Pink Girls' Sewing

New year, new me, new blog!

2011-01-07T14:14:00.002+10:00

I'm back!

I am not sure if anyone actually follows this blog anymore as I have not kept it up to date for so long. This year though I am going to try really hard to do that. I would like a to use it more like a journal of my life and my family's life. This year is going to be a challenging one for our family and I think it would be helpful to write stuff down, record the highs and lows, and just to have a place that is just for me and my stuff.

This year I will be returning to work (teaching) 2 days a week, this in turn means that the boys will be going to childcare 2 days a week (sob, sob). I am realy struggling with my emotions surrounding my return to work. On one hand I am looking forward to the challenge, to getting my brain going again, and to get my skills up to scratch. On the other hand I am dreadfully sad that the boys (but Lewis mostly) will be going to childcare. I know it is only 2 days a week, and I would have probably sent Ashton for at least one day this year anyway as he only misses pre prep by 22 days, but I just feel so terribly guilty. Lewis is only 10 months old :( I know he will be ok, funnily enough the other 2 went to child care at exactly the same age; Ellyse to a family day care mum and Ash to a (terrible) child care centre. BUT they only went for one day a week....poor Lewis has double that time! I need to focus on the days I have at home and know it will all be ok. If I didn't enjoy being at home it may be different, but I just love being home with the kids. At least I have been blessed with placements at a fantastic community child care centre that is on the same premisis as Ellyse's Kindy was. Being on the committee for the Kindy gave me a fantastic insight into the workings of the child care centre and I feel very confident that they will recieve fantastic care. Ash will be in the 3-5 room and there are only 13 other children, and 2 staff - wonderful ratios!

Anyway enough of that sad talk. There are big things to come this year as well. My darling little girl starts year one and I just cannot wait to see all of her pre literacy skills come together as she learns to read and write. She already knows a lot of words and all of her sounds which absolutely amazes me. It will certainly be interesting to be teaching year one at one school and have a year one child at another school.

I have many personal goals this year also. There is weight to lose, friendships to be restored, muscle to tone, fun to be had and Keiran and I would like to get ourselves set up for camping.

Another big goal for myself and my family this year is to live more frugally. We are not over spenders, never have been, but it is the little things that we don't really need, and the amount of gifts our children recieve. I am mainly returning to work for professional reasons, as well as having an opportunity to share a class with an amazing teacher who I have had the pleasure of teaching with before, but the money is a nice bonus. But the way I see it, if I am going to put the boys in child care then then money I am earning will work for me! I am not going to fall into the trap of spending what we earn....just because we are earning more doesn't mean I have to spend more.

Ok, I think that is a long enough entry for today. I am not going to read back over it as I am going to rest while the boys are sleeping and Ellyse is having quiet rest time in her room. If anyone is readingm thank you and sorry for the rambling first entry back!

One down

2010-09-02T14:13:00.002+10:00

I am very happy to be back here so quickly with the skirt made. It was really easy and I think it has come together nicely. I made it a touch wider for Ellyse but I still think it may be too small. I just have to trim the belt down as it is way too long, which was lucky because I ran out of fabric to make the loops and was just going to have to sew it down.

This fabric is from a swap I recieved from Natalie a few years ago and I think it is just perfect for this skirt.

As soon as the skirt was finished Ashton put it on and was dancing around in it. I couldn't resist totally dressing him (shoes and all - actually they were his idea!) to see what it would look like as an outfit.

When Ellyse got home she was very excited to see her new skirt and has been wearing it all afternoon and it has now had its first wash after some tomato sauce landed on it at dinner.

I love this photo, he is such a cheeky monkey
give me a twirl Ash!

I am not totally happy with the pleats, or how it sits at the top but a good iron might fix that.

The start of a list..

2010-08-28T14:22:00.003+10:00

I found this blog recently and am in love. I love many of the ideas on here but here are a few on my to do list.

The paper bag skirt
Boys tees
Satin flower headband (great Christmas gift for young and not so young)

That is all for now but I am sure I could find many more projects on there. I just hope my sew jo returns, I am forever surfing bloglines looking at all of the wonderful creations but never get organised to do any of them.

Once you try this......

2010-08-28T13:54:00.003+10:00

...you will NEVER be without it again!

A good friend of mine visited from London recently and as she knows how I love to bake she bought me a lovely gift. She always comes with a few of these for her mum and decided to treat me this time too.

I have never really given cocoa powder a second thought......but OH.MY.GOODNESS. My chocolate self saucing puddings will never be the same again, nor will the basic chocolate slice recipe I have been using, or my Mum's rum ball recipe that everyone raves about at Christams time...they won't know what has hit them this Christmas.

I was excited to realise that we have a shop in our Shire called "Britan on the Bayside" and that the owners are parents of a little boy in Ellyse's prep class. I asked the mum about it but sadly they don't stock it. I just knew I had to get some more so got online and found that many organic websites sell it. I ordered it and some other stuff from Organics Australia Online. I had a visitor coming for lunch yesterday and couldn't wait to make some more Chocolate Slice and see if she noticed the difference....she did.

Now this is no good for the diet I am on but just thought I would spread the word for all of the other bakers out there. If you see it around buy it, you will not be disappointed!

Oh and I am hoping this is the start of some more regular blogging. The fog of 6 months of interrupted sleep is hopefully beginning to clear and I am making lists of creative things to do for Christmas.

And just because it has been a while here are some pics of my gorgeous kiddies!

Some sewing and a birthday!

2010-07-27T14:20:00.003+10:00

Can you believe my little Ashton has turned 3! I can't that's for sure. It really feels like jsut yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital...and here we are 3 years later and although I didn't believe it at the time, we have all survived - and even gone on to add to the family!

Ashton is just a beautiful boy. I still think that he is more girl than boy - well just in the way he plays and behaves. He has had THE BEST role model in Ellyse his big sister. He is so very thoughtful, caring, loving, funny, cheeky, all the things you want in a child.

I haven't been able to finish his quilt as the pattern I used makes a very small quilt so I had to add 2 rows to it which meant that I ran out of the sashing fabric. I have been waiting for that to arrive and thought Iwould make some bunting for the party and to be used in his room also.

Here are some pics of my boy turning three, as well and a gorgeous 5 year old and a pretty cute baby too!

not the best family pic, but the only one we got, I am hoping hte one my mother in law took is nicer!

Some more recent pics

2010-04-27T06:22:00.002+10:00

A very belated birth announcement

2010-04-25T10:27:00.003+10:00

....and then there were 5!

On Wednesday 3rd March, 2010, we welcomed a new a much wanted memeber to our family. Lewis Ross Arthur King arrived in spectacular fashion after a very short final stage. Let's just say after a wonderful naturla delivery with Ellyse, a caesar with Ashton and a forceps delivery (5cm to delivery in 20 minutes) we have seen it all.

It seems as though Lewis has always been part of our family and I am happy to report that for me the transition form 2 to 3 children has not been an issue. For those who have been reading my blog since Ashton was born might remember a few battles I had when he was born.

Life with 3 children is busy and tiring but I know now that my heart is full and that our family is complete.

Lewis is now nearly 8 weeks old and an absolute delight. I can see the light now, the newborn cloud is lifting and I can see me getting some time and motivations to sew soon.

Here are some pics of Lewis' first 8 weeks!

The next phase....

2010-01-27T20:42:00.003+10:00

..Ellyse started Prep today. She will be going 5 days a week 8:45-2:45. We didn't have the most pleasent of starts, the fragile, sensitive thing she is shed a few tears, but had a great day and is excited about going tomorrow. I know that within a week she will be the number one teacher 'helper' and be quoting Mrs Pascoe in her play.

Here are some pics of my big girl.

Graduating Mother's Group

Hoping my lack of sewing will take a turn soon - I think I am kidding myself with 3 kids though - will see how I go.

Wordless Weekend

2009-11-28T16:22:00.004+10:00

A train ride at Santa Land at Myer in the City

The very Versatile Wrap!

2009-11-26T14:40:00.004+10:00

I remember when I made this skirt a year ago reading on the pattern that it was suitable for pregnant bellies.

Well today I was hormonal, emotional - I'm so fat kindof mornings, trying to choose something to wear when I saw this skirt in the drawer. I thought I would give it a go and I was quite impressed. I can see me getting a lot of wear out of this over summer. It is a shame I put buttons in my other one, I don't think it would fit!

Here are some not so flattering shots from today. Ellyse took the shot of Ashton and I - as if you couldn't tell!

In other news I have volunteered to be a pattern tester for TikiBoo Kids. I thought it would be something different to try. I am looking forward to recieving the pattern and fabric in the mail soon.

I have cut Ellyse's Christmas skirt out and hope to get it all sewn up ready for the lighting of the Christmas tree in the city tomorrow night. I could not find a nice t-shirt for Ashton (they were all big and didn't fit nicely) so he has ended up with a yellow singlet, I will applique a red and white Christmas tree onto it. I searched hi and low for a chesty bonds type singlet but couldn't find one anywhere.

Finally, some sewing!

2009-11-18T21:28:00.003+10:00

My poor, neglected blog. My poor neglected sewing life! I read about sewing alot, I look at beautiful fabrics a lot, I drool over what other people have sewn a lot, I dream about what I would like to do ......a lot.

Well finally I have done something about that. Today I turned the computer off while Ashton was asleep and got into some Christmas sewing. The pattern has been sitting on my kitchen bench for abut 5 days now, waiting to be traced and cut out.

I had traced it before 6 am and have now completed two hats. From the trusty Make It Perfect Lazy Days pattern. Awesome pattern and an awesome hat. This is the first adult size one I have made and I am really happy with it.

And this dress I made Ellyse about a month ago. It didn't really pass the twirl, party dress factor but she does like it and has worn it a few times now, including to the Mathilda's Market.

My next project is a playmat for some really good friends. Their first baby has been a long time coming (you would think I would be more organised!) and I just know how much this mat will be appreciated.

And just because I can, here is a belly shot. 25 week and 3 days now. Mentally I am already for this bub, it is going to be a long, hot summer!

Going to learn something new

2009-10-02T14:19:00.003+10:00

When I saw this post of Chaletgirl's I instantly fell in love. It was the first time I had heard about The Quilt Project. If you haven't alredy check out the Flickr Group, there are some amazing designs there.

Any back to Chaletgirl. I saw her design and instantly thought how great it would look in a series, framed and hung on one of my new walls. I really want to have a modern, yet homely feel to my home and would love to have some handmade items around the place. K wasn't as sure as I would as to how they would look, but I think they would be fabulous.

I was so excited at the hairdressers last night to pick up the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens and see my exact idea featured in there. I can't wait to get to the shops this afternoon and pick up a copy. I am not completely sold on their designs yet so if any one knows of good modern designs I would love to know. I plan on going to the library at soe stage to check out their books, and of course a quick google should get me somewhere.

I am looking forward to trying something new.

Oh and look what just landed on my doorstep -

fabric for Ashton's quilt

some pretties for Ellyse

and some Christmas fabric

Blogger not playing along at all with pics, wil try again later.

On a roll

2009-09-22T14:26:00.003+10:00

I just loved this little ruffle sleeve top I saw on Sparkle Power's blog. I just knew I wanted to sew some of those gorgeous ruffles.

I have had this fabric for a long time and actually had it earmarked for a dress but I thought the little flowers would be perfect for a top instead. I have actually made two of these today. One for Ellyse, and one for her little friend. Her friend's mum helps me out a lot, she is only a new friend this year but one I think I might have for a long time even though the girls will be going to different schools next year.

Anyway here is my gorgeous girl modelling the top and checking the twirl factor - of which there isn't any.

Now what to sew next? Just so happens that Ellyse bought out a pair of shorts I made Ashton last year and wanted to know if they would still fit him. Well they didn't and that gave me my next sewing project. I have some similar fabric I picked up from Spotlight on sale so I will have to get the pattern from my girlfriend and get sewing.

Our house renovation

2009-09-22T07:47:00.001+10:00

We are not quite finished yet, and we are still not set up in our new room, but you can get an idea of the progress here.

We are absolutely loving the changes and looking forward to it all being done.

Don't fall over, but...

2009-09-21T19:19:00.005+10:00

I have actually been sewing.

After wanting to try a pillow case dress for a few years now and then seeing a few of them around I thought I would have a go.

My first effort was way too narrow for Ellyse and has been lovingly passed on. My next effort was much better but still needs some tweaking under the arms. I love the colours.

This is the too small version

I also made Ellyse a top using the Miss Madeline dress pattern. I love this as a top and will be making more.

Stay tuned, it won't be as long between posts as I already have two little tops cut out and ready for sewing. Not sure I will get there tonight, but definitely tomorrow.

Wordless Weekend

2009-08-16T15:35:00.001+10:00

11 weeks 3 days

Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket

2009-04-28T10:22:00.004+10:00

I have been looking for a jacket to buy Ellyse for this winter but just could not find the perfect one. I was browsing a sewing forum when I saw this gorgeous Sunday Brunch Jacket. I just knew it was going to be THE jacket for winter.

I tried Spotlight for fabric, that was a joke. I ended up at our local Bargain Box and their range of cord wasn't the best either. I settled on some ghastly pink that really only a little girl could wear.

I am in love with the jacket. The pattern was so easy to follow and the jacket came together in a matter of hours. I am not happy with my button choice at all, I am after something a bit more classy so will go on a search in the coming days. This jacket cost $15 to make including thread and buttons (as bad as they are) so I think I will be making a few more.

Here it is with my reluctant model.

Here she is all dressed for kindy wearing her Flipsy skirt - this is my wrong side and her right side of the skirt. I will have to get another shot of the good side!

Don't you just love the 'ballet tights' under the skirt! It is her favourite look.

Turning 4

2009-04-04T22:24:00.005+10:00

..really is very exciting when you are Ellyse. I think she has told everyone we have met since her birthday that she is four now. That fact certainly outweighed any gifts she got, or things we did...the most exciting thing is that she is four!

All of a sudden she feels four to me, she can do all of these amazing tricks on the rings of her swing set that she couldn't do last week, she is working out the difference between the th and f sounds, she has finally mastered the k sound (she was using t) and we had this conversation tonight at bedtime.

E 'Mummy can you put my blanket there just next to me?"

M 'I can put it on you if you like.'

E 'No it's ok, Daddy will put it on me in the middle of the night when he goes to bed. You and Daddy can have a race and if daddy runs and you walk then he will be the first one here and he will beat you.'

M 'That is good thinking Ellyse, he will beat me, he will be moving faster than I am so he will get to you first.'

E 'I am clever Mummy, because I am four!'

So being four is pretty cool, especially when you get to celebrate it at least four times!

Celebration One - Wednesday 1st of April (actual birthday)

Daddy stayed home in the morning to see the present opening. Ellyse recieved a CD player, snakes and ladders game, some socks and glitter pens from us.

Ellyse and Ashton enjoying the sounds of Hi 5 on the new CD player

Ellyse went to Kindy as usual and took cupcakes to share. She was so very excited. I don't have a pic as my scanner isn't working but Miss Deb sen home two adorable pictures of her with her cupcakes.

That evening my mum, dad and sister came over for roast pork. Ellyse recieved a new bike helmet and some great hi 5 Cds that come with activity books from mum and dad. My sister bought her a party dress from Espirit (this has become a tradition, although the dresses are usually sent form London), and will be taking her to Seaworld.

Celebration Two - Friday 3rd April

The plan was to host mothers' group at our house and begin our pink celebrations, but the weather in Brisbane was terrible, we had recieved so much rain the day and night before there is no way I could host. So we all met at a play center and had a cake there.

Celebration Three - Saturday 4th April THE Pink Party

We had planned to have about 35 people here, but again because of the rain it had to be scaled back. I was so disappointed and was cranky all day. It rained all night Friday night, but cleared after early showers and was fine all day. We weren't to know this though and cancelled earlier this morning. We ended up with just K's family which was nice, but not the same as having lots of crazy four year olds playing games, decorating goody bags and runny around high on pink sugar!

Hence the need for at least one more celebration.

We celebrated the pink party with pink meringues, strawberries dipped in pink chocolate, pink rocky road, pink punch, musk sticks, strawberries and cream, pink licorice, pink and white love heart mashmallows, baked ham, and a lovely white chocolate mud cake.

It was good fun. I think my pom poms looked fantastic! I wish I had made more!

Well that is one enormous post and I can't believe I have the energy to write it after our day. Enjoy the pics and I will be back at the machine tomorrow to finish a birthday gift for a friend.

Three girls and now.....a baby boy!

2009-03-30T13:47:00.003+10:00

A good friend of mine has three delightful daughters and about 3 weeks ago they all welcomed little Will into their family. Actually he wasn't so little weighing in at over 10 pound.

I put together this little gift pack for them, I know Mel will love it all. They live on a farm south west of Mackay so the cowboy applique is perfect.

The fabric from the hat comes from a great pile of fabrics my sister sent over from Japan. I haven't really had the chance to use them until now and I think the frogs make a perfect hat.

More swap photos

2009-03-23T20:36:00.004+10:00

I thought I would post some pics of Ashton wearing the lovelies made by Lisa. I also forgot to mention in my previous post that they were all wrapped in a lovely, colourful piecce of fabric perfect for something for Ashton.

I apologise for the terrible photos, I had mini mum telling Ashton "Come on darl smile for your sister (I am the sister and she is the mum apparentely!)

EB Kid's Clothing Swap

2009-03-20T13:35:00.003+10:00

I can't believe the time has come to open these parcels. It seems like yesterday that I was thinking that I had all the time in the world to complete them. Well the time has come, that 2 months certainly did fly! I opened my ...well Ashton's parcel from Lisa this morning in a mad rush to get ready and out the door. All I can say is WOW and thankyou to Lisa. I just love handmade items and we were lucky enough to recieve 4 pieces! Thanks so much to Ingrid for organising the swap, it was great fun and a great way to get some sewjo back!

You will have to check out Xena's blog to see full pics of what I sent her, I completely forgot to take full pics, I just took the sneak peeks.

Sneak Peak

2009-03-16T21:54:00.003+10:00

Just a little sneak peak of my clothing swap items. My items are packaged up and ready to be sent tomorrow. Here is a sneak peak until Friday when all will be revealed.

Blogger has made my robot go sideways - this is not an artistic expression (I suck at those!)

I've been a bad blogger...

2009-03-12T20:27:00.003+10:00

....so I thought I had better do a post of some kind.

It is Ellyse's 4th birthday in a few weeks and preparations are underway. Ellyse has three great loves (apart fomr K, Ash and I ), they are babies, Hi 5 and pink. I wasn't going to do a baby themed party, and Hi 5 party is just not my style, so it was left to be a pink party. She loved the idea and we have had many gorgeous discussions since. I remembered that Ingrid had done a pink party for Lottie and I had thought what a great idea it was at the time.

We have a list of pink foods and pink things to do, and last night I designed the invitations. I am no designer and probably have things very wrong in the design world, but I think it looks pretty. Ellyse had a good giggle at the goggle photo.

If anyone is still reading I promise there will be some sewing news soon!

EB Haby Swap

2009-02-14T09:24:00.002+10:00

A huge thank you to Cecily for the lovely package I recieved.

I am looking forward to sewing something for Ashton with that fabric, it looks lovely.

Thanks for choosing such lovely things for me Cecily, I appreciate it.

Sew generous (I know so corney, I just had to do it once!)

2009-02-06T07:02:00.004+10:00

What I love about the blogging/crafting world is the pure generousity that comes from so many people.

I reacently signed up for a swap with Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey and whilst giving her some information I mentioned that I would like to use some rocket fabric from Prints Charming's Two Young Street. Katy told me she had just bought 6 yards of the rocket fabric and that it was really hard to find. She so kindly offered to send me a snippet of fabric to get me on my way!

So two days ago (just when I was needing a lift), this beautiful fabric arrived in the letterbox.

The craft blogging community is full of generous people who give, I was so glad to read that about a week ago Katy had also mentioned to another blogger her plans for a quilt and they sent her their leftovers.

It warms my heart to help others also with a recent give away, some pattern trcing for a sewing friend and sending a pattern to another on line friend I know I am sharing the love in the crafting world.

Thanks so much Katy, I really appreciate the fabric.

Thelma Clarice Ross

2009-02-04T16:41:00.003+10:00

To my darling Grandma,

May you fly free now from all of the pain and suffering you have endured throughout your life. You are special in so many ways and I am so thankful that my children got to know you and make you so happy.

You and Grandad both form so many memories of my childhood, the incinerator in the backyard, the go cart down the hill, the trips to McDonalds, the bingo days, the endless sleepovers that involved playing hairdressers, playing cards, watching the Wheel of Fortune, summer Cricket and listening to the wireless. I think the thing that will remain the strongest is the smell of Oil of Olay(I think it was called something else back then though).

Grandma you have been the strongest woman I have known. Your strength and bravery are just amazing. You showed us this in life and in death.

I am so pleased that after 23 years you and Grandad can be together again. Rest in peace Granny, you will be missed.

Love Andrea

First day of Kindy/Pre prep what ever you call it

2009-02-01T22:26:00.004+10:00

Ellyse had her first morning at Kindy (in Queensland this used to be called Kindergarter, but since the introduction of a full time Prep program they are now calling it pre prep, I can't quite get my head around it so I will probably change between the two terms which mean the same thing....to me anyway!), she had a fantastic time and has been looking forward to going back.

Tomorrow and Wednesday she will attend from 9-1:30 and then from next Monday it is Monday-Wednesday 9-2:30. I am as excited as I am saddened that my baby, my little girl, my very first born will be heading off to begin her formal learning. I am excited that she will be challenged, that she will make new friends, that she will thrive in a formal learning environment, but I am sad that we will miss out on doing so many things together, it really is the end of an era. )oh dear I am getting teary). I worry if I have done enough to prepare her, if she will be ok without me all day (am I crazy, of course she will!)... guess I am more worried for me and my feelings as I know how excited she is.

Then there is Ashton to think about. How lovely for us to finally share some one on one time together, to get to play together, learn together and know eachother. Oh how he will miss his little mate though, I have a feeling he will want my undivided attention for a while.

Anyway enough of that emotional stuff. I know she is ready to boss those teachers around, and that she is so looking forward to making some new friends. Here she is on our front stairs on her first day.

And the sheet bag I made for her tonight. I wanted to applique her name on it but ran out of time, will have to add it later on.

Here is some fabric I picked up at Spotlight today. I just love the camo one, if you can't tell it has frogs in various shapes and sizes on it and little orange fish. This will become some shorts for Ashton and for a friend's little boy who turns one in 2 weeks.

This other fabric is called boardshort fabric, I hadn't ever noticed it before but it is lovel and soft and will make some great shorts for Ellyse for next summer.

Oh and I almost forgot these three beauties. I was at a gorgeous quilting shop last week and pickup these three fat quarters for $9. Not sure what I am going to do with them but I think they are lovely.

Pre prep clothes for my big girl!

2009-01-22T13:37:00.004+10:00

I thought I would make Ellyse some clothes for the start of the pre prep year. I didn't want shorts, and I didn't want a tappered kind of knicker bocker so I added four inches to the shorts in this pattern and have ended up with this. I absolutely love them I think they look great, I am just a bit worried they are a bit pjish, what do you think?

I actually did a practice pair with the fabric from my previous post, they were a little shorter than what I was after but Ellyse assures me she loves those too.

Ellyse was so excited to choose some fabric, the next pair are made of purple cupcake fabric with glitter. When I put her to bed today she asked if I was going to make her other shorts, how can I refuse? So eventhough the heat is stiffling I must fulfill her wishes and sew.

And just for a laugh, I thought Ash was a bit quiet out in the yard yesterday afternoon, after investigating this is what I found. A little boy being so helpful picking up our doggy do do. Oh I had to laugh, there is no way Ellyse would ever go near that and if I asked her where the shovel was that we used to pick up the poo I doubt she could tell me. Funny thing about the second born child.....or is it just a boy thing?

A Miss Madeline for Miss Mardi

2009-01-09T13:46:00.003+10:00

A friend's daughter turns 2 in a few weeks, I am feeling quite organised having made her present already. Her mum is not really into pink so I chose this cotton from Spotlight, I think it works well with the spots.

I had a play around with my blog last week, but I am thinking that it might be a bit too pink. Might have to fix that.

Ok now I really need the motivation to go and cut out a Margaret bag for my sister, not so organised with that gift, it is her birthday next Sunday and the bag needs to get to Japan!

And the winner is....

2009-01-04T13:39:00.000+10:00

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:6
Timestamp: 2009-01-04 03:37:49 UTC

Congrats to Car and her little girl. Can you send me an email with your name and address and I will get the dress sent to you the next time I am at the post office.

Thanks to everyone that entered, it was great to see some new faces and please if you regularly check my blog I would love to get comments from you.

Andrea

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T14:40:00.000+10:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We are hoping for a wonderful year this year with many things happening in our family.

* we are hoping to begin and finish an extension of our home and renovation of the bathrooms and kitchen areas. We have been talking about this for at least two years now and it is both exciting and scary at the same time.

* Ellyse begins her formal education this year. She will be attending a C and K center , I am so excited for her and am so looking forward to watching her grow and thrive in a learning environment. Having studied for a Bachelor of Education majoring in Early Childhood I just love the philosophy of C and K and I know how much they will love and burture my gorgeous girl.

* Keiran will continue to work hard in his job - I was going to say new job but he has been there 18 months now. Although it is long hours he loves it a lot and gets so much job satisfaction it truely is worth it.

* I will not return to work this year, for the first time without having a newborn in my arms I will not be teaching in some capacity. It does feel strange but with Ellyse being at pre prep for 3 days from 9-2:30 it really makes it impossible to work - such a shame! I am really looking forwrad to some one on one time with Ashton.

* I hope to challenge myself in new things. Read more, learn more, sew more, maybe quilt more, spend less, think more before buying, use my fabric stash! Give more of myself to my family and friends and those in need.

Keiran has started the year with extreme motivation in his garden. It is at this time of the year that he is the most motivated (despite the heat). His plants are flowering and the garden is full of beautiful colour. Our friends love it when we visit as they know we will come with a gorgeous array of flowers and colourful leaves that make a great centerpiece and last for weeks.

We are so lucky that we have good soil here and that K spent the money preparing our soil well when we first started the garden, since the drought and the introduction on water restrictions we have not watered our garden at all and yet it continues to thrive. K asked me to take some photos of the garden earlier, I thought I would share some with you.

Giveaway

2008-12-30T20:04:00.000+10:00

Ok, I am really nervous about doing this as I am not sure that there are too many readers of my blog, and also because I am not sure that my sewing is good enough to give away....anyway those fears aside I am going to give it a go.

Blogger won't let me post photos so do you remember this dress? Ever since I made it getting Ellyse to wear it has been a struggle. At first it was not pink enough, but now she complains of the shirring being too tight on her chest.

I can't possibly keep making her wear a dress that is uncomfortable so I thought I would offer it as a giveaway as I just hate seeing it hang in the cupboard unloved.

So if you have a darling little girl in your life that you think would fit this dress (I would guess the shirring would be about a size 2 if Ellyse is finding it uncomfortable) then please leave a comment by Friday and I will do the random number thing to pick a winner.

Come on lurkers out you come (I hope there are some!).

Good luck to everyone.

What a wonderful, wonderful Christmas

2008-12-27T13:08:00.000+10:00

What a joy it is to feel and see te joy of Christmas through our children's eyes. This is the first year that Ellyse has had a little understanding of Christmas, but I still don't think she entirely 'got it'. But she definitely got it enough to be excited and overjoyed with her gifts.

She did totally forget it was Christmas though, she walked staright past her presents under the tree into our room, after about 25 minutes the following conversation occurred -

E - "Mummy is it Christmas today?"

A - "Yes darling it is."

E - "Oh ok then."

A - relieved to get anouther 5 minutes lay in bed until Ash woke and we decided we should get up. Even when we got up she was more interested in having breakfast thanseeing the presents, and that Santa had eaten the biscuits. So innocent and so cute.

Santa bought Ellyse a new (big girl) bike, we cannot believe how good she is on it. She also got a scooter from mum, I am sure Ashton thinks they are for him too. It is too cute watching him trying to climb up onto the bike. An accident waiting to happen for sure.

Here she is riding her bike -

My darling husband surprised me with a new sewing machine. I was complaining about my walking foot last week and told him taht would be a great gift - turns out the machine he bought me came with a free walking foot, he told me he bought me a walking foot that came with a free machine!

It is a Janome Quilters Companion and I am not really sure what it can do yet. I know it has 60 stitches (including a blanket stitch hich will save me so much time!) and that it has electronic functions.

I have started sewing on my new machine, I have made two little skirts for some gorgeous twin girls who we will visit tonight. They are friends of friends and when our friends are in town we often meet up at their house. Megan has commented on sewing I have done for my friend's little girl so I thought it was a good excuse to use my new machine.

I saw this tutorial last week and liked the little ruffle so I used that idea with a normal elastic casing waist - nothing fancy but I think they look quite sweet. I know Megan will love them. Ashton is the same age as the twins so I used him as a model and for sizing - he is loving Ellyse's sunnies at the moment which also adds to the look.

I am looking forward to quilting the little dolls quilt I made earlier in the week on my new machine.

I just had to add pics of these gorgeous handmade gifts my friend sent for Ellyse and Ash, they are just adorable and I can't wait to take them off the tree and hang them in their rooms.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T21:21:00.000+10:00

Wishing your family a wonderful Christmas.

Thank yo uso much for taking the time to read my blog and make comments to keep me motivated this year. I just looked through each month and I definitely had a slow start to the year in terms of sewing, but the sewjo came back at the end of the year. I hope to try many new things next year with Ellyse going off to pre prep 3 days a week, so just Ash and I at home.

Enjoy your time with your families tomorrow and see you soon.

Andrea

Nothing like sewing at the last minute....

2008-12-23T15:20:00.000+10:00

Well last night I got a bad case of the guilts. Why you ask? I have done a lot of hand made items as Christmas gifts this year and I am extremely proud of that, but none for either of my kids. So today with left over fabric from this project I got set to work.

Ellyse recieved a Little Mermaid Doll for Christmas from her Aunty and Uncle so I thought a doll's quilt for her would be perfect given the fabric. I quickly drew up a design and changed it about 3 times, then I started cutting, changed my mind again, then started sewing. It took me just over 2 hours from start to finish (just the top, not wading, quilting, binding), and I am excited. I think it looks just wonderful. The design is by no means original I am sure but it is a first for me. I don't think I can see it being wrapped around dolls and dragged around by Ashton so I think I might hang it in either the play area or Ellyse's room.

I am not sure how I am going to quilt it yet, not sure if I will get to do it before Christmas or not, I am hoping to.

I have also made a Margaret Bag for my closest friend for Christmas, I am giving it to her tongiht, I am really excited as I know she will just love it. I am looking forward to making some more of these. The pattern was fantastic, so easy to follow and the bag is a great size.

The sewing girls over at Essential Baby participated in a Secret Santa recently. I was sewing for Susan. After cheekily finding out her favourite colour and what she would like I made her an apron, a Tin Whistle bag and some coasters. I also made her son a drawing case. I didn't take the best pictures of what I made, but here they are anyway.

I would like to say that is all of my sewing finished, but I still have a drawing case to make and some beach balls. Best get to it.

Secret stuff reveal and today's sewing

2008-12-17T20:36:00.000+10:00

Well the secret little packages featured in my previous post were in fact little gifts for the Brisbane girls on Tuesday. I made four bias tote bags for each of the girls (I included myself, aren't I lovely?), Marie I will have to post yours to you!

Thanks to Susan and Suzanne for a lovely meet up on Tuesday, I look forward to another one in the new year.

I made two of these retro dresses today as gifts my good friend's daughters. I am so pleased with them and cannot wait to give them to the girls. I am a bit cranky that I didn't think to center the gold and fuschia one, the pattern is just a little off center, but whrn Lauren is wearing it I doubt anyone will notice. I also noticed on the blush dress that the mermaids are swimming up at the front and down at the back, again I am sure it will not be noticed.

Secret Santa and other secret stuff

2008-12-16T02:00:00.000+10:00

A big thank you to Natalie for our wonderful SS parcel. Natalie has gone to so much effort to create something individual for me and the kids. I just love everything.

Included in the parcel was

- an appliqued shirt for Ashton (both sides, how cute is that?)

- a shirt with heart shaped yo yos and other gorgeousness for Ellyse

-a ruffle apron for me

-magazines for me

-some tree ornaments for decorating our home

-all wrapped in some beautiful floral fabric that will no doubt become something for Ellyse.

Thanks so much Natalie, we truely appreciate your effort.

I have been working on some other secret stuff tonight, all will be revealed tomorrow - actually that is today as it is 2 am!!!

And just to finish a photo of alittle outfit I gave to a little one yee old (Ellyse speak) on Sunday. My present was the last to be opened and prior to that the mum had opened about 4 sets of Pumpkin Patch clothes so I was feeling a little nervous. I was so pleased when she told me afterwards how much it meant to her that I had put in the effor to create something. My satin stitch is totally dodgy, especially the wheels, but she didn't seem to notice.

It's a wrap

2008-12-04T21:38:00.000+10:00

My latest Versatile Wrap is complete and it was decided by all that pink was the colour to use as a top so here it is!

The pattern is designed by Toni at Make It Perfect. I was lucky enough to win a competition that she ran on her blog and recently I recieved the pattern for The Summer Fling in my letterbox. I am really excited and can't wait to give it a go. Thanks Toni.

This next photo is a little set I made as a gift for a one year old little boy. I have actually made another pair of shorts for another little boy, but I (but most likely Keiran) have misplaced the top so I can't finish it just yet.

and lastly a sneak peak at my EB Secret Santa. I sent it off to the recipient today, I hope she likes it all. I definitely enjoyed sewing for you!

What colour would you wear with..

2008-12-03T22:32:00.000+10:00

..this skirt?

Sorry for the bad photo, it is late and I am tired and really want to get to bed!

I was always thinking yellow, and even have my eye on one to get......but Keiran thinks getting a red/deep pink would be better. It was too late to argue so I thought I would get your opinion.

And for those lovely EB girls who helped me make my decision on which dress to wear last Saturday night here are a few pics.....early in the night, trust me I don't want to show the ones later in the night, they might ruin my reputation (not that bad really).

Secret Santa and the lighting of the tree

2008-11-29T14:34:00.000+10:00

Our little family went off to the lighting of the Christmas Tree in the city last night. It was lovely for the kids to see it and be amongst all of the excitement. I was amazed at how many people there were there.

Yesterday was the first time that Ellyse has shown interest in wearing dress up clothes outside of the house. In fact she isn't even a really big dress up girl unless we have visitors, but yesterday she wanted to wear the hidious purple sparkly plastic high heels out, I was prepared and took some spare shoes which we did need. I don't think she will ask to do that again. The last night she wanted to wear her fairl dress. Seeing as she has had it for a year and hasn't really worn it I was only too happy to let her wear it. She looked gorgeous!

Tonight we are off to our Mother's Group Adults Christmas party (the kids one is next weekend), I decided to sew up this bag as one of the gifts. So many of the mums have asked about the one I made myself. This fabric is just from SL, it is a nice heavy canvasy type fabric.

Cherry Ripe Mud Cake

2008-11-29T08:08:00.000+10:00

On Kylie's request here is the recipe. I got it from EB, but it is actually a Woman's Weekly Recipe. It was so yummy and got better over a few days. Next time I would make it 2 days before the event, and I will be making it again.

Cherry Ripe Mud Cake

Preparation Time: 35 Minutes (plus standing time)
Cooking Time: 2 Hours

Ingredients:
250g unsalted butter, chopped
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 2/3 cups (400ml) coconut milk
200g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
2 cups (440g) caster sugar3/4 cup (110g) self raising flour
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1/4 cup (25g) cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 x 85g Cherry Ripe bars, chopped coarsely

200g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely, extra
125g unsalted butter, chopped, extra

1. Preheat oven to slow. Grease deep 22cm round cake pan; line base and side with baking paper.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan; add coffee, coconut milk, chocolate and sugar. Stir over heat until chocolate melts and sugar dissolves; cool to room temperature.
3. Whisk in sifted dry ingredients, then eggs and essence; stir in half of the Cherry Ripe. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Top with remaining cherry ripe; bake in slow oven about 1 3/4 hours.
Stand cake 10 minutes; turn, top side up, onto wire rack to cool.
4. Combine extra chocolate and extra butter in small saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth. Refrigerate until mixture is of spreadable consistency.
5. Spread chocolate mixture all over cake

Happy birthday Daddy and a few other bits and pieces

2008-11-23T20:50:00.000+10:00

It was Keiran's 35th birthday today and I think Ellyse was more excited that anyone!

At her request the party had to include

- decorations (care of the story Seven More Sleeps by Margaret Wild)

- balloons

- party hats

- chocolate cake

How could I refuse?

We made decorations through the week using this idea (scroll down to baing tray prints) from Kids Craft Weekly. Ellyse really enjoyed this printing and I think they worked out really well. Best thing is that it is painting that she can manage herself.

Now for anyone reading this who knows Keiran, you will know that any kind of cake, icecream or desert make him thirst (a lovely term his niece and nephew came up with) so you will find it unusual that I would make him a Cherry Ripe Chocolate Mud Cake - trust me I was thinking of the other 14 people who were going to be here! I can highly recommend this recipe, it was absolutely beautiful.

And a photo of my gorgeous family, yes that is me wearing a jumper in Brisbane in November (almost December), it was so windy here today and the breeze was quite fresh.

In other news, Ashton weaned himself this week. I was planning on stopping the last feed soon anyway, but kept delaying it. I am not too sad about it though as I am hoping to be able to have another little bundle and do it all again.

Here is his last ever feed!

This is a little set I made for Ashton a while ago, not the best photo but you get the idea. I am really happy with it, although the top is in the handwashing pile as the first (and only ) time he has worn it he got crayon on it.

Ok I think that is enough of an update today. I am working on a few little projects at the moment for Christmas gifts, baby showers and birthdays!

I can't believe how close it is getting until Christmas, better get my skates on.

Secret Santa Questions

2008-11-09T14:20:00.000+10:00

Would you like something handmade as a gift?
I would love something handmade, but also understand that we are all busy and anything that is sent with me in mind will be truely appreciated!

Do you have a favourite Christmas Colour?
Red and gold are the Christmas colours in our home.

Do you decorate the whole house or just a part of it?
We decorate the area where the tree will be, as well as ornaments etc in the play area and lounge room.

Do you have any Christmas Traditions?
The kids have a stocking which is gifts from Santa. Last year they were given gorgeous sacks, we will pop those in their rooms this year and might become a tradition that they can look in there as soon as they wake up. Other than that none have really been established yet.

What sizes are your children?
Ellyse is a size 3
Ashton is a size 1

Do you like quick projects or things that take a little longer?
I love quick projects, I hate having WIP laying around, I forget about them and start something else!

Is there anything that you like to collect?
We don't collect anything specific, we definitely don't have a lot of Santa, snowmen etc around our home, I prefer stars, angels etc.

Is there anything you don't need?
I don't use FQ much, I find they sit in my stash as they are too small for a number of things I like to do.

Have fun, I can't wait!

Bias Tape Tote

2008-11-04T21:03:00.000+10:00

I used this tutorial to make this gorgeous handbag. It is a gift for a friend whose birthday is on Thursday. I think the pattern is upside down and it is not centered, but I love it anyway. I only had just enough fabric left from making these bags last year. I will definitely be making more of these bags, if I had all of the supplies it would have only taken me about an hour all up.

READY, SET GO!

2008-10-14T10:37:00.001+10:00

It has only taken me 15 months, but I have finally done some sewing for Ashton. I used Burda 9793, and somehow managed to much up the fake zip area, but it looks ok.

I love the fabric, it has an assorment of vechiles on it as well as traffic lights. I am planning on appliquing a top with something to match. They are a size 2 so should last him a while yet!

I also finished this twirly skirt off for Ellyse. I feel a bit mean as it was intended as a gift for a friend's daughter, but after seeing it made up I just cannot part with it. It is made with fabric from the Farmer's Market collection. I have chosen some other fabric frm my stash to make another for Chloe!

The not so Madeline Dress

2008-10-12T14:20:00.000+10:00

You will not believe that this dress started with this pattern!

I saw a little girl at the shops a few weeks ago with a peasant style dress that was shirred at the bodice, it was absolutely adorable. I thought it would work perfectly with the Madeline pattern. I increased the bodice size to accomodate the shirring and I was off. When it was finished it just looked too much like a nightie. I think a lot of it was the fabric also. I had planned on the aqua ruffle on the bottom, but I still thought the top looked wrong ( no pics sorry, wass in too much of a rush to got the unpicker out!).

I took the sleeves off and made some bias binding (all the while thinking of Cass with her bias maker) and made the straps instead. I am really happy with it. I love the colours (Ellyse is still to be convinced that aqua is ok for girls), something different to pink.

I am now off to work on some shorts for Ash, hope to have them finished this afternoon.

Not a sewing post - a look at my gorgeous kids post!

2008-10-08T20:34:00.000+10:00

Well with not one, but two machines out of action at the moment, there hasn't been any sewing going on here. I have been thinking alot about sewing and planning what I will do when the machines are all better, so that counts for something at least.

I am sure all of the mums out there know the feeling that your children are just the most beautiful and wonderful people you have ever seen. I just can't help feeling this way at the moment. Both Ellyse and Ashton are just being absolutely delightful and I am just loving the ages they are at.

Ellyse is such a little mummy, watching out for everyone and taking time to talk to her little friends that no one else can see - there is Ella, Bella, Arabella, LilyBelle (see the pattern here), then occassionally the boys join her, Zachary and Daniel. This make believe play has really started since she has been at the child care centre rather than FDC. She spends her days setting up beds for her babies, she plonks herself inbetween two of them with her scissors, paper, book and a pen, all the while telling children to lay down, go to sleep, I am busy writing in the book etc. I caught her telling a real friend last Friday that "If you don't listen to me Max I will have to pinch you" -I don't know where she got that from, hopefully not one of her teachers! Poor old Max, did not want to be forced to lay on his tummy while being patted and rocked to sleep by the 'teacher'.

She adores Ashton most of the time, she gets things for him and tried to find out what is wrong if he cries.

So here are some photos to celebrate my beautiful Ellyse-

I could go on, but I think that is enough.

And little Ashton, how can he be so like Ellyse in so many ways and then so differnet in others. I can't decide if it is a gender thing, second born thing, or just personality, but man he gets places Ellyse is still yet to discover. Ellyse didn't climb, open, bang anytning, she just sat and played. Little Ash is just into everything. While Ellyse is inside patting babies he is outside digging in the dirt. While Ellyse is hoping the water doesn't touch her toes while K is washing the car, Ash is covered head to toe in freshly cut grass while waving the running hose around. If there was one blade of grass on Ellyse we would have to call someone to help.

But what a snuggle bunny Ash is, he loves to cuddle all of us, he puts his thumb in and nuzzles up to you, it is just adorable.

How is that for photo overload? Aren't they just the cutest?

Log Cabin Cushion

2008-09-19T06:47:00.000+10:00

We are of to Clara's birthday party this morning, Ellyse is very excited (well at least I think she is, she is on night two of a 5 night sllep ver binge at my mum's apperantly). Clara became a big sister earlier this year and I made little Lilly this . Her mum told me last week how muc Clara loves it and is always carrying it around. So out went the plans for a rara skirt and in in with the idea of a cushion for Clara. I went with reds this time as I didn't want it to look too much like Lilly's. Sadly that was my only other option other than pink, I really need to get some different colours in my fabric collection.

K and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary this week. I just cannot believe it was 8 years ago since that special day. I absolutely loved my wedding day, everything went to plan,and even though it is well known as having more tears than a funeral (we were living 1000km apart at the time and I hadn't seen him for over 8 weeks), it was one of the happiest days of my life.

The many faces of Ellyse

2008-09-12T20:50:00.000+10:00

Another creation from this pattern. My sister has bought Ellyse a gorgeous denim skirt from an airport somewhere in the world that has red stitching. It just doesn't look right wearing any other colour than red with it. When I saw this fabric at SL I knew it would make a lovely top to wear with the skirt.

Ellyse was in a playful mood while trying the top on, here is Ellyse being

Happy

Sad (well sort of, it is more of a happy sad isn't it?)

Excited

Surprised

Angry

After the last dress being too small, this top is just that bit too big, but she will grow into it.

Hasn't she changed since my first blog post 2 years ago?

Father's Day and some sneaky peaks

2008-09-09T14:37:00.000+10:00

We had a very busy FD here as we also had a wedding to attend. Ellyse and Ashton made some handmade goodies, adn I also bought Keiran this book. I heard the author on the radio and just knew Keiran (and I) just had to read it. It will take hima while I am sure!

We had a lovely morning at home, then dropped the kids at K's parents' house for the afternoon. We don't relly do gifts for them (very sad I know), but I did make my dad this bag. He is so hard to buy for and I had this fabric - he loves everything old holden and even owns a few so it was perfect. I used this tutorial from Tin Whistle, although I made mine a lot bigger to make the most of the fabric.

Then in the afternoon we went to the wedding - here is the top I was so anxious about! I did feel a bit different to my 6 other friends who all wore dresses, but oh well.

And lastly a sneak peak at some gifts of love that should hopefully be arriving to their destinations tomorrow.

A VERY belated gift

2008-09-02T22:43:00.000+10:00

My hairdresser had her baby 7 months ago and when I told her I had a gift in mind she asked for something handmade as she loved the clothes I had made for Ellyse. It seemed silly to sew something for winter, so now it is warming up (an dthe fact I have an appointment tomorrow) I whipped up this little Madeline Dress tonight. It is very easy and the result is just too cute!

Off to bed for me, I have a busy day tomorrow!

The Versatile Wrap and a little apple top

2008-09-02T10:43:00.001+10:00

I must have made this top at the end of last summer. I remember thinking that it was way too short and I doubted that I would wear it. Well I must have had much bigger milk boobies then...I rediscovered it last week and it fits much better than I remembered. I did a little hem and it is all finished. I am not sure where I will wear it as Keiran tells me the apples look a bit odd on a grown woman! I think it is cute though, and Ellyse does too!

I finally received my fabric order yesterday and was straight on to making the versatile wrap. I have been really looking forward to this, so you can imagine my disappointment when I realised, with a directional print like this, I didn't have enough fabric. It was easy enough to fix though, I just have a seam on one of the panels.

The skirt was easy to make, the instructions were great. I am not really happy with the way it sits at the moment, a button hole might help that though, but I think that is more my shape rather than the skirt!

The RaRa Skirt is making a comeback!

2008-08-31T19:19:00.000+10:00

Who would have thought my favourite skirt when I was 12 would be worn by my 3 year old 20 years later? I spotted some in Target last week and thought they looked sweet so thought I would have a go. I have had this fabric sitting in my stash for awhile and Ellyse is pink crazy at the moment so I thought it would be perfect. I will admit to having unstitching once or twice while I got my head around how exactly I was going to do it, but I am most happy with the end result. I had seen this mariposa applique on Sandi Henderson's blog anf thought it would be perfect for a matching T.

Watch here how Ellyse goes from grumpy to happy in one shot! Had to include both sides of her!

and one from mothers group on Friday. Ellyse loves looking after Ashton while I am busy, who am I to argue?

I am not the only one getting ready for summer with skirts, check out these gorgeous skirts by EB sewing buddies Leah and Helen.

Getting my groove back!

2008-08-11T09:30:00.000+10:00

WOW 3 sewing posts for me in a week! I am loving getting things finished and doing something for myself again. I think I was a little bit lost without projects on the go and things to do.

I started this dolls quilt back in January as a gift for a friend's one year old. All that needed finishing was the binding, but for some reason I thought it would be too hard for me. Well after doing the toy mat last week and realising how easy it was I was looking forward to getting this finished. It is my first go at quilting and I am pleased with it, it is simple but lovely at the same time.

Summer sewing begins here

2008-08-09T22:12:00.000+10:00

The day I saw this dress in Novy's blog, I just knew I wanted to make one too. I just love how simple it is, but having the two fabrics makes it special. Of course seeing a similar style in Myer was a good motivator also. So I pruchased the pattern from here and Iwas set to go.

So when K decided to go fishing tonight I put my UFOs (and my extremely tired eyes) to the side to have a go at the dress. It was really easy to make and the instructions were fantastic. I used a fabric for the main part that I bought on impulse when Ashton was first born and I had 20 minutes in Spotlight one day. I was actually planning on making something for myself with it as it has a great boarder at the bottom, but thought it worked well with the pink and white spot for this dress. I made the size 3 but it looks a bit small, fingers crossed it fits, if not some friends are coming for dinner tomorrow night and they have a two year old I can give it to....then I can order some of this gorgeous fabric.

I will update my blog tomorrow with a photo of Ellyse wearing it.

Toy Mat for baby Jasper

2008-08-03T22:17:00.000+10:00

My older sister Nicole and her husband Jort welcomed a baby boy into their lives about 9 weeks ago - this is how long it has taken me to get this toy mat finished! I was lacking some motivation, but it was also very time consuming. I hand blanket stitched all of the applique which took hours.

It was all worth it though, I simply love the finished product and hope that Jasper does too. It has cord around it so it can be closed and used as a storage bag for toys, which will be handy for my sister as she lives in a one bedroom flat in Japan.

Not a great photo, you can't really see the detail, but I know you will appreciate it!

I will have to get a photo of little Jasper on it before they return home on Tuesday.

Songs to make you smile

2008-07-28T15:25:00.000+10:00

Today Ellyse and I went to see Justine Clarke's show - Songs to make you smile. It was great fun and it sure did make me smile. Ellyse just loved the songs, eventhough she was not familiar with any of them. She was soon singing and dancing along. I just love the feeling at these shows, all of the parents with their children who are just so excited to be there. Watching Ellyse respond to Justine was magical.

We bought the DVD and Justine was signing copies, so we lined up and Ellyse got her copy signed. She wanted to tell Justine all about Ashton and her other babies at home, it was very cute.

12 months and still loving it!

2008-07-26T09:52:00.001+10:00

My baby is 1

2008-07-24T09:48:00.000+10:00

Ashton turned one on Tuesday and I thought what a great way to get back inot blogging, it sure has been a while. I can't believe it was a whole year ago that we welcomed him into the world.

We had a lovely party with our families and some close friends on Sunday, Brisbane turned on a beautiful winters day, it was just perfect. Ashton wasn't looking his best after a fall out of the sandpit on Friday afternoon, but I still think is is awfully cute. Ellyse was in her absolute element being the big sister and helping with everything from the pinata to the present opening.

We are looking forward to another magical year with our 2 beautiful children.

To borrow Tiger Filly's term -Ashton is such a snuggle bunny, he is forever crawling up to someone, popping his thumb in his mouth and going in for a cuddle. In this pic Ellyse is so zoned out watching Hi 5 that she didn't take much notice!

A bit of picture overload but I have a lot to make up on!

Today's sewing..

2008-05-08T20:55:00.000+10:00

...just couldn't think of a good title tonight.

Well I decided to use my Ellyse free day wisely today, in a few weeks that day will be gone as I am going back to work.

I completed this pinni for her which I decided to make reversible - two dresses in one, why not? I chose some lovely soft pink corduroy and some gorgeous cream fabric with little pink flowers that I recieved from Novy in a swap we participated in awhile ago. I just love the fabric and think that it is perfect for the pinni. The pinni is a littl big but we should get away with a long sleeve shirt underneath. I am a bit disappointed with my sewing, I just better keep practising!

I made Ellyse these pants last year to go with her 'big sister' shirt. I will never forget the nesting I went through while I was pregnant with Ashton. There was no cleaning involved, it was all sewing. I made these pants on the Friday when I was already 5 days overdue. The plan was that Ellyse would wear them to the hospital with her matching big sister shirt. My poor mother in law got so distressed when Ellyse refused to wear them because they were scratchy, MIL thought I would be devastated - turns out I had more important things to worry about!

Anyway I have been washing them almost weekly for 10 months and they are still as stiff as a board, but I thought I would try my luck again today and she put them on without a fuss and wore them all day! I just love them.

Finishing things feels so good...

2008-05-05T15:01:00.000+10:00

I have had a number of unfinished projects on the go and finishing them is the motivation I needed to get into some winter sewing for the kids.

Firstly, I was a bit cheeky on Ellyse's birthday and only sewed enough of her dressing gown so that she knew what it was! Three, or is it four, weeks later I finally finished it! It is just the moat adorable fabric, so soft, and she just loves looking justlike mummy in the mornings (well the one cold morning we have had anyway!).

For a long time I have wanted to make a log cabin cushion after seeing them here a long time ago. Finally I got some cheap cushions from Ikea and 2 little baby girls have recently been born so I thought I would have a go. I am pretty impressed with my little cushion, (not so much the fabrics though, I just used some from my stash) I just need to make sure I pin it and be more accurate with my seams next time....it ended up far from square. The quilting shows that off! For a first attempt I am happy though. This one is for a little baby from Mothers Group called Lily and the next one will also be for a Lily, my hair dressers new little bundle of joy.

I had these shirts all ready to go for a pirate themed birthday party a few weeks ago, but I just wanted to make sure the shirts would fit the little boy before I stitched them. I am so happy with how they have turned out. No more hand blanket stitch for me! Although this is using my mum's sewing machine, not sure if mine would do as good a job.

Speaking of the pirate party, here are my 2 little pirates. This is the best photo I have as my batteries (yes I have 2 and they were both flat) were flat on the day. Ellyse did have a little pirate hat and a blow up parrot for her shoulder, but I think they were disregarded quite quickly.

Now I want to get into sewing some winter clothes for the kids. A pinni and some pants for Ellyse and some pants for Ash too....I just have to get through the ironing pile first.

Finding the right words

2008-04-30T10:41:00.000+10:00

I was blog surfing a few days ago when I came across

this site. I was happily reading away and then I found these words.
“And no one had warned me that one day she would be the most treasured and important being in my life and the next she was just an annoyance. No one warned me that I would actually fall out of love with Bella and would resent her for being so big and loud and rude. And worst of all, no one warned me that I would have moments of also resenting Lily for changing my relationship with Bella so drastically.Of course as soon as I spoke to other mothers of two, I found out that all these feelings are normal and very common. And now that they are a thing of the past I can understand why no one told me. But I also think it's a shame that this isn't discussed, because if I'd known that it was all normal and that I should expect my relationship with Bella to change (even if only briefly) then I may not have felt so horrifically guilty.Of course, it only lasted a few weeks, but during those brief weeks I felt like more of a failure than I've ever felt before.”

Now I know it has been nine months since I had Ashton and seriously life is great, easy again. But in those first 6 weeks I would talk about how I was feeling to friends and how I was missing my life before Ashton and no one seemed to understand. Then I found thses words. These words have healed me in a sense, the guilt I had about my feelings vanished the instant I read these words. Why didn't someone tell me at the time it was all ok? I was never ashamed to discuss honestly how I was feeling, even though I rarely got positive acknowledgement in return.

Anyway I just really wanted somewhere to keep these words so that next time (if I can talk my husband into a next time), I will be reminded that my feelings are all ok!

Just because...

2008-04-23T14:16:00.001+10:00

I haven't posted for ages I thought I would share some photos of the kids. Can you believe Ashton is 9 months old? Man it feels like yesterday that I was struggling through that newborn phase and here we are with a beautiful little crawler/climber/squealer/laugher/heart stopper of a son. I love him too much for words. I love the way Ellyse watches over him, shows him new things, asks "are you ok sweety?". She is just so patient with him. Watching them together just melts my heart......most of the time anyway.

Birthday gifts

2008-03-19T18:52:00.000+10:00

This year I decided to make dressing gowns as gifts for Ellyse's little friends. I have made four now but have only remembered to photograph this one.

They have all been lovingly recieved, which is just lovely!

...and one of little Ashton 'crawling'

Our day at Australia Zoo

2008-03-19T18:02:00.000+10:00

We had a lovely day at Australia Zoo. Ellyse was a perfect age to enjoy it all. While I haven't ever been a huge Steve Irwin fan (nor did I dislike him - no opinion really), it was still a really emotional expereince for me to walk through the Zoo that he loved so much. They had a lot of shirts hanging up with messges from when he died and a lot of gifts left for his family, I did wipe away a tear or to while walking through that section.

Ellyse asking the kangaroo "Do you want to come to my house?" Too cute!

Our annual family holiday to Yamba - here again

2008-03-19T15:08:00.000+10:00

I cannot believe it has been a year since I wrote this, Feb 2008 has come around so quickly, as has our annual family holiday. So off to Yamba we went. The Yamba tradition started about 13 years ago for us. Keiran went there to celebrate his 21st birthday with some friends, as the main purpose was for the surf. His best mate lives in Pt Macquarie and this is a greatmeeting point. Off course back then we did it rough and camped in a fantastic Caravan Park, nothing flash, just in a great location, no need for a car which I just love.

As our family has grown and our camping stuff slowly broke and wore out we started staying at The Sands. While I do love staying here I really miss the relaxed atmosphere of camping, and not having to get in the car. On the plus side though the pool at The Sands is just perfect for the kids and really is what keeps us going back. It sounds strange, but at least we know if the beach is yucky, or it is a bit rainy, the pool is just outside our door and is a great break.

While the weather wasn't perfect (poor K didn't even get his board wet!), it really was a great family holiday.

The first few days were us getting over a tummy bug - not the best start! From there it was all fun! We caught the ferry from Yamba over to Iluka and took a 6 km walk through the Bundjalung National Park to Bluff Beach, it was just absolutely glorious! We all ha a lovely swim and a play in the sand. We lef tit a little late to head back to the ferry and practically had to run back through the rainforest to make it! Funny now - not at the time though, the next ferry wasn't for another 2 hours!

Walking through the rainforest
The way Ashton spent most of the day, I still get so excited that Ashton sleeps so well in the pram (hence the photo) as Ellyse never did!
"Ocean are you there?"

We also spent a few afternoons at Angourie beach, and at some local beaches in Yamba too.

As the days were too windy to go to the beach we took a drive to Brooms Head and Sandon, these places were just lovely, so untouched and quiet. This definitely made us realise that camping and exploring holidays were the type of holidays we want for us and the kiddies. With K's new job came a Toyota Hilux, so he just loved going down all the bumpy dirt tracks looking for special little places.

Ashton just loved the beach and ate a whole lot of sand. The water was a bit cold for him so he just hung out alot cruising around the sand and gobbling up what he could. Ellyse has never really been a huge fan off the beach and really wanted to just spend her days jumping into the pool. We did however build some great sandcastles and take some lovely walks on the beach.

Not sure taht next year will take us back to Yamba, but we will be somewhere on the Clarence Coast.

Enjoy the photos

Very very late V day swap

2008-03-19T14:44:00.000+10:00

I recieved a lovely swap parcel from Ingrid for Valentine's Day. I know this update is extremely overdue, I am sorry Ingrid. As I said in my post on EB, I love everything you sent me and the time you put into to making things and choosing things for me.

Ingrid sent me some lovely handmade coasters and a card holder, as well as some red buttons, some fabric that will be great for Ashton - should get me motivated for sure to sew for him, some lovely chocolate, some gorgeous Lottielulu postcars and some red ric rak. Oh and how could I forget the delicious chocolate -nothing left to show there I am afraid!

Thanks so much Ingrid and I hope you like what I sent you too - although it was very lovey doveycheesy valentine!

And the parecel I sent to Ingrid-

Time for an update!

2008-02-18T14:22:00.000+10:00

Well I have lost my sewjo commpletely and with things being busy around here I just have not had a chance to do anything! I am feeling the love for sewing coming on again and I am determined to find a good pants pattern for Ellyse and sew her some winter clothes. I cannot even remember the last thing I made her - I know I made some pants 2 days before I had Ashton, but she refuses to wear them - the denim is quite heavy - they are so cute though, such a waste.

Ashton is now 7 months old, I just cannot believe it, just yesterday he started to move around in much the same way that Ellyse did - drag your body along the floor. I must say he much more effective than Ellyse in the early stages, there is so much more in the house now for him to grab, the hard yards are about to start with teaching him what he can and cannot touch. Ellyse was very easy, but as I said, there is so much more for him to touch now - and it all has an owner that may not alwys like to share!!

We really did have terrific twos rather than the well known terrible twos, however I think we are about to suffer with the threes! Anyone experienced that? She is really a delight, just testing me lately.

Ashton in the pool

Ellyse feeding just like Mummy was in a resturant the night before

My sister who was visiting from Japan

The fun begins

I was going to put my EB V day swap pics in, but best not until they are recieved by Ingrid, meaning there WILL be another post soon, I must keep my place in the ring.

Welcome Harrison

2008-01-20T20:56:00.000+10:00

A good friend of mine just had her second bub, I just couldn't wait to create some personal gifts for him and his big sister!

I made him a taggie ball, some appliqued singlets and a cushion cover. I was planning on making the cushion from Laast Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, but my old machine can't embroider and I get a bit lazy and just went with a blanket stitch on the letter H (for Harrison). Of course I had to make big sister Chloe a little shirt too.

Last minute baby shower gift

2008-01-11T22:28:00.000+10:00

What do you do when your friend is due with her third bub and someone decides to hold a baby shower for her? You know she has almost everything - and what she doesn't have I have.

Well I know that I am so less anal this time about having my nappy bag fully stocked now that I have to cart 2 kiddies around. I often just chuck Ashton's stuff in Ellyse's backpack and have trouble finding it all when needed. Karen from my EB sewing group suggested a nappy wallet, and it just so happened that Marie had made a nappy roll previously and it was similar to what I had seen on line. I added a change mat and this is the finished product. I think Hannah will be very happy with it.

Not sure if I will get to the taggie ball I was going to make to go with it, they don't take long so I may get it done in the morning. Keiran and I will be child free and off dishwasher, microwave, DVD recorder and phone shopping - oh the fun!

Christmas 2007

2007-12-26T20:36:00.000+10:00

What a magical time of the year, and sharing it with a s and a half year old made it even more special.

Ellyse is at quite a strange age as far as understanding Christmas is concerned. She knows and loves Santa and got the idea to ask him for gifts, but didn't really get the idea of waiting until Christmas night.

When we visited Santa at Myer, she asked him for a baby (she had been asking to take babies home from the shops and I had explained to her a number of times that Santa may bring her one for Christmas and suggested that she asked him for one). When Santa gave her the little gift bag she gave it back and said "no thank you I would like a baby please". It was very cute but also a little embarassing too.

Ellyse left a note for Santa along with a glass of milk and some rum balls. She loved 'writing' the note with daddy.

Both our little darlings woke at 7 Christmas morning, we had to remind Ellyse that Santa had been, she still didn't really get it. We took her out to show her the swing set he had left for her, she put one toe on the grass and discovered it was wet and decided to go back inside. She had a great time opening her other gifts, a giant floor puzzle, a Gracie Lou DVD and her stocking which included hair ties, books and jelly beans.

Then it was off to my parent's house, they live just around the corner making life easy! We opened gifts there, ate ham and runny eggs. It was very quiet at mum and dad's as neither of my sisters made the trip home this year. Very different to last year where we had everyone here for my sister's wedding. We put Ashton to bed and got ourselves ready for lunch at Keiran's parent's house. We had a lovely lunch and the gourmet nibbles and potato salad I made went down a treat. Ellyse and Ashton were both spoilt to bits and Ellyse was so pleased to recieve a baby with a dummy and a bottle from her Aunty. Kris Kringle was fun, my SIL ended up with the bag I made, I found it hard to tell if she liked it or not???

We came home at about 4:30, all very tired and ready for a sleep. We had a great day and look forward to next year when Ellyse should really be enchanted by it all.

Here are some of my favourite photos of Christmas 2007.

Enjoying the carols

Christmas lights

Christmas morning

Ashton enjoying the presents, well the wrapping anyway

Ellyse in her cousin's make up!

Some wonderful homemade gifts from a friend

I hope you all had a magical Christmas with your loved ones.

Jack's quilt

2007-12-20T14:56:00.000+10:00

At Millipede's request I will show a photo of this baby quilt I made for a friend's new little baby. I am glad the photo is at a distance as the sewing isn't that great. You would think I I would have learnt from Ellyse's quilt that pins are the key when quilting! I think I will be investing in a walking foot very soon.

This is for a little boy and the idea is for it to be used as a play mat rather than a quilt for bed.

Suddenly so sad, where do I fit in??

2007-12-19T13:54:00.000+10:00

I apologise in advance for the emotional ramblings this post will contain. I am not thinking carefully about what I am writing or how I am writing I just need to clear my head.

July 22nd 2007, I was 10 days over due with our much wanted second child. My waters broke at about 5 am and I started having contractions at about 7. Things progressed quickly and by 9 am I could barely walk to the car. We got to the hospital at about 9:35, I couldn't walk and had the shakes very badly. The midwife routinely checked the baby's heartbeat, and that is where the comotion began.
I think that firstly she called another midwife and I was yelling "what is wrong? Cut me open, get the baby out!" They told me that heart rate was really slow but everything would be alright. I was having gas and must have been suckinghard, the midwife had her hand on my tummy and told me not to suck when I wasn't having a contraction - I said "but I am having a contraction", I think it was then that they realised I was in serious pain that wasn't caused by contractions. The doctor came and checked for the chord, I was 10 cm dialated at this time. One of the last things I remember is the doctor calling code 1 caesar (which I now know if 10 minutes for the baby to be born), I was asked to move to a different bed, I mustered up all of my strength just to lift my legs and bottom. The last thing I remember is the gas mask going on and being put under.
I don't remember waking up, I don't remember being told I had a little boy, I don't remember Keiran there with me. I do remember being shown a photo of him in special care nursery and not really being concerned (was still very groggy), I remember going to see him and having to turn around and go back because I thought I was going to vomit. I remember Keiran telling me that he may have to be transferred to another hospital - but it just didn't really register. I also remember being told that my placenta had completely abrupted from my uterus and that Ashton had no blood supply meaning no oxygen. They couldn't tell me how long he was without oxygen for, or why it happened, just bad luck apperantly.
The next day it hit me big time and I cried and cried. Everyone said to me (and still continue to say) just be thankful you have him, but this was, and isn't ever enough, I had been through a huge ordeal.
The recovery from the caesar was difficult, no complications, just so hard to get out of bed, turn, cuddle Ellyse and pick up my precious newborn. I wasn't too concerned though, I had my little boy and I didn't really care how he arrived. The doctor told me that a natural birth would have resulted in Ashton dieing or being brain damaged, so I am not complaining at all about how he was born.
I really found the first 6 weeks tough. The first 2 were wonderful, plenty of visitors, lots of home cooked meals being delivered for us. Then Keiran went back to work, my mum went overseas for 6 weeks and I was alone all day with a baby and a toddler who wasn't used to sharing mummy. The logisitics of 2 kids was fine, I could feed them, dress them, get them organised, it was more the reaction Ellyse had that upset me. I knew to expect it but I didn't know how I would feel about it. All in all she coped quite well, there were just times when she was so nasty to Ashton and it just wasn't in her nature. I really grieved for the life we had before Ashton. I am such a structure and routine person and newborns just aren't like that. Ashton started having 45 minute sleeps and was grumpy and some days were really long. There were many times where I wondered why on earth we had complicated our lives with another baby. I didn't ever resent Ashton, or not want him in our family, it was, and is, plain hard work! I have been completely spoilt with a loving, happy 2 year old who rarely threw a tanty before Ashton was born, so to have her change behaviours so suddenly caught me by suprise.
When Ashton was about 5 weeks old I had some counselling, I didn't find it that helpful as she told me that I had already dealt with a lot of issues and time would heal - gee thanks. I had identified what I was sad about but really needed strategies to deal with that.
Well here we are 5 months down the track and I saw an old neighbour at the shops on Saturday. I was telling her about Ashton when suddenly I burst into tears and couldn't stop crying. I was just so suddenly sad and I have been ever since. I think there are a few reasons for this. Firstly as Ashton grows and changes and is developing a personality I am more aware of what I could have lost. I look at him laughing and smiling and am just so in love and realise that he was so nearly not here. Secondly, the next baby in mother's group was born last week and when I went to see them in hospital the mum was up, walking around, squating on the ground, all the things I couldn't do. She had lots of photos from the birth, again something I missed out on and have no idea about. I was on the phone to her this morning and she was telling me how much love she feels for the little one, how she has bonded so well and she just loves having 2 kids. It hit me that I was just so down and negative at that time in Ashton's life that I didn't feel like that towards him, that just makes me so sad.
I know I have reasons to be sad, but I haven't lost anything, I was able to bring my baby home where so many others can't. Do I have a right to be sad? It is just so hard to put my finger on my feelings. Crying helps, and listening to my wonderful husband's supportive words, but at the end of the day I still feel that I have complely missed his newborn stage. I was stressing about Ellyse, about his sleep and just trying to deal with myself physically. The caesar meant I couldn't start exercising for a while, my tummy just seemed so much bigger and it hung over that scar, a constant reminder of what I had been through.
As big an experience that this all was, it is still so small in the scheme of my life and Ashton's life. I know the pain will fade, but it will always be there.
I hope that I haven't offended anyone with my feelings. If you got this far thank you so much for reading. I have tears falling down my face, but I do feel a big weight off my shoulders just getting it off my chest.

I love my little boy so much, my how he has grown!

My Secret Santa gifts for Kerry and her family

2007-12-18T10:19:00.000+10:00

Kerry is a very busy lady with 6 gorgeous kids and one on the way, I was so happy to have her as my secret santa.

I am sure Kerry won't mind me sharing what I made for her.

Firstly I made her some Christmas bunting, it seems that was a very popular choice this year. I made it reversable so that it can be used for the girls' birthdays or just to hang in one of their rooms. I had plenty of pink scraps so this was not a problem!!

Then I decided to make these advent pockets, wow were they time consuming, but I loved every relaxing minute sitting down stitching those numbers on, all the time thinking of the wonderful things Kerry and her family would be doing together at Christmas. On the dangles were little tasks that the family could complete together in the lead up to Christmas. In her package were some craft sheets to help, glitter and bags for the reindeer food, candy canes, hooks to hang things up with, popcorn to have while watching a Christmas movie and a recipe for candy cane cookies.

Sorry for the dodgy photos, it was a last minute thought to take them.

Merry Christmas Kerry and family!

Secret Santa has arrived

2007-12-12T13:25:00.000+10:00

I was so excited to recieve a big parcel at my door on Monday, I had to look at it for 2 days without opening it, but today is opening day and boy were we all spoilt!

Suz made us the most beautiful table runner which is just perfect. It shows how small our table is though! She also sent Keiran a gift, a toy for Ashton and some buttons. Oh I forgot to mention the little teddy decoration for our tree, Ellyse just loves that!

Thanks again Suz.

Christmas outfit 2007

2007-12-09T14:28:00.000+10:00

I finally got the motivation to make Ellyse a little Christmas outfit, I made this in one hour flat yeterday morning after Keiran announced that we were infact going to a Christams party that I thought we weren't going to.

I took Suz's and Kylie's advice and made it a little longer than the pattern, I didn't make it any less twirly, but am thinking of maybe reducing it a little. The top is too small, but was the only white shirt I had, will have to get another one tomorrow.

She just thought she was so special in her boofitul skirt......and she kept telling everyone!

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

2007-12-05T14:15:00.000+10:00

For as long as I can remember my Mum has made rum balls at Christmas time. Gifts for teachers, family and friends, making the rum balls has always been a family occassion. We would all sit around the table and mix and roll until we were all done. With my mother's organisational skills, this was usually late at night before they were required as gifts! Really I should add that my Mum always worked really hard and it is commendable that she took the time to make hand made presesnts.

This morning I got all of my ingredients ready and started making my first batch of rum balls for this season, as soon as I smelt that rum mix with the condensed milk it all came back to me and suddenly it felt like Christmas time.

Ellyse had a wonderful time putting the Christmas tree up over the weekend, I am really enjoying this time with her, she really understands Christmas and what is going on. Only 20 more nights of "Is Santa coming tonight Mummy?" We are off to look at some Christmas lights this week and I just can't wait to capture the excitment.

And just for fun, Keiran and I hadn't put our stockings up yet, and we came out to find Ellyse 'dressed' in them, it was just so cute. I was going to post a pic but decided not too.

One bag down....2 more to go

2007-11-30T16:24:00.000+10:00

I ordered this gorgeous fabric with the vision to make 3 bags, one for each of my sisters, one to London and one to Japan, and one for a Kris Kingle present for Keiran's side of the family. The lovely Cass sent me the pattern for the bag she made in the bag swap. I am so impressed as she drafted the pattern herself and it is perfect.

I am just fighting with the magnetic clasps and then just need to topstitch around the top and I am done. I just wanted to make one first to be sure it was what I was after.

Finally the new hat is finished

2007-11-21T17:00:00.000+10:00

I was so sad when my mum lost this hat I made Ellyse, it was one of the first things I made her when I started sewing again.(she looks so little in that photo - and chubby!)

It was made from a thrifted sheet, but I just loved it. Unfortunately I threw the sheet out so couldn't replicate it, but finally I have made her another hat and I am in love!

I started this hat about 2 months ago and completely mucked up the brim, I got back to it today and finished it in about 20 minutes! It is a bit small for her now, will have to get another pattern, but she should get this summer out of it.

I just love the fabric which is by Heather Baily. I couldn't get a great photo but I have made it reversable.

Cowpoke Drawing Case

2007-11-10T09:30:00.000+10:00

I am really happy with how these turned out. Not too many decapitated cowboys! I love the check with it, eventhough Keiran told me I needed a solid coulour as the initial didn't stand out enough! I tended to agree but love the look of it on the inside!

The little blue car

2007-11-05T14:35:00.000+10:00

I just love it when the little blue car pulls up outside our house, and the lady with the bleach blonde hair so happily walks up our garden stairs and calls out "mail!" This is what happened today and I was so excited! She must love her job, seeing people so pleased to be recieving things they have been waiting for, or better still being suprised with.

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of some fabric I ordered from the humming mini, some very cute cowboy fabric destined to become more little artists drawing cases. I was pleasently suprised to find some freddo frogs in there for Ellyse and a big package wrapped for me. Helen had sent her raggedy edged quilt as a loving gift for Ashton. Thank you Helen, the blanket Cass made us gets a work out every day so now we can alternate! The colours are so bright and cheerful.

Here are both kids loving the quilt!

And lastly just a little Happy 85th Birthday wish to my Granny, you are an inspiration, we are lucky to have you as a Grandma and Ellyse and Ashton are so blessed to havea Great Grandma. This photo was taken at my cousin's wedding on Saturday.

One down, about six to go!

2007-10-31T17:02:00.000+10:00

http://the-humming-mini.blogspot.com/

I am so pleased to have finally finished my first (well second really) little artists drawing case. I first saw the tutorial here, Linda is publishing a book with a new and revised version of this case, I will be keeping my eye out for it that's for sure!

Just waiting on some cowboy fabric to arrive from The Humming Mini and I can get started on some for two little boys from Mothers Group that I drew for secret santa.

All this Christmas talk..

2007-10-30T06:04:00.000+10:00

..got me thinking how much I enjoyed Christmas with Ellyse last year, and now a year later it is just going to be so much more fun. I know how excited she will be now that she can understand the concept a little better.

Putting the tree up last year was such a special day, I can't wait to do it agian.

Our home and our family!

2007-10-29T13:51:00.000+10:00

This is our house before -

Actually no, it was a lot worse than that, in this photo we had already cleared the few trees that were there, include 3 huge date palms that we managed to sell, and we had the roof recoloured from a lovely shade of peach, and we put the cedar blinds in.

I cried for a week when we signed the contract for this house, but prices were soaring and we really wanted to buy in this particular suburb.

My husband has studied horticulture and the like for many years and until recently has always worked in that field, he was just bursting to create a wonderful tropical garden for our family!

Well here we are 5 years, and a lot of hard work later and I am constantly amazed at our garden. We just spent 2 days weeding and mulching and complaining about how many more plants we need to fill open spaces and what doesn't look so good. Then I look back at the first photo in amazement at how far we have come! I just went and captured some lovely snaps of our tropical garden.

And after-

Some beautiful colour in our garden

And by the way, I still absolutely hate the look of our house, but the good thing is you can't really see it from the street now. And after 2 months of renovations when we first bought it the inside is almost like new. We are just deciding now whether to extend the house to include a rumpus room, or to sell and move?? Not sure I can part with all of our hard work!

And just because it has been over a month since I have posted here is one of my two adorable children.

Oh and how could I forget the newest addition to our family - Jessie/Jesse the bird. Ellyse was in love for the first day or too, now it is something extra for Mummy and Daddy to look after!

Ellyse teaching Ashton the art of breastfeeding

2007-09-21T20:44:00.000+10:00

Ellyse's obsession with breastfeeding began long before I had Ashton, but since I have had him she has only become more curious. She just loves to help him feed by squeazing my breast and telling him to come on.

Tonight's bath time just hit an all time high though with her telling him to "feed pooh bear booby please Ashton", then she went on to say "this is how you do it" squeazing her little booby just like I do to attach Ashton. It was just adoerable, all so innocent and loving!

I just had to share the pictures.

Whilst I am at it I will include some studio photos we had taken last week. Not usually my style but got a 'free' sitting and 8x10 so thought why not. Got sucked in and bought a little package....but honestly how could I not? My little baby girl looks so grown up!

Thank you Corrie

2007-09-04T09:33:00.000+10:00

I recieved a wonderful package from Corrie yesterday to celebrate the arrival of Ashton. Thanks so much Corrie, I just love everything you chose to send to me.

In the parcel was

a vintage girls pattern

5 pieces of fabric - forgive me for not knowing designer's names, they are just adorable

frog stickers - Ellyse just had to have one right away

little japanese tissues

cute themed sticky tape

little iron on ducks

and a cute embroided all in one for Ashton

I can't wait to get into my sewing again and use the wonderful fabrics. Thanks again. I will post a pic of Ashton in the little suit when he wears it.

Happy Father's Day

2007-09-02T15:47:00.000+10:00

We had a lovely day today, we went to Manly and had lunch with Dad (Mum is overseas visiting my sisters, she is in London at the moment). There were markets on and Ellyse had a go on the jumping castle and the monster blow up slide. She asked for a turn but I didn’t really think she would do it, but she did and absolutely loved it, I think she had about 5 goes. I had a 10 minute massage which was just divine!, but not long enough We came home and both Ashton and Ellyse went to bed at the same time so I got a rest too (while Keiran mowed the lawn!!).

I hope you all had a fantastic day with your loved ones.

Here are some photos of our day and some others of little Ashton, 6 weeks today!

Where has the time gone?

2007-08-29T16:33:00.000+10:00

Firstly, I cannot believe that I have had this blog for 12 months. I was thinking the other day it must be close and I checked and it was the 26th August. WOW, it feels like yesterday that I started sewing for my sweet little girl and that I met all of you wonderful ladies.

Secondly, Ashton is now 5 and a half weeks old so I thought I would share some new pics of him. Now he is smiling it is so much more fun having him in our family, at least a little reward for all the feeding, nappy changing and getting up at night! Ellyse is becoming more accepting of her new brother and has not intentionally hurt him since Saturday last week, a huge achievement for her! Hopefully that is the result of me going over and over and over with her the nice way to touch babies and role playing, praising etc. I was getting quite over it but maybe it has paid off!

Anyway here are some pics

Wonderful gifts from Novy

2007-08-07T17:22:00.000+10:00

It has been said before what a wonderful and special little group we have here. I truely do feel blessed to be part of a lovely little community that makes me feel welcome and cared for.

I had some lovely gifts arrive in the mail yesterday from Novy. A lovely little outfit for Ashton and a gorgeous corduroy skirt for Ellyse. Both were proudly modelled this morning. Ellyse didn't take the skirt off all day - well until nap time where she told me "we don't wear skirts to bed mummy, we wear pants" How old is that girl?

Novy's work is just beautiful, so professionally presented - I know I have said this before when we recieved a swap parcel from her.

Thanks so much Novy for thinking of us and taking the time to make gifts for my children (that sounds weird!)

Lovely gifts from Cass

2007-07-30T08:18:00.000+10:00

I came home on Friday to find two packages at my door. One was from the lovely Cass. A beautiful baby rug for Ashton and a beautiful little bag for Ellyse. The fabric on the rug says "I love Mummy" "I love Daddy" it is just adorable. Ellyse just loves the fabric of the bag, asking what all of the little girls are doing.

Thanks Cass, you made us feel very special.

Baby Ashton has arrived!

2007-07-28T18:46:00.000+10:00

After a long wait and a terrifying birth experience our beautiful Ashton Ross has blessed our family.
Here are the promised pics of our lovely, not so little, man. I don't think I mentioned the stats but he was 9 lb 6 oz (4370g or thereabouts) and 57cm, yes you read that correctly 57 cms long!

What a beautiful little girl's room!

2007-07-20T12:55:00.000+10:00

FROM THIS......

.......TO THIS

WOW it is all finshed, who can believe it? I am really happy with Ellyse's quilt, although if I was to do it again I would change the design a little - I think I would have liked a boader of some type.

I just love the colours and the little accessories I have made to join it all together. I will just put pic after pic, I tried to take them from different angles so you could get some perspective.

More nesting!

2007-07-18T12:46:00.000+10:00

Last night at about 8:30 I decided to start some sewing. I had been talking to baby Lochlan's mum and she said that he was a bit of a 'chucker' so I decided to make him a little burp cloth that would match his taggie. It should fit snuggly over Kylie's shoulder. The bunting and burp cloth are in the mail now and should arrive in Mackay on Friday.

Then Keiran was still on the computer so I thought I would start to cut out the bunting for Ellyse's room. I made these a lot smaller than Lochlan's as I didn't have much material. I decided to attach bias binding to the top. I have stitched the underneath, now just need to decide how to keep the top down. I am so happy with how her room is coming together and just can't wai tto get that quilt!

Sneak Peak at Ellyse's quilt

2007-07-16T17:25:00.000+10:00

Not sure I made the right decision with the pink thread.

What do you think?

Nesting in the form of sewing

2007-07-16T15:04:00.000+10:00

Well I am here, officially one day overdue. This time tomorrow I will have a better idea of what is going on as I see the midwives at 2:30.

Well unlike the conventional mother to be who cleans and cleans and cleans some more, my form of nesting has become crafting, crafting and more crafting! I am so absolutely tired today, but do you think I could rest? No I have spent Ellyse's whole sleep time making gifts. My house looks like a bomb has hit it with fabric, interfacing and associated stuff everywhere! Oh well, maybe tomorrow I will feel like cleaning it??

Firstly I have made Ellyse a 'big sister' shirt. This hand stitching takes so long but I really do like the way it looks. I used some of the cherry print Corrie sent me as part of a prize. I am hoping that the little skirt I had already made Ellyse in this fabric may still fit. Otherwise I have some pants in mind.

Next, my girlfrind Kylie just had her second son Lochlan. i made him some gifts last week, but have been wanting to try some bunting so I had a go. Kylie made this gorgeous cot quilt for him, so when I saw this blue star fabric last week I just knew it was perfect. This was so easy, I haven't stitched the edges or around the lettering, I have just used 'heavy heave' interfacing and vlisoflex.

It has worked out a lot bigger than I thought, so for next time I would change the size of the triangles.

Then lastly today I made a Little Artists Drawing Case from this tutorial at Craft Apple for my friend's daughter's 4th birthday. I realised that she is having her party in just over a weeks time and if I didn't make it soon I could possibly still be in hospital come the party. I am also going to make her some bunting out of the left over fabric. Her name is Maya so it won't take me as long!

What I plan to do tonight is make some more paper chain dolls that fit into a smaller photo frame, these will go just inside Ellyse's door, I have chosen another spot for the mini blocks. I also need to put the other dolls together. Hopefully this can all get done before bub comes, it may even give some time to clean up!

Lastly I thought I would add my full term photo. I hate the way I look full term, my face gets so puffy. I more hate that the first photos we have with the baby I just don't look like me :(. Let's just hope I don't go too far over so it doesn't get any worse. I can't believe how big my little baby Ellyse looks in the photo - I know it will just be worse when bub is here.

Novy's Handtowel

2007-07-12T15:33:00.000+10:00

I loved the idea of Novy's Handtowel both for me at home and as a little gift. I have cut out enough to make 6 of them but slowly started with one.

A great gift and a great way to use up little bits of fabric.

Was going to give a sneak peak of my little doll chain but my battery just went flat.

2007-07-11T13:13:00.000+10:00

What do you think?
I made these little wall hangings for Ellyse's room. They are just little versions of her quilt blocks. In my mind I thought they would look just wonderful, but now they are done I am worried that they are a little grown up for her.
I am not sure where I am going to place them in her room, whether they will be altogher or in groups of 2. She has a little wall as you walk in and I thought 4 running down would be good??? Now I just don't know.
Honestly, what do you think?

2007-07-10T12:35:00.000+10:00

Baby Lochlan, Big Brother Mitchell and Birthday Girl Chloe

I have been busy sewing gifts for a close girlfriend's newest arrival. Here I was thinking I had plenty of time as Kylie went over with Mitchell. I got a phone call on Saturday to say that little Lochlan Grant had arrived on his due date, 7/7/07. Lucky I had already bought what I needed to make his little gift. I had to make Mitchell a 'big brother' shirt too.

It was another friend's little daughter's 2nd birthday last week also and I must admit I completely forgot. I whipped up this little bag yesterday and sent it with some play money for the shop and a lai - I wanted some cute little dress ups but in my rush I left it too late. I am happy with the little bag - it took me way too long - I will blame the pregnancy!

High Tea at Stamford Plaza

2007-06-30T09:11:00.000+10:00

I just thought I would share these photos of my recent trip to High Tea at Stamford Plaza. The girls at my Mothers' Group organised it for my baby shower. One of the girls put together these photos.

It was a lovely way to spend a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon.

And just couldn't help but share this pic also - 3 winters on wondersuits!

Who would have thought from that first picture that I would have a blonde, curly haired child?

YAY some sewing

2007-06-27T07:49:00.000+10:00

Well I am thinking that maybe I am starting to nest and that this may include some sewing mojo. The plan with this fabric was to make a little pinni to match others I made for my friend's little girls...but I just thought we would get more use out of a skirt.

Last summer I had the little twirly skirt all sorted, I had my own little way of doing it - well that was all forgotten last night and I made things a lot more difficult for myself!

Anyway I am generally very happy with how it turned out, it was the look I was after and I seem to have got the length perfect. It definitely needs a 'lift' though. I was thinking either orange or pink ric rak around each teir - what do you think?

I am looking forward to sewing a bit more now before bub arrives - 2 weeks to go!

And a big thanks to Kim, I couldn't find my wool but used embroidery thread and it worked

beautifully.