Oooo…shiny….

I love bling. That is all.

My reward for finally tidying and reorganising the studio was to sit for for half hour and have a play with some new beads I ordered a few weeks back. Czech fire-polished glass, Japanese glass, Swarovski crystal and some sterling silver beads combined to make my new favourite piece of bling. I was also pretty chuffed that after posting a photo on Facebook, that I’ve been commissioned to create a piece to match a necklace. I’m excited to take up the challenge!

The children are tucked up, though that is not to say they are sleeping. A quick tidy of the kitchen and I’m back to the sewing machine. Some quilting just about done. A mug rug in progress. My crafty mojo is back with a vengeance! Hope you all had a great Monday, back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!

And. Resume.

After two weeks holiday, including 10 days at the coast, it’s a hard slog waking up and hitting the ground running for preschool this morning. Ten whole days we spent in a gorgeous, sleepy little seaside fishing village, with absolutely nothing to do aside from bike riding, boating and going to the beach. It was bliss. I took a basket of craft with me, and aside from from 2.5 books read, and two knitting projects half done, I also managed to finally finish the binding on those two green and orange d9p quilts. From January. *blush*. Upside is it’s a good excuse to photograph then in an “exotic” location!

Monday has hit here with a vengeance. Washing overflowing from the laundry. Raining. A big boy with a tummy ache. A little boy back at preschool. Lots of inspiration begging to be let out to play, but where to start. Possibly with the cleaning of the studio. Have a wonderful Monday, I need to get my mojo rocking while children sleeping. Let’s do this!

Peek-a-boo

Remember me? Please excuse my lack of blogging recently, I have both my big school boy and his daddy home on holidays, so I’ve been busy enjoying them. A bit of crafting has been happening, a Dear Jane block finished and another started, some knitting cast on. Fabric and beads arriving. Pinning some new “one-day” projects. And soaking in the moments that fill my days and my heart. Hope you are all having a great holiday too!

he sews.

For a while now, Bear and Buster Boy have hovered nearby as I create, wanting to join in. Occasionally, they pop up on my knee, and if they are good, maybe operate the reverse lever. But at 5, I felt Bear was big enough to have a go on his own. The morning chores done, I called to him. “Would you like to learn how to sew properly, baby boy?”, and his little face lit up with such joy, my heart thought it would burst. I dropped a small kiss on top of his head, and hand in hand, we walked to the studio. I suggested maybe a little quilt for his Pooh Bear, and he danced in delight. “With squares and rectangles” he declared as I pulled open the fabric container. He selected two red and white fabrics, and carefully laid them out as I grabbed a piece of paper, and sketched a rough rectangle. “How shall it go, sweetheart?” “Squares across there, please.” He smield as I lay in the squares. “Then a rectangle. More squares, lined up with those ones. Rectangle, and then squares”. He stood back, pleased with the result, then went stash-diving again. “And this for the rectangles mummy”. So I lay out his three fabrics, and quickly cut them up for him. Then I settled him at machine with some basic instructions, and worked the pedal for him as he joined the blocks together, watched as I pressed them, and then joined the rows. Before long, a sweet little quilt top, surprisingly accurate, emerged. He chose a deep gold for the backing, and with some scrap bamboo batting, we pinned the quilt, and after attaching the walking foot and setting the machine on a boy-sized table, he set off to quilt it all on his own, in complete control. When quilted to his satisfaction, he declared the gold perfect for the binding, and for the first time in the project, I was actually invited to participate. I stitched on the binding for him, and showed him how to hand stitch it down. At which point he decided he was hungry. Which I believe is 5-year-old-code for “not that into this, really”, and so mummy to rescue, I stitched it down, and one little boy was very proud of himself. One mummy was very proud of him too.

 

And now, of course, Buster wants a turn. A square one for Cookie Monster. But for now, they sleep. A chocolate cake is fresh out of the oven, it’s scent wafting temptingly through the house. The washing flaps in the breeze. The silences holds me captive, and my mind soars with a burst of itching creativeness. A stolen moment or two, and I hope to knock out a Swoon block. Shhh, my babies. Sleep well, dream long. This afternoon, we will play and sing and cuddle. For now, I sew.

shake and shake and shake and stop

School holidays are upon us. Lots of singing and dancing and playing and crafting. The recycling bin is no longer a safe haven for tired old bottles. Raiding the fridge for a “cow cheese” left us empty handed save for a sad looking box. I tapped out a little tune on it, showing the small people it was empty…and inspiration struck. Out came the scissors and the packing tape and the rice. A couple of bottles butchered, and soon we had our very own marching band.

 

It’s been a delightful long weekend of relaxing and family and crafting. I’ve got all my swoon blocks cut out. Bear joined me in the studio today and learnt to sew, making a little dolls quilt for his Pooh Bear, which I’ll be sure to blog soon. Tomorrow is all about making the most of having all my special people at home, I might even try and slip into the studio for a couple of solid hours work. I’m hoping to knock another block on the head. Cast on a cowl scarf. Prep for a spot of painting. A couple of Dear Jane blocks are feeling quit neglected, so hopefully I can get them basted to potter along with over the holidays. Finish off some late pruning in the garden, and pull up some weeds and prep some beds to rest over winter before the spring colour. And in between all that, there are tea parties and train tracks and songs and books and horsies to ride. School holidays, my favourite time of year. Four days down, twelve to go. Bring it on!

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Stitch, stitch, stitch…bugger…unpick.

So I had a good run at my Swoon block yesterday. I got to the end, pressed it flat, and despite the imperfections, was please to call it done. Then I looked again. Hang on, something’s not right. Bugger. One corner had not only been stitched in upside down, but the smaller components had also gone in back to front. Out came the unpicker, and 10 minutes later, a correct swoon block emerged!

 

In between Swooning, I also managed to whip up a little friend. A few friends and I had been giggling along to the adventures of Beyonce over at The Bloggess, and wondered whether we all chipped in, how much postage might be to Australia. But it was enough to get the inspiration turning, and I dug through the stash, and soon appeared, Cerise.

Cerise is the official mascot of the Sisterhood of The Travelling Chicken, and I am blessed (?) to be her current hostess. She’s cheeky and demanding, but awfully fun to have around. Head on over to her blog to keep up with her adventures.

 

Good Friday came and went, church, a play in the park with friends, a picnic of fish and chips. Those cheesecake eggs were the bees knees. Shall blog them later. Today it’s been a quiet-ish day. A spot of shopping, a bit of tidying, some blogging and working on my intercessions for church tomorrow. Bear has been keeping me company in the studio and doing some painting. I was thinking of doing another Swoon, or making a bag, or maybe some painting. But I’m feeling kind of lazy, so maybe just a movie and some stitching down of binding. And raiding the fridge for the last cheesecake egg. Shhhh…. Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter x

Holidays, at last

The last day of school is upon us. No more lunch boxes. No more uniforms. No more prodding and cajoling and pushing to get out the door. Two whole weeks of our big boy back with us. As a special treat, I let him have a lunch order for today, much to his delight. But of course, then came the tears. “I want a wunch order, mother. Pwease? I has a wunch order too, I wite it, see?”

It’s shopping day, so as I made my list, I perched Buster Boy up on the island with a lunch bag and texta, and he “wrote” his lunch order. A peanut butter sandwich, a squeezy yoghurt and a pink milk. The necessary supplies procured at Coles, and I bundled it all in the bag for him.

One lunch order, and more tears avoided.

And Miss Evil herself pinned a very cool idea this morning. Cheesecake Easter eggs. So. Um. Yeah. Some stuff fell in the trolley.

Our afternoon is planned – easter egg cheesecakes, maybe some easter bikkies. I’m plodding through a little project I hope to get finished and blog later tonight, or tomorrow some time. Buster was sent to his room with some quiet toys for a rest, and has instead tucked himself into bed and is catching a quick nap. Butterfly is just waking from her nap and chatting happily in her cot, though when I went to her, she wanted to stay, so fingers crossed she might go back to sleep. 1.5 hours until the final school pickup. 3.5 hours until we declare it holiday time all round. Easter is here already. I’ve intercessions to prepare, house to clean, photos to edit. And maybe sneak a coffee and some blog reading as I wonder where on earth the last three months have gone. Hello long weekend, hello resurrection and salvation. What a gift. Thanks be to God. Happy Easter everyone. Safe travels if you are on the road, and I’ll catch you on the flip side!

swoon me up, buttercup

It’s all the rage in the quilting world at the minute – Swoon. The mega-block mega quilt. And so when a sew-a-long was suggested in my online quilting group, I thought I’d best check it out for myself. It looked nice, so I bought the pattern, and started playing with fabric combinations. But it makes 24″ blocks. Yowsers. Big blocks aren’t my style, especially for a quilt with no purpose other than to be sociable and make a quilt! So I rethought my plans, and ended up downsizing the pattern to make 6″ blocks, from which I will make a dolls quilt for Butterfly. Yesterday I started cutting and laying out my first block, and started with the piecing. I think once I find my groove, it’ll come together quickly!

 

 

 

I also managed to squeeze in another quick little project at nap time – a friend was chasing a ruffled nappy cover and wondered if I made them to sell. I said I didn’t, and pointed her to my two stand-by sites for such prettiness, but no luck, so I promised I’d have a go at making a pair, and aside from a couple of small imperfections, was quite pleased with the end result!

 

 

Post nap, Butterfly had a blast hovering in the studio and playing with some scraps, before we popped Dolly in the pram and went for a wander around the street, and had a delightful little chat as we adventured. I love the days where it’s just me and her. I love my boys too, of course, but as the third, her time alone with me to date has been very limited, so it’s nice to share some one on one time with her as well. Though after two boys, it’s like learning to play all over again!

 

We’ve had an easy morning today, after a rough night – Butterfly with a cough, Bubba Boy with a tummy ache. Coffee is my friend. We had an assembly to see Bear get a Principal’s Award at the end of his first term of Kindy. Bubba Boy and I have hung out and read stories and practiced numbers while Butterfly slept off her restless night. Both are now in bed asleep, and the housework calls. So does swoon. And a little painting is tickling the edges of my brain begging for escape. I’m stalking the postie for a parcel or two due to arrive. More coffee is desperately needed. *yawn* one day until holidays. Bring it on!

hooking along.

Monday was gentle on us. The hint of smoke wafted in on the slowly warming air as we slowly walked to school. Butterfly chatted happily as we wandered downtown. A fabric store trip for a FQ yielded some clearance fabric and some wool blanketing. I’ve an itch to make the wee girl a silk-ribbon-embroidered ted. The first swoon block is cut and awaiting sewing. I spent possibly too long on Ravelry looking for sock patterns, and too long on Pinterest looking. My girl and I whipped up some scones for afternoon tea. We read and cuddled and played dollies and went for a walk around the street. The small people absconded to Nanny’s for a sleepover, leaving a night free and clear for kicking back and relaxing. I thought of going for a run, but my tummy was over-full with those scones and organic cream. I snuck in some crochet in front of the telly while chatting to husband. Nice and chilled, just the way we like our Mondays. And Tuesday is looking to be kind as well. Meeting with some friends this morning before holidays. Home for naps and power cleaning and sewing. Stalking the postie. I’m aiming to get the first swoon stitched, and the second cut. I’d love to crack open my watercolours if I get a chance, but it’s looking less likely the further the day progresses. Maybe I’ll scrap all those plans and put Butterfly to bed, pop on a movie, and do some stitching. Hello Tuesday, can’t wait to see what you bring us. Let’s do this!