Pom poms in the garden

My garden in Melbourne.

 I live in a small and quiet South East Suburb of Melbourne that people love to buy into because of the excellent high school and two lovely primary schools. 

There is a particularly good quilting shop nearby. 

People are friendly and the children stop in the morning and afternoon to pat the dog. My main garden is in the front. My backyard is just a courtyard with a small garden bed and pots.

My garden used to look like this.

Now it is lush and green and has raised beds.

I grow aspagarus, a number of lettuces, mizunas, mibuna, herbs, raspberries, flowers and have 3 fruit trees. The fruit trees have lost their leaves but I can see the little buds appearing on the 2 plumbs and the White Mulberry.

Now when people look through my gate to pat the dog and peer into the garden to see what I am growing they will see pom poms and foam butterflies as well.

Looks like a macaron pom pom.

Cavello Nero - Black Tuscan Cabbage loved by White Butterflies. The foam butterflies attached with fishing line are there to confuse the real butterflies. I have had less attacks and the cabbages and purple sprouting broccoli is doing incredibly well. 

Made with fast plastic templates.

Made the old fashioned way with a ring of cardboard.

Many thanks to Tania for the inspiration. 

Wool and Sheep Show Bendigo 2011

Australian Wool and Sheep Show 2011 Woolcraft, wool for spinning, felting, knitting and crochet.

Farm supplies, produce, rides for the kids and lamb to cook.

Goats

Black and Coloured Sheep

Competitions and serious business

Wool for felting from ewegivemetheknits, Glenoraweaving - beautiful superfine merino 'twists' and

Lara-downs from Fitzroy. 

But where were the cute Alpacas? http://www.alpaca.asn.au/ 

There was plenty of their wool to buy but no Alpaca tent. 

Preparing for competition.

Seriously, a fun day out with the lovely Mary who drove. The weather was gorgeous. 

I supported local suppliers, had a yummy Yabby Pie (would have gone back for the bisque) in the sun watching the sheep dog trials and added to the stash. 

What am I making today? A pom pom. Something I have not made since Year 9. I remember making 3 large blue pom pom's to wear on a clown costume for  Oh What a lovely war - musical. 

Two more days of the holidays - the clean up continues

I buy a couple of new cardigans each year from a DJ's and wear them to death. Sort of like my uniform. I have taken to wear a brooch on my cardi since I have been living in Melbourne.  My mum was a big brooch wearer. I still have a few of hers but never wear them. My students often comment on the necklaces and corsages. I try and make them myself or buy handmade. 

To date I have only found one woollen opp shop jumper to felt but I found this 'cardi' in my own cupboard. Holes from a brooch and I think a moth. Into the felting bucket they go. Do you think the laundry mat will mind if I dry them off in the big dryer. 

StrawberryFraises Bois  White and sweet. 

Broccoli Purple Sprouting - grown from seed

English Primroses all from Diggers. The garden is humming along quiet nicely. Looking forward to Spring.

Future yarn bomber in the making

First time knitter and she did quite well. Sadly, she is back home in Sydney. I am here in Melbourne and not planning on leaving.

Sewing with Big Niece

A very nice scarf made by BN. Japanese voiles from Spotty and plain fabric voile from Cleggs. BN is very pleased. I helped her cut the fabric and she sewed them together. Backed with cotton voile from Cleggs. I will make myself some more during the week. I might use some Liberty and Anna Maria Horner fabric. 

We have been to see King Tutankamen at the Melbourne Museum. A fantastic exhibition but even if you have a booked ticket you still have to queue to get in. Sadly, you do not get to see the actual Death Masks. These I have seen in Egypt about 25 years ago. They very rarely if ever leave Egypt. 

We have enjoyed hot and cold chocolates and cakes together. Back to the gym for me next week. I keep hearing my Pump class tracks on her iPod. 

I have bought her 'Chelsea Boots' and fabric for her Textiles class back in Sydney and she bought me a lovely brooch by Curlypops at Open Drawer. We both loved the 'hottie' exhibition and she sort of enjoyed the NGV- Art and Design Vienna (no line to get in). She however, liked the Australian Gallery at Federation Square. Overall, we have had a lovely time together. She FaceBooks and I Twitter. I have watched lots of tweenie, teenager tv and Nanny McPhee, the first two Harry Potter's and a bit of the 'Hangover.' Oy, what a strange movie. 

I hope she comes again by herself. I love her brother but he gets bored easily. He would prefer to play computer games all day. Little Niece is only 3 & 1/2 and is too little to spend a week away from home, yet. 

Well, I travelled to Melbourne from Sydney to stay with my Aunty Phyllis when I was 5 for the first time. I think, this is the when I fell in love with Melbourne. I still remember going into the coffee store in Carlisle Street in Balaclava.

Happy Crafting. One more week of school holidays. Sewing and Clean up is the go.

Shopping with big niece

I have spent the last couple of days shopping with Big Niece. I love shopping for craft and visiting garden nurseries. I really enjoy getting out and about in Melbourne, discovering new places. We both loved Open Drawer the 'hotties'. She bought me a lovely Curlypops Brooch and some felt.

We also headed to Daiso Doncaster but I prefer the Japanese shop in Bentleigh. 

In the last couple of days I have been stopping to look inside 'Opp' shops, instead of just dropping off. My late Mother, was a big 'Opp' shopper in Sydney and Melbourne. Visiting 'Opp' shops in the last couple of days has been sad for me. I keep expecting my Mum, to come out of book section. Every time we see one and stop we call it 'Spirit of Safta' - Grandmother in Hebrew.

BN has bought some bargains and I have picked up a woollen jumper to felt and some doilies. But oh, how expensive have they become. Some bargains are to be found but some shops have become very over priced. Is $8.00 reasonable to pay for a woollen jumper with holes in it. Ok, for the crafty felter. Would anyone else want to buy it?

BN's  first attempt at patchwork. She has now learnt about colours, matching fabric, rotary cutting and using a quarter inch foot. Tomorrow, we will make some scarves.

24/7 with my Big Niece for a week

Big Niece's first time in Melbourne by herself and in winter. Normally she flies down with her brother from Sydney. So after a trip to Savers in Brunswick to 'drop off' we picked up a nice handbag. Better than the stuffed toy BN. You can tell your friends you bought it in Melbourne. The sort of thing every girl should have. She was impressed.

Then we headed over to Monsieur Truffe in Collingwood for hot chocolates. They closed at 4.30 pm. Got there just in time.

Then after some fabric shopping at  'Spotty' and shopping for food, we had dinner at Balas in St.Kilda and cake for dessert. 

Cakes from Monarch Cakes in Acland Street St. Kilda

'I never wear at hat and scarf in Sydney' says BN. She looks nice in my purple knitted beret.

After dinner, dressed in winter pj's and dressing gowns everyone was very happy to watch MasterChef and a bit of Disney Chanel which I only watch when A and J are in town.  

Signs of life in the garden and '21 day habit challenge.'

I could be boring and say - exercise, which I will get back to once the Big Niece goes home to Sydney. My Challenge is to 'Clean up and declutter' - everyday.

Elderflowers in the garden. Cold day in Winter but the garden is humming along quiet nicely. Lots of promise of spring bulbs. 

And now for the final clean up and 'declutter' before the niece comes. Less than 24 hours to go.

Lovely fabrics sent in the mail from Prints Charming. More to come in the post from Cloth Fabric Sydney and Duckcloth

A dog's life

This week in Melbourne. My owner has spent too much time on the computer and twitter. Not enough time feeding me and getting ready for her niece to come for a week of holidays. The niece will find it cold but she will have fun with Aunty Yarnwrap. 


I will miss saying hello to the local children from the nearby Primary school but hopefully have a few more walks. I say - could I get down now. I have had enough of being a laptop dog and would prefer to be fed. 


woof woof Sally ♡