Freebies from the garden

I don't think we will be blessed with huge crops of anything this year due to the fnny Spring weather we've had, late planting and insects eating everything but it's nice to come back from the garden with a few things that have been harvested!

It's nice to have flowers in the house without the Swiss price tag...

And although a bit slow, the beans we have planted are doing well...

Self-sufficience is not going to happen this year (or never really) but getting anything for free in La Suisse or anywhere else always makes you feel good :-)

A tale of 2 cardigans

I wasn't far from beating my previous record of "slowest crafting project that's still at the bottom of my crafting basket" which, some of you may remember, is still being held by my first (and so far only) pair of knitted socks. My 2nd pair of knitted has been on the needles since November now and will likely remain there for a long while...

Since announcing the arrival of Baby Suisse to friends and family earlier this year, I have been showered with amazing crafty gifts for me to make things for the baby. All the pattern books and supplies have been a great source of inspiration but I have been feeling so tired and overwhelmed with work in the last 8 months (Gosh, how can it be 32 weeks already??!) that I haven't been progressing very quickly (that's the understatement of the year) with my craft agenda. Back in February, Mr T's mum had sent me some wool and patterns to knit something for Baby Suisse and she had done the same for Mr T's nan who is a knitter extraordinaire. Not that we were intending to race to the finishing stitch or anything but by the time I had even plucked up the energy to knit the back panel, Mr T's nan had produced a cardigan, a hat and was 75% of the way into her 2nd cardigan...

Mr T's nan, as most 80 something ladies, has problems with her hands and fingers and find it terribly difficult to do fiddly things...and yet she produced this beautiful cardigan!!

Meanwhile, back in La Suisse, this is what I managed to finally put together after weeks of, albeit not very focused, efforts:

Yep, I am ashamed to say that, while made with love, mine does not look anywhere as nice as Baby Suisse's great nan's does... my excuse is that while I found the knitting part easy, I had never before put a garnment together and the sewing bit at the end wasn't second nature for me and a bit adventurous at times...

But still, it'll keep Baby Suisse warm if it won't win him 1st price in a beauty contest and nothing beats the feeling of having, at last, finished a project that has been in limbo for a long while...

Now, let's have a look and see what else is lying at the bottom of my craft basket...

What's that noise in my garden?

It's a Woody Woodpecker!!!

Tis the season to be gardening

My oh my...if i'd known that 2012 would be such a terribly exciting/busy/exhausting/unpredictable year, I would not have believed it! Work has been ridiculously busy for the last six months and it isn't getting easier for me to strike a good work/rest balance despite already being 31 weeks into my pregnancy.

As a result, I have been neglecting this little blog quite severely and it is making me sad as I used to take such pleasure in writing regular posts and seeing what others were up to. Not that I don't enjoy writing posts anymore but I just find it harder to finds items of my day to day life that may be of interest to others as no-one (not even myself) want to know about swollen ankles, keeping stretch marks at bay, endless meetings, preparing lectures...BORING! I was hoping as time went by that I'd be less busy at work and would have time to enjoy some crafting in preparation of Baby Suisse's arrival, some afternoons off to go and explore new areas, time for baking/preserving...all things that I used to routinely share with you. But no no no, I still struggle to find 5 minutes to do mondane things such as finding time to put nail varnish on, let alone anything else that requires more of my time or energy...

But anyways, Mr T and I (well mostly him to be honest) have spent some time planting some seeds earlier in the spring in order to grow a small garden and take advantage of the small outdoor space and terrace we have here in Brugg. So I'll share a few pics of our recent gardening effort for now to keep you busy until I find time to write about our recent holiday in Morzine, the BIG event that is taking place next week and my slow progress in the crafting department...

Courgettes (pre-slug invasion and heat-wave...not looking so good just now!)

Pepper plant (so small we're still wondering whether it will produce any fruit this summer but one can hope...)

One of three tomato plants

Some thyme and lavender

and a first small crop of rhubarb that was growing of its own accord in an abandonned corner of our garden

To these we have now added three varieties of beans and some squashes which remind me I should go out again and take some more recent pictures as additions have been made in the last couple of weeks since these were taken.

I look forward to sharing more of the last few weeks with you soon :-)

Small animal fair

As I am thinking of packing our bag for our trip to Meilen tomorrow (for some local fish and chips on the beach!), I have just remembered that I haven't blogged about our last trip back to Meilen 2 weeks ago when we went to visit the annual small animal fair. Mr T had already been back in 2011 but I was away at the time, looking after my niece and nephew in Montpellier for 3 weeks some of you may remember.

So this year we headed back to Meilen to visit the fair and have some lunch with our Meilen friends. It is a fairly small affair mostly designed for children who love to come and look at all the rabbits and chickens.

Perhaps because it is designed with children in mind, the local authorities has dressed up the naked statue that stands on the beach in Meilen...only in Switzerland!

Within 10 meters, you can witness the Ugly

the Vicious

and the Impossibly Cute

Any trip to Meilen wouldn't be complete without sitting down to some local produces for lunch (I am sooo looking forward to my fish and chips tomorrow!)

Swiss folklore music included!

Great times :-)

Have local fairs started in your neighbouring with the return of the sunshine?

Sticker fun

Even if Baby Suisse is not quite ready yet, his bedroom is mostly done and looking good if I say so! We have gone for a Jungle/animal theme with the accessories so when we saw these stickers last month we knew we would have them to add some colours to the baby's room (which we have decided not to paint because we are renting and unsure of how long we'll be in this house for).

They are supposedly removable stickers (we'll test that theory when we have to move...) and because the bedroom's walls aren't smooth we applied them to the cupboard doors and the bedroom door turning this

 into this!

Mission accomplished, the white bedroom looks less like a hospital bedroom!

Stickers are still fun as grown ups ;-)

Ta dah!!!

Ladies and gentlemen,

After what felt like the Gobi desert of craft these last few months, I finally have a finished project to reveal!!You may remember that my first handmade dress back in September last year was a labour of love (and frustration) but that thanks to my lovely friend Heather who had guided me step by step the dress was a success and sent me on a crafty high.

The next challenge was going to be recreating the magic on my own this time, not for myself (because of baby bump) but for a friend back in Glasgow whose birthday was in April. Knowing my own sewing limitations (and my patience...), I decided to go for a more simple design for the dress this time to limit the (pardon my French) co** up opportunities. Some tartan light cotton fabric was bought online and THE dress was created over the 4 days Easter weekend:

So yes, it did not go all smoothly and I have learned a lot making that dress so that the next solo project should look slightly less handmade but... I DID IT!! I made a dress on my own!

So now, my poor friend Ashley has to actually be seen in public wearing it...poisoned chalice??

Some actual talent can be here over at Wendy's!