Settling into a new garden

Every day in a new garden is an adventure.  We discover new and exciting things everyday.  I don't know what this flower is called but it looks almost like it is painted.

There are several roses dotted throughout the garden.  They are not roses I would have chosen but they suit this space and I am thrilled with them.

We are waiting for our fruit to ripen and I think the birds are waiting for them too.  We have apples, apricots and cherries.  Our lemon tree has finished fruiting but has lots of new fruit on it.   The idea of having a productive garden is also new to us.  We have added a vegetable garden and a little plot of herbs.

Speaking of birds - I discovered this nest today when I was pruning.  Mother bird is sitting on the eggs so I was careful not to disturb her.  There are several nests in our garden and the birds here are different from the birds in our previous garden. 

Sometimes we even manage some time to sit and relax.  This palm makes it feel like a resort in our own back garden.

New House - New Life

I have been surprised at how quickly we have settled into our new home.  It is as if we have always lived here.

It is only 20 minutes from our previous home so we are still in the same general area but this is much more suburban compared to the bushland we were living in.

In practical terms this house is not as big as our previous one but it is spacious and well designed.  There are no stairs and the block of land is flat. 

We were on a quiet windy little road before and now we are on a main road with school buses passing by morning and afternoon.

We had possums and tall trees and mostly indigenous plants in our garden.

There were lots of beautiful birds too.

Our new garden is well established with lots of flowers and green lawns.

Fruit trees and bulbs.

I spend a lot of time outside in the garden.

I do love our new home.

Looking for Inspiration

I am going through one of those creative slumps at present: rthe bronchitis has almost gone which is just as well as I am booked in for an arthroscope on Friday.

 I am sure the endless coughing and of course difficulty breathing results in a different mindset.

Survival mode kicks in and there is no energy for anything else.

 I have spend some time this evening photographing some of our garden and the improvements we have made to the house over the past year or so.

The birds were starting to settle for the night and it is interesting to watch them vying for the best position.

It is quite noisy and busy and then it all goes quiet when the sun has gone.

Yesterday I bought these two little cabinets  to keep my current craft projects in.  This little space between the kitchen and lounge has been a bit bare lately and I think this is a great solution.  I could have bought one large cabinet but I like the fact that I can move these around whenever I want.  By next week I think there will be Christmas decorations on them.

An Easter tree

 HAPPY EASTER

2013

2 little birds

Life is busy at present and there is not much time for creative work.  Last night I added a few more items to this ongoing piece.  Can you see two birds?  They are taken  from paper serviettes and glued to the background.

I hope to finish this tomorrow.

It is Autumn here now and the weather is absolutely beautiful.


Many of the trees are beginning to change colour although our native trees are evergreen.

cameras & windows

My camera is refusing to talk to me so I am showing you a picture of one of the side windows in our house.

It is typically Australian leaded glass work and several of the houses in this street have similar windows.  

I took this picture because I am thinking of moving the window panels to another area of the house.

Our new tv is opposite these windows and we find that during the day many of the programmes we view feature these gorgeous images.  The sun shines right on them which is beautiful but................

Anyway if anyone has suggestions about a new camera (easy to use and modest price) I would be glad to hear from you.  I feel quite lost without my constant companion.  My camera is like a second pair of eyes and a memory bank which I use often.  


Oh I meant to explain about the header:  when I was at the beach a couple of weeks ago the thong was on the beach - abandoned.  There was no-one swimming - in fact no one else on the beach at all.  It just needed to be photographed.


See I do need a camera.

eucalyptus flowers

I made this some time ago and it stays on the shelf in my sewing room.  the stem and one leaf are stitched onto brown wool felt.


The upper leaf is worked as a detached element on calico using gumnut silk threads.

The caps on the top of the flowers are worked using green felt and silk threads.

The flowers are made using red silk threads bound together, similar to making a tassel, and these were inserted in the caps and then stitched to the stem.

I added some fabric stiffener to the ends of the flowers to keep them in place.

Although this is such a simple piece I am very pleased with it.

The variety of flowering eucalypts is extensive and always interesting.  They attract nectar loving birds and provide colour in the garden.  Many of the trees have interesting leaves and bark.  They are messy, dropping leaves throughout the year and often losing rather large limbs after strong winds.  Many of them shed long sheets of bark on a very hot day in an attempt to provide themselves with mulch to keep their roots cool.  A very efficient idea.

kookaburra in the garden

Today this young kookaburra
came to visit.  There were two of them flying around in the garden behind us and were being harassed by the magpies and noisy minas.  I am not sure what they were looking for but they didn't have a chance to settle.  Anyway I went outside to try to take a photo and one of the kookaburras landed on the veranda just above me.  It seemed to be quite a young bird and stayed still long enough to have its photo taken.  We often hear these iconic Australian birds in the early morning and at dusk but they are well camouflaged.  It is a real privilege to see them up close.

early morning visitors

This morning we had a visit from 2 Yellow tail black cockatoos.  It is the first time I have seen them so close.  They occasionally fly over in large and very noisy flocks but this pair were just sitting quietly in the tree at our back fence.

 These fellows usually feed off the seeds of the eucalyptus trees.  We have plenty of them around and I guess that is why these birds dropped by.

EARLY BIRDS & BUSY STITCHING

This morning the birds were lined up on the rails of the veranda waiting for their breakfast.

First in line was this little baby butcher bird.

This little baby magpie was quite capable of feeding itself but as soon as mother bird appeared it started squawking until it was fed.  

I have made some progress with Santa.  I have a clear image of what he will look like now. 

I have hand quilted the damask skirt in the same colour as the overskirt.

I am using some of my dyed lace to trim the edges and he is wearing a straw hat which will be covered in felt.

These are some of the green threads I had to choose from.  It always amazing me that I can have so many shades of one colour but not be able to find exactly what I want. 

THE EQUINOX - HAPPY DAYS AND SAD NEWS

I never grow tired of the sunsets over the sea.  Last night we went to pick up some fish'n'chips for tea and on the way we stopped on the cliff top to watch the sun go down.  It seemed like a special sunset as we had heard earlier in the morning that Mike's (my hubby) dear uncle had passed away in hospital in the UK.

These are the times that we feel so far away.

 The tyrrany of distance is more than just a saying when you have relatives so far away and no way of being there at important times.

So we watched the sun go down and thought of this man who was so important to Mike as he grew up and so lovely to me when I visited the UK some years ago.  We were lucky to have him visit us here in Austtralia some twenty years ago and Mike made several business trips to the UK which allowed him the opportunity to see loved ones.

 In the garden we have lots of baby birds and their parents seem to be endlessly seeking out food for them.  We have magpies and crimson rosellas with little ones in the nest.

And speaking of little ones - the neighbours next door have welcomed two new daughters into their family.

These much wanted little girls, Chelsea and Caitlin, will be home in a couple of weeks.  They have a big sister at home who is anxious to help with them.

I haven't done much stitching this week but am hoping to do some in the next few days.  School holidays continue and of course the garden requires lots of attention at this time of year.  The roses are producing new leaves so I am looking forward to flowers later.  The camellias have bloomed prolifically this year but the rain has been so constant that they have not lasted well.  

SATURDAY MORNING

It is early Saturday morning and it seems everyone in the neighbourhood is still sleeping.  The sun is up and the birds are singing their morning greeting.  I love the sound of the magpies best of all.The butcher birds are lurking somewhere, I can here them calling and of course the lorikeets and noisy minors are making their presence known. 

I have taken one pic of the fabrics and laces I dyed this week.  They are luscious, warm colours and I can't wait to put them to good use.  I have a few more to rinse out still.

This is the last of the dye given to me by Linda nearly two years ago.  Each time I look at the fabrics I have dyed I remember that visit.  I must see if I can find some pics.

Talking of finding things: we had the electricians upgrading the wiring in my work room this week so have to finish putting things back where they belong.    I am so pleased to have this particular work done - the wiring was done many years ago, before computers and associated equipment were used regularly.  The addition of four sewing machines and other appliances really put too much stress on the system.

I hope everyone is finding time to be creative and enjoying the change of the seasons. 

galahs & grevilleas

I have had a busy few days with the family but still found time to stitch.

The embroidery of the grevillea is done but I am not sure what I will make from it.

It turned out better than I had hoped: the grevillea is particularly hard to capture in thread.  There are many varieties, some with small toothbrush like flowers and others with spidery blooms.  Colours vary from reds, yellows, pinks to creamy shades.  The foliage is just as varied: some with fernlike leaves and others with prickly needles. The nectar attracts the native birds as well as the bees to the garden.

During the weekend two of my grandsons stayed over on Saturday night  and then on Sunday morning the older one, Michael, went to the golf driving range with Mike (my husband) and Matthew and I looked for birds in the garden so he could fill in his bird observation log book.  We were lucky enough to see lots of lorikeets of course and magpies.  We were writing up the log when a couple of galahs landed on the verandah rail.  They are much more timid than the lorikeets but we managed to take some pics. 

flora & fauna in our garden

Well, my grevillea is progressing well.  I am finding this project, which I have set for myself, to be really challenging.  The grevillea is a very hard flower to express in stitch.  I have done one in silk ribbon too but I have no idea where it is now.

This time I am using a variety of threads and stem stitch, split back stitch, satin stitch, couching and french knots and am reasonably happy with it so far but I can feel a little paint or even hapazome coming on.  It needs something to bulk it out a bit.  

Incidentally the two flowers I posted on the previous blog are grevillea coconut ice and grevillea ned kelly (I think, the birds have made off with the label).

Talking of the birds, here are some of the lorikeets that often visit the garden.  We feed them occasionally as they are so beautiful.  They feed on the native flowers as well so there is plenty to attract them to our garden.

We also have possums visiting us in the evenings: they are nocturnal creatures and if we don't bring the bird seed in they eat it all.  I had to distract this one with an apple last night in order to be able to bring the seed in.