Grow Your Blog 2015

Welcome to my little corner of the Grow Your Blog Party ............

Hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full

Click on the link and it'll take you to the list of around 400 bloggers who have joined the party, and will introduce themselves, and write about why they blog, and their interests. This is a great way to find new blogs and meet new and wonderful people.  

I'm a retired social worker, and live in Australia in a small country town in northern NSW.   I have 2 children, a son and a daughter and 4 grandchildren....3 girls and a boy and 1 great-granddaughter, all of whom live in Ohio, USA.  My son lives in Sydney.  

So with family spread out and far away.....I share my home with this lot......great companions and never a dull moment.

clockwise from left......Neesa, Velvet and Molly and Mirrhi

I started my blog as a way to connect and communicate.  I was suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the associated depression and anxiety, and found it hard to be in social situations. Blogging was a good way to have some social interaction,and stay connected to the outside world, but on my own terms.  Those days, thankfully, are behind me now, but I continue to blog about my sewing and gardening, ordinary things, my day to day life, things that interest me and people and places I encounter when I step outside my front gate.  I've made some good friends through my blog, and some I've now met outside of cyber space as well.

I enjoy an eclectic array of handwork......quilting, embroidery and stitching, I dabble in needlefelting, and like to make dolls and toys.  I have a Pinterest board called Creative Miscellany of Things....this sums up pretty well what I like to do.

Here's some pics of various things I've enjoyed making......

Quilts and table-runners

dolls and soft toys

 I give most of my toys to charity, and they go variously to Knit 4 Charities, Mirabel Foundation and Uthando.  I knit as well, and these items, mainly beanies, go to Knit 4 Charities  as well, an Australian on-line group which knits, sews and crochets thousands of items a year to go to the homeless and needy.

Handwork -healing doll, crazy patchwork, kantha stitching

I enjoy living simply, and as sustainably as possible and I do this by growing as much of my own food as I can, I cook from scratch and make my own bread, soap and cleaning goods.  I'm passionate about my garden and growing and this is as important to me and my life as my needle and thread are.

I enjoy travelling and posted here about my recent trip to Tibet, a deeply satisfying and life-changing trip.

Mt Kailash

I wondered when I signed up for the Party what I'd write about....obviously I had no trouble and could probably go on.  If you'd like to know more, take a wander back through my blog, or you can email me at belleg9atgmaildotcom.

To celebrate Grow Your Blog I'm having a give-away, and anyone who comments will go in the draw to win a small prize.  I have two bundles of pretty batiks to give away, and embroidery threads to go with them.  All you have to do is comment on this post, and you're in.

The draw closes at midnight on February 14 AEST and winners will be drawn and announced here on February 15th.  Please make sure you're not a "no-reply" blogger so I can get in touch with you if you're a winner.

....til next time