There are colour coordinated displays of garments & accessories ...
A wonderful array of homewares ...
And of course the highlight for me is the quilting & stitchery section of the shop:
The owner is a talented craftswoman, and has a range of original stitching & patchwork designs. I am convinced she lives on no sleep - I don't know how she manages such an amazing business & finds time to design as well. It is always a treat to visit her shop.
I had the good fortune to win these great patterns designed by the lovely Lyn at Moore Patchwork & Quilting in her blog giveaway. One is a very sweet cot quilt called Spring Fling, just perfect for baby girls. And the second is a versatile appliqued apron pattern. Please be sure to visit Lyn's blog and say hello.
Sorry, can't go another day without posting a rose photo - I told you it's an addiction! This is 'Jubilee Celebration' - yes, by David Austin. I will set myself a challenge to post a non-Austin rose next.
Just to prove I am not all ‘puff & wind’ about the strawberry jam making, here is the evidence! Sweet & luscious & not good at all for the waistline.
I was explaining to devliegendekoe in an email that I am competing with the blue tongue lizards for the strawberries. They are our major strawberry ‘predator’, and we share with them willingly. They are beautiful, passive creatures. The best they can do, when under threat, is to poke out their amazing blue tongue at you.
I am always relieved when a rustle in the grass turns out to be a blue tongue, and not the less beautiful, less passive, and very deadly common eastern brown snake! Thankfully, I have only come across one of the latter so far this season.
(The reptile photographs are not mine. They came from here and here. I can only photograph flowers – they don’t hiss!)
No roses today, but a stunning gerbera given to me by a generous friend. The bloom is an enormous 20cm (8") across. I haven't seen anything like it in a plant nursery anywhere. I love being able to walk around the garden being reminded of friends as I watch the plants they have given me flourish. And the thought that I have been given something unique & unavailable commercially is particularly special.
It is strawberry season here. Time to brush up on the jam making skills. Actually, I do no such thing! I throw some strawberries, some sugar & half a lemon in my old breadmaker, put it on the jam setting and return in an hour and a half to find scrumptious jam ready to bottle. Too easy!
Ooh, look what has just arrived in the mail. I can feel a coffee & a read coming on. Really should go and finish the BAS. Hmmm, coffee or BAS - tough choice. Coffee is smelling good. delicious magazine is, in my opinion, the best foodie magazine in Australia. They have a great website here.
(For international readers, a BAS is a Business Activity Statement, a statement of income & expenditure required by our taxation office each quarter - fun, fun, fun!)
Another favourite rose - this is called 'Wildflower' by, you guessed it, David Austin. Quite different to his usual full, cup-shaped blooms. I love the simplicity of this one.
This is a little quilt my Mum has just finished for her latest grandchild. My family has a farming background, and it has become a tradition that each grandchild, whether a boy or a girl, receives a 'farm quilt' from Grandma. Lots of chooks & sheep & cows.
I made this quilt for a friend a couple of years ago. It is a lap-sized quilt and I was so impressed with how it turned out that, in a fit of lunacy, I decided this was the design I wanted on my own (queen-sized) bed. This my most significant WIP at the moment. I need to make 60 (yes, SIXTY!) of these heart blocks. I am up to #53.
Earlier in the year, when I started this project, My Sweetness suggested I could have it finished especially for our upcoming 'significant' wedding anniversary next January. He thought he was being quite reasonable & generous giving me 12 months to finish it - I was mortified! A nice idea though. This quilt has come to be known as 'The Love Quilt', and the anniversary deadline is looming! The pattern is Bareroots Hearts & Flowers Quilt #79.
The rose is Benjamin Britten (by David Austin) taken in my garden this morning.
