Sewing again

It was such a struggle to get my sewing desk clear. I'm still busy unpacking boxes and sorting and organising. Today I needed to sew so I really concentrated on my sewing desk and cleared it. Then I sat there. I had no idea what to sew once I had the desk! I decided eventually to quilt some of my practice quilts. I really enjoy machine quilting, but everytime I do it I realise just how much I need to practice! My pinboards go up tomorrow and there will also be more sewing.

At the park.

Saturday morning was cold and wet. Miserable in fact. But the park had stone and tin shelters and Grandson had a wonderful time. (Party food included fairy bread and hot soup!)

Happy Birthday!

June is another birthday month for us. Last weekend we celebrated Miss 18's 19th and Miss 22's 23rd birthdays. We were very busy (moving) but managed to slot in a little play. Yesterday was grandson's first birthday. Boy has that year gone fast! This morning we are off to a park to celebrate with him. Happy Birthday!

We're here.

We started moving in to our new house one week ago. Last Friday. Are we settled yet? No, not really. We are lucky enough to have a double garage here which is currently full of unopened boxes, so we're not living in a cardboard jungle at least! On Saturday night I opened the front door and this is what I saw. (Tilt your computer on the side to make any sense of this photo. Google seems to think it should be this way up and I can't convince it otherwise!) I uploaded this photo especially for my friend Sue. She is autumn crazy and this is just to make her jealous. I have autumn on my doorstep Sue!

I don't have a separate sewing room at the new house. I have appropriated the casual dining area as my own which means that I am set up opposite the kitchen. Hopefully this will mean fewer burnt dinners! (I tend to get engrossed in the sewing room and forget dinner! Do you do that?) This is my new room this afternoon. Still unpacking, but the required shelves, desk and ironing board are in place!

You know "reality tv"? (Which isn't actually real at all. How many times have you lived in a house with a bunch of strangers and no contact with the outside world? Never? Thought so, and yet that is the premiss of "Big Brother" one of the originals of reality tv.) Well this is "reality blogging"! I kept wanting to wait until my sewing room was perfect to photograph it and show you, but I worked out that if I wait until then I may never blog again! So, I'm back. Still unpacking. Still organising. And now I'm blogging again too.

Today - the dream and the reality.....

It was cold this morning. Four degrees celcius when I left the house. (I know, not really that cold, but for Adelaide, definitely cold!) As the day went on the sky was fairly clear and if you could find a protected spot the sun was lovely. Just like this cold day when I sat in the car and enjoyed the winter sun at Brighton beach. Would have been lovely to do that today. But I didn't.

This is what I spent the day looking at. Brown tea chests. No sparkling waves. No jetty strollers. Just boxes. Filled a few, Mrs 24 filled more. Gosh she's good value that daughter of mine! She worked like a slave for me today. Grandson was here too being very cute (he's like that!) and walking to our cheers of delight and squeals of "Clever boy!" (Well if you walk before your first birthday I think you deserve to be feted!) Hmm..... so tomorrow? What will you be doing? I'll be packing!!!

What I am thinking about.....

...... my christmas in July swap! This is some fabric I stumbled upon last week. And I'm thinking about it. Where to start? Where to go after I have started? My first project in the new house I think!

Inside the new house

Entry, lounge to dining room.

Went to the new house to take some measurements last week. You know, to see if everything would fit and where. It just seemed so big and empty. Everyone rushed from room to room excitedly. Bradley and I took longer. Tape measure and notebook in hand. Then the photos. (Bradley was the cameraman) Everyone else got bored. And sat........

................ and suddenly it didn't look quite so big and empty. We filled it up! Without furniture even! (Mr 20 and Mr 8 lying down. Miss 17 sitting, Mr 15 and Miss 12 sitting with backs to the camera. Miss 23 and me standing.

Paperbag Swap.

This is the bag I made and sent to Leah for Missymack's paper bag swap. Leah loves owls so I decided to applique and embroider one on the front of the bag. The bag is lined and has a zippered pocket inside. I am pleased with the owl. I think he's very cute!

Usually when I make something I just make it up as I go, but don't tend to keep a record of what I have done. Mrs 24 (picklesticks) has been encouraging me to keep a record of what I have done so that I can write up a pattern to put in my etsy shop. I was planning to have the pattern for this bag in my etsy shop next week, but our pending move has put me a little behind. The pattern should be finished next week, so look out for it if you would like to make a cute bag!!!

We're moving!

Finally! We're moving! We have been looking and looking for a house to suit our larger-than-average family for about 10 months now, and this week we found it. We heard today that we got the house. Much joy and excitement from all quarters! So, there will not be much sewing done here for the next little while because we will be packing and moving. Can't wait! (It's pretty, isn't it?)

It's June!

It has been very cool in the mornings for the past couple of weeks. In fact it feels like winter. It's hard to believe that June is here. I love June! I love the weather (nice and cool). The photo above is Adelaide this week under a blanket of fog. We have birthdays coming up in June. I received an invitation from Mrs 24 this week for grandson's first birthday party. Doesn't time fly! Can't believe that grandson has been here for almost a year!

Clap hands!

Yesterday we went to visit friends. Mr 15, Mr 8 and Miss 12 (pupil free day) went to play. Mrs 24 and I went to visit and grandson went to be cute. (It's one of the things he does best!) When we picked them up grandson was busy clapping whenever he did something cute. Apparently clapping is a group activity so Miss 12 had to join in whenever he clapped. I spent yesterday and last night drawing. I am designing stitcheries again and am having a lot of fun doing it. Today I will be stitching. If I like the results I will be putting the patterns in my etsy shop next week. Hope you have a fun day too!

Some questions answered for Joolz. (Head on over to be part of the fun!)

Joolz is having a 150th blog post celebration! Yay Joolz! And part of winning her small giveaway (her words not mine) involve answering some questions on your blog. Here are my answers. (They looked like fun so I'm in!) Ahem........ everything some of you might have wanted to know about me............



# 1 What's for dinner tonight?
For dinner tonight we had sausage hot pot cooked in the slow cooker, with mashed potato and baby peas.

# 2 What's your favourite cute animal picture?
My favourite picture is above. It's one I took myself at the Botanical Gardens of a heron helping himself to the fish in a glasshouse. It was a warm day so the doors were open and this guy saw an opportunity and took it! Survival of the fittest, huh?

# 3 Who does the dishes in your house?
Well, it's either no-one, or everyone. I'm not sure which. Everyone I guess. We have a dishwasher (when you get to child number eight you get one, that's what I told my Bradley and he fell for it......umm......followed the rule completely) and the idea is we all stack it as we finish using the dishes. Mr 8 is the emptier. He's very good at it.

# 4 One a personal note, regarding toilet paper - Are you a Scruncher or a Folder... or a Fruncher/Scrolder, he he!
This one is to do with advertising I think. (I never understood that ad!) I don't think I do either. I don't think I do?????

# 5 What jar (brand) of (tomato based) Spaghetti sauce do you use for Spagetti Bol?
I don't. I make my own. I use tomatos, garlic, onions, herbs etc simmered.

# 6 Do your children make their own beds and put out their clothes or do ... you?
Hmmm....... this one is difficult. We do the quilt/doona/duvet thing so there's not a lot of bedmaking to be done. They do their own. They also put out their clothes. If they want them back again clean they have to get them to the laundry.

# 7 Can I have your favourite recipe for a dessert you love?
I think this questionaire shows just how contrary I am. I don't actually like dessert much. If pressed to provide a dessert I will usually make a pavlova. My favourite is just the meringue recipe I use for my kids (they love meringues!). Three egg whites, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Once it's baked and cool I top it with yoghurt (the kids favourite flavour is vanilla, but I'm happy with any flavour!) and fresh fruit. I go for whatever is in season. Tastes best that way.

# 8 My ironing board is permanently set up - do you labour over baskets of ironing ordo you fold, put away then iron as you need.... like me?
I used to have an ironing basket. Until baby number five. Of course it was always full and we were always scrabbling through it to find clothes when we were in a hurry. I decided that was dumb and ever since we have just put all the clothes away and then ironed as needed. I used to fold them all. Now (since baby number 7) we don't even fold them. We just make a pile and each of us takes our pile to our room and puts it away. It seemed silly to fold things that were going to be hung up anyway and it's not such a big job if we all fold our own things before we put them in our drawers.

# 9 Do you wear makeup each day or go Phhhffft! Stuff it! How often do you go to the hairdresser?
I have never worn makeup every day. When I was young I couldn't wait to be sixteen so I could wear makeup. (the age at our house) Then I turned sixteen. I get migranes from perfumes so wearing makeup was never really going to work for me because it is all full of perfume! I am also an excema sufferer. Yeah, dunno why I was so excited to be sixteen. If only I'd thought about it for a minute I'd have realised that it would never work! My Mum used to wear makeup more often than not and some of my daughters do. The hairdresser? Hmm.... my Mum is a hairdresser so the number of times I've been to a hairdresser could be counted on my fingers. She also taught me to cut hair so most of my kids have never been to a hairdresser at all. I think two of them have been to a hairdresser.

# 10 What is your ultimate personal indulgence eg. relaxation/treat
I think it is fabric. And sewing accessories. I find stitching and sewing to be very relaxing. Theraputic even. So I have a cupboard full of fabric, a rainbow of threads, zips, buttons, wadding etc, just incase inspiration comes upon me. I never have to wait for the shop to open to finish something! It is an indulgence I think, but one that I find very relaxing and pleasurable.

Okay Joolz, so that's me! If you want to be part of Joolz's giveaway go visit her blog. And if you decide to answer her questions let me know in the comments so I can come read yours too!

Sewing and duplo day.

(Flowers from Ballarat's Botanical Gardens)
We spent this afternoon at Mrs 24's house. She stitched. I drew. And the boys (grandson, Mr 8 and Mr 15) played duplo. A very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. We had a wonderful time and laughed a lot. We must do it more often!

Paperbag swap received!

Yesterday I received my paperbag swap from Leah. She did a marvellous job with the fabrics I sent and I really love what she did with it! I am desperate for a new bag and wallet. Well, not anymore because that's what she made for me. The bag is above. (The stitching is lovely, but all the detail photos I took were blurry!)

A good look at the wallet Leah made. I have been meaning to make a wallet since mine died last year. (Sad I know) I love this one because it's really practical. I will really be able to use it. I just love those fabrics!

A brooch with all my bits and pieces. And an mp3 player lanyard and cover. (Okay, I have to admit here that I had no idea what this was when I opened the package. As I stood there wondering Mr 15 said, "Hey! Cool mp3 cover!" Of course! On the tip of my tongue - thanks son!) All the mp3 player crazies in my house (there's a few of them) are eying it off, but I haven't relinquished ownership of it yet. I may just get an mp3 player myself!

Thank you Leah for all the lovely goodies (and the extras!). Thank you Sam for organising the swap. I am still working on mine for Leah. It's got to be good now! This swap was so much fun! Got to hit the sewing machine!!!

Create

Just wanted to share this with you today. It is what I am all about. I think President Uchtdorf expresses exactly how I feel about creating. We all can create and it can bring joy to us all. Creating is my happy thought! Hope you are having a great day!

It's a doily kind of day.

Remember the Leanne Beasley doily I stitched for inspired stitches? Well, today I finished it. I was pretty impressed with myself! I found one of my favourite florals to back it and decided to use that fabric to make some matching doilies too. I really enjoyed making the doilies and figured that I didn't need to stitch to make a pretty doily. So today I went doily crazy.

I finished stitching my spotty flower doilies this week and finished those doilies today too. I particularly love these two. The ric rac is a piece of my favourite ric rac that I have had for about five years. I know! "Favourite ric rac"! I'm a sad case! It just seemed so perfect for this spotted fabric, so I used it. These are backed with a white self patterned fabric. Also one of my favourites!

These doilies are some that I inherited from Mrs 24. She had a clear out after acquiring grandson and all of the baby paraphenalia that grandson entails and I scored her "op-shop" doily collection. These were embroidered organza. Seriously, what kind of doily is that? So I sewed them onto some of my favourite white self patterned fabric and turned them into robust, serious doilies. They feel and look great now! Mrs 24 approved of my doily makeover. Misses 22 and 12 and I went over to her house today to visit and I took the doilies along to finish the little bit of hand sewing each one requires. Grandson loved them too! He carried them around and wore them on his head, so I must be on to a winner! Will I ever make any more doilies? Hmm..... you'll have to wait and see!

Knitted Scarf

When we travel far in the car I am always excited about the handwork I'll be able to do! For some reason I always think I'm going to stitch, then I realise that it's just too bumpy to do that well. So I usually end up knitting. This past trip I knitted a scarf. I used 15mm needles (I loooooove fat needles!), three yarns and lattice stitch. So, now there is one more scarf at our house!

Home again, home again... jiggity jig!

Yesterday was spent driving, driving again so we could go home. We only had five days to "spend" on our holiday. I really needed to get away and I had the most wonderful time. It's quite hard to take holidays when you are self-employed, and I really appreciated Bradley taking time off so we could go away. The drive home was hard because I had a migraine all day. I so badly wanted to stay in Melbourne in bed, but we needed to be home by this morning. Bradley and the kids did all the packing up while I stayed in bed moaning and then we got in the car. It really was one of the longest days ever, I was so grateful that it was a cloudy, dismal day which made the journey more bearable. When we got home I crawled into bed and didn't emerge till late today and my head is much more bearable now.

These photos were taken at "Suga" in the Queen Victoria Markets. They make a feature in their shops of the toffee (candy) making. It is facinating to watch. It is quite a heavy job and involves skill too! They are so good at it! I was fascinated to watch them at the markets. Then we went to Southland the next day, found another Suga shop and watched them there too!

We loved our holiday in Melbourne. I guess anywhere we don't usually go to would have been fun, because everything was new and exciting. Even the zoo! We have annual zoo membership for Zoos SA which means that we can go to the Adelaide Zoo or Monarto as many times as we want for a 12 month period. It also meant we could go to the Melbourne Zoo for free. It was pretty exciting because of the butterfly house and also the elephants. We don't have any elephants here in SA so the kids were pretty excited to see elephants. Especially Mr 8. So, I am grateful for the holiday, but think I need another! (There's no pleasing some people, is there?)

Buddah Day

Did you know that today is Buddah day? We didn't, not until we made our way to Federation Square here in Melbourne. Federation Square was full of all sorts of things asian. We stumbled onto an origami stall. Mr 8, Miss 22 (who is pictured above with our tutor) and I all made an origami flower brooch which Miss 22 and I are dying to replicate! And then we wore our origami brooches all around Federation Square where we discovered a book sale. (My favourite thing!) I managed to buy two books I have been looking for for a while. (Very restrained of me. Really.) And now we are relaxing and I'm considering which book to read first.

Melbourne Aquarium

This morning we went to the Melbourne Aquarium. It is just lovely. We really enjoyed it. All of the exhibits are really beautiful. One of my favourite exhibition areas was the jellyfish. They are just so graceful.

Miss 12 and her camera were busy all the time. Mr 8 had a lovely time crawling into little cubby holes with perpex domes extending into the aquarium. They also had a touching table and Mr 8 was able to touch a starfish and the empty egg cases of sharks. We had a great time, partly I think because we don't usually get to see anything like this at home.