Sewing in the silly season

I have managed at long last to make the kids some Christmas Stockings.. I even made one for my darling little niece as she will be staying with us at Christmas time too!

I couldn't locate the exact fabric I was after, but I am quite proud of what I did end up with.

I found a lovely Michael Miller print of the Christmas stockings, but due to the pink factor, I had to source a "boy" type print.. I found the cute nutcrackers one after sorting through lots and lots of nasty gold printed festive prints.. Some co-ordinating stripes and trims and off to start my long awaited project.

I bought myself an i-pod last week and sewing has taken on a whole new meaning.. Lucky our neighbours haven't finished their new home just out from my sewing room window yet, as those earplugs sure give a sense of false security when singing along to the "hits of the 80's".. At least there will be no stray cats nearby whilst I am sewing late at night ... he he.

Merry Christmas to all and heres hoping there is more crafting time in 2009..

The Pear, the pins and the pussycat...

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ANNOY THE BOSS!

First you gotta get the pin head in your teeth,

they all taste the same, any color is fine

although the flower ones are easier..

Then you just pull em out and drop em, easy as that!!

they make an awesome PING sound when they hit.

Check out the mess it makes, this is great fun...

Quickly settle down and look innocent and the heat will be off!

Who me??? Nope, just been here sleeping the whole time..

ask that little boy with the noisy truck that scares the @#$% out of me!!

After the worst 2 days in a very long time, I finally have the energy to laugh about this little escapade by our newest family member..Murphy the menace!

Thanks Jodie for reminding me how to see the funny in what is sometimes a very unfunny life..

Being a mother of 3, Husband to one (missing in action- its harvest) husband as well as the cleaner, chef, ironing lady, moderator, disciplinarian, dietary and welfare manager to all of the 4 aforementioned is a very thankless and not so inspiring task most of the time.

I had a sewing job fall into my lap last week and you will be surprised to know that I am sewing a 'french maid' fancy dress costume.. Imagine the title choices I could have made up with this mixed bag.. the pussycat, the maid, I will let you giggle like I did.. but I was not wanting any uncrafty types popping in off a weird google search.

Some girl time..

I have had the most enjoyable weekend (not productive) for a long time.. My sewing group hired a hall and we locked ourselves in for most of the weekend.

Friday night was a late one and Saturday we sewed from 8.30am till 10pm at night... Oh what joy.

There was lots of quilts, Santa sacks, peasant tops & dresses, monogrammed pillowcases, skirts, and lots of chatter..

I procrastinated for way too long and drank plenty of coffee and probably just enjoyed having female company, instead of kids talk for a change.. oh and there were are a few sneak trips to spotlight too!!!

I did manage to finish these few things and of course a sew-athon wouldn't be complete with several half finished things, you know, the elastic to put in and the fiddly bits to go!! On the pile you go..

pincushion madness

I have always been and avid lover of the magnetic pin holder due to the picking up ease, but recently I have noticed the elves in this house have been moving them around.

I have 3 sewing machines with screens on them and I don't fancy having a magnet put too close to cause them any damage.. not to mention the laptop and the computers inside the machines.. eek

So today, as promised, I have photos of the Dear Fii pincushion. The pattern is available for download here..

A lovely chocolate linen for the bottom. Then my little elves transferred some pins into the new softie!.. Can you tell we are just a little bit pedantic!

Then this morning I decided that for years now I have been admiring the Heather Bailey pear pincushion. Of Course, I am a full on DIY type and made my own pear pattern.. That's when things looked a bit 'pear shaped' he he he... I should have taken a photo next to something else so you could see how HUGE it turned out!!! I didn't think of leaves until nearly finished so just pulled them on over the stem!.. I also poked a little pocket of rice in his bottom to keep him standing nice and tall.. I reckon there is enough stuffing inside him for a small pillow.!!!

Onto the next thing..a coffee and some serious planning. Next weekend my sewing group are having a lock in/out.. A child free weekend of sewing and chatting!!! yippeee..

Elephants and Monkeys

Well, I nearly feel human again after a daring weekend in Melbourne.. We needed to attend my niece's birthday in Melbourne at no other places than the Melbourne Zoo.. Just to paint a nice clear picture, We live about 3-4 hours from Melbourne... So the journey is long and painful, especially knowing that by the time you hit the city traffic there are 3 squirming little bodies that have just contained themselves for way too long!!

The birthday girl with my 3 kids..

Because of the weather and the deteriorating yields, dh was busy doing contract windrowing so it was a superwoman job... Yes, 3 kids, no Melbourne driving skills and the anxiety of all the issues that were likely to arise and the knowledge that I would be dealing with them alone was not at all exciting let me tell you!!!

But I toughened up, packed the car, bought the kids a toy each and some new colouring books and off we headed.. a 2 night stay out in the nether regions of Dandenong and we have survived, we saw the animals, we blew out the candles and of course we saw lots of roadworks (which are a highlight to a 2 year old who has been raised driving diggers and bobcats!)

I didnt get to the Sisters market which was on the wish list, but after 3 hours at the zoo, the kids were asleep before I drove out of the carpark.

The highlight was seeing a baboon with a bottom that looked like a rainbow, and also a monkey that scratched his bum and then sniffed his finger.. (continually!)


Now this week, once I catch up on the washing from the 3 days away, I plan to make a pincushion, designed by the one and only Dear Fii....

A new baby in the house...

I have a new baby in the house, he is very small and precious.. His name is Murphy!.he is a tonkinese.

Miss G and I went for a lovely drive on Saturday afternoon to Echuca to collect our new edition. I still havent recovered from the 8 hours of driving ( at least it wasnt labour) and then there has been the disturbing meowing in the middle of the night, accompanied by the very loud purring in the ear before snuggling up to the feet under the doona...

The kids are in love and are so surprisingly gentle..especially Master (nearly)3.

I have finished another bakersboy in my favourite colour and this time I added some leaves to the flower. I like it.

I have had so many queries about where I got my labels made that I have posted this link to their new website here...

BRING BACK SWAPCARDS!!!

Whilst hunting through a drawer for something I came a little box of swapcards from when I was a young primary school girl, dont even ask how long ago that was..! My girls had a great time sorting through them.

Life used to be so much simpler, these days they all want a DS so they can play with a pretend dog.. we used to have these 40cent cards and valued them like nothing else.. I still remember building up my Sarah Kay collection, they were very very highly regarded cards.. I thought they were so cute I took some pictures, Yep, I probably am a bit loopy today. I am sleep deprived due to that new baby..

I've become a hooker (with wool)

He He, what a cheeky thought....No I have gone quite crazy with the crochet, I just cannot stop, any spare moment it is hooking away on hats and caps... I bought some great bakersboy(newsboy) crochet patterns from here.

I have had no luck locating a size Q hook but I am still working on it. I have had to modify the patterns a bit to get them large enough (due to the hook size issue) and finally, I have hit jackpot.... I have changed a stitch in the brim that makes it easier to find the doubling spot (blah blah blah, It matters to me only I think).. But here are some pictures of my recent crochet creations.. Oh and the flowers are blooming all over the place..

Now this little model , has no idea that his sisters are hiding behind the couch giggling their heads off, but my early attempts would only fit his head...

This crochet thing is my latest obsession.. I am sure Nanna would be proud..

Sidetracked in a sea of pink

Lucy Top

I am in school holiday mode, the washing machine is not getting a break, the ironing basket seems to refill itself daily and the food is dissapearing too!!

Time out for me!! - I decided it was high time to sort through the stash and trim some bits for a very special project... While sorting and snipping I found some long forgotten bits and pieces You know when you see it on the roll at the store and think of all these great ideas and just HAVE TO HAVE IT>>>> But I was inspired to make the girls some buntings for their bedroom walls.

I had clipped this pic out of a magazine some years back and thought it would also make a great gift for some little girls who were soon to have birthdays.. So with my little ironing lass, we cut and made triangles all afternoon..

We traced the letters, she ironed them on and along we went in a sea of pink...

I have stopped momentarily to refill the biscuit barrell..

Meanwhile here is a sneak peek at the nearly finished Audrey top..

These two tops are only my test sew items, I hope to make them in a linen blend in several colours.. though it probably wont happen in the holidays I am guessing.. Then I hope someone wants to buy them!

It is very difficult to sew whilst counting for the skipping rope or resolve arguments over who had which texta first!!

The Audrey Top

And this little parcel will be on its way today, fully stacked with goodness and a few hand sketched pictures by the girls...possibly even some bikky crumbs by now!!