Chain 477 and a Winner!

I've had a lovely post planned for days to show you my latest WIP.  I was rather thrilled with this project, the mere fact I got past the first step in the instruction - chain 477 was something of a miracle....

Now, just quickly, before we go any further, can anyone explain why blogger has decided to load all my photos sideways?  It's very annoying.

Anyway, back to the story. So I found this magazine in the back of my linen closet between some sheets. Not sure where it came from.  Anyhow, it's oldish, contains some rather interesting clothing patterns, but I flipped through it anyway and came across the Pennsylvania Dutch Cafe pattern.  

Ah ha! I thought. 

I've been looking for a pattern like this.  Something lovely to hang in my kitchen window and hide the fact they need a good wash.  So I got stuck in.  Now normally, the old 'chain anything over 100' would send a pattern packing in my world, but for whatever reason (more likely a moment of insanity) I got stuck in.  All went swimmingly. I chained a few too many, but what the heck, I just had a little bit extra on either side of the pattern.  I hooked a few rows, noticed a mistake, frogged it back to the mistake  and started back on my merry way.  It was taking quite a bit of concentration (not my strong point) and counting.  This happened about three times and then I started to get annoyed, but I was determined.  Now as I was planning out my little blog post and photographing merrily I noticed a mistake four rows back.....sh*t....not a teeny tiny mistake, but a great big bl**dy heck type whopper mistake. I studied it, try to think of a solution to fix it.  Stretch it out one way and then another, thinking making a bit of blocking would fix it.  

Nope.

Not happening. 

 So I huffed and I puffed....

and I frogged it back to the mistake and then........

.....threw the whole thing in the back of the cupboard. 

Where it shall stay FOREVER.

When you have the concentration span of a gnat and your counting skills go something like this 

....23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30....

there is no hope for anything that starts...'chain 477'.  

What was I thinking???

Anyhoo, you live and learn and thankfully there is still room at the back of my 'closet of mistakes'.  I'm back to my crochet stripe blanket where my counting skills are not needed.  

And before I finish this ramble, a little thank you for all the lovely ladies who stop by my blog and entered my quiet little giveaway.  I'm just sad I don't have a bunting bag to send to everyone. But I am sending you all an enormous hug and thank you.  Oh and before I forget, the winner!  I asked Little J to just pick a name out of basket (sorry no photos) and the winner was Regula!!!  Please stop by and visit her blog, she is one very talented lady.

Toodle Pip!  Louise  x ♥

P.S. Regula, can you please email me (gephart836@gmail.com)?  I can't seem to find your email address.

In My Garden - July

Just a little diary entry to track the progress of my garden this year.  I just found a lost post from June to track the progress and it's a bit late now to mention June, so here is July.  Photo heavy, but really for tracking purposes only. I love to look back on where things were the year before.

First, vegetables etc...

We have one tomato plant that is bursting with fruit and full of leaves, it is enormous.  Two right next to it are sparse of both leaves and fruit, but their fruit is almost ripe...interesting....I think they are different types of tomatoes.  In fact, I think they were grown from non GMO seeds and the bushy one was from mass produced seeds.  I wish we had kept better track.

 Kohlrabi....never eaten or grown kohlrabi before, so this will be interesting.

 On our sparse tomato plants, the first tomatoes, almost ready!!!! YUM.

 Apples coming along nicely. The tree had some kind of blight this year were the leaves on the end of the branches turned brown and the apples went soft and bad.  So that's left us with a small crop, but I am sure they will be delicious.

 Little lady pumpkin just starting out.  (I think? Maybe it's a watermelon, utterly hopeless at remembering what got planted where!)  Well if anything, I do know this is a female blossom and I am waiting for it to open so it can do it's thing with all the male blossoms.

 Further up the vine a pumpkin or maybe a watermelon?  I change my mind everyday as to what it will be.  If you can tell, PLEASE put me out my agony of not knowing :-)  Anyway, it's the first time we've had any success growing either and we try in vain every year with no luck.

 Beans, carrots, stevia, parsley and beets, maybe a pepper plant or two?  A bit of a mess, I know, but the beans are delicious and the stevia is better than sugar for my morning cuppa!

 The worlds slowing growing beets.....hurry UP beets, 

I love you. YUM.

 Absolutely masses of wild strawberries growing our back hill (hill in next photos). I swear these are strawberries that we planted when we first bought the house 15 years ago, they are everywhere. Too tart to eat, but maybe wild strawberry jam?

 Ok not a great photo, but our back hill.  For the first time we are utilizing it to grow veggies.  We have a stray tomato plant, well not stray, it got broken off another plant, was on the window sill inside, but got knocked over, put outside in a jar of water and got knocked over again and now it outside covered in tomatoes and being swamped by a watermelon (pumpkin?) plant.  In amongst that mess are also a couple of butternut squash plants and cucumbers.  The cucumbers are already providing a wonderful addition to our dinners and an afternoon snack for the guinea pigs.  First time having success growing them and they are delicious.

 And last, but not least a sneaky nasturtium that snuck down from the mulch pile and ended up with the oregano.  Nasturtiums are one of my favorite flowers, they remind me of home.

OK less yap from me...
Onto Flowers....

 Ok, not quite a flower, but I love coleus plants.  I remember when I bought my first coleus plant. I was 8 years old and we lived in Capel St Mary, Suffolk.  There was some sort of fair on the playfield at the end of my street and I bought a coleus in a little cup for 2 pence. I took such great care of that plant, it grew so nicely on my bedroom windowsill. I was devastated when we packed up to move back to Australia and I was told I couldn't take it with me.  Funny the memories we hang on to sometimes.

 Love these little violas popping up in the cracks in our path and stairs!  I keep a close eye on the Mister when he is weedwacking to make sure he doesn't chop them down. He doesn't share my love for them.

Phew! I did get a bit snap happy this afternoon! Congrats if you made it to the end of this post 'cos I nearly didn't.

Must be off, a new crochet project calling my name.

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a lovely day.

Toodles...L x ♥

P.S. Thank you for all your lovely comments on my bag!  I do hope it lives up to the winners expectation :-).  If you haven't entered my little giveaway, please do leave a comment on my post from yesterday.

♥ Bunting Bag ♥

I've spent a lovely day off work stitching like mad.  Not stopping to eat or drink, just busily sewing and I have to say it's been a GREAT day.  

I've been blogging for 5 and a half years now and it really has changed my life. I know that sounds a little ridiculous, but it really has. I've 'met' so many wonderful people across the world and have not only enjoy their friendship, but appreciated their support very much.  

Today, after a wonderful day of stitching another bag which I do not need, but I loved making I had a thought.  Heaven knows my linen cupboard does not need another bag tossed into it's messy depths either but upon thinking about this latest bag, which I think has turned out okish and would be rather handy for carrying your lunch and perhaps your latest WIP, I thought maybe someone out there in the blogisphere might like it?  What do you think? If you are interested in this little handmade bunting bag, please just pop a comment below and I'll do a little drawing in say a week's time?  Oh and I'll be happy to ship it anywhere in the world.

Toodles L x ♥

For Emma, A Pig.....

My Little Sister and I were quite close as children, sometimes even mistaken for twins as our Mum liked to dress us alike, although I am two years older.  Although she isn't little anymore, I'll always call her my little sister as I have an older sister too who I always refer to as my Big Sister.  Funnily, my Little Sister is taller than me and my Big Sister is shorter!

Anyway, as young children we were obsessed with all things horse and pony related and especially loved Norman Thelwell ponies.  I've not met anyone in the US who knows about Thelwell ponies, so when I spied this pig at the local flea market I literally squealed for joy, bit like a pig :-) and the Mister was thoroughly embarrassed.  There was no doubt this little piggy was coming home with me.

And as I was across the world  buying a Thelwell pig and missing my siblings, on the other side of the globe my Little Sister was posting photos on Facebook of our childhood, which made me miss them even more!  As much as I despise FB most of the time, I do love that it helps me keep in touch with my distant family.

(L to R - Me, Jonathan, Emma and Caroline mid 1970, Darlington, Western Australia)

Toodles....L X ♥

P.S. Please excuse crap Pig photos, my camera is on the blink.