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

It Just Had To Be..........

Hellooooooo and welcome.

I feel like I have been away for some time, although it's but a few days.

I felt the creative vibe wasn't happening, but this morning I plugged in my Janome, put the 'pedal to the metal' and off I went.

A different (for me) needle book has rolled off the line and I am quite happy with it.

I was asked recently if I 'do Emus' short answer no, but it wasn't out of the question.

I do birds and chooks, so add some extra long legs and there you have it an Emu.

These are the worlds 3rd largest birds, after the Ostrich and Cassowary.

They can be 1.5 to 2 metres tall and are extremely fast runners as they do not fly.

They inhabit grasslands all over Australia and dine on grass and insects.

OK nature lesson over.

I like to put a little saying on the back of my needle books and, well, there really aren't too many about Emus, but the one that sprang to mind was...........

It just had to be.........

"May your chooks turn into Emus and kick your dunny door down"

This comes from one of the Barry McKenzie movies starring Barry Humphries and Barry Crocker.

I realise it's a bit of an insult, but a very humourous one and surely you wouldn't take it too seriously!

But hey, it's tongue in cheek, very ocker, irreverent and as I said 'it just had to be'

I mean it mentions chooks, so how could I go past it?

Here's the full view .

So what do you think?

Thumbs up, or thumbs down?

A rather wonderful event took place yesterday. The first siting of our gorgeous Flame Robins.

These are the handsome fellows that visit our patch through the cooler months.

Quite different from the English Red Robins which I looooove, but nontheless striking birds with their black feathers and white stripes and scarlet tummies.

There seemed to be a turf war going on as I went to check the mail.

There were Mudlarks, Willy Wagtails, Pigeons and Maggies all vying for the same airspace.

In fact one of them flew very low overhead and I 'm not sure if they were trying to get out of the way of a feathery foe, or telling me I wasn't welcome.

I just hope they don't scare away this fellow.

Robins seem to be quite territorial and we only see one or two at a time.

So welcome and please feel free to visit anytime.

The Maples continue to brighten as the days go by and the leaves are dropping creating a beautiful carpet.

I have done the rounds and picked out some beauties and pressed them in books.

Eventually, I will make my annual wreath using pressed leaves and there are some blank walls which could do with a bit of decoration.......

Yes, I love Autumn.......

Tucked in amongst the pages of Neville Cayley's book 'What Bird Is That' are a myriad of colourful leaves, pressed flat, waiting to be used.

Out in the garden the Chrysanthemums are putting on a beautiful display.

I love their burnished rust, red tones, with touches of gold.

I don't have quite as many this year, but they are still breathtakingly beautiful.

Just had to show you this little beauty that I picked up at a recent Trash 'n Treasure market.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this basket sitting atop a pile of ............. I don't know what, I only had eyes for the basket.

In close to perfect condition, it just needs a bit of a scrub with soap and water.

It will sit on top of my kitchen dresser , a bit of eye candy of the Nanna kind.

I might fill it with crochet projects, picnic goodies or just admire but for

$1.00, yes, you read correctly ,

one whole dollar ,

it has given me alot of enjoyment.

I had my heart in my mouth as I asked the person taking the money, how much it was .

He ummed and aahed probably thinking 'who on earth would want it?' then said' how about a dollar'.

There are times, when you just don't argue, this was one of them, hehehe........

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Well, here we are on the second day of May, it's a beautiful sunny day and quite mild. Storm clouds are threatening, but I don't think we'll get any rain even though the garden could do with a good watering.

Thankyou all for allowing me a little motherly waffling on my last post, hope I didn't overdo it.

You all left such lovely, thoughtful comments, which I have passed onto No. 1 and he was quite taken with them.

Something else that's a teeny, tiny bit exciting has happened.

Julie over at Little Woollie has opened up an online shop full of her gorgeous makes. She's pretty nifty with a crochet hook or some knitting needles and has been whipping up a storm of beautiful things to put in her shop.

Pop over to her blog and click on the link in Monday's post.

She has lovely scarves, flowery vine mobiles and the cutest crocheted cats with granny square tummies. She also makes owls and I just love the colour combinations she chooses. So if you haven't yet visited her blog, treat yourself.

Well, that's it for me, it's time to finish my cuppa and get ready for work.

I hope you're all tickety boo (oooh I love that phrase) and your week is going well.

It's always lovely to hear from you and welcome, welcome, welcome to my new followers.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Friday Again !!

Friday comes around soooo quickly but it's great because it's back to Tafe to have some fun
playing, creating and learning.

Some days I go "yay" I've learnt something useful and have something to show for all that time spent and some days I go" well I learnt something, but not soooo much to show " Getting to know the other ladies a bit better and feeling more comfortable around them. I certainly appreciate their creative talents and they are happy to share what they know.

I have to give a short talk next week on a technique I use in my crafting, so that will be interesting. Today we learnt about wet felting and there are lots of people out there who do it, but as yet I had not dipped my toe into the soapy water, but it certainly was fun. Bought home some wool to have a go at my leisure.

The Autumn colour is absolutely glorious this year despite the drought and our maples are putting on a glorious display. In years gone by they have usually been blown off in a storm after only a couple of weeks, but this year they started changing in February and still haven't peaked. Absolutely stunning, I have gone out to pick up a basketful which I will press and then arrange onto a cardboard shape, usually an oval and that will hang on the chimney above the heater for the duration of the winter or until I have the heart to take it down and dispose of it.

The 'girls' have slowed down with the egg production as the weather grows cooler and the last of the summer vegies are being used, namely the zucchini.

Looking for ward to a weekend with a bit of crafting a bit of housework and a bit of relaxing.
Hope your weekend is enjoyable, take care and don't forget to slow down and smell the roses, or should that be admire the Autumn leaves at this time of the year.

Regards

Claire