Sunshine, Stitching and Songs.........

Hello girls, I may be wilting in the heat but this Sunflower is loving it.

This is a low growing  variety of but it's certainly making an impact in the garden.

The heat this Summer has been on going.......my poor garden is looking a little worse for wear.......

The tomatoes are red and juicy and fruiting beautifully......and thankfully there's no fruit fly this Summer.

The beans on the other hand are growing but not setting.

There are flowers here and there but leaves are burnt.

I used some old bed sheets to make shade tee pees over them, but I'm not too hopeful of getting any beans.

On these hot days I tend to stay indoors in the aircon. and go out to water the garden in the cool of the evening.

The heat seemed to sap my creativity last week and my sewing machine sat around gathering dust which was most unusual.

But thankfully, my mojo seems to have returned and I've been stitching some little birdies......

The hotter it gets the more I dream about cooler days.

It comes out in my stitching .......

This lady rugged up in her hat, coat and boots seems to be featuring and I think she may become part of a series of stitcheries.

I had alot of fun putting them together

For some time I've wanted to try a different design for a tea cosy.
 I wanted to create a patchwork look and keep it simple.
It's certainly an 'in your face' colour combo.....
not everyone's cup of tea...
 (hehe, no apologies for that one!!)

and on the reverse side......or is this the front.

You figure it out, I'm confused!!

Outside things are very dry, the grass has browned off. 
Living in the country where our water supply is from the tank or dam, we don't waste water on lawn.

It gets brown and crunchy and when the weather breaks in Autumn and we get some rain it greens up again.

Despite the hot days the evenings cool down enough to sleep well....I think I've had a fan on only 2 nights.

Thankfully this week we did get a cool change and a couple of nights I even had a blanket on!!

Temps are back up for the weekend and windy conditions Sunday  mean we'll be on high alert for bush fires.

Yesterday was the 5th anniversary of the "Black Saturday" bush fires here in Victoria.

I remember it was still 40 deg at midnight on that particular evening......we certainly don't want to go through that again.



You've heard of Kitty Litter, well there's a new product out called Kitty Mulch!!

Tigger has his own way of keeping cool.
 Not my idea of fun, but you know what cats are like!

2014 is shaping up to be a big year for us here in the SBL household.......

We will be selling our home and building a new one.

There'll be limited time to sew but the creating will still take place to help keep me on an even keel!!

Our little Folk Festival also takes place in March.

I'm really excited about this years line up as one of the performers is a blogger from Melbourne........

Mezz Coleman from Mezz Makes Stuff will be performing.

 I won her CD in a giveaway last year or was it 2012?!!

 I suggested she put in an application for the festival and she was accepted woohoo.......

Can't wait to meet her and see her perform live.

If you'd like to have a listen to her singing

 Shelter by Eric Bogle,

 here's a link, be warned it's a powerful song

 you'll need to have your tissues handy.

Righto, girls that's it for me......time for a cuppa and ooooh maybe some stitching, better dash, see ya and thanks so much for all your lovely comments last post....♥

Claire Xx

It's In The Post.......

I've just been trying to hang a load of washing on the line and avoid being whipped in the face with wet pillowcases and tea towels. There's a cold wind blowing today, feels like it's blowing right off the snow and yes, there was snow up at the nearby ski resort last night. 

My fingers were like ice when I had finished.

 Get that, last week we were having 25-28 degs. today it got to a top of 18deg.

Autumn temps are finally kicking in.....

Well, I finally finished my Foxglove tea cosy.

After umming and aahing over fabrics to line it with, I made my choice and I'm  very happy with how it turned out.

The mug belonged to my mum and came to live with me when she passed away......

The quote on the mug reads .......

Beautiful gloves to fit a fox's paw......

I think we have mail.....don't you?

One parcel in the letter box was for No.1.....

guitar strings....boring

The parcel on top was for me......exciting.

This parcel has travelled thousands of miles, over vast oceans and foreign lands......

Pretty paper a Royal Mail sticker an address in Devon.

Now to carefully open and see what's inside.

Oh my, under layers of pretty, pink tissue paper there he is.

'Love-Me-Ted' from Elaine of Ted and Bunny blog

He's an antique, not sure what his exact age is.

 He's being coy and not telling.....yet!

He's balding and worn from love and the passage of time.

He has vintage buttons for eyes.

Elaine has patched him with vintage fabric and beautiful hand embroidered linens. 

She's added buttons and stitching and turned him from something you probably wouldn't look twice at to something that's been given another chance and I've already fallen for his charms.

He's very special, to me.

 He represents everything that's good in people and the way the blogging community came together to help one of our own.

You see Love-Me-Ted was one of the prizes in the raffle held to raise funds for Gretel Parker.

 Wonderfully talented artist and blogger.

I need your help girls......

He needs a name, so all suggestions will be thoughtfully considered.

With the arrival of the cooler weather, I feel I may have to whip up a little jacket and scarf for him as he no longer has his fur coat.

I've been sock shopping this week....

That is shopping for wool to knit my very own socks.

It was one of goals I wanted to achieve this year.

I'm getting there slowly......

The wool is lovely with blues and purples in it.

It speaks to me of Scotland, Heather, blue skies and seas.....

I couldn't resist it 

The book is full of patterns 

Ideas....

And lots of photographs and instructions......

I won't be starting these for a few weeks as I want to finish off my crocheted rug first.

I know there are lots of bloggers who have knitted socks and 

I have been inspired by all of you and I'm hoping that I will 'catch the bug' as well.

This little plate was one of my recent op shop finds.

Love the turquoise trim, it was only $1.00 so of course it had to come home with me.

I'm really loving these Dahlias given to me by a friend last week.

I don't usually go for flowers that are orange/yellow, but these are so vibrant and well, Autumnal (love that word).

 I am really taken with them and may have to ask for a tuber or two.....

And a quick peek at the Liquid Ambers 

(part of No. 1's 21st. pressie)

They are looking beautiful in gold and red, a nice contrast against the red of the Maples along the driveway.

They create quite a splash of colour against the grey/green of the surrounding gum trees.

So there you have it girls.......

A little snapshot of what's been going on here.

Thankyou for all the comments on my last post, it's always nice to have visitors and a big welcome to some new followers too.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, thanks for visiting.

Claire x

One Down, Eleven To Go........

Here we are about to fall off the edge of January into February....

How has the first month of 2013 been?

Are you keeping up with your resolutions and goals?

I've had mixed success, but that's about par for the course.

Things are going well so far and my little sewing machine has been whirring away again this week and I've been able to tick some things off my 'to do' list.......

A friend asked me to make her one of those bags in which to store recycled plastic bags.... a simple project

She likes bright and colourful and doesn't want to store it in a drawer.

So a 50cent tee shirt from the op shop has been re purposed.

European folk art influenced. 

I love the designs and bright colours......something a little bit different

I've also had a bit of fun playing.....

A Julie Arkell inspired watch added to  some inspiration from Trudy over at Playing In The Attic.....

After I had started stitching the numbers I realised they were on an angle....I figured it adds to the quirkiness of it!!

We've been enjoying some cooler temps this week which has been lovely, but a good drop of rain is needed to give the garden a satisfying drink.....

Hard to imagine that there are floods up in Queensland when we have bush fires down here in Victoria........

I'm just managing to keep the garden going, there's not much flowering, but the Pineapple Lily/Eucomis is opening up beautifully.

......and of course the Zinnias are creating a splash of colour.

They are hardy plants.....excuse my foot there in the picture.

My favourite colour this season... 

I couldn't resist putting some on a teacosy.....

I've working on the last few orders from 2012.....yes, I am a bit behind but I am getting there slowly.

I aim to clear the decks which will then allow me to work on all those ideas which keep popping into my head.

Plus I still have to organise my sewing room... ahem!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the 

Gretel Parker Project

This blogging world is very supportive and it's been great to see the tally growing daily......

If you would like to contribute or share this on your blog or Facebook site please click on the link to find out more.

Thank you all for caring,

Big hugs to you all,

Claire X

Spring's Beautiful Bounty........

Hello girls, I'm sitting here tip tapping away, yawning and struggling to keep my eyes open.

After two early morning starts for markets, the lack of sleep has caught up with me a little, so I'll try very hard not to ramble too much......

Trying to be a little more organised and not so last minute I finished off the last of 3 tea cosies on Friday morning and packed the car ready for Saturday's market.

#1 little Blue Wren and Spring blossom.

First time I've sewn a Blue Wren, will tweak it a bit next time so that I'm completely happy with it.......

'

Those nimble little musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties with which natured hath furnished them to the shame of art'......Izaak Walton

The Hollyhocks finished and ready for sale.

I wanted to use a polka dot fabric for the lining but Spotlight didn't have any so a plain fabric sufficed.

'To dig one's own spade into one's own earth.

Has life anything better to offer than this?'.......

Beverley Nichols

Of course there has to be a little vintage caravan somewhere.

This cosy sold before I had even set up my stall....

The market was moved to another location within the park

It was a beautiful Spring morning....

Lots of visitors to the market which was great and

Nicky Bomba played some tunes.....

A nice quiet spot on the river bank.

Handy to have a backpack for your pooped pooch!!

(tired dog, just in case you were unsure!!hehe)

Spied these gorgeous flowers in the main street after the market wound up.

I think they are Ixias, the colours were gorgeous.

Had to stop and take some pics

These guys had the right idea.

 I could quite easily have joined them as I was feeling rather weary but had a 45 min drive home and some more sewing to do.......

Bright is looking her best this Spring with beautiful blossoms everywhere you turn.

 Lots of Dogwoods in flower they obviously love the cooler climate.

I couldn't go past this lovely, white Wisteria and had to stop to take some pics........

As you can imagine the perfume was divine and the bees were having a feast.....

From a distance you don't notice the mauve and yellow sections.....

This Wisteria was beautiful, BUT I still prefer the dark purple variety, both are wonderfully perfumed.

It's good to be back at the market and catching up with everyone. Sales were great which means more sewing to restock.....

no complaints there.

This morning's market was alot quieter than we expected, but that's how it goes sometimes.

This week I will be focusing on the upcoming art show.

I have put my name down for four entries, so better get cracking.

I have an idea of what I want to do so will get the paints and canvases out and hopefully something will turn out well enough to enter. I know where my skills lie and painting is not one of them, but every now and then I hit on a winner!! 

Confession time here, a rooster I painted one year, failed to sell(no surprise there)

 It was a bit of a rushed job....tut tut

It's now hanging in Cluckingham Palace a reminder to allow myself more time and not to settle for second best.

Well, it's time for bed.......thanks for visiting girls and I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Have a fab week whatever you are up to

Take care,

Claire x

Inspiration is Blooming

Sunshine, rain, wind.....

A rainbow here, blue sky and sunshine over there and grey clouds looming

It's 9 degrees out, brrrr......

Surely it's Spring flexing her muscles....

Let's head indoors where it's warmer and....

SPRING

 is on my mind

Bright colours, 

polka dots, 

florals,

Snipping playing then stitching

Another WIP tea cosy.......

A little out of the usual for me.

 It needs a crocheted edging in blue and a polka dot lining....

The Manchurian Pear is in flower......

well one flower!!

If that's not proof that Spring is creeping up on us, I don't know what is!!

Better go throw another long on the fire.......

More projects on the go........

crocheted flowers blooming on my work table.

Reminding me of beautiful coloured Macaroons... yum

Sewing needle books.......more Daffodils and 

some stitched poetry.

Wild flower tea cosy....inspired by the swathes of wildflowers growing around the Olympic Stadium
(see previous post)

Views from outside

White winged Chough, looking for a tasty morsel in the chook run.

Chooks looking for a snack 

Japonica, it may be past it's prime, but it's still beautiful

Do the seasons inspire you to create?

Are they reflected in your work?

I'd love to know......thanks for visiting.

Joining in with other creative people over here and my tip for staying creative is:


Tuck a pen and book into your bag and when you're out and about doodle/draw/sketch something. 
It makes you take more notice of patterns, shapes, colours....
Have fun

Take Care,

Claire

☀☁☂♥

Words from William

 I was hoping for a lightning bolt moment!!

But the seed of an idea slowly appeared and grew from there.

Planning and placement of shapes and colours takes the longest time.

Stitching started and it slowly comes together.

Sit back take another look....a few more stitches.

Snip off the threads.....

Add some words from a favourite poem by William Wordsworth...

Slightly wonky, but then you know it's handmade and not churned out in the thousands!!

Later in the week (not much later to go really!)it will be turned into  a tea cosy....

My inspiration actually started earlier in the week.....

They're meant to be Daffodils but they remind me more of Jonquils.

 More practice needed....

Joining in with other creative people over here.

It's been a week of topsy, turvy weather.

Monday, sunny and gardening weather.

The fire brigade were called  to an out of control burn off.

  Who would've thought in Winter!!

 Long dry grass, with new green growth underneath and no, it wasn't me but someone down the road.....

Tuesday to Wednesday morning it rained, cats and dogs.

We had 79 mls.....it was wet....very wet.

View from underneath my umbrella....

Do you put your gumboots on and splash through the puddles.

Well, I had to check the mail and bring the rubbish bin in!!

Blurry pic or not I liked the effect.

Wednesday was 'fine ish' and today it's back to rain.....

Perfect for staying cocooned inside and being creative.

☁+☂= ☺

Time for a big bowl of warming soup and I'm off to visit some blogs.




Before I go, I just want to tell you about a lovely,


 Vintage Teaparty giveaway 
over at
Madelief

If you haven't visited her charming blog you are in for a visual treat, pop on over and say 'hi'

Take care,

Claire
❀❀❀