broderie

home at my place

this week has been spent home here at my place and the weather has been cooler and i have been waiting to 'make' my vegie garden !

this has been a neighbour friendly effort including both my closeby neighbours, a joint effort, and now we have rocket, lettuce, silverbeet and kale planted, so we will being having our greens

i have two back courtyards, one is more decorative than the other, so as you can see there is a concrete area and so instead of putting the frame given to me by j & f straight onto that surface, i asked the other neighbour, builder p, if he could get me a couple of pallets. i bought the black plastic down at phillip island at the hardware shop and then a trip to bunnings during the week, loaded the boot with potting mix and seedlings, closed the boot and then realised that i had left my bag in there as well and of course the car was locked ! i then remembered that i had left my mobile phone at home, that did not matter, because it would have been in my bag too ! i had not left j at home though and she had her phone, so we rang home to f and he gave us the racv number and about 20 minutes later i was back with bag strapped over the body and then we went shopping for

other bits we needed. then a friends husband came to help on thursday, lovely 'denis' drove my car back to my place while i sat at sewing with my friends and got the 6 bags of potting mix out of the boot and to the courtyard! spoilt again !

another version of the octagon quilt, this belongs to one of my friends, lavina, and it is beautiful, the top is nearly finished !

and deidre is stitching this, a whimsical drawing from one of my french colouring books will become the top of a new baby's quilt top, lots of fun and really gorgeous !

and today i took some more photos, a new pattern !

show you soon !

oops i just realised i used 'houses' in the categories, maybe a clue !

 

colour and blooms at home

i have spent alot of time just at home recently and have had heaps of time to just look and see all sorts of things to inspire me and make my heart happy !

the neighbours have been so helpful, friends have been doing many things to aid and assist and people i don't know have also been bringing joy through the letter box and my own garden has been providing rewards of nature.

this rhododendron and lilac at the end of my veranda

i picked some to bring inside because rain is predicted ! of course all the rain we have had has made the gardens in melbourne look so wonderful, the best for many years due to the drought.

inside i have been stitching some more of my 'big blooms' quilt top, it is very colourful and bright, but i love it.

back to the garden

the roses are off and running with new shoots from the very old wood ! that gardening angel mentioned previously a couple of posts back, will be proud !

and the buds on the iris !

the gazania's are also blooming, i notice they have a small visitor !

and this daisy too !

all the colours with the fresh greens everywhere are so bright and cheerful !

and the grass is growing overnight !

and the postman delivered this book from anne at quiltefia all the way from norway ! as anne said, i can't read the text, but the text in patchwork and quilting is universal really in whatever language it is written. thanks so much anne for your generous thought in sending me the book. there are some good projects inside !

i have had far more hours than usual to look at blogs and have been so interested to see what is happening and the interaction of people all over the world as well as locally. there are alot of friends out there sharing the gentle arts and crafts !

i have hopefully only 4 full days and a few hours before i am back on both feet !

 

time, pleasant hours spent !

since being home from my interstate visit there has been quite a bit to catch up with and some enforced rest and repair, some medical tests and reports. 'i am ok', my favourite response to the question 'how are you' and yes i am ok, need two new knees, but i have a 'good heart' and paper to prove it, so that is good news!

the last week of october brought about gatherings at home of sewing groups and friends and being spoilt by everyone, i was ok, but spoilt ! thankyou to all of you. no dramas now! this post is a bit about everything of how time is spent.

 
my front little room looks out on these very old roses, a lovely window view

 
some in a vase where i sit with my laptop

 
also some on the shelf to look at while i was getting the ironing basket emptied (i notice it is full again)

 
these lovely vintage buttons adorn marilyn's newest 'teatowel' cushion

 

i have also been knitting, this little jacket for a new baby nearly finished

 
and this quilt that i started in hobart has been getting some more attention

 
and i have chose this fabric as the back for my half square triangle quilt, i so often make up backs from bits in the cupboard, but i decided that this fabric would suit all the scrappy front

 

and jean over at linen and raspberry has got some of her beautiful samplers that she has worked in cross stitch on her latest post and it made me think of all the time spent in stitching over the years, happy times, pleasant times, comforting times, sad times, etc., so here are some of the hours spent i am talking about

 
this is a sampler by 'long dog' stitched by a friend, thelma, who now has parkinsons disease and finds stitching all too difficult to do now. thelma stitched many samples for me when i had my shop, a friend made through stitching!

 
and this one 'rose for grandma' stitched by sharon, my cousin who left us all too soon a few years ago. sharon spent many hours of her short life stitching, hours that brought her great joy and comfort.

 
and this was an old 'semco' kit, stitched by my mother in 1985 while i was overseas, i know it brought her much joy and comfort, she died in 1986. so keep stitching i say and don't forget the cross stitch, you are never lonely with a bit of cross stitch or any stitching.

outside in the garden, melbourne has been refreshed by the recent rain, fortunately no flooding for me, just a good watering from the skies above and it makes so much difference

 

 

 

 

 

 
the bird bath filled from water falling out of the sky, happy times, has not happened in this city for along time and in the yarra valley where it was devastated by fire earlier, the race meeting at yarra glen has been cancelled due to flooding over the weekend.

 
i always look forward to the 1st of each month and changing the many calendars in this house, another of my quirks, love a good calendar! the first tuesday in november in melbourne, australia is a public holiday for the melbourne cup and that is tomorrow, a big day in the sporting life of this city. i used to go often, many years ago, but tomorrow i will enjoy it all on television spending the time stitching! and just to finish off this framed box of stitching necessities i have in my little front room! that is where i started this post, i spend many hours of my time in that room!

 

 

hobart cottage update

apart from house sitting for my friends, i have been looking after their holiday letting cottage here in hobart. if any of you are thinking of coming for a stay down in this oh so pretty city, minimum two days to how ever long you may like to stay hobart cottage is a great choice. i can assure you that you will have a very welcoming and comforting stay. the colonial cottage is gorgeous and the garden is just delightful, fresh seasonal vegies and herbs to pick during your stay or places to sit and enjoy the scene, read a book and just take in the fresh air. let me show you through !

self catering in the bright and well stocked kitchen if you want to cook some of the time

a sunny spot to sit

or a cosy, comfy spot

and so to bed, either here or here

with a cot or trundle if you require it

those of you who read this blog will remember these cushions, this is where they now live

the scarecrow looks over the vegie garden

do you like broad beans ?

these crabapples will be in full bloom very soon, as will the columbines 

and also the clematis

so go to the website to see more of the cottage and area. i can highly reccommend it as a lovely spot to stay.

yesterday one of my new neighbours came to have a nice cup of tea and brought these lovely yellow tulips for me, thanks beth !

and another friend came today and brought this magic potion

'drink of the angels', it was a very nice new taste !