Around Here

Spring has brought with it the magic of the season, as fruit and flowers flourish in my garden.

The Mulberry tree is covered in berries. While I wait for them to ripen I am dreaming about filling baskets with goodness to eat, freeze and cook with. Jam. Pie. Cakes. Overnight oats...

Our strawberry harvest will be less than anticipated this year, thanks to a certain blue eyed, blonde haired two year old, who keeps picking and discarding the green fruit. No amount of logic will dissuade her.

A blue tongue lizard has taken up residence behind our shed, and can occasionally be glimpsed basking in the sun. He rather surprised me the first time I stumbled upon him. But I am quite pleased that he has found a home between the shed and the fence.

The BrisStyle Indie market I attended was lovely. Crafters sure know how to rock a market, and make new comers feel welcomed and supported. I had such positive feed back about my stall, my designs and my skill. I chatted with many sweet folks and enjoyed packing up each piece that went home with it's new owner.

I really admire Lisa Congdon for her art and skill, as well as her honesty about her issues with anxiety. I also love listening to podcasts while I work. Thus my excitement when I discovered double the Lisa Congdon goodness with two recent podcasts - Design Sponge and Raise Your Hand. Say Yes. Well worth checking out!

Sometimes you have to say no to something in order to say yes to something else. This was particularly true last week when I was offered a market table in the second round for the November Brisbane Finders Keepers. I thought hard about it, but turned it down, something I can't even have imagined doing twelve months ago. However, my darling husband surprised me by booking a weekend away for my twin sister and my children at a farm stay the same weekend, as a birthday gift. Fiona is flying up from Canberra, and while she would be only too happy to help me at the market, I was reminded about the importance of finding work - life balance. Instead we shall be drinking tea, collecting eggs, exploring and watching as the cows are milked.

So much has been happening in the workshop, which you may have seen over on Instagram. There's a whole lot more on the go, between custom jobs and new stock. Sign up to my newsletter, or follow me on Instagram, for more behind the scenes peeks and information.

Here's to a creative week!

Lately

Loving: Striped roses. They are a welcome distraction from the dirty floor boards and the piles of dishes that go hand in hand with Doctors orders to rest, as this pregnancy has been classified 'high risk.'

Napping: Every single day! Thank goodness for children who nap at the same time... and when they don't, thank goodness for the movie 'Cars,' which keeps Cohen occupied while Mama and Emmy nap. (Sometimes one must do these things!)

Feeling: Optimistic about everything, despite the hurdles at the moment.

Growing: Crazy numbers of sweet capsicums. I never knew one plant could be so prolific. It is thriving on neglect. Any recipe suggestions? The tomatoes, sweet potatoes and herbs are also thriving, thanks to the many storms we have had of late. But I'm keeping my expectations low for the onions, which look rather unhappy with their plot in life. I've never had any luck with growing onions.

Inspired: To start some Christmas crafts. I have been ordering a few craft supplies online for some quiet crafty afternoons with my little ones. I am trying to wait until the first of December to get started...

Watching: The birds nesting in our front tree. There are now five nests. Soon, I hope to be Aunty to a tree full of baby birds.

Working: On custom orders. I love creating something meaningful, like a gift for a midwife, or a keepsake from a holiday. I'm going gently at the bench though. Usually I prepare all my metal myself, melting it down and rolling it our and drawing down the wire. These are quite physical processes though. So, instead I have ordered pre-prepared plate, bezel wire and round wire, to make things easier.

Reading: 'Country Style' magazine and 'The Yarn Whisperer'. My mind has just not been able to focus properly on books lately.

Looking forward to: Doing my next market - The French Christmas Market in West End on the 21st of December. If you are around, do come and say hello! I will have some French themed pieces especially for the event - I'm thinking mustache earrings and red, white and blue beads.

Excited: (Very, very excited!) About the Handmade Christmas Giveaway planned for Monday, which includes such lovely makers as Each to Own, Zillpa and Bravo Juliet Designs...

37/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013." Che and Fidel.

Cohen and Emerson: It's the little things

I love this time of year in the garden. The weather is beautiful, there is much to harvest and Winter veggies are giving way to Spring planting. While I weed, pick, dig and plant, my little helpers play around me, push each other in the cart and 'work' with their wheel barrow and shovels. By far their favourite things though are the watering cans. A little water in each keeps them occupied for quite some time. And there is nothing cuter than a toddler pottering around with a watering can.

Instagram Snippets

1. On one of the worst days I have had recently, where nothing would go right and I could not seem to get myself out of the terrible mood I'd fallen in to, yellow roses, children's naps and cups of tea did the trick.

2. Making beads for the market - so fun and relaxing too.

3. A canvas painted for me by my dear boy. Self portrait, while walking a dog on a path next to grass, with sky, clouds and sun. Heart melts.

4. Blocks of colour and possibility.

5. Tea pot pendants and brooches in progress.

6. Hokey Pokey biscuits with honey instead of golden syrup - because we had run out. Both children approved, as did I.

7. Dinner from the garden - a simple veggie stir fry - quick, delicious and healthy.

8. Wise words from the Brisbane Writers Festival - If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

9. Strawberries from the garden - we are averaging a punnet every day or two. Sometimes they only make it as far as the outside tap, where little hands rinse them and eat them. The rest of the time they find their way on to our breakfast.

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PS. Don't forget to enter the beautiful crochet heart bunting giveaway here. You have until Friday to enter. :)

8 Little Things

 

1. Kumquats from a dear neighbour and friend

2. A cheeky little breakfast baby

3. Flowers from my garden

4. New in the shop - 'Tea for Two' studs

5. I believe tomatoes will be gracing my windowsill for some time yet

6. Mama heart melting moment

7. Sigh

8. Sky gazing on bright, beautiful days

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PS. I made a new header yesterday. It's difficult to sum up your blog with one image, isn't it?! I used Pic Monkey - a free online photo editor - to crop and add text to an image I took in my studio yesterday. (Before posting off the large silver crochet necklace to its new owner.) I'm pleased with how the header turned out. What do you think?

Welcoming Spring

 

This past couple of weeks Spring has made an early appearance in Brisbane. The cool nights give way to very warm, clear days, full of possibility. There is new life in the garden. And my urge to Spring clean has been awoken. We started with the garage last weekend and I moved on to the laundry this weekend. How quickly 'things' accumulate, and how happy it makes me to have reduced their number yet again. My carefully folded linen cupboard, my rows of home made laundry liquid and my neat store cupboard are a source of satisfaction indeed.

 

My studio is next on the list. An exciting, yet overwhelming prospect. I can't wait until it's done. But just thinking about it is a little exhausting. Everything needs to come out of the cupboards and drawers and be sorted and stored more efficiently. My craft supplies need culling and rearranging, my tools need cleaning and sorting and my storage solutions need attention. I want a space that is welcoming and easy to use, with a place for everything. I also want it to be a more friendly space for my two little helpers. One of whom has a habit of pulling everything off shelves and out of drawers...

I'm sad to see Winter go, but I am hoping it will take our coughs and sniffles with it.

How do you welcome Spring?
Does warmer weather unleash a flurry of cleaning at your house?



8 Little Things

 

1. New additions - a thrifted boy wearing clogs and holding a duck (who could resist?) for $1, and a 10 pound ball from Freedom

2. 'Great Expectations' - my latest book club read. I love an excuse to read classics.

3. My first piece of Anthropologie - a gorgeous paisley cowl I won in a giveaway on Mother Down Under - thanks Caitlin!

4. Chocolate Cake Beard!

5. Brooch friends - One for the Pot and Erin's window

6. Broccoli in bloom - so pretty

7. A new thrifted cushion for $2 - a little bit of early Spring

8. Phase two partially complete on the Doll House - first coat done

 

What lovely things have you been making, growing or doing lately?

8 Little Things

1. $26 worth of sale fabric for my Summer Sewing Challenge - to make a dress, skirt and shorts for Emerson and pants and pj shorts for Cohen.
2. Black Russians from the garden - it really has been a warm Winter, hasn't it?
3. A little skirt cut out and ready for some nap time sewing.
4. Pickings from the veggie patch - baby spinach, peas, cherry toms and chilli's.
5. Finished skirt! That makes three.
6. Purple carrots for our Sunday Roast.
7. Wise words from Oscar Wilde and Paper Boat Press.
8. Stage one of the doll house DIY complete - carpet and wall papers removed.  A much greater challenge than I had anticipated!

What lovely things have you been making, growing or doing lately?

Winter Gardening Checklist

Mulch garden beds - to protect the plants roots from the cold

Prune Mulberry Tree - early Winter is the best time for this

Liquid fertlise - to strengthen plants against the cold

Create new garden beds 

Dig in compost

Plant seeds every two weeks 

Plan for Spring

Tidy up garden edges

Extend cut flower garden

More indoor plants

Add pot plants to front deck

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Some gardening love on the internet -

A useful resource for what to plant when in Australia.

Top five reasons to garden in Winter.

Ten kitchen gardens to visit before you die.

Sustainable Gardening Australia blog.

Home life Gardening blog.

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What are your Winter gardening plans?