Starting anew...

                     

People often use the New Year as an excuse to start afresh - and I am doing the same.

It's time to rejuvenate my poor neglected blog and in some ways, apply the same thinking to my life.

I spent a lot of 2013 serving the needs of others and while there is always good to come from this, it left me feeling like there was not much space left for meeting my own needs... from a health perspective, from an intellectual perspective and from a creative perspective.

The Christmas break has provided me with time to reassess my goals; for life, for family, for me.

I'm kicking it off with a fresh new look for my blog.
Hope to share the highs, the lows and the challenges that 2014 brings with you.

Ch ch ch ch changes

New school haircut!

I like it like this...

She prefers it tucked behind her ears.

I wonder who will win that ongoing battle...

You may also have noticed the tooth fairy came to visit over the summer

This chick thought she'd have a short 'bob' but changed her mind once there and stuck with the longer one.
So they have ended up with the same haircut - again. *sigh*

One of the girls enjoyed the process as much as the end result - the other, not so sure!

Hello 2012

I love holidays.

Sleeping in, no regular routine, nowhere we HAVE to be.
Time to play games with and read to the girls.
Time for them to play ball, jump on the trampoline, run around the garden semi-clothed throwing water at each other.

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year spent with friends and family.
Celebrating all that we are grateful for in our lives;
our health, living in a safe and free country where we have the right to an education and the freedom to express our thoughts, having a loving family.

I thought I might join in with Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge.

I'm already a little behind but here's day one - a dodgy photo of me taken with my new toy (Santa delivered big this year!!).

Oh dear check out the frizziness and that cow-lick!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Girl crush and thoughts on style

I've developed a bit of a girl crush on this fabulous lady.

It's singer, Adele, in case you haven't heard of her, and you'd probably have to be living under a rock to not have by now!! (I'm just saying...)

Not only does she have THE most amazing voice she has this incredible sense of style and presence that belies her 23 years.

Take a few minutes to watch this and you'll see what I mean...



This young lady, well, little more than a girl really, has a signature style that makes her look as though she has been plucked out of 1950's London and dropped down behind a microphone in 2011.

She's all sultry eyes, sweeping capes with big collars, simple shapes and swept up hair.

And I envy her....
I've never been someone with an inherent sense of style, who knows what looks good with what, or who can pull off something a little different.
Where does that come from?

This lady has it too - in fact she reminds me very much of Adele, if a slightly older version (that's not too offensive is it Ingrid!!??).
She could wear a paper bag, add a cute little brooch and it would still look great.

So what about you??
Do you have a signature style?? A style ethos that you subscribe to?

And, more importantly, do you have any tips that you can share with those less style-fortunate folk such as myself???

Oh, by the way, There has been sewing here - quite a bit that I haven't shown you of late really, done to loud off key singing (from me) to the sounds of Adele.

My camera was on loan to a friend - it's back now so I will attempt to catch up in the next few days.

The very lucky country

Some people have been through a lot of hardship lately in Australia, but there are many days when I get up and am reminded why this great land of ours is referred to as The Lucky Country.

We had a great time celebrating Australia Day, in what can only be referred to as, truly Aussie fashion.

By eating a giant Anzac biscuit my nine year old niece made (all by herself) in the shape of Australia

By throwing some snags on the barbie in a State Forest surrounded by gum trees and (I kid you not) laughing kookaburras, and following them up with marshamllows cooked over the embers.

By then taking to the surf and seeing on our daughter's face that moment of pure joy and adrenalin when you really 'get onto' a wave!

Or the pleasure of just enjoying a paddle.

We all know there are few things better than getting onto the same wave as both your sister and your cousin!

But it's Toni and Carli's bringing together a community of people and the amazing results (as indicated by the pink umbrella in my sidebar), that really make me proud to be an Aussie.

And to quote fellow crafty blogger Jodie "God help the next person who disparages crafters or "internet friends" in my hearing.


We all, collectively, when we are needed, are awesome."
Hear hear Jodie!

UFO's in my house!

If you arrived here via a Google search hoping to find information about extra-terrestrial travellers in my living room - you might want to click off now, as that's not what I am talking about.

I'm referring to the number of Un-Finished Objects that grace the table and floor in my sewing area.

Little piles of them.
Some cut and pinned and ready to sew...

(Nicole Mallalieu beret in cord and satiny stuff - a now belated gift for a friend)

 Some that are more than 3/4 finished and just require the 'hard' or unknown bits to be done to finish them...

(Kirsty's shrug for me - needs a little more crochet of one side then to be joined together, the scary unknown bit)

Others that are well on their way...

(Oliver+s ice-cream dress I was supposed to finish as part of the social - in July! In gorgeous fabric I won from Amy, that I never even blogged as I was embarassed not to have finished the dress... thanks Amy)

This was the prototype lunch bag I made six of for the Sew It Together weekend - it needs one strip of velcro applied - which is fiddly and awkward on the vinyl without a walking foot...

And there's one dodgy crooked line I need to unpick and re-do.

A stretch dress where I tried to 'wing it' and combine the bits I liked from two patterns.
I hate the black neck and it looks huge so it will need to have the neck removed and some gathering to bring the shape in...

One of two velour leotards almost finished that were made for the big girls' birthday - in *ahem* March.
 They need elastic on the legs, cuffs and neck - yep - that's all...

A pinafore-style dress that I cut from cute duck fabric that Bec gave to me - I love these cute ducks - so much that I this is the duck I copied to make the smallest child's birthday cake.

And this retro dress I started last summer- thankfully I cut it in a size that would fit the smallest child this summer...

By no means am I saying this is all.

This is just a few to help me keep perspective and to urge me on to completing some of them.

Items that for one reason or another have lingered too long; out of fear, disappointment, being put aside to meet another deadline or just the urge to move on to something new, having spent considerable time getting them to their near-complete state.

So - will you 'fess up and show us some of the yet-to-be-completed items in your workspace?

Or do you finish things as you start them??

I hope I am not alone!

Making progress...

Well there you go - I did take a short blog hiatus after all.

An unintended one though, the whole Melbourne Cup long weekend thing meant we had lots of activities to fill our days (picnics, movies, swimming, trips to the beach) - none of which I remembered to take photo's of.

I have been making some progress on the nativity though.

I'm lucky enough to be able to sew in the car which helps, nope no sign of travel sickness at all.

So here's the progress.

The main players are ready to get some hair and shrouds/veils.

Mary on the left with the babe and Joseph on the right - the felt under Mary's main cloak is actually a gorgeous deep red.

I've kept them simple - they weren't rich folk like the kings.

Then a couple of shepherds - with woolly cloaks in my first attempt at needle felting.

I was going for a rustic, earthy look.

Their cloaks need some sort of closure at the top and then hair, beards and coverings too.

I also have underway what now appears to be a grossly oversized sheep...

The pattern was reduced to 70% of original and I thought it would be OK - but after putting it near the shepherds today and I am not convinced.

I think it could be a rogue sheep and would not be able to be contained by them.

And that just won't do in such a peaceful scene.

And lastly the star - to which I will add a little more razzle dazzle - it is a star after all so OK for it to shine.

I'm thinking more of the seed beads branching out from the centre of the star.

I'm pretty happy with where I am at given that it's still early November.

I want to get a donkey and angel done as definite items and there's an inn-keeper also on the go if I get time.

In the words of Porky Pig...

(Image Credit)

It should really read "that's all for now folks".

Well I surprised myself and did manage to blog each day in October as part of Tinniegirl's Blogtoberfest, and I have to say that I really didn't find it too much of a trial.

It made me think about blogging the many parts of my life other than sewing and crafting, and to assess the level of interest others might have in these (or not), or how such things might affect my blogutation!

I've met lots of new lovely blogging folk (which has made my 'to read' list even longer!), and got to know a few other bloggers better, through them finding me or by keeping up with their posts each day.

I don't plan on taking a big blog-recovery period as I think participating in Blogtoberfest has made me realise how much I enjoy having this little place, in what are often very busy days, that is just for me.

Thanks to Cathy and also Cam for getting everyone up and running.

And thanks for coming along for the ride.

It's been fun.

Time to think...

I've been a bit slack because Kelly over at The Handmaden tagged me a while back to post 10 honest things about myself and I've not had a minute to sit and think in order to make this post constructive, til now!

So thanks Kelly for making me take some time out and jot a few random thoughts down.

Here are the rules;
Thank the person who gave you the award.
Post ten honest facts about yourself.
Pass the award on to seven others.

I love the written word.
I'm a mad Scrabble player, love to read in any spare minute I have, love to read to our kids and teach them about words and how to correctly pronounce them.
I'm into elocution, enunciation and alliteration.
Some of my friends refer to me as the grammar queen.
Nothing excites me more than finding a typographical error in a book or newspaper. (Sad I know!)

I love fast rides at fairs and theme parks.
If it drops, spins, twirls or screams around a track at breakneck speed, I'm there.

I don't like quiet much.
I work best with a CD, ipod, or radio on in the background, always have.
It doesn't distract me, but rather keeps me on task.

I hate chosing the seat in a cinema - can't do it.
My husband finds this odd for a normally decisive person.

I love sport, to the extent that I studied Human Movement at Uni and worked in the corporate fitness industry for a number of years.
I've played or participated in basketball, tennis, netball, athletics, gymnastics, ballet and swimming.

I adore being a stay-at-home mum and spending time with my children helping them learn and grow and feel sad that 'the system' takes the first of them away next year.

I'm a country girl at heart.
Despite living in the city for the larger part of my life now I still love the wide open spaces of the countryside and the bush.
And of course the lack of traffic.

My husband and I met on a camp for kids with cancer.
He made friends with my housemate and they arranged a catch-up bbq.
I later found out it was a ploy to see me.
Aaawwww.

If I had my time over I would attempt to become a Roulette pilot!

(Photo credit)

My life is as close to perfect at the moment as I could imagine.
I have three healthy, funny, bright and vivacious kids whom I adore.
We live a comfortable, though not fancy, life in an area that is close to all the city has to offer but with enough trees to keep the country girl in me happy.
I have an absolute ripper of a husband, kind, thoughtful, considerate, loving and funny.
What more could you ask for??

OK - so there you have it.
Me revealling more than you probably wanted to know!

I'm going to break one of the rules though - I won't tag seven people but rather put it out there to the girls who are participating in Blogtoberfest to have a go before the end of the month.

I say, I hear

Pic courtesy of here.

I say...

Don't put your fork near your eye...

Stop rubbing food in your hair honey...

Please don't put your drink bottle in your ear...

I hear...

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor froggy a bone...

Round and round the garden like a teddy bear,

A one step,

A two step,

A tickly underwear.

Mum does Bob the Builder wear pyjama's?

And does he go to bed with a lady?

Life with two young children and a toddler, what can I say.

Feel free to share the wise words heard or spoken in your home.

Making a list, checking it twice

I'm a list maker - what can I say.

I like to cross things off - preferably with red texta.
I've been known to add something I have done to a list purely for the joy of crossing it off.
Sad isn't it!

When the smallest had just been born and we were all finding our way with each other, I felt that I was accomplishig little in a day so started keeping a list of what I had done, rather than what I hoped to do.
It was a great way to make me realise where all that missing time had been going.

This new list is for Christmas, but you probably guessed that by the title didn't you.

I made another list back here - and still need to get onto some of those things too, but I am hoping most, if not all the girls gifts will be handmade this year, so there's a bit to be done.

I found this great book at my local library.



So I grabbed a few supplies from Winterwood when I was there to make the wind wands shown above and in action on the cover and also some finger puppets which I think I might make to resemble each of the girls.

But then there's this one, simple and sweet...

And this, which actually made Miss L gasp when she saw it and would make good use of my new snap press.

I saw a similar dolly carrier ages ago on Naomi's blog and wasn't able to get my hands on the pattern as it was a vintage one.

So now you see why the list is growing....

Have you got any crafting plans with a December 25th deadline???

Snap(s)!

Recently a few friends directed me to the Snaps Australia website where they were having a sale and before I knew it a snap press was coming to live at our house.

It's a very handy gadget that applies snaps (also know as studs or press studs to some) to garments far more quickly, easily and accurately than my trusty hammer can.
Let's face it - it's probably far safer too!

But with the press comes three different snap components for each colour and size of snap that you buy, thus presenting a storage problem.


Then I saw these container racks at Big W - for only $15 each and 'snapped' two of them up (sorry couldn't help myself!!). The brand is QA if you are planning to go looking for them.
Problem solved.

Each little tube is made up of three separate cannisters that screw together, perfect for storing snaps.

And the racks are wall-mountable so that's one more job to add to the list for the man of the house.

Read on only if you dare......

the sale is still on!

Jumping puddles

I'm in love - seriously look at these.The Aussie dollar is so strong - it makes it hard to resist, so I didn't.

I've been in love with Puddle Jumper shoes for a while, the smallest is about to grow into a few pair and I can't wait.
But she needed some new ones all of her own.

After all a girl can never have too many shoes, can she??

There are also gorgeous polka dot versions in every colour of the rainbow.

Check them out here
(which is where the pic is from).

Taking it easy

The man of the house has a few days off and we planned some city sightseeing acitivites, like visiting the zoo and/or the aquarium without having to brave the weekend crowds, but the youngest developing chicken pox with a vengance put paid to that idea.

Instead we have found ourselves enjoying a serious lack of crowd activity at the beach.

Truth be told the weather is definitely more 'raincoat' than 'sunhat', but three-year-olds like to have all the bases covered.

What you can't tell from this pic is she has her swimming gear on underneath.

She's the eternal optimist that one!

How do you take time out??

Stop and smell the....

Well clearly not roses!!

During last week the girls and I met Mum at the Tulip Festival at Tesselars in the Dandenong Ranges.

Tulips rank right up there as one of my favourite flowers (though they won't push peony's out of first place!) and they look fabulous en masse in a rainbow of colours like this.

We went on one of the kids days they ran and while there was lots of entertainment there were so many people that it was not the best day to go because the queues and crowds to do/see anything were huge.

Still - weren't the flowers pretty!

Mushroom magic

There has been lots going on here - some good stuff - some not so good!

It's all been getting in the way of blogging though.

Here's a very little something I made up for a friend's birthday.

We don't usually do presents but I just thought a little handmade gift with some hair ties in it would be nice because she's always so ready to help us when needed.

Like when we have to spend the night at the hospital with a little one we have just found out suffers from asthma.

Yep - that's some of the 'not so good stuff' that's been happening.

The mushroom fabric for this was sent to me by a very kind sewing friend.

It just arrived in the mail one day - the sort of post that makes you smile. Thanks Novy.

Here's some more of the good - but I can't show you much.

It's a sneak peek of one of the patterns I have been testing for the lovely Toni of Make It Perfect.

She has something big in the works, top secret though, you know how it is!

Check out her patterns if you haven't already - every man, woman and child should have a Lazy Day hat for summer I say.

The fabric is from Patty Young's Mezzanine range and the colours are so fresh, bright and fun that I want to get some more.

Catching up

I've been quiet I know - life has been getting in the way of blogging - and that's not a bad thing.

There have been birthdays and cakes to be made, swimming and indoor waterslides, parks and walks at night by torchlight, a little bit of freelance work and spending time with friends and their newborn babies.

Oh, and there has been sewing - but much of it has been sent/given away without any photographic evidence!

Six more super-duper caped T's, two little appliqued onesies for the new baby girl, another child-sized crocheted hat and this crafty roll that is on its way to a new owner.

The person it is heading for has probably given up hope of ever receiving anything from me, such is my tardiness. I hope she likes it and it proves useful for keeping her crochet hooks in order.

It has several small slots for hooks on the right hand side, a slightly larger pocket for a pair of snips then the largest pocket on the left for other odds and ends.

The pattern is by Lara at Thornberry via the Sew, Mama, Sew blog.

They have a great range of tutorials if you are ever looking for gift ideas.

Catching up...

I feel like I entered this new year chasing my tail a bit.

I should have included in the 2009 pledges a vow to update my blog more, I will be trying to.

With road trips for Christmas, a break down the coast then a week-long visit from one of my lovely nieces I've neglected my poor blog a bit.
So I decided to give it a new look to start the new year, what do you think?