Market Report

Hello there, time for a market report.....

Sheep sales were up this week, hehe.

Oops, sorry, wrong market report.

Saturday was the monthly market in Bright.

It started off with a very foggy drive, I had to slow right down as I could barely see two metres in front of me. Fortunately, there was no traffic on the windy road so I could take my time. 

Once the fog lifted it was a beautifully, sunny day.....

I made some camper van zip purses using recycled blankets.

Some camper van brooches too....seems to be a recurring theme here!

I finished the Daffodil tea cosy and lined it with yellow and white polka dot fabric

I forgot to pack my teapot to display the cosy so  

used scrunched up plastic bags to fill it, hence the wonky shape.

It found a new home with a neighbouring stall holder who had fond memories of learning the Wordsworth poem at school.....

Anyone for a cuppa?.....

,

 Due to recent rain it was a little muddy underfoot.

The river was well up and flowing very fast. 

I've never been around to see it this high. 

Not surprised there weren't any ducks braving a swim.

Although sales were well down on last months market, I covered my costs and then some.

When all was packed up I made a quick trip to the local Op shops, one of which was closed due to lack of volunteers.

(They've headed North for the Winter)

Come on girls this just won't do, hehe.....

I then headed over to Ginger Baker, a little gem of a cafe situated at 127 Great Alpine Rd. 

If you are in the area make sure you pop in, it's wonderful

 A nice way to finish the day.......

Stall holder and all round clever, crafty person Lauren and her lovely friend Mel met me there. 

I decided on coffee and carrot cake, yum.....

Check out these amazing light shades.....pasta sauce jars.

Recycling at it's best.....aren't they great?

Have a look at that cake display.....double yum.

While I ummed and aahed over what to order guess what Lauren and Mel were doing?.....

.

Playing with my camera!!

Sneaky girls...you crack me up

That's Lauren on the left and Mel on the other left!!

Lauren is off working and travelling for quite a few months, venturing to the Middle East first and then the UK.

Safe travels Lauren, I will miss you.

Hope to see you at the market Mel and maybe you'll be having a stall one day!

All in all a good day, lots of fun, laughter, chit chat and CAKE.

The lovely weather has continued, so today was spent out in the garden.

 Mrs Brown was there to help once again.

I weeded, pruned, shifted plants around and had a rather splendid time. No.1 mowed/slashed the green stuff and in a day or three we could just about bale it!!

 Certainly looks alot better.

    

The Violets have been taking over and much in all as I love them and I once had an Auntie Violet, they have  become a bit of a nuisance.

 I picked a lovely bunch before I pulled the plants out.

 Barely made a dent in them!

I'm hoping to get some more gardening done this week before the wet weather arrives. I'll give the sewing machine a bit of a rest, although some play time might take place!!

I'll pick more Violets as I love vases of them on my bed side table and of course there'll be all the usual house work and boring stuff taking place, but who wants to read about that?

I hope your week has some fun in store.

 Let me know what you're up to, I'd love to hear.

Thanks for popping by and saying 'hi', it's always great to hear from you,

Take care ,

Claire

❀ ❀ ❀

Snip, Knot, Stitch

Hello there and welcome, thanks for stopping by.

It's been a little while since my last post, but I haven't fallen off the radar completely...........

Last Friday I looked out the window and saw the approaching storm, so I threw on my boots grabbed the camera and raced out into the paddock to take a few pics.

I loooove the wonderful inky blue clouds contrasting with the Pale pink prunus.

Well, the storm veered away from us and we just got a light shower, but the recent rain has finally put an end to the delicate blossom............so till next Spring.

Tuesday I had to head over to Corowa and on my way home, racing (within the speed limit) against the clock to get back in time for work, I spied this Canola crop.

As you can see it was an overcast day but this splash of yellow across the paddock was just stunning, so I stopped and took a couple of pics to show you.

As usual the photo doesn't do it justice, but for all of you who are experiencing a mellow Autumn

and perhaps needing a bit of colour to brighten up your day, well, this is for you.

Looky, looky what I received from a friend.

This cotton reel "tree" complete with lovely vintagey wooden reels belonged to my friends mum and he didn't have any use for them, nor did his wife, so he thought I might be able to use them.

Use them, are you joking, I just love looking at them............love the two little half reels on the top and bottom row.

I also received another little carry bag full of various cottons.............I was thinking of asking about any old tins of buttons that might be lying around, unloved and gathering dust, but didn't want to push it.

One day, when the spare room becomes my sewing room this little 'tree' of cottons will hang on the wall somewhere.

Ok, so I've been busy sewing, that's why I haven't been blogging, so here's a couple of pics of the latest 'makes'........

Some blanket bunnies and my little lop eared, cashmere bunny.

She's lovely and soft and loves to be cuddled, she has a sweet vintage embroidered heart on her.

Flip, floppy, polka dot ears and turn her around and what do you find?..........

Lovely vintage embroidery.............

I now have a basket full of cute little bunnies for my market stall on Saturday, so I hope there are some folks who have a bunny on their shopping list, hehe......

Another little zip purse, it just had to have bunting on it.

I am a 'bunting lover' from way back and not ashamed to say it and as the saying goes

In Spring a young man's thoughts turn to .........whatever,

well mine turn to bunting, so I think there might be more in the pipeline.

Ok, who's up for a little garden tour, well follow me then.

I was on the receiving end of some Camellias from a friend, aren't they just gorgeous.

The vase they are in weighs a tonne, so there's no chance of it tipping over.

Boots on we're going outdoors.

After the stone fruit the Nashi Pear is the next to flower.

Certainly has pulling power for the bees.

The Crab Apples are covered in buds and blossom.

I just love the combination of raspberry pink and paler pink.

I look forward to this every Spring.

As I wandered towards the shrubbery, lamenting the lack of variety in the garden what did I spy but this beautiful butterfly.

I started snapping madly, hoping to get a good pic of it but it was flitting and not settling so this was the best. Click on the pic for more detail as it was a stunner.

I don't know what sort it is, as I have never seen this variety around here before, so I was quite entranced by it.

A short tour, time for a cuppa.

It's been a beautiful day and we are heading for 25 deg. on Saturday, eek, I will have to expose arms and legs at that temp. Sunglasses everyone!!

-------OOOOOO------

Thank you all so much for the kind comments on my last post regarding Dorothy.

Pets become part of the family whether they be furry, four legged or two legged and covered in feathers, so I do appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Now while you're all here, I want to tell you about a wonderful giveaway over at Little Woollie,

click on the link and scroll down to Jules giveaway post.

If you like crochet, you'll love this wonderful cushion Jules is giving away.

Hmm, maaaaaybeeeee I shouldn't have mentioned it afterall, hehe.....

Well, I'm off to bed, it's late and I've got to be up before Sparrow pop, so toodle pip

and till next time, take care,

Claire X

With A Zip Zip Here and a Zip Zip There......

Hello there, thanks for popping by for a visit, you're all very welcome and firstly let me say a BIG THANKYOU for all the lovely, encouraging comments you left on my last post.

Each and everyone is very much appreciated.........

Welcome to all my new followers, hope you enjoy your visits.

Well, the tea cosy making is put to one side while I am in 'market sewing' mode.

Today I decided to whip up some little Spring inspired zip purses.

I have made these in the past and they proved to be quite popular, so..........

Take some blue polka dot fabric and a doily and there you have it.

Secondly, some more polka dot fabric (of course) and a little of my embroidery

and No. 2 is finished............

You can click on the pics for more detail.

Remember wonky lines and frayed edges are what I love and add to the texture and overall look of my work.

I've used hot pink and pale blue fabric for the lining and we're done.

I'll need to whip up another 2 or 3 before I'm finished and while I have the 'how to' under control........

If you would like a good tutorial on how to make these little zip purses I used one from

Skip To My Lou.

I was a little naughty on Monday...........as it was such a beautiful sunny morning I decided to play hooky and head over to Myrtleford for a little Op shop therapy and looking for inspiration.

Perhaps I was just trying to avoid other jobs!!

Now you would think they would be open on a Monday wouldn't you?

Well, one was and one wasn't.............hmmm, make a mental note of that one.....

There wasn't alot to be found sadly, but I did pick up the above embroidered doily and

after I laundered it I very bravely cut into it.

I have placed a clue in the photo as to what I have made with the doily, but

finishing touches need to be added before I can show you a photo.

Ok let's head outdoors for a wander around the garden and a breath of fresh air.

It's a beautiful day when the sun comes out and fluffy, cotton wool clouds abound.

Prunus Elvins is deepening in colour and looking beautiful.

We have had quite a bit of rain in heavy downpours this week, which really isn't good for the blossom but everything seems OK and hopefully not too many flowers were blown off the fruit trees.

I'm looking forward to eating sun warmed fruit straight from trees, so we need the bees to pollinate the flowers before the wind or rain knock them off.

A couple of late flowering Daffodils.

The colour hasn't been picked up by my camera but the Daff on the left has a lovely coral pink

Corona and the Daff on the right is a double which has deep yellow and orange in the middle and reminds me of scrambled eggs.

---------OOOOO----------

Whilst my Op shop adventure on Monday wasn't particularly fruitful I will be heading in to 'Big Town' on Friday and will be visiting my favourite Op shop where I have found many treasures, so I hope it will yield one or two more.

While I was in Myrtleford I stopped in at the Butter Factory for a coffee and had a lovely Parmesan, leg ham and parsley muffin complete with some of their beautiful butter.

Click on the link to read about the butter factory and there are also some lovely recipes on their web site. Ever had hotcakes with chocolate butter? Sounds interesting.......

Well, I better get the vacuum cleaner out and clean up all the threads and fabric scraps strewn around the floor, then it's time to start thinking about dinner.

I hope all is well and you are having a good week thus far.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

------RIP Dorothy------

On Monday my beautiful Dorking, Dorothy died.

Not sure why, you know what chooks are like when they are ill.

I checked to see if she was egg bound having looked up a lot of information on the net.

No.1 was very helpful in holding her while I donned the latex glove etc. etc.

She wouldn't eat or drink and had difficulty walking.

If anyone has any ideas, clues or thoughts, I would be interested to hear them.

A little story about Dorothy.

I used to let my chooks free range in the paddock.

Well, Dorothy decided to free range over to the next property and fortunately the neighbours were away at the time.

No.1 and I headed over there and searched amongst sheds, garden beds, hedges.

When we found her she had no intention of being caught and loudly told us so as she ran away at top speed............

She ended up under their house roosting on plumbing pipes, so we went back under cover of darkness and wriggled in under the house, with fishing net .

Eventually, we managed to catch her but the noise she made was unbelievable, I was worried other neighbours would call the police thinking someone was being murdered!

We bundled her up and got into the car and drove home as quick as we could...........

She was a wonderful mum and raised 3 beautiful chicks.

Her fine feather markings and beautifully subtle colours never ceased to amaze me.

Yep, you guessed it I love my chooks.........