Friday

Yesterday we woke to a heavy fog, a thick cloud of mist that covered the whole town in a soft blanket of cloud.

Everything became muted and quiet.

The lake was other worldly, the only movement were ducks floating, gliding through the mist.

I could have stayed at the lake forever but I had to fly, I had an important date in Melbourne with Charlotte!

I met her at school where I also got to meet her dear Enid. I have to say Enid was even more adorable in real life, she is my kind of lamb. Have you visited Jess's blog lately? She has some lovely things for sale in her shop too.

Although we were overdue for some time together our mission was really to buy a dress for Charlotte to wear to her school formal. She had something in mind, a flowing, almost Grecian style dress which she thought would be hard to find.

We found it! It was the first dress she saw and she looks like an angel in it. Yay!

Another wonderful part of yesterday's trip was visiting my mum who I haven't seen since she returned from the US. Mum has been sick which is hard as she is in Melbourne and I am in Daylesford, so I feel a bit useless. I wish I was nearer to her so I could look after her at times like this. But anyway we had a fun time together and look what she has been making!! I was so excited to see these gorgeous cardi's. Can't wait to make some bunnies to match these gelati colours. Thanks Mum!

After dinner I drove home and am pretty weary today having also been in to Ballarat...lots of driving. This is our little house that I love to come home to. Every year since we have lived in Daylesford I have been meaning to plant some trees on our nature strip (probably highly illegal). Ok, I finally did it! Yes, above you will see, if you look very carefully, two apple trees, and I'm so excited about them! They probably don't look to exciting right now but wait till they grow up a bit and provide us with delicious apples!

We have two great old apple trees in the back yard but the space out the front seemed to be begging for some fruit action of it's own. I planted one Pink Lady & one Fuji, and now I'm wondering if I should also put in a grafted tree and have three in row. I love the idea of having a mini orchard out the front.

On the home front we have Rosie's party on the weekend with her actual birthday on Tuesday. I have just picked her up early from kinder as she is feeling unwell so fingers crossed she will be ok for her party. There has been a lot of gastro going around...bit of a worry.

What are you up to on the weekend? Hope you have a happy one with the ones you love.

See you soon xo

My Creative Space

Two new bunnies in my space today. I love this two toned cardi, but it was tricky to find the right fabric to go with it.

It worked out well in the end & this little sweetie will be one of the first girls in my new online shop, which I'm hoping will be up and running by next week.

Blue Bunny Two is sporting a fancy moss stitch cardi, she is very gentle and kind. We all need a bit of kindness in our day don't we? Sometimes I look at my bunnies and they seem to look back at me so quietly & lovingly. It's good to pause during a crazy, demanding day and let that wash over me, as mad as that sounds.

Talking of mad things I've been making a hilarious creature this week. When I asked Rosie what she would like for her fifth birthday (I can't believe my baby is turning five) she replied,

"I think I would like a Rainbow Snake, please Mumma."

So of course I decided to make it out of vintage sheets & pillowcases in a kind of rainbowy way.

The first version was way too fat. After stuffing almost a whole bag of filling into a quarter of the snake I realised I had got a bit too excited.

So I did some unstuffing, resewing and restuffing. Phew. It still took a full bag of that Humpty Dumpty filling to satisfy Her Snakeyness.

I'm not sure if this is what Rosie had in mind when she requested a Rainbow Snake but I hope she likes it anyway.

How do you hide such a creature? Lets hope she does't find it before her birthday...

For more spaces do pop over to Kootoyoo.

See you soon xo

happy

It's Monday morning, the sky is blue and as I sit in my kitchen with the sun streaming in I'm thinking of all the things that are making me happy lately.

Vintage hankies fluttering in the breeze on the verandah. I can't wait to iron them and start a little project I have in mind.

Taking Rosie for a bike ride on the weekend, so much fun. She is growing up so quickly and can do so many new things.

Look! She can write Freya's name!

It made me so happy going for a walk with Sunday yesterday. She flew like a bird the whole way. Sometimes she was an elegant swan, and then she was a bluebird fluttering her wings in the sunshine. I love the way she looks at life, the way she sees things in a different and totally original way and I love the way we flew some of the way together.

I'm so happy to see our camellia's finally blooming. Their beautiful pink brings some much needed colour into our winter. I love the shape of the petals and the way they remind me that Spring is on it's way.

I love the lake in winter. It's so calming and dreamy.

I'm so happy about seeing an old friend on the weekend and reliving our crazy adolescence. I'm also happy that my mum is back from her month in America and can't wait to see her tomorrow. I'm smiling too because I am catching up with Charlotte on Thursday to look for a dress for her school Formal, have some delicious dinner with her and generally hang out together, yay!!

I'm so happy that yesterday, at the end of a long day, I found a lovely email in my inbox. It was from Sonia of Sunday's Child telling me how she had met my brother & niece at church, in Hobart, and all because of a Dandelion bunny! Sonia spotted Eloise the bunny in the arms of Zoe who explained that her auntie Beck had made it for her. I love the way this happened and that one of my bunnies could bring us all together. Sonia's post made me a little teary when I saw Ben's face and thought of how far away he and his beautiful family are. It's nice to know I can still feel close to them and so sweet of Sonia to post about this. Do pop over and visit her, she has such a welcoming and gorgeous blog.

I'm happy about tulips, kids playing, being funny and loving each other. I'm happy our rooster is looking better, I'm happy about bunny making, a holiday in the sun that is coming up soon, Mark's currant biscuits, the kids loving school, reconnecting with a dear friend, daffodils in the garden, piano lessons, thoughtful emails and encouraging comments and so much more.

What are you happy about today? Thank you to all my friends out there for your support and helpful comments on my last post. It makes me extra happy to hear from you. Have a great week, see you soon xo

My Creative Space

I mentioned recently that I was thinking of opening an online shop. With this in mind, a few commissions and a market planned for later in the year, I am finding myself in a bunny making frenzy!

Well, ok, maybe not a frenzy, but more of a happy kind of purposeful & productive space. Yesterday I worked on Manda's bunny. She suggested a black cardi might be sweet so Mum came up with one in a beautiful black moss stitch. I then spent quite a while dithering about which fabric to use. In the end I chose a black & white gingham which I was a bit nervous about but I"m so happy with the way it turned out.

Then I thought she might look pretty with an apron! So this little doily/runner was cut in half, ribbon attached and an apron was made. I love to use my op shopped finds in my bunny making. The gingham was from a shirt, the buttons and doilies are all op shop treasures. This combined with the alpaca offcuts mean that excluding the filling, eyes & thread everything else is repurposed or recycled. I mentioned this to my kids last night as they are looking into recycling and waste as part of their studies at school. I'm thinking it might be fun to do a craft activity with them using recycled materials. Do you have any idea's I could use?

Now, time for the button jar. Green, white, clear or red?

This might seem like a small decision but I like the bunnies to be Just Right, and the detail is so important to me.

Ok, we're going with red. Now she's starting to come together. Time for some eyes...

...and a label and she is finished! I hope you like her Manda.

Daisy does.

Daisy has been working over time making sure that the bunnies are all up to scratch.

What a helpful dog she is.

What are you up to today? I'm popping over to see Kirsty and maybe have a

peek into your world.

See you soon, xo

Colour my Winter

Looking back through photo's from the year so far I can't help but feel a little trapped by the grey of winter. We seem to be inside so much more, the days are cold and the nights are freezing. We have had so much rain that the grassy area out the front of our house has become a huge mud pile.

I'm missing the sun on my skin, being outside in the garden with our kids, dogs, chooks & ducks, hanging washing on the line under a big summer sky.

It's not that I hate winter, maybe I just need to work harder at finding the beauty, the simple joy of the colder months. Snuggling up in bed, comfort food, my warm boots, black nights & frosty mornings, spooky mist and the promise of snow. Reading amazing books, snuggling with my family, being cosy. And the colours of Winter, so many different shades, are really there if I open my eyes.

Sunday's prayer table.

My new red coat.

Splices of rainbow linen.

A big box of crunchy apples from the boys trip to Shepparton.

Rosella's outside my window.

Blue skies on the way to Ballarat.

So even though it's cold and grey alot of the time, I'm finding colour everywhere. It's not as obvious, but it's there if I look a little deeper. Although the warmer months seem to shine brighter, are more brilliant, the colours popping and exploding before your eyes, it's in winter that we experience a more subdued beauty, perhaps a quieter kind of space.

One of the best things about living in the country is that we get to experience every season,

to see the changes and ride with them.

Are you having a warm & cosy weekend? Perhaps you are living somewhere hot & humid.

Wherever you are I hope you find some colour in your day.

See you soon xo