Sharing a cute veggie garden...

On my last blog post, here, I shared a story and photos from my great grandmother, Lillian's cookbook.  Well done Jo from Tas! It is Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. This is the second edition. The first edition was released in 1861.  You can read more about the fascinating author, Isabella Beeton who was only 21 when she started writing the book (much younger than the she sounds). A small prize is on it's way to Jo.

I haven't shared much in the way of gardens recently.  We have just returned from a holiday in Cradle Mountain, Tasmania. Due to heavy rain on the mountain we did some touring at a lower altitude in the Meaner Valley.  We stopped for lunch at Marakoopa Café and ate delicious pork and beef kranksy sausages. The garden here was in full autumn bloom and beautifully set out. Tom ran off into areas that were roped off so I had to explore the garden further to catch him.

We stumbled across this vegetable garden that was fenced with alternating hedging plant and wood piles.   I love veggie gardens especially those on country properties.  I keenly explore them.  The symmetry, beds and borders in a veggie garden in combination with the variety of foliage appeal to me. I secretly dream of owning a sandstone country home on an estate, so a hedged vegetable garden is part of that dream.

I hope you are enjoy some happy moments. Thank you for stopping on by...

                                                                                                                   Jan x

Can you guess competition

My mother pulled this from the back of the cupboard today. Its poor condition says it all. It is missing the hard cover. Pages are falling out. My great-grandmother, Lillian and then my grandmother, Gwen relied heavily on the recipes in this book. We think its probably circa 1890s and was published in London. Can you guess what vintage cookbook it is? There is a small prize for the first correct guess.

Cath Kidston cross stitch project...

Are you like me and have a stash of freebie cross stitch that are waiting patiently to be stitched?  Well I am committing to stitching them.

When I saw the rose cross stitched makeup kit bag inside the Cath Kidston's book Stitch I knew I had to have it.  My progress thus far...

The weather has suddenly turned frosty in Hobart Tasmania after a long and warm Summer. I am off to the mountains for a couple of days with my family so I hope I find some stitching time there. My hubby is working and living in a city 4 hours away this year, so it will be a special time for the children and I to have him with us again for a week.  What an amazing experience it would be if it snowed. Even more reason to stay in front of the fire and stitch.

I hope you find lots of stitchy time this weekend...
                                                                             Jan x

Here right now...

I borrowed this from Simply Renee. Love it!

watching: Dance Mums excerpts my 14yo DD is constantly shoving in front of me
eating: Chicken wings with my fingers therefore leaving fingerprints over the keyboard naughty me
drinking: a chardie
wearing: Mavi jeans and white knit long-sleeved top
avoiding: putting my 3yo DS2 to bed
feeling: inspired after a weekend scrapbooking and crocheting (for the first time) with girlfriends
missing: my husband who has gone away for the week
thankful: for my kids as endometriosis might have rendered me infertile
weather: a cool 8 degrees Celsius this evening so have turned up the heat
praying: my Studio Calico scrapbooking kit arrives this week (it's lost like thousands of other overseas orders) and that the virus that has hit our family over the weekend clears soon
needing to: put my 3 yo DS2 to bed
thinking: I really want to start another cross stitch project (stop it brain and finish what is started)
loving: pinterest!!!

Hope you found some stitchy time this weekend.

                              Jan x

Mum, can you knit me a ...

Jack (my preteen son): Mum can you knit me a beard?

Me: A what?

Jack: A beard. They are all the rage on YouTube

After trawling the net, I found a free pattern. Jack was right - they are everywhere! I even saw an actor wearing one on a TV show. I decided to knit it in a colour (out of my scraps) that tones in with his hair. Also I only used acrylic yarn so it isn't itchy.  It knitted up in about an hour! I sewed elastic so it stays on his head.

Jack loves wearing it especially in the evenings and as a surprise for his friends. He says it keeps his face warm.  I always do a double take when I see him.  It is hilarious!

Have you knitted or crafted anything that is purely just for a laugh?

Thanks for dropping by...

                                    Jan x

Oh deery me...

Howdy friends new and old...

Oh deery me...another WIP.  But a lovely one. 

This is a stitch-along I am doing with girlfriends I met at my eldest son's school. They don't stitch as a hobby so I have taught them. Yay for me that I have created a cross stitch group!!! We even have a member, Lisa,  who doesn't stitch. Her position in the group is endorsed as her husband luckily works with vines, so she brings the wine. 

You probably recognise it is the alphabet from The Prairie Schooler design. It is surprisingly "L is for Leaves".  It should be "D for deer" LOL. I would love to do the whole alphabet on one piece of linen but I think that might end up as a UFO so I will stick with the one design for now.

 

Hope you enjoyed visiting.  Until next time, happy stitching...

 

Jan x



What's under my sewing machine...

...a quilt for my one year old God-daughter, Elsie.

Yes, I am back quilting. About time I here you say!

I love this pretty colour combo - pale pink, grey and off white - by Bunny Hill Designs.  I am using two Layer Cakes ( a pink version and a grey version). so there are 42 blocks in all. The topside of the quilt will be predominantly pink and backside the grey combination.

The quilt pattern is called "Shabby Linen Quilt" by The Quilter's Barn. Here is the first quilt I made using this pattern.  I love it's snuggliness. Just perfect for a little girl.

Well I had better get back to my machine.  Have  a lovely Sunday...

                                                                              Jan x

Mad about London...

My friend, Cathy from Highland Quilter and I are each stitching "I Love London" (by Historical Sampler Company). We live 2 hours apart so we nominate a night to stitch and then text each other progress photos.  Cathy has started with the border and I have started from the centre.

I love the bold colours of the design and text used within it.  It was apt that I haven't stitched the "E" yet to "Mad" as I am crazy about all things English even though I live in Australia.  But I do have English ancestry so maybe that explains it. This will eventually be: "Made in England". 

Hope you are enjoying a little stitching time this weekend....
                                                                                            Jan x                         

Do you believe in fairies?

The 5 year old girl in me believed in fairies. She watched them fly into blossoms, marvelled at their fairy rings and travelled with them to their woody land using fairy dust whilst sleeping...

Hence why she couldn't resist this pattern.  It is by Bucilla and is called "Touch of Gold". It is stitched on 28 count mushroom evenweave.

The pastel colours draw me in.  Their softness and hues relax me. And I haven't even started stitching the fairy yet.

As I write this my thoughts are with those fellow Tasmanians directly impacted by severe bushfires 30km away. I am wishing them safety and hope the hot, windy weather abates.

Thank you for reading.... Jan x

What you have been waiting for...

 

 "The Grand Girl" (my Marjolein Bastin English garden sampler) is finished. Her last stitch lovingly placed in October.  How proud of her I am. This project was my main WIPocalypse agenda for 2012. It was a big milestone to tick off. Stitching it brought back many memories from my journey through England years ago.

I have plans to carefully wash her then take her to my local framers so she can hang proudly in my home. She is stitched on 32ct evenweave using two strands of DMC thread.

I have been missing in action attending to my photo memories. Little boy Tom (not a toddler no more) needed a baby/toddler album and my precious overseas trip photos (from cough 6 years ago) needed a home so they can be perused. I have enjoyed my scrapbooking comeback and even was lucky to find a DSLR camera from the man in a red suit under my Christmas tree. Oh what joy!

 

 

 So what stitchy/crafty thing has been happening in your life? I have missed my bloggy friends and felt it sure was time to say hello again.

 

Well I'll be sure to pop in again soon and show you what other cross stitching projects I have been working on and what crafty plans I have for WIPocalypse 2013.

 

May 2013 be filled with much thready goodness...

 

                                      Jan x