Soup the Loop Anyone?....

Hello there, how's your weekend going so far?

When you look out the window do you see any of these?

☁☀ ☁ ☂☃❀

Here's the view from my kitchen window today.....

Cloud, cloud and more cloud.

Earlier this morning there was fog followed by a snippet of blue sky, a smidge of sunshine and then it all went grey and gloomy.......

 And when the gauge doesn't get over 10 deg.....

I know it's time to.....crank up the 'beast'

Bang about with pots and pans and get some soup happening.

Pea and ham soup and Grandma's creamy, cheesy soup which is absolutely, lip smackingly delish........ 

Enough for dinner tonight and several containers in the freezer for the coming week......

When everything is bubbling away and doing what it has to. It's time for this.....

A good coffee, the May edition of English Country Living and

a comfy spot by the heater.

Oooh, wouldn't I love to claim this pic as my garden.....

sadly it's not the case but a photo from my magazine.

One can dream though...

Somebody else who likes to do a bit of dreaming...

when I'm not sticking a camera in his face, hehe....

It's been a mixed week here.

I headed into the great outdoors on Monday and armed with various gardening implements, 

I dug, weeded, raked, hoed, pruned and planted......

There was a lovely feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day.

I could see a distinct improvement in the garden, but there is still more work to be done.

I planted Hollyhock, Pansy, Poppy and Foxglove seedlings.

I hope this will add a bit more variety and colour to the garden come the warmer weather......

What about you?.......

Does cold or warm weather send you into the kitchen?

What have you been doing today? 

I hope your weekend is going well, thanks for popping by girls.....

It's always lovely hearing from you.

Take Care,

Claire ❀❀❀




Recipe for Grandma's Cheesy Creamy soup


Soften in butter, one grated carrot, one finely diced onion and a stick or two of celery.
Remove from saucepan and make a white sauce you know the sort with a butter and flour roux.....
2tbsp butter and 3 tbsp plain flour etc.

Add enough milk to make a thick sauce.
 Grate in 4oz/250gm of cheese.
We use the Kraft cheese (blue box variety) that is found in the supermarket shelves, not one from the chilled dairy cabinet.
But obviously, you can use any sort of cheese.
Allow cheese to melt, add softened veg and add one cup of chicken stock or as much stock to get it to a consistency you like.


Season to taste.....


It doesn't make alot of soup and as this is sooooo yummy it will disappear quickly so if you want to, just make a larger quantity of white sauce to start with.


♥♥Enjoy♥♥

Sewjo Mojo.......

Helloooooo, hope you've all had a great weekend.

It's been very chilly here, downright cold I might venture to say.

I had my market stall in Bright on Saturday....it was cold, I rugged up. 

There were coats, scarves, gloves and lots of hot coffee involved.....

The sun put in appearance for all of 10 seconds and then it was gone....

BUT

I had a ball,

 I always do.......

It's about sharing my creative makes with people.

 Connecting with complete strangers.

 Making new friends. 

It's about the lovely market goer who gave some doilies that belonged to her mum and thought I could use them. 

 Being surrounded by other creative, inspirational people.

 About the wonderful live music I can groove to whilst trying to keep warm.....

A cosy, corner of my stall, it  made me feel warm just looking at the crocheted rug....

A basket of Bunnies waiting patiently.....

Will they find their new home today or not?

They look a little  worried don't they?

Maybe they're feeling the cold too......

Plus there were more Hedgie brooches...

Talking about other creative, inspirational people.

Let me introduce you to the work of my super talented friend Lauren.....

I've had the pleasure of seeing her work evolve and 

I'm constantly inspired by her new makes.

How gorgeous are these little zip purses?

repurposed fabric,

quality wool felt,

 and the design is hand stitched with such neat, teeny tiny stitches.......

Cute as softies.....I love them all, particularly

 that gorgeous little owl there on the right and there's another  hiding at the back.

I moved the tags so you could see these cuties, hence the string around them....sorry...styling isn't my strong point!!

Check out the super, neat blanket stitching...

A few of Lauren's brooches,

 delicate stitching and crochet edging...

A basket full

of sweetly stitched

bunnies....

These cuties make my bunnies

 look like monsters hehe...

Lauren's etsy shop, Indigo Ink Spot is full of her wonderful work including hand made books with screen printed covers that she makes along with her husband Chris.

Click on the link and check it out......

A rather stylish market goer 

but I think he's got his eye on my bunnies!!.....

A new to me stall holder was Renee who had whipped up a pile of soft, snugly and brightly coloured beanies with her hooky stick.....

She also had some wonderful jewellery which incorporated felt balls, feathers and some quirky Lego pieces....

sorry no pics though...

How about a great crocheted, twine  holdall for your

crafty space. 

Keep all those bit and pieces together in the one spot...

Great idea Renee...

I loved this hanging fruit or vegie holder.

Could be used for all sorts of things.

In between chit chat, laughter and talking to customers Renee managed to whip up another 3......

she doesn't use patterns either, she free forms and it works so well...

Renee's website is Made by Dane, pop over for a visit and see what she's been up to.

Time flies when you're having fun and all too soon it was time to pack up......I really didn't want to.

My one criticism of the market is that it doesn't go for long enough...9am - 1pm....

I just don't want to go home....

It had been a fun morning and of course I had to check out the op shops once I had packed up.

No treasures to be found this month......

Lauren was already there and had nabbed a few for herself, hehe.... 

A snap along the road on the way home.....

Cold, grey clouds keeping the temperature down.

 I knew what I was going to do when I got home.....

Find a comfy spot in front of the heater and stay warm.....hmm, think someone's beaten me to it!!

Thankyou for all the lovely comments on my last post regarding my makes and the market.

It turned out to be a good day for me, despite the cold weather which can mean fewer customers.....

I came home with less stock and my pocket jingling with a few more coins, although I did manage to spend a few of them at the market!!

Tomorrow is going to be a gardening day, lots of pruning, weeding and planting to do. I'm going to spend time outdoors in the fresh air getting dirty, bringing back some order to my garden.

There'll be coffee too as no doubt it will be cold.

So tell me, what did you get up to on the weekend?

What has your week got in store for you?

Whatever it is, enjoy it, have fun and don't be a stranger...

Thanks for visiting,

Claire

❀❀❀

Brrrrrr.......It's Cold.......

It's chilly here, so I've dragged my sewing machine back to the dining room table, where it's nice and warm.

My creative space is looking rather chaotic this week.

 I have a market on this Saturday and need to get my crafting mojo into top gear, to make a few extras.........

There are camper van hottie covers rolling off the production line.

These little babies will keep you nice and warm on Wintry nights.

Waiting in line to be stitched up are rockets blasting of into outer space and beautiful polka dot flowers making me dream of warm, Summery days.......

Another Bluebell cover ........
 the first one I made I claimed for my own....

A little lesson learnt the hard way......

When you are 'writing' with your machine, concentrate, very, very hard. Don't have one ear listening to the radio because.......

THAT'S WHEN YOU ARE BOUND TO MAKE A MISTAKE!!!

..and it's just too hard to unpick those teeny, tiny stitches.I did the same thing another time, but the typo was on a tea cosy. A lady at my stall picked it up and was looking very closely at it. For some reason I felt I had to point the typo out and explain. She laughed and said she had noticed and thought it very funny. She was an English teacher and she loved that I had 'fixed' it in a similar manner to the one below......

More Bunnies in Brown, close relative to the Bunnies in Blue......

Yes, they just keep multiplying these bunnies!!

There are also fingerless gloves waiting patiently to be stitched and more Hedgie brooches. 
Can't get enough of those wee beasties yet....plus lots more..

So, if you happen to be in Bright, North East Vic. or thinking of going away for the weekend. There is a fab little market on in Howitt Park down by the Ovens river. There will be crafty stalls, foodie stalls, live music, egg and bacon burgers..yum, coffee...definitely and me!!

Need I say more? oh yeah, it's from 9am - 1pm

Love to meet you there......

For more crafty folk click here

Thanks for all the lovely, encouraging comments you leave each week. It's great hearing from you all..

Take Care,

Claire 

❀♥❀

Weekend Wanderings........

Hiya, so how is your weekend going so far?

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

What are you up to today"

I've had my fix of knitted mushrooms and I threw in an acorn too.... a bit fiddly, diddly but I'm pleased that what I had on my knitting needles actually looked like what was in the book......success, hehe.... 

I found these little beauties this morning. I was quite surprised to see these Fly Agaric mushrooms growing locally.  I last saw some about 35 years ago and they were growing in a pine forest..... 

There was a heavy frost here this morning and everything had an icy coating........

It was such a beautiful day, No.1 and I decided  to go for a walk down to the creek. Hubby tore himself away from the computer and joined us, something we've not done for an age.....

I could almost imagine I was in England......

The bare trees, the greenery, ivy growing up some of the trees.

I was keeping an eye out for Robins as their visits to my garden have been few and far between since the Magpie scared the last one off.......grrrr!!

I did spot 2 in a paddock, but they were out of camera shot..

We weren't the only ones enjoying the scenery,

there was someone fishing, girls out horse riding and  other locals enjoying the stunning day....

Pretty, pink flowers but it's Oxalis which is a weed and has no place growing in the bush....

A nearby farm shed...old, rambling and falling into disrepair.

The stories it could tell eh?..

Love the broken windmill in the background....

An old cart from times gone by....

Would love to know why they chose an elephant to grace their letter box?

Definitely more fun than raking them up!!

Yep, he's just one big kid.....hehe..

It's been a beautiful day, one out of the box. It's not often I have hubby and son home on a Saturday, so we spent time together relaxing. Of course there were a million and one jobs we could've or should've been doing, but there are some things which are more important...

Once home, I did get stuck into a bit of housework.....

The boys packed up the van and headed off to 'work'. It's the start of the ski season here, so No.1 had a gig up at Falls Creek ski resort.

They'll be home in the wee small hours of the morning, tired and ready to crawl into bed.

I hope you all enjoy your long weekend whatever it has in store for you......

Thanks for visiting and taking time to say 'hi',

Claire ❀❀❀

Camper Van Dreams........

Hello there, welcome to my creative space today......

Please excuse the mess, I've been a little busy.

I've been busy snipping, stitching, crocheting and having coffee with friends which is why I haven't finished this Camper Van cushion, BUT

I'm sure you'll get the picture...

Take some woollen blanketing, yarn, felt and thread...

Snip, stitch and crochet...

Use your machine and 'write' something.......

Add some polka dot fabric to make a happy string of bunting....♥♥♥

Hmmm, just realised as I looked at this pic that I need to add a little more stitchy detail to the camper van before I sew up the side seams!!

And there you almost have it, one Camper Van cushion!

Well, it will be shortly...

Before I plug the sewing machine in I'm heading over here to see what everyone else has been up to.

Thanks for popping by, so glad you could visit and 'hello' to all my new followers......

Wishing you all a creative day,

Claire ❀❀❀

Monkey Business

                Hi there, how are you all?

  Hope you had a great weekend and found some time to create, relax or celebrate the Queen's 60th Jubilee for all my UK visitors. 

It's been a particularly chilly day here, starting off with a foggy morning which I missed as I headed off to work when the family were still tucked up snug as a bug..........

I saw the full moon hanging just above the tree line, it was cloudy but not a wisp of fog to be seen.....

By the time I finished work, there was a leaden, grey sky with the wind whipping up the oak leaves in a very quiet main street.......beautiful.

 I stood there grinning like a loon, watching the swirling leaves!! 

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A little bit of monkey business has been taking place here over the weekend.

A creative brain wave had to be explored and a thrifted, grey, woollen blanket along with some felted jumper offcuts became a nice big, squishy cushion. 

I think it now makes this corner of the couch nice and cosy and perfect for a spot of hmmm......crochet!!

Before you even ask girls, I have to say no, I did not crochet the blanket.

My great auntie Ellie, made it back, way back, in the 70's. She lived in an old folks home and used all sorts of different ply yarns to make a couple of these rugs. As you can imagine they have great sentimental value, but I 'm sure she would've appreciated some of the online tutorials about joining grannies as you go......

Monkeying around....

Inspired by the Hasbro game 

'Barrel of Monkeys'

I felt a little crochet trim was needed to add a bit of granny goodness to those cheeky monkeys......

So girls, guess where I'm going to be spending some of these grey, gloomy days? yep, that's right.......

Sitting in the corner......of the couch, hehe!!

It may be cold and grey outside, but there's still a bit of life and colour in the garden.......

Gorgeous hot pink Camellias, brighten up any day.....

Peer through the leaves and what can you spy, next door?

 Stunning Liquid Ambers...... putting on the most gorgeous display.

Our Maples and Silver Birches have dropped all their leaves, but not the neighbours trees.

I took this pic last week, when it was a little warmer and the late afternoon sun, was bathing everything in a golden glow.   

  The Wintersweet (Chimonanthus Praecox)
 It's been in bloom about a month now. 

If you're not familiar with it, the flowers are quite unremarkable, but it's  perfume is beautiful.

So nice to have it wafting around the garden.

❀❀❀ 

Tig's not fazed by the cold weather he's keeping warm wearing his Winter coat.

He's doing what he does best.....nothing.

Well, the weekend is but a distant memory.

 I had a lovely catchup over Eggs Benedict and a coffee with two of my sisters on Saturday morning

There was time for some sewing and a little crocheting in amongst the housework.

Another episode of Downton Abbey on Sunday night.....love that show and here we are back into a new week.

Hope you are all well and a big 'Thanks' to all my new followers.

Thanks for popping by,

❀❀❀