Public Holiday Monday

After all the excitement in the garden over the weekend, I didn't think much else was going to happen today when we got up and were greeted with this:


It persisted for most of the morning, although I was happy that my rainwater tanks were filling again. During the week, I didn't realise that the tap on the bottom of the tank wasn't working properly and hadn't turned off completely when I shut it off (it's a lever-style tap, not the usual type). It was hooked up to a weeper hose and continued to weep for the next couple of days, draining half of the tank! I was not a happy camper, but it sounds almost full again now :-)

Anyway, DH set up up his workshop in the garage sawing and cutting all morning. When the rain eventually subsided, he spent the rest of the afternoon hammering, swearing, and bleeding a bit, to produce these:


Great stuff. He used about half of the timber, so - weather-providing - tomorrow he's going to punt in another bed at the bottom of the slope in front of the others, and another two or three beds around further beside the clothesline. Yay!

Meanwhile, I pottered inside - away from the swearing and flying wood chips - and did some sewing. I finally got around to making three water bottle tote bags for my girls:


Despite sewing a round piece of fabric to a straight piece of fabric providing me with some challenges (!), I think they turned out rather well :-)

I was on a roll then and since I had the fabric stash out already, I turned my hand to a skirt. I have had the Oliver and S Lazy Days skirt bookmarked for weeks, but looking for the link I found another skirt tutorial I had bookmarked, a ruffle skirt, so I had a go at that instead:


I've never done gathering before, but it seemed pretty straight forward in the instructions, and fortunately it didn't give me any grief despite my paranoia that I'd break the cotton. LOL.

I just SO wish I had an overlocker, it would make life so much quicker and easier for these types of things. I've been looking for an easy-to-use second-hand one for probably six months now with no success. I've found a few but they've either been industrial models or without instruction manuals (and you can't get one for that model on the 'net or at the dealer). I noticed on in the latest Spotlight catalogue on special ($200 off, almost half price), and DH has been at me all weekend to go and look at it so I think I will tomorrow. He reasons that a new one will not only come with a guarantee, but also with lessons and that's an important consideration for someone who has never used one! Can't hurt to look anyway.