Natural Suburbia

Creative Friday and a Long-crested Eagle

2012-02-10T07:55:00.004+02:00

Welcome to Creative Friday!

Yesterday, while driving past our lake, down the road from where we live, Erin said that she had seen a strange bird sitting in one of the trees. I turned the car around and looked at the place where she was pointing. To my amazement, I couldn'y believe what I was seeing. There in the tree sat a Long-crested Eagle! He was gorgeous... and apparently it is very unusual that he is here in our area.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so after I had finished my errands, I returned home and quickly drove back to the lake and he was still there! Oh, what excitement, I just can't tell you! Oh, by the way, I really love birdwatching and discovering new and rare birds in our area. SO this was such a find. Here are a few of the photos I managed to take before he took flight and flew off into the sunset.... Oh yes, and I seriously have to take my camera with me at all times from now on!

To add this button to your blog, right click on it and 'save picture as' to your photos. Then add it as a gadget / picture to your blog on your blogs design page with a link to my blog address:)

Thank you so much to everyone who shares the love and posts their links to their amazing work:) Please feel free to post your links to anything you have created and would like to share, it can be a recipe, sewing tutorial, knitting tutorial, felting, crochet, crafts, art, spinning, weaving, working with fibre, photography, poetry...etc...

I also love to hear from you, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment:) Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent with us! Just add the name of your blog to the widget and then add your blog link with the http:// at the beginning of your link address:) I have added a Creative Friday button on the sidebar of my blog, please feel free to add it to your blog for Creative Friday and link it to http://www.naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com/ so others can find this space and share their creativity too:)
1. I have started a Creative Friday Flickr Group where you can post your beautiful photos that you link to each Creative Friday.

2. If you would be so kind as to link back to Natural Suburbia in your blog post that would be lovely:)

Have a wonderful day,
xo

Fair Isle Knitting, Yarn Along

2012-02-08T13:36:00.002+02:00

Well, I finally decided to give Fair Isle knitting a try. I bought this kit a while ago from Sweden and just never started knitting with it. I have always thought of Fair Isle knitting as really daunting and beautiful. The other day, I went searching for the kit in my cupboard and I started knitting. It was not half as scary as I thought it would be and I REALLY LOVE it!!! The colours blend together like magic, as if they have been painted by Seurat... I have been knitting on this project as often as I can, sitting and knitting, walking and knitting, it even came with me to tea this morning, so you see, I really can't put it down for long...

I am knitting this hat for Richard for winter, I bought the kit from Solsilke too beautiful! It is called The Blue Light Hat and scarf pattern and is under the link 'Bohus Stickning' on their website. If you want to request a price list or place an order, you can click on their 'contact' link and send them an email. I will definitely be knitting more, I love the design called Wild Apple too. The yarn that comes with the kit is so exceptionally soft, it's angora and Merino. I knitted the rib and couldn't wait for the colour work to start.

I am reading through this amazing book, The Knitter's Life List, this book is probably what prompted me to try something different with my knitting and learn a new skill. I am so happy I did:)

I am joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along today.

Some 'Me' Time

2012-02-06T17:02:00.002+02:00

Merino, silk and flax hand spun...

Alpaca

It is so wonderful to have Richard home from London, how strange it felt here without him...
We have been busy with our homeschooling, we start each morning at about 8:30 am and continue working for a few hours, I do have curriculums for our three oldest children, but there is still so much work to get through each day, now that they are older and Jenna will have to start writing exams from next year in preparation for her final matric exam certificate, in a few years time. I love our learning time and I am learning so much but but I have to admit I feel little tired at times and I know that this happens when I don't take some time for myself here and there. I start to feel a little flat, know what I mean? So while Jen, Erin and Caiden went off to Kumon this afternoon, I went sorting through my roving cupboard and found a beautiful, soft alpaca roving to spin... Kye was busy happily playing nearby with his toys and I had a whole hour and a half just for me.

So I divided up the roving, this is the best part, the planning of the colours, where to make the breaks so that the colourway flows evenly. I laid all the pieces over a chair and started my spinning meditation, what bliss and the sound of the wheel gently spinning. I love spinning alpaca, it is so incredibly soft and I was able to spin with a long draw because of the lovely length of the fibres, just wonderful.

I managed to finish spinning before I went to fetch everyone and I felt refreshed and happy that I had taken a few moments for me. I used to feel almost guilty about taking time but now I realise how important it is as a mother to just 'be' sometimes...

Natural Suburbia Sponsor Giveaway from The Enchanted Cupboard

2012-02-04T11:27:00.009+02:00

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Beccijo from The Enchanted Cupboard, one of our most recent sponsors on Natural Suburbia.

In Beccijo's words:

THE ENCHANTED CUPBOARD•.,¸¸,:•:**:•
You enter a quaint gift shop at the street corner. You see the gypsy-like shopkeeper, and she smiles at you as you walk further into the room. You feel like you have just entered into a place timeless, magical, yet familiar all at the same time. The woman raises her finger to her lips as if to silence you. Then she looks around the room and points to the back of the store. You see a large old enchanted cupboard with a vast amount of drawers and doors; you walk to it as sweet, whispered words fill your ears,
"Inside you will find your heart's desire!"

The Enchanted Cupboard is a wonderful mix of handmade items that are truly part of my soul. You will find it full of wonderful wooden toys, custom wedding cake toppers, and a few enchanting things for the young at heart. I specialize in wooden dolls and playsets that work wonderfully with Waldorf nature tables. I have been developing wonderful educational toys that inspire learning while children are having fun. I make custom family dolls and wedding cake toppers that are lovingly painted to look like the people who will receive them.

Natural Suburbia: Tell us about the beginnings of your business and how it has developed and grown over the years.

Beccijo:
I started out just making items for my own children, then it grew to other children of friends and family. Soon friends of friends started asking me to make them and from that simple hobby a business started to grow. I found Etsy in 2008 as a customer and then started reading all I could about online selling. I traded a few items in the beginning and then sold my first toy online in 2009.

Natural Suburbia:Who or what is your inspiration?
Beccijo:
I have always had a very elaborate imagining. I spent most of my childhood in the woods playing with fairies, trolls, and goblins. I came from a large family with extended family all around and there was always someone to play with. As I grew my Art ability started to blossom and I was able to put my imagination to work on paper and canvas.
As an adult I went to the English Nanny and Governess School to pursue my dream of being a Nanny. I again was able to use my imagination as a source of inspiration for my work. I had a long wonderful career that end a few years after I married and started my own family. Having a lifetime surrounded by children gave me a great opportunity to study how important play was and what was needed to inspire the imagination of a child.
To read more about my life see my website here.

Natural Suburbia: What is your creative process and how long have you been crafting?
Beccijo:
I come from a very creative family and crafting was just part of my life from the beginning. I am a bit of a Mad Hatter when it comes to my creative process. I see something that just sparks something inside me and then like a wildfire it takes off in my brain. In a few moments my brain has connected all the pieces like a puzzle. Not just the what it is but also the why it would work! I get very excited and pace around and start talking to myself. When I think of a toy, it also has a story, a life that goes with it. Sometimes I sketch it out or I might go right to painting and creating. Once I start I can’t stop until I have finished it. After I finish I give it to the children to see what they do and how they react. It is a lovely but wild process!

Natural Suburbia: What do you do to avoid burnout, how do you relax?
Beccijo:
Having balance is the key! Making sure I give to all the parts of myself, the mother, the wife, the toy maker, the daughter, etc. and to ME. I learned very early in life that you need to take care of the ME or there will never be enough of yourself to go around for all the parts that you are to others. When in an airplane for safety you are told in a emergency to put your oxygen on first then take care of others. The same is true in life! Doing things that renew your spirit is like giving your life the oxygen you need for emergencies. Some of my favorite ME things is reading and planning our future mini farm. I love using Pinterest to mark all the really great information that I find and all of the inspiring photos. I also make sure I spend time with friends and family that make me feel good when I am with them.

Natural Suburbia: How do you balance mothering, crafting and homemaking?

Beccijo:
I am a very organized person. Everything has a place and with 4 kids, 3 being boys, it can be a challenge. I work best when my life has order and then everything falls into place. I also get help when I need it, if my business has a growth and I can’t get to the housekeeping then I hire someone till I can handle it again. I have an assistant who helps out from time to time and that need grows as my business grows.

Natural Suburbia: Are there any new and exciting products you would like to tell us about?

Beccijo:

You can also find Beccijo here:

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

~~~***Giveaway***~~~:

Congratulations to:

Sunshine MamaFeb 4, 2012 09:15 AM

What a generous giveaway! My kids and I look at her shop all the time, ooing and ahhhing at all her creations. Thanks for the chance!

~~Today, The Enchanted Cupboard is offering a $ 50 shopping spree to one winner!~~

~~To enter the giveaway please leave a comment below, the winner will be announced on Tuesday here in this blog post, please ensure I have a way to contact you if you win.~~

~~For additional entries, please share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook etc..or in a blog post, please remember to come back here and comment each time you share about this giveaway.~~

Thank you so much Beccijo for this lovely interview and wonderful giveaway.

For more information about becoming a sponsor on Natural Suburbia, you can contact me at lindadawkins@mweb.co.za

Creative Friday

2012-02-03T12:53:00.004+02:00

Welcome to Creative Friday.
Today I am posting a craft that I shared on Rhytm of the Home online Magazine previously. It is for a knitted needle saver with an autumn theme. It could be any theme really, Valentine's Day, Christmas, Easter etc... just change the colours and the felt motif on the front and there you go.

Materials:

DK Merino yarn, I have used a naturally dyed yarn that has been dyed with Peach Bracket Mushrooms.

4mm straight knitting needles.

Wool sewing needle

Embroidery needle

Scissors

Material

Felt

Pinking Shears

Pattern:

Cast on 30 stitches.

Knit 5 rows of garter stitch.

Row 6: Knit 5 stitches, purl 20 stitches, knit 5 stitches.

Row 7: Knit

Alternate rows 6 and 7 twelve times finishing on a purl row.

Knit 5 rows of garter stitch.

Cast off

Sew in all the ends with a wool needle.

If you would like to make your folder lie flat, just block it on a piece of felt. To block, dampen and pin into position and allow to dry.

Cut a piece of cotton material with a pinking shears to fit just inside of your knitted cover. Cut it slightly smaller.

Sew the liner onto the knitted cover with thread.

Cut a piece of yellow felt to stitch into your sewing book. Sew along the left side to secure into the sewing book.

Draw an Oak Leaf onto a piece of yellow felt and cut it out. Sew along the main vein of the leaf with dark cotton.

Sew the Oak Leaf onto the front of the needle book cover.

About Creative Friday:

To add this button to your blog, right click on it and 'save picture as' to your photos. Then add it as a gadget / picture to your blog on your blogs design page with a link to my blog address:)

Thank you so much to everyone who shares the love and posts their links to their amazing work:) Please feel free to post your links to anything you have created and would like to share, it can be a recipe, sewing tutorial, knitting tutorial, felting, crochet, crafts, art, spinning, weaving, working with fibre, photography, poetry...etc...

I also love to hear from you, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment:) Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent with us! Just add the name of your blog to the widget and then add your blog link with the http:// at the beginning of your link address:) I have added a Creative Friday button on the sidebar of my blog, please feel free to add it to your blog for Creative Friday and link it to http://www.naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com/ so others can find this space and share their creativity too:)

1. I have started a Creative Friday Flickr Group where you can post your beautiful photos that you link to each Creative Friday.

2. If you would be so kind as to link back to Natural Suburbia in your blog post that would be lovely:)

Have a wonderful day,
xo

Conversations about Chickens

2012-02-02T16:27:00.003+02:00

We spent most of the morning outside in our front garden with the chickens today. We watched as they sand bathed and then suddenly climbed into a tree to roost for a while. What I think I like the most about having these wonderful girls is the impact it has had on our family. Our children, especially adore each and every one of them, they all have names and they can tell exactly who is who, (I can't yet, but I am getting better, I do know some of them) I know that my one is called Boo and she is the only one who has green eyes, all the rest have brown eyes. Caiden told me this morning that each one has her own personality and then he started telling me all about their different idiosyncrasies. The richness these girls have brought to our lives with their colourful natures' is just priceless...

Although we don't live on a farm, we are living on an acre of land, big enough for chickens and I am so glad we decided to make them a part of our life a few years ago. They have taught our children so much, they understand why they do the things they do, like sand bathing and scratching in the dirt, that their straw and droppings are turned into compost for our veggies and then of course there are those amazing eggs. Each morning Kye and I walk around to the laying boxes, he collects all the eggs and once he has put them into an egg box, he counts each one and tells me how many we have for the day. Then he fetches some lucerne pellets and gives it to them to say thank you for their precious eggs. This is the highlight of his day, it takes a while but I enjoy sharing this time with him. It's our time together in the midst of a busy day...

Our chickens have also become really tame, they follow us around when we walk in the garden and really Love to be inside our home. They try to get in any way they can, flying up onto high windowsills by the kitchen and then jumping through the window. Erin's chicken, Millie walked into our schoolroom, jumped up on the couch and laid an egg there the other day, I think she feels quite at home here...

PS. oh and that's Charlie in the last photo, he also loves to sand bath with the chickens...

Yarn Along

2012-02-01T14:37:00.001+02:00

Lots of knitting and making has been happening here this week, I am almost finished with Kye's woven rainbow scarf for winter, just green, blue and purple to go. We all worked on it initially but then it became mama's project to finish:) He loves the colour and the softness. Jenna's Harris Shrug is moving along at a slow pace but I am getting there, with Richard being away until Saturday, I am knitting more at night so I am sure most of these projects will be close to finished by the end of the week.

I have also had orders to make this week, one local for chickens and one international for a knitted lion. Lastly, I designed a new pattern this week for a Meerkat which will be going into my book due to be published this year, I think I am going to work on a Jackal pattern next:)

I am still reading through The Charlotte Mason Companion, such a wonderful resource for homeschooling...

I am joining in with Ginny this week for the Yarn Along.

Woven Rainbow Scarf

February Sponsors

2012-02-01T07:46:00.001+02:00

Welcome to our February sponsors:

The Enchanted Cupboard:
The most gorgeous hand crafted and hand painted treasures, toys, play silks and wedding cake toppers.

Vistaprint :
Offering wonderful printed cards, calenders and business cards.

Natural Kids:

A lovely group of artisans creating the most beautiful heirloom and natural products for children and their families.

Woolies:

At Woolies you will find the most beautiful heirloom quality stuffed animals and toys made from natural materials.

Ecomilf

A truly lovely eco friendly blog with pages of delicious recipes, natural cleaning recipes for your home, gardening and crafting. A wonderful place to visit...

Thank you so much to my lovely sponsors.

Please do visit their wonderful shops and see what they have to offer.

For sponsorship / advertising information you can contact me at: lindadawkins@mweb.co.za

Bird Life

2012-01-31T17:03:00.001+02:00

I was quietly sitting in my studio, working on my computer when I heard this commotion outside on the bird feeder. When I looked outside, I saw a male Red Bishop feeding his baby seed! Luckily, my camera was right behind me on the desk, I grabbed it and waited for the right shot. I don't know about you, but when I wait for the right moment to take a photo, I get almost nervous... I really don't want to miss the perfect shot, sometimes I almost feel as if my hand is shaking from excitement and then I press that button on my camera... and how amazing it feels when there it is... Today was kind of like that with these two birds.

I'm not sure at all but isn't it unusual for the male to be feeding his young? I have seen him in the garden over the last few days with his little one. It's too gorgeous, really, he follows this young Bishop all over and the minute another bird comes near, he puffs up his chest so much, makes a tremendous noise and swoops down on them, chasing them away!

I am so happy I was able to capture him feeding seed to this little one whose wings kept flapping so furiously and tweeting at the same time as if to say, "Hurry up dad, I'm hungry!!" The male would fill up his beak with seed and then feed it all to his little one, a precious moment indeed!

And then this Grey Lourie arrived on the scene, spread out his wings and all bird life cleared the area.

I just want to thank everyone who wrote to me about the 'embedded comments' on my blog, magically when I did my next post, the button started to work, I am so happy about this, now I can reply to your comments as they are posted :)

My hubby is off to London tonight until Saturday for business, we have never been apart this long, I am going to miss him tremendously....

Weekending

2012-01-30T17:56:00.002+02:00

It has been the busiest of weekends, Jenna, Erin and Caiden had a Sea Scout and Cub canoe polo match on Sunday and went to practice on Friday night and Saturday. Caiden scored two goals, the seniors came first the juniors came second, so wonderful! I managed to also do some book work on Sunday and designed a pattern for a South African Meerkat. This pattern will be going into my book, I am enjoying the book writing process very much:)

Erin has been making seed pictures with cold glue and various seeds. She just drew a picture on a piece of card, drew over the pencil with cold glue and added various seeds, she loved doing this.

Help!
I have been trying to add the 'embedded comments' feature to my blog so that I can reply to everyones' comments as they come in, I have managed to add this by changing comments to 'embedded comments' on Blogger, but when I click on 'reply' to comment, nothing happens. I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced this and perhaps added an 'html' code to make it magically work? If you did and succeeded, oh please, please could you let me know how, I have been trying to figure out what to do, but alas, no luck yet...

******Update******
Thank you so much to everyone for their help, the 'reply' commenting is working! Just wonderful!

Looking Up...

2012-01-28T15:02:00.002+02:00

I know this may seem a little strange to see a blog post with a whole collection of ceiling photos, but this is one of the aspects I love about our home and I wanted to document it somewhere, I felt this was the right place. Our home was built in 1927, a year before my dad was born. All these years ago it was quite fashionable for homes to have metal pressed ceilings. It makes me think about the history of our home, the people that lived here many years before us and who they were. I wonder what they thought about the ceilings?

Is there an area of your home that you particularly love, do tell us about it...

Creative Friday

2012-01-27T08:46:00.000+02:00

Welcome to Creative Friday!
I have been working on this Valentine garland and now it's finished, it makes me smile... I have knitted so many hearts, all different shapes and sizes, you can find the patterns here and here. For the garland, I cast on 5 stitches and knitted an i-cord for about 25 inches, cast off and left a long tail of yarn. When I cast on I also left a long tail of yarn, these are for attaching the garland for it to hang across a space. I tied all the little hearts on with bows so they can be removed and other treasures added for different holidays.

About Creative Friday:

Ready for Another Valentine Heart Pattern? Yarn Along

2012-01-24T18:28:00.001+02:00

I know, I have been knitting a lot of hearts... I love knitting them and the other night while dozing off to sleep, I thought about this heart within a heart. I thought about how I could place a small heart-shaped opening right in the centre of a knitted heart. So, this is what I came up with, starting off with one piece, knitting up each side, one at a time and then joining again at the top. I think they are perfect for decorating gifts for birthdays, holidays, Valentine's Day etc...

I am going to put all these little hearts together and make a garland...

Materials:
Oddments of DK or hand spun yarn, I tried both and found the DK to work the best as it gives a wonderful heart shape.
4mm needles
Sewing up needle

Pattern:
Cast on 2 stitches
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: kfb into the front stitch and kfb into the second stitch. (4 stitches)
Continue alternating these two rows until you have 8 stitches on the needle.
Knit 4 stitches, turn work (you can leave the remaining stitches on the other needle)
Knit 2 together, knit 1, kfb, turn work
Knit 4, turn work
Knit 2 together, knit 1, kfb, turn work
Knit 4, turn work
Knit 2 tog, knit 1, kfb, turn work
Knit 4, turn work
Knit 4 rows, turn work

Cast on 5 stitches.

Cast off 2 stitches (cast off by knitting 2 stitches and taking the back stitch over the front stitch, then knitting another stitch and then taking the back stitch over the front stitch) knit 4 stitches, knit 2 together, turn work.
Knit 6 stitches

Put these 6 stitches on a stitch holder. Break yarn.
Join ball of yarn to the stitches in the middle of the heart, and now to knit the other side of the heart.
Knit 2 together, knit 1, kfb, turn work
Knit 4 stitches, turn work
Knit 2 together, knit 1, kfb, turn work
Knit 4 stitches, turn work
Knit 2 together, knit 1, kfb, turn work
Knit 4 stitches, turn work
Knit 4 rows, turn work,
Cast on 5 stitches, cast off 2 stitches, knit 4 stitches, knit 2 together, as you did above for the other top of the heart.

Place all the stitches on one needle.
Knit 1 row with all stitches.
Knit 6 stitches, turn work.
Knit 2 together, knit 2, knit 2 together, turn (4 stitches on working needle)
Knit stitches on working needle, turn
Knit 2 together, knit 2 together, turn
Knit 2 together.
Bind off
This is the top of one side of the heart finished.

Now to finish the other top of the heart. Attach the yarn at the middle of the heart , shown in the above photo.
Knit 6 stitches,
Knit 2 together, knit 2, knit 2 together,
Knit row
Knit 2 together, knit 2 together,
Knit 2 together.
Bind off

Once your little heart is finished, you can begin sewing in all the ends. The two pieces in the centre that were 'cast off' need to be sewn together all the way down to form the heart shape. I usually leave long ends when I cast off the top pieces, then I sew them in towards the centre and have long pieces of yarn on the top that can be braided etc...

Please note, this pattern is for personal use only:)

Have a lovely week:)
Happy knitting
xo

Green...

2012-01-22T20:29:00.000+02:00

Green... food for the soul...

A Simple Valentine Heart Pattern and Out In the Garden

2012-01-21T20:36:00.000+02:00

I've been knitting more hearts today, I just love them! They are addictive, so quick and easy to make and amazing for yarn bombing too! I have knitted so many, they just seem to knit themselves, so here we go, you can knit a few too if you want, but I warn you, once you start, you won't be able to stop:)

Materials:
4mm needles
Yarn compatible with 4mm, I have used hand spun stash.
Needles for sewing ends

Pattern: (This one is the heart with a little cross in the middle, I will also include the basic heart pattern below which is just garter stitch.)

All my increases are kfb (knit front and back ie. knit into the front of the stitch and then before you move the stitch off the needle, knit into the back of the stitch too, this makes the extra stitch:)

Cast on 2 stitches
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: kfb on both ends of this knit row. (4 stitches)
Continue alternating these 2 rows until you have 10 stitches.
Knit row
kfb into the first stitch, k 3, p 2 middle stitches, k 3 and kfb into the last st. (12 stitches)
knit row
kfb into the first st, k2, p 6, k2, kfb into the last st.
knit row
kfb into the first stitch, k5, p2, k5, kfb into the last stitch (16 stitches)
knit 4 rows
k 8 stitches, turn work (the remaining stitches can stay on the needle or you can put them on a stitch holder).
k 2 tog, k4, k 2 tog, turn work (6 stitches on your working needle)
knit row, turn work
k2 tog, k 2, k 2 tog, turn work (4 stitches on your working needle)
k row, turn work
k 2 tog, k 2 tog, turn work(2 stitches on your working needle)
k 2 tog
cast off

Now attach the yarn to the remaining stitches at the centre of the heart:
k 8 stitches, turn
k 2 tog, k4, k 2 tog, turn (6 stitches on your working needle)
knit row, turn
k2 tog, k 2, k 2 tog, turn (4 stitches on your working needle)
k, turn
k 2 tog, k 2 tog, turn (2 stitches on your working needle)
k 2 tog
cast off
I sew all my ends to the centre of the little hearts so I can crochet a loop to make a holder on the top.

Basic Heart Pattern: (garter stitch only)
Cast on 2 stitches
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: KFB on both ends of this knit row. (4 stitches)
Continue alternating these 2 rows until you have 16 stitches.
Knit 4 rows.
k 8 stitches, turn (the remaining stitches can stay on the needle or you can put them on a stitch holder).
k 2 tog, k4, k 2 tog, turn (6 stitches on your working needle)
knit row, turn
k2 tog, k 2, k 2 tog, turn (4 stitches on your working needle)
k, turn
k 2 tog, k 2 tog, turn (2 stitches on your working needle)
k 2 tog
cast off

Now attach the yarn to the remaining stitches at the centre of the heart:
k 8 stitches, turn
k 2 tog, k4, k 2 tog, turn (6 stitches on your working needle)
knit row, turn
k2 tog, k 2, k 2 tog, turn (4 stitches on your working needle)
k, turn
k 2 tog, k 2 tog, turn (2 stitches on your working needle)
k 2 tog
cast off

If there are any errors in the patterns I do apologise most sincerely, do let me know though and I will fix them right away:)

Please note these patterns are for personal use only:)

I have discovered what the strange tomato was that was growing in our veggie garden!!! It is called an Ox Heart Tomato! Yay! I am going to save seeds and dry them out on the kitchen windowsill for future planting. I think it was Carrie who suggested Ox Heart, thanks Carrie!

This is what we discovered on the mesh roof of our veggie garden today, what an exciting find! We planted quite a few heirloom seeds in our garden, it was great fun, the tomatoes took over just slightly (as they tend to do) and torrential rain rinsed out most of our labels in the veg beds and displaced a few of the seeds, so now we have these amazing surprises coming up all over the place. I am still not sure what this is I'm sad to say, but I can't wait to find out, I thought it was a marrow or a squash but the skin is so smooth and now they are rounding out. We also planted sugar baby watermelons and we will just have to wait and see, unless you could tell me perhaps?

There are quite a few, as you can see.

The Spearmint is flowering in our kitchen windowbox and each time we brush past it on our way into the house, a heavenly scent goes wafting up through the air.

The Echinacea are in full bloom, so beautiful...
Have a wonderful day...

Creative Friday: A Stick Weaving Tutorial

2012-01-20T14:10:00.002+02:00

Welcome to Creative Friday!
When I was little, about seven or eight years old, my mom bought me a plastic weaving kit. It consisted of a few straight pieces of plastic about the same length as these wooden dowels with small openings on the ends. Long lengths of wool were attached through the openings on the ends of the plastic sticks. Do you remember these? I used to weave myself and my dolls scarves and little carpets and after all these years, I can still remember how much I loved this process of weaving. I don't know what happened to my little weaving set, perhaps I must ask my mom if it is somewhere in her garage, it's possible:) Yesterday, I thought it would really be fun if I made my own set using wood. I bought a few dowels and my wonderful man helped me to cut and drill the dowels last night.

We have been having tremendous fun today weaving this rainbow scarf. It really is a wonderful project that anyone can do, even Kye who is 5, sat down and loved wrapping the wool around each individual stick. I am going to cut another six pieces and make a table runner, should be fun.

This is how we made our weaving sticks:

I used a 10mm dowel that I bought from the hardware shop.
We the dowel into six pieces, each measuring seven inches long.
Sand off the rough edges.
Sand the one end to make a slight curve.
Drill a hole about half an inch up from the base of each dowel, drill straight through each dowel.

Weaving:
I used chunky, natural wool and threaded it through the holes in each dowel, I doubled the wool and it is about 1 metre long, hanging double. This is what your weaving will go around as you move it down the dowel sticks.
Tie your first colour of chunky wool to one of the side dowels and hold them all of them together. This can be a little tricky as nothing is holding them firmly yet, but as you weave they become sturdy.

Wrap the wool in and out of the individual dowels, going around the outer ones and then weaving in and out of the others. I weave near the base of the dowels, it makes the work firm and it is also easier to slide the weaving down when it is near the base.

Once the weaving is about half way up the dowels, you can just gently move it down one dowel at a time. Hold your work and gently pull up each dowel, make sure you leave some weaving on the sticks, don't move everything down because this will make the sticks loose.

When you want to add a new colour, tie it on at the back of the work and cut the old colour, leave long pieces so they can be sewn in and continue weaving.

Once you are finished weaving, tie the colour to the work and tie the white wool together, through the end of the colourful weaving, leaving tassels, so that it does not unravel.

Happy weaving!

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To add this button to your blog, right click on it and 'save picture as' to your photos. Then add it as a gadget / picture to your blog on your blogs design page with a link to my blog address:)

About Creative Friday:

Thank you so much to everyone who shares the love and posts their links to their amazing work:) Please feel free to post your links to anything you have created and would like to share, it can be a recipe, sewing tutorial, knitting tutorial, felting, crochet, crafts, art, spinning, weaving, working with fibre, photography, poetry...etc...

I also love to hear from you, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment:) Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent with us! Just add the name of your blog to the widget and then add your blog link with the http:// at the beginning of your link address:) I have added a Creative Friday button on the sidebar of my blog, please feel free to add it to your blog for Creative Friday and link it to http://www.naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com/ so others can find this space and share their creativity too:)

1. I have started a Creative Friday Flickr Group where you can post your beautiful photos that you link to each Creative Friday, to join the group, please go here.

Yay!! Thanks so much to those who have joined the Creative Friday Flickr Group, it is wonderful to see your photos!

2. If you would be so kind as to link back to Natural Suburbia in your blog post that would be lovely:)

Have a wonderful day,
xo
Linda

Beautiful Creatures

2012-01-19T13:35:00.000+02:00

I have been wanting to share these photos with you since we returned from holiday in Clarens. I'm not entirely sure what this little creature is in the above photo, he has a short tail and is terribly sweet. We named him Humphrey, I think the name Humphrey suits him tremendously:) Each morning, Humphrey would scoot out from the thick foliage onto the lawn and eat the grass. He was so entertaining to watch, just look at those eyes...

Ahhh and this beautiful bird, I think, is called a Marico Sunbird. He would fly around our home all day long landing only for short periods of time to feast on the Red Hot Poker flowers that were flowering in the garden. He was so beautiful and had such a melodious call.

We have these flowers growing here at home, but I think I must divide the roots and vary the areas where they are planted to attract more of these creatures to our garden.

Hope you are having an inspiring day...

Valentine, Heart Shaped Kitchen Trivet Pattern

2012-01-17T17:58:00.003+02:00

I have knitted up this simple Valentine Pot Trivet for our kitchen. I need a few of these and I will probably knit up a few for my mom too. They are really easy to make, just garter stitch with increasing and decreasing and sewing in ends. You could also crochet a sweet border around your heart if you wish or just leave it as is. I think having little heart trivets adorning the kitchen counter tops will make me smile whenever I see them...

Materials:

Chunky cotton
6mm needles
Wool sewing up needle

Pattern:

Cast on 1 stitch
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Increase 1 stitch at the beginning of the row, knit across the row, increase 1 stitch at the end of the row.
Row 3: Knit row
Continue alternating these rows 2 and 3 until you have 23 stitches on the needle.
Knit 1 row.
Knit row and increase one stitch in the middle of the row, you now have 24 stitches.
Knit another 6 rows.

Now you are going to knit the two top areas of the heart separately.

Knit 12 stitches, turn work, (the remaining stitches will be held by the other needle until you need them or you can put them on a stitch holder)
Knit 2 stitches together, k 8, knit 2 stitches together, turn, (10 stitches)
Knit 10 stitches, turn,
Knit 2 stitches together, k 6, knit 2 stitches together, turn (8 stitches)
Knit 8 stitches, turn
Knit 2 stitches together, knit 4 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, turn (6 stitches)
Knit 6 stitches, turn
Knit 2 stitches together, k 2, knit 2 stitches together, turn (4 stitches)
Knit 4 stitches, turn
Knit 2 stitches together, knit 2 stitches together, turn (2 stitches)
Knit 2 stitches together (1 stitch)
Cast off

Return to your knitting that is on the needle and attach the cotton at the middle of the heart.
This will be the other top of the heart.
Knit 12 stitches, turn,
Knit 2 stitches together, k 8, knit 2 stitches together, turn, (10 stitches)
Knit 10 stitches, turn,
Knit 2 stitches together, k 6, knit 2 stitches together, turn (8 stitches)
Knit 8 stitches, turn
Knit 2 stitches together, knit 4 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, turn (6 stitches)
Knit 6 stitches, turn
Knit 2 stitches together, k 2, knit 2 stitches together, turn (4 stitches)
Knit 4 stitches, turn
Knit 2 stitches together, knit 2 stitches together, turn (2 stitches)
Knit 2 stitches together (1 stitch)
Cast off

Sew in all the ends and you have a pot trivet for your kitchen:)

***If you would like to make your trivet larger, just continue increasing either side of the alternating rows, knit straight for a few rows as per pattern instructions, you might have to add a few more straight rows for the increased size. Remember to increase 1 stitch in the middle to make your pattern an even number of stitches and then when you are happy with the size, start casting off one top edge at a time, 2 stitches per row alternating with knit rows ending with one stitch on each top edge.***

Happy knitting!

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Easy Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

2012-01-16T18:47:00.001+02:00

Thanks so much for your lovely comments about the Valentine bookmark pattern, you are all so kind. Today has been a busy day, we are back into the full swing of homeschooling and tonight I am making something easy and simple for supper, spaghetti bolognese. This is such a quick and tasty recipe, it takes about 30 minutes to make the mince and then boil the spaghetti and you are finished.

I have also been working on my blog a little, I have discovered tabs! I have started adding them to the top of my blog, I have only added one so far called Recipes. These are such clever little things because now I can add all my recipes in one place, just click on the Recipe tab above to view them. I will add others soon for tutorials and patterns too:)

Now for the recipe...

Ingredients:
450 grams of lean mince
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
1 Large brown onion cubed
250mls of Vegetable or beef stock
Black pepper
Herb salt
2 tsp of Garlic
1 can of tomato and onion relish
Organic Spaghetti
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese

Method:
Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped garlic and the diced onion.
Stir until the onions are a golden brown colour.
Add the lean mince and cook, stirring continuously, until brown and all the raw areas have disappeared.
Pour in approx 250 ml of veggie or beef stock and stir.
Add the tin of tomato and onion relish.

There should be quite a lot of liquid in the pan now, turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

That is all:)

Boil your organic spaghetti until al dente and then serve.
Sprinkle a little cheddar and Parmesan cheese over your dish and add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy and have a lovely day!

Valentine, Heart Bookmark Knitting Pattern

2012-01-14T18:41:00.002+02:00

While pottering around the bookshelf today, I rediscovered an old edition of Pride and Prejudice, the pages are all brown, it has that old book smell, and it is beautifully bound. Don't you just love this about old books? I found it in a thrift shop years ago. I did receive an i-pad for Christmas and I do love being able to carry it around and read my Kindle books off of it and write notes for my book, but to me there is nothing like holding a real book in my hands, the feel of the pages, the paper, sometimes mat and smooth, sometimes rough and thick..... oh I do love books!

So while looking through this wonderful book, a book that I first read years ago when I was in school, I thought I would knit a simple and easy bookmark that could be a gift for Valentine's Day. It has a small heart at the base and is knitted in garter and stocking stitch with a small loop at the top.

I have knitted mine in red for the occasion of Valentine's Day, but it would look beautiful in a cream cotton for instance, too.

Materials:
Dk Merino or cotton oddments of yarn, perhaps 20 grams
4mm straight needles
Wool needle for sewing in the ends
Scissors
Fun!

Pattern:
Cast on 15 stitches
Knit 3 rows in garter stitch
Row 4: Knit 3, purl 9, knit 3
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Knit 3, purl 9, knit 3
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: Knit 3, purl 9, knit 3
Row 9: Knit 7, purl 1, knit7
Row 10: Knit 3, purl 3, knit 3, purl 3, knit3
Row 11: Knit 5, purl 5, knit 5
Row 12: Knit 3, purl 1, knit 7, purl 1, knit3
Row 13: Knit 4, purl 7, knit 4
Row 14: Knit 3, purl1, knit 7, purl 1, knit 3
Row 15: Knit 4, purl 3, knit 1, purl 3, knit 4
Row 16: Knit 3, purl 1, knit 3, purl 1, knit 3, purl 1, knit 3
Row 17: Knit 5, purl 1, knit 3, purl 1, knit 5
Row 18: Knit 3, purl 9, knit 3
Row 19: Knit
Row 20: Knit 3, purl 9, knit 3
Continue alternating rows 19 and 20 until the bookmark measures 7 inches finishing on a wrong side row.

Knit 2 together, knit 1, purl 1, knit 7, purl 1, knit 1, knit 2 together. (13 stitches)
Knit 3, purl 7, knit 3
Knit 2 together, knit 1, purl1, knit 5, purl 1, knit 1, knit 2 together. (11 stitches)
Knit 3, purl 5, knit 3
Knit 2 together, knit 1, purl 5, knit 1, knit 2 together. (9 stitches)
Knit 2 together, knit 5, knit 2 together (7 stitches)
Knit 2 together, knit 3, knit 2 together (5 stitches)
Knit 2 together, knit 1, knit 2 together (3 stitches)

Loop:
Alternate these 2 rows for 2 inches
Knit 1, purl 1, knit 1
Purl 1, knit 1, purl 1
Cast off
Sewing Up:
Sew in all the ends and bend loop to the back and sew in to form a loop.

Blocking:
Dampen the bookmark and pin into shape on a soft, firm surface.
Wait for it to dry and then you are finished!

Happy knitting:)

Creative Friday

2012-01-13T09:10:00.001+02:00

Welcome to Creative Friday!
Thank you so much for visiting this space.

Yesterday was a wonderful day, it was Richard's birthday. We started the day by cooking a huge breakfast and opening presents, after he went off to work Erin and I baked shortbread (his favourite), a chocolate cake and spaghetti bolognese for dinner (recipe to follow soon).
I was also thrilled to discover that some of our Indian Corn was ready to be picked and love the colours! I have left some to dry out for seed for next year's planting.

Here are some photos of our baking, cooking, veggies, our first apple and our wonderful celebration with the best man I know and love:)

To add this button to your blog, right click on it and 'save picture as' to your photos. Then add it as a gadget / picture to your blog on your blogs design page with a link to my blog address:)

About Creative Friday:

Thank you so much to everyone who shares the love and posts their links to their amazing work:) Please feel free to post your links to anything you have created and would like to share, it can be a recipe, sewing tutorial, knitting tutorial, felting, crochet, crafts, art, spinning, weaving, working with fibre, photography, poetry...etc...

I also love to hear from you, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment:) Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent with us! Just add the name of your blog to the widget and then add your blog link with the http:// at the beginning of your link address:) I have added a Creative Friday button on the sidebar of my blog, please feel free to add it to your blog for Creative Friday and link it to http://www.naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com/ so others can find this space and share their creativity too:)

1. I have started a Creative Friday Flickr Group where you can post your beautiful photos that you link to each Creative Friday, to join the group, please go here.

Yay!! Thanks so much to those who have joined the Creative Friday Flickr Group, it is wonderful to see your photos!

2. If you would be so kind as to link back to Natural Suburbia in your blog post that would be lovely:)

Have a wonderful day,

xo
Linda

Yarn Along

2012-01-11T00:05:00.002+02:00

It's finished at last!
I have loved working through this project, firstly because I learned a new skill, Crochetnit and also because the pointed edge section cast off is simply brilliant and I am so happy that I now know how to do this technique! I could hardly believe it when I didn't have to cast off each individual point but simply carried on knitting!! I love it! The pattern is available on Ravelry here.
The mat measures about 1 metre wide, I made it a little larger than the pattern. I must say I was quite daunted at first, I had no idea what this crochetnit was all about and as you know I haven't mastered the art of crochet yet. This will be the year I will, hopefully. I watched a video on You Tube and then I was set, it really turned out to be an easy project. I also had to get used to the double hooked crochet hook and crocheting with two different yarns at the same time on each end of the hook.
Joining with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Tomato and Onion Soup Recipe

2012-01-09T09:18:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon fighting my way through the tomato and pumpkin area of our veggie garden. You have no idea how crazy plants can get if they are left to their own devices for a week. It was wonderful though, to be working amongst the veggies and discovering hidden treasures amongst the foliage. There was slight drizzling of rain, the perfect weather for garden work. I managed to collect quite a few tomatoes from the heart of the mass of plants and they taste so sweet, so good indeed!

I also got a head start on those weeds that like to grow all over the place. With all the rain we have been having, they are huge! The ground is lovely and soft after the constant thunderstorms, so pulling them out has been quite an easy job.

We have decided to grow more food for our family and develop the unused areas of our ground. Jenna and Erin have chosen their own veggie beds to look after. They are going to care for these beds, weed them and try succession planting as well. It makes me happy that they are serious about this and that they made the decision by themselves. We spoke about eating what is actually growing in season and not buying produce that has been flown in from overseas or kept in cold storage. They felt very strongly about us developing our acre of land here to sustain our family and then we can also barter produce with neighbours and friends. Feels right, feels good...

Last night I made a tomato and onion soup with veggies picked from our garden, I am so please with how it turned out, it got the 'delicious vote' from the family so I will definitely be making it again soon!

Tomato and Onion Soup:

Ingredients:
Olive oil 2 tablespoons
Garlic 2 teaspoons
Herbal salt
Black pepper
About 600 grams of tomatoes, you can add more
3 onions, diced
Chicken and vegetable stock, 500 mls
500 mls water
Half a can of butter beans, rinsed
4 chopped baby potatoes
Parmesan cheese

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your pot. Once heated add 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic and then the diced onions.
Cook for about 5 mins until the onions have softened.
Chop up the tomatoes and add to the pot and stir.
Add 500 mls of chicken and vegetable stock to the tomatoes and simmer on a medium heat so the tomatoes can release their flavour, then add 500 mls of water.
Add the butter beans and potatoes and cook until the potatoes are soft or just add cooked potatoes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
I used a potato masher to squash all the veggies a little before serving.
You could also add a little Parmesan cheese as a garnish and it tastes amazing too!

Enjoy!

♥♥♥♥ Valentine Swap ♥♥♥♥

2012-01-07T21:19:00.005+02:00

SWAP IS NOW CLOSED:)

Anyone keen for a Valentine Swap?
I think it will be lovely:)
Swaps are such fun, especially connecting with new people from all over the world:)
This swap is open to everyone worldwide.

Theme:
The theme for this swap is Valentines day, you can use any kind of craft, knitting, crochet, sewing, painting etc... anything crafty to make your swap item, so long as as it relates to Valentine's day. If you feel you would like to add a few small items to your swap parcel, please feel free to do so, it's not a requirement though. Once swap partners have been paired up, I will email you the details.

~~If you would like to take part in this swap, this is what you need to do, leave a comment in this post and please email your:~~ SWAP IS NOW CLOSED:)

Name (full name)
Address (including the country where you live)
Email address (please include this so I can just copy and paste your details into the data base)
Blog link, if you have one

to my email address, lindadawkins@mweb.co.za and I will pair you up with a swap partner.

This is an international swap so wherever you are, you can join:)
Do communicate with your swap partner and get to know them.
Please feel free to add this photo above to your sidebar of your blog with this page link.

If, for any reason, you decide that you no longer want to take part, just send me an email so that I can pair your partner with someone else. If you would like to offer to be a swap angel (someone who will send out one extra swap item to anyone who has not received their swap for whatever reason) just add that to your email you send to me.

I have created a Natural Suburbia Flickr Group for swaps, here you can upload photos of your swap items. To join the group, please go here and request to join.

Swaps must be sent out by the 20th of January.

Enjoy and have fun!

SWAP IS NOW CLOSED:)

Creative Friday

2012-01-06T14:18:00.004+02:00

Welcome to Creative Friday!
We have just returned home from an amazing holiday in a town called Clarens, situated in the Free State in South Africa. What a gorgeous place to visit! We hiked, went to look at rock art, browsed through antique stores, Erin and Caiden went down a zip line and even did some mountain biking. We loved every minute of it.
Here are some photos from our holiday.

The view from our bedroom window at dusk.

Ahh, the view from our bedroom, so wonderful, a perfect knitting spot. The mountains in the distance and the tall trees made me feel so happy. We have decided to return here soon, during the winter months...

The is a photo of the gorgeous sandstone home we stayed at called 'The View' it has the most magnificent garden, fruit trees laden with fruit and beautiful blossoming flowers everywhere...

I can see why they named this house 'The View'...

We even discovered a pothole that has formed under a small waterfall...

Can you see the face on this rock?

Erin and Caiden went down a zipline!

This is the homestead at the Schaapplaats farm, we hiked here to see the San Rock Art paintings, they are over 600 years old and so beautiful.

A beautiful San rock art painting...

To add this button to your blog, right click on it and 'save picture as' to your photos. Then add it as a gadget / picture to your blog on your blogs design page with a link to my blog address:)

About Creative Friday:

Thank you so much to everyone who shares the love and posts their links to their amazing work:) Please feel free to post your links to anything you have created and would like to share, it can be a recipe, sewing tutorial, knitting tutorial, felting, crochet, crafts, art, spinning, weaving, working with fibre, photography, poetry...etc...

I also love to hear from you, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment:) Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent with us! Just add the name of your blog to the widget and then add your blog link with the http:// at the beginning of your link address:) I have added a Creative Friday button on the sidebar of my blog, please feel free to add it to your blog for Creative Friday and link it to http://www.naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com/ so others can find this space and share their creativity too:)

1. I have started a Creative Friday Flickr Group where you can post your beautiful photos that you link to each Creative Friday, to join the group, please go here.

Yay!! Thanks so much to those who have joined the Creative Friday Flickr Group, it is wonderful to see your photos!

2. If you would be so kind as to link back to Natural Suburbia in your blog post that would be lovely:)

Have a wonderful day,

xo
Linda

Yarn Along

2012-01-04T09:47:00.000+02:00

I am writing this blog post from a beautiful town called Clarens, we are here on a road trip and arrived yesterday.There has been a lot of knitting and reading going on over here.

I am knitting on two projects and thouroughly enjoying both of them tremendously! The first project I am knitting in charcoal black is Jenna's Harris Shrug, what a stunning pattern, just look at those stitches, Kate Ray, the designer, is so clever. I think this is going to be a favourite. I am knitting it in Dana's Colourspun Aran weight Merino wool. Dana is an amzing fibre artist here in South Africa and dyes up beautiful colourways.

A close up of the stitches...

The Crochetnit bath mat is also at an exciting stage, I have started with the side border. Such a lovely design. I just love how the triangle points are constructed! This pattern is now avaliable on Ravelry as a download.

At the moment, I have been reading both of these wonderful books. The Jamie Oliver book is lovely and I have been cooking up delicious dinners for our family.

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along.

January?

2012-01-02T16:18:00.000+02:00

I am still finding it hard to believe that we are in January 2012! It is amazing though, isn't it? The year is new and holds so much promise and happy expectation. I really do feel that this year is going to be a good one. I am definitely going to spend much more time in the veggie and herb gardens and try to grow as much of our own food as possible. How wonderful it is to cook with one's own produce and know where it has come from and that it has no harmful chemicals on it.

This is also going to be the year that I finally learn to crochet, I have tried a few projects, small ones and then after a few weeks, I forget all about the stitches and once again this beautiful art become a mystery to me. So I am really going to try my best to follow through and crochet something worthwhile and stick with it, because I do love it so...

As for the six of us here, there has been baking, cupcake icing, planting, drying of oranges for kindling and rose petal drying going on here. I also discovered a new type of tomato growing in our veggie garden, I don't remember planting it and can't wait to see how it turns out.

Hope you are having a lovely day where you are.

Sandy after a swim, she has also collected her toys...

Orange kindling and rose petals drying in the kitchen...

A wonderful tomato discovery, please do tell if you know what variety this is:)

January Sponsors

2012-01-02T13:30:00.004+02:00

Please welcome our new sponsor:

The Enchanted Cupboard:
The most gorgeous hand crafted and hand painted treasures, toys, play silks and wedding cake toppers.

and our returning sponsors:

Vistaprint:
Offering wonderful printed cards, calenders and business cards.

Natural Kids:

A lovely group of artisans creating the most beautiful heirloom and natural products for children and their families.

Woolies:

At Woolies you will find the most beautiful heirloom quality stuffed animals and toys made from natural materials.

Ecomilf

A truly lovely eco friendly blog with pages of delicious recipes, natural cleaning recipes for your home, gardening and crafting. A wonderful place to visit...

Thank you so much to my lovely sponsors.

Please do visit their wonderful shops and see what they have to offer.

For sponsorship / advertising information you can contact me at: lindadawkins@mweb.co.za

Thoughts...

2011-12-31T17:09:00.001+02:00

Collecting seeds

Today has been a lovely day of reflection, the last day of the year. Can you believe tomorrow will be January? Are you ready for January? I'm not sure if I am ready (for January...) I have started breathing it in, thinking about it, about everything that needs to be done and all the new and exciting things we will learn next year.

I have been spending more time out in the garden, watching the birds and connecting with nature. The veggie garden has taken on a life of its own. How amazing that two pumpkin seeds can grow vines that have enveloped our two largest veggie beds, they have even grown up the shade net to the top of the fence.

I have also been thinking how grateful I am and I find that gratitude is something that makes me feel grounded and keeps my attention focused on the important things in our life.

I am grateful for:

A wonderful and supportive husband, who drove me to a nursery yesterday to buy flowers only to discover it closed, and simply drove all the way to another one, so that I would be able to plant some colour in our front garden, because he knew that this would make me happy...
Thunderstorms that arrive each afternoon during our summer months...
Friends that are kind and share their stories with me and listen to mine...
Our children who have so much love in their hearts and when they spot an injured bird along the side of the road, bring it home and nurse it back to health...
All the experiences in my life, good and some hard that make me the person I am today...
The simple things in life, the things that are always there and how different life would be without them...
Goodness, I am grateful for this space where I can write my thoughts about our journey...

Wishing you the most wonderful 2012, that your dreams will come true and that love will always be near you.
Linda

Creative Friday

2011-12-30T10:11:00.001+02:00

Welcome to Creative Friday.

Today I have included a photo of a fence we have built from re-purposed wattle trees. Wattle trees are invader species in South Africa and they are re-used and built into fencing for gardens. We bought three fence sections and Richard fashioned them into a wonderful fence to keep our special chickens from venturing into the back garden. The dogs live in the back yard and unfortunately they don't feel the same way about our chickens as we do, so we have to keep them separate. We have staggered the two large fences and put the smaller one in the middle as a door on hinges with a latch. I really do love this fence, I am going to grow a granadilla vine over it.

The next photo is of a Gladioli that just blossomed down the side of our driveway, the colour is spectacular and I just had to share it here:)

I am so looking forward to visiting all the links that will be shared here over the next few days.

To add this button to your blog, right click on it and 'save picture as' to your photos. Then add it as a gadget / picture to your blog on your blog's design page with a link to my blog address:)

About Creative Friday:

Thank you so much to everyone who shares the love and posts their links to their amazing work:) Please feel free to post your links to anything you have created and would like to share, it can be a recipe, sewing tutorial, knitting tutorial, felting, crochet, crafts, art, spinning, weaving, working with fibre, photography, poetry...etc...

I also love to hear from you, so if you have a moment, please leave a comment:) Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent with us! Just add the name of your blog to the widget and then add your blog link with the http:// at the beginning of your link address:) I have added a Creative Friday button on the sidebar of my blog, please feel free to add it to your blog for Creative Friday and link it to http://www.naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com/ so others can find this space and share their creativity too:)

1. I have started a Creative Friday Flickr Group where you can post your beautiful photos that you link to each Creative Friday, to join the group, please go here.

2. If you would be so kind as to link back to Natural Suburbia in your blog post that would be lovely:)

Have a wonderful day,
xo
Linda

Yarn Along

2011-12-28T07:33:00.001+02:00

I have been working on my bath mat and I am really enjoying this pattern. The Chrochenit section is finished and I am knitting the surround now. The border is knitted in a basket weave. That is our sweet Sandy sleeping on the floor in the first photo.

Today is my dad's 83rd birthday, we love you dad! He will be here any minute for a family breakfast:)

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Thanks so much for stopping by here:)
xo
Linda

Tuesday

2011-12-27T20:05:00.002+02:00

Today has been a lovely, easy day. We built a quick reed fence to stop the chickens from flying over the wall to the back garden. This is where the dogs live and for some reason the chickens try their best to reach this part of our property. I am so relieved the fence is up and they are all safe and sound in the front garden now.

We are also having heavy rains tonight, it's actually wonderful, don't mention this to Richard, it has been raining for a few days now and he hasn't been able to ride his bike, so he isn't too thrilled about all the rain, (my poor love). Jenna and I made a delicious Jamie Oliver pasta recipe for dinner. It's off of his Jamie Oliver Food Guide App, amazing and well worth it!

I also picked some Canary Yellow Spinach and cooked it up stalks and all with some coarse salt, pepper and fresh cream, yum! Can you believe how yellow those stalks are, just love it. These were from some heirloom veggie seeds I planted a few months ago.

Well, I'm off to bake a chocolate cake for my dad's 83rd birthday tomorrow.
What have you been doing today?