Mummy Makes

Is anyone still out there?..... I finished something!

2012-01-09T14:29:00.000+11:00

Kitchen Window quilt #1, Yes I finished the 2nd one first (months ago!) this has been sitting on my sewing table just waiting to be bound since august, around about the last time I blogged actually, So much has happened since then, my life is completely different now, I got a Job!!!! I'm now the canteen manager at the girls school, which as I'm sure you can all imagine is perfect for me, school hours plus I get to see the kids during the day, and keep an eye on things for that matter!

Backing.
I've also lost 15kgs since July, woohoo!!!! this puts me back at a very healthy weight for my shape and height and I feel so much better for it! (My fitness Pal) and life has changed at home too, as I'm now a single mum. The school holidays are almost half way through already, and I'm missing work, but also loving being at home with the kids and being able to get some stuff done, including sewing again!

So this post is all a bit of a ramble, it's been so long since I posted, I feel like I'm starting all over again.
So anyway... The blocks in this quilt were made by the girls from Bee Seam Piecing Down Under, and I've posted about it numerous times already so I wont go through it all again, I'm really happy with both my quilting and binding on this quilt, both are the best I've done so far, Its destined to live on the lounge with its twin for the cold winter nights that at the moment seem so very far away!

I also made a new quilt, from start to finish in a couple of days, its only a little baby quilt for a very special little one that is due to arrive any day now, My first niece!! I'm so excited!! I cant wait to be an auntie!!

A couple of little sneaky peaks for now, I'm sending this off to my brother and sister in law tomorrow and once it arrives ill do a proper post. Hopefully I will be around more often again, now that I'm a touch more organised, I have another quilt on the go already, I'm making it up as i go along, but the intention is to make something a bit more arty for the wall above my bed or somewhere in my room anyway.

A whole month?

2011-08-30T13:32:00.000+10:00

Wow! This last month has flown by, I'm sorry I haven't updated, truth is there is nothing crafty to update about, I've been having a bit of trouble with my back lately and it stops me from getting to close to the machine, very ouchy, and then as soon as I think its all good to go, it starts up again. Frustrating. Hopefully I will be back again soon with some sewing to show off. In the meantime, here's my favorite ever flower photo, that I took probably around this time 2 years ago, Spring tomorrow!!!!!

July Bee Blocks for Pam

2011-07-27T17:33:00.000+10:00

Pam's blocks for July are the last ones for BSPDU, and the last ones for me for a while too. Ive really enjoyed being involved in both Bee Seam Piecing Down Under and The Australasian Bee, Ive learnt a lot and
"met" some awesome people.

Finished!!!!!

2011-07-25T14:09:00.000+10:00

Quilted and bound, I am in love with this quilt!!! It came out so lovely, soft and wrinkly, I'm looking forward to snuggling up with it on the lounge :-)

I can't quite make out the print on the back but it is the same as the cushion back below.

When I was cutting the fabric to send off to the Bee girls, I somehow got it into my head that they would need a 3.5" square.... yeah not sure how that happened, but it worked out well in the end, I whipped up the front of this cushion cover a few months ago, then added the borders from scraps the girls sent back to me, it is quilted with quite a loose large stipple compared to the quilt which is tighter and smaller.

I love this backing fabric, I had originally bought it with the intention of making myself skirt, but it is just not a colour that I would wear, there was however just the right amount for the quilt and the back of my cushion.

We had Charlie's birthday party on the weekend, we had a lovely afternoon with her best friend and her (same age) Aunty. I knocked out this chocolate cake in the morning, you can't quite tell in this pic but the mound of strawberries in the middle was quite large, it was polished off pretty quickly I can tell you!!

In other news, I cut 8 inches off Miss Jocie's hair last night, she is such a cutie <3

Kitchen Window Quilt #2

2011-07-12T10:51:00.000+10:00

The second quilt made from the blocks that the awesome girls in Bee Seam Piecing Down Under made for me! Unfortunately I ended up having to make 2 more blocks for this one, and with not enough kona charcoal for the frames, I decided to think outside the square (hehe) and go with a dark hot pink, (I think its Kona Pomegranate but I'm not sure) I'm really loving the effect!! This one is for ME!! Ive got the backing, binding and batting all ready to go, I just need to pick up some thread, I'm going to meander this is a light grey to match the Ash sashing, hopefully in the next week I'll have a finish to share :-)

!!!!!! TEN !!!!!!

2011-07-11T20:05:00.000+10:00

My biggest girl turned 10 today!!

But she's not too old for tricky candles (magic re-lighting ones at that!!)

Jam and Cream filled Lamington cake....... oh yeah!

Gotta love this face, I think she liked her pressie!!! (and seriously I love these dolls!! I want one for myself so bad!!)

Finished Top ~ Fanciful Flowers in Wonderland

2011-07-05T12:02:00.000+10:00

It was super difficult getting a photo of this quilt, its huge!! 86" x 94" in fact! It will be a long time before I will be able to show it finished, its going to be hand quilted, I'm hoping though it will be done by the middle of next winter, we'll see.

Snow Globes for Sue

2011-06-26T12:21:00.000+10:00

With the beautiful hand-dyed backgrounds and our choice of fabric for the snow globe, this quilt is going to be very very interesting to look at, Cant wait to see how it all comes together :-)

Working on Wonderland

2011-06-25T14:52:00.000+10:00

Not the best pic ever lol! This is my Fanciful flowers in Wonderland quilt, that I've been working on, on and off for about 18 months, I finished the last applique block yesterday and wanted to lay it out to see how it would look. This quilt pattern is from Material Obsession one.The fabric is Wonderland by momo. I couldn't help myself though and altered it a bit to work as a queen size quilt, I also used a jelly roll and layer cake for most of the fabric with only a couple of the prints in larger half yard cuts. All the applique is needle turn, and very very far from perfect, rustic is a more fitting term! I still have to trim the flower blocks, sew them all together and add the border, but I'm not in a rush this one is a slow burner :)

Australasian Bee, Spiderweb quilt Finished!!

2011-06-18T10:16:00.000+10:00

The Front.

The Back.

Close up.

My finished quilt using the blocks made by the amazing girls in the Australasian Bee.
using the tutorial at : alamodefabric.blogspot.com/2010/06/spider-web-quilt-block...

finished size is approx 50" x 60"
Fabrics used are vintage sheets, white cotton broadcloth and a mix of modern fabrics from my stash. Binding is a vintage sheet and backing is another vintage sheet. This quilt was made for Laura, and she LOVES it!!!!!

May Bee Blocks for Emma

2011-05-30T10:01:00.000+10:00

Emma asked for blocks of our choice, with the only stipulation being that they "read" as yellow. I love love love this style of block, and I've done it a few times over the course of my two bee's. I can't wait to see this quilt come together, its going to be lovely and bright and sunshiney!

I'm still here!

2011-05-26T11:04:00.000+10:00

Kitchen Window Quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's "Practical Guide to Patchwork"

Blocks made by the awesome girls in Bee Seam Piecing Down Under!!
frames are Kona Charcoal and sashing is Kona Ash, fabrics include AMH Good Folks, Meadowsweet, Kaffe and Prints Charming, There is still another identical quilt coming together as well, the backing for this one is under construction and I plan to quilt it with an all-over stipple.

In other news, My course has pretty much come to a standstill talk about over my head! I'm now looking for work instead. There has been quite a bit of hand sewing happening but I haven't taken pictures yet. I've also been spending a fair bit of time volunteering at our school's canteen, which I absolutely love! All the girls are doing really well, growing bigger and bigger all the time.
I hope to get back into blogging regularly again now that I've sorted out some big life decisions (study vs work).
I hope everyone out there reading this post is doing well, and getting in plenty of sewing time :-)

April Bee Blocks and some new Ink!

2011-04-05T09:30:00.000+10:00

First up, April is Abigail's month in the Australasian Bee, She opted to very generously donate her blocks to charity, so these blocks are going to be made into a quilt for a victim of the Christchurch Earthquake.

April in Bee Seam Piecing Down Under is my month (yay!!) I pulled my small collection of Good Folks and added a few more fabrics that I thought worked well, then while looking at sneak peaks of the quilts in Elizabeth Hartmen's "The Practical Guide to Patchwork" (I couldn't wait for it to arrive!) I saw her Kitchen Window's quilt and fell hard, She even used Good Folk in her version! so I muddled out the measurements (which are wrong by the way!) and started cutting up packages, My book finally arrived (seriously it took a month!) figured it was close enough and sent them out as is. I'm already seeing what the girls are making for me in our flickr group!

I've used Kona Ash for the sashing and Kona Charcoal for the frames.

And yep I said on here once before I'm addicted! This one is designed by me, their are 5 small dots on the side, representing my daughters, and the heart itself is for my wonderful husband, we got a tattoo each in march in honour of our 6th anniversary (together not wedding). His is a total nerd tattoo, it is "Kelly" in binary, love that man <3 (and the going joke is, if (god forbid) anything ever goes wrong, he just needs to add a couple more 1's and 0's to make it an error..... boom boom!)

Ta Da!!!!!!! The Flea Market Fancy Monster Quilt!!

2011-04-03T17:16:00.000+10:00

Theres not a lot left to be said really.
(90" square)
Still trying to come up with a better name, monster just sounds so ugly!

The Journey:
Finding the fabric. 29/01/10
Finished the Flimsy. 20/01/11
The Back. 03/02/11
The Sandwich. 09/02/11
Quilting. 02/03/11
Quilt Saviour. 21/03/11

A bit busy...

2011-03-21T17:43:00.001+11:00

Last week I started a course through OTEN, Diploma of Architectural Technology.
Last week I left a window open in my bedroom while I went out to do the school run and do a few errands, when I got home my front hall had water half way down it, my bedroom door was covered, my bedroom floor had water so deep it went over my feet when I stood on it, the opposite wall, 3+ metres from the window was wet. My mattress was wet. Thankfully, my FMF quilt with its lovely bamboo batting layer soaked up most of the water that hit the bed..... It was sooooooooooo heavy.
On the weekend we pulled back the carpet and hired a de-humidifier, it sucked out 30-35 litres of water out of our room, the carpet is dry, the mattress is dry and my house no longer has that putrid wet dog odour.
Today, I was supposed to be studying all day (its a distance course) instead I spent most of the day cleaning up after poor little miss Jocie who seems to have caught a tummy bug. I expect it to go through the rest of us over the coming week. Joy.

I'll be back soon...... maybe after the weekend? Hopefully with the finished project pics of my FMF quilt, maybe ill change its name....... mattress saver? nah.... any ideas??

Quilting Bee Blocks for March.

2011-03-08T19:25:00.000+11:00

This block was on my 'one day' list. Note the "was". Yep making 2 of these has cured me of the need to ever make any more. Its a lovely block, don't get me wrong, I love hst's, I really do. Its just this block, it nearly got the best of me. Nearly. It was so much more time consuming then I could of imagined, probably 3 times the amount of time that I normally allocate. But the result I think is worth it, and I really cannot wait to see this beautiful beast put together, and at 16" per block it is going to be huge!! I was short less then an inch of yellow so the second block isn't finished. I'm sending it home to be fixed :)

These blocks were based off a quilt by Rita at Red Pepper Quilts, and requested by Nicole in Bee Seam Piecing Down Under

Bronwyn from Whippet Good, requested rose blocks for her turn in the Australasian Bee. She sent out a great mix of pinks and greens, How freaking adorable is the carrot fabric?!

I managed to knock out 3 blocks, the pink is 9.5" the green is 9" and the mix is 6"

I had it in my head that I wanted to do a really really small block, like 2" but In the end I couldn't get my head around it, so 6" was the smallest I could really go with this one.

Love the three blocks together, they totally match Charlotte's quilt!

In other news, Ive finished my FMF quilt!!!! I slept under it last night for the first time!! You can see a sneaky peak over here. I just need to get some decent pics and do a round up post on it.

Under the needle.

2011-03-02T13:27:00.001+11:00

I'm just over the half way point of quilting my FMF monster. I'm really happy with the medium grey thread I chose, and the quilting itself is looking pretty good. (I don't do perfect!)

I'm also trying to decide what I should have the Bee Seam Piecing down under girls do for my month, in April, I keep changing my mind, any suggestions?

Bee Anything!

2011-02-19T21:01:00.000+11:00

It's Erin's month in Bee Seam Piecing Down Under and she requested....... anything!! as long as it was at least 10.5 inches. Unfortunately I forgot to do a final measurement (oops) but the above block turned out around 13" square or was it 14"... I'm really happy with it though, I added in the floral/dotty piece of good folks and it really helped this block pop!

This one I'm a little unsure about..... I was winging this one just a little too far out of my comfort zone, or maybe it's just that I'm not used to working with purple? Oh well Hopefully Erin likes it. This one was (I think!) 11" or 12" eek. I can't believe I forgot to measure!

For the siggy block, I just grabbed a hexie out and machine sewed it straight down, that green dot is one of my fav fabrics, simple but oh so me!

After I packed these into their envelope I prepped my sewing area, ready to start quilting my FMF quilt, my normal set up would not of worked for a quilt this massive!!! I'm hoping that it wont take too long to quilt, and I'm also hoping the weather cools down enough soon for me to attach the binding! I'll probably post some "in-progress" pics during the week. Hope everyone is having a great weekend xx

Happy Birthday to you, and you, oh and to this little blog too!

2011-02-14T16:48:00.000+11:00

We started off on the 23/01 making cupcakes for Laura to take to preschool the next day.

Then on the 24th January Laura turned 5!!!! (please excuse iPhone pic we had issues lol)
She freaked opening up her leapster explorer, and has been playing it quite often ever since!

She was at preschool all day having a blast with all her little friends, when it was time to have the cupcakes, she insisted on passing them out to all the kids! Then after dinner, we had her cake of choice, choc sponge with whipped cream in the middle and on top, and don't forget the strawberries mama!!!

This has become a new tradition, an eating the cake all by myself pic!!

Then... on Friday (11/02) It was Imogene's turn!! 8! how did that happen!!!! Honestly she really did love her presents (as do I! I want one for myself!!) I just missed the happiest face!

Imee requested a fish and chips picnic on the town green, it was a lovely evening, the food was great and the girls had a blast, (and yep I made that quilt, it is my first and honestly that's the most you will see of it, eek!! what a mess it is!)

Imee asked for a pavlova, and who am I to deny a gorgeous girl a bit of pav? Berries and smarties topped this one off, and what an awesome combo that turned out to be, yummmmmmmmy!!

Had to put this pic up too, so lovely <3

Imee had a birthday party the next day, we had 4 girls from school and my besties daughter, they were such a lovely bunch, we had a great time! This cake was a bit of a hit, when I cut it to reveal a rainbow the girls squealed! (I did a 6 colour marble cake) oh and I tricked Imee when it was time to blow the candles out, the are "magic re-lighting) candles, lol it was soooo funny!!

And now this little old blogs turn, the 12th of February marked 2 years!!!
So Thank You to everyone out there that has read, is reading, and will ever read!!
This mummy is going to keep on making for a long time to come!

Fussy, Fussy, Fussy...

2011-02-09T13:24:00.001+11:00

Amy of Seven Stitches requested square/rectangle in a square blocks for February in the Australasian Bee.

I love the gorgeous Retro kitchen fabric she sent out for us to use as the focus, very very cool!

I can't wait to see what the girls make for her, I love this style!

I should of posted this last time! Here is my FMF sandwich, yep that's the entire lounge room floor covered, much furniture moving was required to create that much space!

And (not that you can see it that well) here is a pic of my new earrings bought from Early Bird Creations, Skip over and have a look at her Etsy shop, to see the gorgeous and funky stuff she makes! I'm lucky enough to get to see her beautiful jewellery regularly at my local Artist Markets. Oh and I've just found her on Facebook too. No connections, Just a very happy, repeat customer!

A Bee Block and a Back.

2011-02-03T09:59:00.001+11:00

A bubble block for Ange, Australasian Bee.

And the back for my flea market fancy quilt, I wanted it to be reversible and I'm pretty sure Ive achieved that, The fabrics are all from the Flora and Fauna Range by Patty Young, The binding will also be from the same range, ta dot in ebony. The quilt is sandwiched, thanks to my wonderful husband Mark, who helped me, this one is rather large at 90" square, and it took 1.5 hours to pin baste it, I dread to think what state my back would be in if I had of done it all by myself!!

Not much else happening here, The big girls have gone back to school, Charlotte is in year 4, in a 4/5/6 enrichment class, with a very fantastic teacher who we have known for a very long time. And Imogene is now in year 3, in a 3/4 with a new teacher to the school, who seems to be absolutely lovely! Laura has settled back into her 2 days of preschool, and has already brought half the sandpit home with her!! Miss Jocie is at home with me again this year, and I'm looking forward to some fun days together. I'm in the process of filling out enrollment/application forms for a diploma in architectural technology, so it should be quite the year for education!

I've been a wee bit busy......

2011-01-20T18:47:00.001+11:00

Firstly, We cleaned our room...... That sounds like a fairly normal, regular type thing to do, yes?
Well no actually, our room is was the last room in the house to get cleaned/tidied, and it was a pig sty.
I'm determined not to let it get like that ever, ever again! I like it clean, and tidy, though to be honest it looked as boring as, well you get the idea.......

How better to make a room look amazing then to add that hand made touch? And what's a better hand made touch then a flea market fancy quilt? So I took the layer cake and the charm pack (that I purchased an entire year ago!!), added in some beautiful Kona solids (tomato, medium pink, school bus, corn yellow, lime, robins egg, peacock, medium grey and coal) and did an alternating, checkerboard sort of pattern, but totally random, there are clumps and diagonal stripes here and there but I love it! And at a whopping 90" square it covers our queen sized bed quite nicely!

I decided I wanted this one to be reversible, don't worry I will show off the back once it's made, I'm just waiting for the fabric to arrive!!

I also whipped up this lovely heart garland, while watching a movie the other night (Pretty in Pink!) You can find the pattern Here.

Next up are some bee blocks for December/ January for Lizzie.

Bliss with Kona Ivory.

and Eden with white quilters muslin. These where fun to make, and Lizzie went super easy on us, with all the fabric pre-cut, so super quick too!

And here is a huge, massive Thank You, to the wonderful, amazing, talented and generous Jo, of Sparkly Green Knickers. I won a giveaway a little while ago, and as happens, completely forgot about it! So this prize was extra exciting! I love the cushion cover, it fits in perfectly with the rest of mine in my lounge where bright and colourful is king! And when I saw those fabrics.... I screamed!! Mark looked at me like I had 2 heads lol!! but come on, Flea Market Fancy... wouldn't you scream too?? And that adorable Umbrella fabric? Well clearly its gorgeous, but you should see the selvage, instead of dots, they are sweet little bows <3

Now stop reading my boring, look at me, post and get your clicking finger over to Make it Perfect, and have a look at all the auctions and raffles, all the funds raised are going to the QLD Flood Relief, You can also donate directly or donate to the Victorian Flood appeal Here.

Handmade Christmas round up!

2011-01-07T11:38:00.000+11:00

There's always one!

This is one of those, crazy, picture heavy, epic posts, enjoy!

Charlotte in her Insa Skirt (from sewing clothes kids love) It took me several go's around the local shops to find a top to go with her skirt, I found this "twofer" on my last attempt before making one!

I don't know if you can see it, but right around the hem of the top layer is a pleated ruffly bit, and of course around the bottom hem is the red ribbon, I was feeling pretty blah about this skirt until the ribbon was attached, it really set it off.

Imogene's dress turned out so well, and it fits her perfectly too!

Those ruffles broke me! None of the other girls have real ruffles only pleaty things lol!!
I already blogged this dress all the way back here.

Miss Laura got a Feliz as well, this super bright poppy fabric fits her personality to a tee!

I kept the back of her dress plain, and with the stripes I'm really glad I did!

And here is Miss Jocie, singing to the ocean!! Another Insa skirt, and a T-shirt from Target appliqued with a "Bambi", She looks like a little doll in this outfit! (and wowser!! check out her hair!! Honestly I will have to post a photo of it out, there is so much of it and its so long!)

Next up, a "Pup tent / Ground cloth" from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, There hasn't been much chance to play in this yet, the weather has been bizarre to say the least! I also made one for my little sister, and this one was a joint gift for the kidlets.

I also made 6 sets of ribbon rings, using some old curtain rings from the oppy that Mark painted for me, and metres upon metres of ribbon! A pair each for my girls, a pair for my sister and a pair for my besties daughter.

Laura and Jocelyn each got a set of 5 little bean bags, we've had some interesting balancing acts already! Charlotte and Imogene each received a set of 60, 5" squares of Nicey Jane fabrics, they have already sorted out the layout they want, next step sew them together!

And last but certainly not least, A fabric crown each to match each outfit! These were a huge hit and really simple they close at the back with Velcro, and have a layer of heavy duty woven interfacing, the letters were appliqued using that steam a seam stuff, and a single line of machine stitching through each letter, the circles were pinked and then just pinned and sewn.

So, they say that getting Tattoos is addictive........

2011-01-05T19:07:00.000+11:00

I think they were right! (for me at least!)

It took me months to decide what to do about Abi's feet, they needed more, but I wasn't sure what, I didn't want to get her name, not sure why, just didn't really want to. My bestie, suggested I get something from the poem, and as soon as I read that line again, "I am the soft starlight at night." I knew that was it!

Hello 2011!!

2011-01-01T21:24:00.000+11:00

(Quilts of 2010!, 5 completed this year!)

Wow!! 2010 sure did fly on by! November and December went so fast it wasn't funny!
So while I'm waiting to get a couple more pics for my Christmas round up post (hopefully tomorrow!) I thought I'd do a 2010 into 2011 post :)

The Good:

Our "Staycation" in January, we did a lot of fun things with the kids that week, and during one of our day trips I found some FMF! We also did an overnight to our nearest city, on a whim which was fun, as well as our Winter Holiday to Victoria, which was down right super dooper awesome!!

Jocelyn finally started talking, now she talks our ears off! and according to Laura's speech therapist, she is quite advanced for her age! Speaking of speech, Laura's dyspraxia has improved greatly and we are expecting to be finished with speech some time in the next couple of months.

Imogene has found her feet, and has begun to read chapter books, and continues to amaze me with gorgeous new pictures she has drawn!

Charlotte has had a wonderful year academically, and has been invited to join the enrichment class at school, which means she will have the same teacher for the next 3 years, and will have more opportunities to work at a higher level, yep shes a smart little cookie!!

Both the older girls changed schools mid term four due to ongoing bullying and (lack of) friendship issues. They are so much happier now, and have already made friends!

Mark has been getting back into playing his bass guitar, having weekly jam sessions with his best mate, and any drummer they can rope in.

And me? well I was UN-diagnosed with bi-polar, yeah..... thank goodness those 3 years of my life are over, generalised cycling type depression is way easier to deal with (for me at least!).

The Bad:

I must admit the overall sense of last year was that of a bad year. Nothing too drastic just a few annoying stresses, like the time I ducked out to spotlight for thread, and the door on my old van fell off.... yes fell off! did I mention this was one week before we were taking a 2 week driving holiday to Victoria? hmmmpphhh Oh well I do like my new (used) car a lot more!

Then the 6 mths that the Dr's had put me on some hardcore meds that made me sleep.... all the time. Oh oh oh and while we were away getting calls from mediation as my ex was chucking a wobbly that was fun, NOT!

And yeah gaining more weight, (partly due to above meds) that sucked too, at the worst point I was 1 BMI point off Obese, that scared the living daylights out of me, and I'm 4kgs lighter then that now, still have 6 kgs to get back to what I was this time last year, and 19 kgs to be my perfect healthy happy weight *sigh* I'm not used to having weight problems :(

The Ugly:

Only 2 things stand out as being this bad: The week of solid Gastro, yep no more needs to be said about that!

and most recently, My darling girl being forced to suffer through the separation of her bio father and step mother over Christmas, doubly worse was that it was his year to have her, so she was witness to the whole fiasco, Her Christmas day was spent with people that she didn't even know (except bio father).

So that's that then, on reflection it doesn't seem so bad, there was a whole lot more good than bad.

As far as resolutions go, (seeing how last years totally bombed) only 2 for me this year:

Learn to be happy within myself.

Finish 4 quilts.

Happy New Year everyone, I hope 2011 is full of love and Joy, and sewing!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-25T00:01:00.001+11:00

Lights off.

Lights on!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Dear Jocie......

2010-12-14T12:04:00.000+11:00

Happy 2nd Birthday to you!!!! (for the 9th)

You've got to love those first thing in the morning, still in your pj's surrounded by your birthday presents photos! Little Miss Jocie, adored all her mummy made presents, especially her ruby doll!

And her Daddy made cradle has been an absolute hit!!

Here she is wearing her mummy made dress, holding ruby, and a super cute hand knitted 'hello kitty' made by her Great Nan, I suppose birthday photos with Christmas trees in them are just part of having a December birthday, adds to the excitement I think!

We finished off a very busy day with a super yummy Choc mousse cake!

Shes pretty awesome my littlest girl, cute, sweet, funny, (and compared to miss Laura, impeccably behaved!).

So there we go, that's it the end of the baby days in our house, I'm so unbelievably sad about that, yet also deliriously happy at the same time.

Sorry that post's are still few and far between, I'm crazy busy finishing all the Christmas sewing!! I'm not sure if I'll get to fit another post in before the big day, so if not, take care and have fun in the lead up.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Want to grab a bargain?

2010-12-01T09:00:00.000+11:00

Blue Carnival, was $55, Now $44!

Denim and Lime Phone pouch, was $22, now $17.60!!

Denim and Lime Camera Wristlet, Was $28, Now $22.40!!

20% OFF until sold!!

(Sorry for my absence lately, from here, from replying to comments and from commenting on your blogs, I should be back to my normal self soon, I even got some sewing done on the weekend!)

A Doll Quilt and A Bee Block

2010-11-19T16:57:00.000+11:00

First up a very quick doll quilt, which will also be for Miss Jocie's birthday (3 weeks to go!)

I used some of my vintage sheet f/q stash, and an old bassinette sheet for this.

I figured it was as good a time as any to have a go at feathering....... So they are no where near perfect, but it was my first go, and really not too bad!

Next up, Kristy requested circles, pieced, appliqued etc, and this is what I came up with, both blocks are appliqued because I'm a sook and chickened out of piecing circles lol!, They came up well, And I'm kinda disappointed that they have to get sent back!!

In general ramblings of my life, I took Charlie and Imee to see Harry Potter 7, Deathly Hallows, last night, to say it was awesome, amazing, fantastic, wonderful etc still wouldn't really cut it, I LOVED it!!! We are big fans here!

And tomorrow night I'm off to my 10 year high school reunion, yep class of 2000, (please don't do the math!)

I'll be back soon with hopefully some more Christmas sewing done!

Thanks for stopping by!!

A Dolly for Miss Jocie

2010-11-01T13:51:00.000+11:00

Another pressie for Miss Jocie's 2nd Birthday, I'm getting it done early so I can get back to Christmas sewing! This gorgeous girl was made using a free pattern by the wonderfully talented Jhoanna from One Red Robin. I'm sticking with Jhoanna on this one and naming her Ruby..... Unless Miss Jocie has other ideas lol!

A shot of the back so you can see the gorgeous hedgehog fabric!

We also had some Daddy Make happening on the weekend, with a doll's cradle being made for the soon to be 2 year old, pics to come once its painted!!

So its been 5 days since my first concert, Sarah Blasko, and to be honest I just don't know what to say! It was amazing and awesome and I loved every second of it, but I feel rather overwhelmed and almost like it didn't happen at all, I always end up feeling like this after a big, anticipated event, surely I'm not the only one?

I also had some rather exciting news this morning, My big girls have been accepted for an out of zone placement at a new primary school, We are so relieved! For the first time in 3 years Imogene may make some friends!! and Charlotte will be reunited with her bestie, and both will hopefully learn that friendships last longer then a day or two at best! They will also be at the same school as my baby sister, which is another bonus, instant friends rule!! And that's not even getting started on the advantages of going to a school with actual real policy's and plans in place! Things are looking up in the mummy makes household!!

Guess what I'm doing tonight......

2010-10-27T13:02:00.000+11:00

I'm going to see Sarah Blasko!!!!!! And to top it off, this is my first ever concert!! And we are taking my little sister (almost 16) and its her first concert too!! We are also taking Marks best mate.... Im pretty sure he and Mark have seen more then a few in their time though!

One Finished Feliz for Christmas! and a Bee Block or two.

2010-10-19T10:10:00.000+11:00

Imogene's Feliz for Christmas! Its hanging a little funny in these photos, but its fine on.

I'm seriously needing a break from ruffles, I did the back ruffles with a ruffler foot, scary looking contraption it is! I just couldn't get it to gather the right amount for the bottom hem ruffle though so I did that using the zig-zag over perle 8 trick. It worked quite well, but boy oh boy, I would be very ashamed if someone had been recording me!

I wasn't intending to add a ruffle to the bottom of the overdress, but when I had finished it *really* needed it. As above I couldn't face any more ruffling so I picked up some cute pre-gathered trim from spotlight, and sewed that on, I really like how it turned out. But it still needed something!

So I used the left over trim and a self fabric button to whip up a quick flower broach. It looks good in a few different spots too. Overall I'm very happy with the dress, The pattern was easy, even though I forgot to add seam allowance, but that didn't matter, it actually turned out a bit big, thankfully the ties pull it in, and it does mean it should fit for at least two summers. The joys of the slim built children!

This is Pam's October block for the Australasian Bee, she requested flying geese, with a preference for different sizes in each block. This was my first go at geese, and I feel like the regular geese are pretty good, the tall ones however are a little 'quirky', hopefully Pam will like it, and as the others are adding their blocks to Flickr I can see its going to be a very bright, fun and beautiful quilt.

So next month, November, is my month for the Australasian Bee, I ummed and ahhhed for months trying to figure out what I wanted, finally settling on the spiderweb block, using my vintage sheet stash, with each block using a different modern fabric in the 2nd ring. I used this tutorial. Im almost ready to send out the packs, and I can't wait to see them all together!

Day Tripper...

2010-10-18T13:30:00.000+11:00

South West Rocks.

Trial Bay Gaol, Arakoon.

Smoky Cape Lighthouse.

Absolutely Fantastic, Memory Making, Sunshining, First good weekend of the Spring/Summer!!!!!

And also, A super duper huge, Happy 9th Birthday to my Baby Sister, Madi.

And Congratulations to my Gorgeous Mum and Awesome Dad, on your 30th Wedding Anniversary!!!

October Blocks for Rose

2010-10-12T16:20:00.000+11:00

Done using the Quilt as you go method for Rose in the Bee Seam Piecing Downunder Bee.

I'm also working on my other October blocks for Pam in the Australasian Bee, but flying geese are doing my head in lol! And.... I'm starting to assemble fabrics cause November is my month for the Australasian Bee, I'm so excited!!

"Macro" ~ Marlee's Quilt.

2010-10-06T17:54:00.000+11:00

"Macro"

Inspired by Marlee's own macro photo's, and one that I took last year.

I pieced the background differently for each section of flower.

And then appliqued the Freesia over the top, to be the focus.

I quilted each section differently, some heavier then others, to try to flatten and push it to the background.

I love the texture and colour in this quilt, I'm really proud of myself!

I feel like I really thought outside the square.

And the best bit? Marlee loves it!! Its hanging on her dining/sewing/craft room wall!

Absent

2010-10-06T10:08:00.000+11:00

School Holidays!!

Photos taken by my younger siblings who have already figured out my new camera better then I have. Its a Nikon D3000 and is completely awesome!!

All over the place

2010-09-28T17:49:00.000+10:00

We have had the most disgusting week in our family's history. 8 long horrible gross days of the worst Gastro bug that I've ever been unlucky enough to witness. Massive amounts of weight was lost, huge amounts of food went uneaten straight to the bin, so so many loads of washing *sigh* Its over now.

Anyway... above is Miss Jocie's Birthday dress, a little early (2+ months!) Made from a pattern by Dear My Kids the Reversible Tunic Top/Dress, This is the dress version. I chopped 3" off the sleeves to make them 3/4, and didn't add the elastic, I wanted them looser for our hot aussie summer.

As I have come to expect from Karen's Patterns, this dress went together easily and beautifully, and the finished product makes me feel like a professional!

A couple more phone pouches, the blue/grey is for my besties birthday, the Beatles was requested by my baby brother (almost 16!) for his camera.

And Mummy dearest requested a cushion to match her quilt for her birthday last week.

I couldn't resist the adding the hexies to the back, those things are addictive!!

And speaking of addictive, Ive now been without sugar for 1.5 nearly 2 weeks, and going well.

Two Flowers.

2010-09-16T23:58:00.000+10:00

One for my hair.

(made up as I went along)

One for my Heart.

(May flower from Abi's May bush)

Feelin' a bit melancholy, today is day one of ~No more sugar~ perhaps its just the start of withdrawals

September Bee Blocks.

2010-09-15T17:38:00.000+10:00

First up is Jen's block for the Australasian Bee.

I had a lot of fun making this one, with the request to embellish!

I love this sweet little Faerie girl.

And some little blue button flowers for texture.

I can't wait to see how Jen's quilt ends up.

And in Bee Seam Piecing Downunder it was Kelly's turn.

She requested these blocks to make a quilt for her daughter, The fabric she chose are just lovely, it is going to be a very sweet and girly quilt.

I've also finished the top for Marlee's quilt!! I've just got to decide on a backing, then quilt it. I can't wait to show you all, but I want to keep it a surprise!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, today is hump day at least, only 2 more days till the weekend!!

Snip Snip!

2010-09-11T19:43:00.000+10:00

New Hair!!!!!

Before, In a ponytail as usual!

What it used to look like out...

Back to New again!

And one post wine drinking, with my funky feathered fascinator!

Earrings by Early Bird Creations on Etsy

Fascinator by chainstore that my cousin works at.

Wine by Wolf Blass, Eaglehawk, Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet , I don't know very much about wine, but I love this one, and their 2009 Merlot was lovely too! And Im super happy after drinking a couple of glasses.

Yep I'm PUI, aka. Posting under the influence! Off to rock out to some Soundgarden. Hope your all having a fantastic weekend!!

Bee Blocks, another sneaky peak and a huge mess!

2010-09-08T20:45:00.002+10:00

It was Jules turn in August for the Australasian quilting bee, She asked for a building, and trees, stars etc as fillers and a siggy block. I really hope she likes them, it was my first proper go at machine applique, and I really really hope I did it right!

It took me ages and ages to work out what building to use, and only today did I finally decided on the windmill!

Another sneaky peak for Marlee, (insert evil laugh here).

And just in case anyone thought I was being "mean" this is the normal, though not parent approved, state of the girls toy/clothes room. And that is not even close to all of it. Though we have started culling, it is really really hard, everything you see was a gift from someone at some point, So far the rubbish and broken toys have been chucked, and one bag has been given to charity. There is still so much to sort out *sob*.

Thinking of Christmas.......and other bits and pieces!

2010-09-02T16:27:00.000+10:00

Firstly a sneaky peak of Marlee's mini quilt, If it all works how I expect it too, it will be called "Macro".

And that's all I'm letting on for now!

Some fabric purchased from Hawthorne Threads.

And a little more, I desperately wanted to get some of that gorgeous Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson before it all disappeared! I really really adore the plaid, and it doesn't seem to be included in Meadowsweet2.

I'm trying to round out my stash a little more, all the colours of the rainbow!

More?? Yep but this pile of Nicey Jane fat quarters isn't for me...... Nope as part of Charlotte and Imogene's Christmas present they will each get some fabric and a promise of some mummy time, to begin to learn how to quilt, I will let them design it themselves, Ill teach them how to cut the fabric, and then sew it together, Ill help them baste it and the machine quilt all the layers, I'm hoping this will be a good long process for them, extend the present a bit. So anyway, This year Mark and I decided that enough was enough, They all have way too many toys, most of them don't get played with and there is a huge mess in the toy room. So this Christmas we are taking more time to THINK about what we are giving them. Here is the list so far:

Charlotte and Imogene each get some of the fabric above, while Laura and Miss Jocie will get a set of fabric bean bags each, you know the little 5" square things? They will all get a "tent" to share, (Just a big square of canvas stung up between the fence and washing line, to play under around in summer)

They will each get, a pair of ribbon rings, basically a wooden curtain ring with varying colour and length ribbons attached, I already picked up a pack of 20 for $2 at the op-shop they just need a quick clean and then ribbon attached, perfect for dancing, dress ups, and performances!

They will each get a couple of books, whether new or second hand I'm not sure yet, The girls don't seem to be bothered about getting second hand books to read, and that way we can afford more (no such thing as too many books in our house!)

The outfit each as described in a previous post. Maybe a felt crown each, or maybe something else along those lines. A brand new pair of summer Pj's they will get these on Christmas eve. And then there will be a present from Santa, We don't do big Santa presents, but always something fun! This year he is bringing a box of 11 different percussion instruments, as well as a some treat foods and most importantly a packet of paracetamol for mummy and daddy!! And yep that is it. No plastic crap this year, they will still get those sorts of things, just not from us!

Do you ever just need to make something really quickly? I do, and most of my quilt projects are long ones, However while we were in Bendigo I stopped into Honeysuckle cottage and picked up a "Puti de Pomme" quilt kit, it is utterly lovely and took only about 45 minutes to put the whole top together!

Another 45 minutes later and I had the back together, Yep a whole quilt top and back in one single 20 month old nap time!! And another little while that night I had it basted and ready for quilting!

This is my new night time sitting on the lounge project! I'm doing this whole thing by hand and it is painful, I'm using Perle cotton and a big needle, but the linen fabric is really hard to get through especially 2 layers!! Its about 42"x45" and hopefully I will have it completed for Miss Jocie's 2nd birthday in December, along with a dress and a dolly cradle, (yep we are making that ourselves too!) and some linen for the cradle!

Almost at the end now!, I thought I'd show you all where my best photos are taken, well see that one box in the wall unit that isn't stuffed to the hilt with junk? yep there! It sort of works like a light box, the clear space next to it is where Miss Jocie is often found. (and quickly removed from!)

One last thing.....

Introducing Archie, he is a 4yr old Maltese x shi-tzu, that we are looking at adopting, we are a day into the trial period, and very much in love with this very clever little guy, Ill tell you more next time, you must be exhausted from reading all this, lol!!

I Made it to the Finals!!!!

2010-08-30T08:35:00.000+10:00

And it would be super duper crazy awesome if you could pop over to From an Igloo to vote for me, entry #4!

Distracted.

2010-08-24T12:58:00.000+10:00

So on the weekend we decided to do some painting... This is now the first thing you see when you walk in the front door! It is the wall behind our dining table, if you turn around you will then see this:

Then on the other side of the hallway you will see this:

Honestly we only ended up at bunnings to buy a shelf for my sewing area, the paint was impulse!

The orange is Satsuma, Nippon Paints, and the green is Limejuice 2 also Nippon.

And back to fabric, these black, white, grey and red prints are destined for a Insa Skirt for Charlotte for Christmas.

And these two are for a Feliz Dress for Imogene for Christmas.

Laura will be getting a Feliz out of these two.

And the sweet Miss Jocie will be getting an Insa skirt from these sweet prints.

All are from spotlight and the latest voucher I got in the mail, I think it was spend $100 and get $40 off. I also grabbed some machine needles and a new rotary blade while I was there!

The advantage of using these quilting cotton prints for clothes, is that I get to keep the scraps for my quilts! I can't wait to add bits of these to my stash!

A proper "Christmas Plan" post is coming up soon, just need to get rid of this bloody awful cold that has infected me first!

Oh My Gosh!!!!

2010-08-16T18:21:00.001+10:00

So this afternoon, I sat myself at the computer and quickly checked my emails, Oh yay there is the Made It weekly newsletter, a quick scroll and then........ SQUEAL!!!!!!

Yep I'm an excitable person! So yes I got featured in a Made It newsletter! Well to be precise my Denim and Lime Phone Case did!

I don't want to turn this blog into a "business" And I have decided to just leave some links on the sidebar to my Facebook page and to the Made It shop and leave it at that. But today I just had to share my (over?) excitement! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and have a great week too! Ill be back in few days (hopefully) with some more crafty stuff, Including my Christmas Make List, and oh my is it long this year!

A Blue Bag and Bee Blocks.

2010-08-12T12:21:00.000+10:00

Available in my Made It shop.

Abi requested log cabins for her month in the Bee Seam Downunder Bee, and oh my were these fun to make! I still haven't cut into my own vintage sheet collection to make anything, but now I think I can! These blocks are just beautiful and I really can't wait to see how Abi's quilt turns out!!

Drumroll please:

2010-08-10T16:57:00.000+10:00

And the winner is comment no. 3, Marlee!

Well it must of worked because you won this one!!

Angel Food Cake.

2010-08-09T19:39:00.001+10:00

Sometimes, you just have to bake.

An Angel Food Cake in memory of an Angel.

RIP Abigail May 9/8/07

Another finish ~ Imogene's Quilt!

2010-08-08T18:40:00.000+10:00

The quilt center is needle turn appliqued, and hand quilted with Perle 8, the butterfly's and ladybirds are from a pattern by Kellie of Don't look now.

The pinwheels are 6"square.

The back.

A close up of the quilting on the back of the pinwheel section.

and of course, Imogene wrapped up in her quilt <3

It finished at approx 54" x 84" minus shrinkage which I haven't checked yet!

While we were outside with the camera, I grabbed Laura and Miss Jocie's Coats for a quick photo shoot. This was the most natural smile we could get out of Laura!

And trying to get Miss Jocie to look up was rather, well, amusing!

And one last pic of Miss Jocie, The second I took her coat off she ran away, and there is nothing quite like a big cloth bum lol! (though I could do without the washing ewww)

Thank you all for all the lovely comments you have been leaving me lately, I normally try to respond to all of them but I've been a bit side tracked, with "stuff". I should be back to my normal awkward replies by Tuesday. And don't forget:

Two days to go on the Giveaway!

Thank You...

2010-08-06T16:49:00.000+10:00

A little while ago I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Nikki's blog, Today I received this beautiful package of Fabric, trim and gorgeous book mark, I love the note card too! So Thank You Nikki! It couldn't of arrived at a better time, (mid grouchiness caused by nasty headache) it cheered me up immensely!

In Quilty news, Imogene's quilt is currently in the wash, all finished!! Hopefully we will have nice weather over the weekend to take some pictures!

I opened a shop!!

2010-08-05T11:39:00.004+10:00

On Made It!

So far I've only uploaded this bag, but I have plans to add a few more bits and pieces over the weekend.

There is still time to enter my giveaway go to my Holiday post to enter!

EDIT: The above bag has sold already! Guess I better get cracking on some more!

And then there were three...

2010-08-04T10:00:00.000+10:00

Sewing Machines that is! This little beauty found it's way into our house on Sunday, after being picked up at a local market for $30, She is a Singer 99K, from the 50's, I can't work out the exact year as the prefix letter on her serial number doesn't appear to be documented anywhere.

She can do anywhere from 6 to 30 stitches per inch, and also reverse! She runs fine, but absolutely needs a little pampering (And oil!!) She is electric, and even has the cutest little light attachment!

She came with only the standard foot, but I also have a ruffler that fits her perfectly. And now I know how to use it thanks to the original manuals that came with her!

Apparently she can sew through almost anything, so once she's had some TLC, she will become my bag sewing machine, and also standby for when Stitchy (come on, I'm not the only one who names her appliances!) needs a service.

Aww and just look at her case, so retro! I think I will name her Susie. ( to go with Sucky the vacuum cleaner, Betty the Kitchenaid, Stitchy my Brother sewing machine and Ollie the overlocker. LOL)

And another sneak peak of Imogene's quilt, which is sooo close to being finished now, I just have to hand stitch the binding down and add some hand quilted goodness in the centre.

There is still time to enter my giveaway, pop on down to THIS post to enter!

July Bee Blocks

2010-07-30T11:42:00.000+10:00

July was Nova's turn in the Australasian Bee, she asked for wonky star's using this tutorial.

I love the fabric she sent out, and I can't wait to see them all together!

And July was also the first month for Bee Seam Piecing Downunder!

Bec kicked us off with a request for traditional blocks, all the blocks are looking fantastic and I can't wait to see how this one goes together too!

Random Holiday Happy Snaps + 100th Post GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

2010-07-27T16:27:00.001+10:00

But first you have to "dig" through some randomly chosen highlights of our winter holiday!

The above pic was taken in the Central Deborah Gold Mine in Bendigo.

Imogene standing in front of one of the kiln's in the museum section at Bendigo Pottery.

Charlotte's birthday present from her sisters, My big girl turned 9 while we were away! We bought this awesome little sheep from Bob's Boutique, again in Bendigo, I could of stayed in that shop for hours *sigh* Oh that's right, I did!!

We also went to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat for Charlie's birthday, (scuse the year old beanies, I didn't realise how small and ridiculous they looked until it was too late!)

Being able to hire a pram was a highlight for me, ours didn't fit in the car for the trip.

Mind you Miss Jocie spent more time out of it then in!

And every single time she saw a horse she would start yelling "Horspey, Horspey Horspey" over and over again! It was so cute, we just had to buy her a little stuffed "horspey" as a souvenir for her! Charlie and Laura had chosen fan's while Imogene has a very very precious tube of gold flakes! And me, well I picked up a couple of thimbles of course!

In Melbourne we went to the Science museum, it was fantastic, my fave part was in the toilets, they had a hand drying thing that actually worked! OK maybe not my fave part but definitely worth a mention! No photos from the day though an experiment book and a mobile of the solar system will help the kids remember for a little while! Of course no trip to Melbourne would be complete without a trip to the zoo! The Meerkats were hilarious! Such posers!

Jocie was smitten with all the animals (another animal lover perhaps?)

She completely flipped out over the "B-Bears" and this lovely fella was right up against the glass, so close, so awesome!

The Seals got me, first just there sheer beauty and cheekiness brought me to tears, but then reading some of their stories, ack I'm tearing up again!

The butterfly house was a favorite for all of us, this one is the only one we managed to get a decent picture of though, and what a beauty too!

Oh and this is just for the record, Ice on my car!! This was taken on the way home, when we stopped overnight in Goulburn.

Now I've tortured you all through that, it's time for a GIVEAWAY!!!!

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, nothing fancy needed just say hello!

International entries welcome!

The only "rule" is that I absolutely must have a way to contact you (no-reply commenter's this means you!)

I will draw one name out of a hat in two weeks time on the 10th of August.

The winner will receive, (drum roll please) A Mini/Doll/Teddy Quilt made by me, specially for them!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED.

16 Days, 4500km and 550 Photos Later

2010-07-23T11:33:00.000+10:00

We are home from our winter holiday to Victoria, and No we didn't freeze, It wasn't that cold, and in fact we have been much colder since we've been home, due to a lack of a heater! And YES we had the most awesome time ever! There is so so much to show, but for now, just some bits and pieces from before we left, and one finish from when we were away!

First up, I decorated a wall in the girls play/clothes room with some string, mini pegs, and prints from the Free Art Project, unfortunately they have started to curl up, some I'm on the look out for old frames now, but it looked fab while it lasted!

I was also lucky enough to win a $25 USD gift voucher from Sew Mama Sew, I trawled there shop eventually deciding on 1/4 yard cuts, there's Del-hi, Good Folks, some Kaffe, etc. I was really careful, with what I got colour wise too, mainly going for fabrics in colours that I don't have, hence all the blue!

I also whipped this bag up quickly, Its my own pattern, and it is HUGE, the strap goes across the body, and it fits all my mummy bits and pieces in there as well as a water bottle or two, and of course wallet phone etc. I'm not super happy with the fabric combo, the linen and pinky Japanese fabric work well together but the blue twill..... not so much. I'm thinking I will make another one. Would anyone be interested in a tutorial? (free of course!) It would make a great beginner bag project.

I also was desperate for a new skirt, this is made from the same wool flannel, as Miss Jocie's dress a couple of posts ago, I drafted a pattern for it myself using the Cal Patch book Design It Yourself Clothes. It is just a simple a-line with no waist band and an invisible zip in the side, It is fully lined with the same fabric that I lined Imee's coat with, I did have a few issues with it, but they are due to my body shape. It needed a little something, so I free-hand embroidered the little doily inspired circle thingamee above. Overall I'm really happy with this skirt and it will hopefully get a lot of wear.

And last but certainly not least, a crocheted wrap vest, pattern found at twoandsix via the knitted version at Raglan Guld via the blanket slashed version at Kootoyoo. I used some absolutely beautiful wool from Bendigo woolen mills, Rustic in Wineberry 12 ply, I went through 500gms, (which I got for the bargain price of $17 from there clearance area!) and used a 9mm hook, I started hooking before I could re-find the pattern, but as it turned out I used the same numbers, when it was finished though it felt way too short for me so I added a horizontal band around the bottom, but if I wore it upside down it would make a wicked collar!

This was an unplanned holiday project, I even had to duck into the local spotlight to grab some hooks!, so I of course didn't have a suitable broach or pin so I used one of the crochet hooks to hold it together, I actually really like the look of it, and the idea of it too.

So that's that for now, next post will hopefully be a few highlights of our trip and also being my 100th post watch out for the giveaway!!

See you Soon xx

2010-07-03T03:24:00.000+10:00

Just thought I would let you all know that I'm taking a little break for our school holidays.

But check back in 2/3 weeks 'cause this is post number 98! Im planning a nice giveaway for 100!

xoxo

A Dress for Me!

2010-06-24T09:29:00.000+10:00

Simplicity 3835, a mash up of views B and C

I've made this dress before in View A, but only starting wearing it recently.

In reality I will wear this over Jeans with a cardi or coat for cold days.

I love shoe photo's so here are mine with Mark's

And the gorgeous Miss Jocie with Daddy.

Coats for The Big Girls..

2010-06-23T09:46:00.000+10:00

How cute are these coats!! Made from some Boucle jacketing on sale for only $8 a metre, and some sweet and cheap, only $3 a metre! fabric for the lining, These coats work out really cheap, even factoring in the cost of the pattern, $5.99 USD from Dear My Kids on Etsy, (Quick go and have a look they have lots of very cute kidlet clothes!) They are way way cheaper to make then they would of been to buy!

For the front closure I went with just one lining fabric covered button with a snap sewn on underneath for the proper fastening, It would of looked good with two buttons too, but heck they are expensive and I was going for economical!

I love the lining for Charlies coat, It picks up the blue tones from the outer really nicely, and it suits her very well I think!

The back has a curved yoke to echo the front, which is hard to see in this fabric, but would make a nice feature in a solid colour.

Of course Imogene got the pink one, nothing surprising there!

I love the lining of hers too, I am absolutely going to use the leftovers for facings in a skirt for myself at some point!

Can you sort of see the curved yoke at the front here? I love the peter pan collars too, so girly and sweet.

The girls love there new coats too thankfully, and in a couple of weeks time they are going to really love them, As we are leaving our temperate town for a 2 week holiday south, Yep we are driving south for the winter, crazy huh?!, Off to Bendigo, Ballarat, then Melbourne!! I can't wait!!

In the meantime I have a heap of winter sewing to get done, Laura's coat is finished but needs a pic or two taken, and Miss Jocie's is cut out, ready to sew, I also need a skirt, and Charlotte and Miss Jocie need some new pj pants *sigh* so much to do, so little time!

A Dress for Miss Jocie

2010-06-20T21:32:00.000+10:00

The only way to keep her still these days, is to attach her to a parent!

I made this dress a couple of weeks ago using some wool flannel suiting I had in my stash, I didn't have a pattern so made one myself! There is way too much ease in it though, but at least it will last a couple of winters!, I finished the neckline and armholes with purple bias binding.

It zips in the back with a repurposed grey zipper.

And a little doily embroidered with a Mummy drawn mushroom. (click to enlarge)

It should keep her toasty on blustery days!

Charlotte's Coin Quilt ~ Officially Finished!!

2010-06-19T18:35:00.001+10:00

Click on any photo to enlarge.

All wrapped up!

Click HERE for all the posts about this quilt.

Such a Teaser!

2010-06-15T12:19:00.001+10:00

Charlotte's quilt is finished!!! Just needs a run through the washing machine, and a proper outside photo taken!

All the details to come in one final post, soon!

Quilting by hand

2010-06-10T12:47:00.003+10:00

So this is my first ever attempt at hand quilting!! I'm using perle 8 cotton and an embroidery needle.

It's going along quite quickly, and I'm starting to get hopeful that Charlie may just have her quilt by her birthday next month! Mind you between now and July, I have a mammoth list to get through, so maybe not.

To do list:

(in no particular order)

~~Laura's Coat~~
~~Jocie's Coat~~
3x Kids scarfs
PJ pants for Charlotte aka the knee ripper!
Skirt for me
~~Tunic for me~~
~~Rip up Vintage sheets for swap~~
~~Extend 2 crocheted cardi's for Jocie~~

If I can keep up the momentum that I've had the last couple of weeks I should be right!

Calling all quilters!

2010-06-08T12:13:00.000+10:00

Or at least those that are interested in a Virtual Quilting Bee! I've joined another bee, this one is called Bee Seam Piecing Downunder So if you are in Australia or New Zealand, pop on over and have a look, We would love to have you!!

(just a random pic from my "things ive made" file)

June block for Australasian Bee.

2010-06-07T17:44:00.000+10:00

This is Monika's block for June for the Australasian Bee, I love the fabric combo she chose, this quilt is going to look fab! I still have to make her a signature label.

I had some good luck this morning, I managed to score another vintage sheet for only $2 at my fav local oppy, as well as a gorgeous teal and coral jacket for Miss Laura for only $3!! I went to a couple of others this afternoon but despite it only being 3:45pm they were closed, they were supposed to be open till 4pm, I admit I was pretty annoyed, getting all 4 girls in and out of the car is pretty tedious, At least only 2 need me to do them up these days! Anyway, I'll pop back in to the other ones later this week, I want to get more vintage sheets before the swap in July!

Progress Pic ~ Charlotte's Coin Quilt.

2010-06-06T17:47:00.001+10:00

I spent every spare moment, (plus a few that weren't so spare ;-) ) machine quilting this weekend, Charlotte's quilt is now up to the tying the ends in part, which will be followed by a spot of hand quilting! It looks absolutely fantastic, even if I do say so myself!! Though I will admit to having a heck of a time with my walking foot, until I gave up on it completely and switched to the standard foot for my machine, I didn't have any issues with the fabric puckering after that though, which I thought was odd! You would think it would be the other way around!

And an awwww moment, all four girls dressed neatly with hair done at the same time! All wearing the beautiful Blossom hair clips that the lovely Jess sent to us.

Just for my own future reference, and in case any one was wondering, from left to right:

Laura 4 yrs 4 months, Jocelyn 18 months, Imogene 7 years 4 months and Charlotte 8 years 11 months.

(give or take a couple of days)

Sewing for boys.........

2010-06-04T12:45:00.000+10:00

Or more likely in this house, Sewing for a man!, Actually this is the first time I've sewn anything for Mark, I finally convinced him of his need for a pair of "mummy make Pj pants", except that sounds a bit wrong, I think we will call them "wife made"!

I used the "Pajama's for Everyone" Pattern from "Weekend Sewing" by Heather Ross. I settled on the large size, but didn't have quite enough fabric for the length so I chopped 3" off the bottom of the legs, and was intending to add a cuff after Mark tried them on, I'll mention here that Mark is approx. 6'4", so in no way even average sized, When he tried them on, It was obvious that a quick Hem and no length put back on, would finish them!

I cut two pair out at the same time, the other pair are the same just in a green camo. Surprisingly Mark loves them, says they are comfy, and is even wearing them to bed! I think he is a little chuffed to finally have something I've made all for himself! Can you see Miss Laura in the above photo? she thought it was terribly unfair that I was taking photo's of Daddy without her in them!!

Thank you all for the advice on my last post, I've done some test quilting, and settled on a Pale pink for the front and white for the bobbin, and if I do say so myself, it is looking awesome!!! I can't wait to show it off!!

Quilt Sandwich. and a question!

2010-06-02T11:04:00.001+10:00

Last night I finally got around to laying out, and sandwiching Charlotte's quilt.

Pin basted, and ready to go.

I'm going to quilt it with wobbly lines running vertically, but not evenly spaced, except for around the applique's and a couple of other spots, which I am planning on hand quilting.

Now for the question, What colour thread should I be using? I'm tossing up between, pale pink, pale green, white, or a variagated pink, what do you think? or something else entirely?

A Thank You, A Bee, and a little bit of me :)

2010-05-30T11:34:00.000+10:00

First up, This is Kellie's Bee block for May in the Australasian Bee, She sent out a 10" square of batting with a Heather Ross piece spray basted to the centre, and a whole bunch of strips, With a request to follow the instructions from the Sew Take a Hike, Quilt as you go, Quilt along. But to do a 'riot of colour' and a little wonkiness would be great. So I did, I loved making this, the fabrics were beautiful and the colours so much fun!

I would love to use this method for a wall hanging or cushion, (just added it to my super list!)

Secondly, A Thank You!!!!! to Jess from JK Creations!! I was lucky enough to win a runners up prize in her May Day Give Away, Jess sent along the beautiful Blossom hair clips for my girls so they wouldn't take off with my new purse!! So far it is working :)

Next up, In continuation of my marathon sewing efforts the last week or so, I whipped up a pair of cords for Miss Charlotte, using my go to kids pants pattern Burda 9706, this pair have an elastic back with flat front waistband, as, at almost 9 Miss C is getting a little old for the full elastic treatment!

The pants were crazy busy, so I added a little scotty dog applique to the bottom of one leg. Of course now that they are "doggy pants" Charlotte doesn't want to take them off!!

There has been a couple of other sewing finishes here this week, including a winter coat for Charlotte, which I will do a post about when I finish the other 3! and a cute little winter dress for Miss Jocie, which I just need to get a pic of her in before I post!

One last thing, Mark's second round of our little Dessert War's, resulted in these absolutely delicious Jam Doughnut Muffin's (Don't tell him I said so, but I think he is winning!! )

What an Awesome Day!

2010-05-22T21:04:00.000+10:00

To start, We went to my favorite Op-shop, where I scored not one but three (3!), beautifully hand knitted Jumpers, the first one, I'm pretty sure is a 100% wool, I doubt it has been washed more than once!, it has amazing detail in it (if you click the above pic it should show an even larger one) with the sweetest little fake wood buttons, it fits Miss Charlie (approx size 7 to 8), well sort of, it's a touch big, but it will see her through two maybe even three winters, the most amazing part is that it only cost $4! can you even get a skein of wool for that price? let alone the hours and hours that some one put into this! Well I can tell you it will be loved and worn and cared for in this house!!

Next up was this lovely little jumper, Im not sure about the fibre content of this one, but it is lovely and soft, and Im fairly certain, brand new! Can you believe someone donated this?! This one will go to Miss Laura (approx size 5) and once again, the workmanship is well appreciated in this house, and well I just have a *thing* for cream wool knit jumpers, I think it is because my Mum had a friend of hers make me one for my 10th birthday and I love it, I still have it and get it out occasionally, the girls will get to wear it when they are older!

Ta DA! is what this one says to me everytime I look at it! It will fit Miss Jocie, but definitely on the big side, its probably a largish size 2, I love the green stripes. Again not sure on the fibre content of this one, though its most likely an acrylic of some sort, hopefully it will be fairly easy to wash though! I also picked up a cute long sleeved blouse for Charlotte and a pair of lovely girly green cords for Laura, plus they got a book each, all up $17 BARGAIN!!! It's just a shame there was nothing for Imogene today, oh well next time!

Not done yet, we headed into town, to my local quilt shop, I honestly was just picking up some more leads for my sewline pencil (love that thing!), but of course, there happened to be a sale on *sigh* so I had to pick up a couple of fat quarters of wonderland dots, which were only $3.50 each! Then I saw the the hunky dory fat quarter, that blue is just lovely, this one was full price $6 but ah well you know!! Then I spotted the piece of good folks in the remnant bin, $12 for .8m Bargain!! so it came home with me too!

Then Mark went to get this! I think I must be a bad influence on him, because this is his first tattoo too! and yes it was his (late) birthday present (mine was an early birthday present!) So your probably wondering why he got a barcode? Basically a barcode is exactly that, a code, this one is actually the first initial of my name plus all of the girls names so, K, C, I, L, A, J. He debated about getting the initials underneath, but at the end of the day, he can have them added later if he wants to, but to get them removed if he didnt like them would be mega painful! I think he will get a pacman next!

Ok then, This evening I got to work, First I finished off the outer shell for Imogene's winter coat, (a whole post or two will be dedicated to the 4 winter coats Im sewing for the girls soon) So while I was in sewing mode, I quickly patched 2 pairs of Charlotte's PJ pants, these ones were really really bad.

But these ones were more upsetting, they are "mummy make" Pj's! Anyway its an absolute pain to sew patches on to pants without ripping a side seam first, but i managed a dodgy job, and charlotte has been told in no uncertain terms to stop walking around the house on her knee's! (and I still have a pair of jeans of hers to go *sob*)

One last thing! I whipped up this skirt for Charlotte tonight too, it was most recently a drop waisted pinafore dress with pleats on the skirt. It looked down right awful on every single one of my girls! I had originally made it for Charlie so figured she should be the one to benefit from the recon!, I just cut it off at the end of the back zip, added a elastic waist and bingo new winter skirt, the material is so soft and pretty, it has a pink stripe through it too. Oh and I salvaged the buttons and the zip from the original which I intend to use again soon.

Ok folks that was my day today, How was yours? anyone had any good op shop scores? or have any tips for patching pants? I love it when I get comments, so please feel free to say Hi!

Happy Birthday Mark!

2010-05-12T19:26:00.000+10:00

Happy Birthday Mark!!

I'm so glad you enjoyed my very first attempt at a Pavlova, I whole heartedly agree, It was perfect, wasn't it?!

Please excuse my blatant bragging, It seems we have entered a new phase of our marriage, henceforth to be known as "Dessert Wars"!!

(this just managed to top his choc tart!)

Progress on Fanciful Flowers.

2010-05-10T11:55:00.000+10:00

Five down nine to go! The one above is my very very favorite (so far), My applique skills are slowly improving, I still need to work on my tension though as its a bit tight I think.

I have only squared up a couple of the blocks so far, and they really could of used a good pressing before I took the pics, but better creased than never!

I'm really enjoying this quilt, and I am hoping to quilt it by hand with perle cotton and big stitches, at this stage I'll be really happy If I can get it on our bed by the end of the year! But realistically I probably won't have it finished till next winter (as in 2011) lol!

I love the swirly bit on this one.

Happy Mother's Day for yesterday to all my mummy readers! It was a fairly typical day here, with the addition of some very sweet gifts from my girls, a pair of earrings, a fake tattoo (!!lol!!) a new pair of slippers and lots and lots of handmade cards telling me how much they love me! We also went to see my Mum, and Mark's mum. All in all a nice day! I hope you all had a lovely day too!

27 and the Tart that Mark made.

2010-05-04T15:05:00.000+10:00

So yesterday I turned 27, Ouch, each year hurts a little more, this year the pain was taken away when my wonderful Hubby Mark, decided that he was going to make me a cake, all. by. himself! Now the man has many talents, he plays quite a few different Instruments, and is well known for his computer nerdery (his profession) he also has a way with mdf, he is not shy when it comes to housework or general cooking duties, and of course he is a wonderful involved parent. However up until now, the extent of his "making dessert" involved putting a pie in the oven or serving ice cream, certainly nothing close to this masterpiece, which by the way is a "Bitter Chocolate Meringue Tart" from Seasons by Donna Hay, It was AMAZING!!!!! and there is some left for tonight too!! Now I'm left to plot and plan and make him something equally as awesome for his birthday which is next week, any one have any suggestions?

Addicted to Hexes.

2010-04-29T14:46:00.000+10:00

Inspired by Jo and also Kate, I decided that enough (drooling over other peoples work) was enough!

I printed out some 1" Hexagons from Texas Freckles and cut out some 2.5" squares, and got to work, Uh OH! they really are addictive, and a much welcomed break from the mammoth applique task Ive been working on. I'm pretty sure that these will end up in a cushion, after all it will match perfectly with the ones I already have!

I finally did it.

2010-04-27T21:50:00.000+10:00

On Saturday I finally plucked up the courage to get a tattoo. But not just any tattoo, no, this one is special, very very special, This one is the actual footprints of my angel, Abigail May, lost to us in august 2007, I was almost half way through the pregnancy when we learned that she had passed away, we later found out that her death was caused by a freak cord accident. Even though I know it wasn't my fault, I still and probably always will, blame myself. I have wanted to get this tattoo for a long time, now I have, and I'm glad.

Grieve Not

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!

Mary Frye (1932)

Feel like a little vintage sheet swapping??

2010-04-22T20:13:00.001+10:00

Head on over to Ange's Ramblings and sign on up!!

April Bee Block for Viv.

2010-04-21T14:39:00.000+10:00

April was Viv, from Highway Cottage's, turn in the Australasian Bee, I hope she likes it!

Success with Stretch!!!!!

2010-04-15T18:46:00.000+10:00

I made myself a pajama top YAY!! I used the raglan tee pattern from Sew U Home Stretch, and scooped out the neckline a bit, and hey presto SUCCESS!! You can see how proud of myself I am from the smug look on my face lol! This is the first truly successful knit/stretch item I have made!!

Now I just need to finish off all the overlocking end bits, and scrounge the stash to see if I have enough flannelette anywhere to make some pants, if not I should be able to squeeze out a pair from the pink interlock/jersey (can't remember, I bought it when I was pregnant with Miss Jocie) if I use the grey ribbing for the waistband, mmmm that sounds comfy........

Fanciful Flowers in Wonderland

2010-04-06T19:08:00.003+10:00

I have been itching to make this pattern, "Fanciful Flowers" from Material Obsession since I first looked at the book, I have been itching to cut into my "Wonderland by momo" fabric since it first arrived! Finally I completed the tops and backs for both Charlotte and Imogene's quilts, and seeing how it will be awhile before I can sandwich them, I figured it would be a good time to get started on my next quilt!

I wanted this quilt to be big enough to fit my queen size bed, and also to use the Jelly roll and Layer cake that I had available, So, I decreased the blocks from 18" to 14", and did 2 rounds instead of 3 on the pieced blocks. Instead of a 3x4 layout, I'm doing a 5x6, which means 15 yep 15!! applique blocks eek!! The block you can see in the mosaic above, is just a placeholder, The flower is at original size, and it's just not going to work with the fabric I have, so I have reduced it to 65%, which is much better, I'm half way through the first block, the block above will probably get recycled into a throw pillow, or maybe I'll pop it on the back.

And look what popped into my mailbox last Thursday!! After being so close to missing out on the Flea Market Fancy collection, I decided to go all out and buy the whole collection of Hope Valley, I bought it from Pink Chalk Fabrics, The service was so fantastic, I will buy from them again. I love absolutely every single print in this collection, every. single. one. !! I'm so glad I took the plunge!

Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

p.s I prettied up my blog, do you like?
p.p.s Head over to Quilting Bee Blocks for everything you need to know about online bee's and an awesome giveaway too!!!

Getting there.....

2010-03-25T22:40:00.001+11:00

I've finally finished Imogene's quilt top!! Sorry for the super bad pic, I will try to get a better one, showing the whole thing on the weekend. Im absolutely thrilled with how this one is turning out, hopefully I will be just as happy when its completed!! I feel so completely behind in my blogging, I'm mostly just lacking the photographic evidence of the epic failures, eh hopefully this weekend !

Bee Blocks For Jo

2010-03-04T20:26:00.000+11:00

This is the first Bee Block I have ever made!! For Jo of Sparkly Green Knickers, the organiser of the Australasian Bee.

The colours in this photo are so completely wrong its not funny!

This block is my least favorite, I don't think It is what Jo wanted at all, however the colours in this pic are accurate.

Pretty Miss Jocie.

2010-02-25T17:01:00.000+11:00

Isn't she just precious? I knocked this dress out for her today, just a basic pillowcase style, I just winged it. Turned out pretty good, should fit her for a while, and I figure she can wear it over a long sleeved Tee, and tights come winter.

Not a very happy girl today though, she has a sore behind her ear which is a little infected, plus more teeth coming through, topped off with her afternoon nap cut very short by noisy big sissy's. She is 14.5mths now, and is an absolute delight most of the time, (which is a really nice change from her older sister!) She is slowly starting to make more sounds, that sound like words, she managed a very clear "ME" the other night, she wanted more chocolate cake lol!

On a Roll!

2010-02-24T20:50:00.000+11:00

Another shirred dress, this one is for my besties gorgeous little girl. It has only 5 or 6 rows of shirring quite close together at the top, elastic through the straps, and a plain green sash to break up all that pink. This dress was originally intended for her birthday a couple of weeks ago, better late then never!

I love these colours together, I hope Miss C does too!

My Madeleine Mini-Bloomers!!

2010-02-24T10:41:00.000+11:00

I've had a shocking run lately of making clothes for myself that are just completely unwearable, It knocks me around quite a bit, I start questioning my ability, my body, my intelligence. Sewing directly effects my state of mind, if things are going well, then I am going well, If things are not turning out, or don't fit, then yeah I'm not doing so well, I sew for sanity!

Anyway, I saw this pattern featured somewhere recently, Its a free download from Colette Patterns, and it is just gorgeous!! I love the double row of elastic around the waist, the fit is great, they sit low down on the hips, which is super comfy for me. I will be wearing these as pj's, so I made them out of some super soft Japanese cotton that I rescued from the remnants bin at spotlight for $6, (a bit over a metre) The only thing I changed, was using elastic instead of ribbon around the legs, then adding a little bow at the end.

I have a few other completed clothing projects to share, one of which is actually a "wearable" which I made before my run of "unwearable's"!

Going round in squares.

2010-02-17T10:31:00.000+11:00

First up, some stash busting hooking for a new cushion for my lounge, It's just one giant granny square, about 16" square, using 8 ply wool from spotlight. I have no idea yet how to turn it into a cushion, I suppose I will just hand sew it onto a neutral cushion cover.

I still need to weave the ends in and block it.

Ive been inspired by all the wash/dish cloth making going on over here, this one is just straight dc with a sc border, It came out at around 9.5" square.

I figured I'd make a few more and put them away for mother's day stalls. It's good productive sitting in front of the T.V crafting!

And finally, We did some kitchen functionality work a couple of weeks ago, (I have finally got a dishwasher and a pantry!!) and we were left with a small space that need tiling, which we had never done before, (if you can't tell from the photo!) So we need to re-grout these but hey, we knew we couldn't do it perfect, let alone good enough, so we went funky instead! It's quite the fun little surprise when you walk into the kitchen to see this on the floor! Anyway must dash, hope everyone out there is having a fantastic week! Next post will probably be all about clothes, mostly failures lol!!

Seven.

2010-02-17T09:55:00.000+11:00

I can't quite believe it really, the last 7 years have flown by.

Happy Birthday (for last week lol) my gorgeous girl!!

Playing with fit.

2010-02-02T19:59:00.000+11:00

Before adjusting the bodice.

So I decided to extend myself, and rather then just buy a pattern, and make a dress, I thought it would be a good time to start learning about fit, my body is a rather odd shape, and quite often will range over several sizes, Ive found (so far) that if the bust is right then It will fit, but not necessarily very well, and to be honest I have NEVER made a muslin before (actually this is from calico lol), Im so glad that this time I did! Overall this dress fit me very well, I have only done one mod, Ive chopped about 5/8" off the bottom of the bodice, when I sew it up "for real" I will also extend the length of the pleats slightly. So basically I was able to easily mod this pattern to fit me really well, Only problem is I don't know WHY that particular mod needs doing! Is it about bust size, posture, etc. I know why I need to lengthen the pleats, that's all about my broken body, looking like I'm 3 months pregnant (which for the love of god you rude strangers I.AM.NOT!!!!!).
I'm planning on (surprise, surprise) making this up in a black slightly shiny textured fabric, it is most certainly a "going out for dinner with the husband and NO kids" kind of dress. I wonder if I will ever get a chance to actually wear it hmmm. Oh before I completely forget it is Burda 7759, and I'm going sleeveless.

After adjustments.

Anyway..... This year marks something interesting for me, I'm enrolling in a TAFE course, Certificate II in Applied Fashion Design and Technology, I'm fairly sure that the sewing education of given myself will help me out, and at the same time I will be able to fill in some of those annoying gaps. If anyone has done this course or the cert 3, 4 or diploma I would love to hear your opinion, heck even if you haven't I would love to hear your opinions!

Flea Market Fancy!!!!!!

2010-01-29T12:02:00.001+11:00

Mine all Mine Hahahahahahah (thats supposed to be a witchy cackle!)

On a spontaneous drop in to Just Patchwork in Tuncurry (we were passing through) I discovered a layer cake and charm pack of Flea Market Fancy, just sitting there on the counter! Obviously I snapped them up straight away! each has 40 pieces with lots of double ups, around 20 different fabrics all up, Im stoked! This fabric is so beautiful and I can't believe my luck! My favorites are probably these two below.

Yummy!!

Counting to Four.

2010-01-24T21:00:00.002+11:00

Zero.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Happy Birthday my gorgeous girl! I love you so much!!

Making.....

2010-01-19T20:36:00.000+11:00

Charlotte made "Milly", from a kit she got for her birthday way back in July

I made a Mixed Berry Clafoutis from Seasons by Donna Hay.

And I made another Keyka Lou "Charm School Handbag" using Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks, I love these colours!! Unfortunately this bag isn't for me, It is going to be the first item of I hope many to put into my yet to be opened etsy shop. I'm hoping it will be open by the end of next month, I will be selling mostly bags and pouches from Keyka Lou's patterns, and maybe some other bits and pieces, Just enough to use up some of my gorgeous stash, to make room for more of course! First things first though, I need to take better Photo's!!

Now for some Quilting talk! (I know it's been a while!) I have joined a new bee with Jo from Sparkly Green Knickers, there is still room left so if your interested go over and join! It will be my first bee, I'm excited and nervous all at the same time!!

So two posts in one day and I think I'm nearly caught up, unfortunately Im snowed under in my blog reader, 418 unread posts as I type this! ah well there is always tomorrow!! Im off to watch Big Love and work on my granny square cushion, which I will post about later, Have a great week!

Our Holiday at Home!

2010-01-19T19:15:00.000+11:00

Beautiful Peacock, just wandering around the grounds, This photo was taken as is, no playing, no zooming!

It's been a very chaotic few weeks around here, trying to keep everyone happy and busy isn't easy, we have also been saving up the fun stuff for this week while Mark is off work for a break, We have been playing "Tourists"! In other words checking out all the things to do locally, that we really don't do very often if at all usually!

First up was Timbertown Heritage park, in the next town over Wauchope, I forgot to take my camera and there website seems to be down, but basically its a great little town, with a bullocks team and some horses, little cottages and a sawmill etc, They also have blacksmiths and the local woodworking guild. Timbertown will always be very very special to us, Mark and I married there! We had Ice creams, and a good wander, unfortunately the Train wasn't running, hopefully later this year it will be going again!

Today we went over to the Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park we had an absolute blast! As well as the Peacock above were these guys in an enclosure, there were some females too.

This Pheasant, (True Silver Pheasant) was gorgeous, I absolutely loved the feathers, the outer white ones had black patterned through, reminded me of a pinstripe, and the under ones were a really dark bluey-black very shiny and bright when they caught the sunlight! This topped with the beautiful red, really had me thinking fabric!

Next up was the spotted Quoll, very cute, those teeth though were super sharp!

There are a lot of ponds full of Carp and Lily's, very beautiful, the fish were huge, but I didn't get a good photo.

This guy was very cheeky, and yep no zooming, he was that close!!

A gorgeous little Joey peeking out of mama's pouch!

I backed right off for this photo, me and snakes just.... nope!
but the girls and Mark thought it was pretty cool!

This guy's name is Clancy, The girls were pretty chuffed to be patting a Koala!

Miss Jocie and I were pretty excited too!!

And I got to feed and pat this little fella, he was holding on to my hand for a bit too, soo darn cute!!!!!

You know I've always wondered why Emu's are often portrayed with a kinda loopy/crazy personality in chilidren's books and Animations, Now I know why, they really give off that vibe LOL!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-06T10:27:00.000+11:00

A shocking photo of me on Christmas morning wearing another Anda dress I made, and my Christmas jewelery!

Ok quick Christmas round up. We had a great day, Santa was kind to the girls, they loved all of there presents, nothing handmade this year, except a cute pair of bloomers for Jocie, which I bought at our local Artist Markets off my friend Melissa of Honey beez Designs, They are very cute bright green with a tie dye ruffle on the back. I will post a pic when I get one! I also received a beautiful handmade gift from Mark, a gorgeous necklace and pair of earings from Earlybird Creations also purchased at our local Artist Markets, and I will say that Kylie is lovely, and her resin jewelery is gorgeous! (and I could easily spend a fortune in her shop!)
Anyway between all of us we got a lot of very lovely gifts, and thankfully I think most of the ones we gave were liked too! We had a lovely cold lunch at my parents house, then spent the evening just chilling out. All in all probably the most stress free Christmas day you can imagine!
We spent New Year at home, just like any other night, (babysitting for 4? huh in my dreams lol!) and yeah thats us for the last couple of weeks!

So I don't have too many New Year resolutions, I kicked one in the backside last year, that had been hanging over me for more years then I'd like to count, so 2010 is the year that I *don't* have "quit smoking" in first position!! However now it is:

Get Fit and Lose 10kg's
Spend some one on one time with the kidlets regularly or at least two on one!
Get this blasted house looking half decent, and keep on top of the housework.
Figure out what I really want and love to make and focus on that, or at least pick one thing and focus on it for 3 months and then switch if I feel like it......

So with that Happy New Year (6 days late!) I hope 2010 is a wonderful year for each and everyone of us!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T22:22:00.000+11:00

From my Family to yours, Merry Christmas!!

It has been hectic, in the most fantastic way, best Christmas EVER!!

Despite the fact that this is the only photo that isn't too blurry to look at, of any or all of the girls, and it was taken on Christmas Eve lol!.

See? totally hectic!!

Things have been too much around here this last week or so, but I will be back in a few days to do a proper post with actual craft type things, even if they aren't all my own ; )

Drive safely and have a wonderful weekend!

I made this......

2009-12-15T13:32:00.001+11:00

Mini table top ironing board, it is around 16" square, and is made from MDF, with a layer each of aluminium foil, ironing board felt, and topped off with some cotton drill from my stash.

Another Phone case, This one is Mark's. Black linen inside and out and velcro instead of button closure.

A coin purse for me, whipped up really quickly.

Another Handbag for me, this time the Small Satchel from Keyka Lou, I used Grey linen for the outer and a bright green polka dot for the lining.

Stuffed full of my other Keyka Lou accessories!

Pinwheels for Imee's quilt are coming along nicely, I've started joining them together now.

And a "Anda" dress for me! It was quick and really easy, I can see a few more of these in different fabrics, getting made before the summer is out!

My new profile pic, I thought I'd pop it in here too. I'm pretty sure this is the only photo I have with me and all the kidlets, grubby bunch, love 'em to bits!

Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree....

2009-12-14T20:55:00.000+11:00

Christmas wouldn't be the same without our tree. So many memories, in these ornaments....

One Christmas in the very late 80's, my Nan made this, My cousin got one too, Not sure if she still has hers, but I love my Peg Doll ornament, and it makes me feel like a little piece of Nanna and Poppa are celebrating right along side us!

My wonderful Mum gave me this angel, for my first Christmas after I moved out.

This beautiful lady, was another gift from my Mum, a few years back, my cheap and nasty tree was looking, well nasty, I was pretty upset about it. This ornament and some paper crafts with the kids gave me back my Christmas spirit that year!

Our 1st Christmas, another gift from my Mum! I love these guys!

Charlotte's Ornament , Which was actually purchased for her 2nd Christmas, because I was too broke for her 1st, I had the guy engrave "2001" anyway!

Imogene's Ornament, She adores her Booty, and is so careful with it each year.

Laura's, from 2006. She thinks the Teddy looks funny!

An Angel for our Abigail May, My 4th daughter, At the top of the tree, closest to the stars, One of only a handful of things that were her's. 2007 was a hard year.

Jocelyn's 2008 Ornament, I Loved the idea of sleep when I bought this one!

and Last but not least, Charlotte made this last year, I really love it!

The Baubles have come off already, Miss Jocie was playing with one, and popped the whole thing in her mouth!! Luckily she spat it straight out, then Mark held her while I quickly stripped the tree of the rest of them, Hopefully the year after next, we will be able to put things down low again and put the baubles on!

I'm almost finished my Christmas Shopping, but I still have to wrap everything, eek!

How are your Christmas preps going? Do you have special ornaments?

Miss Jocie is One!!

2009-12-10T17:53:00.001+11:00

It was Miss Jocie's first birthday yesterday! Here she is pleased as punch, covered in Vegemite in her p'j's, and yep her present is wrapped in Christmas paper!!

She got this trike, it is supposed to grow with her till she is 3 or so, I hope so!! It has one of those parent's handles at the back, hoping to use it on our walks/bike rides. (excuse the mess in the background, that you probably didn't notice until I pointed out!)

I decided at 5pm the day before that the trike wasn't "enough". So I stayed up until 11:30 or so sewing up this dress and a pair of matching bloomers, Despite her face in this photo she really did love her dress! She was a bit worn out at this stage! The dress is the "flower girl dress" from Weekend Sewing, The bloomers were the "ruby bloomers" from the same book. The dress has a lot of modifications to make it wearable.

She was a little wary of the flame!

But didn't hesitate at all to chow down on her mud cake!

I have a feeling that she really liked it!

And yep, it was store bought, unfortunately we have had a bug doing the rounds, so we didn't have as much fun as we normally would have. I would have done a post on how much I love her, and how special she is too us, and how much I enjoy watching her grow and change, but I'm in tears just thinking about it.

Needless to say, Jocie my darling you are loved!

Babies and a Bag.....

2009-12-07T12:46:00.000+11:00

Aren't they adorable? No official names yet, but leaning towards Queenie for the green, and Caspian for the grey. They are approx 12 weeks old, and the girls adore them! Jocie was making kissing noises at them earlier!! I must admit, I never thought I would turn to mush over a pair of Budgies, but mush I am!!

And the Bag, another Keyka lou, this time the "Charm School Handbag" I used the leftovers from Charlotte's dress and a green cotton lining. I love it, though there is a couple of mistakes, the pleats on the bottom on one side do not line up, and the handle openings are a mess, but most definitely usable!

And here is the lovable Miss Jocie, Midway through my attempt at getting a photo of my bag for the blog, she came and swiped it, then ran off!, cheeky thing!
I hope you all had a great weekend!

What's Hot & Not

2009-12-02T14:10:00.000+11:00

Early December 2008~ Three Cheeky Monkeys!

Hot:

My new DIY itty bitty ironing board.(pics coming)
Shirring, (yep Im banging on about it again)
My little big brother's 18th on friday (WOW!!) I remember the night he was born so clearly! (I got my toe jammed in the car door on the way to the babysitters! lol) So Happy Birthday Jackson!!
The start of summer, the start of the christmas season, the countdown to the end of the year!

Not:

My ulcerous mouth, it hurts. I really really need to boost my immune system.
Having to wait another week to put the Christmas tree up, A certain someone needs to turn 1 first!

More of What's Hot & Not over at Loobylu!

4 Shirred dresses!!!!!!!

2009-11-29T19:26:00.001+11:00

Ever since I got my new machine almost 2 years ago, I haven't been able to shirr, I have scoured the net several times, but never got the answers I needed. The frustration was extreme! Anyway last week, I found Amber's blog after she left me a comment here. I scrolled down a bit and then BAM!! this post. This was my problem! I followed Amber's instructions to the letter, and Ta-Da!!!

Four Shirred dresses!!, From left to right: Jocie in a little yellow sheer dress with a purple ribbon halter neck (which came out too small so will have to make another for her!), Imogene in a cotton voile cheater cloth, which used to be a maternity maxi dress of mine! Charlotte in a nice hot pink poplin (? I think?!) and Laura in another cut down maternity dress of mine, actually you can see the original of this one all the way back here.

The relief I feel at having figured out how to this, is actually quite funny! The dresses for the big girls have been on the cards for several months, Charlotte's has been through a few sessions of attempts, but finally, finally I can make Shirred Dresses!!! Thank you so much Amber!!

I love this photo, Its so rare that they are all smiling, and happy, and loving each other at the same time. The biggest two suggested that this one would be "good for the wall, mum!" And you know they are sooo right!

And the Winner is........

2009-11-26T19:14:00.000+11:00

Congratulations Liz!!

Liz said...

I love living in Perth, as we are about the middle way between my parents and my in-laws, and my sister lives over the road. I love also having a park with a river running through it, just down the road.

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

What's Hot & Not

2009-11-25T12:24:00.000+11:00

Hot

Keyka Lou Patterns, I just can't help myself, they are addictive!!
Online Shopping, The lower stress levels are awesome!
All the interesting comments on my Giveaway post, There is still time to enter!
Packed to the Rafters, need I say more?
That my "Not's" are few and not serious.

Not

Feeling off for the last 3 months, it sucks.
Dealing with icky kiddy phases that should of passed but haven't.
The state of my backyard, It is getting to the point of desperation.

Heaps more Hot & Not over at Loobylu