a shop update

size 2

size 12-18m

size 12-18m

size 12-18m

size 12-18m

size 2

size 2

Amidst two days of visitors come to see how were settling in at our new abode ive still been making.

Heres the shop update for this week so far. Unless a bomb hits im still going to be sewing tonight! 

have a great weekend people! boy this week has flown

my creative space

This project is one of those that has been in my head for over ten years. Dont you hate when you finally get around to doing something youve been thinking about f o r e v e r and it turns out way better than you imagined and only took an hour or so? Now I want to make more. 

So ive edged a normal everyday op-shop blanket but with a slight twist. I curved the edges in large dinner plate style curves and cut off any holes that happened through age at the edges. I missed one but if I dont tell you youll never know.

I didnt have enough of one edging so chose four similar in colour but not too same-same still not convinced they would look better than if id used the same all the way round.

Now im thinking of offering these on the market table! But maybe its just me and maybe they wont be popular, who knows...

Spring/summer orders have started to come in and im so not ready. Eeeek.

Today I was torn. I should be going off yonder to source samples and sorting stuff out and yeah.

But I needed to stay in more. It has taken me a few days to find my sewjo

 but this is one ive been working on.

Sorry Kaylee for the delay.

Dont know if you follow the blog?!

One down and ready for a shop update that has been weeks in the making, including some

Juniper boots. I know winter is nearly over but....  

in Melbourne winter is always just around the corner.

Or why dont you finish my sentence for me?

Off to catch up on what everyones been up to...

the bad things about moving

You begin the first day and after a few van loads (the furniture was to come later), you think the place is starting to look pretty good. You hang a few paintings,

wander through the house working out where things will go,

then make the bed ready for the scheduled power to come on.

You make a phone call to the company double checking yourself, and wait in hope until the light slowly goes and leaves you in a cold dark house. The electricity doesnt come on til the next day

 so you have to go back to the old place

and find spare blankets and mattresses.

You have no idea that the things piling up at the front door are going to stay there for two weeks because you realise you dont know where to put them even if you get time, which you dont.

You finally stand back and look at the kitchen splashback

and know instantly (now) its not one of your colours. 

Despite being almost an identical size to the one you just left,

 the hallway cupboard doesnt fit your linen in and youre going to have to declutter some stuff you love becasue the last one was full to the brim.

Others have a chance to unwind and fall asleep when they havent yet done anything to help for that day.

(and you wonder why I call him the couch potato)

Getting to day seven, the halfway point, and thinking that you have

enough furniture at the new place already, when the real big stuff hasnt come yet.

Standing in the bedroom in a rare quiet moment not wanting or having the chance to find fresh clothes for the next day

when someone who has been asleep half the afternoon comes in asking for his.

Having to still sew into the night

to keep things moving in real life, the one you cant remember.

Creating a sanctuary knowing chaos awaits you beyond the door and youre going to have to face it.

Wanting to put things away when there is no furniture.

Our removalists came three hours late after id waited by myself at the house where there was nothing to do, when there was so much to do at the new one. Oh, I rang twice to make sure they were coming and then left for home and got a phone call once in the shower from a guy wondering where I was!

I rescheduled for the next day as we had no time to find or book another removalist only to get two useless guys who had been on the job for three weeks, guy no. 1, and three days, guy no. 2.

They took 6 hours to do two loads of large furniture. No boxes, just easy stuff.

I had to call one of my boys and all four of us had to lift the piano.

There is more of the bad but I feel like this is getting stale and boring as its old news now. Were in!

 and our days have returned to a kind of normal. I even baked

my first batch of scones at the new place last night!

They were the food processor recipe but its still a good one.

Shall I share it with you?

spring bedroom styling

Three days of sorting and I finally get to do a bit of styling so im starting in the bedroom and will work my way through the house. Spring is trying to come it seems and after doing my first op-shop drop last night I'm kind of hooked and have been crowding the front porch with more bags all morning.
In other news The Optus Guy is finally beaming us up and we should be back to normal life anytime now. I've missed being able to visit you all and comment on what everyone's been up to (there is a limit to how many pages you can open on this phone). So many times I've wanted to click the side bar only to have a notification pop up telling me I cant!
If I'm not back online by tonight it  won't be pretty.

the most beautiful photo in my world

Our daughter was so amazingly beautiful during childbirth. Her dreams were answered for a water birth. Anything would have been better than the posterior labour she experienced last time. Here is the photo that for reasons unknown wouldn't post the other day.

tired but happy

Before I change my constantly changing mind, let's not analyze this one too much shall we? im sharing my thoughts.
To set the scene for you heres a shot I took in the mirror last night. Yes im in my pyjamas, (havnt quite had a whole pyjama day since the move began). Yes that's a band aid on my left hand and there are two more to keep it company. I do only mansize elastoplast tape these days, so I can keep working.
Another thing ive been sporting is this hair style the whole way through the move and didn't really give it another thought. It was serving me well despite always having to be placed very unglamourously atop my head, not back slightly but including-the-fringe-on-top, until I tried to take it down then discovered the matted mess. That's what I get for neglecting to find my conditioner for nearly two weeks, hence the reason im standing here in the first place. So im in the ensuite taking this while searching for some conditioner/sorting/decluttering, reflecting on the odd happenings the move has set in motion.
I finally had time to reflect through all the chaos and discovered im a 'happy' tired. I really struggled with certain emotions this time moving. The most prominent being dissappointment at leaving the old house and not feeling ready. As I stood here last night I was whelmed, not overwhelmed not underwhelmed, just whelmed.
I finally feel this is home.

in the middle of the night

 

I couldn't sleep last night so up I got at precisely 2:33 and pulled on some socks so I wouldn't wake anyone with my footfall and headed into the sewing room. I'd already been laying awake for over an hour so why not make up some lost time and try to make a real difference by morning I thought.
It was so easy in the middle of the night, while all my distracters were asleep to stay focused on the one thing in front of me. I had decided to take it from ground zero. To empty out all of my storage containers and completely rethink the whole room with a fresh eye and it worked. Boy did it work. Ive been buzzing all day today and my lost sleep still hasnt caught up with me. It helped that everyone has been on board and we have had another big clearing and sorting day.
I've got roast to serve up and although I utterly and completely deserve to be secretly posting this from the inner sanctum of my walk in robe, id better not let the fire go out a second time or ill never hear the end of it!

happy family

 

Today were being that happy family, you know the one. The one you see on tv ads when everyone's smiling and playing together. Well that's us today. The men folk are outside working on a table each and in-between sanding, taking breaks and working on a dog home for Rustico while using up some wood scraps.
I'm trying to do a massive sort inside and out and have compiled a rather large pile ready for the local tip, but I really feel like gardening and getting my hands in the dirt.

Every now and then I get results in the sewing/dining room only to find another box of fabric I missed that also needs a home. My vision for this room was to hide everything away so it doesn't look like a sewing room but my chances are slim to non existent.
I wish I could make a quilt every couple of weeks to attack my stash. I just can't seem to throw out the small scraps......

Scrap swap anyone? I'm talking the unironed, squashed into a bag variety.

friday

We've been celebrating here once again as our musician passed his licence today. I just spent most of my evening posting then waiting for it to publish only to still be waiting. So here is this little snippet as I look out on the back garden while pottering and organising before the weekend hits. Have a lovely weekend

life

Picasa ain't coming to my party arghhh! will I never be able to post pictures again?* It's been two weeks four days and five hours since my last post. Lame humour.
Just when I had the most beautiful picture of a freshly born babe and his mother after a clockwork water birth. Is it okay to fall madly in love your daughter if she is so gloriously beautiful during birth?
I don't have much for you all at this moment....if you feel like reading, aren't exhausted by teenagers or grandchildren or both, read on...

I hope to have more to speak about soon and once our internet is connected but for now we are taking it day by day, the move has exhausted us and Zjah went into labour in the middle of everything (our only weekend considering the Mr has just returned to nightshift) She and our gorgeous new grandson, Archer Tide are doing well. Apart from a vomiting bug, Mali, the inevitable Mastitis, Zja, and 'sticky eye', Archer, we're good to go.
There has been a new drama each day, believe me, im not making it up. More to come if any recollection occurs. Yesterday, for instance, was supposed to be my first day relaxing (after seeing Adi's mum Jill off at the airport) but instead I got one block from home when there was a call from the couch potato who was at the local hospital in emergency. Skateboard, ankle, blah. I rocked into the hospital with Adi and Violet in tow (they came for the excitement, Adi said) laughingly accepting all that would be thrown my way. 3 hours in the waiting room with a loud obnoxious yet still memorable granny, not me, who needed to watch her favourite tv show, pretty sure we need to get to know her better but for the moment she was pacified by channel surfing to The Bold and The Beautiful, one 5th year med student asking text book questions including 'does your other foot hurt', yes, yes, I have your attention now dont I? And if I ever do a post on why we perform our own suturing don't judge me, tonights episode, index finger left hand, number one son.
Breathe, just breathe.

Sure ill have more tomorrow so stay tuned, dear readers.
I dare you

* so obviously I came back and posted a picture