Gardening

So much to love

by Kelly 2 Comments

Some random things that are making me happy at the moment (isn’t Spring wonderful?!)

Abundant roses.

In so many beautiful shades of colour.

Some new tops for me, and about time too! I brought out the trusty Ottobre 303 pattern again. This one is a round neck.

And my first attempt at a v neck which turned out so well I’ll definitely be doing it again.

Life has been such a flurry of sewing, needlework, exercise (yay!), homeschooling, worship, love and art that I rarely seem to be able to share much of it here anymore. I’m enjoying life so much more right now than I have for some time, I’ll have to share more about that with you soon.

Until then, thanks for reading….

Around the garden today

by Kelly 2 Comments

Anemones

Polyanthus

Apricot blossom

Broccoli

Grape hyacinth

Freesia

Arum lily

Hi

by Kelly 4 Comments

Another busy week with plenty of secret and somewhat frantic sewing. One of our girls was born on my husband’s birthday almost 4 years ago, so we have a double celebration next week.

My husband loved hand puppets as a kid and has been ~~hounding~~ asking me for years to make him one.

As I have no such affinity with puppets I got on my high horse and said I wasn’t interested in making puppets, which only pressed the issue further, my husband being of the somewhat stubborn and mildly eccentric persuasion.

Enough of that. I have made him not one but two hand puppets, and what do you know, I really enjoyed making them and will likely make more. Can’t wait to give them to him. Pattern from Planet Puppet.

Some little Mary Janes for a cousin’s new baby.

One of my favourite flowers – the jonquil. They take me right back to my impoverished uni days when a winter treat was to buy a couple of cheap bunches of jonquils on Sydney Road and fill my tiny little flat with their heady scent.

These two are thick as thieves and spend most of their time together now. Miss G has taken up facepainting and is always looking for a willing subject or two. She has a real creative flair.

And when not facepainting they can be found at a posh tea party where one must wear floral dresses, posh hats and use their “lady” manners!

I was sent a silver bezel, among other goodies as a kindly gift from Kerrie at Jackobindi. I cut out a little circle of fabric and sealed it with mod podge, then poured clear resin on top. Cute huh?

Apart from these, and many other goings on I have been dreaming and drooling over the Harkaway Homes Catalogue. Hope springs eternal!

Have a great weekend, God bless.

Today is..

by Kelly 4 Comments

Admiring pretty new blooms in the garden.

Looking forward to picking our very first lemon. 22 isn’t bad for a first fruiting!

Working on the machine and with a needle for a certain swap.

Love my bias binding maker!

I’m also quite excited that we’re traipsing out to the country on Monday to view some properties. The weather is fabulous here today – I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.

God bless and keep smiling!

Welcome to the jungle!

by Kelly 4 Comments

My husband took some photos of our backyard from the roof.

Having a wet summer has done amazing things for the garden.

When we moved here 5 and a half years ago this was an empty, barren space. We are surrounded by other houses and had no privacy in our yard.

Now it is green and beautiful every direction you look. My husband has worked very hard to make our unattractive suburban block into something a bit more special. It is a truly wonderful thing.

Sunflowers!

by Kelly 5 Comments

The very first sunflower of summer. The bees love them too!

This one hasn’t bloomed yet but is absolutely giant. I had to take this picture lying down on the path to fit it on the screen! The kids can’t wait until the seeds are ready to feast on.

My husband has quite a cactus collection, some in pots and some planted into the garden. This is the first time this one has flowered. The blooms usually last one to two days only. The scent is like freshly cut melon – beautiful!

A little secret for those who are unaware. Don’t waste your money on packets of sunflowers from a seed producer – you can get marvellous and massive blooms (like ours) from the supermarket by buying a bag of bird feed! Naturally, you want a bag with only sunflower seeds. I got hundreds of seeds for roughly $4 and planted them everywhere.

Spring around the garden

by Kelly 2 Comments

Our little suburban space is looking pretty special right now and is a beautiful place to spend time. The garlic is nearly ready to flower.

The apricot tree is laden with fruit this year. The war will soon begin between the humans and the birds!

Love in a mist is so pretty.

One of the first morning glory flowers.

The rest of my Saturday will be spent sewing skirts and Christmas gifts, in between “everything else”. In other words, I may actually get some sewing done but who knows? If not, at least I can enjoy the comings and goings of the children and be thankful for them.

I hope you enjoy your family today too.

God bless.

The garden in May

by Kelly Leave a Comment

It’s so good to see the garden really flourishing due to the increase in rainfall – it was pretty sad there for a while. We have broad beans sprouting everywhere as well as silverbeet, beetroot, spring onions, pumpkins, parsley and other seeds yet to show their first leaves. I’m very keen to have a successful potato crop this year and would love to get my hands on some heirloom varieties.

This daytura (also known as angel’s trumpet) is truly glorious at the moment and has grown so fast. It’s almost to the top of the fence and going strong. They usually get severely knocked by frost so for now we will just enjoy their beautiful lush growth and heady perfumed flowers.

Funny things happen while you’re away…

by Kelly 8 Comments

The garden was fairly dry when we left but apparently Melbourne had a lot of rain and we’ve come back to a jungle – like backyard complete with giant zucchinis. The one at the front weighed in at 2.9 kilograms!! Unfortunately they’re not really edible at this size (I’ve tried!)

I’m working on a few things at the moment. Actually, I just want to plonk myself in front of the sewing machine after my week away, but there is so much else that needs my attention! I’m hoping to finish off a new doll this week, start on a custom order and organise myself for the Crafty Mamas get together on Friday where I’ll be teaching doll making for the first time (gulp).

Better get back to it…..