Marg Low Designs

gardening, christmas and Mamre House

The last few days have convinced me that spring has arrived. So you won't be surprised to learn I spent part of the weekend in the garden. And I'm so glad I did, and not simply so I could enjoy the beautiful weather. Last year I thought the weeds had taken over but this year they are even worse! I didn't think that was possible. What's that saying about one weed, seven years......? If you know how it goes please let me know.... or maybe not. It doesn't do to think about!

  These are so much nicer to look at than weeds. The daisy does have weed potential but right now I'd be thrilled if the beds were overflowing with this happy hardy plant.

Belinda brought her not quite finished Festive Gift Bag to Christmas club on Saturday. Who wouldn't love to receive this filled with treats. I get a real buzz out of knowing the projects are finished and not in the UFO pile.

Now I've also started work on the Mamre House projects. This year it's being held on the 24 & 25 October. More on that next time and maybe a sneak peek at some projects.

my easter break.......

A little bit of sewing, some gardening, a movie, sunshine and some much needed rain - how perfect is that?

After the scorching summer we've just experienced it's difficult to find anything to photograph. I find myself rejoicing in even the simplest of plants and flowers.  The lush new growth on the succulent and the divine perfume of the mock orange and rose remind me of why I love to garden.

And my little bit of sewing. It rained Saturday afternoon so I had the perfect excuse to make this. It's the only largish bag I seem to make. It's simple and quick (3 hours tops) and just right for showcasing a gorgeous print like this one. 

Now if you would like to make this bag the pattern is on special at AUD$10.00 (including P&H for local and overseas orders), but only for this month. Simply email me margjlow@bigpond.net.au with your order.

I do hope your Easter break has been as enjoyable as mine.

the fires

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me regarding the devastating bush fires in Victoria. I find it difficult to comprehend the enormity of the losses, how quickly they ocurred and the length of time it will take for those affected to recover, if ever, from this disaster. The fires are still burning, threatening lives and property. The firefighters and emergency services workers are true heros; how they manage to keep going...  The closest fire to me is at Beechworth about 50kms away. I feel very very fortunate that all I've experienced is smoke haze.

This looks much greener than it really is! Perhaps it's because I took it from inside the house on Sunday, as it was too hot to go outside. The weather man predicted a cool change but forgot to mention, it was going to peak at 40 deg first! Yesterday and today have been much more pleasant. I've lost count but I think we had 12 straight days over 35 deg with many of those 40+deg. I've never seen so many plants with their leaves badly scorched. Even the gum tree on the nature strip was not immune. You can imagine then, just how tinder dry the  bush is and with strong winds how quickly the fires spread and moved on Saturday and why they continue to burn.

 This was taken over a week ago . It's easy to forget about the birds when you're tucked inside with the airconditioner going.

Now I know I need to straighten up the bird bath. I did try and managed to tilt it in the opposite direction. Made me laugh. Sometimes we need to find something to laugh about.

more yellow

I can't believe it's Thursday already and only two weeks to go before Jan and I pack our bags and head to Sydney for the Mamre House workshop. Neither of us want to think about our to do list between now and then. The good news is we've both finalised our projects, including the instructions. We caught up with Christine last week and made some final plans. It promises to be a fun weekend so hope to see you there.

 I'm feeling very pleased with myself, because for once my most recent purchase is being put to use.

How often do I come home with fabric and then after a couple of weeks put it into my stash? Too many! And I am thoroughly enjoying working with these colours.

And I do have more yellow in my garden than I care to admit too.

The Banksiae rose is one of my favourites.  Its a mass of blooms in springtime.

I love the small delicate flowers, the thornless stems and the fact it thrives on neglect. My type of plant.

not my colours, but.....

These are not my usual colours. In fact I try to avoid orange and yellow,even in the garden, they're a little too hot for me.  But I found myself draw to them everytime I visited my local patchwork shop. 

I did resist until last week when I realised this fabric would be perfect for my Red Robins or perhaps the Robins were perfect for the fabric. A simple and quick project that would satisfy my desire to make something with these fabric.

Ok, so they're not finished, but I  have started.

I did design another project to use the remaining fabric; cut it out and started sewing before I realised the maths was wrong (should have double checked with the calculator). So now I'm rethinking and rearranging......

  

And the colours are creeping into the garden as well. My neighbour had nasturtiums growing in her backyard and somehow they've found their way into mine. I don't mind, they self-seed and grow without any assistance. Even the colours are starting to grow on me.

gardening & shirtings

I'm not sure how or what I've done but my font size changed in the last few posts. I've tried to change it back so I'll see how it goes. At least large print is easy to read. 

Apart from finishing a sample Saturday morning for Mamre House, I've done no other sewing. Haven't even thought about. All I can think about is my garden. Yes I know it is that time of year, but I think its largely due to this great blog, Barb emailed me. I haven't felt this enthused about my garden in a long time. It's more than just the beautiful warm weather, new buds forming and bulbs flowering, this blog reminded me of what I had set out to do when I planned the garden.  

I am amazed at the resilient nature of some plants. This perennial wallflower just managed to hang in there last summer, surviving on only the little bit of rain we we had. And now its a mass of blooms. I've made a promise, this year I will trim it after flowering and give it some of the better quality mulch.  

I purchased a pot of Dutch Iris bulbs at a school fete a few years ago for $1 and should have bought more! Another one of my favourite plants - rewarding me with beautiful blooms for no effort. If you look closely you can see the lemon balm poking through the rosemary. I do love plants that self seed and pop up wherever, but for me, lemon balm is almost a weed.  If I didn't enjoy making a tea with it from time to time I would attempt to eradicate it all together.

And just in case your wondering where is the fabric?

Last week I purchased these beautiful shirtings with the gift voucher Helen gave me. I plan to use them in the Strawberry Stars quilt I started with Sue Ross. They will be perfect.

 

on gardening

Now I didn't expect to have anything blooming in my garden this year.

With tough water restrictions and little rain predicted I was anticipating pulling out dead plants rather than weeds. Not so, there have been a few cooler days and rain just when the garden needed it. Compare this to January 2006 with not one day below 30 deg C and NO rain.

And being surrounded by all this beautiful lushness inspires me to create.

I've finished punching my new design and now I just need to sew the bag together. When I start a new design I'm never entirely sure how it will turn out. I just add a bit here and try it there....

The spot fabric is Polkadots by Free Spirits. The stripe and floral fabric on the last post are from the 'Lulu' range by Anna Griffin.

And a bit more about the garden....

Last summer I thought I would lose the Rosemary hedge, it was turning brown. Now look at it. Yes, it does need a trim, but not until it's finished flowering. Why do I love this hedge? Because it smells fantastic. Brush past it and the scent clings to your clothes and stays with you for hours.