Hey there Alice

The Gluten Challenge

2012-02-25T20:46:00.000+11:00

We are part-way through what is known as a "gluten challenge" before heading off to specialists again to report results and see what is recommended next. A1 has been looking forward to the gluten challenge and had prepared a list of the foods she misses the most for us to consider preparing with much increased frequency. One of these was what is known in our family as Nashi Slice- A1 named it so when she was smaller, who knows why (she is also very fond of nashi pears, maybe that is where it came from). Anyway it is completely unhealthy, sugary and chocolatey and completely yummy.

Granma used to save her women's magazines for me (you know the ones, like No Idea) and I would cut recipes out of them and periodically sticky tape them in to my recipe book. Over time it became apparent that I strongly favoured cakes/slices/muffins with chocolate and confectionary (especially peppermint, caramel and honeycomb), anything with fetta, pumpkin and balsamic vinegar, salmon, chicken salads, spinach and artichokes. Nashi Slice comes from one of those magazines, many, many, many years ago. And here it is:

150 g unsalted butter, chopped
200 g block of dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 395g tin sweetened condensed milk
2 packets Rolo chocolates

1. Grease a 20cm x 30cm lamington pan. Line with baking paper.

2. Combine butter and choppped chocolate in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until melted.

3. Place flour, condensed milk, coconut and chocolate mixture into a bowl and mix well. Spread mixtureinto the lamington pan. Press Rolos into mixture.

4. Cook at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Do not overcook. Cool in pan before removing.

5. Cut into squares. Eat. Yum.

The Powerhouse Museum

2012-02-24T09:25:00.000+11:00

Last weekend the girls and I headed up to Sydney to see the Harry Potter Exhibition again- it finishes up next month and this time A1 and I did the audio tour which was fantastic. Lucky for us Sister 2 also came along, and because she has been to the Exhibition quite a few times already she and A2 went through ahead of us and headed out to the playground when they had finished to wait for us.

This visit, we also went through the Love Lace Exhibition, (A1 was quite inspired and has since commenced making her own lace) and then on to The Wiggles Exhibition. The girls both had a great time in The Wiggles Exhibition- I was a bit worried A1 would get bored with it, but there are so many interactive installations and activities they both enjoyed themselves.

They danced to the Fruit Salad song...

Made roses for Dorothy...

And worked out the car maze.

After the Museum, we caught the Monorail to the Galleries Victoria to have lunch at our regular place-Wagamama- then up the escalators to Kinokuniya of course! We never seem to have enough time to spend there, maybe we should make it our first stop instead of our last stop next time.

This post was actually written at the beginning of the week, but I have been having all sorts of problems with Blogger this week. They seem to be resolved now. So there might be a few extra posts coming that I have sitting waiting in draft.

Pillowcases (and a finished quilt top!)

2012-02-14T12:01:00.000+11:00

An unscheduled day away from work means a bit of extra time for a blog post- in between soaking sheets, doonas and pillowcases... the reason for my day at home is A2's series of nosebleeds which started early this morning. She is having a great time now though, playing farms.

Its awesome when you happen to work with people who are really crafty and are also great friends. The field in which we work is about as far away from craft as you could get, and I think we all find it a nice distraction to have a quick chat about current crafty projects and fabric and yarn... Sandra, Stacey and I had made plans a while back to get together and crochet pillowcases together. On Saturday night around 9.00pm I thought I had better start making a pillowcase so that I had one to crochet when Sandra and Stacey came around for afternoon tea on Sunday. I thought I might make a pillowcase out of the Children at Play fabric I have previously mentioned, to match A2's quilt when I got around to making it. While I was cutting out the fabric for the pillowcase I thought I may as well cut out the fabric for the quilt while I had everything out. I had designed a very simple quilt, with strips of fabric so that the main fabric panel could be the focal point of the quilt. Soon I had finished cutting the quilt out. Then I thought I might as well start sewing some of it together. When I got tired, I went to bed and when I got up after a lovely sleep in on Sunday, I thought I might as well finish sewing the quilt together. It was done by lunchtime.

This morning as I stripped A2's bed, I thought I might lay out the new quilt top and pop her pillowcase on to show her what her new quilt will look like. She is very happy with it and it has distracted her from her nosebleeds nicely. She helped me out by placing her special bunny with its ears up against her pillow. I am really happy with this quilt, I did have to make a few adjustments to the design as I went along, but I just think this quilt really suits my little girl. Now I just need to decide on backing fabric and get it quilted (it is quite a large single quilt, at 60"x90").

Sandra and Stacey arrived not long after I finished the quilt, and our Sunday Crafternoon was so lovely, we ate yummy food and had lots of fun crocheting and not talking about work.

Stacey crocheted the edges of this lovely vintage pillowcase- and has decided to now crochet the edges of ALL of her vintage pillowcases!

And Sandra made this gorgeous pillowcase which will match with a beautiful Summer quilt she has made- she even used piping! I love the white, it looks so crisp. So it turned out to be quite a productive and crafty weekend- the best kind I think.

Cakes and Valentines

2012-02-11T19:34:00.000+11:00

Although I write a bit about food we have grown, I haven't posted much about food I cook. After a suggestion from a friend who reads this blog, I will try to write a bit more about cooking- today I made the most spectacular Blackberry Yoghurt Cake after our regular Saturday morning trip to the local Farmer's Markets. We try as much as we can to have our cooking include seasonal produce. There are lots of blackberries around right now, and I love berries. The recipe is from here and it was delicious- we make our own yoghurt which I used, and also eggs from the chooks. I had three slices- so did everyone- and there is not much left:

We are all settling back into the school term routine, which means A2 and I have a couple of days a week when she is not at pre-school and I am not at work and it is just the two of us. We normally do errands and grocery shopping on one of those days, and this year her dance class is after school so on the other day we had together we made Valentines- not something I would normally do (insert usual rant relating to over commercialisation), however I could not resist these lovely Valentine's Day printables from Sarah Jane Studios. I came across them because I am making a quilt for A2 out of Sarah Jane's Children at Play fabric- it was this fabric that first caught my eye:

The reason it is so perfect for A2 is that she has a bunny as her security toy. A1's special toy is an elephant- and so that is why the Valentine's Day cards appealed so much. A2 has been busy with scissors and sticky tape constructing her Valentines and writing on them for some very special people.

And while she has been doing that I have also been busy with scissors, brown paper and sticky tape covering A1's schoolbooks for the year.

Innocent Crush#2- an artist's birthday quilt

2012-02-07T19:19:00.000+11:00

This is the late birthday quilt for Sister 4- artist auntie. It was never going to be finished in time for her birthday, in a school fete year. Better late than never though. I am super happy with how this quilt turned out. I used this tutorial and the fabric is the red/yellow colourway of Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner, and the binding is also Anna Maria Horner- Little Folks Pastry Voile in saffron (I used the purple/blue colourway for Sister 3's birthday quilt). I departed from the tutorial a few times, and this quilt is square rather than rectangular. I wanted more symmetry and I also added a border. I had to unpick it several times, as I was out by at least half an inch every time I sewed the rows together- so frustrating!. Fran, who quilted it so spectacularly, thinks the white cotton I used for the sashing was stretchy.

I wasn't feeling any love for this quilt after the unpicking and re-sewing, but after Fran quilted it with a variegated thread of purple, yellow, green and red- which picked up all the colours in the fabric- in a pattern called Calm Waters- I was in love with it again. I think it is the best quilting ever.

The backing is a quilting fabric from Spotlight- this ridiculously posed photo (my instructions, not her idea- as you can tell by the expression on her face) doesn't really show it well- it is a cross stitched thistle design on a natural background. I finished the quilt while we were holidaying together- it was perfect for snuggling under on the cooler rainy days while reading A Game of Thrones on her Kindle.

Posh Holidays

2012-02-06T13:54:00.000+11:00

We made the most of the summer break, returning from the coast yesterday to get ready for school today. The girls call our annual trip to the Central Coast with my parents and sisters our "Posh Holiday" because we stay in apartments instead of camping. The weather this year was variable, with a few spectacular days and a few more rainy days. On one of the rainy days we ventured out to the local bowling alley, and had the most hilarious time.

Whenever it wasn't raining we went to the beach.

And had heaps of fun fishing and scootering.

And of course rainy days meant time for craftiness.

This is A1's pillowcase using the tulip print from the Bonnie and Camille Bliss fabric. I managed to finish three pillowcases- I did take photos of the other two, but the images didn't turn out well because of the weather. I also sewed the binding down on Sister 4's long overdue birthday quilt, and finished books 2 and 3 in the Songs of Ice and Fire series- so it was quite a productive holiday. Next post will show Sister 4's finished birthday quilt.

Harvest

2012-01-21T17:14:00.000+11:00

Today's harvest. I'll cobble together dinner tonight with this, plus whatever is in the fridge. It is so humid and sticky here right now I don't feel like cooking. At a Brown Owls gathering this afternoon it was so humid I couldn't crochet because my fingers were sweaty.

Our first go at potatoes has been quite successful- we will definitely plant more next time.

It's almost time!

2012-01-19T16:39:00.000+11:00

The tomotoes are ripening! We have eaten a few, but the lack of hot weather recently means they are not quite as sweet as they could be. Hopefully the past few days where the temperatures aimed for 30 degrees, sometimes achieving it, will help them along.

The strawberries are ripening, and taste like little bursts of sunshine in my mouth.

The corn is almost ready too.

And the herb garden just loves its new north-facing position- we moved it in October from a south facing position and it has just taken off.

On the subject of food, over the past six months we have been experimenting in the kitchen as we adjust to a shift in our eating habits. Today I made strawberry shortcakes for the girls and their friend who was over for a holiday playdate after swimming lessons.

I highly recommend this book by Rowie Dillon for anyone who needs to eliminate gluten from their diet. It is fabulous. I have made several things from the book since getting it from the girl's grandparents for Christmas, and each has been a smashing success.

This month I am reading...

2012-01-18T20:06:00.001+11:00

Lots and lots and lots and lots.

And now that I am officially on holidays for a couple of weeks, I expect that to increase. The Rugby Boofhead was lucky enough to get this series as a Christmas gift from Sister 4:

Lucky for me too! He is on to the fourth book, I am on the second. He had to hassle me into reading it, because according to the laws of our household, one must not see the film/tv series unless one has first read the book. I finished the first book last week, and we started watching the first series of the TV show A Game of Thrones. I was super excited when I saw Boromir/Eddard- yay Sean Bean! An old favourite of mine, I seem to recall some movie with him as an IRA terrorist which first caught my fancy many years ago.

Also a Christmas Gift (Sister 2 this time), A1 is powering her way through the Lemony Snicket A Series of Unfortunate Events books. She is averaging a book every two days and has almost finished all thirteen books. Once again, she has to read them before she sees the movie (also procured by Sister 2). A1 has about three books on the go at once, and she is also reading The Chain of Charms series by Kate Forsyth and starting on The Borrowers series again before we head to the movies to catch Arietty.

A2 and I are reading the Violet Mackerel books- also a Christmas gift from Sister 2. These books are fantastic, and for a little person who is interested in bugs and small creatures like A2, a perfect match.

So I am looking forward to more playing, more reading, more viewing, more craftiness and more relaxing over the next two weeks. I think the only unfun thing I have to do is take the girls shopping for school shoes- although if I could team it up with a trip to a fabric shop it might make it bearable.

Summer Quilt Sneak Peek

2012-01-12T20:36:00.000+11:00

I've finally finished sewing the top of the Summer Quilt. Here it is all crinkled on the clothesline, the only place I could think to photograph it- it is the largest quilt I've made at 92"x91". Miadog (as she is affectionately known) promptly took her weeks old bone and positioned herself under the clothesline in the shade made by the quilt top. Look how green the (weedy) grass is- its the greenest I can remember it at this point in January in a long, long time. There was a time, not so long ago, I thought it might never rain again.

And here is the delectable pile of fabric I took over to Fran's today, sitting on one of the chairs I bought from the MRF about this time last year that I haven't done a thing to. One more thing for the project list for 2012 I am mulling over, inspired by Michelle's post. The pink and white striped fabric is the backing, and the blue fabric on top of it is the binding- a decision by committee, luckily it was unanimous and even luckier I had just enough left after binding Sister 2's birthday quilt with it.

Interestingly, I am not at all sick of the Summer Quilt, like I usually am after finishing a quilt. Maybe I've found the right balance between sewing and everything else I need to do. I am looking forward to getting it back and sewing the binding.

Did you know...

2012-01-04T16:02:00.000+11:00

That a door is such a good place to store very long bits of fabric you have cut up and sewn back together?

Progress is being made on the Summer Quilt...

I am snatching little bits of time here and there to spend in my sewing room. I am already back at my real job this week, with everyone else here enjoying sleep ins, late breakfasts, and swimming every day. I try to always look at the upside of things, and I am managing to get an awful lot of the boring old admin type stuff that I kind of leave throughout the year (because it is so boring) done.

The other upside is that on my way home from work for the past couple of days, I have stopped in at Lyneham Shops to visit the Librarian Chic store (in the gallery area of The Front). Opening hours can be found on Librarian Chic's Facebook page.

Summertime

2012-01-02T13:17:00.000+11:00

The beach.

Action shots of frogs with a tiny tadpole tail still left.

Fishing- A1 appears to be the legend, outfishing everyone with a 4kg shovelnose shark as well as 6 bream.

A2 discovered a lake full of hermit crabs on a beach which also contained a bunch of emus.

Our fabulous Christmas present- a Weber Q- meant roast dinners are now also for camping (Australia won the Boxing Day test, so I got a roast).

A1 and A2 spent one afternoon making an art gallery above our bed.

And there was even a little bit of time for some camping craft. A2 slept on her brand new pillowcase last night, snuggled up to Hedwig. Now I need to start work on A1's pillowcase.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T13:31:00.000+11:00

My favourite Christmas Card this year- from someone who knows me well.

Merry Christmas!

Holidays!

2011-12-21T17:36:00.000+11:00

I love holidays. Today is my first day off, although the girls have been finished since last Wednesday (A2) and Friday (A1). We have been doing the usual juggle over the past couple of days, as we will be throughout January.

The first day of holidays has meant pancakes for brunch after a lovely lie-in, staying in pj's until well beyond decent o'clock, a great game of lego, walking the dog to the post box to post the Christmas Cards we made, munching on snow peas straight from the veggie patch, hanging out with the chickens, and some sewing.

Today while I listened to the girls play with their lego (their imaginations are so very interesting), I made a tablecloth for our camping table. The fabric is from my Granny, who has been cleaning out her linen cupboard. It was a bit moth-eaten but I was able to cut enough out to make small tablecloth. And on top of that tablecloth sits approximately 800 4"x4" squares. That is right, I have finally finished cutting out the Summer Quilt.

I have also actually started sewing it together. It is amazing what can be achieved on a "homie day" as A2 likes to call them. I do wish there were more of them. But right now I am enjoying it while I can.

Poetic eggs

2011-12-16T13:40:00.000+11:00

Its been almost a week and the girl's Christmas chooks have settled in very happily. And we have had all these eggs, plus more that A1 and A2 have had for breakfast each day. Sister 2 has a lovely friend who has, on occasion, composed spectacular poetry to celebrate A1 and A2's lives. Thanks Jim!

Hermione and Pepper,

They flutter, cluck and scratch

I wonder if the eggs they lay

Are ever going to hatch…

As these two chooks go pecking

I think I spot a third,

Ah yes, I recognise her now—

It’s Silky Hair-Do Bird!

And now I see another two

Come out the henhouse door

It’s Grandad first, then Bellatrix;

That’s five — could there more?

I find the henhouse empty

Which means there’s only five,

But that’s ok ’cos these chooks are

The nicest chooks alive.

I see an egg, I pick it up,

And Mummy calls out, ‘Stop it!’

She gives me such an awful fright

I lose the egg and drop it!

‘Oh no!’ I yell, and start to cry,

Says Mum, ‘No need for sorrow,

Those chickens will provide you with

A few more eggs tomorrow’.

Christmas bags

2011-12-15T20:50:00.001+11:00

This year's gifts for A1's teachers. I made five of them (principal, assistant principal, librarian, running club teacher- and of course her class teacher). It was A1's idea we make bags because plastic bags have been banned here just recently. I used linen from Lincraft, and the DS collection from Spotlight again- I picked up half a metre of a few prints when they were on sale a little while ago, and the other two prints were left over from the backing of Sister 2's quilt. I will also use these prints to back Sister 4's birthday quilt which is all cut out- and now I have finished these bags I might have some time to sew it together.

Christmas Cards

2011-12-13T19:02:00.000+11:00

I usually make Christmas Cards to send to family and close friends. About four years ago, when A2 was barely 3 months old, I bought Christmas Cards instead. My great-aunt was quite disappointed and asked my grandmother why I hadn't made cards that year- was something wrong? She always looked forward to seeing what the kids and I had come up with for that year... so now, each year, I make at least one Christmas Card myself. However, if you are lucky enough to own or have access to a gocco, you can streamline the card making process.

Its been a while since I used our gocco. Chelle and I have talked about it, but there just never seems to be enough time. On the weekend, I cleared my sewing table and set it up. I asked Sister 4, Artist Auntie, to draw me a picture of the girls hanging ornaments on a Christmas Tree. She emailed me the drawing and I printed it, traced it with a carbon pen and started gocco-ing. It was great. I gocco-ed way past my self-imposed sewing curfew of 10.00pm. The next day, the girls and I snipped little scraps of fabric and they glued and coloured. Our Christmas Cards are done- I hope Agnes likes them this year!

Chooks!

2011-12-11T10:47:00.000+11:00

We have been very pleased to welcome five new additions to our family. Bellatrix, Pepper, Grandad, Hermione and Hairdo Bird joined us yesterday- a Christmas gift from us to A1 and A2. Well Hairdo Bird is really for me- a lifelong dream to own a silky bantam has finally been realised. When I was a small girl, we had chooks. Friends of ours who lived down the road also had chooks, and they bred and showed them. I wished so much for a "hairdo bird". And now I have one. Isn't she beautiful!

Grandad Chook seems to have settled in just fine and taken control. She is the loudest of all.

And this morning Grandad rewarded us with the first egg-

which A1 collected proudly- and promptly dropped!

I can see the chook run from my sewing room. Hearing their scratching and lovely clucking is so relaxing. A1 can also see them from her bedroom window, and she woke this morning to them clucking away and thinks its the best way to wake up. I have to agree with that.

Harry Potter- The Exhibition

2011-12-04T20:10:00.000+11:00

The girls and I have just returned from the most fantastic long weekend visiting my family in Sydney. The trip included a very special trip to Harry Potter- The Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum with Sister 2. A1 and I were lucky enough to attend the launch back in July, where we got a bit of a sneak preview at some of the objects that make up the Exhibition, including the flying Ford Anglia. But that sneak peek was nothing compared to the complete Exhibition! My favourite part was seeing the wands that belonged to so many characters- including my favourite, Snape. A1's favourite part was Ron Weasley's four poster bed- I think because it was a bit untidy, and had a snuggly knitted blanket on it. Photography is not permitted inside, but you can have a look at the image gallery at the official Powerhouse Museum website. For any Harry Potter fan, it is such a treat. The attention to small details- like the noticeboard from the Gryffindor Common Room, complete with overdue library book notices from Madam Pince, calls for members for the Astronomy Club and more- was wonderful.

We had a bit of a special day out in the city once we had finished at the Museum, and met Grandad for lunch, did some book (and cactus pup) shopping in Kinokuniya, then headed over to the QVB to look at the Swarovski Christmas Tree- it is pretty impressive.

And now for a little bit of craftiness- I do have the best parents in the world- look at what they brought me back from their recent trip to New York! They managed to find Purl Soho and bring me back this sweet package- rainbow bundles of Liberty and some Little Apples! I have a list of projects that I am itching to sew, but it really is the busiest time of year for us- only a couple of weeks left of school, then hopefully I can get into some serious crafting.

Sing it Loud

2011-11-08T11:48:00.000+11:00

Last night I had the immense pleasure of seeing kd lang and the Sis Boom Bang again, and she just never ever fails to disappoint. kd lang is my favourite performer of all time, I cannot gush enough about the show last night. Great company (thanks Chelle!), great music, and a great way to celebrate after an awful lot of hard work over the past couple of months. (I pinched this photo from her facebook page, there was no acknowledgement for it.)

The School Fete

2011-11-05T13:01:00.000+11:00

And so the fete is over again for another year. The craft stall did very well again, and the lovely group of ladies I work with on it did a fabulous job. I was busy in the administration hub so didn't get much of a chance to work on the craft stall last night, but I hear it all went well. Sister 2 did an amazing job sewing the letter drawstring bags you can see in this photo hanging around the top of the shade shelter. She also made covered notebooks, pencil toppers and blackboard travel kits. I wish I'd had my camera there! These images are from my co-convenor and partner in craft stall crime.

These Christmas decorations are amongst my favourite items we made for the fete.

And here are some of the cushions I made- there were quite a few and I think most of them sold. I am kind of hoping the Sherbert Pips cushions didn't sell as my dear friend S has a birthday coming up and I'd like to give one to her. I am really relieved its all over for another year, I am looking forward to doing some non-obligation sewing, making a quilt for Sister 4's birthday (long overdue) and getting back in to my Summer Quilt!

Springtime veggie garden

2011-10-29T17:10:00.000+11:00

So I've not been cooked a roast dinner since the (alleged) tragedy of the Rugby World Cup Semi Final. I am so disappointed in the Wallabies for not coming through for me. However I cannot complain, as my dear Rugby Boofhead (soon to turn into a Cricket Boofhead as the seasons change) has been hard at work...

Transplanting and moving my herb garden from the southern side of our house to the northern side,

Emptying the greenhouse and planting strawberries and tomatoes

and more tomatoes, radishes, corn, snow peas, lettuce, capsicum, pumpkins, broccoli and whatever experimental plantings he and A1 have decided they want to try this year.,

And here are our potatoes- a first for us this year. I am really hoping these are great, we planted Nicola potatoes because I couldn't get any Dutch Cream (my favourite) at the time. If these work out, I am doing Kipflers next.

This month I am reading...

2011-10-27T12:39:00.000+11:00

This month I am reading Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant. Our faithful companion of the past fifteen years died on the weekend, and my dear Sister 2, who always knows the right book for each occasion, posted it down to us. The girls and I have read it several times already and it is a wonderful book to help us all through this sad time.

This is not our first Cynthia Rylant book, A1 adored the Cobble Street Cousins series when she read them a few years ago.

A1 hasn't been able to get her beak out of Molly Moon by Georgia Byng. Nothing has quite captured her imagination this much since Harry Potter, and its nice to see her so interested in something else. Her favourite person at school, the lovely librarian, suggested the Molly Moon books to A1, and after reading this comment on the back of the first book in the series:

"Molly Moon is a wonderful new children's heroine"- David Heyman, producer of the Harry Potter films

She decided to give it a go and is hooked.

To check out more books, head over to Bron's.

Librarian Chic

2011-10-25T12:23:00.000+11:00

It is quite handy having a stylish friend. Handy on occasions you need to frock up for a party when they let you raid their wardrobe. Handy when they have their own business specialising in vintage designer clothing and they find something special for you. I am pretty lucky to have this friend... but if you are interested in vintage designer clothing, read on...

My friend Mel's vintage designer clothing store is Librarian Chic and her collection of carefully selected items and accessories is stunning. You can find Librarian Chic at markets around Canberra, and this coming weekend at The Way We Wear Vintage Fashion Fair at the Albert Hall this Friday 28th October-Sunday 30th October.

As well as stunning frocks that would be perfect for a special event, or for someone looking for a formal frock that is a little different from what everyone else is wearing- Librarian Chic has items of clothing such as tops, jackets, skirts and accessories in a wide range of sizes.

I just can't go past the fancy 80's frocks. They are fabulous.

Pom Pom Trees and Henry Rollins

2011-10-20T13:19:00.000+11:00

The view from my bedroom window has changed from tulips and orchids to yellow banksia roses and a pom pom tree. The girls love this time of year, especially A1, as the pom poms turing white and the start of stone fruit season signals a very special day is drawing near for her. It also signals the busiest time of year for us- term 4 this year is already hectic. The school fete is two weeks away and I have finished most of my sewing but there is still a lot to do.

The change of season has also meant summer clothes and shoes. All A1 wanted this year was to have some sandals with no flowers on them. Shoes such as these proved elusive and we did spend almost a whole day at various locations on the hunt. I resorted to online shopping- which I have only done once before for footwear, and then it was for me. Luckily it has been a great success and she wants another pair in a different colour! A2 was easily satisified with the large pink, flowery range available in her size.

SAMCRO continues to enthrall. We finished Season One in about four nights during the school holidays. Its so cool seeing Peg Bundy, Adriana La Cerva, Walter Skinner, and, of course, Nathan Maloney. Time available for television viewing has diminished to almost nothing over the past week, however we did manage to watch the first couple of episodes of Season Two. I did squeal when Henry Rollins himself made an appearance- although the character he plays is foul, he does it so well. Right, back to the sweatshop...

School holidays

2011-10-10T17:58:00.000+11:00

I love school holidays. No pressure to get everyone up, fed, dressed, packed and out the door to school/pre-school/work. No need to wear heels or make-up or straighten my hair. Staying up late crocheting and watching Sons of Anarchy (yes, we found a replacement for The Tudors. Not my first choice but strangely compelling viewing- we have watched almost the whole first season in three nights...)

I've had a very productive couple of days since we arrived home from camping. I feel a bit like I've been working away in my own personal sweatshop. Luckily for me the school fete is only held every 2 years- I have a lot of respect for people who do markets several times a year.

Here is a pile of pencil rolls (the same as this one I made for a birthday gift earlier in the year). I had already made four, and there are four left to sew together- sixteen in total. I hope they sell, they are quite labour intensive.

I also made a couple more cushions- I made three a few weeks ago but forgot to take a photo. I am also not sure if the cushions will sell, but they are so quick and easy to make and will look great in the stall.

I wouldn't have been able to get this all done if it wasn't for my dear Rugby Boofhead, still on holidays for a few more days. He has cooked almost every meal for the past week (I did cook a few meals while we were camping), and I am so thankful that Australia managed to win their quarter final in the Rugby World Cup yesterday because tonight I get a roast dinner. Fingers (and toes) crossed that Australia can beat New Zealand in the semi final next weekend- I might get another roast dinner!

The girls have been playing a great game- they rediscovered their love for their dolls house, and have been in A1's bedroom all day- coming out only for meals. I can hear them talking from my sewing room where I have been holed up- it is so sweet. "Lets pretend that I am the Mummy and I have nine kids like Granma" (A1), "Let's pretend that I am a teenager and I have a dress with no straps" (A2).

Camping craft

2011-10-07T19:30:00.000+11:00

We have just returned from a wonderful week camping at the beach. The weather was mixed, and as it turns out that is very good for camping craft. This blanket had several rows added to it during our time away. When the sun was shining we climbed up high for a bit of whale spotting.

No whale sightings for us this year (although the Whales NSW app did show a pod of humpbacks travelling south). Last year at the same time we were lucky enough to witness a young orca leaping out of the ocean.

Our Ozpig provided lots of warmth with the uncertain weather, and was the perfect place to set up close to at night to keep my toes warm while crocheting away and chatting with dear friends. Now I just need to get through the piles of washing. I am planning some serious time at my sewing machine over the next few days- mostly sewing for the school fete which is much sooner than I would like!

Millie the Mermaid

2011-09-26T19:58:00.000+10:00

Millie the Mermaid came to live at our house a little over a year ago. Millie was a birthday gift for A2, and she is very much loved. As far as I can tell, she doesn't get to wear her tail very often, although she may change into a mermaid when I am not around.

This year, A2 and Millie were lucky enough to get a very special birthday gift. Something that will come in very handy as we prepare for our next camping adventure. Every mermaid needs their very own sleeping bag.

Millie looks a little different here to the first photo, thanks to a haircut from A2... You can get your very own Millie- or another beautiful hand made doll that takes your fancy- from Poppy, Bean and Bloss at the next Handmade Market on this coming weekend.

Birdie Cushions

2011-09-09T13:08:00.000+10:00

I had lunch with a friend earlier in the week and talked about how she had spent a satisfying but frustrating morning in her garden. Inspired, I have spent some very therapeutic time pruning out of control banksia roses this week. My Granma's orchid (which has lived at my place since she passed away) bloomed last week- I see it from my bedroom window and it is beautiful.

After forcing myself to finish the binding of A2's quilt when I felt like anything but crafting, I was a bit concerned that my crafting mojo had departed. I have a pile of projects I am committed to (for the school, the fete, a baby quilt) and I need to get them done, but this past couple of weeks I am struggling with them. So I decided to do something that I have been meaning to do since January- cushions for our newish couch.

These cushions were quick and easy to make- which is why I guess I kept putting them off. This couch had been a long held desire of ours, however we were holding off on purchasing it until we weren't having any more babies (after A2's particularly bad reflux). But in the Christmas sales it was half price... so home it came. I had even bought the fabric for the cushions a couple of years ago with the as-yet-unpurchased couch in mind. The fabrics are a print from Australian designer Shannon Lamden also known as Auntie Cookie and I love love love love them. I am so happy to have finally cut in to the fabric!

The back of the cushions are a stripey linen I picked up from Lincraft a while ago- I like how they look from the back as well! Of course, when A2 saw that I was making "birdie cushions" she wanted one of her own.

She was pretty happy to find this cushion on the couch when she woke up. A2's bird cushion is made from fabric I bought from Calico and Ivy in Balmain when Alice and I visited earlier this year- just after it had opened I think. Its a lovely shop, I must get back there. I backed it with fabric left over from the backing of my Winter Quilt. I really enjoyed making these cushions, it seems the mojo is back so now I really should get on with all the other things I need to finish.

Far Far Away Quilt- Princess and the Pea

2011-09-07T18:55:00.000+10:00

Here is A2's birthday quilt. As previously mentioned, this fabric has been in the cupboard for a very long time. A2's quilt was inspired by this beautiful quilt. I planned it out then drew it on graph paper and cut it out to make sure I didn't have another maths fail. The graph paper actually worked really well for me (all my measurements worked!), so I'll certainly be doing it again. The quilt top fabrics are from the original Far Far Away collection by Heather Ross, with a few solids thrown in. I fussy cut the Far Far Away fabric to feature the designs, and I don't think I'll fussy cut to the same extent again- the waste was quite confronting and made me feel bad. The binding is a green dot I picked up at Spotlight which is feels almost flannel-like. The backing is Love Bird in flannel by Riley Blake- I just love it so much, and I love backing quilts in flannel- its so nice and soft. Fran quilted it for me again with quite a dense stipple and did a beautiful job.

One of the reasons this quilt took me so long to even get started was my fear of sewing with the double gauze. I have learned quite a lot about sewing with double gauze since finishing the quilt, such as:

if you alternate double gauze with a regular quilting cotton, the double gauze will keep its shape better- you can see I've used regular quilting cotton as borders around the Princess Pea prints. I think these really helped stabilise the quilt, and if I were designing it again, I'd include more regular quilting cotton in the quilt.
you don't have to use pins when sewing double gauze together because it sticks and doesn't move around too much (I pieced this quilt surprisingly quickly).
Use seam allowances greater than a quarter of an inch (I didn't do this but I wish I had). Double gauze can fray easily and I read somewhere quilts made of double gauze can come apart due to inadequate seam allowances.
unpicking mistakes with double gauze can be disastrous...

Quilt densely to help hold the quilt in place and prevent the quilt distorting. Given that this quilt is for a child, it will need to be washed relatively frequently and hopefully the denser quilting will help with longevity.

Finally, here is the birthday girl with another wonderful creation made specially for her by Sister 2. A2 is rather fond of hiking skirts up under her arms and wearing them as dresses. She is also rather fond of pink, yellow and purple. Doesn't she look fabulous! (she certainly thinks so.)

2011-09-04T21:23:00.000+10:00

The Spring Quilt is back on the bed- something that would normally bring a smile to my face, but this past week I have been contemplating whether or not there is a special place in hell for drunk, unlicensed, unregistered drivers who are old enough to know better. I seem to have the grieving process topsy turvy and have skipped straight to the stage of anger, and despite the best efforts to keep distracted so I don't have to think about it, I am sure the other stages are lurking just around the corner.

The start of Spring means heading out into the garden and doing a whole lot of work we have let slip over the colder months... and also planting seeds to put in the greenhouse.

I am hoping for a ripe bumper tomato crop this season as I have grand preserving plans. I had a bumper tomato crop last season... a bumper green tomato crop.

I am continuing to work on A2's birthday quilt, and hopefully my next post will be happier and contain the details of the Princess and the Pea quilt.

Elizabeth Bennett

2011-08-27T17:42:00.000+10:00

We love Book Week in our house. I do probably love it more given that the amazing Sister 2 takes complete responsibility for outfitting A1 and A2 for Book Week- well almost complete, this year I did make three contributions to A1's Book Week attire. A1 loves reading- it is genetic. Such is our excitement for Book week- we plan outfits very early on in the year. Last year, A1 couldn't decide between Laura Ingalls and Elizabeth Bennett. Sister 2 did some research and found a lovely child's Regency dress pattern that helped the decision along. Unfortunately, Book Week was cancelled last year and A1 had to wait a whole year to wear the beautiful dress Sister 2 made her- and in the intervening period she started reading the Harry Potter books. It was touch and go for a little while as to whether she would go as a character from Harry Potter, but she (wisely and correctly) thought that there would be heaps of kids dressed up from Harry Potter, so Elizabeth Bennett it was. Luckily Sister 2 had made the dress with a decent hem, and our mother helped with some ideas for lengthening the dress so that it still fit!

A1 has read an abridged children's version of Pride and Prejudice, and has seen both the film and the BBC miniseries.

Sister 2 also trimmed this bonnet- called the Elinor bonnet- which she got from the Jane Austen Gift Shop. It is also usually still quite chilly here during Book Week, and so she also made a Regency Spencer to keep A1 warm. Two of my contributions feature in the Spencer- one is the fabric, a lovely wool from Addicted to Fabric, and some fabric covered buttons you can't see here- they are on the front of the Spencer.

My final contribution to the transformation of A1 into Elizabeth Bennett was the hair. I googled "regency hairstyle tutorials" and came across a blog named Rapunzel's Resource which features tutorials for hairstyles in the movie Emma. I adapted one of the hairstyles as A1 has quite thick hair, and when I did it in a full bun the bonnet didn't fit properly- so I did half up half down. A1 was incredibly patient while I jammed 19 bobby pins in to her hair to keep it all up- along with the promise that she could get her hair cut short as soon as Book Week was over.

The Elizabeth Bennett dress will get plenty of use- friends have already asked to borrow it for the next Book Week parade for their daughter, and as with anything for A1 it will likely end up being worn by A2 as well. The girls are so lucky to have such a talented auntie who has passed on her love of books and Book Week to them.

A1 had a fabulous Book Week. Sister 2 came to visit and we all enjoyed the Book Week parade immensely. There were some amazing creations, some stand outs were Max from Where the Wild Things Are, and Saphira from Eragon. And there were lots and lots of Harry Potters but I think that is fantastic- they are amonst my favourite books in the whole world. There were even a Bellatrix, a Narcissa and a Hagrid! And I kept my promise and A1 now has very short hair!

This month I am reading

2011-08-09T21:27:00.000+10:00

So Bron has a bloggy book club. I have resisted joining so far because I have the unfortunate habit of self-sabotage when it comes to reading. That sounds odd I know, but this is how it goes. I pick up a book, start to read, cannot put it down, and stay up way too late reading. I get super grumpy with anyone who dares to interrupt me. When I read, it becomes an obsession. An obsession that has been known to end at 4.00am on occasion. It is a sad thing that I do not have the willpower to turn this literary self sabotage into a healthy wind down at the end of the day as I settle into slumber.

I do read quite a lot when we camp. It doesn't impact my sleep patterns as much because I get sick and tired of holding the torch up to my book. Another reason I am resisting a kindle where I wouldn't need a torch to read...

So the long and the short of it is that I limit my reading so I can get some sleep. But I've fallen off the wagon in the past week and finished both The Constant Princess and The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory. Thankfully I only stayed up till midnight a couple of nights reading them both. I will probably start the third book in Phillipa Gregory's Tudor series The Boleyn Inheritance this week sometime. I have been really interested in anything Reformation this year after reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel at the beginning of the year. I can honestly say its one of the best books I have ever read. One of the reasons I am enjoying the Tudor series as the stories are told from the female perspective.

I was lucky enough to get the whole Tudor series from Chelle for my birthday, and also the television series of The Tudors on DVD.

Other reading in our house at the moment- A1 is reading The Mary Poppins Complete Collection by A.L Travers (in preparation for a special girl's birthday treat coming up soon!) and A2 and I are onto the third book in the Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton. I know already that the literary self-sabotage gene has been passed down to A1. I suspect A2 has it also...

Distracted

2011-08-04T14:26:00.000+10:00

Last year I crocheted A2 a blanket for her birthday. I usually work best to a deadline, and it was completed on time. This blanket is very similar to the blanket that Chelle and I made and gave to our grandmother for her 85th birthday last year, except instead of using Woolganics wool, I used wool from the Bendigo Woollen Mills that we picked up on our famous road trip to Daylesford. The blanket (known affectionately as "Snuggly") is sometimes on A2's bed, often in A2's bed, sometimes dragged around the house, sometimes wrapping up dolls, sometimes being used as a roof for a fort- unlike Granny's blanket which is draped over the chair opposite her chair so she can look at it whenever she wants to.

I know that right now I am supposed to be completely concentrating on A2's birthday quilt, but for some reason all I can think about is crochet. My obsession is evident by the increasing number of crochet images I've been pinning. And not at all helped by the arrival of four balls of stone wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills last week.

I can't blame the weather. It has been absolutely gorgeous here for the past few days. Today is just about the best day because my real job working week finished yesterday and I've opened up the house to let the fresh air in, got loads and loads of washing dry and it feels like Spring. I know that winter is set to return tomorrow, but this burst of warmer weather has given me the motivation to see the rest of winter out.

Anyhow, I think I must answer the call to crochet. Maybe its because Chelle has been so industrious in progressing her own blanket that has got me all crochet crazy. My plan is to use the leftover wool from Granny's blanket and A2's blanket to make a woolly scrappy blanket for myself. I've gathered the leftovers together and I think it will look pretty good.

We are planning a longish camping trip when the weather warms up a bit and I think this will be the perfect camping craft to take along with me. But for now- back to the battle with the double gauze...

The Winter Quilt

2011-07-28T16:26:00.000+10:00

Here it is! It has actually been finished and on my bed for a while now, but the school holidays were so busy and the inevitable return to school/pre-school/work has happened this week and we are all just getting back into our term-time routines. Thankfully we have had the most glorious crisp sunshiney winter days this week that remind you Spring (and the return of the Spring Quilt) is not really that far away.

You might recall that I put out a call for advice on which fabric to use for binding a while back. Thankyou to all who commented, both on the blog and in person. I didn't end up using any of the fabrics I had originally thought I might- you can just see on the photo above the binding is blue- its actually the same solid blue fabric I used in the quilt. It was quite a last minute decision, it was going to be red until I had a change of heart and found some of the blue at a fabric store nearby- I don't usually shop there unless I have exhausted all options after the unfortunate experience of A1 ending up in tears when the person serving us snapped at her quite rudely for touching the embroidery thread. She had asked if she could choose a colour to do some embroidery and was carefully making her selection when this happened. The customer service I've had there has usually been quite poor, and I prefer to shop somewhere that is welcoming and friendly and where they don't make children cry.

The Winter Quilt really does feel wintery to me with its rich reds and blues, with a bit of white thrown in. Its also quite a warm quilt which helps at this time of year. Fran has quilted it for me with some simple curves, as its quite a busy quilt with the floral fabrics. The earlier post also showed my backing fabric, which is red and blue strips from The Spot (variable customer service, generally friendly, don't make children cry). I hand stitched the binding to some early episodes of Offspring, which I am enjoying however the enjoyment doesn't appear to be shared by others in the household...

I have already commenced work on my next project which will be the Far, Far Away quilt for A2's birthday. I've mentioned previously that maths is just not my special talent. So when working on the dimensions for the quilt, I have been using graph paper.

Funnily enough, I was hunting around in my stationery cupboard for graph paper and found a battered exercise book in there. The writing on the label said my name and "Year 9 Commerce" on it, and all the used pages had been torn out. I can't quite believe I held onto that book for...hmmm.... over twenty years.

Friends of the Boy Wizard

2011-07-21T16:22:00.000+10:00

I may have mentioned once or twice that A1 is a massive Harry Potter fan. She has read all the books and lives in wait for her letter from Hogwarts when she turns 11. It seems every time I turn a corner in this house a spell is cast on me (no Unforgivable Curses allowed of course). A2 is much too small for the magical world of Harry Potter just now, but she knows all of the characters (she calls herself "Mermione" and when she joins in and casts a spell it sounds like "expecto matronum").

I recently ordered A1 these gorgeous stickers from the lovely koalateashop on etsy. She has been busily using them to make birthday cards for some friends.

In very exciting news for any Harry Potter fan, it was announced that the Harry Potter exhibition is coming to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney in November. There was a media launch this week, and A1 and I were fortunate enough to be present at the launch. A1 is the luckiest girl in the world as she ended up on stage with the actor who portrays Neville Longbottom. She had a brilliant day and we cannot wait till November when we can go to the exhibition.

It was such an exciting day, and certainly won't be forgotton for many years. Now if only I could get her to take off her (fake) Harry Potter glasses and put on her (real) reading glasses.

Book binding

2011-07-20T15:45:00.000+10:00

I finally managed to finish Sister 2's surprise birthday quilt and give it to her on the weekend.

Sister 2's passion in life is literature, and I thought of her immediately when I first came across the Book Club Stitchettes from Wee Wonderfuls. I embroidered each of the nine stitchettes for the quilt, and also used the wonderful book fabric that my cousin tipped me off about around the Stitchettes, and also for the binding. My original plans had the quilt using small squares of coloured fabric- similar to this cushion that I made. However once I started to put it together, I could see that it didn't really reflect Sister 2's personality and style. So I used an oatmeal coloured solid, similar to the background of the book fabric and I am very pleased with the finished quilt.

As the quilt is a small lap quilt, I quilted it myself, although not without drama. I used a straight grid pattern, and had to unpick almost half the quilting and redo it because I wasn't happy with it.

I am happy with the quilting in the end, although it was very time consuming. I am thinking that the time I spent quilting (and unpicking) could have been better spent doing other things, and I might just try to be organised enough to get the vast majority of my quilts quilted by Fran, who does an amazing job. I do enjoy quilting and I know the only way to get better at it is practice. Maybe one day when I have a bit more spare time.

I am also rather fond of the backing fabric. The girls and I went to the Spot last week to search for something suitable. I had read of the excitement that the new Denyse Schmidt line for Spotlight in Australia and Joann's in the US had generated, but when I saw it a few weeks ago it didn't really grab me. But A1 and A2 chose it for the backing and I have to say I like the two prints they chose- and several people who have seen the quilt have also commented on how much they like the backing.

Sister 2 is such a wonderful Auntie to A1 and A2, they adore her and had a lovely time visiting her. She does so much for them and this quilt was a very small token of our appreciation for all she does for our family.

Far Far Away

2011-07-10T13:50:00.000+10:00

I've had this pile of Far Far Away (the first) by Heather Ross for a couple of years. It has always been intended for a quilt for A2, but I've been at a bit of a loss in relation to the layout of the quilt. I always wanted the Princess and the Pea fabric to be the main feature of it (indeed I have quite a bit of the Princess and the Pea fabric!).

I've had a few half hearted attempts at sketching ideas, and found a pattern that would work- but I am also a little daunted by the fabric itself- double gauze. I've made this dress out of it for A2 (Oliver + S ice cream dress) and a skirt for a friend of hers, and I find it a little tricky to sew with. I've found that it distorts easily and is tricky to cut. That said, its lovely and soft and I adore the fabric range.

A2's fourth birthday is rapidly approaching. And I've had this fabric for quite a while. So this past week I've spent a bit of time on Flikr searching for inspiration for a Princess and the Pea birthday quilt for A2. My quilts board on Pinterest features quite a few quilts made with this fabric line, and I have found one that is absolutely gorgeous- from izzy inspired. It features the Princess and the Pea fabric perfectly. There was one fabric I was missing- the unicorns in green- I do have them in peach, but a quick etsy search located me some. So once that arrives I'll be ready to start cutting out. Now that I've seen a number of quilts made out of the double gauze, I know its possible- but any tips on how to best quilt with it would be greatly appreciated.

I love a good bargain and I had located quite a good source for pillowforms at a reasonable price- my local Coles. Yesterday whilst enduring the drudgery of grocery shopping, I discovered the pillowforms on sale! I bought ten of them and couldn't fit anything else in my trolley so unfortunately had to abandon the rest of the grocery shopping for another day...

Now I just need to make some cushions for them!

Innocent Crush quilt

2011-07-03T20:40:00.000+10:00

We have just returned from spending the weekend with my family- which included birthday celebrations for Sister 3- who may or may not have secretly told me this was her favourite birthday present:

The fabric is Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner- I bought some a while back, thinking it would complement Sister 3's bedroom. She loved it when I showed her, and we started looking at quilt patterns together. She seemed to prefer more modern quilts, and when we stumbled across the Rectangle Squared tutorial from Film in the Fridge, which also uses Innocent Crush, she was very taken with it. I was also very taken with it as it looked quite straightforward! You can see it goes very well in her bedroom.

I also did some embroidery for the back of the quilt. The design is from Issue 3 of Fat Quarterly The backing is a lilac spot I picked up from The Spot specially for this quilt, with Sister 3's bedding in mind. The binding is also Anna Maria Horner, Little Folks Voile Pastry Line. The voile was a little slippery when I was hand sewing the binding, but it is lovely and soft and is the perfect frame for the quilt.

Once again Fran did the quilting for me. I chose a simple curves in a pale blue thread and the quilting really added another dimension to this quilt- I was so pleased with how it looked once the quilting was done.

My sisters and I had a great time together over the weekend. Whilst A1 and A2 spent some time with their grandparents, we headed off to Newtown to do a spot of shopping. I don't get to go there often and when I do go, we always go to one of our favourite shops- Made 590- where we did some clothes shopping, and then had a Mars Bar milkshake (Sister 4 has a Snickers milkshake). Yummo. Lucky I don't get there often, I was still on a sugar high in the evening. On the way there we saw this billboard:

And then this one:

The countdown is on!

Birthday gifts

2011-06-28T16:10:00.000+10:00

This week is all about binding Sister 3's birthday quilt which I got back from Fran late last week, along with my Winter Quilt. I'm afraid that binding the Winter Quilt will be on the backburner for a little while, until I can finish the birthday quilt, and also the other birthday surprise I am desperately trying to finish before Friday- it looks unlikely unfortunately- even though I have had an unscheduled day at home with A1 and A2 who are both poorly. Because I knew it would be a miracle if I could get Sister 2's birthday surprise finished by last weekend when she visited for A1's First Communion, we gave her one of these beautiful necklaces. A1 also has one. It is particularly appropriate for both of them, as they are bookworms extraordinaire.

Last week there were ash cloud dramas, closed airports, cancelled flights and a girl's road trip to Sydney with another crafty friend who I also happen to work with, the strange experience of actually enjoying a course in subject matter I usually avoid like the plague (finance related to my real job), and a pretty busy but fabulous day on one of my days off. After their dance class, A2, Bloss and my cousin and I headed off to have a delicious hot chocolate and then we decided to go fabric shopping. I had a gift voucher I received from Sisters 2, 3 and 4 for my birthday burning a hole in my pocket. And here is what I got:

Three beautiful Liberty prints I've had my eye on, and a yellow bird print I had previously admired when Chelle made a dress for one of her beautiful dolls out of it. We think A2 and Bloss found the fabric as they were wandering around the shop!

I also grabbed a bag of blue scraps that appealed to me. So thanks, Sisters 2, 3 and 4! Awesome birthday gift!

I was very spoiled for my birthday- I received some lovely gifts- fantastic books, a groovy ipad cover and a lovely cowl knitted by Chelle which is keeping me very warm this winter with its 8.00am starts for A1's running club and netball.

Oh and by the way, I resisted the temptation to put A1's hair in two side buns. You know, appropriateness and responsibility...

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away

2011-06-19T16:17:00.000+10:00

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away... I spent the day adjusting the sleeves and hem of A1's First Communion robes.

Is it just me or do you see it too? So tempted to put her hair in two side buns next Sunday...

I had a bit of a maths fail recently. Maths really isn't my thing, and hasn't ever been. This cushion (for Poppy's birthday) has a bit of wonk. It also has one of the book club stitchettes. I am really happy with how the colours of the border fabrics work together, which is good because it is a smaller version of the secret project I am working on. Here is a sneak peak of the secret project- complete with a whole lot of maths.

I was also lucky enough this week to spend an afternoon with Alice, who was on a quick visit from her new hometown. We had a wonderful time (and so did the kiddies) talking life, love, the universe and fabric.

We discussed this pile that I am thinking about for a single bed quilt for A2. Its quite pale, I am still reflecting on it. They are some of my favourite fabrics, mostly fat quarters and scraps. I love each and every one of them and I really want to use them for my children. A1 is a bit old for them now and really has her own sense of what she likes. A2 is just the right age. I guess I was saving them for the future, but this morning I started sorting through baby paraphernalia to give away and sell. Its not the easiest thing, however focussing on the positives like the extra space and a few extra dollars to spend on fabric does help.

Sick day

2011-06-14T17:21:00.000+10:00

A1 is poorly, and her mother not that much better. So today there was lots of lying on the couch under the Poodle Quilt (made with love by Sister 2, the Fairy Godmother) reading.

And watching this (and as is the rule in our family, she has read the book first):

About all I could manage was a bit of embroidery.

Which will hopefully join this pile of fabric that has been cut out and sewed back together again to go to Fran in the next day or so for quilting.

Only a sneak peak at this quilt as it is a birthday gift for Sister 3. Sister 2 and 3's birthdays are only a week apart but because they fall in different months I always fall into the trap of thinking I have more time than I really do to get organised for them. This year should be different, fingers crossed!

Piles

2011-06-09T22:14:00.000+10:00

Its all about piles this week. But piles are good- especially when they are ready to be made into something.

This pile is now complete and waiting to be sewn together into a quilt for Sister 3's birthday.

This pile is almost complete, and is also for a birthday present. I am very excited about it and I really really hope it turns out as I have imagined it.

This pile is not my own. We pass by it every day on the way to A1's wonderful school. It make me smile, all that wood stacked so neatly in perfectly circular piles. It also makes me feel a little warmer which is a very welcome feeling as this past week has been icy. I don't much regard the local broadsheet however I did relish a headline this week which related to the weather forecast and had the words "Antarctic winds" in it.

Time

2011-06-03T13:15:00.000+10:00

These past couple of weeks I feel like I am losing traction on the projects I need to complete. There is just not enough time to fit everything in and I am feeling quite frustrated by that. I did manage to finish these Summerhouse Pillows yesterday- they are for two new babies- I embroidered the first letter of their name on one of the squares to personalise the cushions like I did before. I used scraps from my Summer Quilt and I'm so happy with how they look- its like getting a little peek at how the Summer Quilt will look when its finished (which seems like quite a long way away... the Summer Quilt is well and truly at the bottom of the to-do list right now).

This pile of fabric is for two of the projects that have rapidly approaching deadlines- its birthday season right now and I need to get a wriggle on! I guess its fair to say I have too much on the go and that is why nothing seems to be getting finished. What I need is one of these:

that actually works. Oh and a wand would be handy too. (Image courtesy of A1)

I need some advice about my Winter Quilt

2011-05-23T20:08:00.000+10:00

Mirabelle I love you. I have loved this Liberty print from the moment I set eyes on it in a patchwork book. I searched high and low for it and found it over two years ago on etsy. I still love it as much today as when I first saw it.

When the fabric arrived I knew I wanted to make a quilt with it, but I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I was also very nervous about cutting in to the fabric because, after all, it is Liberty. So it sat in my fabric cupboard and I would periodically get it out and look at it.

I think it may have been Mother's Day last year that inspiration finally struck. My parents, sisters 2, 3 and 4 and also my brother all live in Sydney and we often meet in Berrima or Bowral on special occasions. It was at My Place in Bowral that I spied a bundle of a few fat quarters of Rural Jardin by French General. I bought it and on the car trip back from Bowral a plan began to form....

Besides the Mirabelle and Rural Jardin, there are other favourite Liberty prints and a couple of extra fabrics in there that I had in my cupboard. But the focal point is the Mirabelle, and it features quite a bit in the quilt and also the outer border.

The Winter Quilt has been substantially complete for almost twelve months. It has sat in my sewing room waiting for the borders to be added for an awfully long time. Part of the reason was that I wasn't sure if it needed another strip added to it- resolved when I laid it out on my bed when Chelle came over one day and we talked it over. Its handy having her help with that- I asked my husband and he is no help with that kind of question at all. The other reason was that I didn't have any backing fabric for it. Until that last week's Best Ever Spot Experience.

When I found EXACTLY what I wanted. Such a rarity at the Spot. I bought 3 metres each of the red and blue fabric and sewed it into strips for the backing. I am so happy with this backing.

And now for my dilemma. The binding. I have three options and am undecided. The inner border of the Winter Quilt is red- I sought advice last year on what the inner border should be- I was leaning towards blue- and Michelle said it must be red. I am so glad I listened to her and went with the red because I love how it looks. But what about the binding?

Here are the options:

A very thin red stripe.

A very thin dark blue and navy stripe.

And last but not least, the same red as the border. Any input greatly appreciated. I did ask my husband but I don't understand grunt. And I am hoping to take the quilt to Fran this week to be quilted so, although I won't have the Winter Quilt on the bed for June 1st I am hoping to have it on there by Winter Solstice which I think is OK.

Whoopies, Showtime and The Best Spot Experience Ever (not a call made lightly..)

2011-05-21T21:23:00.000+10:00

One of the things I love best about my craft group Canberra Brown Owls is that sometimes at the end you can trade leftovers of the afternoon tea you brought along to share. This afternoon I was very happy to trade my remaining peppermint brownies with Bron's whoopies- Bron's cooking for Brown Owls is always spectacular and last time I took one of these home with me for A2 who generally gets left at home.

This is the lonesome last whoopie. Used as motivation for A1 to tidy her room. Thanks Bron- it worked! I wonder how long her room will stay tidy...
Speaking of A1, in the midst of my crazily busy week I managed to find some time to supervise her using my sewing machine to finish her art project.

Look at how messy my sewing table is. Maybe I needed to leave a whoopie aside for me until that table was tidied up.

The theme for this year's artwork was Showtime. A1 did a design of her own and fabric was her medium of choice. Since she often accompanies me on trips to fabric shops, she is usually allowed to choose one fat quarter of her own. She has quite a collection that lives in a shoebox under my sewing table. She mostly used fabrics from her own collection, with a few from my fabric cupboard thrown in. She appliqued and also free motion stitched this, and used some of my printable fabric for the Showtime banner. She worked very hard on this and I am really proud of her effort and her result. Only two artworks get chosen from each year group to enter a competition and she is hoping so much her work gets chosen. I am trying to focus on the process and how much fun she had but without much success.

In other fabric news, I had quite a good shopping trip to the Spot (so named by Sister 4 who suffered the indignity of a part time job there during High School) a few days ago. In fact it was probably the best Spot exprience ever. I only had to line up for about 5 minutes to get my fabric cut. I somehow managed to score some amazing bargains. And I not only found binding fabric for my Summer Quilt, I also found backing for the Winter Quilt! I think this fabric is perfect for the Summer Quilt.

I also picked up these fat quarters which will be used for fete crafting which has already started.

Another exciting fabric parcel arrived since I last posted, containing binding for Sister 3's birthday quilt and some beautiful book fabric for several birthday gifts- these birthdays are rapidly approaching so I'd better get a wriggle on.

Right, off to do some work on the Winter Quilt. With any luck I should be posting about it very soon!

Well done A1

2011-05-12T22:17:00.000+10:00

Thursday sees the end of the working week for me this week. And I am pleased that its over, for a few reasons. A1 has had her NAPLAN testing this week, and I have had a very busy- but productive and fulfilling- week at my real job. Of course I didn't get everything I wanted to get done finished- but who ever does? Something I did get finished tonight is this pencil roll for A1- a small "well done" for her getting through all that testing (which I have mixed feelings about).

This is very similar to a pencil roll I made Sister 4 before she headed off on her round the world trip- it was a specific request from her. When A1 saw me making her Artist Auntie's pencil roll she wanted one of her own of course. Its almost exactly the same- I just cut another set of strips from the same fabrics for the pieced inner.

The outer fabric and pocket fabric was chosen from my fabric cupboard by A1. It is a Japanese linen/cotton blend and I can't recall if Sister 4 sent it to me from Japan, or if I bought it off etsy. The pattern is from Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, a lovely book although in my opinion the title is a little misleading (some of the projects in there would take me several days to make). I made a modified version of this a few months ago for a birthday gift.

A1 has been waiting a long time for this one (Sister 4 headed off on her trip around the world over a year ago so that is when she first asked me to make one)- I've popped it on her bedside table with a note- I can't wait till she sees it in the morning!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:53:00.000+10:00

I was lucky enough to get this book for Mother's Day. I haven't had much of a chance to look at it yet but it will be my bedtime reading tonight as I listen to Sunday Nights with John Cleary. I hate it so much when the cricket is on and I miss out on my favourite radio program. However since I was lucky enough to get an iPad for my birthday, I have been listening to quite a range of podcasts- from Craft Sanity to Mugglecast. I do have to smuggle my iPad out of A1's bedroom as she listens to Stephen Fry read any of the Harry Potter books to get her off to sleep. Like mother, like daughter.

I did manage a bit of sewing last night. I was in my sewing room tidying up a bit and as is often the case I got distracted by one of my books.

Inspired by the picture on the front cover, I opened my fabric cupboard and started pulling out fabrics. Completely ignoring my no sewing past 10.00 pm rule (instituted after I sewed through my finger late one night), I made this bag:

And the other side...

I used some navy linen repurposed from a dress I bought at Paddington Markets in Sydney about 10 years ago. I didn't follow the pattern in the book, I just made it up as I went along. Amazingly enough I had interfacing scraps in the exact sizes I needed. I saw it as a sign that this project was meant to be completed in one go and that the 10.00 pm rule needed a little relaxing for one night. Of course I made my one major mistake around 11.30 pm just as I was finishing . But this bag is for me so I am not too bothered- if I was gifting it of course I'd have been unpicking it and redoing it. I can live with it.

I also made another Summerhouse Pillow for a 4 year old's birthday. The fabric is the same as the quilt her mother made her for her birthday. I embroidered the E on and am really happy with how it looks. It was a nice way to personalise the gift.

Things I wish I'd asked my Grandmother

2011-05-05T11:53:00.000+10:00

My Granma was an amazing, inspirational woman. There are not words to describe just how much we all miss her. I think we all felt it a bit watching the Royal Wedding last Friday night. I remember watching the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana with my Mum, Granma and Sister 2 when I was a young girl. Last week we made the trip to my parent's house and A1, A2, Mum, Sisters 2 and 4 and I watched the wedding (with regular republican- type comments from my Dad and my husband of course).

Watching the Royal Wedding was not just about doing the same thing with my daughters that my mother and grandmother did with me. I am semi-embarrassed to have purchased my first "women's" magazine (I promise that under the Royal Wedding souvineer edition of the Women's Weekly is a pile of Peppermint magazines). I also remember reading the Prince Charles and Princess Diana Women's Weekly at my Granma's house as a child. But I did enjoy the frocks, the music, and the service. I spent a gap year at an English boarding school after I finished school, and attended Anglican services (the Catholic Chapel was very small and not regular). The school Church was very grand and had an amazing organ and I really enjoyed the music and choir. I miss that a lot, and have been known to tune in a bit early to Landline on Sundays to catch a bit of Songs of Praise which is on just before.

There are lots of things I wish I'd asked Granma. Like how to make Green Tomato Relish instead of regular Tomato Relish. Because A2 and I spent a couple of hours in the veggie patch this morning doing this:

Which as resulted in over 10 kilos of green tomatoes... and we haven't finished yet!

Luckily my wonderful stepmother-in-law got a recipe from her mother for me to try out. So that is what I will be up to this weekend.

I also wish I'd asked Granma to teach me how to crochet around washcloths. Granma kept several of her children and grandchildren's families well stocked with beautifully crocheted washcloths. This is no mean feat on her part- she had 9 children and heaps of grandchildren (and great-grandchildren and even a few great-great-grandchildren!). Its a lovely reminder of Granma's love for her family each day when we use the washcloths at bathtime, and again in the morning, and each time I hang washing on the line.

And while I do have enough unused washcloths crocheted by Granma stored in the back of my linen cupboard to keep me going for quite a few years...

I have been quite sad that I hadn't asked Granma to teach me this. But luckily Kathleen has posted a tutorial on zig-zag crocheted edging. This is now on my (fairly long) list of projects to do. But now I wish I'd asked Granma where she bought her washcloths from!

Princesses and Peas- the Summer Quilt Story #2

2011-04-29T14:20:00.000+10:00

Some more background to the scraps I am using for the Summer Quilt- I now have 457 squares cut out and still going strong! For the last few days of school holidays I have moved my cutting mat and fabric out into our kitchen so I can cut fabric in between play dates, movies, craft and fimo. The advantage of a big table is that I can have my craft down one end and the girls can have theirs down the other and everyone is happy- till dinnertime comes. Luckily there is a solution to that- we have been having "picnics" in the lounge room in front of the television- taking in Harry Potter, Maggie and Simon and of course tonight- the Royal Wedding (very considerate of them to time it so the kiddies can watch it too.) Picnics in front of the television are of course a school holiday only event.

Speaking of the Royal Wedding, another source of scraps for the Summer Quilt has come all the way from the UK. Treefall Design is another favourite of mine. I bought some scraps from Manda's etsy shop- and the reason that I knew I would love them is that I have purchased from her before- not scraps but the most beautiful birthday gift for A2 and her cousin for their second birthdays.

A Princess and the Pea set.

I ordered the Princess and the Pea set several months prior to A2's birthday- and I was so excited by it that A1 and I would often get it out of its hiding place after A2 was in bed and play with it. A1 really loved playing with Princess and the Pea too, so when Manda's pattern was featured in Australian Homespun magazine...

Sister 2 (aka Fairy Godmother) made A1 her very own Princess and the Pea set.

Complete with her very own pillow.

The doll that Sister 2 made was different from Manda's design- she used the nutcracker doll pattern from Alicia Paulson's book Stitched in Time but she miniaturised it- she is amazingly clever.

This is A1's princess in her nightie. Of course a Princess needs a fancy frock as well (I can't wait to see the fancy frock tonight at the Royal Wedding!).

And every Princess needs a little sister.

All 3 Princesses get along famously and A1 and A2 (and sometimes their mother) play with them a lot. I know that this book is probably the perfect companion to the P&P sets however in our house we are a little less dainty and a little more jolly hockey sticks and we prefer this book- The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas. Our Princesses come camping with us so its lucky they like this book too.

And I am very happy to have some of Manda's scraps to include in the Summer Quilt, including several of the same prints from A2's P&P set.

Lovely handmade gifts

2011-04-20T22:00:00.000+10:00

We have a few birthdays coming up for some very special small people we know.

Personalised pillowcases from Mrs Sew&Sos

An art folder from the amazingly talented (and very good looking) Poppy, Bean and Bloss.

And an Easter gift for my very own small people- A1 and A2- hand knitted and embroidered hot water bottle covers. Each Easter we give the girls something practical, seasonal, beautiful and hand made. My intention is for it to be beanies most of the time- although last year it was scarves as the hats from the year before still fit. Knitting is just not my strong point- I can crochet not a problem at all. And so a few years ago I found Jen from Knitspirations and asked if she could knit me winter hats for the girls. The beanies were just beautiful. We do a lot of camping in the mountains in cooler weather, and use hot water bottles at night. So I thought knitted hot water bottle covers would be the perfect practical, seasonal hand made gift for A1 and A2 this Easter. I contacted Jen and aren't they just the most beautiful hot water bottle covers in the entire universe! The embroidery on them is delightful. I can't wait to give them to the girls- I suspect they will be getting them before Easter Sunday as they may be needed sooner!

Here is a close-up of Jen's embroidery. I think I might need one for myself. Have a happy Easter.

Sources of scraps- the Summer Quilt story #1

2011-04-18T19:16:00.000+10:00

I had a little extra time at home with A1 and A2 this afternoon as we begin the first week of school holidays, and my partner- who has this week off work- had his annual charity golf day- so we have been setting up a great Furryville game, and using the weekend's haul of Easter eggs as a bribes for some bedroom tidying.

While A2 had a sleep and A1 tidied her bedroom (while listening to Stephen Fry read The Deathly Hallows on my iPad) I finally had the chance to spend some time in my sewing room. After finishing the Spring Quilt, I really want to do some more work on the Summer Quilt. I know I should be finishing off the Winter Quilt, but for some reason Summer is what I want to work on right now. The Summer Quilt is a quilt made mostly of scraps, and I am using the instructions from one of my absolute favourite bloggers, Alicia Paulson. I love Alicia's blog and I find her work so inspiring- I have both her books and love them too. I have made several Summerhouse Pillows and a couple of Summerhouse Seat Cushions and the Summer Quilt will be from her Ollalieberry Ice Cream Quilt pattern. The pattern contains instructions for measurements for five different quilt sizes- and the queen size quilt I plan on making needs over 700 squares!

I used up suitable scraps from my scrap box fairly quickly- I think I had only cut out 200 before I ran out. The prints I am using in the Summer Quilt are small florals, spots and patterns in pinks, blues, greens and yellows. I also wanted some plain fabric and so I purchased a fat quarter bundle of pink solids and have also been picking up the odd fat quarter or fat eighth here and there. When I took the Snail Quilt to Fran for quilting a few months ago, I told her about the Summer Quilt idea and asked her if she had ever thought of selling her scraps. Last week when I saw Fran she showed me her boxes of scraps and offcuts and I dived straight in! Here are my 2 kilograms of fabric:

I couldn't quite help the reds- they won't be used in the Summer Quilt but they had tulips on them (my favourite) so they had to come home with me. It was so much fun to choose prints from another person's scraps, particularly with this project in mind.

This is my Summer Quilt progress to date.

It does not look overly impressive- although the three bags with the larger squares have 100 squares in each of them. The smaller squares are 2 1/2 inch squares I have been cutting out of the scraps where there is some leftover not large enough to cut a 3, 4 or 5 inch square from. I plan on making some more Summerhouse Seat Cushions and maybe some more Summerhouse Pillows from these.

After today's small foray into Fran's scraps I think I may have about 400 squares to cut out. I am now thinking that I might make another Ollalieberry Ice Cream Quilt for the campervan- so I might just keep on cutting out squares till I get to 1000!

Gifting and healing

2011-04-14T20:40:00.000+10:00

My intention is not to make this blog overly personal. However there is a story behind this quilt that I finished earlier this week.

This is a cot quilt for an almost brand new baby boy who was much worried about while in utero. Thankfully everything seems to be OK now after a stay in the special care nursery for a few weeks. The top of this quilt is linen and some Japanese linen/cotton blend fabrics I have been collecting off etsy, and also some that Sister 4 posted back from her trip to Japan last year, and I was full of hope and hesitantly joyful as I thought I might be able to make a similar quilt over the next 7 or so months that could be used in our home.

However, this was not meant to be and I found myself unable to face the quilt for a while. It felt like a burden to me, every time I went into my sewing room and I saw it- sitting on my rocking chair where I cuddled and fed A1 and A1 as babies- basted and ready for quilting.

In a conversation with my cousin on the weekend at Brown Owls we talked about projects we needed to get finished that we couldn't seem to get done. I felt unable to commence work on anything else until I had finished this quilt. After that discussion I was determined to finish it and I spent a whole day quilting, and a couple of hours in the evening hand sewing the binding. The quilt was done.

I gave the quilt to the baby's father the next day at work. And my reaction to his response (and his wife's response, relayed to me the following day) to the gift was a surprise to me. His words of thanks and comments on the quilt were so healing. It seems to have taken the edge off a particularly painful time. I didn't expect this feeling at all- previously all I had felt was relief that the quilt was finished. I am very grateful for the words that have helped so much. A colleague at work even commented today that I looked like my happy self again. I hadn't even realised that I wasn't looking happy.

The backing is soft flannel I picked up a while back from Spotlight- I love the bikes so much- I have backed 2 cot sized quilts with it now and I have none left. The binding is navy with a darker navy or black fine stripe. I quilted it with straight lines and squares within the Japanese fabric squares. And after a time of not liking the quilt at all, I really do like it again. And I am grateful for the words that have helped me so much.

A Spring Quilt (in Autumn)

2011-04-06T17:54:00.000+10:00

Everything I make usually finds itself gifted elsewhere- which is fine, it is one of the main reasons I make things- however it occurred to me that my bed was quite bare. Last year I decided that I was going to make a quilt for myself. Then I decided I was going to make another quilt for myself. And then another. And another. I reflected upon the four quilts I had in mind and the motivations behind them, which include:

the love of a particular fabric (Mirabelle by Liberty in one case)
using up scraps
loving a fabric collection (Fandango by Kate Spain and Bliss by Bonnie and Camille)

What seemed to emerge from these motivations was a theme- a seasonal theme. I decided I would make a quilt for each season.

I had a lovely long stretch of time off from my real job over the summer holidays, and I set myself the goal of completing one of these quilt tops by the end of January. But the story of this quilt actually begins a little earlier than that...

I can't quite recall where I came across the Bliss collection by Bonnie and Camille but from the moment I saw it I fell head over heels in love with it. Which is unusual for me. Because it is very girly. And I happen to not be a girly girl. I am not so fond of pink (a hanging offence if you ask A2- pinkness is next to godliness in her opinion). As a child I never much liked dolls. I very much like jeans and t shirts. My doona covers are usually plain white. Or white and green and blue. Or some variation on that theme.

And I really really really fell in love with one particular fabric in the collection. So I promptly purchased one fat quarter bundle and some yardage of my favourite print. And when it arrived I looked at it lots and lots. And thought about what on earth I would make with it. It was then that the idea of seasonal quilts started to form in my mind.

For inspiration I googled quilts made from the bliss collection. And I came across one quilt that just made me stop and gaze. It was absolutely perfect, however I thought it was quite beyond any of my capabilities. I have only made 9 quilts and none were as complex as Mary's quilt. I bookmarked it and pondered upon it for a couple of weeks, and then I decided to email Darlene to see if she could send me the pattern. An encouraging response made me think that it might be a possibility....

There was quite a bit of drama involved in this quilt. A Great Unpick- when I discovered the triangles I used for the outside were 1/4 inch too short... followed by a Great Re-Sew.

A mad search for the red tulip fabric for the border and binding once I had decided that was what I wanted to use instead of my favourite paisely fabric from the collection which didn't really work as a border or binding (but of course I can make something else with it now!)

The backing is a candy pink and green stripe I picked up at Spotlight late last year- I did have it in mind for the backing for my Spring Quilt when I bought it.

This quilt was too large for me to quilt myself- at this stage I am only quilting cot sized quilts. So Fran did the honours in a lovely tulip pattern. She also suggested using a pale pink thread which stands out against the white beautifully. I made the two cushions when I started cutting out the fabric for the quilt. There was more cutting involved for this quilt than any other I had made- so I needed some early wins to keep me motivated! The cushions provided ongoing inspiration while I was working on the Spring Quilt.

And I also happily sewed the binding for the Spring Quilt over the past week or so to the first season of The Tudors- after reading Wolf Hall anything English Reformation is catching my interest at the moment.

I am fairly sure that not one of my seasonal quilts will actually be ready for the intended season. Right now we have a bit of Spring in Autumn- I should just pretend I live in the Northern Hemisphere! And I am really happy working away cutting squares out from scraps for the Summer Quilt at the moment. The Winter Quilt only needs a little more work on it so perhaps I should just get on with that one. The Autumn Quilt isn't even started...

Oh and I did finish most of the quilt top by the end of January- I did have to wait a bit to do the borders until the post arrived with the red tulip fabric. And then of course I had to unpick it and put it back together again with the proper sized triangles. I am very happy with the Spring Quilt. When I look out my bedroom window in September and see my tulips starting to come up out of the ground it will be time for the Spring Quilt to appear. I have three other friends who have made or are making quilts from the Bliss collection (including Alice!) and I am so much looking forward to seeing their quilts when they are finished.

One month later....

2011-04-04T11:48:00.000+10:00

One month between posts- incredibly slack of me I know, but there are reasons for the delay. Autumn is now well and truly here and I think my Granma's rule of no heating until after Anzac Day might need a little flexibility. The days are sunny and crisp and we are still harvesting tomatoes from the veggie garden. We also had corn and our first pumpkin of the year. The corn in particular was so delicious. We shall certainly increase the quantity we plant next time.

I pulled A1's old size 3-4 winter clothes out of storage to wash and store in A2's wardrobe. A2 is usually quite excited when her next season's wardrobe is revealed- but she was not at all backwards in sharing her disappointment at the absence of skirts and dresses. A1, a little more practical, preferred jeans and cords. A2, much more interested in clothes and appearances, decided she needed more skirts. Sister 2 (aka Fairy Godmother) was visiting and we headed off to our favourite fabric shop for A2 to choose some fabric for a couple of new skirts.

A2 chose the fabrics and loves twirling around in the ballet skirt. Fairy Godmother is also making skirts for each of the girls with fabric they chose.

A1 has also had an exciting hand-me-down experience this year. Sister 4 is quite petite and, after returning from her travels last year, cleaned out her wardrobe. A1 was the very happy beneficiary of the cull and insists- when out of school uniform- wearing one of the items that fits her now. She looks like a first year uni student in her jeans, t-shirts and hooded jackets. A1 is very keen to fit into some of the other hand-me-downs and often tries them on. I think she has a few years growing to do before she gets there. Luckily she also has her Gryffindor t-shirt and jumper to wear in the meantime (also procured by Sister 4 during the aforementioned travels, which included a stop at Harry Potter World in Florida).

Autumn begins

2011-03-04T13:18:00.000+11:00

Autumn is my favourite time of the year for so many reasons. I don't particularly like the heat of summer, although I do like many of the things that summer brings- like Christmas, school holidays, beach time, and spending more time with my family. I'm also not overly fond of summer fashion- I much prefer autumn and winter clothing.

This morning we had an early start so A1 could get to running club- and one of the first signs of autumn appeared in the sky- a hot air balloon. The mornings are now also decidedly crisp and there was a hint of fog earlier in the week.

The tomato plants are drip feeding us little bursts of flavour at a frustratingly slow rate. Now autumn is upon us, I am increasingly anxious about the large quantity of green tomatoes still on the vine. I hope the frost stays away long enough for some more tomatoes to ripen. This was today's harvest (our pesky possum has been helping herself to our tomatoes as well- I hope she is enjoying them!)

The harvest at the Show this year was spectacular. I love seeing all the produce, baked goods, preserves and animals. A2 and I spent an enjoyable day there with my aunt, cousin and her youngest daughter. My very clever cousin won first prize for her beautiful hand made doll Molly that she is now giving away to raise money for the earthquake victims in Christchurch.

And finally onto craft... one of the fabulous girls I work with asked me a few months ago if I would make a quilt for her sister who is having her first baby soon. We worked together with her other sister to select a pattern and fabrics both from my fabric cupboard and a few extras from a local fabric shop- being one of four sisters I was very comfortable with this approach! I sketched out a few different options for them and they chose the one they liked the most- and here it is-

Fran quilted it with a snail design of her own. The backing is some nice soft flannel I picked up for 99c a metre in a sale at Spotlight last year.

The binding was fairly quick because its a cot quilt- and this quilt was bound to the movies The Skulls and The Hurt Locker. Obviously I had male company during the binding. One day I will get the chance to bind a quilt to The Hours or Four Weddings and a Funeral...

Frog Princesses

2011-02-24T12:47:00.000+11:00

Our tomato situation is improving!

There is still an abundance of green tomatoes but I am hopeful the sunny hot weather forecast for the next few days will coax them into glorious redness. The tomatoes we have eaten have been delicious. The pumpkin vine is full of yellow flowers and several of these are hidden beneath the broad leaves.

I am also excited to report that we should have our first (although small) olive harvest this year.

Away from the garden now and into the sewing room- A1 went to a dear friend's 8th birthday party on the weekend. This particular friend shares A1's love of reading and they both like the same kind of books- anything with witches, wizards, dragons, and magic. We had ordered these books which have currently captured A1's imagination, however they did not arrive in time for the big day. So A1 asked if I could make her friend a small gift to take along. Running with the Frog Princess theme, this pencil roll was created:

The outer fabric and the pocket fabric is from New York based artist Masha D'yans who is well loved by our family- sister 4 discovered her work on a trip to New York a few years ago and purchased a few little items. Sisters 2, 3 and myself fell in love with her work also and I was lucky enough to be given a Masha D'yans print and bag for a birthday a few years ago from Sisters 2,3 and 4. Late last year I discovered that Masha D'yans had released a fabric collection and of course I could not help myself... Sisters 3 and 4 and A1 and A2 now have pillowcases in gorgeous prints from Celebration- and the leftover bits of fabric were perfect for the pencil roll. The pattern I used is modified from this book- I had previously made one for Sister 4, and am in the process of making another for A1 who wants to be exactly like her Artist Auntie when she grows up.

The gift was well received and the card that went with it read along these lines: Sorry that your proper birthday present hasn't arrived yet but that is good because you can finish reading all the Harry Potter books now so we can talk about them.

And before I finish- a very exciting pile is sitting on the couch waiting to be bundled up and delivered to Fran this afternoon...

From top to bottom: binding, backing, quilt. After the agony of the Great Unpick (from too small triangles), I am not to sorry to see the back of this one for a little while anyway. I am sure when it is all quilted I will feel the love again.

Hey there Alice...

2011-02-11T20:24:00.000+11:00

Its been a rainy day today so lovely to have some time at home to catch up on the things which have gotten away from me as we have been busy with the new school year for A1 and A2 starting pre-school. I have also included the long-promised first blog post on my list of things for today.

First though, an update on the tomato situation- it looks as though we may have an abundance of Green Tomato Relish this year. The tomatoes are stubbornly green, despite sunny days and high temperatures all week.

Over the summer holidays, we went looking for a storage solution for A1 and A2's ever expanding collection of dress up clothes. Their new dress-up cupboard has been an excellent replacement for the boxes previously used. The cupboard was $20 from the local materials recycling facilty. After it was sanded back and a primer coat or two, we painted it sage and cream. Once we get some time for a trip to a hardware store to choose handles it will be finished!

While we were at the MRF, I also picked up these two chairs. They are still waiting to be sanded, painted and for me to make seat pads for them.

And finally (because I shouldn't include every single project in my first post) the roman blinds I printed.

It is not the best photo- and forgive the view into the garden shed. This is the view out of my sewing room into our backyard.

This photo of our kitchen window is also not great, it was hard to get good light. I used stencils from this book which I love. The kitchen blinds are in sage green, the sewing room is orange.
Looking back on these images I don't feel so bad for not finishing (actually not even starting) the chairs because I did get quite a lot done over the holidays. Next post will include some quilts and sewing I promise.