The '3 Year Quilt' Coming Together

I am a sucker for a pretty craft project. Even more so when there are gorgeous colour combinations like pink, green and blue.

So when my boss (at the time) incited me to start a 'block of the month' quilt project at a craft fair 3 years ago I was keen. I even kept up with the block-per-month thing for the first two months.

The almost finished quilt on the line today (yes! blue skies!)

It was the embroidery that broke my progress. Each month had at least two blocks to embroider, some quite detailed. All that embroidery is what drew this project out from a 9 month project to a 3 year one.

The quilt design - Polka Dot Girls - by Bronwyn Hays of Red Brolly
I must admit I edited some of the embroidery blocks to suit my tastes.

However, at last there is an end in sight! Earlier this week I completed stitching the last embroidery panel and today sewed all the panels together. The sewing isn't wonderful - it's my first real attempt at patchwork and I learned a lot of things along the way - but it is complete and the colours and embroidery draw attention away from the mis-aligned seams.

Fuu inspects my work. The angle of her ears signals approval.

Next I have to put on the borders, buy batting and backing fabric then I (fool that I am) will be doing the quilting by hand with embroidery thread. If it has already taken me three years I might as well drag it out to three and a half and make it look exactly the way I want to!

Purple King Beans

Purple King Climbing Beans



Seeds: Feathergill's seeds

Date planted: 29 Oct 2010
Planting conditions: direct in position, in cheap store-bought compost.

Germination: 05 Nov 2010 (7 days)

Growth: Were roughly 20cm tall at 15 Nov 2010. Trailed tendrils up an old clothes line 04/12/2010.

Old washing line put to use as a bean trellis.

Flowers: 10 Dec 2010

Strange but pretty purple flowers...

First sign of fruit: 14 Dec 2010

Beans grow from behind the flower. You can see one here,
the bright green stalk pushing the remains of a flower outwards.

Harvested to date: roughly 15 - 20 beans. (Note: beans are ready to pick when a beautiful dark purple color. They go bright green when cooked/steamed.)

Dark purple beans (with watermelon flower)

Advice: Once beans start to show, continue picking them because if you stop, then the plant stops producing new beans.

This bean has a few more days to ripen.
The purple colour starts at the sides and tips.
* You can also see signs of the Halo Spot disease on the leaf here.

Also, all of my purple king plants have now contracted Halo Spot - a fungal disease which shows brown dots on the leaves, each dot surrounded by a yellow 'halo'. Leaves yellow, die and fall off. I should have removed the diseased leaves/plant immediately but when I didn't it spread quickly to the others.

The disease can come dormant in the seed or can be caught by other means. It will spread quickly if the plant is watered over the foliage (the water splashes from diseased leaves/plants to clean ones). It is best to water beans (infact, many plants) close to the stems and away from the leaves for this reason.

So far, the beans have continued to grow despite the poor condition of the plants. But at the rate I am losing leaves I don't think it will keep it up for long.

No Laundry Today

It has been overcast and rainy for almost a month now. There were two days of sunshine a few weeks ago - luckily they were on my days off so I could get some washing done.

But since then the skies have rained, sulked, blown a gale, sulked and rained some more.

We've also had a string of Summer storms, typical to Queensland weather (pre-drought years).

A Summer storm with a green-hail sky over Brisbane

Our dams which were dangerously low a few years ago are now filled to 80% - to a point where they are having to release water to ensure that there is capacity for flood mitigation.

Heavy clouds sulking in the sky.

My lawn is a swamp in some areas at saturation point everywhere else.

Swampy front lawn.

My plants are hankering for some sunshine and time to dry out. I am hankering for either some sunshine or a big water tank to capture some of the rainfall.

Handmade Christmas

My home is rather bare when it comes to Christmas decorations this year.

With such limited space in a little house we have no room for a Christmas Tree. A small tree would quickly be toppled and nomed by two wee kittens. We have very few table-top surfaces to place things on. Also, my collection of Christmas decorations is small. Too small.

But the few things I do have are handmade with love and with more olde world charm than tinsel glitz.

For example, my front door sports a wreath, tarted up with pine cones, macadamia nuts and pretty feathers.


And my wrapping paper is tissue paper, hand stamped with a set of stamps I carved myself...


And across the top of a window in the living room there's a 'Merry Christmas' made of painted wooden letters attached to tartan ribbon...


So. Very sparse indeed...

But the other half of my handmade Christmas is that so many of the wonderful gifts I've received from generous friends have been handmade.

First I received a box of handmade goodies from Metanoia, including a gorgeous little cherry blossom shaped pouch, a patchwork purse and handmade chocolates in the shape of crowns all made by her clever self. You can see some of her patchworking adventures on her blog, The Quilted Hen.

Cute purse/pouch handmade for me by metanoia.
It was filled with handmade chocolates. How good is that?!

Then poisoned_kitty gave me a gift that included home-made cookies and a very sweet handmade card proving that she is a stamping-embossing genius.

On Sunday night Foogyah girl gave me a very unexpected gift of Sweet Dal packaged in a cute cookie jar. It was squishy deliciousness and I'm guilty of already eating half of the lot! She's written an entry about it on her blog, including a recipe.

Then night_child80 gave me a little gift pack that had some handmade soap and mineral eyeshadow (bought off etsy - supporting handmade Christmas gifts!)

Li gave me a box of Lush goodies - one of the few companies that still makes it's products by hand and supports environmentally friendly products and packaging.

The extra effort involved in making gifts or sourcing and supporting handmade ones is so very appreciated.

MYO - Home Yogurt

Okay... so this blog has focused heavily on my garden recently. As a first time gardener everything about seeds, vegetables and flowers growing is fascinating me so I hope you'll forgive me for the one-track-mind. However, gardening isn't all I do around this place to steer myself onto a more sustainable and simple lifestyle.

Every Sunday I make yogurt to take in for lunches during the week using a 'cheater's device called an 'Easiyo'.

Sweetened Greek yogurt on top of smooshed mulberries.

Easiyo is a NZ company which has made home yogurt making easier. They sell a thermos-like device, canisters to fit it and little sachets of yogurt powder mix, containing the live culture, flavours and milk powder.

I've attempted making yogurt from scratch before but both times were failures... You see the trick with yogurt making is to keep your brew at the right temperature for the live cultures to do their work in turning the lactose into yogurt. If it's too cold, the culture will die. Likewise, if it's too hot.

The Easiyo device is half filled with boiling water and a custom sized canister, filled with the yogurt powder mixed thoroughly with water, is inserted. The boiling water gets the mix to just the right temperature and the thermos keeps it at that temperature while the bacteria do their thing.

Yummy, firm Greek yogurt after 8 hours in the thermos.

I do all this in the evening, it takes less than 5 minutes. Then in the morning I open the thermos, pull out the canister and find perfect Greek Yogurt every time!

You can buy all kinds of flavoured Easiyo sachets but I always use the unsweetened Greek yogurt. The fact that it is plain means I can use it for cooking, further process it to make soft cheese (haven't done this yet) or sweeten it with jams, sauces and honey.

Lunch - Greek yogurt with a generous dollop of Manuka honey.

Why bother with making your own?

1) Freshly made yogurt means the healthy, good-for-you live cultures are in the billions instead of the millions you find in yogurts that have been sitting on shelving.

2) It is cheaper. One yogurt sachet makes 1L and costs less than buying a 1L tub of cold yogurt from the supermarket.

3) If making from scratch, you know that your yogurt is entirely free of preservatives and other chemicals.

4) If making from scratch, you eliminate one more bit of plastic packaging from your household waste.

I live in hope that one day soon I will make yogurt from scratch, using lemon juice and milk to get a culture started. Given that my first two failed attempts were due to temperature fluctuations I hope the thermos idea will help moderate the heat so I will have success.

(Please note- I am not sponsored or supported by Easiyo in any way. I just absolutely love their yogurt maker! This entry is an honest review of their products from my perspective.)

Patience Paid-Off

One thing I have gleaned about gardening is that it requires a bit of patience, especially if you grow things from seed as I have been doing.

There is no instant gratification for the work and care you've given and often the 'slings and arrows of fortune' take away the prize leaving you miserably staring at a dead plant.

"Sometimes you break absolutely everything - your back, your heart, your nails. The whole experience hurts. This is not the Summer I signed up for."
Alys Fowler (on a storm which demolishes her garden)- The Edible Garden.

The hope of every gardener is that the fruits of their labor (literally and figuratively!) and the patience of waiting for germination, growth and then flowering/fruiting will pay off.

This week in losing one zucchini to the constant soggy weather in the last week (bad mould spores on both sides of the leaves) I have felt more keenly the satisfaction in and blessing of those things that have gone right.

Like my cornflowers (aka bachelor's buttons).

I planted the seeds back in late April, in seedling trays which sat on my kitchen bench. Each morning I watered and observed and marvelled as they sprouted out of the ground.

I then moved them to an area I thought they would be safe from kittens - ontop of the washing machine. But I found one morning that Fuu had yanked a number of them up, not to eat but rather just for fun.

So I moved the remaining fellows into my sewing room only to have Willow knock the tray onto the ground when I was lax at closing the door. With less than half of my seedlings left, I moved the tray outside, only to lose another half of that lot to sudden changes of temperature and sun.

There were 6 seedlings left. I planted three with the oregano in the back yard and the other three in the front garden.

Then I watered.

And waited.

And watched.

And waited.

And eventually I was rewarded with the gorgeous, delicate blossoms in the vivacious blue known as cornflower blue.

First one....



Then a few and now a great number at once. They are so beautiful I cannot resist photographing them over and over.


For the last three months I have had cornflowers gracing my garden and I am thankful.

How does your Garden Grow? (Dec 10)

Things gone right:

I have corn! Little silky threads peeping out from halfway down the plant. I'm so excited to watch the growing process of a plant I've never seen up close before.


My watermelon seedlings are also coming along nicely.


The nasturtiums I repotted when they were on their last legs have thanked me by growing madly and giving forth the most glorious flowers. (Note to self- eat more salads so I can use the flowers before they wilt.)


The sage I planted a few weekends ago have now germinated while the thyme seeds from a month ago have finally shown some growth.


The poor Rhubarb plants which suffered badly in the recent floodings (no drainage holes in their pot) have started to bounce back. I love to observe the pretty blushing of their stalks...


The white pettipan squash seeds planted in my recent plant-athon has sprouted with the rapid growth I have come to expect from large-seed plants. I never cease to wonder at the act of germination and how one plant may take days while another takes weeks.


The basil I planted in July has finally gone to seed. The flowers are so pretty and apparently edible, though I haven't given it a try yet! Does anyone know what point I should stop eating the leaves on a basil plant gone to seed?


Things gone wrong which I haven't taken photos of are:

• The big gaping holes in the leaves of my struggling sunflower plants.
  
• The bare lemon drop tomato plant in the front yard which has been attacked by green bugs and grubs.
  
• The disgusting mould that took one of my zucchini plants.
  
• The weird purple mould on the lucern hay I use as mulch in both the front and back gardens.
• The toppled pot of freshly sewn chives seeds with dirt and seeds spilled. (A local cat or possum?)
• The two tomato plants in the back yard that are hanging on to life enough for me to keep them but not offering up any sign of flowering or fruit for the last month.
  
• My frustrated face when I want to buy a deep planting trough to lay out some carrot seeds but can't because Christmas eats my money.
  

A Very Gardeny Weekend

Though I did other things this weekend, such as making kiwi-fruit jam and some cross-stitch, it seems what I have done the most this weekend is garden.

Transplanted:
Capsicum seedlings
Nasturtium seedlings
Marigold seedlings


Seeds planted:
Summer flower mix
Lettuce
Zinnia flowers
Rockmelon (hales best)
White pattipan squash
Thyme
Sage
Bronze fennel


Thinned out:
Strawberries
Watermelon
Sunflowers

Phew! No wonder I feel that contented kind of tired you feel after a good dose of physical work.

A Sanity Day

Yesterday I took a day off work to relax and get my sanity back in balance.

And what did I do?


Washing, wash-up dishes, bake cookies, bake cake, bake bread, make yogurt, clean house, gardening, embroidery while watching Alys Fowler's 'The Edible Garden' and spent time with my kittens. I feel happily grounded, sorted and neatened again.



I found nasturtium flowers growing on my young plants, as well as three gorgeous big sunny, yellow ones on my zucchini plant. I grabbed a paintbrush and attempted to assist the pollination process with the zucchinis. I sure hope it helps because I'm dying to get some vegetables growing.


We finally bought a mower so our yard now looks like a lawn rather than a meadow. I preferred the wild meadow style until a particular weed with little seeds that attach to everything started getting out of control. We now have a small mountain of grass clippings and no compost to put them on.

Jam drops with difference conserves -
raspberry, cape gooseberry & fig with ginger

Today's Harvest

Four Lemon Drop Tomatoes and a Tigerella

Pesto... Not made for a jar!

Ahhhhh. As I type up this entry I am licking my chops in satisfaction.

I have just eaten a lunch of homemade pesto and pasta. Frankly, I intend to never eat bottled pesto again.

With a food processor or stick blender (with appropriate attachments) you can pick and chooses your own flavors and have a scrumptious pesto in literally minutes. I love the way my pestos are more chunky and much less oily than store bought ones too.

Usually, if I'm doing a Q&D pesto, I grab basil from the garden, cashews from the pantry, grated cheese from the fridge and drizzle olive oil before whizzing the lot together.

Today I added some sun dried tomatoes and sunflower seeds and was certainly not disappointed with the results!! I think in the future I may try adding in some of my fresh oregano with the sundried tomato to see how that works. Yeah!

Ode to the First Homegrown Tomato

g r o w i n g ..... impatience
g r o w i n g ..... anticipation

little golden globe
mouth-smoooosh
delectable tang on the tongue

love at first bite.

But the Produce is More Lovely!

Though I am appreciating the wild beauty of weeds in my yard, I am loving the fruit and vegetables in it much more!


This little capsicum was only just bigger than my fist, and the only one grown on the plant. But it was my first time to grow a capsicum fully until it was red on the plant. I harvested this little guy earlier this week and put him on a homemade pizza, with scone base, baked sweet potato, basil, onion and bacon.


I bought three basil plants for $4 at the bayside markets, a real bargain! I planted them amongst two of my tomato plants to try to tempt the bugs away, sacrificial basil. I've used some on the abovementioned pizza but also made homemade fresh pesto twice now. A handful of basil leaves, a handful of cashews, a sprinkling of parmesan (or pizza cheese if you run out of parmesan as I did today!) and a dash of olive oil. Process the lot for 20 seconds on low then 10 seconds on high and you have a pesto that beats any store bought one hands down.



Last year my mulberry tree went OFF and, again, this year, it hasn't disappointed! Every 2nd morning I duck out before work to pluck down those ripe berries that I can reach. I then spend a few moments staring at the ones near the top of the tree and regret that I have to leave them for the birds! At first I ate them like there was no tommorrow- with yogurt and by themselves at lunch times. Then I decided I should freeze them and try to make a jam or conserve (and a cordial if I have enough leftover). So I have a substantial harvest set aside and frozen for this....

Of all the things I've harvested from my garden recently the peas were the most unexpected. The seeds had germinated almost overnight in a seedling tray and mini greenhouse. Then the plants shot up in a way that gave a new appreciation for the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk!

I replanted them outside only to later read that peas should be planted where they are to grow. I watched as they struggled and slowly turned a sickly yellow green. By the time they had reached a mostly yellow tinge I had completely given up on them.

But one morning, while watering the tomatoes and basil beside them I noticed something green amongst the faded leaves of a plant. A pod! My heart thrilled, I realised there were pods on most of the small dwarf plants. A week later I harvested the small number of pods (about 12 in total), realising that the plants had done as much as they could given my poor care. Each pod only had one or two seeds but they were so sweet, fresh and lovely! It was a delight.

The Weeds in my Garden Are Beautiful

This month, the 'weeds' in my yard have been in bloom with the coming of Spring.

From blues to oranges, bright yellows and pinks.

I have been in love with my weeds.

Trials and Error

Attempt #1
My first attempt at growing plants from seeds were cornflowers. I love the stunning colour of the blooms of the cornflower plant. It is rare to see a seedling plant at Bunnings so they seemed like a good option for my first try.

I used cheap potting mix in seedling trays with no protection.


It was a delight to watch the little seedlings pop their heads out of the soil, some with the seed husk still attached. They grew up quickly, straight and proud.

Then disaster struck in the form of a destructive kitten. I came out one morning to find 10 or so seedlings had been uprooted. Not eaten... just uprooted.

So I was much more careful about where the seedlings were left around the house. The one day I was negligent, the other kitten jumped on the box, knocking dirt and seedlings into the carpet.
The few remaining seedlings were planted out the front and back. Now, a few months on, I have 3 plants at the front and 3 at the back of the house growing.

Attempt #2

My second attempt at growing from seeds was cheap Caspicum seeds, Heartsease flowers and Catnip. Not one single seed of the Catnip germinated. Only two seeds of the Heartsease sprouted. Most of the Capsicum flourished.

To protect these little guys from destructive kittens I bought a Yates mini greenhouse seedling protector. This helped out the Capsicums but still no further growth from the catnip or Heartsease.
Then I went on honeymoon and our house/kitten sitter forgot to water everything. When I came back most of the capsicums had wilted beyond repair. The tray was put outside to get some sun and aphids got in and ate the leaves off the remaining capsicum seedlings.

Total failure.

Attempt #3
I bought a 2nd seedling protection greenhouse and planted a variety of seeds, including Dwarf Peas, Marigolds and Forget-Me-Nots.

The peas grew faster than I would have imagined and were transplanted into a planting box with pea-sticks (aka sticks from the trees in my front yard!). They no longer seem to be thriving so well, though they have started flowering in the last few days.


This could be due to the fact that peas are supposed to be planted where they are to grow rather than in seedling trays.

The Marigolds and Forget-Me-Nots are doing well enough though their growth seems laboured compared to the speedy zoom of the peas.


Attempt #4

During my last Bunnings visit I was distracted by the seedling mix. I considered why people would use a specialised mix instead of just potting mix. It seemed that seedling mix was finer, alowing tiny and weak roots to penetrate the soil more easily. The potting mix I had been using was closer to compost with large pieces of bark and organic matter in it.

So I bought a coir-peat block and spent some time yesterday afternoon expanding this and filling some seedling trays with the smaller-grained stuff.

I planted out Diggers 7 colour capsicum mix, leftover Heartsease seeds and some Cut-and-Come-Again Lettuce seeds.

I'm excited to be trying something new and will be interested to see how successful it is.