Sunday

On Sunday my husband and I visited a local garden that was open to the public as part of Australia's Open Garden scheme.
It was a wonderful example of sustainable living in the suburbs of Melbourne. The garden is planted with a mixture of edible, indigenous and water efficient plants. The buildings have been refitted with numerous energy saving devices and water saving products.

It was a small garden and every inch was being utilised. It was encouraging to see the large amount of visitors coming through the gate. Bad news always gets so much press but the good news moves along quietly and is sometimes rarely noticed if we don't look out for it. Good things happen all around us and we just have to make sure we notice them.
I don't have the committment to follow this path but I do admire those who do, and I do the best I can on a daily basis.

There were three chickens in the garden who happily foraged around not at all concerned about all the "invaders" in their garden.

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And now to Monday.....

A treat arrived today in the letterbox - two packages from the US. I have had my eye on the Vine Creek range of fabrics by Moda for a while now. Will I or won't I? Well I held out for a while and then one of the US shops offered "Free Postage". How could I say no?
When I ordered it was "In Stock". Then I was advised it was on back order and then, oh woe, "Order Cancelled". I found some charm packs for a reasonable price in Tasmania and ordered those. But how could I fill the void left by "Order Cancelled" of 40 fat quarters? A charm pack just doesn't do it.
I found the answer, order the set from a lovely store that I found called Piecework Fabrics in Oneonta NY, pay the postage and enjoy. So that's what I did, and voila, look what arrived today. I actually rang the shop to place the order because I wanted to make sure that the item was in the shop ready to come to me. I don't think I could cope with another disappointment. It was lovely to actually speak to someone (we were suffering extreme heat and they had extreme cold) when ordering rather than experience the anonimity of online transactions. I also ordered 2 charm packs of the "Old Primrose Inn" range and they threw in a pattern for free.


Now I have to sew, but having just returned to work and expecting overseas visitors for most of February, I may not be super productive at first.
I am going to try to make something for the January Tea Towel challenge issued by Jenny of Elefantz.
I have a few ideas...................... hopefully one will reach fruition by January 31st.