Category: Gardening

May Inspiration

Jodie Zollinger May 28, 2017

Well May is almost over and I have hardly posted much of what has been going on in my life. I still have to post about the amazing little quilt show I went to last week, but hopefully I will get that posted in the next few days. In this post, however, I just wanted to share with you some pictures of the town of Konstanz, Germany which I visited at the beginning of the month, as well as my Garden related pictures, as I know some of my readers enjoy those. So with no further ado here is my month in pictures.

Konstanz, Germany

Mörschwil: In and Around My Village

Earlier in the month I ventured out with my real camera for a little photo shoot of the gardens and paths throughout the village.

Sure it was a gloomy day, but at least we got to see the mountains, The Säntis and Alpstein mountain range.

In My Wild Garden

Hope you enjoyed that little peak of my days. I hope you are well and have had some interesting adventures for yourself.

Jodie

In the Garden

Jodie Zollinger April 11, 2017

Last Friday the gardening season began here in the Zollinger household. We had been neglecting it long enough , and we could no longer ignore it.

We have a ton of weeding to do, and pruning that we didn’t get done in the fall.

For a long time gardening has been a rather overwhelming chore. Our yard is pretty large for Swiss standards, but what makes it hard to maintain is the use of stones and gravel all over. The lining has long needed to be replaced and so weeds are coming up every which way we look. The pond is also in need of a revamp.

Last year, trying to be respectful of the wildlife in our garden, we tried to manage the weeds by using an organic solution of vinegar and dish soap, but it was more work than it was worth and it didn’t last very long. This year we’ve abandoned that method as we just can’t see being a slave to the garden and the weeds.

Believe it or not, there was a time when I enjoyed pottering in the garden and planting pots of flowers and trying my hand at the vegetable garden. Harvesting a few fresh vegetables and herbs when a meal called for it.

When I think back to the time when my in-laws lived in the house, I remember a beautifully maintained and functioning garden. It was beautiful sitting around the pond and listening to the water trickling down the fountain. When we first moved here. I would sit out there often. But last year and probably for the last couple of years, we’ve been spending less and less time in the garden.

I would go to my friend’s house and see her wonderful garden (below)

and be ashamed that I couldn’t maintain my garden like she could or like my in-laws could ours, or my neighbour.

My friend would always offer me plants, but I couldn’t take them because I had no where to put them,. All I had energy for was the gruelling work of weeding.

I became so depressed by the fact that we could never get our garden looking nice. The joy of gardening was totally lost to me. Last year I don’t even think we sat once outside to eat, I was so ashamed of going in the garden.

This year I say, enough of that. I’ve got to make a daily effort to work in the garden and my husband has to help me on the weekends to do as much as possible towards gaining back our beautiful garden and an outdoor lifestyle. I know it will be a mountain of work, but I just can’t live like this anymore. We didn’t even invite anyone to eat last year because I was so ashamed of the garden.

Now we have only just begun the journey towards a more well kept garden, but yesterday was just so beautiful that I just couldn’t resist but to go out in it and enjoy it. No matter that the lawn needs to be mowed or that the dead weeds (now freshly sprayed with weed killer) need to be removed. The sky was so blue and there was an unusually warm breeze blowing. Now I have yet to clean up the outdoor furniture so what did I do?

I grabbed an old ( mass produced) but beautiful quilt and spread it out in my meadow of ‘wild flowers’ and layed there for my lunch break and after my ‘working day’.

I tried to ignore the fact that the weeds were growing up around me or that any one passing by could see me ‘being lazy’ in my garden.

And that is the way it is going to have to be this year, work and pleasure all mixed together. And no I will no longer be ashamed, it is what it is.

Right now I am going to enjoy my cherry tree which is in bloom.

What about you, how is your garden looking this season? I would love to hear from you.

Jodie

A Maker’s Spring

Jodie Zollinger May 4, 2016

If you read my post, The Maker’s Year, you may understand the name of this post and why I chose it (you can go and read that post here if you would like), if not let me quickly explain.

I have joined a special year long challenge this year, a challenge that encourages me to seasonally make, craft and cook or bake myself through the year. Here are a few pictures of what I got up to in APRIL, which I didn’t get to post anything about.

God son Julian- Kicking off the month with a good start.

A creative afternoon with my friend Sandra in Andwil, Switzerland at this wonderful old storage fascility that has been turned into a wonderful little garden and gift store.

Catching up with March’s Creative Bug 31 Day Drawing Challenge.

As the second month of our true Spring here in Switzerland has just begun, it makes sense to think about how the seasons play an influence on our creativity. Think about it like the awakening of a bear. A bear that has been hibernating over the winter and finally all the beautiful flora and fauna have awakened and are starting to bloom and stretch their wings and fly.

If we think about creativity it is sometimes very similar to certain hibernating creatures. When winter comes they tuck into their little homes and settle down for a nice winter’s nap. For me that dorment period generally occurs in the foggy, cold and often wet months of the year, especially November.

Here in Switzerland, it is very difficult to predict the timing of the worst of the winter weather, sometimes it comes earlier, sometimes much later in the year. Often we may have snow as early as September or October and as late as April and May. Though rarely does it stick around. I can usually track my ups and down in creativity by looking at the seasons and the weather they throw our way.

But it is not always good weather that inspires and helps us to be more creative, April played a very cold trick on us. Those of us who live in the flatlands managed to escape the worst of the snow at least for any length of time. I must say I was happy to see it return for the few days it was here in my little Mörschwil.

The statistics tracker on WordPress is an excellent way to see how creatively active I was at least online. Instagram and Facebook are other tools I can use to keep track of how busy I was creatively. More often than not, much of what I do, does not make it on to my blog, even if it is worth blogging about. I have been trying to find a solution to that and I am still working on solving that issue. Usually when I am in one of my creative moments, there is certainly not a lack of material to write about, or things I want to tell you about, and photos are of an abundance.

Unfortunately though posting high quality digital photos takes time to download from my camera to my computer, sort out the useable ones and upload them to first flickr before I can then simply upload them to WordPress.

My most creative photos are generally taken on my Nikon, but that takes a lot of time until I have prepared those photos to be uploaded to WordPress (Please note I do not do any touch ups on my Nikon shots.)

This May I have a lot planned and I am expecting to be able to report a lot as the days go on.

The St. Gallen Halden Quilters Quilt Show (May 1-29)

This year I am participating in my first quilt exhibit. Which has required a lot of preparation. Click here to see the flyer in German. I will be publishing the translation shortly here on the blog.

You can read more about it here.

The 6. European Quilt Trienialle (13. April 2016 – 26. June 2016)

The Textile Museum in St. Gallen is also hosting The 6. European Quilt Trienialle. I missed it last time and I will not miss it again!

I have also moved into my new studio so I will be busy with my new (borrowed) sewing maschine and my mini quilt that I am making for my studio.

A Scrappy Half-Square triangle mini quilt.

So that is the news for this and last month. I hope you will stay tuned to hear about the Halden Quilter quilt show which I visited yesterday and the other quilt show, as well as whatever I get up to this May.

So dear Readers, this is the point that I ask about you, what interesting things did you get up to creatively? Are you similar in that your creativity or creative productivity wanes depending on the season? What is your favorite season and how does it reflect in your creativity? I look forward to hearing from you.

Jodie

Inzlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Jodie Zollinger April 24, 2016

Gorgeous weather was forcasted on Thursday and so my friend and I, having not ventured from our little village, for one of our road trips, decided it was time to get in the car and drive. Two hours later we found ourselves at the quilt shop I wrote about in my previous post, read about it here.

As I had travelled to the quilt shop before with my parents for a few days, I knew where to go as soon as our stomachs started to rumble.

Just up the street from my quilt shop, a short walk, is the border to Germany, where we originally drove from in order to get here. (Driving through Basel is only a headache, this way was much more peaceful).

The Hotel Krone in Inzlingen is a small, road side, business hotel, on the same street as the quilt shop. It is a little ‘Geheimtip’ (‘secret tip’ in German). One I want to share a little with you.

As always it’s beautifully decorated restaurant was a pleasure to the exhausted traveller.

I will have to dig up the old photos for a proper post of the hotel, for another time.

3 Course Menu at The Krone (35 EUR)

Appetizer

Trying to stay seasonal I opted for the Asparagus Tiramisu, which was a cold mousse on bread.

Very sensitive to non asparagus eaters palate. Lovely presentation.

Main

My main course was devine saltiamboca with a light beef sauce served with plain risotto and ratatouille. Pure Divinity, let me say.

Mrs. K’s main course was fish

I had a taste and that was delicious enough for even the pickiest of eaters. Simple but just melt in your mouth goodness, that was served on a bed of lovely ‘al dente’ cucumber (for lack of a better description).

Dessert

As the meal, was more than adequate for lunchtime fare, the simple dessert was just the thing to send us on our way on the long drive home, happily satiated.

Rhubarb Sorbet with strawberries that had been soaked in something delicious.

Inzlingen

Inzlingen itself is another little recommendation of mine, as it makes a great, affordable base if you are visiting Basel. It is a small town nestled in a narrow little valley North East of the center of Basel. It has an interesting past linking Basel and this little German town, but not much is available in English, you can however access the link on Wikipedia here. If you know German than this link will fill you in on it’s past here.

As I did with my parents, we stopped at moated castle, which lies at the center of this sleepy little village.

At the entrance to this open park is the explanation of the history of the little village and castle.

The views were simply stunning, click on the photos to enlarge.

Along the brook that flows into the pond surrounding the castle, we were able to go Kneipping.

Kneipping is a type of water therapy which includes walking barefoot in cold water. This kind of therapy was discovered by Sebastian Kneipp a German priest from Bayern. This therapy is used to tread various ailments including, circulation issues as well as Bronchitis. You can read more on this medicinal treatment here.

For my friend and I we just needed a little adventure and a bit of a wake up before the long drive home.

After completing our walk along the easy path along the pond, we checked out the castles inner courtyard.

Inside the castle walls was a lovely little jewel. A restaurant and the city hall leading off of the beautifully peaceful courtyard.

I couldn’t help but wish I never had to leave. Wouldn’t this make a great location for a retreat?

But alas, it was time to go and end our little excursion to Riehen, Basel (CH) and Inzlingen (DE).

Well we hope you enjoyed our little visit to Inzlingen. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you. I wish you a great rest of the weekend. And lots of Creative Inspiration throughout next week.

Jodie

In Inspiration’s Garden

Jodie Zollinger August 15, 2015

A few days ago I woke up in a bit of a ‘state’. As soon as the alarm went off, the temporary peacefulness that a good night’s sleep had offered me, was immediately shattered. It was replaced by the drone of, all the tasks that needed to be completed, competing for my attention, begging me to prioritize them. Only, I didn’t know where to start, nor if I had the motivation to tackle any of them.

Despite the fact that I had only been home for 4 days, I had already made too many commitments and they were beginning to overwhelm me. But before I could get started with those fun projects, I really needed to simply clean and tidy my house which I hadn’t touched for over two months.

But it wasn’t going to be that simple. The night before, my husband and I discussed the issue that had been niggling my thoughts ever since I returned home from Bermuda: What should we do with our house next, now that the mini renovation was complete and the flood damage was cleaned up?

After a cup of tea and a session on the Houzz website, searching for ideas and inspiration it was time for breakfast. I would definitely need something hearty if I was going to get anything done. With virtually nothing in the house, I decided to walk to the bakery to get some fresh bread, so I could make scrambled eggs on toast.

Dragging on my exercise clothes and sneakers, I grabbed my wallet, my smart phone and a handy tote and locked my door on my ever-increasing to-do list.

It was the first time I had been out in my village, since I returned from Bermuda. A few paces from my house, I spotted a neighbor’s rose bush hanging over the fence. I took out my phone snapping a picture, but before I could walk away I caught sight of some beautiful Hydrangea vying for my attention. I couldn’t resist another photo, and before I knew it, a short 20 minute trip, home and back, was quickly turning into an hour-long adventure into photography Never Never Land.

From there I took the back path down into the village, following the Kindergarten children who were on their way to school, watching as they alternatively walked, chatting away to their classmates, and then ran along, trying to catch up with their flock.

As we approached one of the old village homes, our paths parted and I stopped to admire the old cottage garden that is one of my favorites here in the Mörschwil.

Further along I met up with some noisy geese, along with their feathered friend. (I wonder what it is?)

When I came to the old bakery and restaurant I couldn’t believe the transformation to its terrace over the last few months. The abundance of lush green foliage and flowers in pots which decorated their terrace and window boxes, was just begging for attention. It was early yet for the usual mix of women and workers on their mid morning break.

I felt so lucky to be able to live in this beautiful village, which despite its’ proximity to the big city had businesses like this which brought life into the community.

In the bakery I selected a simple whole wheat loaf, and packed it away in my little tote. After giving the women an “Auf Wiedersehen!” (goodbye) and “Ein Schönen Tag.” (Have a good day!) I continued on my way, following my usual circular route around the village center, which would take me back the same way I came.

As usual, the house on the corner had pots pouring out onto the little street. It’s profusion of Hydrangea in a variety of shades mixed with an array of other seasonal plants, was too much for my creative heart to resist.

Stopping to admire the work of the florist who lived there, away flew my concerns about what to do with my house and in came the questions that had been plaguing me all summer: How would I make the life I envisioned for my husband and I work? How would I be able to sustain the lifestyle we already led, while further challenging myself creatively? And most importantly, how would I earn a living? How could I earn a reliable source of income, so that I could pay for it all?

Higher up the lane, I was distracted once again. This time by a cow, who was eager to pose for me, showing off her unusual markings and her bell, which is typical neck adornment for grazing cattle here in Switzerland and other neighboring Alpine countries.

Continuing on I was reminded of the country lifestyle I dreamed of living in the mountains, enjoying the outdoors and the creative lifestyle I imagined for myself. But how would I finance it? What would I do? Would I need to go back to study, to do some sort of training? But I would miss out on all the things I get to enjoy right now.

Then I realized that although I might need to train some new skills to make some quick money, that what I didn’t need right now, was to go back to school to train for a career I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy or be able to find a job in.

I also didn’t need to concern myself with the problem of how to convert our house into a forever home. I just needed to be content with the life I have now, and the house I have now as it structurally stands. I just need to get it sorted out and organized in a way that would work for us right now, and eventually decorated in a way that reflects who my husband and I are, our lifestyle and the lifestyle we crave.

This walk which had started as a simple way to get me fed, had evolved, not only into a well of inspiration for the post I just couldn’t get started, the first post after a long absence, but also inspiration for the life I wanted, not only for myself and my family right now but also for our future. Most importantly it gave me hope and the will to start my day and tackle those tasks on my list one step at a time.

So if you are feeling in a bit of a rut today, just take a walk in your own little piece of heaven. Preferably somewhere you haven’t been in a while. It needn’t be a long walk, but I recommend that you take it alone, with only your thoughts and imagination for company.

I wish you as much pleasure and inspiration as I experienced!

Jodie

My Creative Inspiration: Week of May 25, 2015

Jodie Zollinger May 31, 2015

My Creative Inspiration: My Garden

Jodie Zollinger May 15, 2015

These last couple of weeks I have spent a lot of time in my garden.

So today in My Creative Inspiration series, I would like to tell you a bit about how my garden has been inspiring me lately.

So go get a nice cup of something, get comfy in your favorite chair and come exploring with me in my garden!

My Creative Inspiration: Color

Jodie Zollinger May 7, 2015

If you are a regular follower, you may have noticed that lately, I have been going crazy taking photos and posting them, either here on my blog homesweetdreaming.com or on Instagram.

The reason is, that we have had such a fantastic Spring here in Switzerland.

After a long rainy period, followed by weeks of sunshine and mild weather, everything is lush and pumped with rich, vibrant colors. Perfect for indulging in my passion for photography.

So in today’s post, I thought I would focus my photographic images around the topic of color.

As a quilter, color plays a significant roll in the creative decisions that need to be made throughout the quilt making process.

Not only would understanding color and color theory, greatly enhance my creative process but it would aide in my quilt making. It would help me to choose quilt designs, quilting patterns, fabrics and to determine pleasing layouts .

So over the next month or so I will be trying to focus my quilting and crafting around this subject .

This post in My Creative Inspiration series will hopefully be a nice introduction to the subject of color. For those of you who may not have previously seen your surroundings, in terms of color, I hope this inspires you to do so; to look at your world as a rainbow of different colors, made up of an array of different shades, hues and tints.

Whether you are an artist or a ‘creative’ type , or just you, a reader, I would love to hear from you on your ideas about color and how it plays a role in your creative life.

But first, I will share with you my own personal encounters with the images that have made me think about color this week.

I hope you enjoyed my little wanderings, around Mörschwil, in canton St. Gallen and Teufen in canton Appenzell located in Eastern Switzerland.

Hope you join me next week for another journey in my little Home Sweet Dreaming world.

Wishing you a very colorful day!

Jodie

P.S. If you would like to have any information on the photos I have taken here for this post, please ask. I have already made a lot of comments on many of these images on FB and Instagram and do not want to overload anyone!

My Creative Inspiration

Jodie Zollinger April 29, 2015

Last week I started this little series on a selection of images that inspired me throughout the previous week .

So here it is, my week in images and words.

My Garden of Goodness

In an effort to make the most of my spring blooms in the garden, I made this impromptu arrangement which I put in a large Yankee Candle glass.

After discovering that I am allergic to cherry, the flowers were quickly banished from the bedroom, to be distributed to a place in the garden the next day.

Like a Child

Last Wednesday, I went out for a bike ride with a friend. This shot was cause for me to almost have an accident.

St. Galler Flower Market

Every Saturday in St. Gallen you can find the flower market tucked away in a corner of the market square, behind the Marktplatz Restaurant. It is a true feast for the eyes, with groups of zinc buckets filled to the brim with color and textures. Species from around the world gather here to be taken home, and put lovingly into pretty vases and arrangements.

First up my ‘best in show’.

I am sorry, if I have shared these already on my Instagram feed, but they were just so gorgeous I had to share them again.

Potted herbs like Thyme and Oregano can also be found here, ready to be set on the roof top gardens of St. Gallen’s old town or arranged on balconies overlooking the lake.

Home Sweet Sunday

Last week we had our house constantly full of builders, so when Saturday and Sunday came around, I was glad to have the house just to ourselves, working on a creative project (see this post) as well as my hand quilting which had been neglected over the last week.

I made pizza again using that incredible sauce I tried last week from Ashley at Kitchen Meets Girl see recipe here

This wine we had for dinner on both nights, a very special bottle, was absolutely a treat for the taste buds, a must if you like an easy going red with hints of berries.

This version of mine was covered with a layer of thinly sliced purple spring onions, piled on top of, by big brown mushrooms (for me, not Hubby) and locally made mozzarella cheese.

I really can’t get enough of this kind of half-homemade pizza. One day I will try making my own crust as I am totally won over on homemade pizza. What a versatile, quick and easy way to feed your family.

I had to share this photo of Sheepy because I just loved my time, quilting with him, watching a funny movie with Hubby and quilting my heart out. Life must be pretty good, if you can get all these lovely delights while sitting in the sunshine, enjoying this beautiful view of this Japanese cherry.

On Saturday, my husband got himself a Nikon upgrade. This meant that I got his amazing camera and lens! I can’t tell you how happy I was to finally get my hands on that baby, for good!! Both Saturday and Sunday evening we spent, walking around our neighborhood and up in the fields near our house taking photos.

One of my favorite views from my house, is the sight of these trees all in a row. Whatever the season, I love to see them cast in the evening sunshine as I look out from my living room window. I have been trying to capture them up close, forever, but I can never seem to get the light right. Probably I should try the morning – not the evening light!

Both upper and lower shots are the scenes I take in every time I leave my front gate to get on the main road, and they are the reason that I remain living in the suburbs.

We met these cute fellas along the way through the Schloss Watt farm estate.

Well I hope this little journey, like the others I have taken this week, whether it be in my village or in town, has inspired you to take one in your own neck of the woods, armed with a camera and an open mind, to help you see what simple goodness lives right on your doorstep.

If you read this post this far, thank you! I would love to hear your thoughts on it and your own sources of weekly inspiration.

Jodie

My Creative Inspiration: Week of April 13, 2015

Jodie Zollinger April 20, 2015

Today I had a hard time trying to come up with how I would approach this post.

I knew I wanted to use up all the unused, decent, photos that I had taken last week, but how was I supposed to make all those little moments, that didn’t fit into any of last weeks posts and put them all into a single post? These were simply snapshots of my life, but why would you be interested in these seemingly insignificant moments.

Nevertheless, the reason I blog is because I love sharing my photos and thoughts about those little moments that are special to me.

Then the idea came to me. I thought, maybe I could do a little post or series each week, called “My Creative Inspiration”.

So here it goes, a week communicated in photos and words!

_____________________

Atelier-Mignon

I went on a lot of early morning walks which took me past this little shop (seen here in an earlier post). On this occasion I couldn’t resist just a few little pictures.

I just love the varying textures ‘juxtaposed’ in this wreath, especially the chunky old key and the delicate softness of the spotted feathers. wpid-2015-04-17-08.33.33.jpg.jpeg

I love the little bird cages, especially the sea foam colored one.

These Azaleas on Seeblickstrasse were simply to die for. Reminding me of the cotton candy I would eat maybe once a year at the Agricultural Exhibition, a Bermudian tradition, similar to a county fair I suppose.

Stoffladen Walser, Engelburg, SG, Switzerland

On Friday I visited this factory store with a friend who was starting a garment sewing project. I had heard about the store from a friend and boy was I blown away. Quite something different from a quilt shop, it was in a light, modern industrial building. It had long beautiful rolls of quality textiles, including some Patchwork cottons which I was pleasantly surprised to see.

Outside they were using this old Phoenix sewing machine table for their decorations. I love when people utilize objects in surprising ways.

Last night I made a Bacon and Potato Hotpot casserole. It was very much an ‘experiment’, but I enjoyed the creative process of trying to use up items in my pantry rather than going by the recipe.

Last week was my birthday and so I was the happy receiver of this gorgeous flower basket. I am so cheered every time I see it in front of my door.

Jewels of water

Alya Stoffe & Mercerie– Rorschach

Last week I visited another fabric shop, on my way to the grocery store. I had never been there before and so I was pleasantly surprised to find some patchwork fabric. Although I found something I liked I decided to take some inspiration with me (pattern book) rather than add to my ever growing stash, which I don’t have time to work on right now. I also bought a second chalk pencil with different colored chalk than I already have. I think I will be able to use the silver on my quilt.

Hope you too could benefit from a bit of colorful inspiration.

Wishing you a great day,

Jodie

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