It’s such a beautiful day here. The temperature is a mild 18 degrees and it is sunny with a gentle breeze. I appreciate this even more than normal after the showers, storms and even hail we had this past week. I’ve spent the morning in the garden, observing what’s happened, weeding and flinging some seeds […]
Are you all over the place, too?
We moved here nearly two years ago. We busied ourselves with making changes to create a cosy home – having cracked roof tiles replaced, installing carpet, buying some furniture, arranging spaces to suit. In the garden, I discovered what had been planted and added a few of my own. When we arrived here, the area […]
Passionflower quilt
I’m not overly fond of quilt challenges. Usually my quilt ends up too big or too small, rectangular when it should be square, or in breach of one of the other challenge conditions. But this challenge was different. We were each given a bundle of hand-dyed pink fabrics and had to include some of each […]
15 years of blogging
Earlier this century, I started blogging. Fifteen years ago, in 2006, to be precise. I find that astonishing. I started on the Blogger platform, with my Creative Dabbling blog. This was where I posted on a regular basis right up until last year, when I registered my webpage address and set up this site. As […]
My book of the month: September 2021
Reading a new book in a series is like catching up with an old friend. You discover what has happened in their life since you last communicated and whether circumstances have changed. The main character in Hemlock seems like one of those friends. I’ve been reading about China Bayles’ life through 28 books so I […]
Talking about tulips
I could never successfully grow tulips until we moved to a cooler climate than Sydney’s. I followed all the tips about storing the bulbs in the fridge until planting but they never flowered. All I have to do here is plant them in the ground in May and they flourish. I’m thankful for that since […]
Visitor plants
Visitor plants often pop up in my garden. They are usually self-seeded and arrive unexpectedly. Some are generally regarded as ‘weeds’ because of this but I admire their will to live. Several of these Corydalis plants have popped up recently but I didn’t know what they were until I used the PictureThis app to identify […]
Weekend reading
Reading keeps me informed and entertained while our lives are still restricted by the plague. I read articles from many, many magazines each month, thanks to my public libraries. They subscribe to hundreds of titles through PressReader and Libby so members can read them for free. Does your library offer these services? It’s especially handy […]
Fragments of cloth
Playing with small pieces of cloth and simple stitches can be therapeutic. There are no expectations, no pattern to follow, and no purpose really – just to play with different techniques. I did that with these two small pieces, which I call Fragments. Each piece is approximately 14cm x 20cm Fragment 1 is two layers […]
In my garden column: September 2021
As is normal in September here, some days and nights are cold while others are warm. It’s noticeable that the season is changing, with blossoming trees in all the streets and gardens. The crab apple in my back yard is in all its blossoming glory (look at those colours!) yet the one in the front […]