The last bit of sewing and Cucumber growing.

Hello,

Earlier on in the week I finished the last of the sewing for the year. I have had some waffle fabric scraps which have been waiting to be used. I turned them into hand towels.

I used fabric for the binding that matched the machine embroidery designs. The white fabric you can see on the stitching is a wash-away. This melts  in water. I also used up the last of the yellow cotton and crocheted two facecloths which are so lovely and soft.

 Each of the ladies at the Blogger's lunch received a machine embroidery stocking to hang on the tree.

Apple Cucumbers.

 For many years we just haven't been able to grow Cucumbers. We would plant them and within a day or so there was absolutely nothing left of them. This was our final time at trying. The lady at the Garden Centre suggested that maybe something might be eating them so we put some of those blue snail pallets around the seedlings. Slater's were the little pests eating at the plants.

Marketmore Cucumbers.

 Leading on from that success I was given several packets of seeds last month and amongst them was a packet of Marketmore Cucumbers. I planted these in those little jiffy pots and all the seeds grew. These have been planted out in a raised bed and are thriving. I have had them under some shade cloth. They even survived several 45/46 degrees days with no side effects.

Lettuce and Cucumber in a self watering box.

I enjoy watching Gardening Australia on television and was quite impressed with the self watering vegie box they had on a short while ago. Basically you get a foam box then place either gravel or perlite in the base about half way up the box. Then you add some way to add the water. You can use the black drainage pipe with the holes. We didn't have any of that and substituted the white down pipe with holes drilled in it. A piece of shade cloth is put across the box on top of the perlite/gravel then potting mix is added. Put a hole in the side of the box at the end where the pipe is a couple of inches from the base to allow water to drain out. Fill the pipe up with water to soak everything. This will remain damp for about a week. You are supposed to cut of the shade cloth but we left ours to put across the top of the plants on a hot day. I originally planted the cucumber seeds on one side to see how it worked and was pleasantly surprised with the growth. So a punnet of lettuce was added. I will transplant the cucumbers shortly.We actually have used two foam boxes, the outside bigger box was broken at one end so we placed the smaller one inside. This may help stabilise the temperature for growing  and help with holding the water for longer.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2014. I 'll take a bit of break from blogging over this period and will be back next year.Stay safe.

Happy days.
Bev C

"A Wonderful Blogger's Day."

Hello,

What a great day was Saturday, the air conditioning on in the car with the Bee Gees playing to me and no-one to turn it off. Then to get to meet up with some Bloggers in Perth. First I had to pick up a cross stitch from the framers.

A chaque jour suffit sa peine

So happy with the framing plus I got to drop of another cross stitch which I can pick up early next year.

Then I got to meet up with fellow Bloggers from across Western Australia.

We all had a wonderful day chatting and talking plus a little eating and drinking (tea and water) and looking at Julia's wonderful hand quilting and Maria's North Pole quilt. Thank you so much ladies, I drove home with a wonderful feeling of happiness. A special thank you to Sandra who opened her home to us with help from her Mum Maria. Of course a special mention must go to Sandra's Son who did a great job as the Photographer for each Blogger.
In the photo above are the ladies in question from left to right is:
Julia,
Maria,
Tracee,
Sandra,
Myself,
Anthea.

I took along a plate of Lemon Truffles which are super easy to make in a short time.

Lemon Truffles.
1 1/2 cups of unsweetened desiccated coconut.
plus 1/2 cup for coating
1 cup ground almonds
4 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
4 tablespoons honey
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
a pinch of sea salt ( I left this out,didn't have any!)

In a food processor, add all of the ingredients. Blend for a minute or two or until mixture starts to mix together like a dough.
Use your hands to form small balls.
In another  bowl, add the extra coconut. Roll the balls in the coconut until covered. Place in the fridge to set.

Eat and Enjoy.

I make my own ground almonds, it is far cheaper to buy almonds and ground them yourself in the blender/wizzer. These Truffles could even be made with Orange juice to alter the flavour.

We are in the midst of a heatwave, 46 here yesterday and a repeat of it today. We got home from shopping at 9.30am this morning and could see smoke over the hills in the distance. Toodyay had another Bush fire, 170 firefighters helped control it. The winds have been awful,hopefully only a few more days of this heat.

Stay cool.
Bev C

"An Elephant in the Room."

Hello,

Happy Monday.

 Happy to visit a garden last month that had this Elephant growing in the front garden. I was very pleased to visit this garden as you can't see it from the Highway. Lots of Gum trees growing out the front hiding the lovely garden and old home. Each time we drive to Perth now we smile as we pass, we know what delights there are just out of view.

I have had a few "elephants" that have sat in my sewing room for a while. Decided to turn the crochet bag into a Lavender sachet.

 This cross stitch was turned into a mini cushion filled with some Lavender from the garden.

This cross stitch was turned into a small wall hanging.

Glad to have three small finishes for "One Project a Month." If you click on the links you will see the two cross stitch pieces have been waiting for a few years to be finished. How did that happen???


Happy days.
Bev C