February round up and Loz, what have you started???

February has been a mixture for me. What a month. Some great times spent with Brad and (some of) the kids. This is one of the clydesdales that pulled us on the tram across the causeway to Granite Island this month. Mr 8 was very excited about that ride. He and I went to the Maritime Musuem this week. He was passionate about that too! We had the best time.

It makes me think about Charles Dickens' opening line in "A Tale of Two Cities". It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Strange how those two so often go together. February was also a shocking time for most Australians as the Black Saturday fires in Victoria took over 200 lives and over 1800 homes. Over 7000 people are homeless, some because of deliberately lit fires. We in South Australia were shocked because it could so easily have been us. Our state is so dry at the moment and we suffered the same high temperatures and strong winds that Victoria did. What was the difference? I don't know. I feel in my gut that it was the police who made the difference here. They have an operation all through summer where they visit known arsonists (and even suspected arsonists). Especially on days of extreme fire danger. They just let them know that they are being watched. This is not a scientific deduction of what happened, just how I feel. I think we were lucky that the police have been running this program all summer.

And my sewing room finally settled down a little, first time since Christmas and the move to a different room. My new desk can be seen above. These are some of the things I spend time looking at. Oh! I posted my 300th post and opened an etsy shop too. Busy, busy! I enroled for the Quilt Fabric Delights retreat in April as well. Who of you are going? Comment and let me know!

And Loz is responsible for this little gem. She had a wonderful post entitled "Whatever happened to that young thin person?" and I have included this photo of the young thin person I was in homage to Loz. My Bradley, me and Mrs 24 when she was about 9 months old. She was superbaby! She was tiny, but at 9 months she could run (that's what happens when you start walking at 7 months!) and she ran rings around us, her young, inexperienced parents! I guess she prepared us for what was ahead - another 7 wonderful babies from whom we learnt all sorts of different things! I know I wouldn't be the person I am today had I not learnt all that I have from my children. I think sometimes we mistakenly think we are going to teach them, but some of the biggest life lessons are learnt from the other direction! So, February was great and shocking all at the same time. I'm looking forward to March!

It's Thursday and February is nearly done!

February is nearly over. My fan has been getting a real workout this week. It's hot again. Last year we had a record making heatwave in March, so I'm not really expecting it to cool down yet. When it gets so hot it's hard to do things. So I am just planning my next projects.

The bag - given away!

So, I finally finished it! Saturday evening my Bradley and I went out on a hot date (something we try to do regularly) and both ended up feeling quite ill. We succumbed to a tummy bug at roughly the same time. (We must be in love!) I thought I would soon feel better, but didn't until today. Anyway, this is the bag. It's a bit bigger than the bags I made as Christmas presents, but it's based on those bags.

Another view. The bag is lined with bright blue homespun. It seemed to go so well with the soiree! The blurry photo below shows some detail of the inside of the bag. A hot pink zip and a pieced pocket finish the bag off.

And now for the winner. Miss 22 did the draw for me and she pulled out MissyMack! So Sam, you are the winner! Please email me your snail mail address and I will send it to you. Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and lovely comments about my 300th post. Bloggers really are the nicest people! I am looking forward to the next 100 posts and my 400th post giveaway now. The idea of 100 posts is really exciting to me because of all the crafting and creating that it represents. I'd better start sewing!

Time flies

January flew by this year, and February is doing the same thing! Hopefully I will post a photo of the completed give away bag tonight. This is something else I have been working on this week. In fact it is this doll that has set me pondering about how time flies. I started this doll somewhere near the end of 2007. I remember sewing her head on in October of that year, but her head was all wobbly and I gave up. I am not a softie maker, but I was inspired by all of my children (who all make the most wonderful softies!) and some sewing successes I had in August 2007. I decided that I had it in me to design a doll and make her, despite never having done it before. The last couple of weeks I have been sorting through my crafting things (a legacy of changing rooms and me moving to the room without storage - don't worry, my Bradley took me to Ikea to remedy the storage problem.) and setting up my sewing room. You can see a little of my desk in the doll photo. Well, I found the doll with her ridiculous wobbly head and decided to finish her off. Miss 22 watched me as I took her head off and commented that I was halfway to serial killerdom. I guess she took my "finish her off" comment a different way! Now her head isn't wobbly anymore and I even made her some clothes. She isn't an Amish doll (faceless) so she's not quite finished yet, but I'm working on it. I have learnt a lot from making her and may just become a softie maker after all. Check in later for some bag updates!

Fresh!

You know I am a sucker for Moda's fabric range packs, well this is a jellyroll of Fresh, by Deb Strain. We are experts on fresh here (two of our kids work for the "Fresh Food People" - a supermarket here in Australia - okay, enough advertising!) and I am in love with this range. My Bradley bought the jelly roll for me for my birthday. I don't have a plan for this yet, at the moment I am just enjoying looking at it. And re-arranging it. And putting colours and patterns together. And putting it back together how it was. And starting all over again. No wonder I don't have time to sew!

Remember to leave a comment on my giveaway post!

Giveaway post (celebrating 300 & etsy shop opening)

We went for a drive to Goolwa on the weekend. I hadn't been there since before the Hindmarsh Island bridge was built. (Can't even remember when that was!) I was lucky enough to be able to snap some sailing boats on the River Murray. I have been feeling very restless and "done" with everything the last couple of weeks. Not enough sewing or creating perhaps. The devastation of the Victorian fires has been sobering for everyone I think. (Official death toll stands at 201 with a firefighter killed today. The fires are still burning and fire fighters are still risking their lives. They say the toll will rise, because there are still people missing.) I can't pretend to have really been affected by the horror of the fires, to do so would negate the suffering of those who were actually involved I think. I think I feel like Loz described in this post. She described it in a way I hadn't even thought about. Thanks for blogging that Loz. You helped me clear my head a little.



I have been doing a little sewing this week and have actually added some bags to my etsy shop. (Have a look on the side) I "made" my etsy shop last year in January and then just let it sit there. It was all a bit scary. Mrs 24 (picklesticks) came over with grandson yesterday and I was able to pick her brain and actually get my shop up and running.



Now for the giveaway. I am working on a pieced and quilted bag.


The fabric is from a range called Soiree. I had to look "soiree" up in the dictionary. It's one of those words that I think I know what it means, but find hard to explain! A soiree is an evening gathering or party, usually for some particular purpose. So, join me in my soiree. Leave a comment and help me celebrate my 300th post and the opening of my etsy shop, and I will send a bag and some other goodies to one of you. The comments will be open until Sunday night. Check back on Monday to see the winner! I will post a photo of the prize as soon as it is completed.


Edit: A new blogger, Judith Tetley, is having a giveaway too. Pop over and have a look.

Okay, this is my 300th post, but not the giveaway!

I spent today sewing for my 300th post giveaway. I'm not finished yet (I am having a lovely time. It is the first real sewing I have done since Christmas. Mending doesn't count - there has been a lot of mending!) I also popped in to a shopping centre I have never been to before. The newsagent there had some of the "sewingest" magazines I've ever seen. I bought "Textile" and "Stitch". In the magazines I read an article about making quilts from men's ties and I remembered some sewing I had done after Christmas. This is Miss 22 (with her friend Emma) wearing her tie dress. (This is Emma's photo she uploaded to Facebook. They both look so happy!) She sewed all the ties together and then got a little stuck. A couple of years ago she made a tie skirt for a friend, but found the dress a little different. I put a zip in the back, finished off the shoulders, created a neckline and finished off the sleeves. And then Miss 22 wore it to a ball. It is very heavy and looks just beautiful. She is so clever, I never would have considered making a tie dress! The giveaway post is yet to come. Hope your week is great!

A Sad Day

It all happened so quickly. The combination of severe heat, strong winds and a fire bug quickly ended in disaster. There are 86 people confirmed dead so far in Victoria. A tragedy that police believe will escalate as they are able to get to more areas that have been burnt. Many of those who died were trying to leave the area. My thoughts are with their families. Our Prime Minister has encouraged us all to give generously to the fund to help those who have lost everything.

And in Queensland too much of what Victoria needed (rain!) and didn't get is causing floods. Some towns have been isolated for a week now and a couple of people have lost their lives. Crazy, isn't it? We in South Australia have been very blessed I think. We had the same heat and winds with only one or two minor bushfires resulting. Next post is my 300th.

Knife Day

Today was designated by Miss 18 as "Knife Day". Yes, she finally had her tonsillectomy. She is such a trooper. The last few weeks her speech has been even more affected by her tonsils as they just kept on getting bigger. (Hard to believe I know, cause they were humongous before!) Everyone was mocking her speech and she became very upset about it. People who didn't know her thought she was deaf after listening to her speak. Those tonsils were just silencing her speech and sounds. This is her on the walk to admissions this morning.

She had her tonsils removed this afternoon. The doctor said everyone was very impressed with them. Miss 18 was very sore afterwards. She didn't want to be touched at all, except by Miss 16. They are very close and it was just lovely to watch Miss 16 care for her sister. She helped her drink, massaged her hand and feet, and interpreted her croaky, sleepy phrases for those around her. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that my tiny little girls (they were always the little girls, because we had big girls too!) are so grown up. So grown up and such great people. If I just met them I would want to be friends with them. Miss 18 will spend tonight in hospital and if all goes well will be home tomorrow. Can't wait.

It's February!

Hard to believe that January 2009 is gone. Hello February! It has been so hot here that we haven't done much more than stay at home in the cool. Well, the coolish. When it is 41 outside even 30 degrees inside feels cool! More proof that everything is relative. Speaking of relatives, this is Mr 8 and Miss 16 on the last day of 2008. I really like my relatives. Being a Mum is hard work, but full of joy too. This photo just makes me feel so happy. I remember following along behind these two and thinking how incredibly great they are. My 300th post is in about four or five posts so hang around to see what great stuff I will be giving away! See you soon!