pretty things

At the end of last year/beginning of this year, I, like so many of you out there, made a little promise to myself to finish off all the unfinished projects I had laying around the place. 

My sewing table was piled so high with half done items I couldn't even see the table any more. 

Every time I wanted to sew, I would have to make several trips back and forth from my sewing table to my bed moving things just so I could get started. 

Not to mention the numerous (five spring to mind) crochet projects I have on the go............

So, I have been slowly crossing afew little things off my UFO list.

These are but two of them...........................................

I started making these crochet flower squares (pattern can be found here) back in July '09! 

I made about twenty of them, then changed my mind about the project I was making them for.  

What to do with them?  Make a cushion cover of course!

And another.

Recognise the fabric?

It's Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson. 

(Yes, yes, there is one little rectangle of Amy Butler midwest modern in there too. )

I received these little fabric sample's, along with a purchase I made from modern retro textiles  back in March 2010. 

I was smitten. 

So small yet so beautiful. 

Too beautiful to just throw away. 

These tiny bits of yum languished in my sewing room for many, many months, just waiting for inspiration to strike. 

One evening I had been indulging in a bit of flickr browsing and stumbled across these gorgeous cushions made by meringuedesigns.  

Aha!

In no time at all I whipped up the cushion front and then that sat around in my sewing room for some more months.

 

Finally, I paired it with some spotty fabric from Spotlight; pink for the front, chocolate (so much nicer then brown) for the back.  I  did some straight line  machine quilting, made a simple slip cover, 

and that's another finished project!   

my current obsession

Totally scrumptious and oh so easy Breadsticks.

Now that we're back into the school routine I wanted to make something to put in Miss A's lunchbox.

Topped with black olives, semi-dried tomato and tasty cheese for Miss A

and an allergy friendly version, soy cheese and vegemite for Miss B.

From this many..................

to this many

in seconds flat!

Wanna make some?

Combine 1/3 cup of warm water, 2 tsp instant dried yeast, pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp caster sugar and 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.  Sift 1 cup plain flour over bowl and stir to form a soft dough.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes or until elastic.  Put dough into a clean bowl, cover and place in a warm place for about 15 minutes until it increases in size by about one third. 

Roll out dough to form a rectangle afew millimetres thick and brush with some olive oil.

Sprinkle dough with toppings of your choice - the possibilities are endless, cheese, herbs, chilli, diced ham etc.  If you are using largish pieces such as chopped olives or diced ham, once you've sprinkled them over the dough use the palm of your hand to press them into the dough abit to stop them from falling off.

Now cut the dough into strips, I prefer my breadsticks smallish so they fit into lunchboxes, so about 1.5cm x 10cm.  Twist each strip and place on a lined oven tray.  Set aside for 10-15 minutes until increased in size slightly.

Bake breadsticks in oven preheated to 200C (fanforced) and bake for 12-15 minutes or until breadsticks are golden.

Done!

We also made these yummy egg-free choc-chip cookies. 

As always soooo good to eat even for those of us who can tolerate egg. 

For the recipe and lot's more inspiration visit Bubala's lovely blog.

movin' on up

Today my little Miss B started pre-school - at the ripe old age of 4 years and 10 months!

A little late in the day compared to many other children but this is just the way things have panned out for my family.

As per usual with children,  she took me completely by surprise, and rather than cling to me, wail with dispair and be an inconsolable blubbering mess as she has done on many many occasions, she smiled, was excited and thoroughly enjoyed herself. 

To the point where upon my arrival at 1pm to pick her up (thinking a half day would be just about all she could handle for her first day) she told me she was about to have a 'rest' and that I should come back for her later!  Which I did - lucky I only live a couple of minutes away!

But why you may ask?

Well....................................although Miss B was accepted to start Kindergarten this year, we made the decision to 'hold her back' a year.  Someone put it to me this way: this is about the next 12 years of school, not just about the first year.  When she's in Year 10 or Year 12, and she's 12 - 18 months younger then some of the other kids in her class who are going out to parties or getting their licence or starting to drink it's going to be pretty hard to reason with her.............. 

Add into the mix the fact that Miss B can be p a i n f u l l y shy at times, is easily distracted and that the size of the Kindergarten classes at her future school average out at 30 pupils (don't get me started on this!) it was really a no brainer to allow her another 12 months to develop and mature before commencing her formal education.

This is just what felt right for her and for us. 

But, BUT, Miss B will be five years old for a good portion of this year. 

And although I think I have done a very good job of providing the opportunity for my kids to be well balanced, socialised and stimulated without going down the pre-school path but instead the Playgroup and Occassional Care path, I just felt that Miss B would need a little more stimulation this year then either I at home or either of these options could provide. 

I am also hoping that by putting her into the pre-school which is literally across the road from what will in time become her Primary school, she will get to know some of the kids who will transition across with her, therefore making that whole starting big school thing a little less overwhelming and daunting for a rather bashful but very, very sweet child!

In the spirit of making this day special I promised to make a new top for Miss B to wear to her first day at pre-school using some lovely purple broderie anglais she begged me to buy from Spotlight some months ago.  This top is based on the Flower Girl dress pattern in Heather Ross' book Weekend Sewing, with the addition of ruffle sleeves from Sparkle Power's Ruffle Sleeve Top tutorial.  Miss B specifically requested a top not a dress, so I lopped off afew inches of the length, but when she still wasn't happy, rather then re-hem it I ran a piece of elastic through the channel created by the hem and turned it into a bubble top.

In true crafty mama fashion, I also made a drawstring bag, again using a pattern from  Heather Ross' book Weekend Sewing, for her to carry her bits and pieces for rest time in. 

Can you tell her favourite colour is purple followed closely behind by pink?

So for one day a week this year I will be childless. 

What to do, what to do?

Feelin' hot hot hot.........................

So a couple of new summer frocks were in order.

Last week, as the school holidays were drawing to a close I got to thinking about when Miss A started school last year and just how darn HOT it always is throughout February here in Sydney.

Making the 10 minute walk up to school at quarter to three in the afternoon each day and feeling like I'm about to melt into the sticky bitumen beneath my feet is inspiration enough to get cracking and make some dresses already!

First up is a little Enid Gilchrist number.  

The pattern came from my MIL's stash back in July 2009 (woah, I didn't realise it had been waiting to be made for that long!). 

I bought the gorgeous Amy Butler Love fabric not long after, and earmarked it for this dress. 

As soon as I saw this fabric I had to have some.  It so reminds me of the fabric that a hat/handbag combo my older sister had back in the 70's was made from.   

The "Holiday Shift" pattern was printed in the October 1966 edition of New Idea, with detailed instructions on how to draft your own pattern. 

Luckily for me the pattern had already been drafted by my MIL - whoohoo.

I love the caption below the dress.  Part of what I enjoy about vintage patterns is looking at the styling and language used.  How times change.

  I made the dress last Friday and when I woke up this morning and it was already 21 degrees (celcius) I knew I'd be wearing it today. 

First day back at school.  First day in Year 1 for Miss A, and it is was scorcher. 

It was perfect. Light and loose.

I added a simple vintage button to close the back.

Love it!

I especially love the round yolk.

I made this shirred dress on Saturday, to wear out to dinner with a couple of girlfriends on Saturday night.

I bought the fabric from Spotlight last Summer.  I just loved the border print.

Again, I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to make with it, it was just a matter of getting around to it.

Shirring, how I love thee.  Easy, peasy yet so impressive.

As the fabric was a little sheer I decided to line it with some white cotton. 

I roughly followed this tutorial, treating the fabric and lining as one piece.  I only bought 1m of fabric though, so just made one seam up the back.  

I was feeling lazy, so rather than make shoulder straps I used some navy blue ribbon I had in my stash for the straps and as a belt to break up the white abit and give my waist some definition.

I took these photo's this afternoon when it was 35 degrees C, so forgive me if I look a little wilted!

And to mark the start of the school year.........

Day 1 - Year 1.

mirazozo

from the outside

So the summer holidays continue. 

Ours have been relaxed, slow paced, and thoroughly enjoyable. 

Today we took a train ride into town to enjoy Mirazozo.

 

This was a totally awesome experience.  We all loved it - from my 4 y.o. daughter to my 13 y.o. nephew to myself.

 

I found I could not get the smile off my face while I was inside this wonderful world of colour and space.

This is the sort of experience I cherish and love to share with my children.  Too give them exposure to things like this from a young age I feel is so important to me.  I am so grateful that I have ready access to art like this, to lift me up and feed my need for beautiful, wonderful, creative experiences.

Mirazozo will be on at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt until 27th January 2011.

January 8th, 2011

A beautiful, beautiful bride,

a beautiful service,

a beautiful reception.

My husband, our children and I 

were so very pleased and honoured to be involved,

and each play a small part in making this day special

for my sister-in-law and her new husband.

My husband drove the wedding car,

Miss A and Miss B handed out the booklets at the church

and I did a reading during the service.

It was truly a most beautiful wedding

and the happy couple looked just that - relaxed, smiling and happy all day!

And yes, I finally got to wear the dress!

End of an era

Although this is predominantly a craft blog, it is also a record, a journal of various events in my life that I would like to remember or mark in some way.  One such event, which I felt I needed to document before this year is over, is the end of my and my children's association with Playgroup.  I am putting these words down I suppose mostly for my own benefit,because Playgroup has played such a big, big part in my life over the past five years.  I have learnt so much and grown so much as a person.  I have gained skills and confidence.  I feel I am a better person for it.  It is something I will truly miss.

Within weeks of Miss A being born in 2004 I began to attend a regular mother's group at my local
Early Childhood Centre.  As a new mum with absolutely no idea what I was doing this was a much needed opportunity to interact and talk with others going through the same baby related things as me, at the same time as me. 
After some months it was suggested to us (the mother's group) by the clinic nurse that perhaps we should consider starting our own playgroup, as our suburb currently didn't have one. 

With some help and guidance from Playgroup NSW we did just that. 
Three mum's including myself started the group and as there needed to be three committee members, hey presto I became the Treasurer. 
So I was very involved with Playgroup from the word go! 

At the time when Miss B was born (literally the day after) in April 2006, my growing family and I moved suburbs.  So I said goodbye to the first playgroup I was a part of. 

2006 for me and my family was frought with ill health (predominantly my two daughters). 
It was a very hard year. 
My confidence as a person and a mother was sorely tested and greatly deminished. 
I struggled quite a bit. 

By the start of 2007 Miss A was 2 and a half years old.  If I had to describe Miss A, extrovert and social butterfly are terms that spring readily to mind.  After being close to housebound (or hospital bound) for 12 months she n.e.e.d.e.d. some form of social interaction. 

birthdays and graduation

And so it was I resumed my connection with Playgroup by finding one in my area.  With a small baby in tow, I had no intention of taking on a committee position, but every Thursday, week in and week out, we attended Playgroup.

 

This was an absolute highlight of our week.  Just what we needed.  Not only was it a time to spend playing with my children but also the opportunity to mix with adults!  

As time went on, this Playgroup became an integral part of our weekly routine.  Other things could wait or be postponed - but not playgroup.  Miss A and Miss B just would not stand for it. 
It wasn't always easy as I don't have a car and the playgroup was in the next suburb.  So the girls and I had to catch a bus to get there.  But that too was half the fun.  

four years worth of Christmas'

After about a year, the time came to elect a new committee.  Unable to help myself, I put my hand up for the position of Co-Ordinator.  This meant I held the keys and was responsible for opening/closing, set up/pack up, craft activites, replenishing stock, organising outings and special events, plus more............ phew!  I did not do ANY of this alone.  Playgroup works on a volunteer basis, and all members are expected, no make that needed, to chip in and do their bit for it to work.  But all ships need a Captain right? and I was wearing the hat!

What had been a small group of about four mum's when I joined had suddenly exploded to about ten mum's (so 15 to 20 kids) by this stage.  Things were not always easy with that many kids but somehow we always managed to make it work.  And I always went home every week feeling great.  I really loved it.


I held the position of Co-Ordinator for two years running, which is the maximum time allowed (rules you know) and then this year, moved into the role of Secretary.  So, for four out of the five years I've been a member of Playgroup I have held a position on the Committee.

excursions

Although I have been more relaxed and organised then in previous years, this year threw up it's own hurdles.  Last year (2009) we had about eight children (including my Miss A) leave playgroup to go on to 'big school' or pre-school.  Most of the members continued to come this year with our other children so we still had roughly 15 kids. 

The start of each year always sees an influx of new members, but this year we were swamped.  Absolutely inundated  - to the point where for the sake of safety and sanity, we had to start turning people away.  Not something I like doing, as I know from my own experience Playgroup can be a lifeline.  But with more than 30 children now in our group it was really getting to be too much.  But the real difficulty lay in the fact we now had children ranging in age from 5 1/2, down to several newborns!!!  The older children, including Miss B, were beginning to find playgroup abit old hat and began playing very..........energetically.  With babies and toddlers around this caused some heart in the mouth moments. 

Then, in October, and almost in unison, the mother's with older children - women and children who I had formed friendships with and watched grow from babies to confident, beautiful children - who I had been seeing every week at Playgroup for the last one, two, some even three or four years, stopped coming to playgroup.  But we still had a large group, and lot's of lovely mum's and children, so although I was sad I was still very busy each week.

It was then that I really had to assess whether Playgroup was still relevant for Miss B and I.  For you see although Miss B will turn 5 next April and was accepted to start Kindergarden next year, we decided to hold her back until 2012.  I assumed when I made this descision that we would continue to attend playgroup next year.  But then I realised that all the older kids, her friends, would be moving on from playgroup next year and the average age of children in our group will be 2 1/2 - 3 y.o.  The signs were there too, that she had outgrown playgroup - she was bored.

So at the beginning of November, when we had our AGM, I advised the group I would be leaving at the end of this year.

As per last year, I organised a Graduation Ceremony for all the children leaving playgroup at the end of the year.  Each child was presented with a Playgroup NSW attendance certificate and a library bag made by me.

Miss A and Miss B's Grandpa - 'Santa' and I

We held our annual Christmas Party during the final playgroup session for this year. And as per every other year we had a special visit from Santa to hand out presents to all the children. 

I thought it especially fitting and touching that this year it was my girls Grandpa who played the part of Santa (and did so superbly at that!) but also because Miss A started school holidays the day before, she got to attend playgroup with Miss B and I.

And so a long and happy association has ended. 

I was presented at the end of the Christmas party with a gorgeous bunch of flowers.



And although it was never my intention to send my children to pre-school, I realise Miss B will need some structure and stimulation coming from someone other than me next year.  She will be five years old for a good portion of the year so I have enrolled her in a pre-school just across the road from Miss A's primary school for one day a week next year. 
This too will mean that for the first time in six years I will now have one day a week to myself.



So to the end of an era and the beginning of new things...................................

Happy New Year