The beds in the yard go grow grow grow...

Everything in the garden is growing so quickly at the moment, even though it is very dry. Unfortunately, the weeds are too :/ Nutgrass is the bane of my existence!!

Here are my garden beds Wednesday. 

These cucumbers and coming on wonderfully!

This one is the one I picked this afternoon.
It's tripled its size in a couple of days.

Coriander flowers in my Romanesco Broccoli (that's looking
a bit lacy thanks to the Cabbage Moth caterpillars)

Lots of spaces for lettuce to go in when my seedlings are
bigger, the celery in the middle is looking wonderful and
it will be picked more often now that my Chinese celery
has gone to seed.

Tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum and pepino

Zucchini, cucumber and various leafy greens
(and my pineapples next to the raised bed)

Lettuce, Asian greens, Rosellas, tomatoes
and pumpkins still to find homes

Plastic bags hanging off bamboo stakes protect my pots
from the brush turkey. 

Today's harvest, pepino, beans and cucumber

The pepino went into the fruit salad I had for dinner. The flavour was amazing!! Sort of like rockmelon crossed with a honeydew melon. Thankfully it's thriving so I'll be picking those as soon as more are ripe! Whilst I have a blueberry, orange tree  and fig tree, they are all slow to mature and aren't yielding much fruit at the moment. I've got Chinese Gooseberries to go in so they will add to the fruit side of things as well.

Mel aka OneCraftyMumma hosted a dishcloth swap recently (that's now finished) and below is the cloths that I made. These were so quick to whip up I can see myself doing lots more when holidays come around! I used this pattern off Ravelry, mixing it up a little with the colours. 

Time to relax and watch some tv for me now I think and read my new cookbook. Thanks for visiting!

In the garden... again

Yesterday I tried to study but I was so distracted I ended up gardening. I've done so much in the yard the last couple of weeks and it's really looking great. There are still a few spots that are overcome by weeds but I'll get to them eventually! The weather has been divine, until the 34c days started to appear. I hate to think what it's going to be like over summer, the official one anyway! 

This is how our front bed was looking. Chinese celery and Miner's lettuce going to seed and lots of nut grass, wandering dew and other weeds. So I pulled out the grown lettuce and Miner's lettuce and trimmed everything back that was staying and planted lots of new things.

Before

The trellis is for a choko that I planted. I did want it going over the front gate but the ground is so dry I'm going to have to thump stakes in to make holes or I might bend the trellis a bit much trying to get it in. (It's just a $20 cheapie from Bunnings) 

After

And my updated what's growing in my garden list.... what I'm nurturing anyway :) (lots of corrections because I pulled out my seeds to put the full names in where I could so I can keep a track of what's growing well)

Alyssum, 'Cameo'
Artichoke, 'Green Globe' Cynara scolymus

Aloe vera

Basil, sweet

Beans, purple

Beetroot, 'Crimson Globe'

Blood Orange

Blueberry, Britewell

Broad Beans, 'Long Pod'

Broccoli, 'Romanesco'
Calendulas

Camomile Matricaria chamamilla

Cape Gooseberry Physalis peruviana
Capsicum, 'Californian Wonder'

Carrot, ‘Paris Market’ Daucus carota Syn. 'Tonda di Parigi'

Celeriac, 'Caesar' Apium graveolens rapaceum
Celery, Chinese

Celery

Chilli, 'Amigo Jalapeno' Capsicum annuum
Chilli, 'Chilli Shake' Capsicum frutescens

Chinese Cabbage, Bok Choi, Pechay Brassica oleracea var. capitata

Chives

Choko, green
Cornflower, 'Blue' Centaurea cyanus
Coriander

Cosmos, 'Sea Shells' Cosmos bipinnatus var. cosmicos
Cottage Garden Mix, Stocks, Cosmos, Gaillardia, Poppies and Cornflowers
Cucumber, 'Mini white'

Cucumber, 'Lebanese'

Dill Anethum graveolens

Echinacea, 'Bravado' Echinacea purpurea
Fig, 'Black Genoa'

Florence Fennel, 'Zefa-Fino'
Four seasons herb

Four seasons herb, variegated

Galangal

Garlic chives
Kale, 'Dwarf Green Curled' Brassica oleracea acephala

Kale, 'Red Russian'

Larkspur, 'Galilee Blue' Consolida ajacis
Lavender, 'Spanish' Lavandula stoechas
Lavender, two different varieties

Lemon Balm

Lettuce, ‘First Fleet’

Lettuce, 'Miners'

Lettuce, 'Darwin'

Marigold, 'Gallery'

Mint, 'Chocolate'

Mint, common

Mint, looks like chocolate mint but isn't lol

Mizuna, green

Mustard, 'Red' Brassica juncea

Nasturtium

Oregano

Parsley, ‘Italian flat-leaved’

Parsley, 'Afro'

Peanuts
Pepino

Pigeon pea Cajanus cajan

Pineapple

Potatoes
Pumpkin, 'Buttercup'

Pumpkin, 'Jap'

Queen Anne's Lace Ammi visnaga
Rocket

Rosella, 'Red Drops' Hibiscus sabdariffa

Rosemary, four different varieties but no idea of their names

Sage, variegated

Shallots

Silverbeet, Rainbow Chard
Snapdragon, 'Magic Carpet' Antirrhinum majus
Sorrel

Spearmint

Spinach, Ceylon Malabar
Spinach, Brazilian
Squash, 'Bennings Green Tint' Cucurbito pepo
Stevia, Stevia Rebaudiana

Tarragon, French

Tomato, 'Cherry Roma; 

Tomato, 'Green Zebra'

Tomato, 'Mortgage Lifter' Lycopersicon esculentum

Thyme, common

Thyme, variegated

Turmeric

Warrigal greens

White button mushrooms (hopefully lol)

Yacon

Zinnia, 'Giant Dahlia' Zinnia elegans
Zucchini, 'Cocozelle'
Zucchini, 'Tomboncini'

Still to plant:
Beans, 'Roc D'or' Phaseolus vulgaris
Beans, Climbing Snake 'Red Dragon' Vigna unguiculata var. sesquipedalis
Beans, Soy
Tomato, 'Cherry Rainbow' Lycopersicon esculentum

In my garden

Seeing as study and the garden are taking up most of my time at the moment I thought I'd record what I've got growing at the moment Jerry style. (No idea of the proper names of things though.)

Artichoke

Aloe vera

Basil, sweet

Beans, purple

Beetroot

Blood Orange

Blueberry, Britewell

Brazilian Spinach

Broad Beans

Calendulas

Camomile Daisy

Capsicum, 'California'

Carrot ‘Paris Market’

Cauliflower, Romanesco

Celery, Chinese

Celery

Ceylon Spinach

Chilli, Jalapeno

Chinese greens

Chives

Coriander

Cucumber, white

Cucumber, 'Telegraph'

Dill

Fig, Black Genoa

Four seasons herb

Four seasons herb, variegated

Galangal

Garlic chives

Kale, two different varieties

Lavender, three different varieties

Lemon Balm

Lettuce, ‘First Fleet’

Lettuce, 'Miners'

Lettuce, 'Darwin'

Lettuce, mixed punnet from Bunnings no idea of most of the varieties

Marigolds

Mint, Chocolate

Mint, common

Mint, looks like chocolate mint but isn't lol

Mizuna, green

Mustard, Red

Nasturtiums

Oregano

Parsley, ‘Italian flat-leaved’

Parsley, Curly leaved

Pepino

Pigeon pea

Pineapples

Potatoes

Pumpkin, Jap

Rainbow Chard

Rocket

Rosellas

Rosemary, four different varieties but no idea of their names

Sage, variegated

Shallots

Sorrel

Spearmint

Stevia

Tarragon, French

Tomato, Roma

Tomato, Cherry

Tomato, Green Zebra

Tomato, Moneymaker

Thyme

Thyme, variegated

Turmeric

Warrigal greens

White button mushrooms (hopefully lol)

Yacon

Zucchini

Blythe Love, Crochet and Lazy Sundays

For quite a while now I've been wanting a Blythe doll. Yes, I know I'm 43 and I shouldn't be playing with dolls lol BUT for me, it's another extension of my creative side. I've ordered my first girl Lavender Hug, and I'm (impatiently) awaiting her arrival.

I never been a doll kind of girl. As a child I preferred the logic of Lego instead. Logic is where I felt safe. As an adult I have a lot more control over what situations I'm put into, so I find, although I still always fall back on logic, I don't mind the frivolous. My inner child had to grow up way too fast, so I don't mind indulging her now.

Of course I do wish I had those Barbies now, as Skipper is the same size and shape as Neo Blythe. Amusingly, Skipper was my favourite Barbie. (She had terrible hair though!! By the time she got to me she was already a teenager and her straight blonde hair was curly. I didn't give her a haircut though, only the one that would be worth a lot of money if I hadn't :/ I think her hair was animal hair of some kind because it was SO soft, which made it hard to style, so I cut it, then glued it down lol)

Today I'm spending the day crafting as it's rainy and quite dreary outside. I've got some new Kaaland Yarn that I've been wanting to make something with, just waiting for some ideas.

Kikuyu, Grape and an unnamed ball which I've called Licorice Allsort

I'm going to make a headband out of the Licorice Allsort and then maybe look for some Blythe patterns. I've found a really cute halter neck dress pattern already, which I may make this afternoon. At least I know with making something that small I'll be able to finish it in one (of my) sittings. I can see that my Blythe is going to end up looking like a tree hugging hippie and I'm happy about that! If you have any links for patterns on the web, crochet or sewing please share them with me!!

Have a wonderful Sunday and do something to make your inner child smile too :)

My new craft room

I know these photos are rather messy but I wanted to show a full view of my new room. Small rooms are *SO* hard to photograph and I don't like getting up on stools when Isaac isn't here being the klutz that I am (before my painkillers are taken into account lol).

I'm really happy with how it's arranged but knowing me, as I use it there will be tweaking and rearranging so that things work perfectly! Where the cubes are on the very left hand side, I wouldn't mind getting a bookcase the same width but twice the height. The window behind it is patterned, so you can't see through it, and there's so much natural light it won't make much of a difference. It WILL make a difference to my sewing desk though. I have a lot of scrapbooking/art supplies in there and underneath that are a bit hard to get to. There's also the fact that my yellow and orange fabric piles are so tiny. (need to remedy that!!)

There were a couple of things that shocked me as I was putting everything into it's new home. I have a lot of tape. When I say a lot I mean I will never have to buy clear sticky tape ever again. I also have a lot of washi and fabric tape. I manage to forget that I have it because it's littered around the house in cute little bowls. Hmmm oops! The other thing that I have a lot of is cards. Every few years I go into a card making frenzy and I always seem to make more than I give. So I'm on a mission now to use more than I make!

Hopefully my new space will inspire lots of creativity!!

I {heart} Baby Animals (and Aqua)

So much so I've got a Pinterest board dedicated to them and I tend to photograph a lot of my wildlife carer neighbour's little baby charges. I can't help it. Jot Magazine have a mood board challenge that ends today, and because I managed to finish cleaning up my craft room, I decided to enter it. It was using one of my favourite colour combos so that helped!

{details}

Isn't it pretty? My bedroom is aqua, red and white. Love aqua!! Anyway... here is my Project Life page combining two of my favourite things!

And another view to get the effect of the transparencies. It's so hard to not get reflection off the page protectors! I ended up taking some sections out so they could be seen.

Have you been creating anything? I'd love to see!!

Oh HELLO mojo!

When I first moved into this house in August 2009, emotionally, I was coming out of a slumber phase. I was aware that my life was going to change dramatically in the weeks to follow. I was called into a meeting room by my supervisor and told that I was being made redundant. Amazingly, they gave me a month's notice and  one of the four days I worked I was allowed to not come in and go to interviews. Even though the thought of being unemployed scared the crap out of me, the fact that I was being so well looked after warmed my heart. I was a casual employee, they could have simply called me up one night and said don't bother coming in.

As I was working in a recruitment office and jobs were our thing, my supervisor gave me a pep talk about using the opportunity to further my career. I decided that as I loved shopping, I wanted to get into the purchasing field. (It helped that I knew how much I'd earn long term there too lol) The first position I applied for was the one I got and loved. 

I know this post is about mojo, but without explaining where I've been and where I am now it doesn't really make sense. 

I was working 21-25 hours a week for the recruitment company. I scrapbooked in my spare time. I used this space below (that has become a dumping ground for 'stuff') as a crafting area. I had a huge desk (read door with Ikea legs) and I loved it, except, after a month I never used it anymore. My hours had doubled and the only time I was scrapbooking was if I got a request for a page for the Top 10 in Scrapbooking Creations. Whilst I loved seeing my pages in print, I felt like a fake only scrapbooking for these requests, so I stopped doing them. 

the view from my bed of the verandah

I then used the area as an office come reading nook, although, because of my back I don't sit out there at all. I go in there to retrieve papers out of the filing and that's it. Seems like a waste to me! 

For a few weeks I've been thinking about turning it back into a craft space, because I don't like the mess I make of the dining room when I want to sew or scrapbook. As everything is packed away into cupboards it's a major operation to do anything and once all the stuff is out, it seems like such a waste to only sit there for a tiny amount of time! (which is all I can do because it hurts too much) 

SO... this morning while procrastinating about going outside and doing some repotting of seedlings and planting some more out, I was looking at Katrina's blog The Organised Housewife, which I've had open with my timetable spreadsheet since the last post. (I did say I wasn't moving fast at the moment right? lol) I clicked on the craft room inspiration and then it hit me how I could actually rearrange things in my 'very tiny packed with furniture' house so that I could get my table back in.

I really do think that if I have an area where everything is easily accessible I'll be able to craft more and without the mess stressing me out. Which will also help me feel a little less like I'm doing nothing! 

This is the photo that sparked something in my brain... hopefully, when I've done the gardening I'll be able to start planning on what will go where.

lovely crafty space found here

New Habits

It's amazing how our lives change and we have to change with them so we don't get overwhelmed. My lack of stress due to my CTP claim for my back being finalised has been a liberating thing, but on the flip side I've felt a little lost. I have managed to finish a lot of crochet projects that I had on the go, but other than that I don't seem to be getting anything accomplished. I find that rather frustrating. Each day I promise myself that I'll do something that's been bugging me but the day whizzes by and it doesn't get done.

I've devised a plan. A plan to get me out of this rut until uni starts. No doubt if it works (which I have complete faith that it will haha!!) I'll be able to factor study in too. I'm making myself a timetable in Excel. I love Excel and miss it like crazy. (It was the program I used most in my last job and I really do love it's amazing organising abilities!) I'm factoring in things I do like doing as well as things I don't like doing. (which are currently being ignored) 

My days revolve around being a mum and my pain levels, so from that respect, hopefully I'll find the transition easy! Mornings are usually when I go out because my pain is more manageable than the afternoon, when craft will be my thing.

I'm hoping that it will also get me back into the routine of making yoghurt, bread and washing powder (which I've run out of and need to make... err today lol)

A lot can be done in 30 minutes when you devote yourself to the task for that period and don't let yourself get distracted. Like I am now really... blogging about making a timetable instead of just doing it *sigh* but I'm also hoping to get in a routine for blogging as well. 

Here's to new habits on my new path! :)

Finished Crochet Projects

In my time of crocheting non-stop, I've made a few projects, for presents and for Isaac and I. The first one I did embark on was a poncho/shawl for myself. I was going to make it out of Granny Squares but quickly realised that because my crochet had changed, it was probably going to be a bit too warm for a Queensland winter! (maybe if I was living somewhere where it snowed it would be okay lol)

Granny Square Cowl

I ended up joining the squares then going around them with DC and making a loop, adding a button and turning it into a cowl. Probably still a little warm for here but I hope I get to wear it!!

Wool used - Moda Vera 8 ply Wool
Hook used - 4.5

Ripple Scarf  

The next project was one for Isaac, a ripple scarf, using this pattern by Attic24. She does fabulous tutorials if you're unsure about how things fit together!

Wool used - Moda Vera 8 ply wool
Hook used - 4.5

Bright Cushion

The above cushion is a gift for a friend. As it's only going in the mail today I don't want to share a complete photo of it, just a sneak, but I'll be making more of these to sell. Great project to have on the go as a row doesn't take too long to do. Perfect for school pick up time!!\

Wool used - mostly Moda Vera 8ply wool

Hook used - 4.5

Beanie

The wool in the above beanie is AMAZING!!! It's this one from Kaalund Yarns. Yes it is a bit more expensive than good old basic Moda Vera, but it's SO soft and the colours are amazing, they're hand dyed and unlike any that I've seen before. (I am new to wool buying though lol) It's a bit dangerous that their shop is only down the road from me. I loved that my skein of wool was wound into a ball for me too. I think I want a wool winder :D

Now that the cooler weather seems to be set in, I'm contemplating another blanket. What are you working on at the moment?

A New Blog

A new blog is a bit like a new journal. A fresh start... a new opportunity... My old blog had a lot of memories attached of lessons learnt. Even though growth is a good thing, some times a fresh new crisp white page is what is needed, and Paper Scissors Yarn is that for me.

Thanks for visiting :)