A quilt for Christmas ...

I am always in awe of people who make spectacular Christmas quilts in traditional reds and greens - and one day, I might actually get around to making one!
In  the meanwhile, I decided to make a vintage-inspired shaggy Christmas quilt. The inspiration came from a vintage Christmas pillowcase/sack that I found at the local church op-shop. I used this as the panel in the middle of the quilt and used lots of my scrap fabrics to coordinate in a messy/matchy way.
I love shaggy quilts as they are so snuggly and family friendly!

Time to thank teachers..

This year has brought about many changes to knitboy's education. This is mainnly due to two wonderful, dedicated teachers who have shown such care and patience, as well as being flexible and creative in their approach to learning.
To say thank you, I made them each a clock. The clock face is downloadable from here.
I had trouble finding a clock that I could disassemble and was the correct size. In the end, I found this lovely little clock at K-Mart for $3.00 (!!! I would spend a fortune on these teachers, however this was the clock  perfect for the project!!!) and reduced the printable face to 75%.

Thanks so much Mr. M and Mr. M.

It's being to look a lot like Christmas...

As December races ahead we have started to get into the Christmas spirit.
The tree has gone up, the house decorated, and some crafting has taken place...
My son (knitboy) even came up with his own version of of my favourite Christmas carol .... while putting up the Christmas tree he found a decoration with the words to Silent Night on it ... he proceeded to sing:
"Silent Night, Holy Night,
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Vegan Mother and Child ...."

(Well, at least he knew what vegan meant. We must work on his reading!!)

The tree is up!!

 We made this lovely tree from some scrap wood. Knitboy did most of the sawing and nailing, with a little help from his Pop. We made the star from the metal lid of a tin - punching holes with a nail around a star template.

An assortment of vintage glass baubles

Good old Santa

A spot of evening cruising to look at Christmas light

We are aiming to keep our Christmas simple, relaxed and focused on our family.

So far, so good .... what are your plans for Christmas? Do you have any favourite family traditions?

Weekend and a link to a great giveaway!

Hi there,
Hope that you had an enjoyable weekend ... I spent it visiting two giant local markets, watching some River Cottage  DVDs and a spot of gardening. Yesterday I picked (and ate) my first tomato of the season .. so juicy and yum!

A great giveaway at happening over at A Treasured Past. Why not pop over and have a look?

Softies for Mirabel

These little softies are off to Melbourne as my donation to the Softies for Mirabel appeal.
A great cause and always fun to contribute.

This little cutie was made from up-cycled polar fleece  and a vintage pillowcase.

Stripey-Girl was knit from leftover tapestry wool  that was in my craft stash.

How does your garden grow?

Over the last couple of months I have been busy giving the courtyard at the side of our house a new look.

As this area contains my clothes-line, I wanted to make it an appealing spot and a place a really wanted to be in. So after gathering up some stuff for free, I set to work - it is still a work in progress but is now my special place for gardening, relaxing and of course hanging out the washing!!

I revamped this small garden that used to have some sad looking lavender and unruly agapanthus  in it. In their place  I planted  tomatoes, beans, rhubarb, squash and zucchini, eggplants and a passionfruit.
My lovely husband made the metal trellis out of some scrap metals. It looks lovely when the solar fairy lights come on (wound around the top rail of the trellis).

I already have a great crop of tomatoes.

An old wooden ladder (picked up from a kerbside collection) now houses a variety of herbs and lettuces.

These used oil tins are add a bit of quirkiness to the garden and fit in well with the recycle-reuse theme.


My kind neighbour gave me an old cement laundry tub so I decided to mosaic the sides to make it look better. I still have one side to complete and it still needs grouting but I am happy with the result so far. It is now the home to some cherry tomato plants and some basil - a match made in heaven!!
Still have to paint a table and some chairs.
I now look forward to hanging the laundry on the line!!
As this garden area is in addition to another large vegetable plot, I have been aware of conserving as much water as possible. I now have a plastic bucket in my shower that catches all of the water that usually runs down the drain as I wait for the water to get to the right temperature etc. This bucketful allows me to give the plants a good drink everyday!!

A quick makeover

Just wanted to share with you a little project that I recently completed.

1. Take one road-side find wooden stool

2. Use some wool scraps to crotchet a cover. (That is, after you have remembered how to crotchet!!)

3. Add a drawstring to attach to the seat of the stool.

4. Stand back and admire! (And make a note to re-paint the stool one day)