Strawberries & Jam Drops...

thought i'd make chloe another summer dress.

miss b will be up this weekend,

so i will give her the rufflelicious skirt and

this pink strawberry dress for her friend chloe.

just a simple sleeveless shift,

perfect for hot summer days...

with bias bound edges,

a little pocket with strawberry buttons...

and a vintage pink button

to close up the back.

then i made jam drops

from my grandma's recipe

for afternoon tea...

i used plum jam for these,

though any kind is good.

yum!

here's the recipe...so you can cook them too...

cream the butter and sugar,

add eggs and beat,

add plain flour and baking powder, mix well.

roll into little balls,

press your finger or thumb into the ball to make a little hollow,

put 1/4 teaspoon of jam into the little hollow.

bake in the oven for 10 mins or until just golden,

on 180 degrees celsius or 375 degrees fahrenheit.

make a cup of tea or coffee

and serve with warm biscuits....

enjoy

the weekend.

naturally Carol xox



Stu the Kangaroo...

hi guys...

come and meet

the tiniest kangaroo

yesterday afternoon

sharrie and i went to my friends house

and she is raising a baby kangaroo.

look at him trying to hold his own bottle,

just like a baby.

he has to be raised by hand,

'cos he became an orphan recently.

he would usually still be living in his mum's pouch.

here he is with max's mum, lucy the spaniel.

he has just started to eat a little grass,

he tried a little nibble of cucumber!

stu sleeps in a pillowcase,

just hanging off a chair...

he may be little stuart

but he is no 'stuart little'....hehehe

he will grow to be

about a metre and a half tall,

{perhaps about five feet}

and by then he'll be wandering the bush

with his friends.

my friend is amazing,

as well as raising this baby...

she has seven children,

she is training to be a nurse,

she goes to bible college

and

makes the most amazing

hand embroidered and embellished quilts!

i tried to persuade her to open a blog too,

so that everyone can see her work...we'll see.

have a heart-warming thursday...

naturally Carol xox

Completely Ruffle'licious....

everything's ...licious these days

so excuse me i'm joining in!

i'm totally taken in

by the abundance of ruffles on

this made to be twirled in skirt.

it's complete at last...

all sewn up...hehehe

sharrie's my model here,

'cos i won't see miss b 'til the weekend.

miss b is just a tad smaller

and

the skirt was just an itsy weenie bit squeezy on sharrie...

but i think she looks great in it.

miss chair modelled this again....

i did take heaps of pics

with sharrie striking georgeous poses

but either she or i would move at the wrong time.

now if i was brilliant

with my big black camera;

sharrie would be twirling and leaping

and i would catch her posing perfectly in mid air!

my pics wouldn't be blurry

like this...my apologies...

the top half of sharrie is beautiful too,

but i am not quite ready

to expose my family to the world...

this world is new to me

and we're all just a little shy.

mr w is on his way north again

and i miss him already...

i probably won't see him again

for a month.

we do chat by phone each day...

but it's not the same,

 he sometimes feels so far away.

leading his own life,

knowing people i don't know,

doing things in a way

that we don't at home,

living a solitary life in a caravan,

kind of a single man's life, but kind of not.

i hope you

have opportunities

to live a connected life

{even though it may seem a little too close sometimes}

with your family...

naturally Carol  xox

ps...just had a bit of a giggle to myself,

when i went to type 'xox' i typed 'sos' instead...

is that a freudian slip? 

mmm....just  need a few hours to adjust again...

tweak my thinking!

Ruffled Again...

when miss b spied that owley fat quarter

she said 'make something for me'.

i had noticed that the mustard colour in it

matched the mustard of the 'anthology' fabric.

miss b has a quirky sense of style and humour.

{like the time she was working in a construction company,

with all but her being men.

she told them all that it was

'secretary appreciation day'

and they all turned up with gifts and flowers!

- she did tell them the truth,

they laughed.

or

the times when they all had pink payslips

and other kinds of pink paper paraphenalia...

or

the time they had pink sparkley xmas decorations

and only pink...

they lived with that too!}

so

i think those cute little owls will suit her perfectly,

just peeking through...

the yoke lining was attached next...

... my little label was finished and sewn on.

miss chair did a better job at modelling
than mr table...

mr w and the boys,
the genius cook - mr t,
the smooth operator - mr m
and the paint expert - mr p
have all gone fishing...

so
sharrie and me
will have a peaceful tuesday morning,
doing exactly as we please....

have a pleasant tuesday too...

naturally Carol xox

ps...the finished skirt will be on display tomorrow...



Ruffley Skirt for Miss B...

let's do some addition...

3 georgeous new 'anthology' fabrics (3 yards),

1 owley freebie from retromummy (1 fatquarter, only used little corner)

plus...

1 pattern from miss b herself...

equals

1 new ruffley skirt for miss b!

i will show you a third of a skirt today...

yes, i know i am teasing you,

you'll just have to wait until tomorrow

for the next,

this is to build character into you...patience...hehehe

got the yoke onto the first ruffle...

showing the skirt under the ruffle...





this is the first time i have sewn in

an invisible zip...

hooray! it is almost invisible!

tomorrow...the yoke facing/lining...

the second ruffle and underskirt...

i'm loving that grey and yellow combo
just as much as i did when making the apron

by the way...

ta da!  drum roll please...

my sister jill has just created a blog...

'velvet moss'

can be found on 'check these out' {look on the right}...

just press the link

and zoom...you'll be in jill's world,

all the way to new zealand.

mr w

is doing a spring cleaning thing...

under the house today

with no 2 son!

another hooray

for monday!

hoping you're having a hooray! monday too...

naturally Carol  xox 

Velvet Moss...

my sister jill

is in 'cuisine' magazine

this month...

september issue

page 34, 'the coaster's clear'...

jill is the designer

and creative artist,

she works with her friend terri

and together they are

velvet moss.

jill sent this set

to mr t and sharrie...

big hint,

i hope she sends me some too!

they are made by

screen printing wood,

sealed

with a felt backing.

eye candy

with a cuppa...

i am very proud

of my wonderful clever sister.

she said i could tell you

that you can contact 'velvet moss'

{some people have been known to call her

'velvet' instead of jill...hehehe}

by emailing info@velvetmoss.co.nz 

if you want to know more.

{or leave a comment and i'll let her know how to reach you}

she also makes the most

delicious cards...

but my pics

weren't up to scratch

so

i'll show you later sometime...

when i get my act together!

have a great weekend

naturally Carol  xox

Going Walkabout?

aren't these art?

i think they're enchanting...

thongs, jandals, flip flops....ain't what they used to be!
good enough for going walkabout
anywhere.

mr w works up north,

'cos there's a shortage of suitable jobs down here.

he's come home today

and is staying for a  whole week!

usually he's only here for a weekend,

only one out of three in fact.

 my time with him is short.

hopefully we'll have

lotsa coffees

and big long chats,

and time with the kids

and hugs and stuff!

then it'll be me

and the boys

and the dogs...

and friends and miss b
who pop in from time to time...and you!

i thank God for the people in my life...

naturally Carol xox

ps....thinking of making miss b a flouncy ruffled skirt in three or more fabrics, i'll show you later.

pps...my sister is very talented she just got her work in a mag in nz...more tomorrow!

Berrylicious Apron...

is flirty and fun,

cherries and berries

and lashings of red ric rac braid.

i have adapted an amy butler pattern,

hacked at it really!

halved the length,

made another shorter layer,

gathered instead of pleated,

lengthened the ties

and ditched the pocket...

i folded the top layer's sides under a bit

just so the underlayer shows itself a little,

and added my own little tag...'if'

i love to use the selvedges

to give my aprons their name

and add

a couple of old buttons

from my button tin...

such is the dangerous life of a photographer;

out on location in the back yard...

 two huge green ants

 crawled covertly up my trouser leg

and took a few free bites of my left leg!

my leg was on fire with pain for a few hours...

the sacrifices i have made for my readers!

i went to see that dratted optometrist today...

then he tells me that the blurriness down the side of the glasses

is the way they are meant to be

with multifocals.

{i don't know how people drive with them on...please

enlighten me if you can!}

we discussed all the options,

i am pleased to report,

without tears from me or ranting or raving....

{just!}

and

i have decided to change them to normal distance lenses

and to later get up close crafty reading glasses

when finances will allow.

{all decided in a very grown up way in order to

not throw good money after bad, so to speak}.

to finish on a happier note,

then

i went to my favourite cafe

and had a lovely fetta and spinach quiche,

a super fresh salad

and a muggacino...

and revived!

hoping you had a wonderful wednesday...

naturally Carol  xox

Mending...

mr t and sharrie are leaving us

to go to bendigo,

they've been busy cleaning out their nest

and

giving me mending to do...

this poster from 'frankie' magazine

is my inspiration for today.

if i apply myself,

and don't procrastinate

{as i have a tendency to do!}

i shall be able to sew

my blue cherry apron as well.

we'll see how we go...

naturally Carol   xox

Jacarandas in the Park...

just had to show you

these georgeous jacaranda trees

in the park ...

the air was warm,

only the tiniest of breezes,

a perfectly nice spring day

for the season's first picnics.

hoping today's like a walk in the park

for you...

naturally Carol  xox

ps...got a few seams sewn and miss b diverted my attention, i'll get back to my cherry apron soon.













The Holy Bible...

this is a Bible
that my great great grandmother

gave to my great grandmother,

on July 12, 1883...

my granny gave the Bible to me,

about thirty years ago...

it was well used,

passages are underlined,

dated from when a sermon was given

that was meaningful to the listener...

and on a blank page

at the end of the book,

she has written this....

Let not soft slumbers close my eyes,

Before I've recollected, thrice!

The train of action, through the day,

Where have my feet sought out the way?

What have I learnd, where 'er I've been?

From all I've heard - from all I've seen,

What  know I more, that's worth the knowing -

What have I done, that's worth the doing,

What have I sought that I should shun?

What duty have I left undone?

Or into what new follies run?

These self-inquiries are the road-

That lead to virtue and to God.

i wonder where she got this verse from?
did she make it up or does it belong to a well known poet?
or from a friend?

have a blessed sunday...with miracles...why not?

naturally Carol xox