Golden Tones

Golden tones in a spectrum from the brightest of yellows to almost orange to mustard and burnished brown, found in and around my everyday.

A deeply golden pumpkin destined for the roasting pan & soup.

The flowers of a climber that twines itself over our fence from next door.

Slices of sunshine & a pineapple top to plant. 

The mustardy yellow fabric for a new top.

A dusting of warm cinnamon on little apple muffins. 

Sandy coloured yarn for a shawl.

(I'm not sure if you can see the flecks of a deeper yellow.)

My fascination with these colours of late comes as somewhat of a surprise to me. Normally, I favour beautiful blues and the greens of nature but at the moment it's these rich golden colours I feel drawn to. Perhaps it's the new season? Perhaps, I just feel like something in my wardrobe that isn't blue? Whatever the reason, I think these golds are gorgeous and glorious. 

What colour/s are you enjoying right now?

Meg

A City Farm's Nursery

I could while away many an hour at local nurseries immersed in all the garden goodness they have on offer. Everything from plants to fountains to mulch! My favourite nursery though is in at the city farm. I love to visit, to talk with and seek advice from staff and to browse their range of incredible and edible plants!

The colourful gates at the entrance to the City Farm Nursery.

Bright and early, on the Saturday just gone, I spent some time at the nursery choosing some seedlings to plant in my Autumn veggie patch. I came home with some tiny little lettuce seedlings and some silverbeet to plant out too. These will be the first things I tuck into the soil this Autumn. I'm looking forward to picking the leaves of our own lettuce again!

 An amazing selection of vegetable seedlings and herbs.

 My lettuce and silverbeet seedlings and a pot of lemon thyme.

I love to wander the little paths of this small nursery. Besides the interesting range of edible plants (herbs, veggies and fruit trees) there is so much inspiration to find...

Beautiful leadlight bamboo! 

(This has me thinking about Art for the garden.)

Gorgeous tumeric flower.

(I hope my newly planted tumeric will flower too.)

The nursery's native beehive. 

(Could I make a little roof like this for my own hive?)

There's a wonderful range of herbs at the nursery. Everything from tansy to thyme. I bought a pot of lemon thyme as I lost mine recently. Too much rain?? I'm looking forward to flavouring our Winter stews and casseroles with this wonderful herb. Such a zingy scent!

My new vanilla bean orchid.

I always find new-to-me or unusual plants too. Things that are a bit different! This time, I chose to bring home a vanilla bean orchid. (It was a hard choice between that and a pepper vine!) I'm going to plant it in the dappled shade that the trees near our back deck rotunda create. I really hope I can get it to grow! If I am lucky and it blooms, I will need to learn how to hand pollinate the flowers because there are no natural pollinators of the vanilla bean orchid outside of Mexico. No wonder vanilla is one of the world's most expensive spices.

A re-purposed laundry trolley full of liriope.

A visit to the city farm and its nursery always renews my enthusiasm for growing food and provides so many ideas of what is possible in the area where I live. I always leave with many new ideas and always more than a few plants!

Do you have a favourite plant nursery? What do you love about it?

Meg

Starting a Shawl

Sometimes, learning a new skill can be a frustrating experience. Starting my first-ever shawl is proving to be so ... but I am determined!

A beginning ...

Stephenie (who is an amazing knitter) wrote a great post recently about challenging oneself over on her blog, The Awakened Soul. This shawl is certainly challenging me. No less than six times have I cast on and no less than five times have I pulled it all out! But, sixth time lucky, I have managed to get past the points that were the stumbling blocks for me and now I simply have to repeat many times over, what I've spent quite a few hours learning, to make the most lovely edge of the Cicely Shawl by Courtney Spainhower. (Here is the Ravelry link for those wanting to see what it should look like when it's done.)

When I am choosing something new to knit now, I am looking for things which include stitches I'm confident with and also something new to learn. In this shawl, there's a M1 or Make One stitch which is a way of increasing the number of stitches. I've never done that before and so, of course, that was where a major stumbling block was. That and a lost stitch in a later row! Once this pretty edge is finished, the next challenge will be picking up stitches from those cast off. Thank goodness for YouTube videos (see links) that help me to see what I am supposed to be doing! I consider these online tutorials the next best thing to having my Grandma or my Mum at my shoulder.

I've also had to let go of perfection. That lost stitch in one of the later lacy rows simply disappeared and I could not find where it went. I should've had 19 stitches at that point but I had only 18.  I made the "executive decision" to use my newly acquired M1 stitch to make one so that I had the right number of stitches to go on with. Perfect? No. But considering this stitch fell off my needles after the sixth time I'd cast on, I figured that it was the only way forward!

Another repeat to be followed by another and another!

Now, I am this far into my first-ever shawl. Progress! Perhaps, you are an experienced knitter and you'll be able to see my mistakes but I am hoping most people won't look that closely. First attempts are sometimes clumsy, a little wonky or even a lot wonky but I think that is what learning is about. 

I'm not sure I'll finish this shawl before this Autumn and Winter are done but I am sure that, by the time it's complete, I will  have learnt a whole lot more about knitting!

Meg

From the Farmers Market

Once a month, on a Sunday morning, a street in a nearby suburb is blocked off as local traffic makes way for the stalls of a farmers market. 

A local street is closed for a farmers market.

Up the street and back again takes you on a happy, crowded and mouth-watering stroll. There's fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables displayed on trestle tables; their vibrant colours so inviting. (I never feel this way about the fruit and veggies at the supermarket!)

Baskets of fresh Summer vegetables.

(No styrofoam trays and plastic wrap either!)

As well as fruit and veggies, there's nuts, cheeses, meats, breads, cakes, fudge, flowers, coffee and much more. 

Lots to choose from!

There's the wafts of delicious foods cooking as you pass by. Everything from fresh Turkish breads and spicy sausages to hot crepes and little poffertjes (little Dutch pancakes). Following one's nose at the market can often lead to all kinds of delicousness!

Little Dutch pancakes cooked while you wait.

(Soft, hot and drizzled with maple syrup ... Mmm!)

There's the farmers and producers themselves, standing behind their stalls or out in front offering samples of their amazing food. If you ask them, they'll tell you when, where and how it was grown or made, when it was picked or baked or bottled, why it tastes so good! The conversations to be had about food and produce, with the people who actually grew or made it, are one of my favourite things about the markets. It's how to find out where your food comes from and what's in it or on it! 

Tom grows apples in his orchard near Tenterfield (about 3 hours away)

 & his free samples were fresh, crisp and delicious!

And ... just as you go over the railway line to enter the market or just before you cross back to leave, there's a guy wearing a fluro high-vis vest. You can't miss him and for relatively few bucks he'll sell you a copy of The Big Issue with a "Gday!" and a smile. His presence reminds me that there are many in our community who fall on hard times (for whatever reason) and that abundance (in whatever form) can be shared to make someone's life that bit better. 

Lots of fresh food, and food for thought, from the markets.

In my market basket, along with my copy of The Big Issue, there was pumpkin from a farmer who also grows sunflowers too.  Two types of bananas from the grower who helped me choose some that are ripe now and some that will ripen over coming days. There's corn so sweet you can eat it raw on the cob and sweet potatoes sold at the stall that has the most beautiful classical music playing in the background. (I talked about pianos and guitars with that grower, not veggies this time:) Little new potatoes and lettuce and capsicum came home with me as my garden has none of these growing over the Summer. (Try as I might, I am rarely successful at growing capsicums!) An armful of Tom's crisp and crunchy apples made it into my basket too, his free samples were soooo good!

Do you buy some of your fresh produce at a market? If you do, what do you love about your market?

Meg

Saturday Snippets

Saturday, that precious beginning-of-the-weekend day, has dawned here with a clear blue sky and a slight breeze.  All is very quiet here though I fully expect someone will start up a mower sometime soon! (The grass is growing very enthusiastically after all the rain we've had!) My beautiful boy and his Dad headed off to cricket early this morning and left Sir Steve dog and I happily mooching around here at home. It feels already like a gentle, slow day that will unfold in ordinary moments and home-work of a kind that lets contentment settle in. Here's a snippet of what I think I might do today:

 Make lovely lemon curd from these fresh lemons & eggs. 

(A gift from a good friend's garden.)

Cut back this sweetly-scented star jasmine.

(It's now finished flowering.)

 Wash & then decide what I shall do with these used linens my mother sent me.

(They are old pillowslips and cushion covers.)

Cast on the scarf that I want to knit with this soft & sandy coloured wool. 

(Wish me luck!)

Make another one of this nutty & caramel-y alternative to the LCM bar.

(No plastic wrappers & unpronounceable ingredients here!)

Have a leisurely read of this Australian Permaculture magazine.

(I love the teapot on the cover!)

So, that's how my Saturday is shaping up. No plans to go anywhere but thoughts of happy, ordinary things that bring a simple joy. The lawn does need mowing but I'm sure we'll get to that in good time before I have to start calling it a jungle instead of lawn;)

Enjoy your weekend days. May they include some simple joys of your own.

Meg

Here & Now 19

We've had a lot of rain here. Not as much as other areas to the far North, where torrential rain has caused widespread flooding. For many, this rain is a welcome relief from a drought that has parched their landscapes. 

Where I live, there is blue sky again now, dotted with clouds. The returning sun has brought with it the feeling of a season turning. Summer is fading and my favourite season, Autumn, has begun. 

Two skeins of a beautiful hand-dyed yarn.
(from Saltwater Yarns)

 A delicious Pear & Dark Chocolate Loaf.

Milky brown cotton for a new washcloth,

Loving //  The change in the season from Summer to Autumn.

                      Autumnal is one of my most favourite words!  💛

Eating //  Slices of lovely pear and dark chocolate loaf eaten warm when the chocolate
                      is still little sweet puddles.

Drinking //  Water, as always! A twist of lime or lemon too. 

Feeling //  Quite tired and sore. I have developed tendonitis in both feet!

Making //  A few washcloths in latte and chocolate brown cottons.

Thinking //  ... that I may swim laps and knit a lot while my feet heal.

Dreaming// ...   of a first shawl made with yarn the colour of sandstone cliffs.

Over at Say, Little Hen, you will find the lovely Sarah and others who post their own monthly Here & Now lists.  Why not make yourself a cup of tea or coffee (or pour a glass of whatever you fancy) and visit with them awhile? 

Meg

Just a Bit More Sewing

While I've been waiting for this glorious rain we've been getting to ease up, and for the sun to break through the clouds, I've squeezed in just a bit more sewing. (I think my knitting needles are beginning to feel neglected!)

 A home sewn skirt and top.

I made one of my oldest and closest friends her very own wrap skirt. She requested something in blues and I found this gorgeous floral fabric and a very sweet fabric, dotted with tiny little flowers, for the trim. I think these wrap skirts lend themselves to having fun with fabrics.

A pretty Cloud 9 poplin called "Blooming Buds".

 A sweet cotton lawn for the trim.

From the leftover fabric of the skirt's trim, I was able to make another sailor top.  I shortened the top this time, according to the pattern's instructions, and am happy with how it has turned out.  I have made up both of these patterns before. The second time around was easier because I remembered what I had done before. More confidence and less unpicking this time! 

There won't be any sewing on my radar this weekend. We are heading off to the beach. The forecast is for partly cloudy days so we will see what the weather brings. Think I will pack my knitting needles though seeing I am leaving my sewing machine behind;) 

Have yourself a really happy weekend!

Meg

A Little Bit of Boro Mending

I tend to live in my favourite pieces of clothing until they are worn, ragged and frayed.  I  keep wearing them unless and until decidedly embarrassing holes, in less than strategic places, emerge in the faded fabrics. Such garments are then piled up for mending where they may languish for a long time. Either that or they become "gardening clobber". My favourite (and only) pair of denim shorts reached this point recently and, rather than send them to a pile from which they may not return any time soon, I decided to mend them but in a way that makes a feature of their patches. 

 Patched shorts.

Boro is a traditional Japanese patchwork where scraps of cloth were used to mend clothing and quilts. In doing so, the life of garments and quilts was extended and they were often passed down through generations as they remained useful. I used this simple online tutorial to help me try a little boro mending to extend the life of my very worn shorts. 

My well-loved shorts.

I cut patches from material scraps I had left over after sewing this dress. I love that this process uses scraps of fabric, reducing waste and finding a purpose for what otherwise may be thrown away. After pinning my little fabric patches in place, I stitched little sashiko running stitches, worked over and on top of the fabric patches. It was a lovely, repetitive and quiet process. While I gather there are certain dos and don'ts in regards sashiko, mistakes are imperfectly perfect too!

My imperfect sashiko stitches.

Stitches securing patches to denim of my shorts.

I experimented with little criss crosses too ...

Little crosses.

I love the little mushrooms, seedheads and flowers that peek out from the patches I've stitched into my old and much-loved shorts. No only have I mended them and extended their life but I've added something to them which I like very much. 

Making some of my own clothes and learning ways in which to mend and alter the ones I already have is in direct contrast to the culture of fast, cheap and disposable fashion that sees Australians dispose of 6000 kilograms of fashion and textile waste every. ten. minutes! It seems too that there are many other home sewers like me who are developing or rediscovering their sewing skills and making their own clothes in order to bypass fast fashion and waste associated with it.  As Jane Milburn, whom Chel over at Going Grey and Slightly Green wrote about recently, asserts that we develop a true appreciation of our clothing when we have made it ourselves. I certainly would find it hard to throw away the garments I've made ... I know just how much unpicking I did!

I've no doubt I will need to continue adding patches to my well-loved denim shorts. It might get to the point where they are more patches than original material! I might have to patch the patches even!

Do you sew or mend your own clothes?
Meg

A Walk Along an Island Foreshore

Crossing the Bribie Island Bridge, that takes you from the mainland, across the protected waters of the Pumicestone Passage, to the island on the other side feels like a slow exhale to me.  A walk always awaits; a chance to breathe in the fresh air and see the sea.  My most recent walk here, on a windy day in February, took me along a section of foreshore that was calm and breezy and peaceful.

Bribie's  Bridge. 

A row of little red "tinnies" .

 Boats bobbing on the waves.

 Large, shady gums.

Pretty purple flowers. 

Gorgeous greens & greys. 

Mangroves on the shoreline.

Pigface tendrils in the sand.

Four feathery fellows. 

(I just love the antics of these birds!)

A peaceful view towards the mountains.

As I walked, the Glasshouse Mountain peaks filled my view, enveloped in a curtain of cloud. These iconic Sunshine Coast mountains stand tall on the distant horizon, connecting the waters of the passage with the land. The waves, for a windy day, were fairly calm and gently lapping the shore. Little boats bobbed up and down upon them like corks. 

Pelicans gathered in one spot, their black and white feathers ruffled by the wind. I love to see these birds for they seem such funny characters. Did you know a group of pelicans can be called a scoop? I think that's very apt considering the fish they scoop up into their bills and hold in their net-like pouches of such delicate pink. I'm not sure Bribie's fishing folk quite see them as endearingly as I do given they are always on the hunt for a free meal!

While the colours of my windy day walk were muted by the cloud above, this offered up its own beauty; a contrast to the strong light and blinding brightness of an Australian beach in Summer. 

Meg