Aug 17, 2013

garden goings on -part 2

So the weekend is here and back to the garden centre goes my packhorse (I mean beloved husband) to pick up 5 more bags of rocks and 2 bags of potting mix.


Here is the under stairs area with now 10 bags of rocks distributed. There are still a couple of bald patches where you can see the weed mat underneath but I didn't dare suggest he go back again today! ;)

All the pots we are using are ones we already own which have been lying untended and unloved in the yard. The focal piece for my plan is this old rubbish bin which was left in the yard when we purchased the house years ago. I couldn't bring myself to throw out this piece of social history and had been dreaming of ways to reuse it.


We'd bought a couple of plants the other day, a ivy geranium and a couple of daisies. Hopefully the spot will be warm enough for them.



And ta dah! The pots laid out and mostly filled. I reused an old aloe vera plant in a pretty blue pot we already had.I want to get a taller statement plant for the bin. Maybe a decorative grass or something for height.


And on the other side I have reused another recycled find. When Guy and I moved into our first unit together I found this old metal bucket in the garage. I planted it up way back then with some cacti and succulents and it's followed ilus from house to house since. It needs a little bit of replanting but it fits well with the metal, blue and green theme I've got going on.


As does the metal 'vase' thingy at the bottom of the stairs which was another old piece which has been languishing under our house.

I filled up the bird feeder with sunflower seeds and our neighbours stopped in straight away for a snack.


And we kicked back for a little snack of our own.



At the top of the stairs is a little landing, this chair was in my nursery when I was a baby. It's a garden chair that my dad found. I made a cushion for it out of plastic fabric. And the enamel bowl underneath I scavenged from my inlaws.

Aug 15, 2013

sewing gifts from generous friends

As a crafter and maker I'm so lucky to have many supportive and generous friends. I find that most people, even if they don't craft, appreciate the time and effort that goes into crafting. I've been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of some wonderful and thoughtful gifts from friends lately. The first surprise was a bag full of 'sewers treasure' from a girlfriend cleaning out her late mother in law's sewing kit. Tins of buttons and lots of threads, trash to some but treasure to others.

The second present was a selection of quilting and decorating magazines from France from a girlfriend who had just returned from visiting her in-laws there.


And lastly today the postman brought me a parcel brimming with genuine vintage fabric. A gift from a friend in New Zealand who was left the fabrics by her mother!! These fabrics are just gorgeous and will make something really special.


Included were also two English Paper Pieced panels. One with some pretty special fussy cutting.


I'm so lucky that my friends trust me to take on their family sewing and craft legacy items and either use them or pass them on to other enthusiasts. Thanks everyone :)

Aug 14, 2013

garden goings on

It was our show day holiday here today and we spent a lovely day pottering around the house and deck and just generally relaxing. I made my signature pancakes for breakfast. There was even enough left over for the dogs to have one. They thought all their Christmases had come at once!

This afternoon we headed off to the local garden warehouse place to pick up some rocks for a little project I've had in mind for a while. My intention was to handle this project myself with the children, possibly after school one day. But I soon realised that lifting heavy bags of rocks wasn't going to happen for me. So poor Husband Guy was conscripted to do the heavy lifting.

The area in question is what I would consider a common black spot in most gardens -under the front steps. All that seems to grow there is weeds.


I've decided to lay down a thick layer of weed matting, cover with a generous layer of nice rocks/pebbles and artfully arrange some potted plants. We've got heaps of pretty pots lying around neglected in the yard so they are being recycled.

Unfortunately today my estimate of 5 bags of rocks (at 20kgs each!) has seen us fall about 5-10 bags short. .....eek!! Oh well back to the warehouse my pack horse will go on the weekend ;)
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