Cars Cars Cars!

cars, cars, cars!

Christmas is coming up fast, I have been busy baking for a little friends 4th Birthday.  We thought a cars theme would be fun, so have been busy making gumpaste cars for on top of cupcakes, and also cars cookies!  


The party was great fun and the cookie cutter came in handy for making watermelon cars, and fairy bread cars. 

watermelon cars

cars cookies

little puddings

Once again I have been knitting, this time I made Christmas Pudding decorations for my grandchildren, the pattern is from  Jean Greenhowe's book 'Traditional Favourites             http://www.jeangreenhowe.com/

The children loved them and they are now proudly hanging on the christmas tree

The Rain has finally arrived!

      The rain has finally arrived.  The garden is smiling, especially the fruit trees!  I have been busy tending to the veggie patch, and have planted some carrot seed.  It is a root day according to the Biodynamic calendar I follow, and this indicates that it is a good day for root crops to be planted. In my gardening experience I have had great success following the principles of Biodynamics, I guess the proof is in the pudding as the saying goes!  Or in this case the carrots! I have also harvested some lovely Turmeric which has a deep orange colour. The Turmeric is starting to awaken from its sleep and the leaves are popping up through the soil once again!


My Cecil Brunner Rose is in flower, always a delight. It's distinctive fragrance brings back so many childhood memories for me. 

It is lovely to see the beautiful Delonix Regia all in flower.  Everywhere I go around town I see these magnificent Poinciana trees in full flower.  What a delight they are, the lovely umbrella shape and the magnificent flowers in varying shades of red.

Flowering Poinciana

I have been working on a good cupcake recipe for when my granddaughter arrives to spend a short Holiday here with Grandma!  I came up with a strawberry recipe which utilises the delicious strawberries I have growing in the garden.  Everyday for weeks I have been able to pick enough strawberries for my breakfast yogurt, and on some days also for some baking!  I am thinking a basic vanilla recipe with a swirl of strawberry syrup stirred through the batter before baking!  Will be checking the Cup Cake Blog for inspiration.


On the knitting front I have just completed a small doll for my baby grand daughter to put under the christmas tree!  The basic pattern I used came from Jean Greenhowes book 'Traditional Favourites'.  One can find all the books at  http://www.jeangreenhowe.com/

little darling

My next project will be knitted Christmas Pudding decorations for the grandchildren to hang on the Chrismas Tree.  Will have a photo of the completed puddings on the next blog.  Bye for now, and Shine On!

                                                         

Been Busy

I have been busy since my last post, making a little shoulder tie dress for my Grand daughter.   I made the dress from some vintage fabric that was soft and light, perfect for the hot Darwin Climate.  

Vintage fabric dress

I am now on my next frilly pants attempt, the first pair being way to large.  I am hoping this pair will be the right size.  I will post a picture when they are completed.

I have also been busy recovering a couple of old cane chairs.  I have had the fabric for a few years and I now think my taste has changed. But no matter I used it anyway.  They look okay,  the fabric clashes a little, but they look a whole lot better than the old faded covers!

My Garden is screaming out for some rain. We have been without for over a month now, the most rain has been 3 mls, not much.  I continue to keep the watering up where desperately needed, and of course I am constantly watering the veggie garden which is still happy.   My Vanilla Orchid is flowering and I have been trying to pollinate by hand. So far I have not been successful, but I keep trying!

Vanilla Orchid

Frilly Pants

Today I have almost finished the frilly pants for Hayley.  Not sure but I am thinking perhaps a bow!

for Hayley

I am about to start my next project and I am considering a top to match! And maybe a hat.


It is so hot here, but a pleasant breeze blows through the window over the sewing machine in the afternoons, lovely!


The garden continues to dry out and still no rain.  Watering is  becoming more time consuming.
It is full moon today so I am hoping this will stimulate some rain!  I am not planting any vegies at the moment, I will wait for the rains that will come.

It is the 11/11/11 today and I wonder what special meaning this has for some.  For me It reminds me of those brave souls who endured the horrors of War, and those who are now affected by War.  Let us hope as human beings we eventually evolve beyond using War as a way to resolve our differences! 

My Dad!

Mates!

............................. Lest we forget!......................

Chrissy present for Hayley

Have been busy the last couple of days making a flower for my granddaughter Hayley, who is just 8 weeks old.  I  thought I would knit her something I could put under the Christmas tree.  My older grand daughter Emily loved a flower that I bought her when she was tiny.


I looked everywhere to buy one, but I guess they are no longer available.  So I thought I will make one.
 I couldn't find a pattern so I had to make it up as I went.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flowers-Knit-Crochet-Lesley-Stanfield/dp/1844484033

 I used a Teddy Bear ear pattern for the petals, a picnic plate pattern for the flower centre and a leaf pattern I found in Lesly Stanfield's great book  '100 flowers to knit & crochet' for the leaves.  I am pretty happy with the out come and I hope she loves it!

My Garden is starting to get very dry and I seem to spend a lot of my day moving the hoses around!  The Gardenias continue to flower, such an amazing fragrance!

I also have a row of medium shrubs that have light pink and dark pink flowers at the same time.  I have no idea its name, but I love the way it looks

the unknown shrub

A begining

This is the begining of my blog.  I have been reading other peoples blogs for quite some time so thought, hey why not start my own.  Somewhere to share my thoughts, creativity etc.  So this is a start to something new for me, so to begin with please accept my apologies for my lack of computer skill!  I am out to learn something new, which is exciting for me and I also hope someone out there will also enjoy my journey into the world of blogging!


I have been busy online exploring ideas for Christmas Baking.  Time to get organised with ideas and supplies for Christmas Gifts.

So far I have purchased a lovely set of Snowflake cutters from 'Cake Deco', 
                                                       http://www.cakedeco.com.au/   
 The box contains 5 snowflake cookie cutters, ranging from 1 7/8" to 3 1/4" and includes 2 texture mats.  It  looks great, so should be able to come up with some interesting cookies. Will keep you in the loop as to how they go.  Have also been toying with some cupcake ideas as well,  and I am considering inventing maybe a Chocolate mud and black cherry cupcake with royal icing, which i hope will have the ability to stay moist  and travel well!