This week..16th August, 2012...Oh, who am I kidding?

This month...the past 4 weeks...

...My children are being overly gracious and very forth coming
with their "thank you"s for taxi driving them,
letting them go to the school disco
and even for their dinner.
All that whinging about not being appreciated
seems to have finally paid off.

...We can attest that yes, indeed, live in Australia
and kangaroos will hop down the city streets.
Well, at least, koalas might climb (and pee in) your gum tree.



Little Winifred tunic-
Sarah Ronchetti

...Doing Zumba with a chair somehow makes me feel like I am pole dancing

...I am wondering if you can get banned from entering California if you arrive
with tan-free legs.

(mirror.co.uk)

...My oldest asked "Who won the Olympic Games?"
It is so good to see the end of that stupid Olympic Medal tally
where nothing counts but how many gold have been won.
How can society and the media dare make these athletes who are the best in their countries and the world
feel like a failure because they haven't won an Olympic medal,
let alone a gold one?

...I went on my annual interstate road trip

complete with op shopping, loads of wine and chocolate,

late nights and the company of gorgeous like-minded crafters.

(creativequiltkits.com)

...I am bemused that a fabric line called "Down Under" (Mint Blosssom Studio) has prints of  Kiwis

and, according to one review,  "spiny ant-eaters" on it.

(uncrate.com)

...the more that I think about my family in a 30 foot RV travelling around the Grand Canyon,
the more I worry that we will end up channelling the Griswolds from a National Lampoon's Vacation movie.



Liesl cardigan-
Ysolda Teague

...I finally beat my nemesis in the knitting pattern world
but I never want to make it again.




Funky Pants- Crafty Mamas

...I have been sewing. Lots.

...School bullies suck
and I want to take my beautiful boy,
smother him with hugs
and turn back time
so that he (and I) don't have to face the crap that comes with growing up
out there in the big, wide world just yet.

Weekend diary: part 1- like-minded people and remembering yourself



Yesterday afternoon I returned home to domestic reality.

By the end of 5 days away, I was wanting to hug my daughter who got sick while I was away

and cuddle my boys.

(Heck, even give my hubby a snuggle)

But it was a fabulous, fabulous 5 days.

If you can look forward to an 8 hour car trip,

there must be a reason.

In this case it was because the company was lovely.

I know these two local girls well enough now that they are a comfortable fit.

It was also because I was being chauffeured

so got to sit and knit to my heart's desire.

The road trip also involved coffee stops and op-shops

as well as a certain vintage shop in Nhill, Victoria.

The weekend was spent with a dozen like-minded women.

We are different ages, we have different stories,

we come from different backgrounds.

But we have in common a love of creating and being mums.

We are a group that are a product of an internet forum

and, where our own friends and family may not "get" the need to sew and craft,

these girls do.

There were familiar faces, some new faces,

lots of coffee, chocolate,

chatting, laughing,

too much food, not much sleep

and, incredibly,

a huge amount of productivity.

Then the South Aussie girls got to drive home and enjoy another 8 hours in the car together.

And when we return,

the run of the mill daily routine is a bit brighter

when the washing contains vintage sheets

and cleaning up means finding a place for those op shops shoes and books.

It is a warmer, fuzzier place as your daughter tries on her new elf coat

and you cast on the dress to be returned in exchange.

This precious weekend is about having a chance to be a sewer,

an op-shopper, a coffee addict,

a chatter box, a late nighter or an early riser.

To be ourselves

and not be mothers for a weekend.

Our partners or rellies step up to help out on the home front while we are gone

and tell us to have fun and enjoy ourselves.

And we make sure that we do.

I'm Ho Ho hopeless!

It's that time of year again.

You know, the time where you don't have to fill that occasional obligation to craft with your kids.

The one where there is a whole stack of them that you find yourself committed to.

After the kids have brought home their macaroni'd Christmas tree decorations

and their self portrait Christmas card with lots of glitter and sparkly stuff glued on with a litre of glue

(and still not dry 3 days later),

they have worked themselves into a frenzy with love of crafting.

And given the time of year,

there is no shortage of festive crafty projects to "sure to be enjoyed with your children for hours of endless joy and entertainment for the whole family".

So far this year,

I have committed to making biscuits,

window glass painting decorations,

making finger buns,

decorating a gingerbread house

and oldest son is talking about some weird green gooey gunk stuff you can make that he found in a magazine.

It may not seem like a lot

but with 3 kids and 7 days to complete them,

it seems like a lot to me.

A whole world of pain.

Let me be clear.

I think that I am a dab hand at crafty stuff.

(yes, pure arrogance, that statement)

Sewing, knitting, crocheting, other craft stuff.

Bring it on, baby.

But having to teach someone else,

whether they are my age, on an aged pension or at kindergarten...

well, at least I am mature enough to recognise my limitations.

Firstly I suck at teaching.

I do not explain things well.

Actually, let me clarify that.

It appears that I do not explain things well

to people who think like my husband.

If you think like me, it's all good.

Secondly I have no patience.

(and on some days, I mean literally no patience)

I might have had some years ago but not now.

While my child is delicately and painstakingly (to me painfully) putting the finishing touches

on his or her cotton wool ball snowman,

I just want to rip the glue stick away from those little hands and finish it yesterday.

Thirdly I am a perfectionist.

And I am sorry,

but I can state with confidence

(actually probably arrogance again)

that no-one in this house

(hubby included)

(well, hubby in particular actually)

can colour co-ordinate like me,

draw in a straight line or a nice curve like me

or stick that pipe cleaner onto the toilet roll in just the right place at just the right angle

as well as I can.

And it bugs me watching other people not do it just how it should be done.

About now, I am meant to put in the big "but",

you know, the "but" which makes it all worthwhile...

"But to see the fun that my kids are having..."

"But to see the product of their innocent creativity..."

"But to spend that quality time with my children..."

Realistically,

about now,

I am wondering if that paint will come off whichever skin, clothing or furnishing it has been deposited on,

I am reaching for headache medication

and I am wondering if it is too early in the day to make a gin, lemon and lime.

A really, really strong one.

Maybe tomorrow (or after a gin or two) there will be the "but".

Getting ahead.

I can't believe how much sewing I got done over 2 days at our Adelaide meet up this weekend.
No computers, no interrupting children, no interrupting husbands, no domestic duties...

I got my 5 planned projects done

plus still had time to pick up a pair of circular knitting needles

and try to work out what to do with them.

Farbenmix Olivias are one of my favourite patterns.

Super quick to sew up

and a lovely line to the body of the dress.

These are the next size up-

for the little goddess to wear next year

as she already seems to have a lot of clothes at the moment...

Strawberry French terry and striped Campan fabric.

(Sleeves left unhemmed till she is ready to wear it)

Shortened the hood on this one.

The second is short sleeved with the knotted tail to the hood.

Brown floral is a Spotlight knit and the pink stripe is a Campan knit.

Lucky little ol' me.

I was blessed to win the latest Crafty Mama's blog giveaway.

The gorgeous and very talented Peta,

to be found hanging out over at One Little Stitch

knitted the Citron Shawlette from Knitty to giveaway.

And it is a good thing too.

As a crocheter and about-to-be-knitter,

I have never blocked anything.

So now I have to.

Thank you Peta.

A very generous giveaway

and an appreciative winner.

Heaven is...

...a weekend of sewing, crafting, chatting, drinking good coffee
and laughing a lot

with friends.

(and might I add, you can get soooo much sewing done when you don't have offspring within a 5km radius)

An adorable doll

Thank you Liss!

Today I received the most gorgeous parcel in the post.

Wrapped inside a gorgeous tie dyed length of cotton fabric,

I found...

Isn't she just lovely?

Liss from  Rainbow Made makes the most gorgeous dolls

and I was lucky to be her recipient in this July's Crafty Mamas swap.

 

Liss is a very talented lady whose passions lie with doll making and dyeing.

Maybe I should order one for myself now?

Zombie robots

...and other little things for a swap.

This month the Crafty Mamas swap was all about passion.

Send your swap partner something that you make, sew or create with a passion.

While I am generally passionate about sewing and creating,

the specifics of such passion are harder to pinpoint.

I was sending to Lisa, owner of Crafty Mamas itself.

My current passions?

Love making key fobs...

...have lots of fun making little wallets and purses

(and surely someone who is involved with her own and her hubby's businesses

has a use for business card holder)...

Keyka Lou business card wallet

...and actually am rather passionate about the old crochet hook...

While I get that little things are cute,

agirum...amugur...those little Japanese crochet things have always filled me with dread at the prospect of repetitive strain injury and tiny tiddly fiddly bits driving me up the wall.

But when I saw this book,

I had to get it to make some for my boys.

And who doesn't love a zombie robot?

...complete with a loose eye,

partially amputated arm

and of course nails and screws embedded in his head.

I think that she liked it.

My 5 year old son, however, thinks it needs a bit more work-

"Good job, Mummy.

But you need to stitch that arm on properly"

A Harem of Bags

(Been a while since I have gotten to make up a collective noun)

Final instalment of my productivity from the Crafty Mamas retreat.

Bags are a good thing to do as no overlocker needs to be lugged 800kms

and they are generally quick and rewarding.

First up...

The Moonshine Stella bag

Loved the design

but the end result was a little puffy for me,

even though I used lightweight vilene.

Next time I would probably just use interfacing.

(I am sure somewhere in the world it is a crime to use interfacing in bags

but I do it a lot for my own bags. Shhhh!)

Next up I am a few key fobs.

My latest fun thing to do.

Fast, easy and people love them.

(there might have *ahem* been another cute little red riding hood one...

...but now there isn't)

Next bag was the uhandbag's Kyoko Frilled pouch.

I have had the pattern and frame for this for a long time

but hadn't gotten around to making it up.

Fast to make up

with effective results.

But what I really like about this is

that you undo a couple of screws,

remove the pouch

and put a different one on.

You can change ot to suit your occasion or your colour scheme.

I have some frames in my stash so I can see me making more of these

for gifts.

And lastly...

I used some vintage fabrics to make a little wallet

(can't find the pattern at the moment so can't tell you which pattern exactly)

The exterior fabric came from an ebay purchase.

A huge pile of the fabric in different colourways,

cut up into some swatches small enough to put a lot of people off apparently.

But big enough for me to see small wallets, purses, pockets and the like.

So that it is.
In spite of spending a lot of time drinking and chatting,
I did get a fair bit of crafting done.
Certainly at the expense of my beauty sleep.
But well worth it.