wonderland to hang in your home, I have a couple for sale, just send me an email .

Here is a closer pic, just click on it to enlarge.



We have been having alot of tropical type rain recently and it has sent the garden into overdrive, which means there is plenty of weeding and pruning to be done.

The Lavender is in full flower and fortunately hasn't been flattened by the storms.
The Wisteria is sending out tendrils, which, if you stand still for too long, threaten to envelope you!

With the rain comes flooding and it's amazing to see nearby rivers and creeks overflowing. I mean this is December, quite unusual.

As I was reminded by my BIL (brother in law) this was pretty much normal weather back in the 70's.
He is a few years older than me, but I do remember quite a few major floods back then, in the Winter time not Summer!



The first Dahlia of Summer, alot brighter in colour than the photo shows.
Last year they never flowered at all, so it's nice to see a few buds.



With the warmer weather a certain four legged, furry person spends alot of time doing the above.
Doesn't seem to matter where he is, he can close his eyes and be oblivious to the noise and commotion going on around him.
Wish I had that ability.....

Well, that's just a little bit of what's been happening in my corner of the globe.
Sewing and gardening are almost getting equal time at the moment!!!

One of my chooks is sitting on a few eggs and by the end of the week there maybe the sound of some chickens cheeping away.

I have never had chickens hatch before, so this is all very exciting. I am in the process of fencing off an area for her and her brood.

We have crows that do a fly by the chicken run at feeding time and I can imagine a fluffy little chick, would be very tempting to them.

This week I shall be trying to stay cool as the temps. rise, but there is more rain forecast as well......

Windows need cleaning too, so that can wait for a nice cool day.

Might rope No 1 in to help, certainly handy to have a 6' high fella around to reach those corners you can't.....

I'm sure he'll be more than happy to help out !!

Well, wherever you are and whatever the weather, look after yourself and thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Big thanks to all those that leave a comment, always lovely to hear from you and what's going on in your corner of the globe.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X