bare feet and a free spirit

Fig Jam (sugarless)

2012-02-01T02:13:00.001-05:00

Yep I've been jammin again:)

I mentioned quite some time ago that we have a big old fig tree on the empty block behind our house. Benny's mum said that the owners of the block are happy for us to have whatever we can get to before the birds so I went over and picked a bag full a few evenings ago.

It was a wild and windy night, not the kind of night one would expect in the middle of Summer but nice all the same

The figs are in abundance, the birds have yet to find the fruity feast. Benny's mum said she never managed to get many figs when she lived here. What luck I have, I guess these figs just wanted to become jam

I loosely followed this sugarless fig jam recipe (honey sweetened)

I also made fig muffins using our favourite muffin recipe

soaking up summer

2012-01-30T07:33:00.000-05:00

another weekend at Sarah's shack. Perhaps one of the last as her Dad is having to sell the place :(

I will miss-

late nights, fires

barbecues,

the rubber ducky shower curtain that we picked together when the shack was new,

spotting dolphins,

escaping to the shore at night for DNM's (deep 'n' meaningfulls) chats

having such an awesome place for us to come together

I'm thankful for all the wonderful times we've had together at the shack

making a babies wooden toy bar

2012-01-26T21:45:00.003-05:00

As I've mentioned, I've not looked after babies for 3 years. During those 3 years we've lived in small houses so in the interest of being able to 'breathe' in our little houses, everything that isn't currently being used goes straight to the opp shop.

I no longer have any of the baby things I've used for the bigger kids. I decided id like a toy bar for the baby (and possibly future babies i will look after and have myself)

my options were

1)Find one at an opp shop

pros- recycled, can take it back when I'm finished with it rather than need to store it
cons- may take some time to find one, would probably be plastic and ugly

2)Buy a pretty wooden one

pros- pretty and natural, can find one handmade in Australia

cons- rather pricey for something that will only get used for a few month at a time here and there. I don't mind spending money on quality toys but they look so simple I could practicaly...

.3) make one myself!!!

Yep of course I went with option 3!

As I knew would be the case it didn't even take long to make. The longest part was screwing it together because the angles make that a challenge but my Dad was able to do that tricky part (while I was munching on apples from their tree:)

Because it screws together it can come apart and store easily when its not needed. Yay for the space it wont need to take up!

I took a few photos of the process to share. Here the top piece is marked out and i'd started drilling holes for the toys to be tied to. I based my design on this toy bar.

Next I had fun with my favourite tool the edge trimmer

I hand sanded all the pieces silky smooth and polished them with home made beeswax toy polish. I went to visit my dad and...

It came back looking like this!
Ive not made any toys for it yet but as you can see our bell Christmas ornaments are doing the job for now. Turns out its not so bad having Christmas decorations still sitting around at the end of January afterall

apple orchard

2012-01-24T17:54:00.001-05:00

how i loved stitching this quilt block!

probably mostly because as I stitched I envisioned having a real life apple orchard of my own. I dream of summer evenings spent laying in a hammock hung between apple tree branches. Looking up at leaves and the soft fading sunlight shining through them. Swaying in the breeze.....

(blossoms on my little apple tree last spring)

I ate my first apple of the year from my parents tree the other day. Small and no where near ripe, but delicious and tangy. A promise of what is to come this autumn. I wonder how long I can make myself wait before I give in and make the first apple crumble. Probably not long!

(apples from my parents tree last year)

This little lady reminds me of our corn plant at the start of spring. Id not grown corn previously but I certainly will do so again, if only for all the lady bugs it attracted to my garden

Head on over to Frontier dreams for more "Crafting on" fun

sugarless tomato sauce

2012-01-22T01:28:00.000-05:00

We've been bringing in so many tomatoes from the garden this summer so along with regular tomato soup, salads, sandwiches etc. I've managed to make two batches of sauce from all the excess tomatoes. Not all my tomatoes are perfect, some have grubs, blossom end rot or sun burnt patches but all these little imperfections get cut off so that we barely waste a single one. They all taste delicious in sauce

I'm rarely short of a helper to wash them. The only pay they expect is a few cherry tomatoes to munch on while their hard at work

Recipe-
9 cups of pureed tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion
2 tsp garlic
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup honey
handful of basil

*cook olive oil, onion and garlic on medium until onion is tender
* add pureed tomatoes, bring to the boil
*simmer until tomatoes have reduced to about 3/4 or the original volume (a few hours)
*add vinegar, honey and basil
*cook a further 20 mins or so. Turn the heat up and reduce a bit more if it seems too thin
*Puree again or leave chunky

Bottle and freeze or preserve (can)

Yum!

Here's three of the 4 bottles that I made. they are 450ml bottles filled about 3/4 way (they needed room for expansion as I froze them)

And I bet you'd like to see the beautiful healthy plants that my abundance of tomatoes are coming from...

Yep seriously! These plants have looked terrible for weeks and I keep expecting them to die but they are tough and just keep making more fruit!

how to jinx yourself in three easy steps

2012-01-18T20:04:00.002-05:00

* 1* Take a baby to your favourite cafe. Find the loveliest outdoor spot beneth a big old pepercorn tree that is so lovely that you could quite happily sit there all day long. Order large muffin that will take a while to get through. Take out your stitchery and supplies.

*2* Sigh to self and think, I have the best job, how on earth am I being paid for being here relaxing while the baby quietly naps?

*3*when asked if you've just got one for day care today enthusiastically reply "yes Thursday is my easy day, I've just got this little guy and hes such a happy baby"

Um yes.... oh my! Xavier was not a happy little boy this morning, in the two weeks I've had him in daycare (full time) iv not seen him so upset. In fact id not really seen him upset at all apart from a grizzle to tell me he needs something. There was a lot of drooling and fist munching happening yesterday so I'm wondering if he might be getting a tooth.

I had a nice morning all the same, id first taken him to the little jetty and gone for a walk in the water and even with a sooky baby I enjoyed my muffin and sitting in the not-quite-as-peaceful-as -usual garden

Here's another old craft project from a few years back that I don't think id shared on here. Its a little Waldorf doll with a wooden curtain ring sewn to its hat for chewing and teething on. I found it among spare kids clothes a few days ago, what perfect timing! Its a bit of a funny shape, the arms a but wide and its body a bit small as I just drafted my own pattern for it but its quite cute all the same

Ive not got much else in the way of baby toys (not that they need much) but I do have a nice project in the works which I should be able to share tomorrow

quilt progress

2012-01-16T21:54:00.001-05:00

I have re-found this quilt that I started months ago . Admittedly I hadn't actually lost it, I knew perfectly well where it was but I just needed a break from hand stitching all those tiny little squares and that break went on longer than I intended! Now my enthusiasm is back and I'm enjoying it again. Ive begun working on the apple orchard block which is my favourite one

While I was sewing and the baby was sleeping Mitch was making up a fun game. He would pull a pin from the pincushion and try to guess the colour (I don't think he thought of it as guessing, he was really quite sure he had them all right) and then place them under the "window" (my quilting ruler). He thought my sewing supplies were such a fun new toy, that goes to show its been a while since I've had them out!
(don't worry, I had an eye on those scissors by his foot and he knows their not for playing with)

I'm not sure if I ever did share the little ironing board cover that I made a while a go. Its quilted with a few layers of batting to make it soft just like a real ironing board.
Why yes that is a three year old sitting in a doll high chair. When we first got the doll high chair I found myself many times reminding little people not to sit in in until it occurred to me that its probably as solid as most children's chairs! The wonderfulness of quality wooden toys just goes on and on. Who knows how many children played with it roughly before I got it second hand yet its still as solid as ever

Head on over to Frontier dreams for more "Crafting on" fun

ten little toes

2012-01-11T23:05:00.000-05:00

This week's been busy in the best possible way, we've welcomed an adorable 4 month old bub into day care. I was reluctant to add a baby to the mix, especially five days a week and beginning at 6:30 am (!) but his mama was pretty keen as she'd heard I'm pretty good with the young folk and what can I say? a little flattery can sway my mind far too easily:)

But seriously, how could I resist a little smile like that?
I'm thankful to say hes a keen little sleeper in the early mornings and hes settled in unbelievably quickly. I'm relay glad I agreed to have him, hes the sweetest little guy.

I wasn't sure how I would feel looking after a little baby when Benny and i have been trying for our own little baby for three years now. Ive not looked after a baby since I started having Mitch at 6 months old and hes now 3 and a half.

I didn't know if i would find it hard but at the moment I really don't.

If anything, having him sort of makes me feel better about it all. Its easier to be patient waiting for our bubby when I get to cuddle another sweet little one while I wait.
One of my best friends has just had a baby too and I love that I get to see him regularly and be a part of his life as he grows up.
I still think about wanting a baby quite often but for perhaps a year or so I've been feeling quite at peace with how long its taking.

For a long time I was so impatient, wondering why it has to be us that have to wait so long. I spent time being frustrated, upset, scared that it would never happen. I'm now at peace.
I still feel destined to be a mother. Ive stopped worrying about never being a mother because I know that it will happen. It wont necessarily be easy, it might be difficult, painful and expensive (IVF or adoption) but it will happen and it will be worth it.

I some times feel a bit judgemental towards myself for not trying hard enough. Every step of the way Ive been taking slowly, at my own pace. I was referred to a fertility specialist after a year but I didn't go until 6 months later. He recommended a key hole surgery procedure but I didn't feel ready so i decided to put it off for a while and go to a naturopath for a while instead. After going to the naturopath for a while I couldn't see or feel any difference and I was quite miserable on the crazy strict diet and going to so many appointments so I stopped going there too.

Time has made me feel a lot less fear full about the surgery so that is my next step but I don't really feel motivated to organise it just yet.
I feel silly and like some would think I don't want a baby bad enough but I sort of feel I'm my heart that the time isn't right yet. I sort of wonder if my instincts are telling me that if I just relax my baby will come when its ready.

Anyhow, I didn't intend for this post to get quite so heavy but its always healing to put thoughts into words and really think about how I feel about them. I am thankful for small children and their magical ability to heal hearts without even knowing it.

Kane & Anna's Engagement party

2012-01-07T19:43:00.000-05:00

On the weekend my sister Anna (usually mentioned here as AJ or Sammy, yep I've actually got just the one sister:) and her fiance Kane had their engagement party.
We all had so much fun and are so excited to soon welcome Kane to our family "officially"

Anna and her brides maids (yep its the cousin club)

my awesome sister and I

This is all but one of my girl cousins from my Mums side of the family.
We are- Lisa (who is visiting all the way from Holland) Madi, Anna, Me, Lil, Elly, Emily and Monique
The only girl we were missing is Emma who is in Holland but I noticed there is a perfect spot next to Lisa for her to be photo shopped in:)

This is my mum with all her sisters and brother
Dineke (my mum), Jo, Els (also over from Holland), Helena, Levin and Paul.

I didn't get and photos of the whole family and all the cousins, if whoever has them can email them to me I will be incredibly grateful! I really want to have them printed out big to frame

Cousins from Mt. Gambier from dads side of the family
Me Kristy, Anna, Lisa, Amanda

Lil and Madi

Aunty Tine, Amanda, Anna

Lil, Elly, Jo, Madi

Kristy, aunty Sue

Harry and Louie climbing a big awesome tree

Opa, Anna and Oma

Emily, Levin, Louis

I like this pic taken during Kane's speech

Dad and Mum

What a beautiful day that went just perfectly (apart from us turning up late, battling the wind for a bit and having to move the food away from a swarm of European wasps!!!)

The weather was just perfect....

Until it all of a sudden started pouring with rain right at the end. I guess that's when you know the party
has officially ended. Or do you.....

Not so much with us, we all had fun running like crazy to put things away in the car and then getting silly photos in the rain

Yep, looks like the party's back on!!

time to jump in some puddles

and perhaps sit down with a bottle of wine to share

yarn along

2012-01-04T02:38:00.001-05:00

For Christmas I made my dad some alpaca socks. They're of course well and truly finished by now but in the business of last minute gift wrapping I forgot to take a picture

I ended up making gifts of soap, lip balms, skin creams, pin cushions and beeswax candles and.... I didn't take a picture of a single one. But here they are all wrapped up and looking cute under the tree.
I always put off wrapping gifts until the last minute but as soon as I begin putting them together I remember that I actually love wrapping!

I also made a sheep tree ornament as a swap with Steph

(and it was so cute that I had to make one for myself too:)

Ive also been working away on the rainbow stripes.
Its getting to the stage where I'm not really worried that ill get sick of it and not finish it but I am concerned about how many wool ends I will have to weave in at the end. That many coloured stripes = a ridiculous amount of wool ends!
I'm guessing Ill try to pass them off as tassels for a good while until I get really bored one day

I cant believe how big it is, I didn't intend for it to be quite so big, It fits on our double bed! It will be great in the winter

Visit more Yarn alongs at Small Things

holiday snaps- new year at sultana point

2012-01-02T07:26:00.001-05:00

holiday snaps- me and dad at port hughs

2012-01-02T07:26:00.000-05:00

holiday snaps- visitors

2012-01-02T07:25:00.000-05:00

tomato, basil & rabbit love

2011-12-20T04:43:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love garden fresh tomatoes, nothing beats them if you ask me!
I mentioned recently that I was having problems with the first of my tomatoes being eaten from the inside out by caterpillars. I will be quite honest and say that I was more than a little stressed and worried! I have about 20 tomato plants and I had visions of every single tomato being ruined and going to my chubby little chooks.
I am so pleased to say that I learnt on Down to Earth blog a while back that tomatoes can be picked green and brought inside to ripen. The advantage of doing so is that you can keep them away from hungry bugs- or in my case, contain the hungry caterpillars.

Each day I went out and picked all tomatoes that had anything that resembled a caterpillar hole (they were about the size of a pin head) and brought them inside. I stored them in a sealed container. The tomatoes gradually ripened. Once red I cut each tomato open. Some I could save much of the tomatoes, others went straight to the chooks. The chooks feasted on caterpillars and tomato and I was pleased to each time have one less pest in my veggie patch.
I also brought each tomato that had begun to turn orange inside in case it had a caterpillar that I hadn't noticed. Above is my bowl of presumably all healthy tomatoes slowly ripening. When we have a banana or two in the house I lay them on top of the tomatoes as it helps them ripen quicker. I cant remember why but it certainly works well!

Ive now not had a bad tomato in over a week, Yay!
I'm still cutting them open to be sure there aren't any 'suprises' inside but I think soon ill be able to let them ripen on the vine and confidently eat them straight from the garden, warmed by the summer sun just like I love them best. I think after a little the scare my tomatoes taste all the sweeter and juicier

Can you tell by these rushed dark and blurry photos that all I wanted to do was put down the camera and eat my tomatoes already? They are seriously delicious and there are loads more in the garden so fingers crossed they remain healthy and happy and produce all summer long

mmm basil, soon to become pesto

Remember Bunny? I'm happy to say that he has been played with a lot more than I expected. Ive made dolls before which the children I look after at the moment don't play with much so I didn't really have high hopes for bunny leaving the toy shelf a whole lot but I'm pleased to say I was wrong. Bunny has a cheeky personality and he loves veggies and muffins. Sometimes if the children aren't eating their food I tell them they better eat it up or else bunny might sneak it which they find hilarious and it usually makes their food disappear quickly. At nap time he sleeps with Cameron and at night time he sleeps with Josh. Bunny has another advantage- his dark colour means that I can happily let him be taken outdoors to enjoy the fun and sometimes messy play. It warms my heart to see something I made receive such love and care

more summer solstice and Christmas decorating

2011-12-16T02:42:00.001-05:00

After a busy and messy day involving three little boys, a lot of mud and a lot of soap (you would think the soap was the clean up part but it actually got as messy as the mud:) Josh and I decided to spend some quiet thoughtful time putting together a wreath for our front door.
I like to use what ever plants we can find that I think will stay green a while under our summer sun, last year we chose rosemary as our house had a huge lush bush of it, this year we have lots of beautiful Australian native trees in our garden to choose from.

I'm not sure what type of tree this is but it smells great (sort of like eucalyptus or tea-tree) so it was a winner!
We bent a coat hanger to a circle and twisted thin pliable branches around it. The first few branches needed to be fastened into place with some fabric scraps but after that we were able to weave the ends in between the coat hanger and the branches that were already twisted on.

At the end we added some bell ornaments. I put these same ornaments on mums wreath at her house the other day and they jingle each time the door opens, fun

Last week i was laying at the park in my home town waiting for Benny to come from his dentist appointment. I was marveling at these beautiful bougainvilleas which were in full bloom and had spread their beautiful flowers all over the grass.
I remember visiting that same park when I was little and making cubby houses under those very bushes. I also have fond memories of walking past them on the way to school on summer mornings and grabbing hand fulls of blooms to scatter on the rest of my walk.
They scream summer to me and also happen to retain their colour for a long while as they dry out so I knew they would make a wonderful Summer Solstice garland

I simply tied sewing cotton to a needle and threaded them on. Now I can enjoy them until the colour has gone and then they will go back to the earth and I will look forward to next years blooms.

Those of you who have a Summer Christmas, I would love to know what you are doing! Also if you have blogged about Summery Christmas ideas/decorating/preparations please leave a link in the comments section so that i can find inspiration from your ideas:)

Head on over to Natural Suburbia to see more creativity on this happy Friday

stars that shine so bright and yarn along

2011-12-14T05:26:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love stars. Some of my favourite memories with my childhood best friends are of dragging a camping mattress into our back yard and sleeping under the stars:)
This week I've been making lots of festive stars.
Ive made a garland of these stars

I also re-filled these star candle holders with sweet smelling beeswax. This is my tricky pouring-boiling-wax-while-looking-through-camera-view finder photo

In case your wondering, yes I did over fill them and have to pry the pegs out. All good!

Ahh pretty

for yarn along I will share these knitted play veggies even though I already blogged them the other day.
Links to the patterns-
Mushroom-
Radish
Cucumber
Carrot- loosely based on this pattern (I changed it to be more pointy)
Tomato- made up (yet to get around to the green top)
Corn (the half done yellow thing!)

Little M had the greatest time washing his hands (and the bathroom vanity!) today for a good half hour. A bar of soap can provide endless entertainment

around here ive been

2011-12-10T19:30:00.003-05:00

::Measuring-Mixing-Pouring
Making soap! Ive been wanting to try this for a good while but put it off because I couldn't find the ingredients and was rather terrified of lye. Finally Ive done it and so far so good I think. I made it last night and it has solidified. I will cut it tonight. Yippee my very own natural hand made soap that doesn't cost $5 a bar.

Although I will miss my goat milk soap that I get from the local craft co-op. Isn't it cute (this bar has seen some use but you get the idea)

::Enjoying the light and warmth of early summer

::Occupying this side of the couch

::Loving magic loop knitting and all I can do with it

::Wishing that big ripe tomato was from my garden.
Ive had a few beauties so far though so I cant complain.

::Discovering beets that id half forgotten about
(oh that's right, underneath those beet leaves that our budgies and chickens love to gobble, there are actually some...beets! who would have thought)
They were ready to be picked diced and roasted up for with our barbecue lunch!

::Enjoying the pretty little cucumber plants that have begun flowering. After seeing the large zucchini and pumpkin flowers for the last month or so these tiny cucumber flowers look adorable. Id love to bring them inside and put them in a vase if I weren't so eagerly the delish veg the flowers promise

::Noticing that some little pumpkins have begun to form!

::Eating a lot of tabbouleh to make use of the ever abundant parsley. Yum!

yarn along

2011-12-06T23:22:00.001-05:00

I'm still plodding along with my stripey blanket. I love having an easy project to do any time I'm sitting still for a moment. No need to think, just pick up where I left off

The white knitting is the begining of a little project that I cant share quite yet. It turned out super cute so I look forward to sharing it soon

That poor Willow, has to put up with some seriously enthusiastic friends who love to rock him in the doll cradle:) I have no idea if he likes it or not, rabbits really aren't animals who show their feelings on most subjects

Her are some recent veggie patch photos. My garden is doing great except for some caterpillars eating some of my tomatoes from the inside out. I'm still looking for an organic fix for that so if you know one please do share!

All my vines are doing great, especially zucchini and pumpkin. Cucumber and watermelon aren't too far behind

"Karen take pick-a-toes?!"
Why cute little toes like those? sure why not

advent

2011-12-02T05:26:00.000-05:00

a million rainbow seeds

2011-11-30T02:03:00.000-05:00

My current knitting project is a stripey blanket.
Its similar to the rainbow stripey blanket I started a while ago, but doesn't involve all the spinning.
I'm not sure if it was to do with how wobbly my spinning wheel was, the lack of proper cord or my lack of persistence but I got to the point that I wanted to keep knitting the blanket but didn't want to spend all the time getting frustrated with the spinning wheel. I never really 'got' how to adjust the wheel properly, hopefully one day I will get a better wheel and take some lessons because I know I would enjoy it once it got easier. Anyhow, back to the blanket!

I got the wool from Bendigo Woolen Mills. The colours aren't quite as nice as the colours I dyed myself for the last blanket but they are close and I do love them.

I was going to knit it with just a small seed stitch border but I like how the colours blend together gently rather than bold stripes of regular knit stitch so the seed stitch continued.. and continued.. and now I thinks its plain to see that it will be a seed stitched blanket!

Its going to be so warm and cozy, I really do love it

I love that the seed stitch is so puffy and soft

Here are my silkies in a place they love and the place id really rather they visited a little less often, my chamomile patch. If they have their way I think I will be buying shop bought chamomile tea next winter! But still, its the only thing in the veggie patch that they bother so I don't mind too much

Christmas/Summer Solstice angel

2011-11-25T01:30:00.002-05:00

Its a strange thing celebrating Christmas here in Australia. Although for us it takes place in the middle of summer we still decorate our trees with snow men, warmly dressed Santa's and the like.
For the past few years I've been really trying to make my celebration into something that makes more sense to me.
Its turning into a mix between Christmas and Summer Solstice. I want to mostly base my celebration on being thankful for the warm summer sun, all the beauty it brings in our garden and nature, being together with family and friends.
I love sharing the excitement with my loved ones of Christmas trees, making special foods, decorations etc. so I'm putting a lot of thought into how i can keep the magic of 'traditional christmas' but do it in my own Aussie nature based way.

So anyway, ill share how my Solstice and Christmas unfold as I go. Ive been working on this angel for the top of my tree. Ive had a few of these small waldorf doll heads that I made and never used, floating around my craft cupboard for a good few years now. This one finally has a body!
Her dress is made of vintage lace fabric and her hair is mohair. I made up the dress patern and im quite happy with how it turned out.

I'm looking forward to adding some wings, and perhaps some tiny flowers in her hair. I will add some gold to her as a symbol of the summer sun that shines bright on our world and gives us such wonderful long days.
And of course I will also add the less exciting thing like hands and a cardboard cone to help her stand up straight:)

I'm also going to be making ornaments out of shells collected from my favourite beaches and golden crystals.
I've begun a paper mache summer sun to hang up too. I have lots of fun making projects ahead of me!

Our new friend "Bunny"

2011-11-16T07:10:00.000-05:00

I finished off our rabbit and we love him!
I'm not sure if I'm quite happy with his face but ill see if it will grow on me, if not try again.

Hes been named "Bunny" and has had many adventures already. Last night Josh put himself to bed early like he sometimes does. I went in and he had fallen asleep on top of his quilt cuddled up with Bunny reading a story, with shoes still on no less:) I didn't even think to take a picture but it was so cute

It didn't take the day care children long to discover what hadn't occurred to me- that he happens to fit the clothes I've made for our Waldorf dolls. So now he has a little blue coat (which I knitted a while ago but don't think I blogged) almost just like I was intending to make him!
I would still really like to make him a light blue one with brass buttons though. And maybe some grandpa slippers (like peter rabbit)

I finished the daisies and lavender socks and tonight is even cool enough to wear them (with a summer nightie but anyhow... :) The rabbit likes wearing woolly knitted socks too

yep, hes ready for Christmas

wood and wool (two of my favourite things)

2011-11-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

On Saturday the weather was so nice that Benny and I spent almost the whole day outside working on various crafts and projects and relaxing on the daybed. One of the things I did was add windows to the old doll house . I got to use my favourite tool the trimmer again to round the edges so I was happy:)

With these warm days wool jumpers (sweaters) at the opp shops are in abundance. Ive been collecting them to eventually make a felted patchwork blanket but this lambswool/angora one really wanted to become a rabbit. After beginning this dear little bunny I realised that I was nearly out of wool for stuffing so he has a nice big bag of rice in his belly which turned out great and means that he can sit on his own. Now I've just got to stitch him together, add a face and maybe a peter rabbit coat

I got the idea for him from a post and a tutorial on Our Ash Grove

happy stripey sock overload

2011-11-09T01:28:00.002-05:00

cloudy skies stripey socks

The beginnings of daisies and lavender stripey socks

and more stripey socks!

Ive also made a few more Christmas tree ornaments. This year I'm really getting excited about Christmas. Is it to early to start decorating? (don't worry, I know the answer to that:)

In the garden most things are growing rapidly. Benny is getting rid of a bird cage and moving another which means room for more beds of lush veggies to grow.
These tomatoes will be the first of the season. I hope they ripen up soon because I'm not very patient when it comes to waiting for home grown tomatoes

Some of the tomato plants are half way up their stakes already. These self seeded from compost and as is usually the case they are doing even better than those I carefully nurtured from seeds. Mother nature is the best gardener of all

How cute are these beginnings of little yellow zucchinis. Ive never successfully grown zucchinis before so these yellow babies are especially exciting for me. Fingers crossed they keep doing as well as they are now

Basil plants are going strong! Pesto on toast (breakfast) pesto on crackers (snack) pesto and pine nuts on pasta (dinner) Yum!!! Did I mention I like pesto?

weekend knitting

2011-11-05T22:21:00.003-04:00

Ever since I made my Tea Leaves Cardi I've been wondering what to make with the left over yarn. There was just less than 100g left which wasn't enough for anything much, or so I thought...

The other day I was knitting up some blue and white striped socks (yes its almost summer here, moving on from the ridiculousness of when my motivation to knit socks seems to come every year:) and it occurred to me that if I added stripes my beloved madelentosh scraps could become some beautiful socks!

I used Silvers sock class , the Two Toe-Up Socks on One Circular Needle Tutorial.

The stripes made for a bit of an extra challenge but they are so worth it, I love them.

Because of the stripes I had 4 balls of wool going at once instead of 2 but i managed fine and they turned out perfect.

I would highly recommend this tutorial, I've also used the "one sock on four double pointed needles tutorial" and both were so incredibly helpful for a beginner like myself.

Once they were done I still had some wool left so I made a start on Christmas decorations.
The teddy was quite simple but a bit fiddly. At least I was forced to have another go at knitting i-cord for the arms and legs. In the past I attempted it once and it didn't work but this time I had no problem at all so I'm pleased to know I can stop avoiding projects with i-cords:)
The stocking is my first attempt at fairisle and it was a perfect little practice piece

day{bed} dreaming

2011-10-29T19:02:00.002-04:00

I remember a summer with my cousin Lil when we were about 16.
She was house sitting at a gorgeous old house among green hills and I was lucky enough to visit for a week.
The house had chickens, a wood fire pizza oven outside, and a day bed. They had a big block of land with the most amazing garden. It was truly a place that as nice as the house was, I just wanted to spend all my time outside breathing in the inspiring feel it all had. During this dreamy week I took in lots of inspiration for how I wanted my one day house and garden to be.

These dreams have stayed with me and ever since every summer I have longed to be in that daybed. Smelling of coconut oil, reading girly magazines with Lil in our bikini tops and pajama bottoms. Carefree and in the moment.

As of yesterday thanks to my wonderful Benny I finally have my own day bed. It was worth the 7 year wait, its every bit of heaven that I remembered from that week and with the happy bonus of memories.

Willow the fluff ball has had a 'hair cut' and now he looks like a whole different bunny!

Ive worn these slippers so much that I needed a warm weather version. I made these new Mary Jane slippers a few nights ago from felted opp shop clothes. The blue is from a cashmere/angora jumper and its the nicest felt I've ever used! They are lined with stripey cotton knit fabric that was my favourite top for a good few years. It eventually got too stretched so I'm happy to be able to enjoy it again in my new shoes:)
I've worn my first pair in the garden a lot and they've held up so well that I call them my garden shoes

The garden is loving warm days, I've been getting strawberries, raspberries (yum!) and the first green tomatoes have been spotted. Its going to be a good summer!

the beach is calling me on the warm days already

I think we've had more friends and family over for barbeques already at this new house than the old one. Its so much easier as this place looks tidy with a lot less effort. Did I mention that its going to be a good summer?!

2011-10-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

today was so warm. perfect weather for getting bare hands and feet beneath the soil in search for buried treasure.
After the other day care children go home me and josh usually spend the late afternoon in the veggie patch. Well I spend most of my time there, he wonders and explores, chats to chickens, finds a tea pot to water plants, makes a few sand castles and then wonders back to see what I'm doing.
He's pretty fun as a veggie patch buddy because he will eat pretty much anything that's handed to him. His favourites are raw potatoes and coriander

more carrot seeds were planted

A new watering can spout was put to good use keeping our happy little plants moist.
A few weeks ago the spout snapped of and I was quite upset. I love this watering can but the spout is necessary for starting seeds. Luckily when I went to reluctantly buy a replacement they had spare spouts so I get to keep my original blue gardening companion!

first strawberries are so close!

Ive been knitting some new dishcloths in this long ago stashed (for who knows what) blue cotton. Can I say that as much as I like knitting lace and cables, plain old garter squares are nice too. So easy that last night I had a fire (yes the weather was different yesterday!) and while I waited for the last logs to burn out I happily knitted in the almost pitch black dark

the veggie patch yesterday

2011-10-14T02:50:00.000-04:00

potatoes and a handsome mish-cat

apple blossoms

My apple tree that we re located here from Mum and Dads garden is thriving

peas and petunias

I didn't realise I liked coriander so much but now that its growing I cant help eating a few leaves every time I walk past it

future pesto (Ive already managed to sneak enough little leaves for one small bowl:)

beets

my newest veggie patch bed has carrots and beets (as every bed i think!) as weal as calendular, tomatoes, chives and some vines. A mixture of pumpkin, cucumber, zucchini, watermelon and rockmelon. I absolutely never think of labeling any seeds I plant because I seriously presume that ill remember whats where. Of course I DO NOT remember it all! My garden is always a lucky dip

I like the edging of this bed. I'd like to eventually get enough branches to edge all of them

this is a very (below) average photo of my raspberries but I'm so excited about them!

every day I discover more strawberries, I cant wait for them to ripen!

getting filthy!

2011-10-06T23:34:00.001-04:00

A month or two ago I started providing food for the day care children. I had been wanting to for a good few years for a few reasons.Its been going well, and I certainly don't miss having to throw out all the packaging from all the packaged snacks they used to bring!
They love helping to prepare and cook their own foods and its also fun for them having the same things to eat as their friends.
I'm so glad I committed to it now but we've also had some challenges figuring out what every one will eat etc. I feel like we've gotten to a good menu now, including lots of things they all like and a few extra things that they mite have a taste of when they feel brave:)
So the rhythm we had sort of dissolved into 'every day is baking day and we do a few other activities here and there. Perhaps soon we'll get back to it properly but in the meantime I'm enjoying these days when i step back and let them find their own fun.

For the past few days we've had drizzly weather, the perfect weather for getting nice and filthy!

Today we had fun mixing up and playing with some peat moss, planting another potato patch, emptying out this half barrel and finding a use for it that is much more fun then as a pot plant. (oh, and then washing some little clothes!)
I now have six large strawberry pots and when they tired of this barrel I will pot it up as number seven. Some of the new strawberries are beginning to grow to a decent size, we are eagerly anticipating the first red ones:)

The most exciting thing in the garden this week has been ladybirds! We happily welcome them to our garden

we've been harvesting the first of our 'new house' carrots. Yum! The first taste has inspired me to plant many many more. I'm still getting the hang of how much of things to plant each time, I didn't plant nearly enough the first planting. I'm managing to squeeze in more and more veggie garden beds.
Its funny how it seems like I couldn't possibly plant any more and then I just find more and more spots for new seeds. Paths are getting a little on the narrow side now though:)

and finding new ways to use our rainbow arch blocks. I thought this way was rather clever

fluff balls

2011-09-30T03:07:00.000-04:00

The little silky chicks have been oh so busy growing, can you believe they looked like this only about 6 weeks ago! they are the funniest little fluff balls and great little garden companions.

A crafty little corner

2011-09-22T23:33:00.000-04:00

Ive been working on my hand stitched 'A Gardeners Journal' quilt, this block is almost finished, just the applique left to work on.
The more tiny squares I stitch the less tedious they seem. I suppose I'm getting more patient, enjoying the process and knowing that with so many little pieces I really couldn't rush it if I tried! I just surrender and feel happy with each days tiny bit of progress. It will be truly special to me when its finished and I will appreciate it all the more after all the (im)patient waiting.

I love this bird bath. It makes me want a bird bath for our garden

All my current handwork projects now live in basket draws next to the couch, perfect to keep them tidy but within reach for when I have spare moments to work on them. Its so nice to have room to put things finally!

I'm enjoying these geranium flowers gathered on an evening walk last night.

I only had Rhylee in daycare for the morning so we took a nice big walk together. We went past a garden absolutely packed with fruit trees. There was no grass at all, just trees and more beautiful trees!

I love seeing others growing their food, how fun to daydream of what kinds of fruit each tree grows, how I would enjoy it all if I lived there.

Ive just started watching 'The Good Life' on you tube, I really enjoy it and it inspires me. Benny's lucky were renting this house or else the front lawn might soon be dug up and replaced with yummy leeks!

Home tour- our new kitchen

2011-09-19T06:52:00.001-04:00

The weekend has been busy and fun!

We've been un packing, spring cleaning, having friends over and of course gardening.

Here's the new kitchen. It was tidy yesterday I'm sorry you missed it:)

(I may or may not be planning to use that excuse for the rest of the house too)

I'm loving our new little kitchen. It hasn't taken much at all to make it feel homey and warm.
The island in the middle is on wheels so we can shift it to the most useful spot and it has a marble top so that hot food from the oven can get put straight on it. handy!

I also love having a double sink. My aunt Jo gave me the lovely beach picture for my birthday and now finally I could put it up:)
Perhaps my favourite thing of all is having a rainwater tap. I don't miss bringing in bottles of rainwater one little bit. I use rainwater as much as possible so this really does save me a lot of effort each day. Not that I minded, but its definitely nice having it right there when I need it.

Ive been doing some more preserving and I've found some more second hand jars. I love how the jars look on top of these cupboards, they make me think of the store stump in the brambly hedge winter story book.
I can just imagine pulling them down on cold winters evenings.
I cant wait to fill them all with beautiful colours.

I also made 7 jars of sugarless strawberry honey jam which is delicious.
I think my favourite thing about providing food for the daycare children is having a constantly overflowing fruit bowl in my kitchen. Even this week when our main fruits are watermelon and strawberries (both kept in the fridge) there is still plenty to look pretty on the counter.

So there you have it, I do hope you enjoyed your tour:)

{this moment} Home!

2011-09-15T18:18:00.000-04:00

(Finally we have space to spread out and call our own! Bennys parents place is finished and looking fantastic so there is much excitement in these parts and many a moving box. Heres a little peek at our loungeroom, more to come when everythings un packed)

kitchen and garden (where does one end and the other begin?)

2011-09-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

Last night I had my very first go at preserving (canning)

I did some pears. I was pleased to learn that sugar isn't necessary to preserve them and they can be in just straight water. I used some lemon juice to ensure they had enough acidity for the water bath sterilisation method and a little honey for flavour. When I went to use my new (to me) pot I realised that it was so big it didn't fit on the biggest hotplate on our stove. Benny's dad suggested putting it half on two hotplates to speed it up which worked great. Being that it was my first ever go I plan on opening them soon just in case I didn't get it quite right. Pears and custard on the weekend Dad?

Here's my brekkie salad from the garden this morning. I cant wait for tomatoes and cucumbers to add!

Ive got about 20 tomato plants in at the moment and I'm wondering how many plants people usually have if they want to preserve enough for over winter.

Not that I could squeeze too many more in my little garden but just to get a bit of an idea about how much I might get and how many jars I might need.

This tomato was a winter one. I was quite amazed to have tomato plants in the garden over winter!

It didn't do much when the weather was cold but now that were getting a little warmth its thriving so we should have some early tomatoes not too far away. mmm, I can almost smell the delicious tomatoes!

The day after Oma asked for some broad beans I noticed the first flower so Oma, your broad beans aren't too far away either!

My apple peeler, corer, slicer had a broken handle so Benny surprised me with a new and improved stainless steel handle that he made at work.

with all the apple peels and cores (as you can see, apples have been especially popular around here lately) I've started some vinegar

Lately I've been doing some woodworking.

Ive been working on the play stands each time I visit my dads shed and there coming along nicely but last time I decided to have a go at some chopping/snack boards for the day care children.

You see a while ago when i was ridding my kitchen of plastic i got rid of the children's plates. I can be a bit 'ruthlessly efficient' in donating things we don't need, to the point that some times i get rid of things I kind of do need!

So these are used in place of plates now. The idea came from Melanie of Our Ash Grove a few weeks ago.

I made one to represent each of our animals

(a rabbit, cat and chicken)

and then a random sheep because its what I thought of at the time

Dad showed me how to use his edge trimmer to round the edges. Now that i know how to use it I will definitely use it again, it gives such a nice soft finish.

I planned on adding faces with my wood burner when I un pack it but now after seeing the children's way of adding faces I think there perfect just as they are

Garden Update and a Preserving (canning) bargain

2011-09-03T21:36:00.002-04:00

just for the fun of it, heres my veg patch not long ago when id only just started it!

My little veggie patch is thriving all the more now that the sun is warming it more each day. I spend so much time out there pottering about and just sitting, dreaming of how it will look when it all gets bigger.
Its all quickly growing right before my very eyes and most days I discover something new.
There is a steady supply of new shoots (loads of self seeded tomatoes), fruit tree coming out of their winter sleep and beginning to grow new buds, leaves or blossom.

Ive been thinning out my first planting of carrots as I went a bit over the top with them, not knowing how many would sprout. It was nice to pull out the excess and see what growth had been happening underground. Now all the excess shoots have their very own uncrowded beds and plenty of room to grow.

These are the first potatoes I planted.
I planted them in a deep hole and only partly filled it until they had shoots. Each time they shot up I filled it a little more and now they are above ground level already. Ive planted quite a few potato plants since so i should have a nice sized crop to harvest in a few months time.

These two beds of broad beans are doing well and I've changed the shapes of the garden beds to allow just a little more planting space.
The bed up the top has lots of little basil seeds that have sprouted and are making me so excited for pesto in the not too far off future. I LOVE basil!
I keep sneaking in more seeds into every spare garden space because I cant resist the thought of abundant delicious basil to dry, freeze and use all year long! Besides, it makes me so happy to walk past and smell it in the garden.

Behind our back fence is a vacant block and it has a huge fig tree (you can see it in the back ground here, when it was dormant)
Its a nice big old tree, all wild and untamed.
Best of all, were welcome to whatever fruit we can save from the birds! Hopefully that's at least some

Here's my latest thrifting bargain! Ive been looking into preserving (canning) jars for a little while to have around in the hope of having excess food from the garden to put away for later. I also want to use the jars for storage of all sorts of things in the kitchen etc.
The two main sorts available in Australia seem to be Aussie made Fowlers Vacola and U.S made Mason.

Mason jars have screw top lids which would be easy to use for storing things (other that preserving/canning) But their lids contain BPA and they have to be imported. There still affordable but I prefer to get things made locally to reduce carbon footprint.

Fowlers Vacola jar lids need a clip to keep them on if not used for preserving but I can get stainless steel lids with a rubber seal on the outside of the jar so chemical safety wise they are a winner.

I think ill end up with a mixture, using different ones for different things.

My mind was certainly made up what to get first when I ran into this lot of Fowlers Vacola at two of my favourite thrift shops. I found lots of jars for $1.50each at the first place and was rather excited at my bargain.... I then headed to another place and got some 20c jars and a $5 steriliser! Yay!

The most expensive part was the stainless steel lids, clips and rubber sealing rings which i got new but still, I'm very happy with it all! Ill be doing a trial run soon with some cheap bought fruit or veg to make sure I've gotten the hang of it before I use my beautiful home grown produce. Oh and because I'm not patient enough to wait to try it all:)
Some jars of pears and apples will be going to my parents. My dad was telling me how when he was little they lived on a farm and didn't go into town often for shopping.
His mum (my Ma) used to preserve apples and pears from their trees and they were a treat over custard in the middle of winter

Spring!

2011-08-31T23:17:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure when the official start of spring is and google just confused me we with a few different dates so I decided that that seems were having lots of flowers pop up and fruit trees are blossoming today would be a nice day to celebrate it.

We started by reading 'Mother Earth And Her Children'
This is a shortened version "The Story Of The Root Children".
I read them "The Story Of The Root Children" at bed time often but they don't otherwise have the attention span to sit through it so this one is perfect for other times. I also love the pictures which are photographs of a quilt inspired by the original book.
At the end of the story I made up an extra bit saying that if you look in the garden on the first of spring you might find surprises to decorate our playroom from the root children who are now coming up

We added some pretty flowers to the snack time table and also a cute buzzy bee hive candle that I found at a market last weekend. I didn't bother to light it because the breeze always promptly puts our candles out!

This little buzzy bee was on Mitch's arm. We carefully brushed him off and then marveled that he came to celebrate spring with us. what a perfect day for him to stop by our snack table:)

We decided to see if the root children had come up yet, and look, they had!

Mitch stared at this egg for a good while looking most surprised. He was even more excited when I told him he could pick it up and have a look. Love this boys sweet innocence:)

Cam caught on quickly and found lots of surprises

Our new garden friends. Ive been slowly making them over time in preparation for spring. I didn't end up finishing the root children i'd been making but never mind, next year.

We made them into a mobile to hang inside. For today were enjoying it outside hanging from our palm where the children can play and turn it

After that we cooked pancakes outside in an electric fry pan that Mum lent me. Yum!

Cousin Club weekend (otherwise known as major photo overload)

2011-08-30T04:06:00.000-04:00

I mentioned that I was going away for the weekend, I went with my cousins Madi and Lil and my sister A.J to our aunt and uncles beach house in Carrikalinga. We used to come here when we were kids and this time around it was just as much fun!

Me, Lil, Madi and A.J

As soon as we arrived we unpacked and headed to the beach. We found these great old bikes in the shed. There was also a super cute red vintage bike but unfortunately the tires were too flat to ride

The beach was beautiful and the weather almost perfect. A little on the cool side but still better than I expected

Even though it wasn't quite warm enough me and Lil went straight to the water for a splash and almost worked up the nerve to jump in

Theres something special about braving cold water, I always try to because it makes me feel so alive!

A.j was happy to observe from a safe distance. Not a bad move, we ended up getting dumped by a few waves, leaving us shivering and drenched. I secretly loved it though:)

It was so beautiful riding around the pretty little sea side town, everything was lush and green and new spring flowers were starting to emerge

Later we picked up some magazines at the shops and got our trashy gossip fix

Me and Madi slept in these awesome bunk beds! I remember being in these same bunk beds when I was little. I was disappointed to be on the bottom bunk so someone (my Mum and aunt or Oma probably) hung a spare blanket from the top bunk, creating a great little cubby for me. I loved it!

We had a yummy breakfast in the morning

and then went driving to some other great nearby spots

We went to Victor Harbour and Granite Island. It was nice watching big waves break on the island

Us doing our super lame cousin club sign he he:)

In the end it got windy so we all headed home!

In case any ones wondering about the cousin club thing, when we were little we made up a cousin club (I think we read too many babysitters club books lol:) We had 'official meetings', membership cards and raised money by putting on plays for our 'lucky' family members. Yes we were pretty cool

Our daycare week

2011-08-24T23:13:00.001-04:00

Washing/water play Tuesday- we washed our wooden blocks. In the water the blocks became all sorts of jumping and splashing animals!

we also played with the silky chicks

Painting day Wednesday- finger painting!

I make up a cheap, easy and relatively natural (water based at least) finger paint using powder paints. It saves money by using little of the powder paint and also doesn't crack and crumble when dry like powder paint is notorious for.
here's the recipe-

2 heaped tea spoons of corn flour
3/4 cup water
a sprinkle of powder paint (technical measurement I know:)

Put corn flour in a glass and add enough water to dissolve it.
Add 3/4 cup of boiling water and stir.
Divide into bowls and add separate colours to each. It doesn't take much powder to get a nice colour
Let paint cool to a comfortable temperature. Its nice to use when its still warm

This amount makes a good amount for 1 or 2 children, I double it for 4

Finger painting is lots of fun but I think they like cleaning their hands and paint bowls afterwards just as much!

Baking day Thursday- We had our first birthday for the year, little miss Rhylee turned 2!
For our baking activity we made wholemeal spelt carrot cakes and as you can see she enjoyed them!

Tomorrow we will be going walking and then polishing our wooden blocks.
Then ill be packing ready for a very fun weekend away

pictures of today

2011-08-22T07:48:00.000-04:00

Today has been rather a productive Monday, here is some of what I got up to...

Hand washed lots of woolens

Took the silky chicks out for their first wander of the garden. I think they were quite impressed with life outside of their little heated box

I soaked some grains and seeds ready for sprouting. From the left they are- wheat sprouts for the (big) chickens, alfalfa for salads, spelt for making sprouted spelt bread

For lunch I had left over spelt pasta that I made the other day and steamed dandelion greens with tomato and zucchini sauce

I made spelt bread, here it is rising under the warm sun outside. (in case your wondering why all the spelt, its what my naturopath has recommended for me. Luckily its yummy:)

Here's the finished loaf and I made honey oat biscuits with lots of different seeds. Yum!

Benny's mum took me mushroom foraging. Id never been before but i love mushrooms so I've wanted to for a long time. Now that I know the spots to look I have a feeling ill be eating a lot of mushrooms!

Soaking up the last days of winter

2011-08-17T23:31:00.001-04:00

Our little silky chicks who will one day roam our garden

Spring is coming, spring is coming,
birdies build your nests.
Weave together straw and feather,
doing each your best.

One of our latest spring blooms. Benny's mum has planted lots of bulbs here over the years and its such a fun surprise seeing all kinds of flowers bloom. I love these and they have the most beautiful scent

Spring is coming, spring is coming,
flowers are waking too.
Daisies, lilies, daffodillies,
all are coming through.

Here's the veggie patch as it is today. There are so many seeds sprouting and the broad beans are getting big.

Outdoor snacks with child picked sour sob flower bouquet (this is a weed in Australia but children love to pick them and chew their sour stems)

Benny's mum has given me two of these big strawberry pots because she doesn't want to take them with her to the new house. I'm so thankful as I know how well they have done in this garden previous years. The most exciting part of all...

The first strawberries are starting to appear! Yep, its a good time to be inheriting strawberry plants

New to me bricks mean a little more garden bed edging! Its getting there. Abundant stinging nettles are making for delicious meals and 'weed soup' for the garden. (Ive covered weeds with water in a bucket and left it to decay for a few weeks. It will then be strained and added to the garden to add nutrients)

Ive been doing a few more spring preparation crafts

and also some woodworking (more on that later, bet you cant guess what I'm making... :)

our morning rhythum

2011-08-16T05:24:00.001-04:00

I'm joining Nicole in sharing another part of our rhythm. I don't have all the day care children on all days but this is around about how a normal week day morning in my day care goes
8am- the littlest girl Rhylee comes. We begin the day with our morning verse-

Good morning dear earth
Good morning dear sun
Good morning dear trees
and the flowers, every one
Good morning dear animals
and birds in the tree
Good morning to you
Good morning to me

I like to stretch out as I do the actions for this so that it feels like a peaceful yoga salute to the sun. After this we go for a long walk.

pausing by the water on our morning walk

9.30am- Cam and Mitch arrive.

We head outside to sing our morning verse with them and some other seasonal songs
After this I check the veggie patch, feed the chickens and rabbit etc. The littlies go off to play or help me with my jobs.

jumping off tree stumps at play time

picking weeds for the chickens to eat

As I finish up my jobs I get out the days activity (see our weekly rhythm) and the children come over to see 'what day it is'

baking day in our new kitchen

After our our activity we have fruit and something else (crackers, popcorn etc) for snack time.

once our daily activity is over they excitedly head to the table because they know snack time is next!

We sing-

Blessings on the blossom,
Blessings on the root,
Blessings on the leaf and stem,
Blessings on our fruit

After snack the children play inside while I one at a time help each child wash their hands and faces, go to the toilet or change their nappy

At 11.30 we start getting ready for nap
We pack up the toys singing

Were Packing up the toys,
Were Packing up the toys,
All the toys go in their baskets,
Packing up the toys

If the children aren't packing up the toys on their own I pass them toys and ask 'can you remember where these toys live' which usually gets them started

After this we sing

The Morning has ended and we've done our best
Goodbye until later and have a nice rest

When the children hear this they head to the sleep room and lay in their beds. I tuck each child in and turn our mobile so that the chickens turn gently.
I read a story until they all fall asleep.

cozy beds ready for sleepy heads

*Josh arrives during nap time and stays until 10.30pm but ill save our afternoon and night rhythm for a different post

Garden Love

2011-08-09T23:16:00.002-04:00

Every day in this garden we discover or make something new. Lately I've been trimming the low branches of this tree to turn it into a natural cubby house. Its hard to get a photo of of it but by the fence its like a leafy tunnel and the trimmed twigs and leaves have been made into cozy pretend beds.

Today we tied up some branches and added a door made of an old cot sized sheet

The tree is a beautiful, its a gum tree that Benny planted when he was a little boy (for those who don't know we live in Benny's parents old house)

This tree is in a cozy little nook behind my garden shed. We have a little temporary mud pie kitchen set up back here so that the children can make pretend food to 'eat' in their little tree house (still getting around to making a propper one but in the meantime this one is rather great fun)

I love this pretty moss:)

We have plans for a rope swing, must get some more rope

I love seeing the dirt creations

The Five Spheres of Waldorf Education

2011-08-09T00:13:00.001-04:00

Hi all, Im looking forward to taking part in a new e course 'The Five Spheres of Waldorf Education'

I'm very excited for the opportunity to learn more about these topics which I'm sure will help me improve upon my knowledge and benefit my Waldorf inspired home day care.
Here is some information on the course, I hope it inspires you like it has me!

Five Spheres of Waldorf Education ECourse

through

Little Acorn Learning
Instructor: Dr. Rick Tan
Five Week ECourse Begins August 15th and Runs for 5 Weeks

~NOW ENROLLING~
5 Full Weeks of lessons, videos and assignments!

The Five Spheres of Waldorf education encapsulates the sweeping themes of this educational movement: Self, Relationships, Balance, Rhythm, and Course. In the five-week seminar offered at Little Acorn Learning, Dr. Rick Tan will discuss one sphere per week and the relevant topics in anthroposophy and Waldorf that are connected with the sphere.

Dr. Rick Tan is an artist, musician, and graphic designer. He was a homeschooling parent and currently is the seventh grade teacher at Davis Waldorf School.

Week 1
The Self Sphere:
The topic of Anthroposophy as the human being’s inner striving to understand oneself will be reviewed. Here, the many natures of the Self: ego, astral, etheric, and physical bodies will be discussed

Week 2
The Relationships Sphere:

We will touch on the synergy of our connections with each other.

Week 3:
The Balance Sphere:
This week will present us with a foundation for the three fold social order, and the three fold human being as thinker, feeler, doer.

Week 4:
The Rhythm Sphere:
We will cover the four-part main lesson, and the four temperaments: choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic.

Week 5:
The Course Sphere:
This lesson will touch on the curriculum of Waldorf education.

To Enroll in this Exciting ECourse, Visit Little Acorn Learning

here for More Details

Spring preparations

2011-08-04T21:04:00.004-04:00

So, it was just days ago that I mentioned it was so warm here I was sure spring had come a month early. I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Yes a few cold rainy days of course!

Those few warm days were just enough to spark my enthusiasm for spring time preparations.

Ive been busy making some little spring root children from the book 'The Nature Corner'. I made felt for the dresses by wet felting organic merino wool rovings and dying them with eco friendly dyes. Dyes and wool rovings were from my sponsor The Humming Alpaca

The first one is almost done. I'm not particularly happy with her head but I know ill learn from my mistakes and the second and third doll will be nicer. The second head Ive stuffed tighter so it should be a little chubbier and cuter.
Why yes I am still wearing my new cardigan and no I still haven't done its button band;)

I have been reading the story of the root children and we have been acting it out with our little dolls (which were needle felted by the very talented Kate, yay for swaps!) Its been a lot of fun

all of the decorations I made myself except the ostheimer tree and lamb

Ive also found all the spring decorations from last year.

I'm still deciding exactly how our spring celebration will go but I'm thinking we will have a garden hunt. (inspired by Frontier Dreams)
I will hide
*the spring root children,
*some felt butterflies bees and ladybirds in the wet felted eggs(which we will hang on the wooden ring pictured above, to be a mobile for over our indoor table)
*and also some dyed eggs that we can eat for snack time.

I began my Waldorf journey around a year ago and now that we are having our second Waldorf inspired spring I can now see how fun and exciting it is having all these things packed up for three seasons to seem new again a year later. I know it will get more exciting as years go by when the treasures hold memories of seasons long ago.

I also found this frost child i made last year so he can be out for the next few weeks even though I think our frost is probably gone for this year (the beans I impatiently planted too early are hoping so anyway!)

Tea leaves in the garden

2011-08-03T05:36:00.002-04:00

Last night i finished the second sleeve of my tea leaves cardigan and I have been happily wearing it although it still does need a button band. I love it and the fit turned out perfectly.

I have a feeling ill be wearing it a lot! Today has been such a good day in fact the whole week has been rather bliss full. The weather is making me think its spring already when we still have a month left of winter.

I don't mind at all as spring is my very favourite season!

With these warm days I've hardly been able to keep out of the garden.
I cant get enough of just wondering, dreaming and taking it all in
Ive been planting a few lots of seeds almost daily and now I'm starting to have lots of pretty green shoots popping up.

When I first started my garden I put in some seedling for a little instant gratification.
They have been growing so quickly that were already harvesting our first bits of lettuce and parsley.

There was already some nettles growing as weeds, Benny's dad offered to spray them with weed killer but of course i declined his kind offer.
Id never tried nettles before and got a bit worried after having a few painful stings.
I did try cooking them and just as Id read was the case the stings disappeared once they were cooked and they were yummy!

Every day I'm thankful for our new house and garden. Its been difficult moving in here so early without much notice but now that all the challenges are almost at an end I can appreciate how worth it it all is.

The photo above shows my veggie patch currently and although it still doesn't look like much, every time I look at it I see how it will soon be. I picture all the little newly sprouted seeds as full grown plants, I see flowers and bees buzzing around them. There is so much potential and so much to look forward to.

I cant wait to look back at these early photos each month as the garden gets lusher and more established. I'm already proud of all the 'work' I've put into it already. Its funny that I smile at the thought of gardening being work when I enjoy it so much. I feel the same about looking after the day care children most of the time ( although now and then we have a difficult day where no one can get along and I most definitely remember what I'm being paid for:)

Jump for joy!

2011-07-28T23:44:00.000-04:00

The family day care approval visit went really well so we are all jumping for joy! The lady was very nice and kept telling me how much she loved how id set everything up and that the daycare room felt so homey, just what i love to hear:)
There are a few things to change but she doesn't need to come back I can just email her photos. It wont be long until I'm approved and getting a decent amount of money for having the children again.
I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off my shoulders as I'd been so worried that id have someone really picky who would find all sorts of things I hadn't thought of

Today I feel so light fresh and relaxed, i can fully take in and enjoy simple moments without my mind being taken over with 'what else do i need to do before approval visit"
This morning was such a simple and enjoyable one. I don't think there was a single moment that we were looking for something to do. It started off that I decided to move our logs over to a tree stump because I thought it would be fun for the children to jump off (which it was as is evident in the first photo) After a few jumps Cameron knocked off some bark with his shoe and discovered a treasure trove of snails. He and the others carefully placed them on the tree stump and watched them in awe for a long time as the snails slid along.

A little later it was time to feed the chickens so the children ~~weeded my lawn for me~~ picked them some treats. They were kept amused for such a long time hand feeding the chicken a tiny leaf at a time. Feeding chickens is one of our favourite things to do as the chickens almost never tire of picking scraps from their hands and Rhylee almost never tires of giggling at them which the others find hilarious

Another fruit picnic at our outdoor table and it was just about nap time. I'm so loving these days in our new garden.

These days

2011-07-26T23:14:00.000-04:00

The past week seems to have disappeared in the blink of an eye and here are some photos I've taken along the way.

Ive been busy getting ready to have the house checked for safety and suitability by family day care. The big check is tomorrow and I have my fingers crossed that it goes well and I get approved. It has not been at all easy trying to get the place how it needs to be for approval. At present Benny's parents have some of their things in the shed of their new house but there is still at least one and a half houses worth of stuff in this little place which means its really tricky to find spots for everything that needs to be put away. The children's sleep room was half full of boxes which I have been working hard to distribute them over the rest of the house. I feel bad about everyone having to do things and move things around for this approval, I'm so thankful it will soon be over. Ive been stressed about it since the day we got the letter saying we had to be out of the old house straight away so it will be a huge weight off my shoulders.

My tea leaves is coming along nicely, not much left to go. Its a bit bigger then I hoped but hopefully it will look nice when its done. At least I can fit a few layers underneath which is quite necessary at the moment

When I go to my naturopath I go past about 10 opp shops on the way. Of course I couldn't go past without stopping in for a quick look... here's a few of my recent favourite finds.

I also got a new pot plant from one of the opp shops, what a surprise! (blogger is still not wanting to put my pics up the right way) You truly never know what will turn up at opp shops

Things have been going quite well with my naturopath and on Monday I even got brave and had some 'propper ' acupuncture rather than the laser version I had been having (I'm scared of needles)
All was well when I had it on my back but when she did my ovaries they were painful. After that I felt sick and drove straight home and went to bed. When I woke up I was talking to Benny's parents in the kitchen and I almost fainted (fell over from being light headed but didn't black out completely) I had cold sweats and went back to bed. I slept until the next morning and then felt completely fine. Has anyone else experienced these side effects from acupuncture? It makes me a bit scared to try it again

On the weekend we went to my friend Sarah's shack. We had such a nice time and the guys went fishing, leaving us on the cozy veranda to have girly chats. This place is so special to me as I've been going to this shack since it was just a foundation in the ground and even helped paint it the first time. I'm truly thankful that Sarah's family have this place and share it with us

This is the magical view, often we have a fire out the front and spot dolphins until the sun goes down. Its pure bliss

knitting, bells and rainbows

2011-07-20T03:46:00.001-04:00

Ive been making some progress on my tea leaves cardigan. I'm not sure if its the pattern, the yarn or the experience I've gained in knitting but this cardigan has by far been my favourite knit ever I do believe.
I'm finding it so relaxing so I take it where ever I go and knit a few rows here and there.
Today at nap time I was reading 'The Story of the Root Children' and Cameron said to me "look its you knitting!" when he saw the picture of mother earth with her yarn and knitting.
Later in the book we decided that he and the others must be my helper ants because they always make sure my ball is perfectly wound for me:)
He was most happy with this as he is a real bug lover.

Remember this cardigan I was working on way back here? I sure don't expect anyone to, Id forgotten about it myself!
Anyway, Ive finished the second arm (a place when many cardigan knitting halts I'm sure, that second arm gets a bit tedious)
So... hopefully I can get the button band and ends weaved in soon, although progress has halted just a tad since receiving the yarn for my tea leaves

Yesterday I dug the little table and chairs out of the shed and we are all enjoying eating all our meals and snacks outside. In fact were all having so much fun in the garden that we pretty much only come inside for nap times. Ive hardly been setting up any activities because they've all been so engrossed in exploring all the new play spots

today we strung together some snack/lunch time bells which we will jingle when its time to cook, prepare food and eat at our little outdoor table.
Its down at the children's level for them to take turns ringing so I think we may have a little meal times confusion until the novelty wears off

last week we received this dolls hammock and some other rainbow goodness from my friend Alison. Its a great space saver toy as it hangs between two dining room chairs.
Funnily enough we have two wooden doll beds and I don't think either have been as high in demand as this simple little swinging bed

At the moment we have limited space and lots of toys still packed away and I'm being reminded how powerful simplifying things is. We don't miss any toys, the children just improvise with what they have. Snails become playthings and old teapots become their homes. An old spade handle becomes a galloping hobby horse. The children have been packing up without me asking now that its not a big job. We make the train tracks slither into their basket home like snakes and the building blocks like to jump their way home. The dolls and animals get tired and run home to see their family.
I'm happy that we will soon have room to store whats not in use, I will continue having less out.

In case you were wondering who was being rocked to sleep.. about 30 wooden animals and people plus a few building blocks and trains. Sure, why not!

two of my favourite things

2011-07-17T00:44:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been doing lots of knitting and gardening, here's a few of my recent projects

This is the beginning of a tea leaves cardigan. I was a bit nervous about how pink the yarn is when it arrived but I think I'm going to love it (hopefully!)

My cousin Madi go a new ball winder so we had lots of fun winding my skeins. The balls are so cute and puffy! The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh DK in fragrant colourway

Ive finished the brass and steam that my aunt made me a kit of for my birthday. It turned out beautifully and just needs blocking (as do most of my other past projects, I never get around to blocking)

I love the subtle variations in this wool and its so soft and cozy. perfect for our cool days lately

Here's my garden update photo from today. I'm afraid there will be lots of photos of barely visible tiny little plants and twiggy trees for quite some time to come, I'm a bit obsessed with my new garden and every little thing I add is oh so exciting:)

This week we got two apple trees (we needed two because they need to cross pollinate)
We got my favourite, Fuji and Benny's favourite, gala. We decided to plant them together so that they will take up less space. It will be nice as they grow together into basically one tree. The best part about these two is that they ripen at different times so we will have a long apple season!

Ive also put in a few berry bushes and mulched all the garden beds with compost and hay. The first two beds were done with oaten hay that I had left over and the rest is done with lucern hay. The oaten looks much nicer but the lucern is packed full of nutrients.

Benny is going to be building a fire pit. It will be fun picking veggies and cooking them straight on the fire. He also put in a lemonade tree.

In the chickens area (not pictured) I put in a mulberry tree that I've had in a half barrel the last few years, some raspberry bushes I also had in pots and some lavender plants that self seeded at mums house. The chickens are still in their cage quite a lot but down the track when the plants can handle them they will be in their yard all day and free range our garden with supervision

Photos at last!

2011-07-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

Im so happy to finally be able to share some photos! Yippe!!!

Its been killing me only being able to see my photos on the little camera screen, how did I get by before digital lol:)

So anyway, Ill show you some of my new garden. This first picture is the view from our front door. We live across from the towns football oval, Its so nice to have all that green closeby. Ive marked out my favourite cafe Salt of the Earth which is where I do my markets. Its so nice to have it just a few minutes walk away

Heres our main back yard, my veggie patch is to the right

my hamock chair tree! This is behind the little tool shed so its a fun little private nook. Im making a mud pie kitchen for the daycare children who love digging dirt and getting grotty in this new garden. There are lots of falen leaves and a nearby lavendar bush to cut and garnish there dishes with:) (sorry about sideways pictures)

This is the start of my veggie garden from about a week ago, its looking much more 'lived in now. Ive been reading up on permaculture so the design is based on keyhole and mandala garden beds.

The first of the seedlings are in:)

This is where ive been spending most of my time lately:)

This is our doggy friend Jasper. Yep those are my gumboots

just because I love having help sweeping and tidying

My apple tree at my parents house is finally almost dormant and ready to move! Im so excited but also nervous that it might not survive to move. If any of you have tips or experiences moving fruit trees please do share them with me.

Im Back..

2011-06-29T07:31:00.001-04:00

Well sort of, no pictures just yet.
I still don't have Internet to my computer but hopefully soon, I'm itching to share pictures from our new house! Were packed in like sardines for the next month until Benny's parents house is finished but its fun living with them and I'm loving having a dog for now.
The most exciting thing to me when we moved in was the discovery of soft workable soil in the garden! This may seem like a strange thing to get excited about but after two years of digging hard clay, to say I was excited is a Major understatement! Ive been busy preparing garden beds for veggies and flowers while the daycare children have been busy exploring their new garden, I think they love it as much as I do!

I look forward to catching up on what you have all been doing, I've missed reading blogs.
Not that I've had the time.
Here's the fun stuff I've been up to during my absence-
*Moving house,
*Cleaning the old place,
*Creating a real live tetris game of a room (think boxes of our thing all packed into a tiny room with barely room to move)
*Finding things in said tetris room (um maybe it would have been a good idea to label boxes?!)
*Getting the new house ready to be 'approved' for family daycare (think tedious and somewhat over the top safety checks)
*Preparing to be rather poor until house is approved in 6-8 weeks time. I chose to still have all the children during this time as I love having them and knew some of the parents would struggle to find care in our little town but I'm only charging what the families usually pay and in some cases the government pays the majority of the bill. Luckily I decided to hand stitch my quilt, that should at least keep me happily crafting through until I get a proper pay again at least!

Anyhow, the worst of the hard work is over and now I get to lay in my new green grass and enjoy the afternoon sun warmth filtered through beautiful trees. Yes we have our very own trees! (unlike my old place, possibly the thing I missed most while living there). The children and I have been enjoying raking up leaves to mulch our veggies and once I find some rope I can hang my hammock chair!

Although its not been easy its so well worth it, I love our new house and I LOVE our new garden!

edited to say*I dont seem to be able to comment on blogs at the moment as this computer keeps signing me out but im enjoying reading blogs at least

Greener Shades Dye Giveaway Winner!

2011-06-20T07:13:00.000-04:00

The winner of the Greener shades giveaway is Mandi of Time Flies blog, congratulations Mandi!
Thankyou to my kind sponsor Carcoar Pottery and The Humming Alpaca for offering these lovely dyes to be given away, and thankyou to all who entered

The meditation that is hand stitching

2011-06-16T23:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday mum came over and we had a stitching day! Its so fun to chat as we both work on our own projects

I was of course working away at my Garden Journal quilt. Call me crazy but I've decided to hand stitch it. Because who cant see the fun in hand stitching all 210 of the tiny 1.5" squares?:)

This is my progress so far. Probably too much progress for someone who's supposed to be busy packing boxes to move house tomorrow! but anyhow...

Ive also been attempting to card some of my angora rabbit Willow's fur ready to spin. I still need to google some instructions on how to use my new carders but that might happen in the new house. The carders are from my sponsor Carcoar Pottery and The Humming Alpaca. I was happy when I received them to see that they were unfinished so I could seal them with beeswax polish. They smell so good now!
For anyone who's not entered yet, here's a link to a giveaway of Greener shades dyes on my blog this week, entries close Sunday night

Yarn Along

2011-06-15T00:17:00.003-04:00

Firstly in case you mised it im hosting a giveaway of Greener Shades dyes, feel free to head on over and enter!

For Ginnys yarn along this week im sharing this Peasy cardigan that I finished off this week. I almost finished it at the end of last winter but the weather got too hot for it thus finishing it lost all appeal.
Finishing it off has been a perfect instant gratification project for at the moment when Im so buisy packing for our new house.

Ive been Reading "Free To Learn" Which has lots of great knowledge, examples and ideas about Steiner education. To the children at nap time our book this week is 'The Tale of Tom Kitten" by Beatrix Potter. They love the mischevious kittens:)

Here I am wearing my Peasy Cardigan it while working on another craft project, one that I am ridiculously excited about!

Ive begun my A Gardeners Journal Quilt!
I bought most of the supplies for it from a lady who had a stall next to mine at my local market.
She happened to have some fabrics that id been wanting for a while at a very reasonable price so I bought them with money that I recieved for my birthday. I even got the cute little pins which I love:)

Here are some of the fabrics I chose. Dont they look perfectly gardeny?

I found this cute tin the other day while packing and sorting. I forgot that I had it but its perfect for storing all my quilt pieces that ive been cutting.

Meanwhile I was lucky enough to have some live 'music' to enjoy. Whan better drums than up turned pots and pans with knitting needle drum sticks?

Sponsor Giveaway:: Carcoar Pottery and The Humming Alpaca

2011-06-12T05:53:00.004-04:00

I'm so happy to bring you a giveaway from my new Sponsor Louise of Carcoar Pottery!

Louse is a wonderful multi talented crafter, I asked her some questions about her crafting and beautiful shop to share with you all

Blue and green striped bowl made by Louise

*Louise, what are your favourite crafts and why?

The main craft I practice is pottery, but I like to spin, weave and felt also. As all crafters know, there are no barriers, so I am currently learning how to weld as I want to make some outdoor furniture for my garden and I have ideas rolling around in my head that 'need' to be realised. I would love to be able to knit and I look on enviously as I watch people knitting creations out of their hand spun and dyed yarns. I think the act of crafting is so wholesome and fulfilling. I couldn't imagine life without making things. It is the actualising of thoughts from within.

Ashford "Country Spinner" spinning wheel

*What inspires you in your crafting?

I grew up in a nurturing household, where the aesthetics of hand made items was highly esteemed. Gardening, both ornamental and vegetable, was a way of life. My mother, who is a painter and was an art teacher, gave me pottery every Easter instead of eggs (I wasn't too happy with that at the age of 9, although Mum tells me there were some eggs inside the pottery mugs), and by the time I reached my mid to late teens I had a wonderful collection of handmade pottery and an aesthetic ethos. My mother also likes collecting pottery for everyday use and it was only when I went to friends' houses that I realised that it wasn't what everyone else did. As a child, I could always entertain myself by making things and wasn't reliant on external entertainment as inspiration came from within. As an adult who likes to play with clay and textiles, and loves to garden and have my pet alpacas, chooks, dog and my wonderful husband nearby, I lead an ideal life. It has given me an awareness and a consciousness about the provenance of what we eat, wear and use on a daily basis. And on another level, by following in the ancient tradition of craftspeople it gives me a place in the continuity of humanity and being part of its rich tapestry.

One of Louise's rug weaving workshops

*What product in your shop are you most excited about at the moment? Tell us about it

In my pottery range, I am always most excited bout my most recent creations as that is where my head and heart are. I enjoy colour and lots of it. Rainbow colours ... such happiness!! Most challenging at
the moment is the solving of firing results from outdoor primitive kilns as I am looking for organic and random effects on clay. In the textile range, once again, it is what I am currently making. I always have a woven alpaca rug on the go and I have just started dyeing up wool for people coming to the next rug workshop. I love hand dyeing. Actually, I just love making stuff!!!

Colours of the dyes that Louise is generously giving away

Louise is offering readers the chance to win a sampler kit of "Greener Shades" Dyes Which contains 2.5grams of each of the Greener Shades colours!

A flower garland I have hand made with organic merino and Greener shades dyes from Louise's Shop

Here is some information about the dyes that can be found on the The Humming Alpaca page of her shop-

Greener Shades Dyes are a non-hazardous,non-chrome dye for silk,nylon & any animal fibre.

Formulated without the use of hazardous metals, Greener Shades provides all the wash fastness & light fastness of the traditional acid dye without relying on the metal compounds to achieve bright and beautiful colours. This advancement is now available to the home/studio dyer with the Greener Shades line of dyes. Greener Shades Dyes conform to the Organic Trade Association's standard for Organic Fibre Processing (with the exception of Greener Shades - Coral Reef Aqua)

Everyone is welcomed to write a comment for an opportunity to win
*If you would like a second entry let us know what your favourite thing is in Carcoar Pottery shop in a separate comment
*Friends of bare feet and a free spirit will receive a third entry, just let me know that you are a follower in a separate comment

Good luck all!

Welcome Carcoar Pottery and The Humming Alpaca

2011-06-10T23:42:00.001-04:00

Id like to introduce you all to my newest sponsor Louise or Carcoar Pottery

and The Humming Alpaca.

Louise sells all sorts of beautiful hand made pottery made by herself.

She also has a shop section for fibre enthusiasts with all they need for spinning, weaving and felting.

For those nearby she runs some beautiful workshops

One of my favourite items in her shop is her organic merino wool rovings. After searching all over for organic wool for my crafts I was led to her site. It is fantastical soft!
Ive used it for so many projects that you have seen on my blog, its great for spinning, felting, stuffing toys etc.
She also sells the Eco friendly 'Greener Shades' dyes that I use to dye it with and not only is it better for the environment to dye with these dyes, it works out so much cheaper then buying pre-dyed wool.

Head on over to her shop to have a look and later this week I will be hosting a giveaway of some of her Eco friendly "Greener Shades" dyes!

Wooden spoon giveaway winner!

2011-06-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

The winner of the wooden spoons giveaway is Nadja of Patch O'Dirt Farm! Congratulations Nadja!
Thankyou to my sponsor Sean of gacarver etsy shop for hosting this giveaway and thank you to all those who entered xo

Yarn Along

2011-06-08T00:07:00.000-04:00

Firstly if there's anyone who's not entered my current sponsor give away, here's a link so that you can- gacarver wooden baby spoon giveaway
I joining Ginny and many others again for her yarn along. My fingerless gloves are slowly progressing, Ive finished one and gotten half way through the second one.
Last Thursday I had a great birthday! One of my wonderful presents was a knitting kit that my auntie Levin made up for me.
The knitting pattern is The Age of Brass and Steam kerchief and the yarn is Madeline Tosh merino DK in 'geode' colourway. She also included the needles I need for the pattern and the cute 'I Knit You' pencil pictured above (I got way over excited about the pencil, I love it:)
I began knitting, decided id wait until I got better stitch markers to continue as I have plastic ones which are bulky and horrible to use. I then accidentally pulled out the needle and decided to just un pull it for now! Will be on the lookout for cute stitch markers and hope to report progress on it next week!

"the children raced on to the sandy beach, It was firm and golden beneath their feet"

My book- I've fallen in love with this book that I'm reading to the day care children at nap time. Its 'The Sea Side Family' by Enid Blyton. I got it ages ago at a garage sale and its been sitting neglected in bag of books until I found it the other day.
Its such a sweet book, the family live in horse drawn caravans and decide to go live at 'seagull cove' for the Summer holidays. Its the type of book that makes me want to sit there reading long after the littlies have all fallen asleep:)

Here are some pictures from my birthday. I had a great day, had family come to visit and enjoyed being nice and spoiled

Willow got so much attention I think he thought it was his birthday!

The other day I went to the Natropath. Her name is Maureen and she has a nice little house only a few blocks away from my aunties. She was so nice and she made me feel so comfortable and hopeful that I can improve my Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome and hopefully get pregnant.

I love that she was very focused on my overall health and how we can heal my cysts and stop them from coming back rather than just trying to get me pregnant. I feel like when (yes ill say when not if, best to stay positive:) I do finally get pregnant my baby will be healthier because ill be healthier.

Shes given me some different herb and vitamins to take and shes also put me on a diet of foods that are good for my blood type, getting pregnant and also my PCOS. So.... No wheat, no sugar, almost no dairy. Its hard but I'm getting used to what I can eat and I look forward to feeling healthier. I go back in two weeks and will have laser acupuncture which I'm quite excited about. Its good to feel so positive! I'm so glad I went

Sponsor Giveaway :: G A Carver

2011-06-02T22:15:00.000-04:00

I'm so pleased to bring you a give away from my new sponsor Sean of gacarver!
When I buy beautiful handmade items I'm always curious about where it came from and how it was made. I'm guessing I'm not the only one to occasionally sit back and daydream of the origins of a beautiful creation so I asked Sean some questions about his woodworking to share with you all.

Hand carved cherry 'spife' spoon knife

*What inspired you to take up woodwork?

I've always loved the outdoors and the beauty of nature and I think that
eventually led me to want to create items from nature. My Grandfather gave me a
small pocket knife when I was 5 or 6 years old ( I was mature for my age!) and I
enjoyed "carving" even then..thought it was more like scraping bark and turning
sticks into pointy sticks at the time. Later after seeing pictures of hand
carved toys and spoons I decided to see if I could do it myself, and really grew
to enjoy it, especially seeing how each piece shapes up in its on unique
way.

Hand carved baby spoon in highly figured sugar maple

*What is your favourite wood and why?

My favorite wood is Sugar Maple, there are more colorful woods,

there are harder woods and woods that are easier to carve but sugar maple

strikes a fine balance of strength, looks and working properties. Sugar Maple

can be solid blond in color with little character in the grain to very stunning

with curly grain, stripes and marbled patterns with tons of contrast. It takes a

wonderfully smooth finish, is durable and can take a lot of abuse...perfect for

spoons! It also is very common where I live, So I can search the woods for

damaged or overcrowded trees to use instead of buying lumber.

*I would love to know more about how your spoons and other items are made, will
you share with us the steps you take to turn a piece of wood into these lovingly
made creations?

Some of my spoons start out as damaged trees I take down, some as a piece of firewood
that has interesting grain and others I have to buy the boards. When working
from a tree I season the logs for a few months, split them into rough boards
then clean them up with a draw knife. Some of my spoons I use a pattern from a
spoon I made before, some I draw up the patterns and some I use no
pattern...some times its fun to just follow the wood and let it decide its final
shape. I use a small handsaw to cut the rough shape out, then finish shaping
with knife, wood file and sandpaper. I use a curved bladed knife for carving out
the bowl, after that it is hand sanded through numerous grades of sandpaper,
which takes a lot of time...and patience! I sand my spoons to at least 600 grit
and to as fine as 1500 grit, depending on the wood and intended use of the
finished product. After sanding I soak my spoons in water to raise the grain,
then sand them again, this keeps them from getting "fuzzy" after washing and
use. I use only food safe and nontoxic finishes on my products, mostly beeswax
and mineral oil as there are no fumes or chemicals to worry about. I could speed
things up using power saws and sanders, but that would take away from the
finished product in my opinion and it is much more satisfying and relaxing to
make something with your own two hands and at your own pace.

*Sean is offering readers a chance to win two of his beautiful baby spoons! Here is a little about them from Sean-

"This hand carved set of baby spoon in sugar maple and cherry wood. Hand sanded silky smooth, wet sanded to prevent fuzzing then finished with food safe, nontoxic beeswax and mineral oil finish. I sanded these down to 1200 grit. Bowls are both 1 inch wide, the maple spoon is 5 1/2 inches long and the cherry spoon is 5 3/8 in long."

Aren't they just beautiful!

Everyone is welcomed to write a comment for an opportunity to win
*If you would like a second entry let us know what your favourite thing is in gacarver shop in a separate comment (I'm eyeing off his hand carved sugar maple eating spoon , I think I need a spoon for myself for snack time with the day care children so that i can stop being jealous of their beautiful cutlery:)
*For a third entry pop over and add gacarver to your Etsy favourites and let me know in a separate comment

Good luck all!

Welcome gacarver

2011-06-02T01:44:00.002-04:00

A sugar maple eating spoon

Id like to introduce you all to my new sponsor Sean of gacarver etsy shop. His shop has a wonderful selection of hand carved cutlery, kitchen utensils, adorable bird houses and more!
I am so happy to welcome him to my blog

Hand made birch and rosewood Knitting needles

Sean is such a talented carver and his pieces are each made with loving care, some with recycled wood he finds locally

licking the last bits of deliciousness!

I met Sean a while ago when I bought some beautiful wooden children's cutlery sets for my home day care from him. They have been fantastic, we use them daily and polish them together once a week with some beeswax polish. Each time they come up like brand new

day care children snacking outside with their gacarver wooden spoons

Head on over to his shop and take a look.

Later this week I will be hosting an interview with Sean as weal as a giveaway of some of his beautiful spoons!

waldorf inspired sleep room

2011-06-01T00:10:00.003-04:00

It looks like we will be moving a little sooner then we expected, we just got a letter from the owner of this house saying they want to get the place ready to sell and will need it by the end of this month! Its only a month before we were planning to move anyway but I'm a little worried about getting the new place ready and approved by Family Day Care in time, otherwise I wont be able to 'officially' work for a bit (meaning I wont get government subsidy for families) eek!

So we will be living with Benny's parents for a month. Its going to be quite a squeeze having them plus us plus my daycare in their house but I guess somehow we will have to make it work.

Anyhow, here are some pictures of the children's sleep room. It is also supposed to be my craft room but seems my free time is generally when little ones are sleeping in there I mostly just store materials there and craft in the lounge room.

Even though only boys sleep in there (Rhylee sleeps in a cot in our room as she wakes rather 'enthusiasticly' and otherwise wakes the others) it looks rather girly. Partly because of things I've added but the boys chose the pink 'butterfly ladies'(Shirley barber fairies) alphabet. Benny's friend Mick had it from when his daughters were little and the boys fell in love with it when he brought it round for us. Its rather adorable how much they love it:) We also have up a cozy Elsa Beskow picture and some post cards from Marie. These pictures were down at the children's level which looked nice but as you can imagine they didn't stay up long so I put them up higher.

Each child has a little handmade quilt on their bed (various lap quilts I've made over the years) which is my favourite part of the room, it makes it look so cozy. At some stage I would like to get some little cot sized toddler beds but in this little house its easy having sleeping mats on the floor so I can stack them if I need extra space on weekends etc.

I put the dollies and there beds in here as they weren't getting played with much in the play room. Its fun for the children to get dollies ready for bed and tuck them in just like I do for them

Here is a gorgeous woolen fairy that hangs above their beds. She was lovingly made by Kate of

Apple of the forest who I did a swap with not long ago.

She also sent me this beautiful mother nature and her root children that are even cuter then I imagined them! I love them so much and decided our sleep room is the perfect place for them as I often read 'the story of the root children' at nap time. The children watch them as they go to sleep, I'm sure dreaming up little root children adventures.

Like I've mentioned before, its a tight squeeze in here but I try to make the best of it!

Here's our nap time verse

This sprouting seed woolen picture is also from Kate. I cant believe how talented is, she makes me want to learn to needle felt. As does this book!

Here are a few more things almost ready for market day this Saturday.I made the wool felt crown with organic merino rovings and greener shades dyes from my lovely sponsor The Humming alpaca

Tomorrow I get the day off and its my birthday Yippe! It doesn't get better than that

Making pasta with children

2011-05-30T23:47:00.001-04:00

This was the second time I made pasta with little ones. The first time they weren't very into it but this time they loved it and enthusiastically helped with every step. Here's some pictures

Mitch loves eggs and tries so hard to crack them like I do. He is sure that if he pulls hard enough the two sides will come appart. I love his 'sound effects' (errr eggy, in the cup, errrrrrrrr:)

Cameron mixed the egg into the flour. We should have used a bigger bowl but I couldn't resist using this cute Pyrex bowl I got at a market last weekend ($2, yay!)

He loves kneading the dough

And winding, winding winding the dough through different thicknesses. (Why not multi task and eat an apple 'borrowed' from Karen's bench at the same time? that's why I always buy extra apples:)

We let the pasta stiffen before making into fettichini strips. At this point the boys started asking, 'is it ready now? Can I eat it?' approx every minute or so. I let them taste it and apparently it was delicious. Hmm...

Ah, finally time to cut it into strips!

We then cooked it, added sauce, ignored the huge mess of flour on the table, blew steam away.
(cute wooden cutlery and also our wooden stirring spoon in pic above was made by our friend Sean of gacarver etsy shop)

And finally it was time to eat, Yum!

Yay for friday!

2011-05-27T00:11:00.004-04:00

Ive made some lip balms for my next market stall and some 'lipstick bags' per a cute old Lady's request. I hope she likes them:) this batch of lip balms are honey beeswax, ill make a few other kinds too.

This morning I took my camera on our walk again, it makes it even more fun.

I don't know what this plant is but it sure is pretty and fuzzy. The day care children like to tickle each other with the branches and pull of the fuzz to throw into the wind. It drifts down slowly and makes us all smile

I'm so happy for it to be Friday, this weekend just couldn't come fast enough! We are going to the fertility specialist (for those that doesn't know, I have poly cystic ovarian syndrome and have been trying for the last 2.5 years to get pregnant) this afternoon and then don't have much planned except a friends 21st but that's perfect because I'm worn out.
Finally work has gotten just too much, starting 8am and not being able to go to bed until Josh is picked up at 10pm. Not only that I've just been feeling so drained seeing basically only toddlers all week while Benny is on afternoon so I asked Josh's dad to find someone to have him a few days and he found someone that can have him at his home so starting next week I will have Mondays off and Thursdays finish at 4 so that I can go shopping in town with Benny and his parents (we go once a fortnight as its an hour away. Ive been missing out since I started having Josh evenings)
I'm excited for my child free evenings, not that I mind having him but I just miss being able to go to the beach, visiting friends etc which I cant do at the moment because its all to far away to take him. If things go well with Josh's new babysitter he wont come anymore as he's starting kindy soon at their town which is 30mins or so away. This is nice in a way but I'm nervous that I might be short of work for a little while (having him is almost half my income) I have another family that wants care so I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to have them and not have to do early mornings. Ill be happy in a few weeks when I'm out of this time of transition and can relax!

Yarn along

2011-05-25T00:47:00.001-04:00

Seems ive been spending my spare moments knitting and reading im joining Ginny and many others for her yarn along!
Im working on some evenstar fingerless gloves , the same as I made for mum last year. She will be thankful that I will stop borrowing hers every time I visit! Im enjoying knitting these this second time round as its easier yet still challenging enough to keep me thinking, although it would have been a bit more exciting to do this second pair if 'id chosen a different colour for myself . I quite enjoy doing the cable pattern as its so much easier to go back on mistakes then lace.
The book im reading, knit one kill two is a knitting murder mystery. Benny thinks its hillarious that knitting murder mysteries exist, he talks about fearing old ladies that might stab him with their knitting needles:) I love this series of books, this is my second time reading them. The charachters in the book are so into knitting and talking about different yarns that its contagious and inspires me to knit. very handy, I needed some knitting motivation

Ive also been making another pair of slippers, these ones from a felted jumper.

The soules are different colour at the moment as I made the first one with the intention to leave the seams on the outside but then decided to turn the seams to inside (meaning the black outer soul is on the inside) One day soon I will fix it but for now their so cozy and warm I dont want to take them off

My favourite part was adding these wooden tree buttons that id been saving for the right project. Love them:)

recycled wool socks

2011-05-22T05:07:00.004-04:00

Lately as the weathers been getting colder I've been busy re-purposing wool jumpers (sweaters) that I collected over summer. I got lots from the $1 rack at my favourite opp shop because of course I was the only one wanting wool jumpers in the middle of summer!
Most of them I just altered to fit me better by taking in the sleeves and width if they were too big etc but for a few that just weren't going to work Ive felted them and turned them into other things. Ive made fingerless gloves, the cowl I was wearing last post and here are some pictures of some socks I made tonight.

I started with this piece which used to be a heavily felted jumper before I used the arms and top for other projects.

I then marked around my foot and then the length I wanted them making sure that the jumpers ribbing would be at the top of the sock. One side was on the fold so that my socks would have less seams

I cut the fabric allowing plenty of room around my marked line. I then sewed on the line and tried them on. It fitted perfectly but if it was too small I would have had room to un-pick and make it a little bigger

Once I knew that id got the fit right I trimmed the excess fabric to about 1/4 inch and turned them inside out

Felty warm socks, as easy as that!

I also made these silky soft cashmere socks out of the same cardigan as my cowl and arm warmers. Oh and a double layered cozy beanie.Yep I got good value out of that miss fitting cardie!

my first market

2011-05-21T05:34:00.002-04:00

Today was my first market stall. I was nervous and so worn out from a busy week that I considered cancelling but I'm glad I went, it was lots of fun!

Here's my stall. I was supposed to bring a table cloth but I don't own a single one let alone one big enough for a trestle table! so I used a quilt I made a while ago instead. On my stall I had lots of things from my shop, all the things I posted about the other day plus some wheat and lavender bags, lavender draw sachets and little bits and pieces

Both my parents were able to come and help me which was great and my friend Sarah is keen to help me next time so it will be lots of fun too:)

although I had wanted to be outside in their beautiful garden I enjoyed being inside, especially when I went out part way through and realised how windy it was!

I was pleasantly surprised at how much of a friendly little community the stall holders are, they made us feel so welcome and were so enthusiastic about all my hand mades which was a much needed confidence booster. Caterina, the lady that runs the markets even swapped a wool felt crown for my stall fee which was great (i love swaps, it almost feels like getting things for free and theres something special about free stuff:) and she ordered a second one for her grandson too.

she gave me the idea to light some of my candles and lent me this pretty candle holder. The lit candles made my stall look so cute

wooly wooly pants and a nearly finished rag rug

2011-05-19T20:31:00.001-04:00

I am beyond excited about what came in the mail today!
A few months ago I realised that I was in need of some warm winter pants. I decided to search for some stretch merino wool pants. I knew they would be pricey but I'm all about quality over quantity. My absolute favourite pair were yoga pants (the kind with a wide waist band that folds over instead of elastic, so comfy) from Merino Country but they were $150 and I really needed two pairs.
Since then I've been regularly checking ebay to see if I could find anything similar with no luck whatsoever (I only once saw a pair of stretchy merino pants in size XXL) until the other day I found the exact Merino Country pants I had been wanting in my exact size! Two pairs! I managed to win the auction and got both pairs for 2/3 of what it would have otherwise cost for one pair new. They look brand new and I couldn't be happier (or cozier or warmer) with them. Yep, these were meant to be my pants

Look how big my rag rug is getting! A few more rounds and it will be finished. As you can see its already in use. So far none of the day care children have discovered the loose end that if pulled will unravel my hard work, that's a plus

the rest of the quilts...

2011-05-18T05:26:00.004-04:00

Here are some of the vintage sewing machines that were displayed at the quilting show. They also had cute old pattern books and some other vintage sewing accessories

This woodland themed quilt was one of my favourites

Mum loved the fairy quilts

All the ladies running the display were dressed in their old style Cornish outfits, some had adorable bonnets but I didn't get any photos of them. Look how tiny this lady's hand stitched hexagons are! She must have the patience of a saint

I love this quilt too!

This is another one that featured beautiful stitcheries

Afterward we caught up Benny and Dad (who had understandably ditched us to browse the nearby fishing supplies shop;) We had a drink at our favourite Moonta cafe 'Henry on George' (meaning on George street)

This is what our drink and cake looked like, yum:)

my future quilt

2011-05-17T08:04:00.003-04:00

On the weekend our Cornish festival was on. I missed out on most of it, the maypole, etc but Mum and I did go to two quilting displays. Benny, Dad and I also went to the 'cavalcade of cars' which was great, I love seeing all the beautiful old cars lovingly restored. My favourites were model t fords, an old fire truck driven by two men in old style firemen uniforms and hats. And also a ridiculously cute little vintage caravan that Dad and I really want.

I have loads of pictures of the skillfully stitched creations, but for today I'm just sharing my favourite. I love most of the stitcheries and plan on hunting down the pattern to make a similar quilt

An adorable apple orchard that I hope to one day plant my garden (you know, when I have a garden!)

its really killing me with its cuteness. Next post- lots of the other quilts and vintage sewing machines

lavendar and dandelions

2011-05-15T02:15:00.001-04:00

while Dad and Benny were watching boring car races yesterday I disappeared into the garden

The lavender bushes I planted a few years ago are humongous and so beautiful!

They are a favourite spot for the bees

these little guys look so happy

cut ready to make lavender wheat heat bags for markets

(Mum, Dad, I have no idea why your garden is about to be full of dandelions *cough cough*)

wondering

2011-05-13T20:06:00.001-04:00

I have always needed time to wonder about nature, breath in fresh air and feel connected with the world. I am thankful for Tuesday and Thursday morning walks. On these mornings I start at 8am with Riley and don't have others until 9:30. Although most 18 month olds are generally happy to occupy themselves, Riley is one that wants my constant attention which can be a bit much at 8am. I found a solution that keeps us both very happy. Out comes the pram (followed by the most hilarious excited facial expressions from Riley!) and off we go wondering off into the cool mornings.

Moments like this get me ready for the business of the day that is to come. I breath in the salty sea air, watch waves, close my eyes and take it all in while Riley is mesmerised and blissed out watching sea gully swoop,flap and play.

These mornings help me feel calmness in my heart when I need it the most. They help me be the patient loving person I want to be

I love having time to notice tiny beautiful things that its so easy to rush past in a hurry. One of my favourite things lately has been finding self seeded alyssums growing out of the gravely foot path in the most random spots. I love how happy and healthy they are all on their own. A few that were right in the walk way and would sooner or later be squashed have made their way to my garden. They are doing fantastically as you would imagine, after all only the strongest of seeds would manage to survive in such harsh conditions!

Yesterday I enjoyed my walk so much that I took a second walk in the evening with the last little daycare boy

We spent quite a while enjoying these peppercorn trees on the side of a little dirt road on our short cut to the playground. Port Wakefield has some amazing peppercorn trees, I've always meant to take photos of a few that are my favourites.

These ones are undercut allow cars to pass underneath. They make the most magical play space

Wet felting slippers-in pictures

2011-05-09T01:23:00.002-04:00

For the past few winters I've wanted to make wet felted slippers, now that I've done quite a few wet felting projects I decided I was up for the challenge.
I followed this tutorial

here are my stripes placed on one side of my slippers

felting felting felting!

snipping the two slippers apart

Trying them on for the first time (thinking oh dear I hope they shrink a lot and get a whole lot cuter)

One shaped and one ready for shaping

Finished (for now, might shape them a bit more)

I'm pretty happy with them for a first attempt but I made the initial template a bit too big so they're a bit big for me. I think ill make another pair although these might fit well with thick socks. I cant wait until their dry, my feet are freezing!

edited to add-actually, just now ive put them in the dryer and been checking them every few mins and not only do they fit better, their almost dry! Yippe

to market to market (to not buy a fat ham)

2011-05-08T02:07:00.003-04:00

Im getting ready to have my first ever market stall and feeling excited but nervous. The kitchen table is full of fabrics and projects. Mum and I went to the market yesterday and got lots of beautiful plants for super cheap, almost to many carry home!

Here are some of the things ive been making.
On friday night I made 12 hand dipped bees wax candles. I did manage to find a perfect tall vase at the opp shop so these ones are taller than my last lot, and also a lot less wonky:)
Ive got quite a few wool felt items ready to go, flower garlands and little toys

I also made flower pin cushions stuffed with wool

This one disapeared into my sewing tin:)

Ive made some organic cotton/hemp scarves, a few tea cup candles, some round candles.
Im not realy sure how much I should take but theres still two weeks of making time left. Ive ordered some lip balm tubes and tins so when they arrive I will make some natural lip balms too.
This weekend has been fun and relaxing, some of my favourite moments have been-
*sitting in the sun writing in my journal
*day dreaming of the day bed Benny's getting me for my not far away birthday
*planting new plants
*mums idea to put suculents in the tea pots that were in the sand pit (they look pretty on my outdoor table)

making butter

2011-05-05T06:20:00.001-04:00

Today was baking day so we made bread rolls and butter. Here is how we made the butter-
* put cream in a glass jar or plastic container with well sealing lid
*add a marble to aggitate

*Put the lid on tight and shake shake shake! (for about 10 minutes or so)
While we shook it we sang-
Churn butter churn,
Churn butter churn,
I see Mitchy at the gate,
Waiting for his butter cake
(when the song is over its time to pass to the next person for their turn)

It was interesting to open the jar every few minutes and see how it was going.
First it turned into thick whipped cream,

then it started seperating a little

All of a sudden the jar started sloshing when the butter and buttermilk have seperated.
*Ive just scooped out the butter, put it in a little bowl and drained off the excess buttermilk but apparently if you wash it, it keeps a bit longer. Adding salt will also preserves butter.

I did a practice run at making butter last week to make sure it worked ok and used the butter milk in some muffins. My goodness it was great in them. Usually I use 3/4 white flour with 1/4 whole meal but this time I realised after mixing half of the ingredients that I had no white flour left. Even with all whole meal flour they were fantastic!

The weekend my soul needed

2011-05-02T07:51:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend i banned myself from technology.
Yoga, warm lavender baths, apple cider vinegar detox, cooking from scratch, gardening, chai tea, Nuff said:)

Ive been crocheting a rug out of old bed sheet strips, inspired by rug making here and here . Mum found this ridiculously large wooden crochet hook amongst her crafty things and its perfect for the job. A little while ago I made some tiny crochet rugs for the dolls house (you can see them at the bottom of this post )and its kind of funny that making this one is exactly the same but on a much larger scale. Luckily I perfected my technique on the tiny ones as I remember un-pulling them a few times but this one is coming along easily

Its so soft under foot and I love that one of the thrifted sheets is exactly the same as one of Omas quilt covers (the blue one with the waves Oma) The green sheet was bought a few years back while on holiday visiting Anneke in Queensland when she lived there.

Ive been keeping my eye out for some hand wood working tool for all sorts of jobs I have in mind.
I found a saw and hand drill at our favourite salvage shop.
There rather rustic but work well, I've already put the saw to good use removing the seat out of our boat sandpit.
As much as Ive always liked the idea of keeping the seats so that the children can sit on them and have pretend boat adventures, they never do. In fact I think they forget that they're in anything other than a sand pit!
Now that it has more open usable space I wont have to find three children in one small section squabbling and complaining about not having enough room. All the while the rest of the sandpit is empty. Yes they really did do that!

It was nice to do some sawing on a sunny afternoon, my mind enjoyed wondering as my arms did their rhythmic work

here's a before shot from the other day

{This Moment} 'watch out for the sharks in the water'

2011-04-29T07:29:00.001-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. inspired by Soule Mama