Regime #5032

As a mother, I am continuously reviewing the lifestyle of my family, and coming up with new and improved means for ensuring that my three children somehow emerge from their upbringing as well rounded individuals. Concerned with the increasingly excessive time spent by my three in front of the computer (Facebook, online games etc) or on their iPods (more games), I have imposed a new regime: one half hour ONLY of techno gadgets per child per day. Homework related use is exempted. Of course, it takes a whole lot more energy on my part to impose this regime than to give in to their pleading, but that's parenting huh?!

On the upside, I witnessed the first fruits of the new regime this week:

My eldest daughter and her friends love to exchange birthday presents. My eldest daughter is usually skint, spending her pocket money with abandon (mostly on her friends, I have to admit). 

I told her she could have free reign with my fabric stash if she wanted to sew gifts for her friends. And so her 'Love' pillows were born.

They are a simple, but sweet design - a single heart, raw-edge appliqued onto linen and finished with running stitch. They are a hit with her friends as she carefully colour coordinates them to her friends' bedrooms - important when you're sixteen :)


These pillows exist only because of my new 'get-off-Facebook-and-do-something-productive' regime. So proud!

A brief distraction

I have a thousand things to do, but have been briefly distracted by this clever little clip - a fantastic journey in 90 seconds of fashion, music and dance in the last 100 years.


So at the risk of distracting you too, I thought I'd share it :)


I could also distract you with this ...

... but that would be bordering on irresponsible. Have a great day!

Feeding the fabric fetish

Since moving to town four years ago, I would guess I have visited my local quilt shop at least once a week. Yet in four years, I've not managed to spot this treasure ... until today! It is a rare piece of 'Up Town' Paint by Number by Erin Michael for Moda, and incorporates two of my favourite things, birds AND blooms. If your heart misses a beat at the sight of this fabric too, I'm sure the girls at Marally can help: their email is info@marallycraft.com.au

In other fabric news, I picked up these pieces over the holidays. I am loving using grey just at the moment, and I have these ear-tagged to make up a boy's version of my Little Abracadabra. They are mostly Michael Miller fabrics ('Zoology', 'Play Dot'  and 'Play Stripe' in sea, 'Dumb Dot' in grey, 'Feeling Groovy' in charcoal) with a little bit of Jenean Morrison's 'Silent Cinema' thrown in.

Before the holidays, I had the enormous pleasure of playing with some pre-release fabrics from Amy Butler's new line, 'Lark'. This line is everything you've come to expect from Amy - dynamic, bold, large-scale, colour-saturated gorgeousness.

This is another one of those annoying 'secret projects', I can't reveal too much just now. But I can tell you that there was some applique involved ... 

 

 ... and that there is much excitement afoot for next year's issues of Australian Homespun. Just sayin' :)

May I introduce ...

... some of my farm beauties to you? School holidays usually mean some time in our farm garden. And the October holidays mean sitting back and enjoying the benefits of working hard with the winter pruning.

The lovely Margaret at The Home Patch reminded me that I should take some photos of the garden for the blog. Well Margaret, you asked for it :)

I love to take macro shots of my flowers, but I thought with these photos that I would also pan back and give you a sense of place - some context as to where each of my flowers sits within the garden. Enjoy!

This is our lovely David Austin rose, 'Golden Celebration', a favourite.

She sits proudly at the very front of the house, nestled next to the beautiful strong pink 'Othello' rose.

The roses are quite early this year, and I think this lovely is called 'Jumpin' Jack'.

It shares its bed with some delicate mauve irises, the soft grey foliage of Russian sage and sedums, and the sparky lime green of Duranta 'Sheena's Gold'.

Robinia pseudoacacia 'Purple Robe' is wowing us with its display this year - beautiful pendulous purple blooms hanging gracefully from its branches. 

It is planted at the entrance to the garden with the intent of draping across the driveway to welcome visitors. It stands sentinel at the end of a row of standard 'Iceberg' roses.

Looking at it from the house you can perhaps get an idea of how stunning this robinia is. I love the contrast it achieves against the purple berberis on the right and the lime greens of the pom pom tree and salvias in the foreground.

The Betchel crabapples are just starting to bloom and have the bees a-buzz.

We have these planted close to paths so that we can admire their prettiness up close.

Oooh, we interrupt the garden introductions with some noise and frivolity - the cousins are over from next door and there are some serious chasings in progress ... I love that we have a garden for them to enjoy :)

The very first 'Burgundy Iceberg' rose is blooming and will soon be joined by its neighbours.

Forty roses form a hedge along one side of a lawn path and are protected by a taller hedge of Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Stirling Mist'.

Callistemon 'Perth Pink' is also just starting to flower, and is promising to be stunning. 

We hacked this gorgeous thing ruthlessly in the winter, and it hasn't looked back.

I think this sweet thing is Lavandula stoechas 'Marshwood'. It is neglected badly, but rewards faithfully with blooms year ofter year.

It sits at the foot of a purple foliaged prunus tree and is next to yellow flowering irises.

I love these tiny gladiolus. They too are terribly hardy and pop their cheerful heads up despite how little attention I give them.

Their bed fellows are arum lilies, irises and roses, with some mondo grass nipping at their toes, threatening to take them over.

Poor Margaret ... are you still with me? Never again will she suggest I take some more garden photos! I'm almost done :)

Hot pink valerian is pretty much a weed, but it earns its place.

It contrasts wonderfully with the yellowy lime of the gleditsias which tower above its head.

And finally, this wondrous plant, a gift from a gardening friend. She said it is called a cardoon. It is the most fabulous and flamboyant thing.

I love how it lends some serous architectural interest to this corner of the garden. See it standing splendiferously in the background? "Look at me, look at me", it yells.

So you see, there are many personalities in my garden. Some are as common as muck, but resilient to the death. Some are show stoppers, stealing the limelight from their neighbours. Some rise to the occasion, no matter how poorly you treat them. Some selflessly provide a stage for others to shine. But many are there quite simply for their unadulterated beauty, having survived a hard winter prune and bouncing back cheerfully to gladden my world. My garden, how I love thee!

Back from the wild, wild west

School Term 3 = Primary Musical at our school. This year's was set in the Wild West of 1800s USA.

I help with the costumes each year, 

and love every minute of it. 

This year was especially challenging as our usual 'wardrobe mistress' flew to Morocco the weekend before the production, taking all her experience and expertise with her, and asked me to stand in her place. Her shoes are big to fill. 

 Thankfully, all three performances went off with much drama, but thankfully none in the costume department. 

I am feeling my usual tired and shattered self on the first Monday of school holidays, but nothing a good sleep for a few days won't fix :)

Looking forward to some warm weather and time in the garden and at the machine ... after sleep!

Daybook entry #10

On my mind ... Headache, headache, go away ... I really have too much to do today.

In my hoop ... some monogram action!

In my garden ... hardy arctotis waiting patiently for their springtime friends to pop their heads up and blossom.

I am inspired by ... Sam Stosur's win in the US Open. Inspired not only by her powerful forehand, but also by her poise, grace and understated manner. 

I am miffed ... by my apparent inability to stitch a straight line today. I am blaming it on a useless 1/4" marking on my walking foot! More reverse sewing for me.

I am reading ... 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks', on Lily's excellent recommendation. It is a warm but poignant account of Henrietta, who died of cancer in the 1950s. Cells were taken from her cancer tumour without her knowledge or permission, a common occurrence at the time. These cells have since been cultured to create an immortal cell line for medical research. These so-called HeLa cells have generated billions of dollars for the medical industry; they have helped uncover secrets of cancers, viruses, fertilisation, cloning, and gene mapping and yet compensation or acknowledgement for her surviving family were minimal. A thought provoking true story of medical ethics versus scientific progress and at what human cost?

In contrast, I am listening to ... four-hand boogie wooogie on Youtube - part of a music assignment for my littlest bloss. Cool!

Making me laugh today ...

... my Sweetness walked past and asked, "Who gets to pick the two"?!!

Roll on up!

Just in case you are sitting around with nothing to do this fine Wednesday, hop on over to the Moda Country Fair - a month long celebration of sewing from September 6th.

The Moda fabric designers have been busy cooking up free designs, wonderful giveaways and a whole lot more inspiration for you to enjoy. The star-studded line up is:

September 6th    Sandy Gervais of Pieces from My Heart

September 7th   Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs

September 8th Barb and Mary from Me and My Sister Designs

September 9th Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms

September 10th Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts

September 11th Basic Grey 
September 12th Polly and Laurie from Minick and Simpson

September 13th Sandy Klop from American Jane (Post will be featured on Moda's blog)

September 14th Liesl from Oliver + S

September 15th Joanna from Fig Tree and Co.

September 16th Lynne from Kansas Troubles

September 17th Barb and Alma from Blackbird Designs

September 18th Aneela Hoey from Comfortstitching.com

September 19th Barbara Brackman from Barbara Brackman, of course.

September 20th Bonnie from Cotton Way

September 21st Christina from Cabbages and Roses

September 22nd Deb Strain

September 23rd Jan Patek of Brannock and Patek

September 24th Lauren and Jessi Jung

September 25th Stephanie from Lily Ashbury

September 26th Julie from Cosmo Cricket

September 27th Kate Spain

September 28th Karla, Susan and Lisa from Sweetwater

September 29th Kaari from French General

September 30th Lisa from Primitive Gatherings

and the fun continues into October

October 1st Kathy from Kathy Schmitz Studio

October 2nd Liz from Liz Scott Designs

Get y'all over there - you never know what you'll learn! I've already had to Google 'fanny pack' for a translation! Here are just a few things I've picked up: 

American vs Australian Fair vernacular 

country fair (USA) = 'the show' (Aust)

fanny pack (USA) = bum bag (Aust)

corn dog (USA) = dagwood dog (Aust) - no idea why!

cotton candy (USA) = fairy floss (Aust)

hot tamales and candy corn (USA) - remain a complete mystery to me; no Australian equivalent.

And if someone could tell me what a 'cake walk' is, I'd be thankful!

I would love to hear what you call these things in your part of the world, or perhaps you have a special memory of country shows to share.

Early spring beauty

I snapped this shot in my garden early this morning. 

It is Magnolia x loebneri 'Merrill', and while it is only small right now, it is shaping up to be quite a beauty. I have added it to my Wallpaper page, just for you :)

Gratitude & a passion

We were back at the farm on the weekend, home for the 50th birthday of a dear friend who has been diagnosed with leukaemia this year. She is now in remission thanks to a successful transplant of bone marrow donated by one of her four brothers. It was a great party. There were tears, but an overwhelming sense of gratitude that she is still with us and able to celebrate a momentous birthday.

As is often my habit when life is confronting, I took some time out to wander in the garden and be thankful.

The Manchurian pears were flowering gloriously ...

... and were just at that magical point where the petals were dropping gently and silently like snow in the breeze, leaving a beautiful white carpet on the paths. I'm thankful that I stopped to notice - it was breathtakingly lovely!

The arum lilies were their usual elegant and serene selves, their peace disturbed only by the furious buzzing of a million busy bees!

There were happy daffodils popping their heads up everywhere ...

... and peach blossoms just ready to burst as the weather warms.


You don't need to read my blog for long before you'll realise the passion I have for my garden. If you missed my farm garden tour a little while ago, you can find it in instalments here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.


One of my very favourite songs is 'Fourth Floor' by The Waifs. While I am blessed with a large garden these days, my gardening started in pots on a balcony in a tiny flat in the middle of Sydney. This song perfectly describes the passion for me, whether your garden is big or small!

Fourth Floor

On the fourth floor of the building

In a shallow window box

She’s digging in the soil with a silver spoon

Her hands inside rubber gloves

Planting seeds pulling out weeds

The cycle of life is complete

Who would’ve thought it in a city of stone

Four floors above the street

I cannot tell what kind of flowers they are

I’m too far below on the street

But the colour they add to the building so drab

Brings a warm splash of welcome relief

Something worthwhile for the sun to shine on

A reason to radiate heat

Well that small window box puts a skip in my feet

Four floors below on the street

For every good seed she plants in the soil

There’s a dozen bad waiting to grow

To strangle the goodness she’s trying to nurture

And kill all the seed that she’s sown

Every time you water the garden you also water the weeds

A profound illustration of sin and temptation

Four floors above the street

Some people don’t understand why she does it

Some people look for a reason

Maybe she just likes the feel of the soil

Or keeping in tune with the seasons

Maybe she has so much pride in herself

Got to keep it all visually pleasing

A small paradise in a world of concrete

Four floors above the street

A small paradise in a world of concrete

A small paradise in a world of concrete

A small paradise in a world of concrete

Four floors above the street

Nifty strip-piecing trick

Thank you for your interest in my tutorial. The tutorial has moved and is available in its entirety at this link. Best wishes, Bloom.