my creative space...

There hasn't been any quilt stitching of late, I've been flirting around with some quick & easy projects instead. I'll get back on the quilt wagon soon enough.
I've got so much going on in my head, lots of ideas for crafty things. I get a bit antsy every now & then & I just want to make something. Something that takes less than half an hour to have a finished product. Some days when Huckle is napping, I dash out to the studio & make like a crazy woman. No patterns, no measuring, just cut & sew. Admittedly, there's not that many things that this practice works well with. Burp cloths though, I could do blindfolded. Ok, so maybe that was a stretch... but they are super easy.
I used a fat quarter of fabric & a cloth nappy, cut both in half, sewed together, turned right way out, top stitched & Bob's your uncle. Too easy & very rewarding.
These are destined for the newest baby on the block (baby hasn't arrived yet, for once I'm getting in early).

Hopefully I can rustle up a bib in the same manner. Maybe I'll have something to show next week. I'm not making any promises though; could be a big disaster, might not happen at all.

That's how it is at my place, fly by the seat of my pants & take each day as it comes. The beauty of life with a Huckle. We pretend that we're farmers & take on "there's always tomorrow" attitude. This is great, until you start to say it every day & nothing gets done. Hee hee, lucky I'm my own boss then.
I might take that back actually, Huckle does a very good job of being the boss.
Pop of to Kirstys if you want a fix.

so sweet...

My dear little man is four months old tomorrow.

How sweet is this photo.

sunday morning...

I'm keeping the sentences short tonight. I'm a very tired mama. Sleep isn't what it used to be. Brain not what it used to be either.

Beautiful sunny sun visited today. Perfect weather for farm jobs. Or eating fish & chips by the bay. I did both. I fed the chooks & ducks their grains.

I guarded them from food snatching canines.
I checked for eggs. Ben barked at strange creature in dam. Strange creature is new duck house. Ducks haven't figured it out yet. Dam is a metre higher than autumn. So much rain here.

I wish I could get away with talking like this all the time. It really is so much easier. People might think I'm a little simple though. I promise to be back to my wonderfully descriptive self soon.
Hope your sunday was sunny also.

tomorrow...

Those who know me, know that I'm not overly interested with politics. It's all really too much & I think parliament is a little too similar to animals at the zoo. But the thought of tomorrows election has my stomach in a knot... please, please, please don't let 'that man' win! Do we really want our country run by someone who doesn't believe in climate change or women's rights? & that's just the start of it!
I'll leave it at that, I've said my peace.
My fingers are crossed for tomorrow.
This lemon has nothing to do with the election. I'm just eagerly awaiting its ripening, along with the rest of them on the tree. Mmmm, lemon curd crepe cake here I come!

my creative space...

I'm still all about the quilting, baby Izzy's quilt is gaining momentum. I only have 13 more circles to stitch & then of course bind it. But one step at a time.
I scored some perle thread at a local trash & treasure market for 50c a pop & they match wonderfully. Pink & blue circles of varying sizes, with a soft white flannel for the back. I'm not sure what to use for binding, I'll deal with that when the time comes, I guess.
Also, another card for another birthday. This time it was my youngest sisters birthday & yes I'm late sending the card again. The presents for both of them are still in the making too. Hopefully I'll be forgiven for being so slack, I do have a very good excuse.
Pop over to Kirsty's for more goodness.

winter blues...

I'm still here, up on the hill. I've just been hibernating & conserving energy. Winter is really getting to me & I long for the sun to come out for more than an hour at a time. The non-stop rain & wind (with a little hail thrown in for good measure) has surely had it's fun & should now retire to somewhere else.
Yes, I'm very whingy. Which is another reason for not being around lately. I keep remembering the words of my mother... "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all". Trust me, it is good that I've followed this advice; for you have been saved from my misery. Now to save myself.
I trunched around the orchard this morning, searching for signs. Reassurance that spring is on its way. Sure enough, it is. Thank goodness for that! Already my heart feels lighter & head less foggy.
The apricots are starting to bud
& almond tree is blossoming.

We lost a duck last night, so we are now down to four. I don't think it was a fox, but I can't think what else it could have been. Samuel is out in the shed, knocking up a floating house for them. Hopefully this will keep them safe & happy.

The faithful Arthur has been assisting with the design.There has been a little crafting to keep my sanity above ground & hopefully I'll be returned to my high-spirited self soon. I'm so grateful to have my boys to cheer me up.
Here's to the coming of spring! Hip hip...

a little monday maintenance...

Never, ever, ever under any circumstance, prune a rose bush without gloves on!

I guess you knew that already, huh. I thought I knew it too... until today that is.

Let me paint the picture...

Huckle was down for a nap & I thought I'd do some pruning. My intention wasn't to prune the rose, it was to prune the grapevine. I set about pruning the vine & all was going swimmingly well, until the part where the vine had entwined itself into said rose bush. Feeling quite savvy about my pruning thus far, I thought I'd kill two birds with the one stone & prune the rose bush too. Let me just say... that was a stupid idea! Perhaps I was all giddy from the joy of traipsing around the garden in my hunters.Daffodils are lovely... they don't need pruning.

I should have stopped at the first sign of danger, but my foolishness had the better of me. My right hand is now completely covered in scratches. At least I have something to show for it. Eight metres of vine pruned & three viscious rose bushes trimmed within an inch of their lives. Ha! I sure taught them a lesson.
After spending a good deal of time daydreaming on the couch this morning, I thought that doing a spot of gardening would be good for the soul. Now I am reviewing that thought & have come to the conclusion that daydreaming is a much safer sport. In my daydreams I designed a dream kitchen, planned a garden layout (now edited to exclude the flowering devil bush) & eaten scones with jam & cream. Aaah daydreams, how I love you so.

We were served another lot of duck eggs this morning, but they are out of our reach. The silly things laid them amongst the floating reeds in the middle of the dam. Hmmm. We must find a middle ground between 'wild' & 'kept' ducks if this relationship is going to be a happy one. Either that, or I need to hitch on some waders. Something tells me that wading into the dam first thing in the morning will not be my cup of tea. Why not? Because it's freezing, it's wet & it's dirty! I'm not a prissy girl by any means, but those three things are really not for me.
Today I think I prefer the more gentle side of country life. Tea & cake, rolling green hills & never ending skies. Bliss.

If you're looking for me, I'll be on the couch with my nose in a magazine & my head in the clouds.

of warm heads & duck eggs...

What a glorious weekend we've had. I can't actually remember much of it, it all seems a blur. I know that I've baked bread, basted the quilt, done a bit of sewing... goodness knows what else.
My sweet Huckle has grown out of all his beanies & as I do not have the slightest desire to go shopping for new ones... I've sewn some up instead. I used some polar fleece that I scored at the oppie, it should keep his little head snug.
I didn't have a pattern, so I took the measure to his head & made it up as I went along. Both of them took less than 10 minutes to make. They aren't shop quality of course, but they're made with love & have lots of character.
I think I need to get back to the hook & whip a few crocheted beanies up too. I haven't wielded the hook in weeks, it's very unlike me.

Here is the darling modelling them for me. He's just too cute. Thanks to the lovely Kate for his top & auntie Em for his sock monkey. I do love a handmade baby.

Today we also got our first duck eggs. We had to fossick around for them though, well Samuel did anyway. The ducks have decided that they won't sleep in their house at night, they'll sleep in the dam instead.

Ok duck-ducks, have it your way; but look out for foxy-loxy, he's very sneaky.
They've made a nest under the blackberry bush, so one must be careful to not get scratched. Samuel ate one on toast for lunch & said it was quite lovely. I'm looking forward to trying one tomorrow.

I couldn't help but be a little indulgent & add these two photos.

My excuse is that they're for Nana (my mum), but really I'm just a show off. Isn't he cute!.

I hope there were lovely weekends all round & that you're all set for the week to come.
I'm trying to have the quilt finished by friday & get some other sewing underway too. Wish me luck.

I've been crafty...

Yes it's true!

I've been working away at this little quilt for a while now. A few moments here, a few moments there. Today I finished piecing the top together. It's such a relief to have it done. Now I can get onto some hand quilting on the couch. Not right now... maybe tonight, or tomorrow night. I think I'll stitch different size circles all over. What do you think?

I want to finish it soon so I can gift it to a darling little baby named Izzy. I had originally intended these fabrics for our baby... but he turned out to be a boy. As much as colours are for everyone... there may just be a bit too much pink in this one.

It's as wonky as anything, but I'm a great fan of the wonk. Beauty in imperfection, I say.
The bluebird fabric is a sweet vintage flannel I found on ebay many moons ago. The spots are honeycomb & the floral was from spotlight. The floral matches the honeycomb colours perfectly, they just had to be together.

There's been lots of rain down our way, the ground is so muddy. The ducks think it's fantastic, they waddle around making mud puddles everywhere. The chickens however, are not so impressed. They all shelter around the house, looking like drowned rats. Such different creatures.

I'm loving the bright winter blooms. The camelias & jonquils are out in force, the wattle flowers can be seen for miles & the roses & daffodils are slowly making their entrance too. This pretty lot are now sitting in a vase upon my table. Lovely.

I scored bigtime at the oppie yesterday. A whole heap of vintage linen & 5 old jars for the pantry. The linen is being relieved of it's op shop aroma, I'll show you when they're dry.

Happy weekend to you.

ups & downs & round abouts...

Life has been exactly that the past few days. One day is great, the next is oh so hard. One day the Huckle sleeps, the next he screams like a banshee. He's just come out of a bout with a virus, so the dear little man is still a bit unsure about things. All he wants is his mama, for she has cuddle & warmth.We've been so lucky to have such a healthy boy, I think the sickness has thrown me back a little.

Yesterday he was in a chipper mood & there was an impromptu photo session in the sunroom (Yes, the sun does shine down here in arctic tropical gippsland... enough to warrant a sunroom though? Prbably not).
I must have taken 30 odd shots, he was really playing up to the camera.
We ventured out into the big world yesterday for some lunch at a local cafe. It's run by an old nonna & her husband. They have a fresh produce store, aswell as growing grapes, olives, fruit & vegies on their land. Huckle had cuddles with Nonna Gina, while we had antipasto & pie. The sun shone brightly & spring seemed so very close, I can't wait.
Today has been a bit of a crazy one. We've managed to move some sleepers, work on the vegie patch, chop down some trees (not me, that was Samuel), cut some fabric, make a fleecy hat, bog two trucks in the paddock (again, not me & yes two trucks!) & tend to the Huckle who isn't very keen on the whole 'lying in bed & going to sleep' thing.
So... the trucks are still in the paddock, it's really bloody freezing, I've had six cups of tea & the husband has a bruised hand from punching the steering wheel of the truck with cursive frustration.
Hopefully tomorrow will be super boring!
Oh & one day soon, there'll be a crafty post. I promise, really I do.
That's all.