My Australian Haul

Hi Dear Folk,

I don't know where the days go.  I did get out in the garden on Saturday.  It started off cloudy and cool, but by the end of the day the sun was out.  Sunday it poured and was in the fifties for the better part of the day.

Saturday I spent all day at the back of the house, bringing my two small patios to order and weeding two gardens that run either side of my back path.  All the paving stones had weeds between, all the pots needed cleaning up and bringing to order. Pots which I winter over on the basement steps were brought out.  The little water tub was cleaned out and replenished, connected up to Mr. Frog and  the pump, it's very soothing listening to the water running when sitting on the patio.  The gardens weeded.  We have a grill by our backdoor which we use summer and winter, that needed pulling out and weeding behind there.  It's most rewarding to see it done, sit down and have a cup of tea out there.

Monday I took off as a PTO day, ran over and got my photo license done, you cannot do it on a weekend.  Again more time in the garden.  Mr. B. and I stacked wood, he mowed the lawn and I raked leaves. Have you any idea of how many leaves fall off one very tall oak tree?

Cleaned up by my front door, and a little bit of the gardens and path in that front area.  If I said I was by anyway done in my garden, would not be true.  Planting well, three little plants potted.  It might not happen this year just so late.  It can all seem a bit overwhelming.  It is gradually getting to the point where I can enjoy the journey.

I am not going to plant so many pots with flowers this year, a lot of old tack I chucked out.  Well put out back to see if someone else wanted it and it's gone.  Just simplifying it all a bit.

My neighbor across the street is retired and their garden always looks lovely, but he potters out there every day, I'm looking forward to doing that.

What has this got to do with my heading My Australian Haul, absolutely nothing.  I wanted to share just a minor portion of my haul from the NSH Yard Sale.  I will post more extensively on this later, in the mean time I wanted to share a very lovely find, these Australian linen tea towels.

Too good for dish drying, I like to use these on a picnic, to put across your lap, or set things out on, brings me great joy.

Maybe these were a gift for someone, or maybe they took a trip to Australia and bought them back and there they sat in the draw, never used.  There is something so poignantly sad about it and I promise myself to use them.

I love the designs especially the koalas and the colour in them.  Isn't there something special about linen?

I had a descussion the other day with my sister about bamboo yarn, which led into cotton and linen.  Bamboo is actually a grass. Linen is also made from a grass, flax.  In fact before cotton was introduced the cloth of choice was linen.

I had to relinquish the thought that my "Dress Like Your Grandmother" sewing contest entry would be accomplished, because along the way I was hijacked by my son, who wanted some sewing done for an interactive film/theater showing presentation that he was going to while in London.  Which included raking through my old sheepskin off cut bag of pieces I had bought on the Isle of Skye years ago and never used.  This shop sold sheep skin coats and hats, plus throws, beautiful but very pricey, I came out with a bag of pieces, knowing one day I would use them.

The project included the buying and applying of black shiny and silver fabric to a black trench coat and trousers, edging with the sheepskins.  Also an old sixties silk tie, cut up and applied to the collar.  Lots and lots of hand stitching, not easy through sheep skins.

The off cut strips were different colours from a number of different sheep, and what was interesting was feeling and working with the different texture of the wool and also of the skin.  One skin was thinner but much harder to sew through, the other skin was thicker, but much easier to sew through.

Well off to work today.

Christine