Cards and Garden

Finally some time for blogging!  I have been so busy in the garden (I think early spring is always a struggle to keep up with rampant growth!)  Although I have managed to do a little crochet from time to time.  I want to make cards using crochet motifs, so have been trying out a few ideas.  This flower is I think quite successful.  I used no 10 cotton and a 1.5m hook.  I think any bigger than that will make the cards too chunky for posting as letter post.  I might try some using no 20 cotton and 1m hook, maybe a mini lacy doily to stick on the card?

I am very pleased with this camellia I brought it last year and it displayed three flowers this year but as you can see it is rather showy.  Er lost the label and can’t remember the name!  But I love it and can’t wait till it get bigger it is only 40cm at the moment.

Here is evidence of my labours in the vegetable patch.  I decided to keep the two front beds for vegetables as they get more sunlight, the ones behind will be the cottage flower beds.  There are still leeks and fennel from my winter garden which I hope to use up very shortly.

This year I have decided to plant more soft fruit , especially blueberries.  However yesterday I managed to get some pots of raspberry canes from the car boot market.  

Peggy Sue always has to inspect any new item brought onto the property!

Today the weather is damp and dismal, so no gardening, a chance to do some blog reading catch up and do some crochet.  Or maybe I should chill out like my three furry friends!

Have a happy day and see you soon.

A bag and a parcel!

One of the things I managed to get completed this week was this little bag.  I was given a lot of curtain and upholstery fabric samples,   I immediately thought bags!  On Pinterest I have seen some awesome bags using doilies; however I thought that this material called out for a softer flap.  

The samples have different colours of the same pattern so I used a darker brown for the lining, maybe the bag could be reversible!  

I was lucky I had some clay buttons that I used for the embellishments.  They matched the scalloped edging colour perfectly.

Early on Monday morning I was very pleasantly surprised to get this parcel from Spain.

It was the give-away from Amanda of Crafty in the Med that I won.  That was quick 6 days to get here, it takes longer for parcels posted within NZ!!

So I made some coffee and open it to reveal these goodies.

Thank you Amanda!  The colours of the wool are lovely and I could not help myself.  They screamed to me a ripple cushion, which I have been doing during spare moments.

I just love the basket, I think I will be making a few myself soon!

These Mediterranean colours must have been on my mind as when I poked my nose in my favourite wool store I espied some lovely cotton and managed to whip up this small doily.

I so love these colours and the cotton is lovely and soft I think I shall go back and buy some more balls and make a shawl that I have seen on the net.

In my garden this week I was pleased to see that the freesias were in flower.

And the Bluebells….

Well that’s it for today see you soon and have a lovely week and thanks for visiting.

Bear Hat

First of all welcome to my new followers,  Paula and Compostwoman.  Also I would like to thank Ilona of Life after Money for the link and mention.

I have been doing a bit of stash busting this week.  I have been invited to a baby shower and needed to do something for a baby boy.  I had been told that something for 3 months to 6 months would be nice as the mum-to-be is awash with new born gifts already.  I thought I would do a bear hat as I think they are so cute. 

So I went to Ravelry and Pinterest, there were hundreds of variations and patterns!  You would think that I would able to find something, but no, I have realised that I am picky!!  In the end I picked a basic pattern and started it was dreadful, so I frogged it and just got to and made it up as I went on.  It worked!

So much so, that my visitor this afternoon wants me to do a pink version for a 2 year old girl.  I am thinking that I might write a pattern for it, improving on some of the kinks.  I will post it when I do.

I have been doing some other stash busting and will post them when they are finished.

This week has been about the garden, spring is well and truly here.  I have been digging compost into the future cottage garden bed and the vegetable patch ready for planting in a few weeks.  Also I have been sowing seeds galore and the potatoes are nearly ready to plant..

Blooms are starting pop up everywhere and I was pleased to see the bees swarming over my white borage.

In the flower garden the Bergenia  or ‘elephant ears’ is putting on a wonderful show.

Well that’s it for today, thanks for looking and see you soon.

I am linking the hat to Linda of Crafty Corner’s Septembers Stash-buster link party.

Spring is on the Way!

Woo hoo!  Spring is nearly here.  It officially starts on the 1^st September here.  We have had a hard cold late winter.  Up till today I thought spring was never going to arrive, the days have been damp, cold and grey.  However today we saw the sun and didn’t need the heating on!

You might have gathered that I have fallen in love with doilies!  This week I got to and finished some of the doilies I have started over the last month or so.

First the yellow pineapple doily – it ended up a lot bigger than I thought but it makes a wonderful table centrepiece, that’s because I used no. 10 cotton.

I just love the pineapple patterns.  I might do this again with no. 20 cotton and make it two colours.  Pattern here

What gave me the idea was this doily.

The light colour is actually a lemony cream.  I am thinking of doing a set of four as placemats and doing some coasters to match for ‘Christmas presents’.  Am I allowed to use that word yet!  I used no. 10 thread again but with a 1.5 hook so it came up quite solid. Pattern here 

Today I finished this simple doily.  It is called Ferris Wheel, you can imagine the picot edges as the buckets on a ferris wheel.  This one is going to be used on the door curtain I am making.  Pattern here

This week I got a lovely surprize and won Amanda of Crafty in the Med Mediterranean give away.  Thank you Amanda looking forward to the goodies.

Also I have been very remiss in not welcoming new Followers So welcome and hi to Mamasmercantile, Ewa, Tami and By Nemes.

Today I decided to walk into town and noticed that a lot of my favourite flowering trees were in bloom.  I just love magnolias.  I have a small stellata variety so when I got home I went down the back and yes there were flowers, I had to pick a shoot and put in a vase.

While I was in the supermarket I saw this amazing fruit!  It is so ugly, its beautiful!

The Dragon Fruit (pitaya) it comes from Vietnam and Thailand from a cactus.  It has a melon like flavour and can be eaten as melons or used smoothies.  I have visitor with young kids in the weekend and I am going have a game with them!

While I was inspecting the magnolia bush, I also managed to harvest these, Yams and Celeriac.  I don’t think you get this type of yam outside of NZ, although I think it originates from  the Andes where they are called oca.  They are vaguely scented,  and boiled or roasted they are mealy like potatoes and slightly cooked they have a crisp crunch to them.'

Well I think that’s it for today. 

Thanks for visiting.

Stash Buster and Giveaways

The weather has been a bit turbulent here; a massive storm left me without a land line for a few days (made me realize how I need my internet fix every day!!).  Had some damage to the guttering and I lost my greenhouse,  it decided it wanted to fly next door!!!!  This is the second time; it got damaged in a storm last spring.  I have decided that’s it,  I am tired of being on edge every time there is a storm, the weather patterns seemed to have changed of late – more extremes.  I will make some cold frames out of the remains, and I will be able to move them about the garden.  Also I decided to have less vegetable garden and turn 2 of the veg patches into cottagey flower beds.  That will still leave me 2 beds for veg.  Being on my own I don’t really need so many veg.  Also my Rheumatoid Arthritis is starting to limit my activities a bit - got to save my energies for the crochet and flowers, ha-ha.

We have had a calm day, and after a week of being shut indoors with the stormy weather I decided to take a stroll around the block.  No wonder it is so bitter, there was snow on the Tararua Ranges.

Anyway, I have been doing a bit of stash busting and have made 2 cushion covers, the pink one will have as white backing and I have some sweet pink flower buttons for the back.  That will go to a friend’s daughter who snaffled my pink mandala in the same wool.

The next one is from the remains of the baby blanket I am making for a friends first granddaughter (I have just the border to do now).  I need to buy a backing as I want a small flower print in those colours.  This will join the blanket.

These two I am entering in Linda of Crafty Corner’s Summer Stash Buster link party.

GIVEAWAYS

This week I discovered two give-aways for wool, one at Amanda’s Crafty in the Med details here

The other at Mrs Micawber which I discovered via Linda’s blog. details here

Both have lovely colours to give away and the closing date is soon so check them out.  

The Garden

Luckily the area by my back door is sheltered and the storm did no damage.   

I am pleased that the Daphne is still scenting the area.

Under the eaves of the house I discovered this succulent starting to flower despite the cold.

Along from it I am really pleased to see some limes on the bush I planted last summer.  There are only five, but it shows me I have chosen the right spot.

Well that’s it for today, hope to see you soon.

Have a great crafty week.

Catch Up

Hi, long time no see!  I have been away from home dealing with family stuff for a couple of weeks and boy and I glad to be home!  Do you find as you get older that you revere peace and quiet.  I do!

Didn't get much crochet done, there were little sticky hands trying to help!  However I managed a simple doily pattern here, called Spider Doily (I first saw the pattern on Anna's of Nummer Elva  blog.) And a scarf in the quiet of night. 

Sorry haven’t a better picture, I took this after I finished and a LITTLE 4 year old Miss wanted it for her bedroom and I forgot to take a better picture.  What made me the happiest was her statement that when she is old enough, would I teach her to crochet.  

This scarf is in 4 ply merino wool.  When I got home I decided it was a bit dull and remembered an old copy of Simply Crochet had a scarf with lace at the ends.  I pinned it but the jury is still out.  What do you think?  Does it look too pretty?

The garden is waking up and the winter crops are looking shabby and weeds are growing at a rate.  Time to think about sowing seeds for summer, namely tomato at the moment.

 I was out in the garden doing my daily check-up, when I noticed that the a few winter crops were starting to go to seed, there were still lots of healthy growth, so I picked a handful and brought it in.  I didn't fancy a stir-fry, but I suddenly remembered Mum using silver beet a lot, why not a medley.  They were delish!

Green Vegetable Fritters

Fritters have always been part of our family's diet.  When Mum got out the chopping board and the remains of the Sunday Roast we knew it was fritter night.  If there was no roast left it was usually vegetables in the fritters, mostly corn, but on frugal nights probably before pay day, it could have simply been potatoes and parsley. 

Take your favourite fritter batter or follow this one.

Ingredients

125g (4oz) s/r flour or plain flour and add 1tsp baking powder

1 egg beaten

pinch salt

milk

Handful green vegetables I used cavelo nero, sorrel, rocket, silver beet (chard) leaves and some coriander chopped up finely.  The borage I used in my side salad.

Method

Put flour salt and egg in bowl and add a bit of milk, beat till smooth and add vegies. Now add more milk till it is dropping consistency, (the amount depends on how much moisture is on the veg after washing and drying)

Heat some oil or butter in fry pan (I use a mix as Then the temp doesn't get too hot.  Add tablespoons of batter and fry till bubbles appear.

Flip them over and cook tilt the bottoms are brown. Place on oven proof plate and put in a low oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.  Makes 10.

Serve with a side salad of choice.

Next time I make these I might add some corn and perhaps a pinch of cumin and coriander powder or just curry powder.  The variations are limitless.  Anyways, a marvellous way to use up a tired greens.

The Garden is starting to show signs of spring, the Xmas plum tree is in flower and the camellias are glorious.

Have a great week and see you soon.

Thanks for visiting.

Sun Breaks in the Clouds

Hello folks!  As you can see above we are in the thick of winter.  This photo was taken this morning as I wended my weary flu ridden body to the dairy (local corner store) to get milk and bread.  There were some breaks in the clouds and we had a short burst of sun.  Since then the weather has even got colder!  No snow here yet, that only happens once every 20 years or so.  But we have had some big hail storms.  Luckily, no damage.

I think I have broken the back of the flu and it will be better every day.  Sorry if I haven’t got around to you and visited, I have tried but my head was so foggy, I have given up for the time being, sometimes I looked, but my head couldn't cope with finding the words for comments.  Also I said that I would post a blog hop that Anna of Number Elva  passed on to me.  Sorry Anna I will try and do it next week.

Enough of the excuses and moans, I am feeling a lot better and have actually started to crochet again!  I suddenly realized that I have to get cracking on the baby blanket I am doing for a friends first granddaughter, It is due in a month and I want it to be well finished by then.  

So yesterday I got to and started to sew the squares together, I think it is going to be lovely.

This morning I started a doily – a simple one I found on Ravelry called appropriately enough Simple Pineapple Doily.  The link is http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sylvia-landman

I hope to have the doily finished by middle of the week.

I decided to use the colour yellow to make me think of sunny days to come and I thought it would be great to have on the bench where I keep my bowl of fruit, which at the moment is full of lemons from my lemon tree, great for my flu!  I have heaps enough for lemon curd and Preserved Moroccan Lemon. 

On my wander around the garden during one of the sun breaks, I spotted my first daffodils in flower, I normally try and leave them in the garden to give a lovely display and only pick when I have a surplus.  However I needed a bit of sunshine inside so I picked and these have had me smiling all afternoon despite the gloom and doom!

Anyway these pot marigolds are enough to keep the outside smiling and they can take whatever the weather throws at them!  

Thanks for visiting and have a smiley week.