Round and Round the Garden ...

Well here in southern Ontario we were tricked a couple of weeks ago into thinking summer was taking a quick exit. But then, as soon as we took our pool down before it got too cold which makes it difficult to dry out completely, the hot blast of summer was upon us yet again! I'm not complaining, I enjoy the warmth while it's here, but I've been spending lots of time outdoors and not getting onto the computer too much. The past two weeks have been up in the high 20C and low 30C, and last week was brutally humid on top of that (I am complaining a bit about the humidity!!). I thought we had turned off the air-conditioning for god, but last night I walked into the house after running some errands and it was hot and still, so I flicked it back on for a comfortable night's sleep. I'd love to sleep with my windows open, but since we're in a bungalow, I feel safer with them closed at night.

The garden flowers are dwindling now, not a whole lot blooming in the front garden at all. But in the back gardens, there's still some colour surrounding the patio, which I quite like. This garden is getting a little crowded, so I think next year I'll have to thin out a few things.

The creeping thyme really did well in the small tin planter. Still considering planting this somewhere in my front lawn to take over the grass. I didn't see it flower, but the tag said it should ... maybe in the spring? It looks really cute with the rudbeckia bending over it.

I have a lot more plants in pots this summer, and they've all done well. It's going to be rather crowded in my kitchen with plants over the winter!

Cheerful, sunny rudbeckia!

This just reminds of something from Whoville.

Pond garden a little like a jungle now too. The columbine look great even though they suffered a bit from the heat. I trimmed them back and now they're taking over this space ... as is the grass!

My son restocked this pond with shebunkins earlier in the summer, but every fish except for one died within a couple of weeks. It was very frustrating, but the store we were buying them from said the same thing was happening to their fish. We ended up with just one lonely fish. Then a week ago I noticed there were two tiny little babies in there! So exciting. One of the fish that died must have had babies before she died, and these two little guppies survived. They've already grown quite a bit, but impossible to catch on the camera ... here's the adult fish through the netting.

Weigelia still blooming ... and so is my lavender in the front garden.

I think this could be my last miniature rose of summer.

So, yeah, if summer wants to hang on a little longer ... I'm happy with that for now ;)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wendy

Five on Friday ... Five Random Things

Linking up with Amy of Love Made My Home today for Five on Friday. I'm going to do five random things from the past little while. 

One: 

As we were eating supper on Monday night, I suddenly noticed a curious bird resting on our fence. I knew at once that it was a Whippoorwill!! I have never been lucky enough to see one of these nocturnal birds before, so I was thrilled that it chose our backyard to have a little rest before it began its night of hunting. They have such tiny little beaks for catching bugs. His feathers do make him look like leaves scattered on the forest floor, so I can see how well he would blend into the forest. I took far too many photos of him, but will share only the best. It was getting late in the day, so lighting wasn't great. Oddly enough this is the exact same spot that a tiny Saw Whet Owl sat a few years ago.

Two: 

My dad continues to drift through life in an oblivious kind of fog. I visit him most Saturdays, and have been able to take him for a nice long walk along this pathway that runs below his residence. I take photos of him among the wild flowers and tall grasses, and he seems to enjoy his time outdoors. "A change is as good as a rest" ... Dad always quoted! So I take him out for a change of scenery.

Three: 

I haven't been to the thrift store in ages. I usually only go now when I am looking for something specific. Earlier in the summer I was looking for things I could use in the garden for plants. This week I popped in for no reason at all, but saw this cute little Staffordshire creamer on the shelf and scooped it up right away! Isn't it a nice size? I have it sitting on top of the microwave with a few other blue & white pieces for now.

Four: 

Another thrift store find was this cute chocolate fondue pot. It was MIB (mint in box), so it made for a nice find. I've been looking at the fondue pots since last winter. There seem to be a lot of abandoned fondue pots after the Christmas season. But I never saw one that I liked. This pot is a nice size, and with four forks, perfect for my family. It has a little tea light candle underneath. Now I've been looking up recipes etc. on Pinterest ... ready for a sweet dessert soon!

Five: 

I did a bit of crafting with kids this summer, and this is one that turned out pretty good. I picked up some canvas stapled onto a wooden frame at the dollar store. Using green painters tape I taped on the letter "N" (first letter of a little boy's name I know), and then I had that same little boy dab paint all over the canvas. Once it was dry, we peeled off the tape, and Voila!! Now this hangs in the little boy's room. He's just 18 months ... I think he did a great job!

On another summer day, I helped a young girl make her very own tote! 

It took us all day to work through it, but she did an amazing job.

Six: 

Well, I always have to squeeze in one more. Yesterday was my husband's and my 27th wedding anniversary!

A photo of us at my parents' home when we were dating

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy

Cable Cushion Cover

I spent an afternoon on the holiday Monday in my hot little backyard working on a a cushion cover that I began knitting earlier this year ... I think it was still winter.  I had sewn up both sides of the cushion cover, but I didn't do a very good job, and the sides ended up crooked. And that's how this thing sat until this past weekend. I ripped out all the careful (albeit crooked) seams, and sewed them up all new and straight. I'm really happy with the way this turned out. The large cable down the centre was a lot of work, and I had to keep careful track of each and every row, but it's finished now.

There is one small error, and that is that the button flap folds towards the front and not the back (!!!). But I didn't realize my mistake until I put the buttons on and did 'em up. Darn it. Something I'll have to file under "live and learn" I guess. The buttons I used are from my stash, and they're pretty vintage shell buttons.

I'm going to share a little trick for sewing buttons onto a knit project. Since knitting shifts around so easily, I carefully line up the buttonhole flap to where I want it to be when the cushion cover is closed. Then with needle and a piece of yarn I insert the needle into and out of each buttonhole leaving the yarn loose in between each buttonhole.

Next I snip the yarn in between each buttonhole so that there are two ends marking each place where a button will be sewn.

Carefully open up the cushion cover making sure you don't pull out the yarn ends. And there are now handy markers for each button. Once you line up the button over top of the marker, pull the marker out.

Cut a small square of felt to use on the inside of the cushion cover under each button. This gives the button a bit of an anchor rather than just sewing it onto plain knitting.

I leave long ends on the yarn used in sewing on each button, and then I tie the ends together on the inside using a square knot (left over right and under; right over left and under). Then trim the ends.

Buttons all in a neat straight row ...

Just make sure you made those buttonholes on the front of the cushion cover so the flap folds towards the back of the cushion ... which is where I went wrong ;)

These are the simple, but quite nice buttons.

The backside is a double basketweave pattern

Now I have two lovely cable cushions!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy