I'm a winner!

Hi,

Thanks for the loving, have had a bit of a rough week, pregmotionally. Have really popped out, and am feeling rawther tired and heavy and sore, and my poor little pea brain can't keep up with the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! Poor D thinks I'm mental, which I probably am, but I think I'm just recalibrating my system and will sort myself out in the next little while.

However! A bright spot in my week was winning a giveaway on Feeling Stitchy! The lovely Floresita had two Sublime Sitching books to giveaway, and while I didn't win a book, I won a free pdf of my fave pattern: Sexy Librarians!

How awesome is it?!? I got a typewriter as a birthday present once, and I love love loved it. Maybe when I grow up and transform out of my current heffalumpism, I could be a sexy librarian too!!

Looking forward to the weekend. Hope your week is treating you with a little respect when you get home (just a little bit)

Casxx

Hola! Una cosa bella por Clementina.

http://www.kireei.com/goodies#

Just checking in...

to tell you I loves ya.
Chat later in the week.
xxxx

Sandals so beautiful I want to lick them.

Okay, so we can't eat for the rest of the week but at least Sophia has the most beautiful sandals in the world. And let's face it, that's what it's all about right? It's not about eradicating world poverty or tackling climate change. What planet are you on thinking those are the great issues that will define our age. Nope, it's all about these sandals.

Behold:



Anyway, She slept with them in their shoe bag, in the box UNDER HER PILLOW. She insisted. Despite the fact her head was on a 90 degree angle.

And whose chubby hand is that going for those shiny, yellow baubles?

Crafter's Block

Am suffering a bit from a drought of crafty proportions. I feel that it's partially because every night for a week we've been watching The Wire Series 2 and damn, if I BLINK I miss something important on that show, but also am feeling a bit of malaise.

I'm halfway through broidsing three tea towels for Mum's birthday in OCTOBER that I started in JUNE (June!) but the motivation is just not there - and it's just a bit of fruit and cutlery in the corners for godssakes!

Am no further along in my grannying, but I also plead temporary sanity on that one, as crocheting in 35 degree temps is just plain foolish, in my book.

I'm still bookmarking and reading and feeling envious of people like this, who can just whip amazing stuff up, but can't get happening.

Aah, will get there...

More reasons to learn how to Broids

I give you...



Thanks, Feeling Stitchy!

She has links to where to go to download the pattern. Go on, I know you want to...

Casxx

One post per month is not good enough!

News! I know you're sunning it up in QLD, so I kind of feel like I'm talking to myself, however...

Am 15 weeks and 2 days and praise the lord, I'm healed! I honestly feel like I've rejoined the land of the living. Is brilliant. I have however, started having crazy pregnant woman dreams. Last night my baby was the size (and shape, mind you) of a Lego block, and I had to ask Ange where its face was (it was so tiny). Then I LOST MY BABY IN A BOX OF LEGO. I had to search frantically and I couldn't find it, and oh the distress! And apparently I was about to catch a plane, so I needed my baby, and the terror! Was glad to wake up :)

Apparently the Quilt Project launch was a great success. The site is here: http://thequiltproject.blogspot.com/ and it all looks pretty awesome. Am proud to be part of it :)

Have started the first granny squares for the blanket I'm intending to make Amy for her 30th (in June next year so I figure I'm doing OK!). The thing that's getting me is figuring out how to weave in all the little ends after you change colours etc - no one tells you about the boring stuff! Will get there...

OK, will post again with photos when I have a minute. Clem is dressed like Minnie Mouse and we're off to storytime at the Library. Good times.

Casx

Why the internet exists

Fantastico.

Because Etsy is contributed to by humans... I give you: Regretsy

Thanks to Indie Crafts for the heads up.

Koi Quilt Square - completed!

So I decided to carpe diem (see what I did there? Yeaah.) and get this up there.

Terrible photos, but am a bit crap at taking lovely ones of my work, need to get some tips on that.



The head. I like to think he has an expression of consternation - at exactly what, I'm not sure.



The scales were pretty satisfying.



Et voila. Can't wait to see it in situ. Feel so much more confident now that I've been given so much awesome feedback about it! Am secretly devoed that you'll be lying on a beach with a cocktail instead of coming to the showing :)

Would you mind just writing a word or something in the comments? I have commented on your previous post a couple of times, and it's just disappearing, not even previewing. V annoying.

Had a lovely morning, this morning, hope the sun sticks around for a while!

Casxx

ETA: Figured out the comments thing - has to do with third-party cookies. Stupid.

Fodder for your dreams...

Nicked off The Age

I need to do a post showing my finished Quilt Project piece for posterity, so will get onto that.

Casxx

This is fangtastic.

Sookie mug.

Quilt Project! It's coming along!

Am loving myself sick with this. Next step is finding a good french knot tutorial so I can fill it the eye. Would you like to see my journey? OK!


The source! Winter skin alert :)



Omigooness it was a bitch to copy from the photo - because of the convex nature of the tattoo, of course trying to trace from two different flat images was tres difficult. I winged it a lot, and got there in the end.



Broidsing has begun! I did the outline in 3-strand stem stitch, with 2 strand around the eye, and I'm doing back stitch for the scales, using 3 strands for the upper scales and 2 for the lower ones. Have already used a whole skein of thread. Need to get more!



Terrible close-up of the eye. Getting there!

I also put the pics up on the flickr pool, so I hope folks are noice!

Enjoy. Speak soon.

Casxx

Can you live without this? I think not.

http://www.clementineart.com/

This week in Nausealand

Not New Zealand.

1. Am Not Allowed to go to the Spa on Friday due to my delicate condition. They offer a foot wash, shoulder massage and glass of juice for $120 instead. I told them to get fucked (not really), got off the phone and burst into tears. Then I felt like a Princess. Then I decided it was OK to be upset because I am So Tired.

2. Please to be having my permission to kick Amelia from the Spa in her wherevers, as I really Don't Like her.

3. Am So Tired as Clem has been awake for several hours every night since Friday with some viral thing. Poor love, she's so unhappy, but gosh tarnit, at 4am last night I was finding it very hard to be sympathetic.

4. Have an idea for my quilt project, watch this space.

5. I will meet your Packed To The Rafters and cup o' Jarrah and raise you one The Bachelorette and cup o' Liptons Chai Latte. And I don't even have good writing to save me, just lame Americans.

Am off

xx

P.S. Am Allowed to (mis)use capitals for my own purposes today.

My one final peek at Reader before bed yielded this for you.

Broids.
Nighty night.

Please also note inappropriate use of Capital Letter in previous Title.

Sigh. I'll come peacefully officer.
I have to go now and finish my red wine, eat my vegetarian hotdog (Andrew SWEARS you wouldn't know it wasn't meat which is extraordinary really) and watch my taped ep of Packed to the Rafters with my hands firmly clasped around a steaming mug of Jarrah. If Marieke Hardy didn't write Packed scripts I might be forced to take a long, hard look at meself. Luckily, I'm not.
Please enjoy the tags attached to this post.

And another thing... (Note appropriate use of ellipse)

Have I already posted suggesting that postcard idea? If so, I am going mad. Slowly but surely. A good feeling.

Just while I think of it, a few quick things.

1. Can I borrow Sookie Stackhouse?

2. You must read this book. Written by a friend of mine and one of my Top 10 books. Her styles is so crisp, so spot on, so perfect. Challenging from an emotional stand point but I want to buy one for every Australian and make them read it. Yes, glue their eyeballs to the pages and MAKE them read it.

3. Ummmmmmmm. There's that post-natal drift. Yes, I am so still in the post-natal stage. Shut up.

More on your post tomorrow.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What is this? TWO in one week!

My last post was sadly photoless so here is another-y.

Speaking of butterflies, I found this one in my bedroom on Sunday!

This is a close up of said butterfly this afternoon after she ATE it onto a metal suspension bridge at the park. Oops.

Luckily there were sultanas in my bag, so she got over it pretty quickly. Looks a bit horrendous though.





And here is the magnificent, awful blankness of the quilt square. Am liking the letter idea more and more... thought maybe Dylan's Pa wrote to his Grandma (Delia of Clementine Delia fame) when he was off in Singapore or wherever it was during the war. I could use an excerpt? And attempt to recreate the handwriting? Hmmm...



Here is my latest WIP, a scarf for Hannah's 7th birthday. Do you like the St Clares' colours?!? I'm sure she'll be way to cool for school (ha!) but thought it was better than another toy.

Last things last, my pet hate for the week is people who use ellipses in place of full stops... I get all angry as I don't know where to give my eyes a rest... know what I mean?... it's lazy and makes me... CRANKY! :)

Casxx

Edited to add: dunno what happened with my photos being all over the place! Sigh.

Quilt square ideas.

I am obsessed with apples at the moment. I had an idea that included a broidsed (?) outline of a tree with apples in the branches, each apple a different fabric that is appliqued on. Or clementines. And one apple that has fallen on the ground. Not far from the tree though!
Did you see Craftapalooza's square. LOVE. Yours will be equally bewdiful.
Otherwise, what about a square full of rows of clementines; some fabric, some broidsed. Or, all the same except the last one totally different. Or how about broidsing a poem in some really cool font and framing it with fabric or ribbon. Or broids the back of a postcard, broids a message on it (something kitsch like: fabulous weather - wish you were here) and make a fabric stamp. THAT would be cute. Ideas flowing thick and fast now! Oh, oh, oh...take a leaf out of resurrction fern's book and crochet a cover onto something and then sew it on. Like a bit of money or a small stone or wooden button. Put it at the end of the poem?

Moving on....these. You should subscribe to Distillate if you don't already. Molto cool.

Here is a sneak peak (BADLY photographed) of some new things I am working on.







Very tricky to photograph through glass.

Ciao for now.
xxxxx

This week in crafty land...

Check this out... Someone's Quilt Project square (I signed up as well, I'm pretty sure I told you). I almost regret it now, as people like Loobylu who I love are involved, and how can I stand up to that? Aargh. Will get there! Am thinking about an image from the song, "Darling Clementine",which fits into the right time period for Redwork. I have an picture in my head of a swirling river with Clementine, Ophelia style, but then that's completely morbid...

We had such a lovely time on Saturday, the butterflyness was super. I have to admit I guiltily devoured Clem's chocolate pop last night - it was almost, *almost* too pretty to eat :). How are Scrappy and Dappy holding up? I fear their collars (held on only by an adhesive dot) may not last, but I ran out of time to sew on press studs. Let me know if they need repair and I'll get onto it!

Gah, Miss I-am-beginning-to-not-eat-or-sleep-during-the-day-anymore is up. Will return!

Casxx

PS

I mixed up Love Mae (fabric decals) with Amazing Mae. Who I also like.

You know when you made that gun thing with your fingers?

Well it was so cool I almost fell over backwards. Phew!

So sorry to hear you had a bad day. I can relate as I've been struggling for weeks now but I am starting to see the light. So if you need a torch bearer to talk to...I'm your gal. Smooch.

Thanks Gods for you and your Sublime Stitiching gifting. I would be most ever so grateful.

Here are some bics we made yesterday.







Here is how you do it:

1. Buy Careme Pastry
2. Buy a massive box of cookie cutters from Spotty (that includes every letter of the alphabet EXCEPT the one your child's name begins with)
3. Roll out Careme feeling guilt all the while that a) you haven't made your own dough and b) you are using $8 worth of dough to make biscuits.
4. Cut out and sprinkle with sugar and cinammon.
5. Laugh as you try to work out what this shape is. And fail.

Ti rispondo

You and your obsession with the supernatural in literature. Thanks Gods for you.

That wall sticker is very cute. Have you seen the fabric wall decals by Amazing Mae. WANT the teapots badly.

Yes, I know about spoonflower and have actually been mulling a few things over for a while. But I have no pewty graphic design skills. Want to learn me some of that when life calms down.

Poo re the post comments. I love reading them. I can see my response to your response to my playhouse post. Says "2 comments". is it not showing up on yours?

Olive is settling into her cot. Slowly but surely. She looks minute! Thanks v much for the new mattress. My baby's back thanks you. Should have seen the dent in the shitty foam basinette mattress her heavy head had made. Call DOCS.

I'm not sure I know exactly what heretofore means. Although I am sure I've used it in legal letters to clients before.

Do I need to own Sublime Stitches? I'm thinking perhaps I do so I can learn basic stitches just to do the monogramming type stuff.

Yesterday I bought Sew Hip and sat in a cafe and had lunch. First time ever since Olive born. Felt good.

Hope Clem is better soon. Have made her the CUTEST name clip. if I do say so meself.

Check this out: Sewing Rebellion. Hilarious. Especially the patches they earn for finished projects. Frau Fiber scares me though.

Needful Things

I finished Book 7 of the Sookie Stackhouse books last night and have made a deal with myself to not try to get the last two out of the library for a good week or two. Hence, I have a goodly portion of my life back. So, I'm baaaack!

Thing that I love: Wall sticker from Made by White


I also want one of their blackboards...

Things that you might neeeeed: Spoonflower

Things that concern me: my recent comments on your posts are not there - for example I KNOW I commented on the playdough one, and there it is not; did you say you commented on my request for Noop bday pres ideas? There is no comment.

Word that I like: heretofore. I will attempt to use it in conversation this week.

Promise I will make: I will be back in the next day or two (e.g when Clem's cough allows us to operate on more than two hours sleep)

Casxx

Spring has not sprung

But that didn't stop us from making cherry blossoms yesterday. We walked past our local florist and admired the cherry stems in the window and then decided to make our own. A suitable stick obligingly presented itself in the gutter a few moments later and after a bit of tissue scrunching and some glue dollops we were very happy with our results. Even if Soph wanted to unstick the blossoms and pretend it was Autumn. I wouldn't let her and when, later on at kinder, I had a discussion with her teacher about how much more important process is than outcome with kids, I felt guilty. Sigh. Oh well. It does throw a lovely shadow on the wall at night.





Here is a new style of clip I'm working on. Do you like? I am q. pleased with them.



And, finalmente, let the butterfly madness begin! Butterfly products have arrived every day for the last 3 days. You know you're ordering too much stuff online when the delivery guy says to the nanny, "You're not Christen. Yes, I saw her go out this morning and wondered if she would be home to sign for this." I'm being stalked by Postman Pat.



Those are for clips as well.

By the way, where are you?

I just went out for dinner with Soph. Just the two of us. She was a tiny baby once you know. I couldn't really believe the big girl opposite me was the very same. Olive gave me lots of smoochers today. Heaven.

Love and smoochers to youse.

She sells sea shells

JJ and Pa collected these for Soph on a walk along Albert Park beach and she spent much of this morning washing, drying, sorting and just generally having a shellariffic time. The oyster shell even had some pearly stuff (lucre?) inside. Soph was amazed to hear the sea inside the hermit-crabby one. They really are beautiful and made me vow to actually spend more time at the beach. It's criminal that we live so close and go so infrequently.





I'll tell you what else is criminal...the sweetness of this babe. And she's obliged by carrying on the watery theme. She's just done some laps is all.



And in yet another seamless aqueous link here's the strong man in her new bathers.



And another circus character...the most beautiful and talented Twirling Betty.



Is there anything better than small children with props? Is the previous sentence gramatically correct? Discuss.

Finally, here is a sneak peek of the bee-ute-i-fool (thanks Gary and George) fabric I've been putting together for Soph's hoop decos. I love nothing more than sitting down with my stash (of marijuana, I mean) and finding bee-ute-i-fool combinations. I wish to do it full time.



I's been thinking of you over there in the Wood and hoping all is well and settled and bee-ute-i-fool.

xxxxxxxx

PS: I told Soph her birthday present was coming from America and she asked if Barack Obama was sending it. I said yes and she said "It's probably a presidential book then." YES SHE CAN.

I promise real crafty crafterness soon!

Crap, it's unreadable and I can't figure out how to delete it. Go to Crikey

This will appeal to the nerd teacher in you.

Bookmarks.

I am whipping up a posting storm lately, yes?

Okay so they are mostly one-liners but better than nought. Or nowt as Sum our babysitter might say. Nowt down pit.

This is a cute broidsing idea.

Spellbinding...

Playdoughpalooza

Check out these colours.



In my ususal obsessive fashion, I decided I needed expensive proper gel colourings to make my Soph's playdough pop. I think you'll agree it is now Mary Poppins!

Noops arranged and took this photo.

Sweetness.

Broids for you.

I LOVE being the mother of girls.

Check out Sophia's birthday present.

And if I am more excited on the day when she receives it, so be it.

Listening to...

Loving this whole album...

Wowa: a response.

Edited to add: Oh. My. God. Who knew it was so hard to type something in Word and then post it here? Half an hour later, here it is...

This started as a comment, then I decided to make it an actual post, as I’m unlikely to get anything else up for a few days. Am a bit overwhelmed with WIPs (heh, crafty-speak)! Will keep you posted – literally. Parenthetically, can I tell you how much I HAAATE the misuse of ‘literally’?!?!? Andre on Masterchef – “That’s literally my heart on the plate…”. Not. And, ew.

Several things:

1. Swearink - We make the rules, baby, we can do what we want!!

2. OMG your eldest daughter is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. I wish I was going to be her Prep teacher :) The name was immediately obvious! That's pretty amazing. Tell her I had kids in Year 5 who would still spell their names wrong (sometimes :))

3. ZOMG and nom nom baby legs - your youngest daughter makes me want to reproduce again right this instant. And eat some pink marshmallows while I'm at it.

4. Elwood! In the hood! Shut up already about not helping, we had one of the easiest moves ever - I highly recommend the "we-packed-thinking-we-were-moving-overseas" method - we did one trip in the truck. But of course thanks so much for offering, the thought does count :) I’d say we’re 90% sorted now too – just the dining/sewing/guest room to sort. Need a cupboard/shelves for my crafty biz now.

4a. Clem has of course been an absolute legend – a mere whimper as I put her to bed the first night, in a new house with new smells, she slept through (unlike me who lay wide-eyed and exhausted until 2am). She can get up on our couch and has been sitting up, reading a book studiously for three seconds, safety dismounting and repeating. Good times. :)

5. Those button clips are DIVINE. You’re ace. Any ideas what I can do for birthday presents for a 7 going on 17 year old niece and a 4 going on 10 year old nephew? Hmmm…

6. Sorry to hear you’re all feeling like shite – glad you’re on the mend tho – be well so youse can pop over for a drink on Saturday arvo!

It's easy as ABC

No, no, sorry to disappoint but this isn't a post about MJ. Although I must say the Boston Herald's headline "Fade to Blacko" summed it up for me.

No, this is a post about a little girl. A little girl who is not quite 4. A little girl who was doodling on some paper over the weekend and whose mother stopped to see what she had drawn before throwing the paper into the recycling. And found this ( a little hint: start with the "S" on the left of page if it's not as immediately clear to you as it was to us):




As a teacher and a loving Aunt I know you will share my level of excitement over this. I am bursting with pride. She was so proud when we made a big deal of it too. The most amazing thing for me was a) she wasn't copying from anything and b) she got the order as well as the shape of the letters right.

And last night, Andrew and I were joking that Noops would want to subscribe to the magazine Zoo because she would thinkg it was about animals not Triple H Heidi (see current front cover - refuse to link). Anyway, I said to Andrew "Noops knows how to spell 'zoo' don't you". I thought she wasn't listening to me as she kept scribbling (she scribbled all weekend) and then tore off the paper and handed me this:



Shocked laughter ensued.

We were all so sick and mooky all weekend but I did manage to get some work done yesterday. These are a new kind of clip. Do you like? They look EXTRA cute on.



I think the blurb for them will run like this: "Made from hand-dyed wool felt and vintage buttons, these clips are hand-made in a smoke-free and pet-free home and displayed on a clean but poo-stained nappy". Noice?

And this is just an example of extra industriousness. Industrial Revolution scale industriousness.


Today I am sick. Again. Feeling very much like shite.

But enough about me, let's talk about you Miss Elwood. Yay. And the Gang. Hope the move went well and you're all settling. Hope Clem is coping. Deeply sorry we couldn't help in the end. I am V excited to have you close again.

And just sose my second doesn't read this in later years and feel left out, there are these:



Could she look anymore like we had these shots professionally done at a studio in Tarneit? I mean, come on, a baby in a tutu? She looks so fecking cute though. Are we allowed to swear on this blog?

Healesville

Okay, so it's only 3 weeks late or sumfing but better late than never, yes?

It was a beautiful weekend and appropriately wild and woolly so we could light the fire and rug up. Only thing was that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, in Healesville is weird. Not in a Tasmanian kind of way; more like a "there is a secret behavioural code in place here and even though you are not privy to it and so couldn't possibly know how to act, we'll still look askance at you when you do things that would be completely normal elsewhere." Andrew and I kept giving each other "is it us?" looks all weekend. Bizarre. Anyway...here are some pics.

Noops waiting for Birds of Prey show to begin. A bit excited.



View from one window.



Country chic.



Ballerina in the kitchen.



Snuggly.



New wellies.



Snuggling sisters.



Collecting "Little Eggy".



Bewdiful garden and fat-cheeked Bop Bop.



Brave girl with bull.



Thinking back, it was actually a magical weekend. Friday night was a bit touch and go because O didn't sleep all evening and it was cold but all in all it was a very successful, farmy, country, at-one-with nature, locavore weekend. To wit:

• Morrocan lamb made by local butcher the first night and Cumberland sausages (same bloke), potatoes and local greens the next night. Local red wine too.
• Sanctuary adventures.
• Snuggling with the bigger girl by the fire and watching Finding Nemo.
• Collecting lemons from the trees on the property and then making lemonade when we got home.
• Collecting warm eggs from the hen house. "Little Eggy" became a dear friend. 2nd Little Eggy did too until he met his demise in a scene that would have made Humpty Dumpty shudder. Thank God original Little Eggy fought the good fight for a bit longer. We thought Little Eggy might need to be surreptitously thrown out after a few weeks of love but turns out she had no problem eating him last Sunday. Delicious he was too. RIP Little Eggy.
• Feeding hay to horses, cows and a bull. Didn't like the way the bull eyed Noo's pink hat and I moved her behind me but the property owners (who we chatted to on Sunday morning - ex St Kilda dwellers who moved to H, bought the pub, have made a big success of it all) assured me he was safer than the cows. Which was a relief when they took her into the paddock with the beasts the next day.
• The farm cat who tailed us on all our wanderings around the farm, going mental because of the wind.
• Cockatoos putting on displays on the trellis outside our living room window at 7am on a GLORIOUS, still and sunny Sunday morning.
• Parrots, Honey-eaters, Ibis on the lawns.
• Home made soap in the bathroom and bunches of fresh flowers in every vase/pot/old tea kettle.

Ah, let's all move there.
xxxxxx