My addiction to making baby clothes

 I just can’t help myself.  As soon as I find new fabric,I can’t wait to make a new little smocked dress.

I find it so therapeutic sitting at my sewing machine and creating these little sweeties.

Sew by day and smocked by night. It’s so easy to put a little bit of smocking in my bag when on road trips or little gettaways. No better way to while away the hours

I have been able to support this obsession by selling in my little etsy shop.   etsy.com/shop/jeanetteodonnell

To try and stay healthy as I get older, I have been making my own sour dough bread. That also has become an enjoyable pastime. Getting my hands into the lovely soft dough and the smell in the cosy kitchen when it’s baking is glorious.

Crunch yummy top with soft delicious Centre. Mmmmmm bliss

I hope you all have a lovely day and those doing it tough with this awefull virus and floods and fires my prayers are with you all.

🌞🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Jeanette ann

Autumn days

Hello dear friends

The days seem to be flying by this year. Every time I turn around it’s the weekend again. When I worked it went so slowly,how on earth did I ever have time to go out to work,my days are so full.

I am not complaining though as I so enjoy all I fill my days with, that is until this dreadful pandemic arrived into our world. It seems surreal I cannot get my head around the sadness of it all.  So many people have already lost their lives and no end in site.
We are so fortunate here in Australia but my heart goes out to those in the world less fortunate.
Please God bring a swift end to it.
We are retired so it is easy for us to stay home as much as possible.  The worst part is being isolated from friends and family.
Our government has said we can still take walks as long as we stay a metre and a half away at least from people.
So each morning after breakfast we take little Rocky for his walk. We are enjoying seeing all that is happening in our neck of the woods. The Port where we live is going through a rejuvenation at last and there is always something new to see on our walk. Just so quiet as people stay home.

Please stay safe and God Bless

😘 

What I’ve been doing lately

                             

            

      

  

Hello fellow bloggers

I hope all is well with you all. I must make the time to pay you a visit.

I have been so busy with my little hobby business which I love.
I thought I would show you a little of what I have made.

  

                   

      

  

We have been blessed with a visit from our eldest son, who has been staying with us before his planned trip to Canada.
He set up a website for me while he was here. I am quite basic at getting my head around technology
But I’m getting there.

Website
exclusivebabywear.com

Shop
Etsy.com/shop/jeanetteodonnell

                 

       

                 

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I love fabrics and am constantly on the lookout for nice,different ones. to what the shops have.  I have a very good supplier and have found some nice ones  online too.
Shopping online seems to be so popular at the moment,which I think is why shops are closing at an alarming rate.

I live in a Port and it’s at the moment going through a total regeneration.  Lots of little cafes and restaurants popping up, which is lovely as we take Rocky on his walks and there is always something  new to see. No boutiques or similar though.  


Well now lunch and then a little sewing as I caught up with my veggie garden planting yesterday. Carrots and radishes and winter lettuce all in.
Lovely rain forecast for the rest of the week before we are off for a little break to Port  Elliot down the coast for a few days next week.
 Bye for now xx Jeanette ann

Tea in the garden and my favourite pastime (sewing)

Hi there dear blogger friends. I hope you are enjoying the lazy Summer days as I am. Of cause some of you up North will be into Winter and that can be enjoyable too. I don't mind all Seasons really. There is always something interesting to keep us occupied, especially when one enjoys being creative.

I so love to create little baby dresses. I have been addicted to this little pastime for ages now. Whenever I can tear myself away from the garden,mainly in the afternoons I retreat to my sewing room and play.

This little silk pretty went to England
Purchased through my Etsy shop etsy.com/shop/jeanetteodonnell
Its nice to know someone likes my designs and it gives me some pin money to purchase more gorgeous fabric,which as many sewers know is an addiction I mean passion LOL

Well I must get on. Although I could blog all day I have so much I want to achieve while the weather is perfect. After the exhausting heat it’s a welcome change to have these beautiful 20 something days

Xx jeanette ann

I am back and it's Summer

Hello lovely bloggers. I am finally here to stay. I have been away a long time because of computer issues. After spending all day clicking and sorting I think I have finally found the issue (that is apart from my computer being quite elderly) hate the word old don't you even for a computer LOL

How hot this Summer is and it's only January, but am I unhappy?  nooooooo not me. I must admit being in air conditioning all day is not my favourite thing,but at least if I rise early enough in the mornings I can head to the beach with Rocky my little pooch. He's getting a little elderly now, hes 12 but if I let him rest in the shallows hes happy. He won't venture further than getting his little pawsies wet and after 12 years I don't think he will any time soon.  We have only had him 5 years, so not sure why water scares him but we try to encourage him a little each day.

I never used to be very fond of succulents in the garden but lately I’ve taken a shine to them. I was given one a gift and fell in love.
I searched the internet to find a pot for it as I decided to put it in the sun room as a start to my collection. I found little Groot on the wish site and think he is so cute with his new hair do
My next purchase was a String of Pearls which was very small but since I have put her into a pot and painted on her face she has grown quite a bit. I’ve named her Pearl.
Another Christmas gift was the Lucky plant which has really grown since Christmas
Now I’m hooked on succulents and indoor plants. On our morning walk I picked up some little cuttings too.

Although the days are very hot, we still manage to keep our cottage garden alive. The hollyhocks have just slowed down but will have another flush I'm sure as they are beautifully resilient. We have planted some native Hibiscus which are really fast growing. So pleased as the back fence looked a little tired after we removed the huge white one which really got far too big and was pushing over the fence.

Yesterday I decided to tie down the climbing rose (Graham Thomas) a lovely David Austin yellow beauty. To do so I had to move an old tea pot hanging over the arbour, boy did that tea pot get dropped quick smart. There was a wasp nest including momma wasp inside and did she let me have it. Wammm on my wrist she left her sting. After much ouching and hollowing hubby came to the rescue and removed the nest and squashed it. Today momma and popa wasp are not happy circling and looking inside that tea pot for their nest. I feel aweful but they are pests and not good to have around.  They attack the little birds taking a drink from the bird bath.

This beauty is Moondrop hibiscus which is one of our new ones which only grows to 1.5mtrs and I think shes so pretty

Red Cross rose

Nasturtium's getting near the end of their bloom

Well until next time Happy blogging,see you very soon
I will, I promise, get to visit many of you
xx jeanette ann 

Autumn finally feels like Autumn

It's nearly winter here in South Aus and we are finally experiencing some real Autumn weather. Summer seemed to go on and on and on and now lovely cool weather.
Our morning walks are so exhilarating.

We are never sure when the best time is to prune out in the garden as the weather is so changeable. Back in May the roses stopped flowering so we pruned them and now some are  in bud again.The Hibiscus are looking beautiful and seem to be enjoying the cooler weather,so won't be pruning them for a while.

Just a few pics of the garden


The Iresine is so beautiful all year. It is climbing up the fuchsia.We just take cuttings from it and plant around other parts of the garden

Hollihocks coming back into bloom

 I bought this sun loving Impatiens so can't wait to see it next Summer if it does survive in the sun as the last one I bought didn't, just have to watch it.

The two double Hibiscus are just too pretty to prune yet. Our big white single had to be pulled out as it was pushing the others over,so we have replaced it with a beautiful single sort of reddy pink with yellow tips but it's too small yet.

See the tomato plants coming up in a cluster. I buried some scraps around the garden and have them coming up all over the place but it's too late for them now. Will have to dig them into the ground I think.

The pansies are a new addition as are the Violas and so pretty

A new bush we planted in a pot to hide the shed a little. I love the soft foliage and it has pretty mauve  flowers too eventually. Its called Strobilanthes Goldfussia.

Rocky all cosy in his new jumper.

Keep warm if you are in my part of the World and enjoy your Summer in the North. I hope all those awful floods we are seeing on the news in USA are going to clear soon and hope everyone stays safe 

xx jeanette ann 

Tutorial 2 how to smock baby wave

I'm sure after reading my last post you will now have completed your first row of smocking, being a cable row. I will now attempt to show you how to complete your smocking piece with a sweet little baby wave. This is ideal for embroidering baby dresses.

Starting in the centre of your pleats as before take your needle into the left pleat as you did on the cable row leaving half of your thread to complete the left hand side of smocking. Complete an up cable.

Keeping your thread above the needle push your needle through the next pleat but on the row below. Keeping the thread below the needle complete a down cable. Now keeping your thread below the needle until you have taken your next stitch on the line above then thread above the needle to make an up cable as photos below

Complete this method to the end of your row then fasten off at the back. Turn your work upside down and complete the other side to match.

On the next row complete a mirror image of this row and so on until you have completed your piece of smocking, remembering not to smock on the last holding row

To finally prepare your dress front smocked piece, untie the pleating thread knots but don't pull the threads out. Stretch out your smocking to fit your bodice of the dress with enough each end to cut armholes later. You should have a  blocking guide in the pattern of your choice. Place on the ironing board and pin in place to match the blocking guide. Steam with the iron without touching the fabric. Leave over night to dry.
Complete your dress as per pattern instructions.

I hope I explained everything easily. Any questions please email me
xx jeanetteann