Spring Sunday in the garden with flowers and herbs

The weather has turned warm and sunny at last so we were inspired to garden away our Sunday.  We weeded, pruned and mulched my herb garden. This garden is right at the front door and near the kitchen so I can dash out and pick chives, parsley, sage, oregano or spinach when I'm cooking.

I planted his and her kiwi fruits along the trellis.

I hope they do well. Imagine being able to pick homegrown kiwis. Yum.

I weeded my front flower garden. Its coming along really well.

Right now the pansies, ranunculas and rhododendron are flowering.

A whole host of red peony poppies that self seeded from last year are ready to burst into flower at any time.

I found this darling little moss covered birds nest under the rhododendrons. It is so very beautiful. I wonder what type of bird made it? I have a growing collection of bird nests - this is my fifth so there's a story for another day.

These rhododendrons are really delicate in the palest of pinks. The flashy hot pink tree flowers first and is all finished now having been replaced in the garden by this beauty.

In the roughest of contrasts we have wonderful lichens growing on our front fence. It has taken years for old man's beard and other lichens to take hold so we are delighted with this specimen. We love this look!

Daylight saving started a couple of weeks ago. It took me hours before I realised that the clock had stopped! Makes me feel like I can get the most out of my day.

The divine Riley helping me work!

Whatever you are doing this week, enjoy yourself!

Custom DarlingBridget order for groovy retro bag

 I made this satchel bag as a custom order for my friend Paula. The bag features a long strap to fit over the shoulder.

 And a large leather button to close.

There are some hidden details inside: 70s style suede fringing and a pocket made from a groovy doily with brown, orange and yellow crocheted edgeing.

It was great fun to make and now that I have the pattern all worked out I will make some more from some other vintage tablecloths I found last week at an op shop.

This is the last of this funky retro fabric but I have a bag with tortoise shell handles for sale on my etsy store if you want to check it out.

Quotes for DarlingBridget embroidery project

I have sent out a call for friends to send me in their favourite quotes.

I am about to start creating some art featuring vintage doilies and famous inspiring or funny quotes. I think they'll be lovely (hope) and will share as I make them.

The quotes are coming in so I thought I would share them with you and ask for your feedback.

Four and twenty blackbirds...

Interestingly some themes have emerged: courage and love. Also two different people have sent me Judy Garland quotes. Sounds like synchronicity to me.

Courage

"Courage is the power to let go of the familiar” Raymond Lindquist

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try tomorrow.” Mary Anne Radmacher

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." AA Milne Christopher Robin to Pooh

Love

'love me when I least deserve it because that is when I need it most...'

"I used to read fairytales... but now I have you"

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Judy Garland

More quotes are welcome, always.

What do you think of these?

Vintage teatowel finds await their new life as cool bags

 After scouring op shops finally pay dirt a new stash of souvenir tea towels. Washed and ironed they are ready to be made into new bags. One of the things I love about these towels is that they were rarely used so are mostly in pristine condition. As I recall they didn't dry the dishes well!

 They are deliciously kitsch! Check out this koala. Ouch!

 The calendar towels are my favourite and whilst most are vintage these wear their credentials on their sleeve.

 Apparently wattle was in vogue in 1979 along with turquoise and orange, one of my favourite colour combos. Seriously.

 The Aboriginal images are the ultimate kitsch but some are not PC these days. A little piece of our cultural history.

 Placemats - not quite sure how to use these but couldn't resist them.

 More doilies and traycloths. My mum is on the trail and picked up most of these for me.

I find these darling cloths so motivating, can't wait to play with them and make some lovely homespun things from them.

Homespun day

Today I have enjoyed a quiet, homespun sort of a day so I thought I'd share a few vignettes about how I spent my time.  I had a balanced day with time for art, cooking, gardening and me.

Art
I started the day by finishing two mosaic coffee tables.  I tiled them a couple of weekends ago so only needed to grout today. This is the best grouting job I have done, I am improving. I like playing around with different colour schemes and patterns trying to fit the table rather than a preconceived plan. How did I do?

They are both recycled tables from my local tip, cleaned up painted and with a mosaic of my own design. They are both destined to be sold at a market as part of my DarlingBridget label.

I also spent a little bit of time working on some embroidery. These petals will become my first flower brooche in my art to wear range. 

Gardening

I got outside and got dirty planting some more flowers in my front garden.

My ranunculas are opening out. These are a new and delightful addition to my garden. I bought a mixed pack of bulbs so there will be many surprises as they open.

 
I have one last lone daffodil. I have never had this type before and was struck by its delicacy. It reminds me of a frangipani, my favourite flower which unfortunately does not grow here.

 

Cooking

Then lunch for one. 

The view from my kitchen while my lunch cooked.  My tree fern and giant waratahs.

I enjoyed organic penne with mushrooms, zucchini, sun dried tomotoes, walnuts and shaved romano.  A glass of prosecco rounded off the Italian theme.

I ate my lunch on my back verandah. Its overcast and cold but I spend too much time inside so ventured out to enjoy my lunch. My meals are usually rushed during the week so to make it special I chose a sweet little serviette and used my silver plate, hollow handled fish cutlery set.  I just have some this one set and am very fond of it. It belongs to a growing collection of mis-matched cutlery chosen for its decorative details or uniqueness.
All eaten. Yum

Homespun
I made  batch of soap which I haven't done for a few months.

Soap is easy and fun to make. I enjoy knowing exactly what's in my soap.  A lot of the "handmade soap" sold at markets is actually pre-made granulated soap that is melted down and molded. Mine is made from scratch from simple vegetable oil and lye.

I have coloured this batch with food colouring, in this case blue. It doesn't look it now but the colour will fade dramatically as the soap sets. For more information about my soap making click here for an earlier post.

I got all the washing done


but had to scramble to bring it in again when it started to rain.

Tapas and Doctor Who
Saturday night is Doctor Who night. I have been a huge fan since I was a child and Doctor Who was on for half an hour each week night. We don't watch TV otherwise, preferring DVDs to all those ads. So when we do sit down in front of the box an easy dinner is called on.

Tonight we are having tapas. Chunky potato, zucchini and cauliflower fitters and mushroom arancini (risotto) balls with boccocini. Yummo!

Me
And I squeezed in time for a steamy bath.

All in all a productive but relaxing day with a little bit of everything that makes for home spun bliss.
Night!

Spring rain

After a week of glorious sunshine we are back to cold, wet, snuggly weather. I had planned to garden today but it is too wet even for me. I like gardening in the fog but today is far wetter than that. So I played around with my camera and tripod instead.

 My front garden is looking lush and colourful.

 A deciduous vine coming back to life.

 Water barrel in my herb garden.

 Raindrops coming down.

A stunning waratah.

My DarlingBridget online stores

Lots of lovely people picked up my business cards at the markets on Sunday: this post is for you.
Firstly: thanks for stopping by.
Secondly: I have just bought a new computer today so need a minute or two to get set up. I will then be listing new items to madeit and etsy store.
Thirdly: if you are interested in any of my goods that are not on my online store my email account is in my profile, I'd be happy to hear from you.
Cheers!!