Time is on my side.....Said no-one ever!

 Reminds me of that song by the Rolling stones, but they were talking about a love coming back so they had time to wait....

 

Me on the other hand, I just don't know where the time goes! It's the beginning of the day and then it's night and you're very tired, it's the beginning of the month and then it's the end! Where does it go? 

 

 

With the weather really starting to cool I'm spending a lot of time outside and just coming in to eat and sleep...........well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it sounds good!  This means that I am trying to prepare meals in advance so I can have that time outside guilt free knowing there is good nutritious food ready when we are hungry or at least ready to pop in the oven.

 

 

 

The garden responds to all this love and attention with copious blooms and a bounty of harvest.

 

 

 

Spare time is spent in the craft room and I have been busy trying out a new pattern. The Holland Pouch by Center-street Quilts. I follow her on Instagram here.

 

 

I do believe I have made the handles a little firm as they need to be looser but that will teach me to NOT break my cardinal rule of reading the pattern carefully as you go. I unpicked this one more than I care to admit! But I'm all good now so I'll be running a few more of these up soon.

 

 

I finally finished this little project that I've been working on now for a couple of weeks. A sweet little hanger for the front door. 

Well, again it's a busy day today and time is not standing still or on my side, so I'm off to the craft room to continue working on a couple of little zipper pouches belonging to a secret stitch a long (but is a secret no longer) and I'm way behind!

 

                                                                                                       

 

                                                                 

 

Changing Seasons

 

Not only is the weather outside changing but my life after work is changing! Not a slave to the clock anymore for early morning shifts at the hospital, but still dictated to by time for other things in life, such as, picking up the grandchildren 3 times a week, means us needing to keep an eye on the time so we're not late.  It's easy to get lost in the garden these days.

We're also doing a few renovation jobs in the house and this means booking in tradespeople, picking colors, heading off to town and purchasing products.......only just started but I'm over it already! Oh for a few quiet days!

And no....I'm not painting anything in those colors!

A good bit of work has gone into the veggie patch with turning over the soil and getting the beds ready for new plants. We've just planted Bok Choy, Mignonette lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. 

 

 

While out in the garden yesterday I noticed an unusual flower!

It's the Aristolochia acuminata vine or Dutchman's Pipe , grown for the Cape York Birdwing butterfly caterpillars to feed on. These  beautiful butterflies are often seen fluttering around the garden. We thought the vine had died but it has reappeared elsewhere in the garden!

 

 

 

You need to have the right vine for these butterflies as there are other Aristolochia vines that will kill the butterfly instead! 

On the craft front I am stitching along with the Spring  Mystery Project. You can find it here.

 

Here is my project, more to come. I'm thinking it will be a small zippered bag.

I've also made a new bag with matching purse and will be having a stitching day with my sisters to help them make one each for themselves. 

By making mine first I can work out the pattern issues (if any) and that makes for a smooth day of sewing.

We always have such fun on our stitching days and there is so much to learn from each other!

 

 

 

Well it's on to the housework and then a spin in the garden before heading back to the shops.

Ciao

Friday Nite Sew-In

Is it any wonder that I have lots of projects on the go at the moment.....I don't think I am so different to many of the crafters out there,  so it's not hard to pick a project for this Friday night sew-in and  I'm doing some hand quilting on my new table runner.

 

I wanted something bright and cheerful for the dining table and lots of houses seemed just about right.

These sweet homes come from A Scrapbook of Quilts by Joanna Figueroa & Carrie Nelson. As soon as I saw those Quilts, Cushions, Runners and Pin Cushions I knew that book was for me. 

I have already made a cushion and I love the bright colours using some of the fabrics used in the book.

The quilting is a mixture of machine and hand as I wanted to do inside the windows by hand to make them stand out. I think I'll also do some swirls in the trees.......not sure yet!

It's still warm on most days here is the tropics so having this much bulk on your lap can become uncomfortable and sometimes I take it outside to stitch, and while it is nice and cool and there is perfect light, it does have it's disadvantages.

 

Can't wait to see what everyone else is doing on the sew-in.