tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71795632921100089722024-03-07T20:24:17.210+11:00BloomBloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.comBlogger614125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-37882872607042808692020-07-27T15:28:00.000+10:002020-07-27T15:29:23.486+10:00<h1 style="text-align: left;">
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<b style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">THIS BLOG HAS A NEW HOME. </span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">PLEASE VISIT BLOOM AT: </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/bloomblog"><b>https://www.bloom-australia.com/bloomblog</b></a></div>
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Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-21194075714742024722018-07-09T14:51:00.001+10:002018-07-11T16:04:37.317+10:00Sydney Quilt Show 2018<div>
<a href="https://bloom-australia.squarespace.com/bloomblog/2018/7/6/sydney-quilt-show-2018" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="500" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2ALqKe1pvr0Ok1E0XIssvyfITSmm0u_uUtv1Sl2okugyzhBOl5QlHhVP_3gcVFTk5ZcXz3g9BYwOO0SFznoqyaV9wM-lm6sIzqM190xKHDml8Rq8BLxsPRPj6PNeJdPLkP-DIwh6BsWv/s320/Go+to+Bloom+blog.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br />I had an unexpected opportunity to go to the Sydney Quilt Show last weekend. So many stunning quilts to see! The intricate workmanship and time invested in these quilts was mind blowing. <a href="https://bloom-australia.squarespace.com/bloomblog/2018/7/6/sydney-quilt-show-2018">Visit my new blog</a> for just a few that took my eye!</span></div>
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Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-49621257099545506702018-06-20T12:33:00.000+10:002018-06-20T12:33:47.346+10:00She crochets?<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2018/6/20/she-crochets" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="500" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-lSJJKu_Z8leJuPN36TMlFtdR7nHt0HK5f04q080agjtS4gOh8KCYz0OdipNYTY7ChM0Z64mdmwSexdejqmZ65LOx8QMnQ84p_W-VtWArPpiKWcmga2DZmujs4PBsZ_rv9xmszsYR1vW/s320/Go+to+Bloom+blog.png" width="320" /></a>My Woodland blanket is finished. Read about it over at <a href="https://bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2018/6/20/she-crochets">my new blog space</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2018/6/20/she-crochets"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKk3KtkkioiLYcqctg1GBO35V0IbajYctyAe_ASnTZvi4gtz0ZPsxWjKHQAiMN9AhRbkZWxItEmc-hyRMllJadpVaI5P8wbAPhEIga61H9Q966xqQTQALWIrq4BijTOhB0oWY61y-CP71/s1600/IMG_4819.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-2402823825191539642018-06-09T18:53:00.000+10:002018-06-09T18:53:37.781+10:00A new home for Bloom<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I was taking my son to his driving test the other day. He was nervous. In his usual way, he was overanalysing the scenario - "What if this happens, Mum? Or this? What if ... what if"?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In a moment of parenting genius (and a little frustration), I told him, "Stop saying WHAT IF and start saying WHATEVER". Do you like that? I like it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I liked it until I realised it applies just as much to me as it does to him!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have been working on a new website for Bloom for months (yeah well, maybe years). I have been fussing over this and that, changing templates, worrying about my 'brand', worrying that I haven't got all the links working, abandoning the whole process for a while, reading more books and advice. Yep, painful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bloom, 'Stop saying WHAT IF and start saying WHATEVER'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And so, in a serious WHATEVER moment, I can announce that <a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/">my new website is LIVE</a>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="1600" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbr3cB0wd2DTAzr8JMvzXOiJqTu6LCv54ukHdlb2V16Bcfmr_2v5DmaqkLXQfKipTXE-LBE6e36StElHX9Uo-t9w9L0iMt8FVF58x2w9T03BZGm9BQeFcNyoOkn68DnMjGX7NlMTuCPBdQ/s400/Bloom+with+tagline.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As a little celebration and a gift to you, kind readers, I have put together a new tutorial for some cute felt accessories for every kind of maker. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>For the stitchers, there are bloom pins:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2018/5/23/well-hello"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkRffgJb97eEaHLb75PuAhubzxACWKMlDdg9Ki5ix9B1S5oaM9Yu3UWN6cCG8BDbaTGABRifocmTvxgD02lpidmgLVzfvJ0XaWHCT9LmMmpMo2YPaH6Rlf0Xw4Hy1QvsDgPIsTTgHCPb3/s400/IMG_4940-%25281%2529.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><span id="goog_395646093"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_395646094"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>For the crocheters, there are bloom stitch markers:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2018/5/23/well-hello" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDStoxwydML3XcisQIPAF_yfoNwc3kx5Rqpigldqapr_a0De2IAR_lMG2woJDttRkaRvDYrTP3Go_qc03q7U81YITW7xpAnfcvuV0f6YmwVz8u0IwTBYsdNz9LBIn2futqNIwqWiCaps1P/s400/IMG_4956-%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>And for the knitters, stitch markers too!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2018/5/23/well-hello"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiypVqa7LyDO1O3KGl7FDHRbUvfJMumOamKDkzCs0xT56DltWfl99iCpTRj0zegm3MzHOiDE3WWiq-OXPAAlduE4XrhJ0JwaKlNWo2C9L3K_zJ0hlCyXNZcQ2p-FgnE0toUJRn2EchaU1XK/s400/IMG_4946.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I will be blogging at <a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/">the new site</a> from now on. Please visit me there, and have a look around.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2018/5/23/well-hello">The tutorial for the flower pins and stitch keepers</a> is over at the new site, so please pop over and say 'hi'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Can you see it? Can you see me enticing you over to visit? That would be me worrying, 'What if no one comes to see me at the new place'? But now I say, 'Whatever', and get on with it. See you soon?! Bloom x</span><br />
<br />Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-42520367197342198072018-02-20T13:27:00.002+11:002018-02-20T13:34:22.757+11:00Garden progress, slowly but surely<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We have been living at our new place for about 15 months now. It feels like progress on the new garden has been tediously slow. But then I look back through the photos!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The first small section that we tackled is at the back of the house. At one end of the 'entertaining area' was the clothesline. I figured that any entertainment was hardly going to be enhanced by the sight of my knickers flapping closeby, even if they were clean! And so the clothesline needed to be moved pronto.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxLXfq41vNgpMdEadngchjhbJiVubB-7ZPSynC-GWv7aN3Mgzi13u_36XKC3rIazxwe7EQAdWPqZoFcAP1RHpBvuhFqb3OyWdLaWGgGXgdK89HQTvVKLPbwbqRkJpB4NseJ37VaYWVd1G/s1600/IMG_4487+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxLXfq41vNgpMdEadngchjhbJiVubB-7ZPSynC-GWv7aN3Mgzi13u_36XKC3rIazxwe7EQAdWPqZoFcAP1RHpBvuhFqb3OyWdLaWGgGXgdK89HQTvVKLPbwbqRkJpB4NseJ37VaYWVd1G/s1600/IMG_4487+%25281%2529.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My Sweetness and The Boy did the hard yards by putting up a screen, which would later hide the offending clothesline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The white gravel was removed laboriously, with shovels and barrows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The soil here is truly awful - a very heavy yellow clay, with shale not far from the surface. It was one of my biggest concerns in buying this property, for fear that I wouldn't be able to grow a garden. In came some topsoil:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Eventually came the fun part - deciding on garden shapes and design. The boys welded and installed edging to my exacting specifications (!) and connected sprinklers. I couldn't garden without their help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We seeded some fescue lawn and concreted in a few pavers for access. We inherited some garden statues from the previous owners. This maiden was rescued from under some bushes, and restored to her former water-bearing beauty!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Of course, roses were planted as a matter of priority. The advantage of planting a new garden is that I can experiment with new roses! This is </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.72534"><i>Rosa</i> 'Eye of the Tiger'</a></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A new garden also means I can plant old favourites, including the pink flowering crepe myrtle, <i>Lagerstroemia indica x L. fauriei</i> 'Tuscarora'</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And so, we sit and wait for plants to grow and settle into their new space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> And we sip wine nearby with not an undergarment in view ;) Sweet!</span></div>
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Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-60211076570780706122017-06-21T21:11:00.004+10:002017-06-21T21:11:34.538+10:00In Annie's Flowergarden<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My Sweetness is on long service leave at the moment, so we recently took the opportunity to travel for a couple of weeks around Victoria. I'm not sure exactly what it is about the Victorian countryside, but I feel very at home there, and could quite easily make the move south.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Perhaps I'm drawn to Victoria's gardens, of which we visited many. I will share some of them in the next few posts. The most special of them belonged to <a href="http://annie-flowergarden.blogspot.com.au/">Annie Flowergarden</a>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Being in the Ballarat vicinity, I contacted Annie, <a href="http://littleredhen08.blogspot.com.au/">Little Red Hen</a> Jan and <a href="http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com.au/">Ric-Rac</a> Jodie, giving them very little notice, in the hope that they might be available for a coffee. Annie promptly offered to have us all to her garden for 'tea in the hothouse'. I had secretly hoped I'd get to see her hothouse and garden, but didn't want to invite myself! Awesome!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Annie's garden is a treasure trove of plants. We spent a good hour in the late afternoon wandering from plant to plant, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at every turn. Poor Jodie was unable to make it on the day (some feeble excuse about preparation for a little Quilt Market in the US or something ;) Had she been there we probably would have bored her stupid with our flower talk! Thankfully, Jan was equally plant-mad, and so coped very well :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The first of the treasures to greet us was this Angel's Trumpet (<i>Brugmansia</i> sp.) with its delicious blush of apricot. I say delicious with some poetic licence considering all parts of it are highly toxic!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fe6l43MlcYPY7FL_NWqnhu69NvVjWUuOR7doOVi8zm2i95AKAsj_n437dXf3XgNgtcvxv2HM9HSyRB0jeWWsIiAf_QXsND2uGED-Wwgtw8_lciE1vpZzvd0oANxBZcoKwh-ks-ZVS9Ts/s1600/IMG_3897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fe6l43MlcYPY7FL_NWqnhu69NvVjWUuOR7doOVi8zm2i95AKAsj_n437dXf3XgNgtcvxv2HM9HSyRB0jeWWsIiAf_QXsND2uGED-Wwgtw8_lciE1vpZzvd0oANxBZcoKwh-ks-ZVS9Ts/" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Another of the treasures was this sweet clematis:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I don't remember what Annie said this was. Perhaps <i>Clematis cirrhosa</i>? I've never seen an autumn flowering clematis. It has made it to my 'must have' list!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjHOr-yUY8r2Q_0L9-NNIedsMnsgyyfBmsj9QiNRvv2kl_2hQ44Y02zNx5TR8VUQixu4ER62rCgMTtVPfmm2fd18gTbrGH0390CEhJI4VwcW0YkCcQFen1lSGcaxQpxHdX93YsafTDxr8/s1600/IMG_3867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjHOr-yUY8r2Q_0L9-NNIedsMnsgyyfBmsj9QiNRvv2kl_2hQ44Y02zNx5TR8VUQixu4ER62rCgMTtVPfmm2fd18gTbrGH0390CEhJI4VwcW0YkCcQFen1lSGcaxQpxHdX93YsafTDxr8/s640/IMG_3867.jpg" width="425" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The blooms are remarkably similar to those of hellebore, which I guess is due to them both being genera of the Ranunculaceae (or buttercup) family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If there's one group of plants that join Annie and I at the hip as gardeners, I think it's the <i>Salvia</i> species. Her garden is full of many of them. And they are delightful in late autumn. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The <i>Salvia</i> l<i>eucanthas</i> were particularly lovely, with their soft, downy drops of velvet, in purples and whites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We made our way to Annie's hothouse which she has cleverly fashioned with reclaimed old windows. I was so busy photographing flower close ups, that I forgot to record the big picture - this is Annie's image of her hothouse:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In this warm, cosy, glass enclosed refuge of Annie's property, she coaxes the best from plants that otherwise wouldn't cope in the elements outside. I mean, what even is this gorgeous pink and purple thing Annie? Just stunning! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I may have remembered Annie saying something about it looking like match sticks, and after a quick Google, found that it is a bromeliad, <i>Aechmea gamosepala</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She has beautiful begonias, cascading from hanging baskets, bathing in the warmth ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">... and frost prone succulents and zygocacti (<i>Schlumbergera truncata) </i>growing luxuriantly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Two of the things that impress me about Annie are her resilience and resourcefulness, not only in the garden, but as a person! Certainly in the garden, she is a marvel. Not one to give up, she has literally grown plants on top of concrete! And not just in pots! Agapanthus have been placed against the fence directly on the concrete, mulched repeatedly and are growing perfectly. Where there is a will, there is a way!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am so happy to have seen Annie's garden. I have followed her blog for many years now, and we have exchanged many messages and plants in that time. Thank you Annie for your generosity in having us visit on such short notice. I could have talked with you for hours. Perhaps our men were relieved when darkness fell, and we had to part!</span></div>
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Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-17974682292348617602017-06-13T22:57:00.000+10:002017-06-13T22:59:42.133+10:00Fabric stories<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We have no electricity at home today, so I'm indulging myself with some paper piecing. I'm working on a magazine commission which, as always, is 'hush-hush'. It is the first stitching I've done in months, and it feels good! </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I raided <strike>my stash</strike> ... <strike>my fabric mountain</strike> ... my carefully curated collection of fabrics, and emerged with an eclectic assortment of brocades, taffetas, shantungs and even some ivory silk left over from my wedding dress. I knew there was a reason why I'd kept those scraps for the last (almost) 30 years! The 'I might need it someday' has arrived! </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I was listening to Radio National this morning and they played a wonderful fabric-related short story - only on Radio National, bless them! <a href="https://player.fm/series/life-matters-separate-stories-podcast/the-moth-janine-hilling-P854QQGqLO3U9a76">Here it is, a tale of unlocking a vintage fabric wonderland by Janine Hilling</a>. Only you, my </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">fellow fabric obsessed friends, </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">will fully appreciate this story, especially if you remember crimplene! It made me laugh.</span>Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-37952620252406819172017-03-21T12:17:00.004+11:002017-03-21T17:23:06.827+11:00Back to business<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The weather is blissfully rainy today, my favourite sort of day for sewing ... actually, my favourite sort of day full stop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It is my first time at the sewing machine in ages. The brief: shorten the sleeves of a VERY EXPENSIVE Cue blazer by 3 inches!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Nothing like throwing myself in the deep end. I tend to avoid alterations like the plague, but when said blazer belongs to daughter, the rules seem to bend. Wish me luck! I am jumping in, armed with this excellent tutorial from The English Tailor - bless him!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new", "courier", monospace;">UPDATE: One sleeve shortened successfully. It has taken all day! Hopefully, the second one will be quicker and less nerve wracking ;)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #bd081c; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 193px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 923px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #bd081c; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 193px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 923px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span>Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-17858060762091014352017-01-01T14:52:00.003+11:002017-01-01T15:32:20.982+11:00That's a wrap on 2016<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A very happy 2017 to you! I am personally glad to see the end of 2016. It was HUGE and I'm only now drawing breath. I suggested at this time 12 months ago that I had all sorts of grand plans for 2016. Little did I know what the year had in store; that my 'grand plans' would go out the window, replaced by other events.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In April, we sold our beloved farm and garden of 20 years. <a href="https://bloomandblossom.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/my-place.html">I've poured out my soul about this previously</a>, so I won't put you through that again! We moved our 20 years worth of accumulated stuff and squeezed it into our house in town.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We determined that we would rest for a while, recover from the wrench it was to sell the farm, take our time to find a new place, and get our middle child through his HSC. Hmmmm ... what do they say about best laid plans?!</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So it is that 'the best laid plans of mice and men (and Bloom!) often go awry'. Having thought that we would spend a year or two searching for a block of land to build again, we quite unexpectedly stumbled upon a house out of town. While it's not the house we'd have chosen to build, the truth is that we were exhausted from 10 years of living between two properties, and the prospect of starting again from scratch seemed overwhelming. And so, by September, we'd bought a new home and moved two houses worth of accumulated stuff, the week before our boy finished school.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9faaxGDAE7wPY4yTt-UW8phimbXnGXYfgmR1mSsLpFQF5pdSPsEDLth2OM5AvuqtbvU99hyjamYBxaxX7uASywMZoEFBQVC-GWXMsYSeT5Ckn8yDTCPyk56najo-46hTMhrMyc2K5lBB/s1600/f484d36605ed849b623328bee1d942cc_pl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9faaxGDAE7wPY4yTt-UW8phimbXnGXYfgmR1mSsLpFQF5pdSPsEDLth2OM5AvuqtbvU99hyjamYBxaxX7uASywMZoEFBQVC-GWXMsYSeT5Ckn8yDTCPyk56najo-46hTMhrMyc2K5lBB/s1600/f484d36605ed849b623328bee1d942cc_pl.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Next on the to-do list was to sell our house and garden in town. Unlike the farm, I didn't have much of an emotional attachment to the town house, but I did have to leave another garden!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhUNVcSTa9qxOclxMo91hqloqc2nu0YiIVEFnxT-z4v4KYS0s6uumzPgaLH1SQU_EsYrzn2VZHwcVs__D1pSK4YRYzC8_JvM2vFzI2PAVpFtOfAChgo_Oa19qKERrP6cFF3gFEVSQ5x4X/s1600/IMG_2927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhUNVcSTa9qxOclxMo91hqloqc2nu0YiIVEFnxT-z4v4KYS0s6uumzPgaLH1SQU_EsYrzn2VZHwcVs__D1pSK4YRYzC8_JvM2vFzI2PAVpFtOfAChgo_Oa19qKERrP6cFF3gFEVSQ5x4X/s1600/IMG_2927.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In amongst all of the packing and moving and packing and moving, my only creative activities were to complete two projects for Australian Homespun magazine. For the June 2016 issue, I submitted these three little embroidered l</span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">uggage tags.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And in the December issue, these </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">travel sewing books. I will blog about these projects in more detail soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;">I feel like I'm being a bit of a princess complaining about what a big year it has been. I am really thankful that despite the craziness of 2016, we all remained in relatively good health. We've not been seriously sick; we haven't suffered any major deaths or catastrophes. January 2017 sees us with all our children and all our goods and chattels in the one place at the one time for the first time in 10 years. We are blessed, no matter how I look at it!</span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And now I have another garden to plan! We currently have very little garden to speak of, and what there is needs some loving care.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeJMmMfgiOwCk6k72sVdwQ7eDwZzrvCBs7oxMo6CVzaiRgGO3OZa4W7QCpdITBscJvkBvEcFtcCbS-6Hz9_oYbbr4o4UyqsUMqIJKo6QZk74WWuia8Qb8qqk2t7EBzzVzQ7ctPfE8DDZn/s1600/IMG_2866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeJMmMfgiOwCk6k72sVdwQ7eDwZzrvCBs7oxMo6CVzaiRgGO3OZa4W7QCpdITBscJvkBvEcFtcCbS-6Hz9_oYbbr4o4UyqsUMqIJKo6QZk74WWuia8Qb8qqk2t7EBzzVzQ7ctPfE8DDZn/s1600/IMG_2866.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">But there is enormous potential, and we have views ...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicbBAszrjfr9jw7z0xeiTo-Yc1zngrC4Nly6_79pnncbVi7ItPPbGKl5L6lWrfQAPeHPZA_vvq1U0fSAy3cKWgW_A4MZWs4mMrn4JBV5MqXZk7mWypJ18ykBOGVxQYlivay4vp3uIWS65I/s1600/3e0dc1c33a49fd3d22dabc7f63de6673_pl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicbBAszrjfr9jw7z0xeiTo-Yc1zngrC4Nly6_79pnncbVi7ItPPbGKl5L6lWrfQAPeHPZA_vvq1U0fSAy3cKWgW_A4MZWs4mMrn4JBV5MqXZk7mWypJ18ykBOGVxQYlivay4vp3uIWS65I/s1600/3e0dc1c33a49fd3d22dabc7f63de6673_pl.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">... and water ways ...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4G5Po4jhe9aFCN9AKYa7usu37ykM2xCI_t5w8KJCzNpunxtChQaPBGXyVFg3ddSF_6KQR_c-_CYXoVBdWMaIub-EoJF4Y1JkYhSGptLRfG-PDraqflduRQGgTEV-X7N6Erzsph03y44t7/s1600/06deb18653ad854c361fcfbcfa572bf0_pl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4G5Po4jhe9aFCN9AKYa7usu37ykM2xCI_t5w8KJCzNpunxtChQaPBGXyVFg3ddSF_6KQR_c-_CYXoVBdWMaIub-EoJF4Y1JkYhSGptLRfG-PDraqflduRQGgTEV-X7N6Erzsph03y44t7/s1600/06deb18653ad854c361fcfbcfa572bf0_pl.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">... and eucalypts and sloping ground.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0MuNp3e4_tZCkNJm1faJI41pBlMKNuRVi_sAOrnWOcm4L_16mtiKxTVFHdj6pHvBr4CL40bgmZLs5Z9-OR9yHIqRlYBU1poDHj7Y1wCqzFKY1Wys3-HAXV_JaOxnFn3r7bfpe49Z3ttA/s1600/IMG_2495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0MuNp3e4_tZCkNJm1faJI41pBlMKNuRVi_sAOrnWOcm4L_16mtiKxTVFHdj6pHvBr4CL40bgmZLs5Z9-OR9yHIqRlYBU1poDHj7Y1wCqzFKY1Wys3-HAXV_JaOxnFn3r7bfpe49Z3ttA/s1600/IMG_2495.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Let the fun begin! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YU5tVjF5bDn5e5APseY6nVgXi5qv1bpqXRanWHf6ITBc6zczAIw6EiiHfGn3k4DFauH9hnu8AzM4VGDmhRCsGcbnIoq7FpeGaEIi-UmF9J3AYtxWxocb9QVewFVh64Oc-UkTbr3yTJM2/s1600/IMG_3563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YU5tVjF5bDn5e5APseY6nVgXi5qv1bpqXRanWHf6ITBc6zczAIw6EiiHfGn3k4DFauH9hnu8AzM4VGDmhRCsGcbnIoq7FpeGaEIi-UmF9J3AYtxWxocb9QVewFVh64Oc-UkTbr3yTJM2/s1600/IMG_3563.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hope 2017 brings you much creativity and contentment. Bloom x</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 103px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 4022px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span><span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 103px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 4022px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span>Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-62272685245394058822016-08-22T14:12:00.001+10:002016-08-22T14:30:35.761+10:00Heavenly hellebores<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">They don't call these blooms 'Winter Roses' for nothing!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2iKLpHl3JYu-IiEojrH28kQU-M80GHGWiSMp4k40gHdQuIwW0XkXx6pPejnbENAoLDBxcKabkjesYRKp-Tr4krDfcbKHVJ0Ul235G6JREL3HBQOGHIIRB4Qf4f-6Smk1f4HzbpNqgGTJ/s1600/IMG_2824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2iKLpHl3JYu-IiEojrH28kQU-M80GHGWiSMp4k40gHdQuIwW0XkXx6pPejnbENAoLDBxcKabkjesYRKp-Tr4krDfcbKHVJ0Ul235G6JREL3HBQOGHIIRB4Qf4f-6Smk1f4HzbpNqgGTJ/s1600/IMG_2824.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hellebore 'Ivory Prince'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">When the rest of the garden is in its drab, winter dormancy, these angelic lovelies pop their heads up and put on a show.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrLFVhO7lyp5W381i4jJrgKLKbSSms_kYpgPJt-QgFGM0_1TVfC8ERZAJDXYqIWICzdTgJWqApYwQ9IIuh0la9HUqx0Ynv5MRm8Icmg3vQs_6a8SDYvQjGiVlwcOPoBV-bPxd6hbh3PrB/s1600/IMG_3289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrLFVhO7lyp5W381i4jJrgKLKbSSms_kYpgPJt-QgFGM0_1TVfC8ERZAJDXYqIWICzdTgJWqApYwQ9IIuh0la9HUqx0Ynv5MRm8Icmg3vQs_6a8SDYvQjGiVlwcOPoBV-bPxd6hbh3PrB/s1600/IMG_3289.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helleborus x hybridus 'Dark Pink'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have been collecting hellebores (aka Winter or Lenten Roses) for a few years now. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helleborus x hybridus 'White spotted'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A July birthday means that my Sweetness gifts me a hellebore at least once a year!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hellebore 'Ivory Prince'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I love their demure and gentle tones. Despite their apparent softness, they are resilient and don't mind the shade.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helleborus x hybridus 'White spotted'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">They're not that keen on all the attention though, preferring to hide away under the trees, with heads bowed.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helleborus x hybridus 'Dark Pink'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Come on girlies, lift those heads up. Stand tall and proud! The plant breeders are definitely selecting for this more forthright, upright trait.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sweet hellebores usher in the appearance of the more showy jonquils.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helleborus x hybridus 'Double Picotee'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And set the stage for the big Spring players - the blossom trees!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prunus campanulata</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Bring on the Spring I say. But without the winter cold, we'd not have known the subtleties of the hellebore!</span></div>
Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-73454244633102997922016-07-28T11:00:00.000+10:002017-01-03T14:31:40.679+11:00My place<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have been putting off writing this post, but I've decided today is the day. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know that my family and I have been living between two properties - between a small farm that we have owned for 20 years, and more recently, a house in town two hours from our farm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">After 8½ years of this arrangement, we have sold our farm. If you know me even a little bit, you will have an inkling of how heart wrenching this decision has been for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And if you've built a home or garden from scratch, you might relate to this post. Otherwise it may seem all a bit melodramatic and self indulgent, so feel free to stop reading now!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We started owner-building our farm house in 1995, when our firstborn was just a babe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We pegged out a square plot in the middle of a bare lucerne paddock, and set about building a home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">During the build, my Dad joked that it looked like a goal!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I assured him that I'd plant a garden to soften its penitentiary tone!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Just as the roof was going on in May 1996, I was diagnosed with a tumour in my neck, which thankfully turned out to be benign. But it caused a delay of several months in the middle of the build.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">After many months of weekends, spent filling verandahs ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">... installing floorboards ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">... cutting stuff ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">... bagging walls and painting,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">... we finally moved in in July 1997. We immediately started the garden. We called in the big gear for the first till!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> And so we planted and planted and planted, and grew our own little paradise!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJg7VBnykmQT-dXlTxdtYfdkALs4dozP6Mjp6iakdp2taoIV9jGOlLFYsu1Rbv0p2aD0eWuLv1wYxkaGISK34f0hDRbPgPx-QKnTCEECYxHOAYumxnaBAJ9FSZGpBc3Bzpi8R1OinqRU4/s1600/img048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJg7VBnykmQT-dXlTxdtYfdkALs4dozP6Mjp6iakdp2taoIV9jGOlLFYsu1Rbv0p2aD0eWuLv1wYxkaGISK34f0hDRbPgPx-QKnTCEECYxHOAYumxnaBAJ9FSZGpBc3Bzpi8R1OinqRU4/s1600/img048.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have written A LOT about our garden on this blog over the years but I guess the following posts give an overview:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="http://bloomandblossom.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/farm-garden-tour-part-i.html">Farm Garden Tour Part 1</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://bloomandblossom.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/farm-garden-tour-part-2.html"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Farm Garden Tour Part 2</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://bloomandblossom.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/farm-garden-tour-part-3.html"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Farm Garden Tour Part 3</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://bloomandblossom.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/farm-garden-tour-part-4.html"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Farm Garden Tour Part 4</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I was at the farm </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">by myself</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> to do the final cleaning before settlement. I took breaks from the cleaning to take some last photos of the garden.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Selling this property was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. To the very day of the auction, I did not want to sell it. However, the burden of trying to take care of two houses and two gardens was taking its toll on our family. For everyone's sake, it seemed the only course of action was to sell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">On my good days, I philosophise with myself about how we arrive in this world with nothing, and will leave with nothing; that houses and gardens are just the 'stuff' we accumulate in between. I lecture myself about materialism, and force myself to refocus on what I have, rather than what I've lost.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzNAJnrOgMlD9vMDJJzGlsEN3ST19U1cC7T0h-irvkHuNqYA0fr96sulhIbsCGcARWU1x11bwOLkyJpnMKQrzrps8l7SC9AyEl2AB88qdRBYVm9v_hk_wRi2koEohcFtP82Stn80MBS1B/s1600/IMG_2280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzNAJnrOgMlD9vMDJJzGlsEN3ST19U1cC7T0h-irvkHuNqYA0fr96sulhIbsCGcARWU1x11bwOLkyJpnMKQrzrps8l7SC9AyEl2AB88qdRBYVm9v_hk_wRi2koEohcFtP82Stn80MBS1B/s400/IMG_2280.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">On my bad days ... well, let's not talk too much about that. I guess this property felt very much like 'my place', a connection with the land, farming and family. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu34ExP3bq2aNYrGnJqg-fmHKC1GbgrGAASf0HanThPOdfZ8H10evNKg19vL61e1Q7ppZBbfJVw4_nfbJlK977odXRIoEAPg9EbUlrHGfW-CQ2iXNFvWCWN4kGKWM05ofHZnxHuuqmL6DF/s1600/img049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu34ExP3bq2aNYrGnJqg-fmHKC1GbgrGAASf0HanThPOdfZ8H10evNKg19vL61e1Q7ppZBbfJVw4_nfbJlK977odXRIoEAPg9EbUlrHGfW-CQ2iXNFvWCWN4kGKWM05ofHZnxHuuqmL6DF/s1600/img049.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It was so much of 'my story', having raised three children there, and all the special memories that go with that. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MAlYZ1CLQq4icJNDWRuj2O2hRQKR0FsTpui6g62coTJ9lBEak6cyE_0Q1DfwlbjtclN_qHUR56fToVU_XcuTpSYZkA9PHiOUFi6Kjm0t2pPrI-LBrMY9pQybPyuQfaGfRXG5KcZ84NZb/s1600/IMG_0522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MAlYZ1CLQq4icJNDWRuj2O2hRQKR0FsTpui6g62coTJ9lBEak6cyE_0Q1DfwlbjtclN_qHUR56fToVU_XcuTpSYZkA9PHiOUFi6Kjm0t2pPrI-LBrMY9pQybPyuQfaGfRXG5KcZ84NZb/s1600/IMG_0522.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Having built it from the ground up with my husband and invested so much heart and effort, it was so very difficult to leave. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I feel lost without it; as if a big part of me is missing. I feel grief.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And so I wandered the garden, to drink in the heady perfume of my roses one last time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">To farewell recently planted gardens that I won't see grow.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtir4-WzaT2Y6PkvB8QFKBHJxSlZF7bzXhspt-Zv3GMX_P_LNVc9zUjJGd0-cJjv1mNZfWKe6omlIrd7BbAP6-ZgDGxlI_zXZ5y2I8MjUy9awz7pt0egb3hL8U7rCBGgn8Bi0cqUqCGOYD/s1600/IMG_2239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtir4-WzaT2Y6PkvB8QFKBHJxSlZF7bzXhspt-Zv3GMX_P_LNVc9zUjJGd0-cJjv1mNZfWKe6omlIrd7BbAP6-ZgDGxlI_zXZ5y2I8MjUy9awz7pt0egb3hL8U7rCBGgn8Bi0cqUqCGOYD/s400/IMG_2239.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And to pick one last bunch of blooms!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As the sun set, I sat on the front verandah and simply bawled. A cathartic outpouring; without inhibition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm very thankful that I have documented this garden so comprehensively on my blog. Whenever I miss my place, at least I have these posts to return to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It has taken me weeks to put this into words. Why my reluctance to publish this post? I guess in writing it down, it all seems a little more true! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As I closed the gate for the final time on my beloved home and garden, I felt completely heartbroken. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;">A few weeks on from this farewell, the grief is slowly becoming less raw.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;"> And maybe, just maybe, there is a new love around the corner. Surely there is one more garden in me?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: start;">Best wishes, Bloom x</span></div>
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Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-91713136646129665432016-02-26T19:56:00.001+11:002016-02-26T19:56:20.624+11:00Melba magpies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I purchased this little bundle of joy from Linda @ <a href="https://www.gumvalleypatchwork.com.au/">Gum Valley Patchwork</a> just recently. They are from <a href="https://www.emmajeanjansen.com.au/">Emma Jean Jansen's</a> latest range '<a href="http://www.ellabluefabrics.com/collections/melba/">Melba</a>', inspired by her time living in Melbourne as a student. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsFXIYHuyzgxwnys0ZX7TUsOvlxk_v99kKJP17E1WK1Q59AD0-ObRJh31sMv2qGZ-TnhdlI0rbylCrlmbFwD-eztSqHmw1DwJHtH0kFQToQXYyaN7w2jZh5A3tPZfygLg8jWHduvaYACL/s1600/IMG_2006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsFXIYHuyzgxwnys0ZX7TUsOvlxk_v99kKJP17E1WK1Q59AD0-ObRJh31sMv2qGZ-TnhdlI0rbylCrlmbFwD-eztSqHmw1DwJHtH0kFQToQXYyaN7w2jZh5A3tPZfygLg8jWHduvaYACL/s1600/IMG_2006.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">'Melba' is manufactured by <a href="http://www.ellabluefabrics.com/">Ella Blue</a>, a fabric house developed by Australian designers. Ella Blue is such a breath of fresh air in the Australian quilting fabric market. They are producing high quality quilting fabrics, at refreshingly competitive prices - AU$16/metre compared with the AU$24 and AU$28 price tags that Australian quilters are used to paying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I also found a couple of Ella's Basics at a local quilt shop. It's a real treat to find some text fabric with local names! I was not so happy that this shop insisted on charging me $24/metre instead of the RRP $16. Hmmmm ...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4dp4Z0Wc9tayl7qmWwLQrg2wy17cnk07ksi9UiWXdC9nuDWFvRBGF0fvV_Z1_JN33RAxipU1YGB_4ile7NTP-q0QBbJnK3qIruHR94pYZcaEYicPidh8sYmf8W057jPFH1LBNeUTDkSS/s1600/IMG_2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4dp4Z0Wc9tayl7qmWwLQrg2wy17cnk07ksi9UiWXdC9nuDWFvRBGF0fvV_Z1_JN33RAxipU1YGB_4ile7NTP-q0QBbJnK3qIruHR94pYZcaEYicPidh8sYmf8W057jPFH1LBNeUTDkSS/s320/IMG_2008.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have been collecting a few text fabrics lately. I think they are a calm foil for busier fabrics.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV20ng9cwlw2vmRVZESP4XNTQ4yFVYxzgNeLSFgSLSB2WPiX-_8VkeL7ph94VAil8EmxVIl6mwsgKG54sBJiQrw_GUAjKvwQDgZxDFiQOalOvhpdp5YXnVVxq8-cwstLYCL-FRBjvHQDk_/s1600/IMG_2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV20ng9cwlw2vmRVZESP4XNTQ4yFVYxzgNeLSFgSLSB2WPiX-_8VkeL7ph94VAil8EmxVIl6mwsgKG54sBJiQrw_GUAjKvwQDgZxDFiQOalOvhpdp5YXnVVxq8-cwstLYCL-FRBjvHQDk_/s320/IMG_2010.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As a sometime proof reader, I couldn't help but notice the typo in this one:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhK6KvG4DHr9dqedHzpVn0qlvmGPnDeoeMrZJiE-ssbC-SVgUQURdLpehhmO9qC4gb_6lokGcUJg-ZoEmTEEhdbOBHlCCvJS3Rbx2jrdbdTZRlKst-aym9iGuupTI2zAfXbtZFgwjUiRDg/s1600/IMG_2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhK6KvG4DHr9dqedHzpVn0qlvmGPnDeoeMrZJiE-ssbC-SVgUQURdLpehhmO9qC4gb_6lokGcUJg-ZoEmTEEhdbOBHlCCvJS3Rbx2jrdbdTZRlKst-aym9iGuupTI2zAfXbtZFgwjUiRDg/s320/IMG_2011.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Can you spot it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Enough whingeing! Have a great weekend everyone. Bloom x</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D7179563292110008972%23editor%2Fsrc%3Ddashboard&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-as3JwLCeJ-8%2FVtAGe3sFtuI%2FAAAAAAAAIME%2Fj0VaomNFxBU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2006.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=TKdSeL8d9kRi&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 103px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 108px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D7179563292110008972%23editor%2Fsrc%3Ddashboard&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-as3JwLCeJ-8%2FVtAGe3sFtuI%2FAAAAAAAAIME%2Fj0VaomNFxBU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2006.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=TKdSeL8d9kRi&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 103px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 108px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D7179563292110008972%23editor%2Fsrc%3Ddashboard&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-as3JwLCeJ-8%2FVtAGe3sFtuI%2FAAAAAAAAIME%2Fj0VaomNFxBU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2006.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=TKdSeL8d9kRi&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 103px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 108px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D7179563292110008972%23editor%2Fsrc%3Ddashboard&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-as3JwLCeJ-8%2FVtAGe3sFtuI%2FAAAAAAAAIME%2Fj0VaomNFxBU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2006.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=TKdSeL8d9kRi&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 103px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 108px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D7179563292110008972%23editor%2Fsrc%3Ddashboard&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-as3JwLCeJ-8%2FVtAGe3sFtuI%2FAAAAAAAAIME%2Fj0VaomNFxBU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2006.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=TKdSeL8d9kRi&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 103px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 108px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D7179563292110008972%23editor%2Fsrc%3Ddashboard&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-as3JwLCeJ-8%2FVtAGe3sFtuI%2FAAAAAAAAIME%2Fj0VaomNFxBU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2006.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=TKdSeL8d9kRi&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 103px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 108px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-59614358437668460292016-02-11T09:57:00.002+11:002016-02-11T10:00:05.847+11:00Some summer sewing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">One of my 14-year-old daughter's good friends has ventured to boarding school in Sydney. This friend has been very kind and supportive to my Olivia as she has struggled with her health. So it was an obvious choice to make her a snuggle quilt to remind her of how much she will be missed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm39iWeYo-nTvueCsbOGZ8R5_x5cQBQak3Kb2tGENML8nT8C-7mx-DsbiGs1yoimUyED85fq93UQavONlKJMSfkxUYPqjq4k_1UNo9FPeKMm_4KcOFAOQ84ue-d40iiUlGUhxcDyUhVvmE/s1600/IMG_3104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm39iWeYo-nTvueCsbOGZ8R5_x5cQBQak3Kb2tGENML8nT8C-7mx-DsbiGs1yoimUyED85fq93UQavONlKJMSfkxUYPqjq4k_1UNo9FPeKMm_4KcOFAOQ84ue-d40iiUlGUhxcDyUhVvmE/s1600/IMG_3104.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">(Sorry that the photo is dark and awful. I'm having issues with my SLR lately, but that's another story altogether).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It is <a href="http://bloomandblossom.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/raw-edge-layer-cake-quilt-tutorial.html">a simple raw-edge layer cake quilt</a>, our 'go-to' method when a gift is required in a hurry! Olivia chose 'High Street' by Lily Ashbury, a very happy collection of fabrics. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.missouriquiltco.com/"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Image source</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">She sewed it together herself across the summer holidays ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8cw23kuo2KBxbzV_Plc2T6kxKNFRxNjnjI0D3_a1Qn2v_rNMD4ApEhYkDwfiIkranpvtPebqwLPFOfculHZDAo9DSUo8xSZwxCXqsYi4jkYgXsCgtfRWT36mRvEpB9jPRsksG3fpUJt3/s1600/IMG_1960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8cw23kuo2KBxbzV_Plc2T6kxKNFRxNjnjI0D3_a1Qn2v_rNMD4ApEhYkDwfiIkranpvtPebqwLPFOfculHZDAo9DSUo8xSZwxCXqsYi4jkYgXsCgtfRWT36mRvEpB9jPRsksG3fpUJt3/s1600/IMG_1960.jpg" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">... but somehow ran out of time to do the binding. Hmmm, guess who got that job?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJSFJCpROdj3_FXbrLPjdU1YaWrh7tQLB-SP8Hslr1F-tvB6uxM4FXTB1o9dNMVvm4r6AqYV4iJAcKZPQmAXV1Oawz64no9Gom-CqHmJMeorSD2Ha30prV9NOlsq_l6q0iiRyW4EC6TQy/s1600/IMG_1977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJSFJCpROdj3_FXbrLPjdU1YaWrh7tQLB-SP8Hslr1F-tvB6uxM4FXTB1o9dNMVvm4r6AqYV4iJAcKZPQmAXV1Oawz64no9Gom-CqHmJMeorSD2Ha30prV9NOlsq_l6q0iiRyW4EC6TQy/s1600/IMG_1977.jpg" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Not that I minded. Thankfully, I belong to that half of quilters who find binding meditative and relaxing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Her friend was very thankful for her gift, and thought the quilt was, and I quote: "the most awesome present ever ... and I'm not even faking"! Sweet!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Here is a photo she sent of it on her bed at boarding school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zlANeyLj_M5P47L6XNsoDOVNmHW7FqU3u0WfsALybdLO0G-rAJ2thE1v1z4o2o0IUSfm7r9tvumxKioGjCFGJ1yHtoGSCvwZuiEIF7tQMhIBXfIEnDlC_WUSSDU1xqZg82cU-jo5m9g1/s1600/IMG_2455-%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zlANeyLj_M5P47L6XNsoDOVNmHW7FqU3u0WfsALybdLO0G-rAJ2thE1v1z4o2o0IUSfm7r9tvumxKioGjCFGJ1yHtoGSCvwZuiEIF7tQMhIBXfIEnDlC_WUSSDU1xqZg82cU-jo5m9g1/s1600/IMG_2455-%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">She says she wraps herself in it when she is feeling homesick :) </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Now that would warm the heart of any quilter, young or old!</span></div>
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Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-43748616871195291192016-01-24T15:58:00.000+11:002016-01-24T16:17:14.795+11:00Today's pickings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bzNN1ApaSSl3RijOGrL3j-D0bGGMtDZE92_8osUxJAGO99TCZTF8IQ_iQVgtDPRRjemP1LOiggc8jMum20UE2MJWvJqYSJETHCNMVzN4_nMkTESe3cJ7Dj17BnV951BBgZ7frk8mjmmS/s1600/IMG_3093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bzNN1ApaSSl3RijOGrL3j-D0bGGMtDZE92_8osUxJAGO99TCZTF8IQ_iQVgtDPRRjemP1LOiggc8jMum20UE2MJWvJqYSJETHCNMVzN4_nMkTESe3cJ7Dj17BnV951BBgZ7frk8mjmmS/s1600/IMG_3093.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>Geranium sanguineum</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>Rosa</i> 'Camille Pissarro'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>Salvia microphylla</i> 'Cyclamen'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Burgundy dahlias, unknown variety, tubers gifted to me by a neighbour</span></div>
<br />Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-88904573721072354362016-01-22T10:29:00.001+11:002016-01-22T10:41:19.575+11:00Show me your corymbia!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I am popping my head up from my summer hibernation just long enough to share this lovely thing with you. I spotted it in someone's garden next to Short St Cafe in Dubbo the other day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The tree was absolutely loaded with blooms. Isn't it just beautiful?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My guess is that it is what is loosely called a grafted flowering gum, and is a form of Corymbia ficifolia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">These grafted gums have only recently become available in Australia. They are relatively expensive at over $50 each, but surely the expense can be justified when you get a show like this!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">All good health and happiness to you for 2016. I have all sorts of grand plans for 2016, but after an unpredictable 2015, I'm not brave enough to venture them any further than thoughts just yet. I sincerely hope to blog more regularly though. Here's to that! Best wishes, Bloom x</span></div>
Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-24899534967227406002015-11-22T13:17:00.002+11:002015-11-22T22:05:37.722+11:00In times of stress ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I get my best gardening done when I'm stressed! Our wheat crop is due to be harvested any day, and it is my job to deal with co</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">ntractors, organise trucks and generally make it happen. To say I find it stressful is an understatement! There is significant (for us) income at stake and every decision can be the difference between making a profit and not. And so, one of the things I do to calm myself is to pop outside into the garden and pull a few weeds. The up</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">side of this is that the farm garden is looking a picture!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">There are new plants to enjoy. <i>Leucospermum glabrum x tottum</i> 'Carnival Red' is a particular show-off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Some plants are flowering for the first time, like </span><i style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;">Iris sibirica</i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> 'Sapphire'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Parts of the garden that seem to have been struggling for years are finally coming into their own. I planted this bank of roses years ago now, and underplanted them with ox eye daisy (<i>Leucanthemum vulgare</i>). Many times, I've almost pulled these daisies out, but I'm glad I didn't. They are giving this part of the garden a pleasingly ethereal and dainty look this year. They can stay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The daisies are mixing quite prettily in with <i>Rosa 'Granny's Bonnet'</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Just behind these roses is a brand new garden and I'm looking forward to watching it evolve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The roses, as usual, don't disappoint. This is the lovely David Austin, <i>Rosa 'Jubilee Celebration'.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> I took some garden photos just recently, and managed to catch some of the roses in the early morning dew.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rosa 'La Reine de Victoria'</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: left;">I've read somewhere recently that the prime time for taking photos is in the early morning and late afternoon. I had sort of worked this out over the years, but in photographic terms, these times are called the 'golden hours', and are defined as the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is redder and softer compared to when the sun is higher in the sky. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rosa 'Reine des Violettes'</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: left;">There is even an app called GoldenLight which can help you to determine the perfect time for taking photographs in your location in the world. It really can make a difference to the quality of your photos.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rosa 'Double Delight'</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rosa 'Pat Austin'</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We've had barely any aphids this year, presumably because it has been so dry, at least until recently.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rosa 'France Libre'</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; text-align: left;">Having said that, we have had 5 inches of rain in the last few weeks which has not been good for anyone trying to get crops harvested. Rain late in the season can mean that crops fall over, or grain can shoot while it's still on the stalk, causing harvest to be slow and expensive, grain to be downgraded in quality and prices to be lower. This is our wheat before the rain. It remains to be seen how badly the rain has affected it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvgSqHtbP85U3Yu2RTZKYHWLPHbE5JOxGDxIGjALkxBf5QMsliuXUo5UklBGDW1Zy72FVF2x08-I-4iq1CbtpO0iILTi1S4-wiQQTXgQza3UykZdFHY9_trqZ3XPRq8a7pYQYUQv0yAG0/s1600/IMG_2995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvgSqHtbP85U3Yu2RTZKYHWLPHbE5JOxGDxIGjALkxBf5QMsliuXUo5UklBGDW1Zy72FVF2x08-I-4iq1CbtpO0iILTi1S4-wiQQTXgQza3UykZdFHY9_trqZ3XPRq8a7pYQYUQv0yAG0/s1600/IMG_2995.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And so for now, I'm waiting patiently for the harvesting contractor to arrive.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VvOFydS4P-EcM4BNESA3iNwcsCEGydWIwUnrh4g_UD2vCboT3NP8LNR-r2nHLOnd66nZj_0W06b86i_7jOssPiDY7xZZUhQfzjxzFF5CIiSSHb0BGTj0dGzXnt5OAik0X-mItJJSzf-T/s1600/IMG_3005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VvOFydS4P-EcM4BNESA3iNwcsCEGydWIwUnrh4g_UD2vCboT3NP8LNR-r2nHLOnd66nZj_0W06b86i_7jOssPiDY7xZZUhQfzjxzFF5CIiSSHb0BGTj0dGzXnt5OAik0X-mItJJSzf-T/s1600/IMG_3005.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rosa 'New Dawn'</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And enjoying to solace of the garden in the meantime!</span></div>
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Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-42989281075158087162015-08-30T16:34:00.001+10:002015-08-30T16:39:02.278+10:00Winter gardening?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We have had a very wet winter, and our garden is so sloshy underfoot that the roses are still to be pruned! So my 'gardening' has taken a new turn:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTcB-js82euHSDgYp4JHjHl8ImCVaRA7B4HztlD-XF6yRzgqk26U-j87jjtIbnUrD3UnkJhyphenhyphenMtLZt1nF7_npdUYwXa-Iuz4pKgjLHEWaw4_Wxms468vHqCMIBI6bN8cETej0c5jHNRgn2/s1600/IMG_2769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTcB-js82euHSDgYp4JHjHl8ImCVaRA7B4HztlD-XF6yRzgqk26U-j87jjtIbnUrD3UnkJhyphenhyphenMtLZt1nF7_npdUYwXa-Iuz4pKgjLHEWaw4_Wxms468vHqCMIBI6bN8cETej0c5jHNRgn2/s1600/IMG_2769.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have been planting in miniature and indoors!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SEs_dUvVgi7zWn8XsSOIhyphenhyphenwf8IPtoqYAm0Enf7cR72Km-NdeTGdo4p5o9_n6t2m6jW-7ie28ORfLoMJtkmakfWqnUgMbUep4bMRZanv6p7YLaI7d6-OJFx5Y2fknDGovIz3A8nwfoLYF/s1600/IMG_2778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SEs_dUvVgi7zWn8XsSOIhyphenhyphenwf8IPtoqYAm0Enf7cR72Km-NdeTGdo4p5o9_n6t2m6jW-7ie28ORfLoMJtkmakfWqnUgMbUep4bMRZanv6p7YLaI7d6-OJFx5Y2fknDGovIz3A8nwfoLYF/s1600/IMG_2778.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I found some inexpensive glass containers at Kmart which I thought would work as terrariums, and went about collecting all manner of plants and pebbles. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaZBABru755cKGbA-TTU-We8lw-0ys1hL6c7eFlyisfYkIkPLzIVJ2SlvjVzbdOalB3EnjCKdnIRMJNTkcNemeOMbywOUmukvuDSVeAgGhBeKffFFncG2z0L3YzJ_K90jB5vs3gdX4M33/s1600/IMG_2771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaZBABru755cKGbA-TTU-We8lw-0ys1hL6c7eFlyisfYkIkPLzIVJ2SlvjVzbdOalB3EnjCKdnIRMJNTkcNemeOMbywOUmukvuDSVeAgGhBeKffFFncG2z0L3YzJ_K90jB5vs3gdX4M33/s1600/IMG_2771.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I've had a lovely time playing with form, texture and colour.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3Y0dAZiDOveIqYzsUYnOjXv0Udym2Sf45t1h_-TrwvDCTwsA5BfHuz8Q5Kpyw_8Rwet1HLOE-Mt8w3qfpSHGAl1BphJPm0Ljbd0slNd6rwBPEyduwiRuGkEa5d0vkz-l3QJI7Gocnxa1/s1600/IMG_2780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3Y0dAZiDOveIqYzsUYnOjXv0Udym2Sf45t1h_-TrwvDCTwsA5BfHuz8Q5Kpyw_8Rwet1HLOE-Mt8w3qfpSHGAl1BphJPm0Ljbd0slNd6rwBPEyduwiRuGkEa5d0vkz-l3QJI7Gocnxa1/s1600/IMG_2780.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I suspect I've broken every rule of terrarium planting by combining succulents, air plants, mosses and lichen, each of which require quite different conditions. I figured I'd just play with different combinations and see which ones survive.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgX-03JVKx0VMjGTatUQSI2d6o1r5OMxKpaMcNImCZ9QFGXM6sERw2NLVp1Py_cL-8jylf4z2lDcDp2FRTWwQ7pkd_xHh13DBhzsE_-0fN-StKo3V9MdR8dtH0ZOVpQpUxctMyFGiw5s5/s1600/IMG_2774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgX-03JVKx0VMjGTatUQSI2d6o1r5OMxKpaMcNImCZ9QFGXM6sERw2NLVp1Py_cL-8jylf4z2lDcDp2FRTWwQ7pkd_xHh13DBhzsE_-0fN-StKo3V9MdR8dtH0ZOVpQpUxctMyFGiw5s5/s1600/IMG_2774.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Inspiration and helpful instructions for making my terrariums came from <a href="http://ameliaherbertsonblog.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/diy-making-terrarium.html">this post</a> by lovely Amelia. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3KnkLMrwzv32SDWV7RLW5uzIrFZYIBTvoOWEB7m5kpBGY63y_s6P4eW_zLOFwHI7s_RZebOtPPimnU0rrZOryORyLRJlSSvVj-EUIrR2Bp5OvBeT09cUx5N6dPWGlqRxew73rc66tT9o/s1600/IMG_2782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3KnkLMrwzv32SDWV7RLW5uzIrFZYIBTvoOWEB7m5kpBGY63y_s6P4eW_zLOFwHI7s_RZebOtPPimnU0rrZOryORyLRJlSSvVj-EUIrR2Bp5OvBeT09cUx5N6dPWGlqRxew73rc66tT9o/s1600/IMG_2782.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The weather is a little warmer today, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">so hopefully I can get to the rose pruning soon! </span></div>
Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-88771232995801200692015-08-10T14:51:00.000+10:002015-08-10T14:51:41.135+10:00Library bag tutorial<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While my days of making library bags for my children are well and truly over, I find myself still making them for nieces and nephews. This is my tried and true method for a lined, drawstring bag, with an optional personalised nameplate.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvkOIxKGwlCDxuKW6oL0UWFP4G85lrqW9ipCWFTaYZDj2UfLmz5bfLU24EATpl12avIcxSv8dyOsHC307BU6BKiDdF0uJwIYFW91nv4Mt_CsZwmVJWwjc8dwkE2uiH5Jld2iqnhNQbKMV/s1600/Library+bags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvkOIxKGwlCDxuKW6oL0UWFP4G85lrqW9ipCWFTaYZDj2UfLmz5bfLU24EATpl12avIcxSv8dyOsHC307BU6BKiDdF0uJwIYFW91nv4Mt_CsZwmVJWwjc8dwkE2uiH5Jld2iqnhNQbKMV/s1600/Library+bags.jpg" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>You will need:</b></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15" x 21" rectangles </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">outer fabric (I would recommend a heavier weight fabric such as cotton drill, denim or furnishing fabric because these bags get a pounding from the kids)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15" x 21" rectangles </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lining fabric</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15" x 8½" rectangle for nameplate background</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Scraps of fabric for appliquéd letters</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 yards cord</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fusible web</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Appliquéd name plate</span></b><br />
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I used Microsoft Word for Mac 2011 to prepare the nameplate text. If you are using a PC, the commands should be similar.</span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: center;">Open Microsoft Word. Go to </span><span style="text-align: center;"><b>File</b> : </span><b style="text-align: center;">Page Setup</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: center;">. Change </span><b style="text-align: center;">Orientation</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: center;"> from portrait to landscape. Click </span><b style="text-align: center;">OK</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: center;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvWOhqm6Ip8aVlmqzlYKRiUiQ0PX-lcrqir8pHyiGV8Bn5LEHhXV1nXzwoPscwqTJZL51jsFK9oFaHurj4Ifn0GbW_G3Q2O5Eur3boHF1myCAm2iTRS047qu0LvOciGaPd0pRNu4VkjaN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.31.38+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvWOhqm6Ip8aVlmqzlYKRiUiQ0PX-lcrqir8pHyiGV8Bn5LEHhXV1nXzwoPscwqTJZL51jsFK9oFaHurj4Ifn0GbW_G3Q2O5Eur3boHF1myCAm2iTRS047qu0LvOciGaPd0pRNu4VkjaN/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.31.38+pm.png" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Go to <b>Format : Document. </b>Click on the 'Margins' tab. Set the margins to measure 0.5". </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwCRcuUzlpbNa6wPwidy9TeN_0cE6otIYKRhUY1IcEtlzsi_Jcvd3Vrhcgp1Ekuvvnn9nngDxmKjVQpHKLGrwb5upF4FQzBLuvuM_4JjKjzjja2NZviNXNwM0ksJxfNeh12tR5TGHpwKq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+5.00.50+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwCRcuUzlpbNa6wPwidy9TeN_0cE6otIYKRhUY1IcEtlzsi_Jcvd3Vrhcgp1Ekuvvnn9nngDxmKjVQpHKLGrwb5upF4FQzBLuvuM_4JjKjzjja2NZviNXNwM0ksJxfNeh12tR5TGHpwKq/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+5.00.50+pm.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click on the 'Layout' tab. Set the Vertical alignment to Centre. Click <b>OK</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70qYiPGfvLV2QFADVAlgRS3XTcLK5EIIQn36l3qK847iWIY4LAkshMwrrjEDViH3cxnXMRcfaiGl7vcdd-nBagPXoj71tfxwGL2flgD99bOKz_CrHRes54r_sVFesW0rDizdnejjluNeP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+5.11.12+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70qYiPGfvLV2QFADVAlgRS3XTcLK5EIIQn36l3qK847iWIY4LAkshMwrrjEDViH3cxnXMRcfaiGl7vcdd-nBagPXoj71tfxwGL2flgD99bOKz_CrHRes54r_sVFesW0rDizdnejjluNeP/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+5.11.12+pm.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Go to </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Table</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> : </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Insert : Table</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">. Set 'Number of columns' to 1 and 'Number of rows' to 1. Select 'AutoFit to window'. Click </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">OK</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxCoE3mr41tsAU-7cMBbmz6IM-fapFEpV7bvyZCgcnjHZouh0fgDY6uKqN4axdCprRBqfrqp13yASEnjQr1RlaPmbDKIUiMAXHDJj2h_m9C0UhtyOpj1rQwqeHxmUrVzDtBPN3qpHvHey/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.35.20+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxCoE3mr41tsAU-7cMBbmz6IM-fapFEpV7bvyZCgcnjHZouh0fgDY6uKqN4axdCprRBqfrqp13yASEnjQr1RlaPmbDKIUiMAXHDJj2h_m9C0UhtyOpj1rQwqeHxmUrVzDtBPN3qpHvHey/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.35.20+pm.png" width="292" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Go to <b>Table</b> : <b>Table Properties. </b>Click on the 'Row' tab. Select 'Specify height' and set to 4". Make sure 'Row height is' set to 'Exactly'.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4A6WLEzFPhkdACK36rDXiZtSer8eUpi2bRIEpNy8Fa3G8z4P5pY86W_MfwdqhgzQLmwjsyTxkmEjp2FY0bpvrMirq6Z7cUNPwNockudY7R-6Ru35bIpZ54TdXTIl1i7wzJKJF0EySoMq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.38.05+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4A6WLEzFPhkdACK36rDXiZtSer8eUpi2bRIEpNy8Fa3G8z4P5pY86W_MfwdqhgzQLmwjsyTxkmEjp2FY0bpvrMirq6Z7cUNPwNockudY7R-6Ru35bIpZ54TdXTIl1i7wzJKJF0EySoMq/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.38.05+pm.png" width="317" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click on the 'Cell' tab. Set Vertical Alignment to Center. Click </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OK</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TK_rhEWT2uYTl7cosxJ8BgnT-d-rsEx7xvZ-BDElhFSlsLln0gIRSK9a1RGQqq2rNsV3ErgHQheaTFNvrsd3KFJ1KJqNtLbMG5WLGFObpeIXItNvFI4IzkJvQj9urjj6q6OrO9xFURT8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.39.09+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TK_rhEWT2uYTl7cosxJ8BgnT-d-rsEx7xvZ-BDElhFSlsLln0gIRSK9a1RGQqq2rNsV3ErgHQheaTFNvrsd3KFJ1KJqNtLbMG5WLGFObpeIXItNvFI4IzkJvQj9urjj6q6OrO9xFURT8/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.39.09+pm.png" width="316" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Type your desired text in the table. I typed 'Jessica'. Select your text and set the alignment to centre.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmx2WzddASu1R_uNEO8zuO9mzbmNs5kGSbPNG-_4B76Umw08zYy4f6coWvz-KwfwWxsTf38ilL4DftG8UeKaPtyRTYKP6AVNYOgu9EnBfoG074kkERLi7krLceG1qJ4CfpnG7YS6fLXhn/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.53.13+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmx2WzddASu1R_uNEO8zuO9mzbmNs5kGSbPNG-_4B76Umw08zYy4f6coWvz-KwfwWxsTf38ilL4DftG8UeKaPtyRTYKP6AVNYOgu9EnBfoG074kkERLi7krLceG1qJ4CfpnG7YS6fLXhn/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.53.13+pm.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Go to <b>Format</b> : <b>Font</b>. Click on the 'Font' tab and set the font to 200pt Arial Rounded MT Bold.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_4KOV8kPkSpj5fZtMFru5RFR8U5OPw3rL___0A3exbXr4efa0SWygN97JAQlaMe2Q7CxeXFMmEFWMQzbWm_y2NeWuKTQzs4HAMJbiaNsrqNcJUzeMH7bs_M_CRehoLW63O7bCTqZot_v/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.42.51+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_4KOV8kPkSpj5fZtMFru5RFR8U5OPw3rL___0A3exbXr4efa0SWygN97JAQlaMe2Q7CxeXFMmEFWMQzbWm_y2NeWuKTQzs4HAMJbiaNsrqNcJUzeMH7bs_M_CRehoLW63O7bCTqZot_v/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.42.51+pm.png" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click on 'Text Effects'. Select Text Fill. Set Color to No Fill. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwb6RIuAkoxjb8zHJO3P2NbTYm-N6pGNApDDtwH2JMitsTpbdetRCoa-eeELr10xD3G3tpxsRE-W0sMzToRiOf5KZuavFP5QI8B_5cg1m4C4LziEL0RXVV7saY0SoOf0rASZu62Jf9Y6Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.47.31+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwb6RIuAkoxjb8zHJO3P2NbTYm-N6pGNApDDtwH2JMitsTpbdetRCoa-eeELr10xD3G3tpxsRE-W0sMzToRiOf5KZuavFP5QI8B_5cg1m4C4LziEL0RXVV7saY0SoOf0rASZu62Jf9Y6Q/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.47.31+pm.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Select 'Text Line'. Set Color to Black. Click <b>OK</b>. And <b>OK</b>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsU7qlshC5XuJJLmXCteYIBj6T5jb-ivl_f3PY8GLWL-Og8lZkXKW6bSX9EaKIh98kxkHjxX_npQInQh-9eihSZcUqtZ1X4K13_mEuoeVCPtVx3_iKR7m8Un_IUWEUOxPTPUXLTMR_ZAD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.48.46+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsU7qlshC5XuJJLmXCteYIBj6T5jb-ivl_f3PY8GLWL-Og8lZkXKW6bSX9EaKIh98kxkHjxX_npQInQh-9eihSZcUqtZ1X4K13_mEuoeVCPtVx3_iKR7m8Un_IUWEUOxPTPUXLTMR_ZAD/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-06-23+at+4.48.46+pm.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Print the template. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTBTUi8yQgvanVPkC_TGt21Fn1TiYcf8U7TEzVKwx06S2cgkUx-G_R9cVifrkxiNSmaRSXAGwHOc1DWVy3vzrrAeqiMrPU2B_Nvraj7pZoAbOXxZb9LcuAlyi4gGfQLFdXUS258Kdu1CH/s1600/Untitled+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTBTUi8yQgvanVPkC_TGt21Fn1TiYcf8U7TEzVKwx06S2cgkUx-G_R9cVifrkxiNSmaRSXAGwHOc1DWVy3vzrrAeqiMrPU2B_Nvraj7pZoAbOXxZb9LcuAlyi4gGfQLFdXUS258Kdu1CH/s400/Untitled+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This template can now be used for tracing letters for your appliqué. Place the template face down on a light box or window pane, and trace the letter outlines onto fusible web. The letters will be reversed. Cut out the fusible web letters roughly, approximately ⅛" beyond the traced lines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fuse the letters to the back of your desired appliqué fabric. Cut letters out exactly on the traced line using a short, sharp pair of scissors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fold the 15" x 8½" nameplate rectangle in half lengthwise. Using a soluble fabric marker, mark a line 1" from the folded edge of the nameplate. Position the letters on this line, using </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the template as a guide</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Fuse the letters in place. Appliqué each letter using a machine blanket stitch using a thread colour matching the letter fabric.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0nYRm8C6BofiNeTiSdVrbNOApfLmFnpyBeq4rZ0-T_xy_gDgxDuarLd2RRnkvYYMfAa45f7hYMxaOfsZ18sIhhSoqSPn2RVsz3jQAw4PpQOP4UNnTH6WAfAjgbL7_0cOgU1YIIyRJS8r/s1600/IMG_0715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0nYRm8C6BofiNeTiSdVrbNOApfLmFnpyBeq4rZ0-T_xy_gDgxDuarLd2RRnkvYYMfAa45f7hYMxaOfsZ18sIhhSoqSPn2RVsz3jQAw4PpQOP4UNnTH6WAfAjgbL7_0cOgU1YIIyRJS8r/" height="375" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Constructing the bag</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Using a soluble fabric marker, mark</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> a line 8" from the lower edge of one of the outer fabric rectangles. Align the raw edge of the appliquéd nameplate to this line, right side down, as shown below. Attach the nameplate to the rectangle with a ¼" seam. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27Vl7i7oN9Hrf87F9ccIuoWzccRz_UEblJgjYCEVCZst9QZh2MQ0ju87a1huSm12RbPQlAVx_jozqgWY2KOx6CzULQQyxMZd4JdK8v5JF2kVlFifk8FQ4ZUOO5Pe4OVcYQZrY6Vmcy9GZ/s1600/Untitled-1-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27Vl7i7oN9Hrf87F9ccIuoWzccRz_UEblJgjYCEVCZst9QZh2MQ0ju87a1huSm12RbPQlAVx_jozqgWY2KOx6CzULQQyxMZd4JdK8v5JF2kVlFifk8FQ4ZUOO5Pe4OVcYQZrY6Vmcy9GZ/s320/Untitled-1-01.png" width="302" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flip the nameplate downwards so that it is right side up and press. Topstitch the nameplate ⅛" from the top and bottom edge..</span><br />
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Stitch the outer and lining rectangles together, end to end, as shown below.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8lTQoeInwphToWmrEZylAEVCnaPjuIAgbLjWFNO7F0_GhMGBUWKVx88ajTSJ-upb1YFou9glVYblhVWBRwpMkehKxKq0hinOLjduNT0iEIcJ8yOsNSu2Mw7NdLoR0Gezv8gkaJSFJ1Mv/s1600/Untitled-2-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8lTQoeInwphToWmrEZylAEVCnaPjuIAgbLjWFNO7F0_GhMGBUWKVx88ajTSJ-upb1YFou9glVYblhVWBRwpMkehKxKq0hinOLjduNT0iEIcJ8yOsNSu2Mw7NdLoR0Gezv8gkaJSFJ1Mv/" height="100" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fold in half, right sides together, matching outer to outer rectangle, and lining to lining rectangle. On each long edge of the outer rectangle, mark a 1¼" opening, 1¼" down from the seam line. On the short edge of the lining rectangle, mark a 2" opening.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stitch the three sides together, stopping and securing with backstitching at each opening. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTI1VM5g0Gxo1pmoRWP0dr-XT9RISKIGwT3LgF32UuW1HO-Hq-2bAeegbITbyCQfloCtJm8XgstszhepXWYrZaQcomBiah_a_aWnuIcUdx1Rxs8tR05ZY4TyhPmtUSjuH9Fu3JFSnPXUD/s1600/Untitled-3-01-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTI1VM5g0Gxo1pmoRWP0dr-XT9RISKIGwT3LgF32UuW1HO-Hq-2bAeegbITbyCQfloCtJm8XgstszhepXWYrZaQcomBiah_a_aWnuIcUdx1Rxs8tR05ZY4TyhPmtUSjuH9Fu3JFSnPXUD/s640/Untitled-3-01-01.png" width="339" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turn the bag right side out through the 2" opening in the lining and slip stitch the opening closed</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Tuck the lining inside the bag and press.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Using a soluble fabric marker, mark lines </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1¼"</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and 2½" from the upper edge of the bag, front and back. Stitch along these lines to form the casing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cut the cord into two 1 yard lengths. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Attach a large safety pin to the end of one length of cord. Starting on the right side of the bag, thread the cord through the front casing, past the casing opening on the opposite side, and through the back casing, to return to where you started. Knot the two ends of the cord together securely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Repeat this threading process with the remaining length of cord, starting on the left side of the bag. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These cords are pulled from either side of the bag to close.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, this method can be adapted to make any sized drawstring bag for any purpose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have finished <a href="http://bloomandblossom.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/scrap-busting.html">my scrap quilt top</a>! Now to find some time to quilt it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have a cunning plan to use this Lotta Jansdotter 'Echo' print for the backing (I picked it up for a song ($4/m) at Spotlight recently). I thought I would stitch this quilt from the back by roughly following the lines of the backing print. Good plan?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Notice that beautiful dark green in the background? That is our wheat crop. We have had great rain this season, and the crops in our part of the world are looking amazing. Here's hoping that the forecasts for a dry spring are wrong!</span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We had a brief trip to Sydney in the school holidays, and I finally got to visit <a href="http://www.quiltsmith.com.au/index.ihtml">Quiltsmith</a> in Annandale. Another one to tick off my 'quilt shop bucket list'! I snapped these impressive hand pieced quilts while I was there:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I also popped in to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Post-Office-Patchwork/1460320557527771">Post Office Patchwork</a> in Glenbrook where I picked up a lovely set of 1930s fabrics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So armed with your advice, some visual inspiration and some new fabrics, I'm all set to get back to my hexies!</span></div>
</span>Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-89168996067151757312015-07-13T12:03:00.002+10:002015-07-13T12:03:22.956+10:00Rare snow in Australia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The mid year school holidays have come to a snowy end in our part of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Australia has a small alpine region where it snows frequently, but outside this area, snowfalls are rare. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The town where I live is renowned as being very cold, and will usually get a smattering of snow each winter. But yesterday was special, with a good couple of inches of snow which settled for the day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">While this display may seem paltry to many of you, it is big news for us!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Yesterday's snow was the best fall I've seen in the eight years I've lived here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">These photos show my snow-blanketed garden yesterday.</span></div>
Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-68200652412422022622015-06-17T09:29:00.004+10:002015-06-17T09:29:57.328+10:00Some hexie action<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The weather is cold and drizzly here. Perfect for farmers ... and sewing. I love a rainy day. Having grown up on a farm, rain always meant rest from helping Mum and Dad and time to play. Rain still evokes that feeling for me. And so I have been playing:</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHEdiPwsvvNHD6pr4VIaS1h0qyCNfX8QR5QTRZyrOrodG58WlRIOXtxEtFePEsYLBWRuI2-QbrFxH8_mVjR8HQWbL04p08kyMywxjApoZi27D-9IRAlMlyrd9qQnaAaGB0T7UVNvGvps8/s1600/IMG_0022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHEdiPwsvvNHD6pr4VIaS1h0qyCNfX8QR5QTRZyrOrodG58WlRIOXtxEtFePEsYLBWRuI2-QbrFxH8_mVjR8HQWbL04p08kyMywxjApoZi27D-9IRAlMlyrd9qQnaAaGB0T7UVNvGvps8/s640/IMG_0022.jpg" width="550" /></a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'm channelling my inner 1930s with some half inch hexies in pretty little prints. I am loving paper piecing - it is precise and methodical, which suits me just fine right now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-oxYqFgV_bvW9ItACbT_6jgzOVJDTaJJgmNFHPi3tw5b5SFTEAurq1PjOQ76zB7w6wQtLLEziOTSgkA74av94FAlGA7T3WUoZ7gIIBaQNmgWVrqyIWVto716P0_CTmhfqQ7fcZvJ1-ov/s1600/IMG_0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-oxYqFgV_bvW9ItACbT_6jgzOVJDTaJJgmNFHPi3tw5b5SFTEAurq1PjOQ76zB7w6wQtLLEziOTSgkA74av94FAlGA7T3WUoZ7gIIBaQNmgWVrqyIWVto716P0_CTmhfqQ7fcZvJ1-ov/" height="411" width="550" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have one small quibble: They look lovely right up until the time that I remove the papers. I don't like that the seam is showing through on the white hexies. Picky, I know! You can't see it so much in these photos, but trust me, it's annoying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_DorS_axB0sj5svT9GbXfhpm3U5Y1b9wi4VtMMFhEyNdAH1-X1zrkJz2MDghw3oilN-S1h2INyrvK6Hlm34G6sd1NEBkjmPmdejtZlt0r3ncQl6vQFsjnZnubx0vrK7JIiBbjDtRGWvd/s1600/IMG_0023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_DorS_axB0sj5svT9GbXfhpm3U5Y1b9wi4VtMMFhEyNdAH1-X1zrkJz2MDghw3oilN-S1h2INyrvK6Hlm34G6sd1NEBkjmPmdejtZlt0r3ncQl6vQFsjnZnubx0vrK7JIiBbjDtRGWvd/" height="411" width="550" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">What are my options?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1. Push on and ignore it? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">2. Start again with a thicker white fabric so that the seams don't show?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">3. Line the back of the piece with white fabric and hope it minimises the seams showing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4. Shelve it in frustration?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">All suggestions are welcome. Just don't call me anal ;) I'm thinking I'll go with #1 and #3. Ain't nobody got time for #2 and my shelves are already too full with abandoned projects for #4.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-55039215533128059182015-05-19T09:35:00.002+10:002015-05-19T09:43:50.316+10:00Plant of the month<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">One of my favourite plants in the garden right now is this beauty:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxA7Y71b-qZaOAjsd0bTPNhuLnFDyUylGt6lDAyEDUVZXyolFlJh0kcu1IsbH5YK9rFbTngT9qrRcfMNOqTyAa_ZsLgTwTEtB1gZrrVGqaEcoP1I043Bvlq96g3Gyzzb3seEXTYyO0YKvu/s1600/IMG_1684.jpg" /></span></span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She is Salvia involucrata 'Bethellii', which I purchased from a plant stall at Ballarat Botanic Gardens a few years ago.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I thought I'd bought a dud at first because she just produced vast quantities of leaves for months after planting. Just as I'd about given up on her, late into autumn, she decided to put up these fabulous flowers.<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv64_e4ESaeOKyHJHA7KjkDcznX4kOwW7ZDeL48x3S9DnT1hH1qeIoPbROjArq5zDDXLH8gpFx70QM3IA7jaetDYdcdoql342Tb9EAhrw62QqHcFG-BqyNzF4n-WvUbjrqmVrxIvQx5IO-/s1600/IMG_1680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv64_e4ESaeOKyHJHA7KjkDcznX4kOwW7ZDeL48x3S9DnT1hH1qeIoPbROjArq5zDDXLH8gpFx70QM3IA7jaetDYdcdoql342Tb9EAhrw62QqHcFG-BqyNzF4n-WvUbjrqmVrxIvQx5IO-/s1600/IMG_1680.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She is also know as Roseleaf sage, and is a native of Mexico. Sure enough, she is renowned as a late but glorious bloomer, producing hot pink blossoms across the winter.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWy3Sb3bEHbuSk5R2DG7U-yOVOnO5five5hlnK1Z6-_KlRs50b04cYAVm-uePEGbhOJJBgzTVJYdwsLG7c4l2NpSHheXSrv0ZUd-FtjXA6wCQeiHZXELfwI7qSvMVXcWZShg2nE7w7R5r/s1600/IMG_1683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWy3Sb3bEHbuSk5R2DG7U-yOVOnO5five5hlnK1Z6-_KlRs50b04cYAVm-uePEGbhOJJBgzTVJYdwsLG7c4l2NpSHheXSrv0ZUd-FtjXA6wCQeiHZXELfwI7qSvMVXcWZShg2nE7w7R5r/s1600/IMG_1683.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She is quite a large plant growing well over a metre tall and wide, and has a reckless, sprawling habit. She needs plenty of room to spread her arching branches. </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjucANA8zgoUpODsS-ABITnqomtVi-P216aNsClaWpt37UcTPd086l83hB0wviCgip2AJuO00TCWmh6Y1cskZHaSttsiWtS93kLR-EmU0DYtrIZHX-RTqJnKUzmTg2q2cMQi2qH1gOqYF/s1600/IMG_1681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjucANA8zgoUpODsS-ABITnqomtVi-P216aNsClaWpt37UcTPd086l83hB0wviCgip2AJuO00TCWmh6Y1cskZHaSttsiWtS93kLR-EmU0DYtrIZHX-RTqJnKUzmTg2q2cMQi2qH1gOqYF/s1600/IMG_1681.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I guess some would call her messy, but she redeems her untidiness with prolific and spectacular blooms. She is a treasure in the winter garden, and testament to the adage of not judging by first appearances!</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> </span></span></span>Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179563292110008972.post-53786701193903896442015-04-18T19:29:00.000+10:002018-11-27T11:24:26.245+11:00'The Novel Approach' fabric bookends<span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Thank you for your interest in my blog. This post has moved and is available in its entirety at <a href="https://www.bloom-australia.com/bloomblog/2015/04/the-novel-approach-fabric-bookends.html" target="_blank">this link</a>. Best wishes, Bloom </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvC52T5z4i0FEMw7jrU8J0SWti01piTxavgVk53WhLTuU84t5PyHKuk6Nbrn78m0W4wXIPctUjToJ95diN8iCBz5KrWYJzoswS0EJn3rRQmTS36Pu7-NZbZPT1Za0JD_Iefy7cnpgkxf2/s1600/IMG_3918+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvC52T5z4i0FEMw7jrU8J0SWti01piTxavgVk53WhLTuU84t5PyHKuk6Nbrn78m0W4wXIPctUjToJ95diN8iCBz5KrWYJzoswS0EJn3rRQmTS36Pu7-NZbZPT1Za0JD_Iefy7cnpgkxf2/s1600/IMG_3918+copy.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Happy Easter to you and yours. We have everyone home for Easter which is very special. The weather is cool and drizzly, perfect for devouring homemade hot cross buns and snuggling under quilts to read or watch movies. Lovely!</span></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7179563292110008972" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7179563292110008972" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Bloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835660007249216576noreply@blogger.com1