Suz and her Sewing

A Smokin' Sunset

2011-08-11T09:24:00.006+10:00

This was the view out the back of our house yesterday evening. I hope its nothing too serious and just a control burn. But the girls thought it looked great, like the sun was on fire!

Random thought

2011-07-11T07:59:00.001+10:00

Chai tea and My Little Pony bikkies are a fabulous combination. Seriously, try it.

Swing set makeover!

2011-05-08T15:35:00.000+10:00

Happy Mothers' Days to all the mums. I had a nice day with brunch out, a brand new handbag and of course, some goodies from the school stall. I still marvel at how they source such lovely things for such small change!

Earlier in the week, I tackled a quick projuect. We were given an old swing set years ago, but I'll be honest, the daggy green and yellow colour scheme always irritated me. So I finally got around to spray painting it. Now it's much more in keeping with the rest of the house.

Before: After:

Much better!

A visitor

2011-05-06T22:58:00.000+10:00

We had a cute little visitor to our house this week. Not exactly sure what species he (she?) is, but a more unusual bird for us. We usually get magpie larks, magpies, doves, ibis, crows, wagtails (my favourites).

FarmWorld

2011-03-28T14:24:00.000+10:00

Some pictures of our weekend adventure. While visiting family in Victoria, we headed for the annual Farm World at Lardner Park. This was always one of my favourite events as a kid, although then it was known as the Field Days. Lots of agricultural fun!

Gardening weekend

2011-03-13T14:01:00.000+10:00

Yes, the insects are attacking my garden, but at least the pretty gardenia still offers a few last flowers for the summer.

I've been doing lots of work on the garden this weekend. I've been removing the orangey pebbles from around our front garden, and replacing some of the plants, cutting back the yukkas quite dramatically, and putting down sugarcane mulch. It's the most neglected part of our garden, just in front of our garage, so I only really drive past it, and it's not until I had visitors that I realised how bad it's looking.

Pebbles are, quite frankly, a stupid idea in the subtropical garden as they always end up full of weeds, and it's been such a frustrating time trying to keep them at bay with all the rain we've been having.

I know some might think it's ridiculous to put sugarcane mulch out on show in the front of the garden, but I'm crazy like that. I've found it so fantastic in other areas of the garden. It keeps the weeds at bay really well. I'm essentially a lazy gardener. So I like to 'set and forget', with just an annual bit of maintenance. Thankfully the sugarcane mulch fades in colour to a more natual grey and it's almost unnoticeable.

Here's the first section complete, another section to go.

Here's some pics from the backyyard where I'm persisting with pebbles around the pool area, with long term plans to extend our deck, so we don't want to do anything too drastic or costly. The weeds are still an issue, especially the dreaded nutgrass, but at least in one small area, it's not so bad.

Our not-so-new new bed!

2011-03-07T13:44:00.000+10:00

Here's a shot of our recently improved bed. It's not my dream bed, but for now I think I've changed the look enough for me to be quite pleased whenever I enter the room.

You can see from the picture below that it was a little bit on the twee side of country and had that orangey stain that grates on me. So I decided to saw off the top of the bedposts and stain the wood with Black Japan. I like it a lot more now, and combined with some new bedside tables and new bedlinen, I feel quite happy with the room.

Before (in our old house) :
The new bedsides are from Freedom, but of course, I didn't pay full price. One was 'damaged stock' (just a mark on the inside of the draw) and the other on sale anyway. Oh, and the faux leather trunk is from SuperAMart of all places - I'm almost embarassed to admit that as I hate their furniture and their store and their general business philosophy - but hey, the price was right!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T11:03:00.000+10:00

I hope everyone's having a nice day. I received two cards this morning - a handmade paper one from each of the girls. Very sweet. My husband and I just said "Happy Valentines' Day' to each other. It's not something we make a big deal about, although I did decorate the bottles above in keeping with the Valentines theme.

I had ideas of doing a fancy frosted version, but in the end, I left it to the last minute and slapped some white paint on, with some crackle medium I had lying around since about 1994. And excuse my hastily picked flowers from my garden. I planned to buy some pretty ones from the supermarket, but the usual cheap bunches have been replaced with very expensive ones! I wonder why...

Blame this:

2011-02-08T13:58:00.000+10:00

Well, Happy New Year sounds quite lame, considering it's February already. I'm very embarassed about my lack of blog posts, but we have had a very relaxing time over the Christmas/New Year period, and it's taken a while to settle back into routine.

That handy little device above was my Christmas present, and I've been busy acquiring lots of great reading (including free classics!), so have become even more of a book worm than usual. I promise I'll be a better blogger from now on. Right after I finish this novel...

Kate Rusby, Sweet Bells

2010-12-22T17:27:00.000+10:00

Here's something to get you in the Christmas mood, from one of my favourite singers.

Annual Santa Photo

2010-12-13T12:00:00.000+10:00

The girls and I met 'Santa' the other morning. I have to say, he was a wonderful Santa, and the girls had a lovely chat to him about Christmas Eve and what they might leave for him and his reindeers.

He also asked if they'd thought about what they'd like and Lizzie mentioned a Flairie doll (from Barbie in A Fashion Fairytale), and Louisa, having just seen a toy cobra in the store, mentioned that. So we discussed Cobra cars and how Daddy would probably like one, but they're very expensive and maybe a toy one would do. So a very patient and lovely Santa.

Lizzie managed an almost smile, while Louisa beamed.

Lizzie's Kids Swap

2010-12-09T13:11:00.000+10:00

Well done to Kylie for organising this Kids Swap. We enjoyed making some clay decorations and cutting out some paper dolls, as well as choosing some cool craft stuff to send to another mini crafter.

Mollie's received her parcel from us. We hope she enjoys it! We hope our other little recipient recieved hers in one piece too.

Lizzie was so lucky to get some beautiful things from Alice. Unfortunately my camera's playing up so no photos, but there was so many bits and pieces, and a drawstring bag full of things that tinkle and sparkle. Lizzie loves it! And is painting her little clay santa as I write.

I hope to be back with a load of pics soon!

Still here, still busy

2010-11-24T13:25:00.000+10:00

Sorry for lack of posts lately. I seem quite busy leading up to the Christmas hols - only a week and a bit before all of Santa's little jobs must be done! I've been running around trying to locate items the girls have on their lists, while also assuring them they won't be getting even half of what they've asked for. We don't want to overwork those elves now, do we?

Someone may end up with this:

and there may be a new Tinkerbell DVD and playset for someone else, so they can't really complain.

I'm looking forward to the end of term,. I love the lack of rushing around and remembering forms and taxiing to activities. Roll on Friday week!

Pumpkin free zone

2010-10-29T11:29:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone.

I have nothing against others celebrating Halloween. I'll keep a small stock of lollies in case anyone comes door knocking on the weekend, and may even take my kids along to a Halloween dress up party a friend has organised - but just letting you know I'm not doing any form of Halloween decoration.

I'll admit to spending way too much time looking at blogs, and gee, those Americans get carried away with it, don't they? I'm sure it's lots of fun, but let's just say that any holiday where orange and black are the predominant colours isn't going to win me over.

And let's face it, the seasons are all wrong. Here in Australia it's spring, and images like this are far prettier:

That's Under the Jacaranda Tree by Richard Godfrey Rivers. If you're ever in Brissie, pop into the gallery and you can check it out. The girls and I decided it's our favourite painting there. The girls may have been swayed by the pile of jacarnada leaves the staff leave at the base of the painting at the right time of year.

At the moment, the jacarandas are blooming everywhere. The girls play a little game when we're in the car to see who can be first to call out 'Jacaranda!' everytime they see one - even they same ones we see everyday.

It was funny reading A-M's post today about the connection between the jacaranda blooms and the start of exam study. Being from Victoria, I never knew about this, and so thankfully I can simply enjoy the purple prettiness.

Back in action

2010-10-22T11:27:00.000+10:00

A big thank you to everyone who sent their thoughts (here and through messages on EB and emails) after the passing of my beautiful father. It's so lovely to know that there is a bunch of people you've never met in real life who care about you. Really touching.

I've been using one of my favourites forms of therapy: thinking about and working on making my home my castle. Lots of questions to ponder there.

Will I ever finish sanding and staining my deck? And what's the ideal ground cover plant to replace the awful grassy things that look like weeds in around the pool area? One with pretty flowers?

Is Tapestry Beige (Dulux) a good colour for a feature wall in our master bedroom? Is it the right kind of beigey grey I'm after? If not, what is?

How am I going to finish sanding and painting our hoop pine entertainment unit, without unplugging all those very complicated cables? And if I do unplug them all, how am I going to put it all back together?

Will the home design police come knocking if I put up a print I bought at Target in my main living area?

Where can I buy mini lamp shades to replace revolting glass bulbs on lights in the dining and formal lounge?

Where will I ever find a huge, stylish yet affordable light fitting to replace the gigantic very unattractive one in our foyer?

Should I sand back the dining table top to natural or leave it the slightly orangey stain when I paint the legs white? The obvious answer (Sand it back, of course), leads to the next question, how will I find the time?

When am I ever going to get to Ikea? So many items on the 'if I ever get a window of more than a few hours to myself, I'm going to drive all the way down to Ikea and buy' list (rugs, storage units, picture frames,etc)

If you know the answer to any of these questions, please let me know!

My Dad

2010-09-30T13:14:00.000+10:00

23rd March 1931 - 20th September 2010

Here are some excerpts from the eulogy I read at Dad's funeral:

I've left a lot out from what you read here, about his community involvement, his love of travel around Australia, and his time spent with his grandkids, but you hopefully will get an idea of what a special person he was, and how much we all love him and miss him.

My dad

2010-09-27T18:41:00.000+10:00

I lost my dad on Monday, so forgive the lack of posts. I'll be back during the week to rave about what a fabulous gentleman he was.

Link to a fab freebie

2010-09-07T13:21:00.000+10:00

I love this idea for a quick and easy project that I found here.
My own laundry is quite a boring space. Servicable but dull. To add to the 'ambience' or lack thereof, my dinosaur of a machine that will not die is yellow and faded and comes complete with cracked panels. I'll add pics of it one day when I'm feeling brave.

At least there'll be something stylish in there!

Happy Fathers' Day!

2010-09-05T09:35:00.000+10:00

Back again

2010-08-18T15:57:00.000+10:00

I'm sorry my blog has been neglected lately. We've been interstate yet again, visiting my Dad who is currently in hospital. He has Alzheimers, and has also had pneumonia and other health issues lately, so it's not a very happy situation. This picture was taken looking out of his room, so at least he has a lovely view to look at.

Paint therapy

2010-08-04T13:50:00.000+10:00

There's something very therapeutic about slapping some white paint on something. I finally won something on Ebay - which is remarkable for me, as I always bid so ridiculously low. My successful bid as a couple of not so lovely chairs. One of them is what they called a 'captain's chair' so I thought it was appropriate for our boating family. So a quick sand and some white paint and voila. No doubt there's someone out there horrified at me whacking on the paint, but, hey, I'm the only one bidding on it, so if not for me, most likely it was off to the tip for this cutie.

Here it was before, the photo actually makes it look not too bad, but the finish was really bad:

I've got no clue what to do with the other chair that came with it - perhaps I need to sew a linen cover and it can be my sewing chair?

Bunting for the girls' room

2010-07-30T11:19:00.001+10:00

As promised some pics of the bunting I made for the girls room, following the bedroom reshuffle to to put them back in together. I'll admit I'm not the world's best photographer, and I do find it difficult to take shots indoors that do justice to how pretty it looks, but you get the general idea.

I used the spare pillow cases from the girls doona covers. Lizzie's is a Sheridan fairy one that she chose when we first moved into the new house, and Louisa's is quite plain (bought as part of a doona set actually). It's such a pretty colour though. I think the bunting does a great job of tying it all together.

In the top photo, you can see the vintage prints I posted about here, along with some favourite toys.

The furniture is a bit of a mishmash in this room, I guess, and I have visions of matching little girls cast iron beds, but for now this is what we have and they both think it's very pretty.

Vespers

2010-07-27T18:05:00.000+10:00

This is gorgeous also. I love the warmth and comfort I feel when I listen to this one.

Hannah Recites The King's Breakfast by A.A. Milne

2010-07-27T17:54:00.000+10:00

While looking for entertainment for my sick little Lizzie yesterday, I found this on youtube. Isn't she fabulous! This was one of my favourite poems my Dad would read to us. He is an ex-radio announcer so always did it brilliantly!

Sneak peek

2010-07-26T12:41:00.000+10:00

My weekend project for the girls rooms is finished, but I have a sick child at home today, so no time to take pretty photos and post it. But let's just say - I love it!

Coffee table transformation

2010-07-22T15:18:00.001+10:00

I posted about my poor coffee table here. It had certainly taken a beating, so I knew that one day I'd have to do something to it. Well, finally that day (or days actually!) arrived and I had a little spare time to do it. I sanded the top right back to the wood, taking off the dark stain finish, and painted the base white. I used some polyurethane on the top so hopefully it will be a little harder wearing this time around.

I think it looks great, although I possibly would have changed the drawer handles, but for the fact that my husband had glued them on super tight at some stage as they'd kept coming off. So it was just as easy to leave them on and paint them white.

The paint colour is Dulux Fair Bianca and I like the slightly creamy look. Of course, I used gloss, so that it would be nice and easy to wipe off after those inevitable spills!

Now I have a new machine...

2010-07-20T13:07:00.000+10:00

there's no stopping me!

There's something new on my entry table - the scrap of linen there. If you look really closely, there's a lovely white scalloped stitch on the hem, courtesy of my new machine:

Ta da!

If you haven't checked out the online auctions at Grays, you really should. It's amazing the wonderful bargains you can pick up. I'm so happy with this machine and am amazed I put up with my super basic machine for so long.

My first real project was a simple cushion. I'm in love with linen at the moment, and all the French style homewares. So I combined them here. Of course, I had to use one of my machines new stitches, one that does a thicker than usual straight stitch, and because I did a simple envelope opening, I was also able to use one of the prettier stitches on the hem there too!

Off to make some more!

Some Highland Fun!

2010-07-19T17:05:00.000+10:00

We were busy on the weekend with the girls both competing in a highland dancing competition. Here they are in their kilts:

A not-completely-unrelated-to-sewing post, as I made the litle white blouse in the first photo an dd a bit of adjusting of Lizzie's kilt - hard to find one to fit someone so small!

The Brisbane River

2010-07-09T15:00:00.000+10:00

The Brisbane River is one of the best features of this city. With the weather a bit too cool for our usual boating destinations (I couldn't see myself snorkelling with the water temps as they are at the moment!), we headed up river recently instead, to get a view of Brisbane from the water.

Here's some of my favourite city addresses:

The new Gateway bridge beside the old one.

Part of the huge wharf section of the river:

And of course, the girls' favourite home on the river: the pink one!

Winter Skies

2010-07-06T22:26:00.000+10:00

School holiday entertainment

2010-07-02T08:34:00.000+10:00

Th girls are doing a fabulous job of keeping themselves occupied over the school holidays. Louisa received some of the Enchanted Doll's House theatre books, and the she has being playing 'theatre producer' very well, distributing tickets, collecting tickets and the performance, dimmig the house lights, directing the 'actors' and even gathering audience feedback by writing questionaires for the audience! Lots of fun.

They've also enjoyed modelling the masks from this book.

The toy sale catalogues have been useful for collage (messy hair is allowed on the holidays):

And I've enjoyed the slower pace, without picks up and drops offs and meetings and coffee catch ups, and dancing practice and more dancing practice, etc.

Hope you're enjoying your holidays, if you have them at the moment.

Home from Victoria

2010-06-21T10:25:00.000+10:00

My blog has been sadly neglected as we enjoyed some time away, visiting the girls' grandparents (both sets!) and meeting their new little cousin, my sister's new baby Leo.

While the weather was chilly, the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The highlights for them were getting to pick flowers from Grandma's garden (as you can see laid out on the table below, they didn't hold back!) and patting the next door neighbours cats. I myself am not such a fan of cats, and even had to push one away with a broom when he looked like attacking a bird!

Here's baby Leo - quite a cutie!
My mum loves her garden and her roses, and this was my favourite a dusty pink/almost brown one. (I've forgotten the name already!)

We also managed to catch up with my husband's parents too on the way back to the airport, where they were spoiled with tasty treats (Nanna's a great cook and always has a muffin or cake waiting for the girls) and hugs and kisses.

Now off to so some sewing! Yes, sewing!!

Wordless Weekend

2010-05-15T15:36:00.000+10:00

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T13:41:00.001+10:00

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mothers' Day. Mine was very nice, and started early with an afternoon tea at Lizzie's kinder on Wednesday.

The children politely took our drinks orders and brought our food to us, and sang us some lovely songs, complete with actions. They also gave us some early gifts - handmade, of course! The children had also helped decorate the tables and did a brilliant job. They also helped prepare the food, but I'm not sure I want to think too much about that!

See Lizzie's lovely sewing? She does enjoy it, and we have many hand sewn items from kinder at home, but this one is extra special.

I was also spoilt by Louisa, with a very well organised stall at the school, so I received some lovely choccies and a key ring also.

And then on the actual day, I received date toast and a cup of tea in bed, with help from Peter - (not showing the photos of me eating that though!) and I received a lovely pot of flowers. I must take a photo of those. They're beautiful - just like my children!

Wordless Weekend

2010-05-09T15:00:00.000+10:00

Wordless Weekend

2010-05-01T10:27:00.000+10:00

More April Rabbits.

2010-04-29T16:06:00.000+10:00

April Rabbits!

2010-04-28T13:08:00.000+10:00

A Nephew!

2010-04-24T12:28:00.000+10:00

Welcome to the world

Leo Maxwell

I have a new little one to admire - my sister's baby, born early this morning. Apparently he looks very much like her, and has my beautiful father's name for a middle name!

Congratulations Melinda and Shane.

Here's a quilt I made for the new addition:

Not perfect, but made with love.

Wordless Weekend

2010-04-17T15:25:00.000+10:00

Beautiful Prints - finally framed

2010-04-15T13:42:00.000+10:00

These lovely prints were published in 1971 - the year I was born! My mum kept them in their cardboard cylinder for 38 years, just enough time for me to have children, move house and then need something to pretty up their new bedrooms.

I used frameshop.com.au for the frames (the prints are an unusual size). I must say I was quite impressed with their service. I ordered on Friday, and they arrived on Wednesday! I'm not sure how that compares to other custom framing, but I was impressed. A great range of different coloured frames and mats, and different glass options, too.

Now they just need to be hung in the girls rooms; the dark haired girl for Louisa, and the fair haired for Lizzie, of course! It makes life easy to have two girls with opposite colouring.

Catching up

2010-03-08T10:48:00.000+10:00

I've been busy lately. The start of the school year (and the kindy year) has left me with little time for sewing, or the home projects I've been planning. I have managed to get a couple of small things completed.

The beginnings of a table runner. I used a Heather Bailey Nicey Jane charm square pack and I have to say how fantastic it was to have them precut - so easy. It makes me think of the refrain from that song: 'How long has this been going on?'. Still not backed or quilted or anything, but give me time.

Some friends were moving and passed on an old timber bed of theirs, for us to use in our guest room. 'Old' as in 'bought from a bedding store less than a decade ago and a bit daggy', not as in 'much older and rather charming', unfortunately. So I sanded it back a little and took to it with some black gloss paint - and I think it looks lovely now. Much improved from the orangey stained faux country look. Here it is dressed with my very first Sheridan doona cover, circa 1990? I hadn't been working long, anyway, and I felt very grown up and impressed with myself when I bought it.
I also a painted a plain student desk they passed on to us. I used up left over paint from our walls to fit tino Louisa's room, and changed the handles to these fun ones. It looks so cute and she loves it, especially combined with the chair we picked up on clearance at Freedom recently. All set for lots of homework!

A new couch for the family living room meant that the cushions I had didn't suit. So I made some super simple cushions with some Sandi Henderson fabric, backed with denim.

That's it for now. Hopefully as the year settles down, I'll find a bit extra time for the things I want to do!

Not even a pretty table runner will hide the fact...

2010-01-25T16:10:00.000+10:00

Yes, this hoop pine coffee table has seen better days. I tried to pretty it with a table runner made with some Sandi Henderson Ginger Blossom, but there's no escaping it. I think it won't be long before this table gets attacked with some sandpaper and/or some paint!

Stay tuned!

The Blue Room

2010-01-01T14:41:00.000+10:00

I call this the "Blue Room", but really it's just a little sitting area off the main open plan living area. I wanted to make it prettier before our visitors arrived to stay over Christmas. So I replaced the old daggy futon cushion with some new foam, which I covered in this lovely coordinating fabric. I was really pleased to find it, as a lot of the fabrics I had my eye on for the job were far too expensive, and I didn't expect to find anything I liked this much at Spotlight!

The other happy find was some blue paint in the clearance pile at Bunnings. Someone's reject is another's perfect shade of blue. So I painted an old coffee table and a couple of frames and so the sitting area became 'The Blue Room' .

I also recovered the cushions on the cane setting in the adjacent outdoor area. I think my husband thinks I'm a bit obsessed with this fabric Having a bit more left, I'm looking aound thinking about what else I can cover in it!

Hope you had a happy Christmas!

2009-12-29T15:49:00.000+10:00

I had a busy one, with my parents and one sister up from one part of the country and my other sister and her new husband up from another! Lots of little projects I wanted to get done beforehand, on top of planning Christmas. Including a table runner for my parents inlaw, and some coasters for my mum (photos to follow).

We also had a last minute trip to Noosa - lots of fun!

Christmas is coming!

2009-12-07T15:38:00.000+10:00

Presents for teachers have been wrapped and given out...

The girls have written out cards for their friends...

And Lizzie has said goodbye to her kindy/creche, as she prepares to move on to a new c & k kindy next year - the same one Louisa attended...

And of course the tree is up!

Also the girls' new rooms are almost organised. They both chose their own new bedlinen, and I think they did a pretty good job. Louisa's is the top one and is very grown up, I think. Lizzie, no surprise, chose pink with fairies!

The walls are a bit bare, which I don't mind, but I'm planning to get some special prints framed (these ones are 38 years old - pics to come). Lizzie scored a new bed too, and Louisa gained a 'kind of' new bookcase. One that was my parents, which I painted hot pink!

The new paint job

2009-11-26T12:45:00.000+10:00

We've been busy.

Moving house for a start, which is always an epic. But add to that, the chaos of having flooring and painting done as we're moving in. So we've not really been able to unpack properly or organise the house. So still quite crazy at the moment and I haven't been able to have that lovely 'Ooh, ahh, I love my new house moment' yet. But I'm expecting it shortly follwing a massive garage sale to declutter the junk we've accumulated - and the possiblity of buying new furniture (yah!)and refreshing some old stuff.

I'm so happy with the colours we've picked. For anyone who's looking for a lovely fresh white for walls, that's Fair Bianca (1/2 strength) and Hogs Bristle (1/2 strength) for the trim, a bit topsy turvy to the way most people do it, but I really wanted a fresh white for the walls, but didn't want it to look too 'refridgerator-like' so broke it up with darker trim and Bluster Blue for the features. All Dulux. Boy, did those decision take some thinking through!

I'll add more photos once it's a bit better 'styled'!

Some pretty mail and some stripes.

2009-10-22T11:00:00.000+10:00

With the Aussie dollar so strong, I couldn't resist some fabric from Heather Bailey's online store. 20% of Freshcut fabric and Trash Ties added to the appeal. Having quite long hair, I've always thought about ordering some TrashTies. But I also had to order some Pop Garden beauties as well. I'm planning some Christmas gifts with these. I also made myself a simple tiered skirt, using knit fabric so no need to finish the seams. The gathering was a bit fiddly, but I'm happy with the result. My husband couldn't help comparing the skirt though to some 'pirate cushions' I'd made recently for my stepson's room, using a new tea towel and backed with one of Peter's old grey marle top.

We've had our house on the market, so there were lots of those little projects to make things look a little more pulled together. Also, some stool covers to make some bar stools form Peter's work a little more tasteful.

It looks like we have (finally!) sold, so I'm looking forward to moving and no doubt there'll be more sewing projects for the new house this time.

Another ruffly tiered skirt

2009-10-12T10:42:00.000+10:00

One of the issues with having two daughters is that if you make a pretty skirt for one, you have to make it for the other! So I did. This time I used contrasting fabrics, and I didn't use my buttonhole stitch for the top of the tiers, just a simple hem. It worked just as well. I realise now that this photo only really shows the bottom two tiers, the third is the same fabric as the bottom tier. Oh, and the photo also shows a Milo face! Oops.

Wordless weekend

2009-10-10T08:41:00.000+10:00

A ruffly tiered skirt

2009-10-05T10:54:00.000+10:00

We own quite a few skirts in this house, even excluding the handmade ones, and my favourite of the store bought ones are those with an exposed seam. I'm not sure what the technical term is, but the ones that are gathered with the top of the bottom tier sitting on the outside.

So I thought I'd have a go at that, and I'm really impressed with the results. The top of the tier acts as a little ruffle and looks so frilly and girly. I love it. Lizzie does too, despite her reluctance to be photographed!

The fabric is from Spotlight, and I love the mix of colours - it will pretty much go with most of Lizzie's Tshirts.

A bit more info. I hemmed the top of the tier using my buttonhole stitch, and hemmed the bottom just with a straight stitch. I guess it takes a bit of time, but is very simple. One of Louisa's store bought skirts uses a bias binding in a contrasting fabric for the top of the tier. I'd like to try that soon too. Just to add to the girls' skirt collection!!

Wordless weekend

2009-10-03T15:12:00.000+10:00

A pretty spring dress

2009-09-28T19:46:00.000+10:00

We decided that Louisa needed a new dress. She quickly chose some fabric from my stash, but then I realised that most of the patterns I own are not going to fit her anymore. She's moving into a size 7, and while I've got lots of patterns up to size 4 and a few to size 6, tha's about it - save for some very daggy old patterns I've inherited (think 80s oversized numbers) and one dress up pattern.

So I managed to modify the dress up pattern, using the top section and changing the skirt section to come up with this peasant dress. There are some changes I would make if I made it again, but I still quite like it, and Louisa loves it.

Wordless weekend

2009-09-27T12:46:00.000+10:00

Clothes for grown-ups

2009-09-24T06:46:00.000+10:00

I finally managed to do some sewing for myself, making the top above from some quilting fabric. The pattern, a Built by Wendy, is extremely simple, and as I was sewing it it occurred to me that it would be easily converted into a maternity top - no, not for myself, but for someone I know who's expecting.

So I simply added more length in the front and gathered the sides so it was even with the back. I made it in a stretch fabric to give even more room.

It's a bit hard to photograph yourself modelling clothes, and even harder modelling maternity clothes when you're not pregnant, but here's my best attempt.

Wordless Weekend

2009-09-06T14:38:00.000+10:00

Pippi!

2009-08-28T10:31:00.000+10:00

Here's Louisa dressed as Pippi Longstocking for Book Week dress up. The brief from the description in the book was a blue dress with red patches. I made a pinafore dress, expecting the weather to be a bit cooler than the higher than usual August temps we've been having! I used a light denim with my favourite red fabric for the contrast band, pocket and heart patches.

I used a easy pattern that I've used for Louisa before. That time it was size 5 and it was way too big. This time it was a size 7! I did want it to be bigger so she could wear it as a dress next winter, but still - it made me realise yet again how quickly my girls are growing up!

We teased her piggy tails to make them stick out (I tried using pipe cleaners but Louisa's hair is too thick and heavy), and used some red coloured hairspray. Stripey stockings and some freckles completed the look.

A big bouquet!

2009-08-17T12:47:00.000+10:00

Just a quick post to mention how wonderful it has been to receive comments from Natalie, Becky, Andrea and Novy (Little Munchkins) over my last couple of posts. I've been a real slacker with my sewing and keeping up with the EB online sewing community and I feel so happy to know that people are still reading about my little adventures. Thankyou for taking the time out.

I have high hopes of keeping up one day. I may even get some sewing done soon, as Louisa has BookWeek dress up coming up. I must admit, I'm loathe to get out the machine though as the house is currently immaculate ( it's on the market) and I'm a terribly messy sew-er.

Off to blog crawl!

Lizzie's Party!

2009-08-10T15:55:00.001+10:00

We held Lizzie's party yesterday at one of our favourite parks. Magical weather and lots of fun playing with her friends, and, of course, a cake. In the shape of a four, per Lizzie's request, and decorated in her favourite colours.

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

2009-08-04T14:06:00.000+10:00

My 'baby' is turning four tomorrow! I can't believe she's that old now, and I'll have to remind myself not to treat her as a 'baby' now. For a start, I guess I should stop carrying her everywhere.

She is starting to show signs of being a real little girl now. Our conversations are hilarious, and she's showing a lot more confidence and enthusiasm for being out and about around other kids now, shedding that shyness and timidness that I thought was part of her personality. It seems it was just a stage, part of getting used to the world.

She's a real character, with a magical imagination and a talent for drawing and making her family laugh.

Happy Birthday Lizzie!

Louisa's party

2009-07-14T10:48:00.001+10:00

What is a teddy makeover party?

I'm glad you asked. I had this question a lot when I sent out the invites to Louisa's party recently. Basically it was an idea Louisa and I had which was 1) closer to home than the Teddy Bear Factory and 2) more fun. A teddy themed party probably isn't something you could get away with beyond six, but I think the term 'makeover' made it seem a little more grown up.

We asked the party guests to bring a plain bear from home (or borrow one of ours). Most babies and children seem to get way more stuffed toys than they could ever possibly play with, so this was a chance to drag those neglected teddies out of closets and storage boxes and actually use them!

We spent a short amount of time choosing new outfits for the girls bears that I'd sewn, and putting cheap jewellery on them, and then onto playing games (including Musical Bears instead of musical chairs and a Teddy Treasure hunt) and having fun.

I cheated a little by using a very easy summer shirred dress with ribbon straps. It's a good thing teddy bears have all that fur to keep them warm! I sewed party bags but cheated by using a non fraying material and simply folding a rectangul in half and sewing two side seams and tying up with some curling ribbon. Great effect, without much effort.

We had a low key cake this year too, just a love heart shape with pink frosting and sprinkles. If we had grandparents and other relatives nearby, we'd most likely not have had a party this year, but with no family dinner as a substitute, I'm happy to give the girls a party each year, just not too over the top.

I think the guests had a fun time, and I know my two certainly did. Now to plan Elizabeth's party for next month!

Happy Birthday Louisa!

2009-06-09T12:34:00.000+10:00

2009-06-05T14:30:00.000+10:00

Louisa's birthday is coming up, and my last chance today to organise and wrap presents. Apart from some Belville lego, it's all books (including a lockable diary), so it doesn't look all that exciting. So I've quickly sewn some PJs to add to her presents.

The applique is very rough here. I disobeyed my own 'always use stabiliser rule', but as they're pajamas and not to be seen in public, I'm not too worried. I know she'll love the unicorn fabric.

Anyway, off now to sew some teddy bear outfits for her teddy bear makeover party!

Och aye, what do you think of this wee lassie?

2009-05-25T14:23:00.000+10:00

One thing I never realised before I had kids was the number of milestones that would leave you a bit teary. First day of school, sure. When the squiggles on the page suddenly make sense and your child can read, I could have predicted that one. But buying your first second hand kilt? Never anticipated that!

Louisa's been Highland dancing for over a year now and is still as keen as ever. Much more exciting than boring ballet apparently (although her sister would disagree!). So with a competition coming up in July, and many more to follow no doubt, I've bitten the bullet and bought this second hand one. A full dancing outfit can cost hundreds of dollars brand new from a fancy store (I think someone mentioned $900!) , so thankfully our studio organises for the costumes to be sold and resold and resold again second hand.

Now keep in mind we have a few adjustments to do: more elastic on the sleeves so they puff out more, a zip on the vest to replace the fiddly hook and eye, and of course hemming the kilt so we can see Louisa's legs when she's wearing the matching socks. We would have loved a green vest with gold braid and buttons to match to bring out the green and yellow in the kilt, but there were none available secondhand that fit - and I'm not sure I'm up for sewing one. Maybe a project for later in the year anyway?

And just for contrast, here's Lizzie from her end of year concert last year!

Catching up...

2009-05-14T14:13:00.000+10:00

I've been a bad blogger, I know. I've been taking some time away from the internet to enjoy the last of the warmer weather and get some projects done. We're contemplating a move (same area,bigger yard and newer home), so we've been trying to fix our older home up to make it a bit more presentable for sale.

The big question is where do you stop? So far we've removed bubbled tint from countless windows :

Finished laying flooring in the study (more credit to DH for that one):
Made various pieces of 'artwork' to brighten up corners of the house (Pooh to the designer on HomeMADE who doesn't like homemade artwork - I don't like his show - so there!)

Not to mention, loads of gardening, oiling of decks, painting, getting various quotes for reno jobs, only to scratch most as being too costly.

I have managed some sewing. Here's some pants for Lizzie:

EB swap

2009-03-20T17:02:00.001+10:00

I've been participating in the EB swap and we opened our packages from Faye and Susan today. Wow, have we been lucky in our household! I'm so impressed with the items we received from both swap partners, and the way they both were able to figure out the right items for each girl.

Lizzie was spoilt by Faye with a pink cord outfit (jacket and skirt and hairband) complete with embroidered butterflies and flowers - perfect for her! Also, much to her delight she also got a monogrammed apron which she adores and sent her immediately to the kitchen to 'cook'!

Louisa's outfit from Susan is perfect for her also. She love love loves the dress with the stripes and spots and leggings that match. So versatile and perfect for our climate. The package included an embroidered cord skirt as well. Louisa loves the colours in that so much. Not to mention the horsie themed fabric which it was all wrapped in.

Thanks so much to both very talented ladies. There's only a couple of quick pics, but I promise more to come when the weather clears, also pics of Lizzie's apron and Louisa's skirt to come.

He rocks in the treetops...

2009-02-28T14:16:00.001+10:00

Here's a tshirt I appliqued for a little friend's 6th birthday. It took me a long time to settle on an image for an applique. 6 seems a bit grown up for a lot of the applique ideas I have for my girls. Then I ran out of time to do the text in freezer paper stencils as I'd planned, so I resorted to hand embroidery. I don't think I've done much of that since I was in Brownies! Quite relaxing actually and nice and portable. Maybe I'll do a bit more. Hopefully I'll get better at it.

I hope the recipient likes it. If not we did include a Polly pocket present and a lovely book.

A present for a little friend

2009-02-09T20:28:00.000+10:00

A little friend of ours turned three, so I made these to go with the two Kelly dolls Lizzie chose for her buddy.

Holiday fun

2009-01-27T14:06:00.000+10:00

We've just returned from a lovely time in Victoria, catching up with the girls' both sets of grandparents and extended family. We also had time for some sightseeing too.

We loved dipping our toes in the icy cold Tarago River at Noojee, a great antidote to the unexpectedly warm days.

Meeting some new friends at Gumbuya Park -that placed has certainly changed since I attended the opening at age 7 . There's a lot more emphasis on rides for the older kids, and less animals than I remember. Here's the girls meeting the sole emu.
Here we are on the City Circle Tram, which Lizzie enjoyed a lot. Louisa was less impressed, after being bonked on the head by a man's bag as he disembarked. I loved seeing how the city has evolved over the last decade since Peter and I moved to Brisbane.

We also managed a visit to the Melbourne zoo, which we all enjoyed. Here's Lizzie bug exploring, and making the acquaintance of a butterfly friend.

Sorry this post is not very sewing related, although Lizzie is wearing some upcycled pants in the pics. I added a toadstool patch and elastic waist on the morning we left, after I realised her wardrobe mainly consists of skirts and dresses!

Louisa's new skort

2009-01-12T14:36:00.000+10:00

During the year I've done very little sewing for Louisa, as she's been in school uniform most of the time. Over the holidays, though, I've seen the need for a few more play around clothes. So here's a skort suitable for climbing trees and jumping around while still looking pretty: I did use a pattern but basically it's shorts with a flap of material sewn into the right seam and waistband.

Apparently it's (they're?) very comfy and has been worn non stop for the past day and half since I finished it!

Fun in the sun

2009-01-07T12:17:00.000+10:00

We're enjoying our holidays, spending time boating and swimming and generally having fun.

Not much time for sewing, so nothing to report, although I do have a couple of dresses for the girls in the planning stages.

Here's the Tshirt I stencilled for Louisa for Christmas. I think it's groovy enough to wear all year round actually.

Happy Christmas, a little late

2008-12-27T14:13:00.000+10:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas break. We had a lovely quiet family Christmas this year without any interstate relatives. We had a lovely time and are still enjoy the lovely weather and relaxed atmophere in our part of the world.

Catching up a bit, I had a nice meetup with two of my sewing friends from EB recently. While it was a shame that Marie couldn't make it this time, it was lovely to meet Sue for the first time, and so nice to catch up with Andrea again, who very generously made us each a gift. Here's my beautiful bag: I'm looking forward to more catch ups, and also meeting more of our Brisbane based sewists.

Due to our Christmas being a more casual one, I decided not to make a special dress, which was probably just as well as the girls very quickly changed into the dressups Santa gave them on Christmas day! To wear to a couple of catch ups before the big day, I decided to have a go at stencilling. I'm loving this process. I made Lizzie a simple 'Joy' stencilled on a bought Tshirt, but she argued it 'didn't have enough pretty things on it'! So I added some ricrac and yoyos and made a matching skirt.

I don't have a finished photo of Louisa's, but hers is much simpler. Here's the initial stencil and then I've since added a gold dove onto it. I'll get a pic later.

I hope you enjoy any extended family time you might get. My husband is home for a couple more weeks, and we'll soon be joined by his son J. I'll have to ask him very nicely for a photo of the 'You Rock You Rule' Tshirt I stencilled for him as part of his Christmas gift while he's here.

My favourite Christmas book

2008-12-11T18:34:00.000+10:00

I'm so lucky to have this beautiful book in my possession. It brings back such beautiful memories of my own childhood Christmases.

Our Grandma would come over to our home every Christmas Eve after my Pa had passed away and stay the night. Her piano was at our house (no room where she lived) and she would play Christmas tunes from this book. Later Dad would read Twas the night before Christmas from its pages.

Having Grandma stay over meant my older sister would sleep in my younger sister and I's room on the floor. It was very exciting, and we would be determined we would not be going to sleep, but instead we would play games to keep us awake until we heard Santa.

Here's a few select pages. I have scanned the entire book, as its getting a little the worse for wear, which to me adds to its special magic charm.

The Kimono

2008-12-04T08:41:00.000+10:00

Here's Louisa's kimono dress up for a Multicultural celebration at her school.

I did use a pattern as a base: McCalls M4953 but made loads of changes, reducing the material significantly by making the sleeves and the body shorter, and doing away with the lining. I felt that in the Queensland heat, extra fabric is not a good thing.

Of course I got a little carried away and cut it too short, so added a contrast band around the bottom rather than the neckline, and I really like the effect. By the time I got to the sash/obi part, I winged it with a rectangle of fabric and some velcro. I have no idea what the pattern required as I'd tossed it aside by that stage. That's one of the things I enjoy about kids' dress ups. There's no real rules and you can experiment without feeling too bad if it doesn't work out! But in this case I really like it and it's a great addition to the girls' dress up box.
The fan was a gift from some friends who went to Japan recently, and the drinking straws in the hair were Louisa's idea, which I think look very cute.

Some online games to play over Christmas

2008-12-03T13:11:00.000+10:00

I'm not much of a gamer, so I prefer my games to be a bit chilled and relaxing. If you need a break from sewing or online blog trawling, here's a couple of Christmas themed games that you (or the kids) might like:

The Crossing

The Winterbells

Plenty of other, non-Christmassy games too at http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/ Lizzie's favourite for us to play together is A Daily Cup of Tea

Enjoy!

More sewing!

2008-11-24T13:50:00.000+10:00

Quite a bit of sewing to report. Maybe its a warmer weather thing. Here's a couple of things I've done lately.
Firstly, a twirly skirt, which will be part of a present for Louisa's friend, Ava. The fabric was from a local discount fabric store, where I've often uncovered some gems. Their quilting fabrics are only $6, so perfect if you don't mind that the fabrics aren't the latest current favourites. This is apparently is an old Michael Miller. It's very pink, but I think the recipient will like it very much.Secondly, Lizzie was after a nightie. Louisa has a satin cheapy from Coles of all places. She adores it (it's pink with fairies - what's not to love?) as does Lizzie. I raided my stash one night to make her one and discovered this lovely thin knit fabric I'd squirreled away, with plans for a light hoodie which never eventuated. I vaguely traced the pattern from Louisa's, so consequently it's a little big, but Lizzie doesn't mind and at least it will last her a while!

Finally, non-sewing related, but Louisa completed her very first Highland Dancing exam on Saturday. She did very well and was very impressed with her medal - and with this mock magazine cover we put together:

Lizzie's peasant dress

2008-11-18T17:02:00.000+10:00

Here's Lizzie's new peasant dress. I've loved seeing peasant dresses on loads of blogs lately, so thought I'd do my own simple version with an old pattern I already had. It really shows what great value home sewing is. I used some lovely Cherry Tree fabric I got in my local Spotlight's recent move for a bargain $5 a metre!I'm very happy with it, and so is Lizzie. I intially thought this particular fabric was a bit too sickly pink, but Lizzie insisted and I love it made up. She's happy to wear it all day, without the need for costume changes 5 times a day which we've been having lately. It's so comfortable you can even bungy trampoline in it!That photo was taken at Kings Beach Caloundra, a fantastic family holiday spot. In addition to the bungy trampoling, there's an ocean water bathing pool, lovely patrolled beaches, some nice eateries and cool water features to play in. This time it had the added attraction of Victorian based Grandma and Grandpa Max, and Aunty Helen, staying there.
Here are the girls dressed and ready to go on the way up.

The trip back was quite eventful, driving into the severe storm South East Queesnlad endured on Sunday afternoon/evening. Our usual 45 min trip became 2 and a half hours of very slow driving, and Louisa and I were exhausted after it (Peter was working). Lizzie slept the whole way, and then transferred to bed and slept through until morning with no dinner. Thank goodness I'd allowed them both to have an icecream before we left.

A new skort and a big bump!

2008-10-25T11:22:00.000+10:00

Look at poor Lizzie's head! One minute she was sitting outside on a chair next to me, playing a game with Louisa and the next minute there was a bump on the concrete - and copious amounts of tears. Poor little thing.

She still managed to model her new skort for me. I made this for all those park visits we seem to be having lately. It's beautiful outdoor weather here at the moment, and while Lizzie owns loads of nice dresses and skirts, I prefer her to climb trees and rope ladders and slide down slippery dips in shorts - or skorts (love that word!).

I had intended for this material to be used for a twirly skirt or dress, but when I was just about to cut out some sensible plain drill, Lizzie insisted she wanted this fabric for her new skort. So who am I to argue with a very insistent 3 year old?

And finally here's Lizzie's lovely painting she did today. Beautiful!

Pillow slip dress

2008-10-11T12:45:00.000+10:00

The weather had been warming up a little, although back to cold and wet today. Lizzie should get a bit of wear from this pillow slip dress eventually. It's made from a lovely thin cotton which will be perfect for super hot summer days.

I wanted to have a go at a pillow slip dress with some fabric I didn't care for much before trying it out on nicer ones. So I found this fabric with teensy dots deep in the bottom of one of my plastic tubs. Not sure where I scored it from. But now that it's made up, I really like it - and best of all, so does Lizzie!

Please excuse the lack of ironing, and the fact that I haven't trimmed the ribbon ties to size yet. Oh, and our sad excuse for lawn and half dead pot plants. They've since been watered and are back to looking pretty.

A pretty present

2008-09-24T21:42:00.000+10:00

Another little friend's birthday party - and this time I actually sewed something! Well, sort of.

It's kind of cheating, isn't it, to use such a cute fairy image from some pretty fabric and just applique it to a bought Tshirt. I don't think the recipient minded my laziness. A matching headband and an activity book featuring very similar looking fairies and we had a great gift.

A Mermaid's 'Tale'

2008-08-28T14:05:00.000+10:00

One of Louisa's favourite books is Can You Catch A Mermaid? by Jane Ray. It's quite a melancholy book really, but both my girls enjoy me reading it for their bedtime story quite regularly. The illustrations are just beautiful, and story (about letting your friend go home even if it makes you sad) is quite moving!

This week was Book Week Parade at school and Louisa decided she wanted to be Freya, the mermaid character from the book. Of course, the tail had to be detachable, as Freya comes onto land and the shy little girl she befriends doesn't know initially that she is a mermaid.

So here's my effort. Admittedly the costume is a little dodgy in parts as I found the stretch velvet a little tricky to work with (and of course my twin stretch needle broke halfway through!), but the tail worked out beautifully.

2008-08-14T13:12:00.001+10:00

Well, look at that. I've missed a whole month with no posts at all in July! I guess there's been no sewing to report.

Lizzie has had a wondeful week, turning 3, attending the Justine Clarke concert at a local hall and celebrating with three cakes (four if you include the cupcakes at daycare as well!). We had one cake at mums' group, one at home with the family and one at her extra special party on Saturday!

This was one of the cruisiest and most enjoyable parties I've had for the girls. We only had three of her little friends (plus two older siblings who are Louisa's friends from kindy last year). We held it at home and kept the party games and sugary foods to a minimum. The girls seemed happy enough playing with Lizzie's new doll's house. We did do pass the parcel and a treasure hunt, and applied some mermaid themed temporary tattoos. What fun!

Happy 5th Birthday Louisa!

2008-06-25T13:34:00.000+10:00

I can't believe it's been 5 years since this little baby entered the world! A rare shot of her sleeping - it was quite the novelty, being a catnapper from day one. Too much going on to waste time sleeping apparently!

And look at the little lady she's turned into! Such a happy, friendly, clever and kind little girl. I am immensely proud of her. I won't show too many party shots, but here's her sister enjoying the day, even if it was a little damp.
This face just about says it all!

And where better to go on your birthday for dinner than our local Sizzlers! Fine dining it isn't, but to a five year old, heaven on a stick, especially when Mum lets you wear the nail polish and jewellery some friends gave you and have icecream for dessert!

Pay It Forward

2008-06-19T19:02:00.000+10:00

Look at the generous parcel I received from Karen. I absolutely love it all! The girls adore their pencil rolls (they're both the little artists, and love to draw each night before bed) and are thrilled with their letter Ts, and have already worn them several times. The appliqued singlet matches Louisa's twirly skirt and hadan outing to a boy's party last week. The coasters are on my coffee table and getting quite a workout, and the tissue pouch has been added to my handbag. Such lovely and useful things! Thankyou Karen!

So now it's my turn. I'm thinking I'll need at least a month for there to be enough responses for me to pick out some lucky winners.

Here are the rules:

I will send a handmade gift to 3 random people who leave a comment on my blog
requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift
will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week… LOL… but you will
receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in
return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Now I really have to start blogging regularly!!

I must share some of Louisa's birthday fun soon. Next post, I promise. I can't believe my little girl is 5!

2008-05-29T12:07:00.000+10:00

I'm such a bad blogger at the moment. I sometimes feel bad, but then I figure not that many people are still reading, so it doesn't really matter! I do still want to keep it going though as record of this stage in my life. So here comes a photo rich post.

Mothers Day is a while ago, I guess, but these photos are from that weekend. We had a lovely time in the mountains, Peter convincing the girls we'd found 'Fairy Mountain', so a fairy spotting expedition was underway. The girls keep catching imaginary fairies, having a little chat and then letting them go. So cute.

We won't even discuss the restaurant we ate at that day, except to say I used to think restaurants featured on Kitchen Nightmares were exceptions. Not so sure now.

Long overdue...

2008-05-05T10:56:00.000+10:00

Here is Elizabeth with one of her favourite toys. I have been very remiss in not posting photos of Tiger Filly's fabulous handiwork which we received as part of our Valentine's swap. Mainly as it quickly became a favourite with my mermaid obsessed daughters and it's been tricky to wrench it out of their hands. So here it is, still in Lizzie's possession, maybe a little worse for wear. I also received some beautiful cord, which you will be seeing very soon in the form of another pinafore dress, and yummy chocolates which quickly made their way into my mouth and onto my hips!

Thanks again for such thoughtful gifts, and apologies for not posting images sooner.

Suzanne got her groove back?

2008-04-26T18:42:00.000+10:00

How about this cute pinafore dress? Modelled without a top under it, as we were both a bit excited to get it on her.

Recently Elizabeth and I took a trip to Spotlight - it certainly had been a while. I think I needed that to give me a little inspiration. This beautiful cherry tree fabric is certainly more expensive than the fabrics I normally use - I'll admit I'm quite the cheapskate and generally try to buy clearance fabrics or those on sale. But I paid full price for this one as I loved it so much and thought it could definitely make a dress worthy of the gorgeous Lizzie.

Lizzie's favourite feature: the pockets!

Please excuse my fiddling with the photo. I opened up a program to get rid of some of the reflection on the glass fence - but ended up playing around with the funky edge feature instead. A bit much probably, but certainly different, unusual...

Let's go fly a kite!

2008-04-21T14:11:00.000+10:00

Peter decided to buy the girls a kite - well, that's what he said. But given that he purchased a stunt kite for ages 10 and up (and consequently the girls can only really watch) I think the toy was more for him! Still lots of fun 'helping', although Lizzie did get knocked over by a string at one point when it did an unexpected nose dive.

Quite the family bonding experience, just ask Mary Poppins.

Update!

2008-04-17T14:15:00.000+10:00

Such a long time between posts. What have I been doing? Lots actually. We had a trip to Vic to visit family. The early Easter meant that my Dad's birthday was over the Easter break so it gave the girls and I a chance to fly down, meet my sister (who flew in from Canberra) at the airport, hire a car and drive down to West Gippsland. A lovely 77th birthday lunch for Grandpa Max at a local winery. We also took a drive to the Yarra Valley to catch up with his twin sister, my Aunty Florence, and family, and dropped in on the other grandparents, Nanna and Poppa, in Melbourne where the girls caught up with their favourite cousin Joseph.

Hmm what else? I've been working on house and garden. Let's just say Bougainvillea is not my friend. I've been pulling some out of the front of our house and - Ouch! I'm also now the Ikea queen - I'm really impressed with my 'putting stuff together' skills at the moment. Also, I've been contemplating my return to work, so I'm in the middle of filling in a course application to make working life post kids a little more enjoyable for me. I've also rejoined the gym to shift a few kilos caused by too much baking and not enough walking.

Apart from that, the usual family stuff. Trips to Moreton Island on the boat, outings to the waterfront, coffees, etc. Some photos to follow when blogger feels like behaving!

Life's a balancing act!

2008-03-10T12:34:00.000+10:00

Yes, I know it's a sewing blog - so how do I explain my lack of sewing related news. I guess one child in school uniform most of the time, and one in her older sisters hand-me-downs, not to mention my eye for a bargain recently at our local DFO - all of this means that I really have no need to sew. In the past my desire to sew has over come this one, but lately I've been doing a little reassessing, and have put sewing on the back burner for a little bit. My house and my fitness are taking over. But I'm starting to get the itch to sew for myself- so stay tuned!

Some sewing at last.

2008-02-18T11:17:00.000+10:00

I've finally done a little sewing. Excuse the poor photos but my dear husband has my camera so I'm stuck with the old one.
I made a very simple two tiered skirt for Lizzie, made with this orange star fabric which she just loves. She's a bit of a star gazer like her dad, and orange seems to be a colour she connects with for some reason.
I appliques this cute spare of fabric onto a Target T. I found the sqaure already cut out amongst the high school magazines and old assignments Mum brought up when she visited at Christmas. I can't remember where I got it from or what I was planning to do with it, but this is one time I'm glad my mum is a bit of a hoarder.

Other people's work

2008-02-17T20:30:00.000+10:00

Not much creativity from me lately, so how about a look at some other people's. Namely, my two daughters. I wonder if you can pick which pictures were done by the two year old, and which were done by the four year old? Louisa's only lately shown an interest in drawing, I guess because you have to stop talking and concentrate for a bit! Her little sister, Elizabeth on the other hand loves to draw more than anything, and is pretty good for her age, I'd say.
Can you tell we've had a lot of rain?

Another creative person is Greg Dries, from Moods Photography. Here's just a couple of the beautiful photographs he took at the end of last year.

Louisa's first day at school!

2008-01-31T08:46:00.000+10:00

I'm not quite sure where the last 4 and a half years have gone, but here is my baby starting school yesterday. I apologise for the blurriness of the photos (mummy's hand was shaking a little), but I think the expression shows exactly how we were both feeling about her first day. Apprehensive, but mainly excited.

Her day seemed to have gone really well. The teacher has already established that Louisa likes to chat and isn't shy (no surprises there). And when talking about activites she did that day, I commented that it sounded like fun. Her response: "Everything was fun, Mum!'.

I must confess I'm happy that the Prep year here in Qeueensland is play based, and will be similar to the C & K kindy she attended last year. I had been quite casual and unconcerned about her starting because of this, but must admit to some quiet tears on the way back to the car. I'm only just realising that so many of the outings and adventures we've done together and that I've taken for granted will be consigned to school holidays and weekends. 'End of and era' is how one mums' group friend put it, and it sure is!

Happy New Year (yeah, yeah, I know the month's half over)

2008-01-14T17:21:00.000+10:00

I've had a super relaxing few weeks, after all the drama of pre-Christmas excitement. I very much appreciated the chance to do not very much at all. Even the weather cooperated, with rain, rain and more drizzle, so that my action man husband also had to put any outdoors adventures on hold and just let us all relax.

My first try at hosting Christmas was a success, even the turkey was lovely. My family (Mum, Dad and two sisters) joined us from Gippsland, Victoria and Canberra, and even braved the early morning present opening. The girls were very spoiled by everyone. Here's the Christmas morning mess:

The bubble machine from big brother Jake was a huge hit:
I love the way Lizzie blows bubbles. Her whole body moves - so cute!
Jake joined us for part of the holidays, and was quite surprised the weather was cooler here than home in Melbourne. He still managed to get into the pool most days.We took a quick trip to Melbourne to catch up with Peter's parents. We managed to solve the mystery of the Farifield dog for Jake. For years he's been telling everyone the dog moves its tail, and noone would believe him. We now have video evidence for him.
We stayed at a friend's apartment in Port Melbourne. Boy has that area changed since we've been in Queensland!

Lizzie's Christmas dress

2007-12-20T16:30:00.000+10:00

I've finally completed Lizzie's Christmas dress, although 'completed' might not be the exact word. The pattern also included an underskirt, and I had some red fabric sewn up and hemmed ready to go. But I had a last minute change of plans, for a few reasons. Firstly, it looked so lovely as it was when I tried it on Lizzie. Secondly, I'm anticipating a hot muggy day and the less layers of fabric, the better. And lastly, I must admit the thought of gathering another skirt if I didn't really need to wasn't that appealing.

Lizzie loves it and Louisa has been eying it of enviously and asking when she can have a dress like that! Please excuse her messy hair, she'd not long before woken up from a nap!

I'm also including here a sneak peak of our photos we had done for various Chrissie presents. I only picked them up a few minutes ago, so I'll go through the CD and pick out my favourites to share at a later time. We went with Moods Photography based in Woody Point.

6 more sleeps!

2007-12-19T11:10:00.000+10:00

I'm starting to get excited about Christmas. One of my favourite things about Christmas is Christmas music. For at least part of the year, radio stations, stores, etc play music with melody and beautiful arrangements (Can you tell I'm not a fan of much modern music?). I was going through some of my favourite Christmas albums to put together a CD for my family to listen to in my car when they're up (they'll be driving my car around for the duration of their stay).

I'll start with an artist who feels like an old friend to me. He's always been on my CD/tape player for as long as I can remember, and I love this Christmas album of James Taylor's. My favourite tracks are Who Comes This Night and Some Children See Him, as they're not done to death the way a lot of Christmas songs are.

Next up, Michael Buble does that Christmas crooner thing really well and the absolute best track is Grown-Up Christmas Wish - quite often makes me teary when I hear it.

Josh Groban has a universal appeal. The oldies love him as well (even my father). The track I love on that album is Angels We Have Heard On High, I simply love hearing that song at Christmas time. His version of I'll Be Home For Christmas is pretty popular too.

We're fans of Sarah McLachlan in this house, and so her version of O Little Town of Bethlehem is on high rotation at the moment, as is the rest of her Wintersong album

I also can't not include come country music (quite the closet country fan, I admit). I love Vince Gill's Do You Hear What I Hear? - just ignore the mullet on the album cover.

For something different Trans Siberian Orchestra does a kind of 'rock/almost heavy metal' take on Christmas. I love their Joy/Angels We Have Heard on High track.

Okay, so that's completely nothing to do with sewing at all, but something to listen to while sewing, I guess.

December the 12th!

2007-12-12T15:37:00.000+10:00

Today was an exciting day. Finally us EB sewing gals got to open our Christmas swap. I was lucky to get this bundle of goodies from Jacqui! Very thoughtful and useful gifts! Thanks Jacqui!!The felt Christmas decorations look wonderful on our tree:

The other excitemnt for the day was Louisa's kindy concert- a nativity play in which Louisa played a very lovely angel This was followed by a selection of Christmas songs (the highlights being Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and Six White Boomers) and a feast!

Santa photo

2007-11-30T13:29:00.000+10:00

Well, a much better result this year than last year - when I had to be in the Santa photo too! This year, both girls had a great chat to Santa. When he asked them what they'd like for Christmas, they were both speechless, so he offered to bring them a special surprise. A very lovely Santa.

We finished off by doing craft at the shopping centre, having a play in the playground and eating a yummy chocolate muffin each. What a great morning!

Oxfam Unwrapped

2007-11-26T11:56:00.000+10:00

If anyone is struggling to find a gift for someone this Christmas, you may want to consider Oxfam's Sewing Training. I think it's quite appropriate for someone who loves to sew themselves, and would get a kick out of people affected by HIV/AIDS being taught this skill to help earn an income. It costs just $63.

Lots of other great gifts to consider at Oxfam Unwrapped or World Vision Smiles.

Tiered skirt

2007-11-24T11:28:00.000+10:00

Here's a quick tiered skirt I made for Elizabeth to wear yesterday. We had our first ever professional photos for the girls organised and I wanted something she could wear when Louisa wore her twirly skirt. So rummaged through my stash to find this love heart fabric. I don't remember where or when I got it to be honest, but the colours blended nicely with Louisa's skirt, both worn with white tops.