A beautiful wattle near us
So ok it’s been “a while” since I posted anything… My life has been full and I haven’t A: had time and B: felt like I had anything very exciting to contribute to the blogging world. I was reading some other blogs and admiring their art, craft and produce. I thought I might add a few things I’ve been doing and some thoughts I’ve had.
I love this bridge. We walk the dogs to this spot along the river
We have moved from the red dirt, salt lakes, blue,blue skies and salmon gums to a farming area. We moved in August when the fields were green and splashed here and there with that beautiful bright yellow of Canola crops. At first we didn’t have a house to move to, but I put out the “please find us something” vibe to the universe and my good old Aunty Bev found us a place. I know it was her because it’s in Beverley and she was named after the town… The house is a little small and we have had to cram our abundance of stuff into it. Perhaps the universe is telling me to downsize lady! I had been slowly ferreting out the unused, unnecessary and anything unwanted before our move, but it seems I have more work to do.
The baby quilt, unfinished but not far from being ready. The colour is brighter in the flesh.
Before our move we had a week off work and took our “new” van up the coast with some friends of ours. Along the way we stopped overnight to visit a friend who we hadn’t seen in over 16 years. It was a lovely catch up, plenty to tell each other of the interceding years. The van worked fantastically! Our dogs loved it, they have their own lounge in the van. She’s an old girl but well built and has been looked after. It was nice to just pull up and wind the legs down, pull out the awning and sort out a couple of things inside. Only took us 10 minutes, me inside and my husband outside. Our old van was the wind up type with the pull out end. We had it down to a good half hour but now it’s so much quicker and we get to have a coldy sooner. Bonus! After this happy holiday we got the news that we were moving.
Close up of some of the characters
The photos are a bit blurry, still getting use to a new phone camera
I have finally set up my sewing room, just in time to make a baby quilt for my nephew’s first baby, a little girl. So beautiful… I bought some May Gibbs material a while ago, being a big fan of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, and I have used this to make the quilt. I went with a simple 4 patch, 2 squares of the May Gibbs material and 2 plain: yellow and cream. When I started the quilt my little great niece hadn’t been born so these colours suited either sex. I am currently contemplating the quilting pattern for the edge. Once I have that sorted then it just needs binding. I think I will make some leaves for the back of the quilt to write her name etc on…
The “darker pattern”
I love making baby quilts. There is something whimsical and fun about them. They don’t take long either. It’s been about 3 weeks from selecting the materials, choosing a pattern to use, cutting, sewing and quilting. I’ve been going to work on and off as well. It’s nice to see a quilt come together and show it’s character. I found a Gumnut Baby beanie, online, to go with the quilt. I can’t wait see photos of her wrapped in the quilt with her little beanie on.
The quilt squares in sets of 4
I have also been setting up a vege and herb garden. Some of my plants died in the move so I needed to replenish them, and some were in the ground so we left them for the next people to enjoy. I have a deck area in the new house and the plants seem to enjoy the aspect. My clever hubby has set up a watering system for me too, salvaged from our last garden. We put up a blind at one end to minimise some of the wind and create a bit of shade for the hot summer. I bought some self watering pots on a stand and they seem to be working well. Nothing beats cutting your own lettuce and herbs for a salad or to put in your sandwiches. I’m waiting on the strawberries and some tom thumb tomatoes.. yum! My husband had to leave the passionfruit vine behind so I’ve got one of those on the go too. Might be a while before he can pick some fruit, just as well the vine in Perth is producing some fruit for him.
The self watering pots in a stand
One bonus of our move is being closer to our family. We only have a 1 1/2 hour trip now, which is much better than the 8 hours we had before. Our eldest son has had some medical issues this year and being so far away was very stressful. I still lay awake at night worrying about him, but at least now I can jump in the car and see him and return home again if I wish to. We count our blessings when we can.
Tomato and Basil
Lime in the foreground, Rosemary behind
Well that about sums up our last few months.
Snoopy taking time to smell the flowers