my creative space...

I'm on a crafting roll! Two completed projects in as many weeks. Can you feel my excitement? 
The Calm Cowl is off the hook. Ever since I saw Kate's lovely version, this cowl has been on my mind. 
I wanted to make it with some super soft yarn, but my impatience got the better of me & I dove into the stash with reckless abandon. I used Bendigo Highlands & it's a bit scratchy, but I think it is bearable... just.
I'm itching to make another. This time with a bigger hook to create a softer more flowing fabric. I'd like a better drape, as this one is a tad cosy around my wee neck. Perhaps I'll splurge on some gorgeous madelinetosh too. I'm bored of my neutral wardrobe, it's time to inject some colour into my clothes.
In the theme of last weeks creative space This week while standing beside the blushing camelia bush, magpies warbled in the gums above. They must have been warbling the toilet song, when a lucky omen fell upon my sleeve. I think it is only the third time I've ever been pooed on. Two to the birds, one to Huckle.

Cowl details ravelled here. 

More spaces here.

wednesday colour...

A little colour to brighten your week.

One of these days I promise to include something other than flowers! 

They're just so accessible & the garden is so colourful, even in winter.

a lesson in chopping wood...

:: gather :: chop :: saw :: inspect sawdust :: throw sawdust :: laugh :: 

:: stack :: sweep :: relax :: admire work :: job well done ::

my creative space...

Lo & behold! All you non believers who are pressing their noses against the screen to see if it is real, save your pointy little schnouts & back right up.

For yes, it is real... I made something! Hurrah & hurrah again.

I do believe it is perhaps the wonkiest most unperfect quilt to have ever been quilted, but that shall not stop me from basking in the glory of its splendour.

This sweet little quilt was intended for the shop, but I'm afraid with all its puckering & dodgy bias binding it's a bit too faulty to sell. Maybe I'll save it as a gift for someone who will appreciate the wonk. If wonk equals love, then there's a bucketload of love in this here quilt I tells ya.

Our house is dark, dark, dark, so I thought I'd quickly pop outside while it wasn't raining to photograph it. Ha! What a debacle that was. I went to hang it from a fence, but the wind was blowing a gale & blew it straight off onto me. I thought I'd go into the paddock & hang it from the other side so the wind held it up against the fence. Was a good idea until the alpacas decided to run at me. With fear of them spitting at me & upon my quilt, I hot-footed it out of there quicksmart. I did my best to shoo them away, but they're curious creatures & also seem to be quite stubborn at times. My next idea was to clip it to another fence. This worked for all of 1 minute before it was ripped off by the wind & thrust upon the ground. The wet, soggy ground that is. Luckily my reflexes are in good shape, for it was only a few seconds on the ground before being rescued. It was also quite lucky not to get snagged on the barb wire.

After all of the above & squelching about the garden without my hunters on (in my house shoes - terrible, I know), the little quilt & I retreated to the porch where we managed a roughly folded shot to show the reverse side. 

I then spent the next hour in front of the fire, thawing myself out.

I hope by the next photoshoot the working conditions will have improved. I might have to complain to the union.

I'm joining in over here. Pop over to see what the rest of the gang is up to.

wednesday colour...

A little colour to brighten your week. 

Jonquils are popping up everywhere at the moment. They're such happy little flowers bringing sunshine to this wild & wet winter weather.

yummy chewy jam rocks...

I have been craving jam drops of late, which is quite odd as I don't actually like them all that much. They're often too sweet for my taste & I'm not a fan of the shortbread texture either. 

I tried to ignore the calling, but after a few days I gave in. Instead of making the traditional style, I conjured up my own. They're not too sweet & are much healthier too, so little Huckle can enjoy them as well. 

I took a woman's weekly bran & apricot biscuit recipe & did a little tweaking. They're a bit of a cross between jam drops & rock cakes, I shall call them jam rocks.

 

Chewy Jam Rocks

1 cup white spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

(or 1 cup SR flour)

1 cup desicated coconut

1 cup unprocessed bran

1/2 cup brown sugar

125gm unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

Jam of choice

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Form into inch sized balls & flatten slightly onto baking tray, placing them 5cm apart.

Make an indent into the top of each biscuit. You make have to do a little reforming, as the mix tends to crack a little here. Work with two hands to keep it together.

Drop a smidge of jam into each biscuit.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Enjoy with a cuppa & try to make them last more than one day.

daily rhythm...

Wow, it's been 17 days since I last posted. I thought I'd be a bit sporadic, but no posts at all... sheesh.

There's been ups & downs these past few weeks. It's been hard to find a rhythm in the day to day & my to do list is a mile long. Hopefully things have settled down now & we can reset our rhythm. 

I thrive on a bit of structure. If I have a loose schedule, I know stuff will get done. It's a kick up the bum for me, to make sure I actually do stuff rather than sloth about in front of the fire all day.

Part of our routine that never wavers is the collecting of the egg each morning. Only one of our girls is laying & she likes to lay them in the garden. Huckle knows the drill... jacket - tick, gumboots - tick, beanie - tick, bucket - tick! After breakfast we venture out into the crisp (freezing) morning air.

First we spend a while navigating our way across the drive, stopping every two steps to collect gravel which he places in his bucket. Occasionally sharing with his mama & often having a taste himself.

Then it's off to find the egg. He walks through the undergrowth of the towering gums, crunching on leaves & stepping over branches & logs. Near the nest he scrambles on his hands & knees, down onto his tummy & reaches out for the warm egg. He scuttles out & finds his bucket, the egg goes in. Miraculously no egg has ever been broken... yet.

We make our way to the fence, he calls out to the ducks, "duck duck" he yells in his sure & cheeky voice. The ducks reply with gusto, their quacks ringing in our ears. He makes his way along the fence line, stopping every so often to gaze upon the ducks going about their business.

We stay out as long as mama can bear, for it's oh so chilly this time of day.

I'm going to try my hardest to set a new rhythm over the next few weeks. One that involves a little more mama time & maybe even Huckle will start taking naps, wishful thinking maybe.

Is there rhythm at your place? Is every day similar or are they all over the shop like mine? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have a lovely weekend!

hello winter...

Winter has arrived. There was no sneaking up on us this year. She let us know months ago that she was on her way.

This morning we were in a cloud. Huckle & I ventured outside & watched it cascade over our rooftop & down the hills, into the valley. There was fine little droplets of water in the air, like floating rain. It was amazing.

The cloud cleared up after a few hours & went out to sea, but by this afternoon it had rolled back inland. We went into town & had to drive through it. The drive home was quite special. As we reached about 200m above sea level, we popped out of the cloud into happy shiny sunlight. Just like in an airplane!

I do hope this winter isn't too freezing. It's terribly hard to get out of bed in the morning.

It's a new moon tonight, a fresh start for a new season. Lovely. I'm feeling inspired to research some warming winter foods. I think there'll be a lot of couch time in front of the roaring fire this week. Books, dvd's, crochet...what housework?

What's in store for your week? I hope you stay nice & snug.

wednesday colour...

A little colour to brighten your week.