WILLOW VALLEY STORE

Alowyn Garden. Yarra Glen

Enjoyed a wonderful Sunday morning @ Alowyn Gardens Yarra Glen with Robyn....

inspiration at every turn!

Lots of vistas and surprises to delight as you wander the grounds. You can't help but feel like Alice in Wonderland in the huge Parterre Garden.

 

I smiled as I was dwarfed by towering sunflowers.

  

The edible garden , the birch forest, sunken rose garden, gourd maze - were all favourite places

Great cafe in the courtyard too...

so much fun to explore not quite knowing what you were going to find around the next corner as you meander the 4 acres.

Totally loved it. The garden has been planned to change with the seasons so I am thinking that a minimum of 4 visits is required each year :-)  Visit Alowyn

xo Catherine

Personal trainer....and forest adventures

I joined a gym last year. Had visions of a flat tight tum for summer. Liked it for a few weeks then got totally bored with it. Didnt go back.

Baxie is now my personal trainer.

He gives me a frustrated look if I dont comply - regardless of the weather - and how I feel. 

In the house - he seeks me out and then does this deep SIGH thing. I am sure he is saying " You are pear shaped, you know that dont you - (and rolls his eyes and just walks off)

Thanks Baxie - you inspire me to get off my bum and plan new walks/adventures for us. (um thanks also to google maps!)

So after the mail is collected and posted....

we head further up the mountain and the sealed road turns to dirt

then to a track.... 

and we are in a forest just mins from my house.

Many of the local areas around here are protected national parks, and dogs arent allowed (even on a lead) - but there are no such warning signs at this forgotten corner of the forest......

at first I was a bit scared here. It feels so isolated. What if there is a creepy axe dude hiding behind the next tree???? Too many silly horror movies. Too many alarming news headlines. Sad really to feel like that.

Some of the tracks are steep and slippery. Great for the thighs? Might help with horse riding? Not much happening above the waist. Adding some stretches and extensions - shoulders,  neck especially to my walk.

Instead of the gym doof doof music we enjoy kookaburras and parrots.

Instead of the stale airconditioned gym atmosphere we enjoy drawing in that cool mountain air in our own secluded forest. Breathe it deep. Let the tension and tight stress go....

There is nothing better in winter than leaving the jacket at home (but not the scarf - so takin' the scarf!) and being warm and ssoooo cosy cos of excercise.

I would love to come across a big red and white spotty toadstool. I think they like pine trees? There are none here. Its all gum trees and ferns.  Might have to ask our Uncool Bruce.  :-) he will know where to find those Amantia Muscaria.

xo Catherine and Bax on another get fit,  and disovery journey.

Hols!

OMG how good are the school hols! In my jimjams and pottering around all day for week 1. Messy hair, no makeup, bare feet , jeans and T shirts...love that.

Had fun relaxing and making lots of quick projects from other designers, played in the garden - loved my pink windflowers in the autumn sunset. Thanks to our abundant rain and sunshine I had literally armfuls of them!!!

- then "tag you're IT" back to work for me - and its Brian's turn for week 2.

We are very blessed to share the home and career roles. I think it gives us both a good appreciation for each other....great for our boys too!

Last weekend I had the unexpected and awesome privilege of attending a full day class with Pam Spurway.

Pam is well known for her beautiful range of dyed threads, felt and ric rac - Cottage Garden Threads.

But she is also pretty darn good (roolly troolly seriously good!!!!) at heirloom machine quilting.

To say l learnt a lot would be an understatement.

Pam took us through choosing the correct type of batting, thread and needles (and why) and the quilting style to best suit your quilt top to show off your quilting.

... successful preparation and pinning...techniques, pros and cons of various marking methods and of course all the machine quilting clues to turn flimsies into glorious cuddly yummies.

We had time to practice - which was a tad frustrating cos we wanted gorgeous results effortlessly like Pam immediately...and we were all a bit dismayed cos we sucked!  Pam makes it look so easy!

But we were all excited too - as we could see the potential just on the horizon over yonder. Pam gave us some clever tips about how to practice our skills with some clever do-able projects. Great homework stuff!

I was having some trouble maintaining thread tension hhmmmm... so after we evicted the HUGE dust bunny that had felted himself into the bottom of my sewing machine things improved a lot LOL.  He sure had a cosy burrow!!!!!!!!!!!!! Note to Cath - undo those 2 screws and clean it regularly you dork!

Karen took a photo and I said don't you dare blog that!!! hehehehe. That was really embarrassing. Hope she does blog it...so we can all have a laugh at my big big big dust bunny!!

Oh well at least its proof that I do sew a lot - even if there isn't much finished proof of completed projects worthy of blogging about.

So now its practice  practice practice practice to put all of the golden tips into place.

Here is a honey bun quilt that I am stippling.....ignore those loose threads for now....

I have stippled before - but it was  not fun - and now it is - even the bigger quilts (and there are no creases on the back!)  Thanks Pam!!!!

Can't wait to get going on those feathers and daisies and other wonderful quilty lines.

Mission for this year: seek out the workshops that teach great skills and learn learn learn...

Are you booked into a class that you are excited about? I would love to hear what it is!

xo Cath

Autumn bounty

spied this scene in my travels this week during a quick lunch break.....

it reminded me so much of my grandparents who always dedicated a large portion of their gardens for the purpose of growing food. Cute old car reminded me of  simpler times too....

I have spent some time in my garden today - finally the weekend is here!!!! The weather is glorious. I've missed my garden and stitching so much. This week has been a real challenge. I am determined to keep this post sweet and short....it feels nicer.

xo Cath

I'm slowly but gradually getting through a DVD series lent to me by Robyn called Lost Gardens. Highly recommended!! Very inspiring.....

 

Doors

Its a bit hard  to blog lately because pretty much everything going on in my life I can't talk about. Its all really good. New opportunities. New directions.

I am really drawn to this photo which I snapped during summer at the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens. I liked it then and I like it even more today.

I am sitting here in my 'studio' (hahaha that is a very funny word for this room that I share with my 3 guys and their many creative pursuits) its taken all day but now its clean and organized and that feels ssssooo good. Joss Stone singing to me and the scent of vanilla in the air. I have once again done a huge cull of stuff that isnt taking me where I want to go. (Brian if you are reading this - I haven't touched your desk swear!  ;-)  )

One day I might have my own girlie room - for now I am grateful for this large shared room with 2 nice big windows. It has plenty of light and reasonable storage. It forces me to be organized methodical and tidy. Somehow I have enough space to dream and create designs and then print and compile all Willow Valley Store patterns here. My favourite days are when all 4 of us are here working on our various hobbies.

By the end of this week I should have 2 more projects heading off for publication in magazines - which is really exciting. One of them has been made with some fabric from my absolute favourite fabric designer - and the fabric hasnt even been released yet! Wow how much fun to be entrusted with that!!

xo Cath

PS. I recently purchased Liuxin Newmans book and DVD on perfect hand applique. I love the look of needleturn applique and I want to become really really good at it. She is a great teacher and she uses and shares with you THE BEST tools for the job. When I first saw the size of the needles she had sent me I thought - "you have to be joking - what are we making here - costumes for ants!" but after a few hours it felt fantastic and the results - OMG - just amazing!

Inspired by botany....

Lately I just can't get enough of anything botanical. It serves a dual purpose. Inspiration for my own garden and inspiration in stitches too.

I have found 2 great books this week at the op shops. One was $2 (garden quilts)  and the other $6 (old botanical studies) . And OMG you should see the large embroidered tablecloth that I got! I think it is the best handwork I have ever found - and thats sayin' somethin'! Lots of satin stitch rambly roses in gorgeous shades....and the back is as good as the front - amazing how they do that - I will share them with you soon...

Yesterday Jenny, Robyn and I went to this  event

The reason I am posting this instead of eating my breaky right now is so that anyone local might be motivated to go and check it out - as its on again today . It really is worth it!

My pics aren't so great - it wasn't cold - we were in short sleeved shirts - but it was raining lightly the whole time - and the constant drizzle made the sky grey and my camera wet and the pics a bit hazy.

There was a market stall set up with growers from all over - some interstate too - this is about 1/3 of it.

This stall had a fantastic assortment of  Salvias and Sages. I like growing these and they like me too (not all plants do! LOL!) Another on the top of my list at the moment is Penstemons. Love their bell flowers and they are so hardy, easy to divide and multiply....

Clever espaliers of rosemary, lime, camellia, gardenia and more - perfect for the courtyard

 

Geraniums always remind me of Nana!  She used to put big old paint tins (grandpa was a builder and had lots of them) with the bottoms cut out around them while they established. The labels were still on the pots and the metal handle too - and it always looked like you could just go over and pick up a paint tin of potted colour. She was ahead of her time I think. Her favourite colour was dark vivid royal purple.

The Clematis were a show stopper. Robyn bought the best one. Spectacular!

Huge variety of bulbs at this stall. Lots of people crowded around and hard to get a pic of the layout. They always look so tempting sleeping in their wooden crates with their ID photos attached.  Caillan and I planted 200+ this week. We are looking forward to spring!

There was a very good book stall there too. Found one that my sis will really love for her birthday.

After you have wandered the stalls, met the growers - asked questions and collected business cards and had a latte almost the size of a milkshake (well I did - got this coffee addiction thing happening)  you can visit the garden behind the cypress hedge. These were bare paddocks up until a few years ago. Now the natural gully has been transformed into a series of cascading billabongs.

My favourite is the Nelumbo pond. Its deep and you get to walk out into it on these large flat rocks. You can't see what is supporting them and they just seem to float. You feel weightless - like you are walking on lily pads. Made me feel like I was 10 years old again.

xo Catherine