Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Block 11 "A Year in the Garden" BOM and some garden friends...


I'm about three hours early (Australian time) sharing our November pattern but I'm sure you don't mind?

I love hydrangeas. Really love hydrangeas.

They're not easy to grow in the tropics but a few very green thumbed gardeners around the place have had some success which proves it's not impossible. A couple of years ago I attempted to keep a potted hydrangea and it did rather well over our very warm tropical winter and into the start of spring, but then the intense mid-spring heat and humidity returned and that lovely hydrangea promptly died on me.

At the weekend Mr E and I were back at Bunnings again (we should buy shares in Bunnings) as he needed a chain saw to trim the trees under the power lines and to reduce one entire tree to a stump. Man stuff, man toys. I on the other hand wandered over to my favourite Bunnings department - the garden centre - and strolled up and down rows and rows of bonsai, shrubs, trees, flowers, herbs, vegetables and succulents, wishing I could load a trailer and take all that flourishing greenery home. 
Suffice to say I bought a bag of fertiliser and nothing else. Though I did look longingly at the hydrangeas in full bloom and toss back and forth reasons why I should and why I should not buy a pot or two. 'Should not' won that day, but perhaps not the next time I visit Bunnings which given our current obsession with all things garden related could be tomorrow or the next day or the next day. 

Anyhow, this month's feature flower in our Block of the Month is the hydrangea and I'm jolly happy about that because it is permanently in bloom and impervious to weather changes, pests or neglect.




Download the November pattern HERE in my shop.
It will be free until November 30th when it will become a $2 purchase.

The previous month's blocks can be seen here and are all available as a $2 purchase from my shop. 

We're almost ready to make our quilt!
Next month I'll share the final block and the quilt instructions. Honestly, I cannot wait to see your quilts!



In our garden there is an abundance of bird life, all day, every day. 
Tom the Cockatoo turned out to be a girl (girls have red eyes and boys have black) as you can tell in this photo...




...and is now respectfully known as Betty.
Still quite territorial about our yard and 'her' feeder she has begun to fly right down near us when she leaves, as though saying thank you for the meal.




Double Trouble still shoo her away when they visit...




...it seems they enjoy being bossy.
And they never say thank you.




Other feathered friends dropping by today were Mr Sparrow and Miss Pigeon.
They got along famously. Not a cross word spoken.
Lovely and polite, welcome anytime.

Is it any wonder I love sitting out the back with my coffee?










A few months before Rafaella was born my dear Blossom packed away her sewing things and turned her hand to preparing their tiny cottage for the arrival of baby number two.

Rafaella is almost eight months old now and an absolute delight, and Cully May is a bright and bubbly and endlessly chattering 2 year old...so Blossom thought it was about time she began sewing again.
Her precious family have now moved out of that tiny cottage and into a lovely large home which has the added bonus of a designated sewing room. They have been there for almost three months now, but just the other day sweet Blossom tucked her little ones in to bed, kissed hubby on the forehead, and with excitement in her heart opened wide the double sewing room doors, uncovered her sewing machine and began to create.

First project, a 'twirling' dress for Cully May.

Finished that night and hung near her little girl's bed so that it was the first thing she saw upon waking the next morning...




I visited Blossom, Ross and the girls today and was once again impressed by the exquisite workmanship in my daughter's homemade garments. 

We who can craft, and that can be ANY craft, are so blessed to enjoy working with our hands, creating beauty for ourselves and others, aren't we?! 

What have you made this week?

hugs


18 comments:

Maryannep said...

Cully May looks gorgeous in her "twirling dress". She has a coy look on her face and I can see some blurring in the photo, so she is twirling. She is sure growing up now and is loosing her baby fat. You must be so proud of your "girls"

Carla said...

Cully May is adorable and that dress is sew cute. Wow what a back yard. All those birds are wild in your neck of the woods. That would be awesome. I think I'm jealous

Corinne76 said...

Quelle jolie broderie de novembre ! La robe est aussi très jolie

gracie said...

Beautiful birds in your garden. Cully May is so adorable.

Anonymous said...

Máš moc šikovnou dceru. Je po mamince. Moc zdravím Jiřina

Kathleen said...

Love the new pattern. And I know, if I had those pretty tropical birds to look at every day, I would never come in the house and get anything done!

Ingrid said...

Que bellos visitantes ♥. Gracias por compartir!!! Hermoso diseño, como ya nos tienes acostumbradas.

Janice said...

We love hydrangeas too and are lucky enough to live in a climate where they thrive, as long as we keep the water up to them in the summer. They die back to sticks during the winter. Our first stop at Bunnings is always the "chuck out table" as we call it in the garden centre. We have been lucky enough to get some good plants there that are healthy, but have just finished flowering. You are so lucky to have a variety of birds visit your garden. I never knew that about cockatoo eyes. Cully looks like she is having fun with her twirly dress. Blossom has done a wonderful job on it.

Nanna Chel said...

Love the dress, Jenny. Cully May must love twirling in it. My hubby tried to kill the hydrangea bush that was growing here when he bought the house 41 years ago when single. I am not sure why but I don't think he likes hydrangeas. Anyway it is still growing and thrives when cut right back. We have acid soil so ours is blue.

Guida said...

Cully's dress is so beautiful, Blossom has a very precious talent, no doubt following from her dear Mummy. I'm with you Jenny, I love the flower section of Bunnings and would love to have a hydrangea, but alas they die on me too. I need to find a place that they get some protection from the summer heat. We watch the birds here too, hubbie tells me that I overfeed the pigeons, which is why they cant fly away, but hey someone has to spoil the dear little things. Take care Jenny, Guida. xx

Judy1522 said...

I so love seeing the beautiful birds that you have in your yard. Thank you so much for sharing your pictures. Cully May and her dress are adorable.

Farm Quilter said...

I love the birds in your yard!! Your pigeon looks a lot like the doves around here. So many of your birds are only kept alive in cages here...they are so much nicer in their native environment! Blossom is just like her mom and very talented with a needle - Cully Mae looks so cute in her twirly dress!

Susan said...

Thank you so much for the beautiful pattern, Jenny. I love hydrangeas, and I have one that keeps trying to thrive. This is the best year it's ever had, and I think it might have gotten a foot tall and had four small blooms! Other people have huge plants covered in blooms. I'm obviously not the green thumb lady! But I keep talking to it, and maybe something will happen next year, if it makes it through the winter again. It's about 5 years old! I like the dress for Cully Mae. It's just perfect for a 2-year old happy girl! I'm so happy her mother has her own sewing space. Things sound good!

Little Quiltsong said...

Thank you for the lovely free design and all the lovely bird pictures. That is something I miss terribly when the Winter months arrive around here. Only a few birds stay, and they are very silent it seems. We love our spruce trees, as it gives them hiding spots for the bad weather days. What a pretty dress Blossom made for her daughter. Yes - making with our hands - is a blessing indeed!

Monica said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Annette said...

I'm enjoying your new home & garden, Hydrangeas are a favourite of mine & grow well here in Melbourne but do need lots of water in summer, could you plant one or two under a tree & drip water them, I cut mine back severely in Winter. Love Cully-Mae's dress.....lucky girls, I miss sewing little dresses. Thanks for the pincushion letters, I'm stitching one for my 10yo granddaughters sewing basket I'm putting together for Christmas. Take care!

KingsailK said...

Awe thanks Jenny,LOVELY photos!!!xx😊♥🌈

Maria said...

Jenny I love hydrangeas too and despite Brisbane's climate being kind to them...these gorgeous plants have all died! I grew up a few km away and my mum's hydrangea bush was magnificent! So it's me that's the problem...sigh! I've bought fabrics with hydrangea designs on them over the years so I comfort my self with them! Lol
Love the little dress that Blossom made and Cully-Mae is such a gorgeous model xx