Elmtree: House, Harvest and a Hip old lady.

Our house went on the market 1 week ago. Look at that lovely red door! I've always wanted a red front door.

2 More weeks and we will have to say goodbye to it.

Little old Dana walking up to me wanting a cuddle, she is 14: we hope our 3 cats will cope with the move. They are not young anymore and have never lived anywhere else, except for black De-ja-vu. He was a stray.

Lots of people have already come through our house, either with a real estate agent, or at the open home. We have worked very hard to make our house as presentable as possible, tidied and scrubbed everything, got rid of clutter ( a big job!), even put a new special coating on the kitchen benches.

But I feel very restless at night, I am not starting any sewing or art projects, those empty surfaces have to stay empty. It is so tidy, I feel I ought to be sitting at the edge of the chairs.

Last Saturday we all got up early and had a garage-sale, combined with friends. It was very successful, we made enough to pay for a bill and extra money for all members of the household. The rest of the things that didn't sell, we gave to a charity shop: a carboot full !

This week some people want to come back to see our house again for the second time!

My tomatoes this year did very well indeed. As a matter of fact, even though they were all staked up, the weight of the fruit made them all fall on top of each other into a big jungle. These messy plants have all been removed of course, but not before I managed to harvest 5 kg of tomatoes. I still have another kilo ripening up on the cut-off vines .

This year I also tried an aubergine or egg-plant. I managed to get 2 fruits from one plant, but an awful lot of flowers that didn't develop. Next time I might have to do some pruning. I put the egg-plants into a lasagna, yum!

Very pretty flowers though. But aubergines would have been better...

From this harvest I made pasta sauce. A big bunch of basil, 5 kg tomatoes, green bell peppers, zucchini, loads of chives and perpetual spinach, all homegrown!

I added onion and garlic and a few spices.

And ended up with 9 big jars of pasta sauce, which I will use in the winter time when I like to make macaroni with mince and cheese added. Very pleasing results for a small-time domestic goddess like myself!!

This is, or was, my Hip old lady. She is a Husqvarna ( or Viking)2000, model 6030 from 1973. She is mechanical and is self lubricating. She has an ingenious "colourmatic system" for embroidery stitches. Little cogs can be installed into the back and then by putting the dials onto the correct colour codes, you get different stitches.

I usually only use the zigzag and straight stitches, mind you. But the possibilities were there. The length and width of the stitches are fully adjustable and there is a reverse and the feed dogs can be dropped for free embroidery.

I got her from my sister-in-law years ago, when my simple little toyota sewing machine broke down. That was my first machine which I got from my parents at the age of 21, because I hadn't started smoking!! (I still pat myself on the back for not doing that, it helps when you get bronchitis at least once a year. Or like to smell flowers. Or hug your children without them turning away their faces.)

The husqvarna was not in a going condition when I got her. Her main shaft was seized up and she had to see the doctor, he managed to get her going again, although he admitted that he nearly gave up on her. I am glad he didn't though, for she has rattled along happily ever since with me through many hours in the studio.

And now I have sold her to a friend of mine , who wants to teach her young girls the funky art of sewing! You see, I have gone and updated my scandinavian lady for a much newer machine. A Janome probably from the late 70's!

Yes, still mechanical.

No, not a microchip in sight.

While sorting through my linen cupboard, I came across this old wall hanging my Mum made for my brothers. I remember it hanging on their wall when they were wee boys. It is made with a combination of felt applique and embroidery. She enjoyed making things for us when we were little.

My brothers will laugh now and at the same time roll their eyes; for here is proof yet again of their sister's hoarding abilities/ syndrome. I will of course simply smile and blame 2 generations of ancestors who have downloaded these genes into me without asking.

A sweet little front door with a golden lantern. Those flowers would have been fun to make.