happy mother's day

from my garden to you!

Hope you are spoilt rotten tommorrow

because you sooooo deserve it.

revisiting hobbies of old...........

Yesterday I spent the best part of the day out in the garden, tidying up what has over the last few months, become overgrown, burnt (after Sydney's heatwave) and badly in need of some TLC. 

I find gardening very satisfying, enjoyable and therapeutic. 

I love it.

 

I started gardening with a passion more than a decade ago when my husband and I bought our first house together.  I would spend every free moment out in the garden.  Tending, transforming, nurturing and watering.

When we bought our current house I took it upon myself to landscape our front yard,

taking it from this, in the November of 2007

to this by February 2008.

I spent the next few months scrounging around our property, looking for bricks to use for my piece de résistance, the circular path.  

By June it looked like this

   Yes, I did manage to find that many bricks lying around!

I did all this predominantly on my own, with two small children often pottering along beside me. 

To say I was proud when I had it all done is an understatement. 

Gardening during those early days in this home was all I had to help me hold onto my sanity. 

A little bit of me, the old me, before I had two children.  Before the ups and downs of being a stay at home mother, with children who often needed visits to and overnight stays in hospital. 

But as always, times change, things change. 

Stresses and health improved and I learned to be comfortable in my skin again.  I discovered blogs/blogging and reaquainted myself with some crafty persuits. 

The garden continued to grow

nov 2008

and flourish 

November 2009

with only the occassional day here or there spent weeding, pruning, planting out some annuals or bulbs.........

Today it looks like this.

In need of an overhaul I think.

For me, half the fun is in the planning. 
Pouring over my gardening books and magazines.  Selecting plants and colour schemes.  And while I love the rambling cottage garden look I was trying to achieve with this garden, my tastes now seem to be veering more towards the more formal, clipped hedge look.  But can I maintain this type of garden? 
It will call for more frequent tending than I have been giving it of late.  Hmmm so much to contemplate.

Excuse me, I have some books to dust off...........................



Spring-a-linging

Springtime. 

 My front garden

A very deep and meaningful conversation was had by Miss A, Miss B and I as we walked the path to school one morning last week. It went something like this.

Miss A, "I'm so glad that bad old Winter is over. I love Spring. What's your favourite season mum?"

"Ohhhhh" I said, "I love Summer. In all it's hot, sweaty, thirsty glory. I simply cannot abide Winter!"

Miss B, "I love Spring too, that's when all the flowers grow."

I hadn't realised just how much the cold, dark days of winter had been dampening my mood and dulling my enthusiasm for just about everything, until glorious Spring sprung and the creeping, seeping warmth of the sun touched my skin and made me feel H.A.P.P.Y!

A complete shift in my mood and motivation has taken over and I've been doing a bit of sewing for myself lately in preparation for the sunny days to come.

I sooooooooo love this skirt. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it on Dana's blog.  I knew I had to have at least one for this summer.

A couple of weekends ago it was so warm and lovely and summery that on a whim I pulled this oh so cheap (like $3 a metre cheap) cotton I had bought about a year ago from a local fabric shop, down from my stash and pulled together this skirt in no time at all.

It is so comfy and I adore it.

I really love the teal colour of the fabric too. It is only by complete and utter coincidence that it matches my hat perfectly.

The fabric is quite sheer and I didn't line the skirt so this one will be kept for wearing over tights.

I'll have to make another out of some heavier cotton for the height of summer.

But what really makes it - the pockets!  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE pockets.

This one is a re-fashion of a skirt I already had in my wardrobe.

 

I bought it years ago to wear to a funeral and although I really love the cut and fit of the skirt, every time I put it on I felt like I was going to a funeral. 

So I added a little embelishment using a doily I picked up ages ago at the Oppy and some lovely vintage bed sheets I had in my stash.

The birdy silhouette was inspired by the gorgeous apron I received from Julie in the Great Apron Swap 2010 awhile ago.

Only downside of this skirt - no pockets.

Hope you're loving the weather wherever you are right now!

little patchwork, big patchwork

I spent the best part of ALL of yesterday making this patchwork quilt.  Made entirely from vintage bed linen I've had in my stash for quite awhile.  Unfortunatey the overcast conditions do not make for good picture taking and these photo's just don't do the fabrics any justice.

I had originally planned to make a quilt out of 6 inch squares but really wanted a nice 'quick' project (as opposed to the saga of Miss B's quilt which has been going for at least 6 months now).  I remembered seeing Amanda's Beach Blanket to go on her blog so loosely based my version on hers.

 

I have not yet bought Handmade Home (it's on my wishlist) so just made up my own dimensions. 

The quilt measures 60" x 60", made up of 15 rectangles measuring 12' x 20" each.  It is backed with a vintage bedsheet I couldn't bear to cut up and the binding, made by moi using a 1" bias tape maker,  is also made from an old bedsheet.  This was the first time I have made bias binding this way and I am a total convert!  There is no batting between the layers.  I got my walking foot out for the first time in about 5 years and simply stitched in the ditch just to hold it all together.  I even just zigzaged the binding on to save time. 

See the lovely backing!

Here's Miss A having her first sewing lesson.  Helping me out with the quilt.   I started at about 10 o'clock in the morning and finished it just after midnight.  I was determined to make the whole thing in a day!

I also did a little sewing on Saturday arvo, making this cute little belt for Miss B in about half an hour.  From the pattern Belt it Out in Pretty Little Patchwork I adjusted the measurements to suit a 1" D-ring.  Miss B chose all the fabrics herself from my stash and she has hardly had it off since I finished it!

Last but not least a lovely flash of colour on these rather drab, rainy days we've been having here in Sydney.  How I do love my lovely little sweetpeas...............

Perfect mini muffins

I've made these twice this week.  First time round I added  fresh blueberries and yesterday made a saltana batch.  They take literally five minutes to make and about 10 minutes to cook, they are allergy friendly and to top it all off they are sooo easy to make which makes it a breeze with four little extra hands pitching in.

Mini Muffins

Pre-heat oven to 200Celsius.  Mix together 1 cup SR flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.  Add 1/2 cup (soy) milk, 1/4 cup oil and 1 egg (or No Egg equivalent) and combine well.  Add 1/2 cup of fruit of your choice and stir through.

Spoon mixture into a greased or patty pan lined mini-muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Mmmmm.... delish eaten warm from the oven.

By the way, did you see my entry in CurlyPops giveaway comp.??

I couldn't resist entering this giveaway over at Don't Look Now, I am so in love with the How Does Your Garden Grow pillow - sigh........

and this giveaway that Allison over at The Lark is having is in support of the Breast Cancer Network of Australia.  As well as a prize for the winner she is donating 50 cents to BCNA for every person who enters, so head on over and do some good!

This flower just bloomed in my garden.  Left behind by the previous owner (in pots all over the back yard).  It is such an ugly plant but I thought there must be something about it for her to have had so many of them.  I kept one just to see.  This is the first time it has bloomed.  Wow it is STUNning!

things I'm loving....

Op-shop finds.....

My Zygocactus



in full bloom.....



Log-cabin pillows....



and finishing a project!.....



Watching my sweet pea seedlings emerge....



and two weeks later.....


Waiting for my first orchid flowers to reveal themselves....

and inspiration for the constantly thought about, never actually started quilts here, here and here .

What are you loving right now?