Can anyone say, ORGANISED!!!

I was losing motivation in sewing and getting increasingly frustrated with the mess that was my fabric stash. So, I got to work sorting/folding/chucking ALL my fabric. Took me a few weeks to get through everything! (I did stop and start! I didn't stand there and fold for weeks on end LOL!) The other night I laid everything on the floor and sorted the piles according to colour/print/type etc. Then I put them all into the cupboard. I haven't got everything in there though. I left out the really big pieces and also the heavier fabrics. I have just put them into a plastic tub for now. I did all this in the hope that it will motivate me to sew more now that I can actually see what I have to work with! I have a (not so) secret addiction to fabric and I have been VERY good lately not buying anything. Having everything sorted like this has been great because I can see things at a glance and there's no need to rummage through the tub or box for something.

It certainly has worked! Today I whipped up a pair of PJ's for Emily and finished off a pair I started last night. I also managed to fix a shirt of DH's. Do you LOATHE mending/altering clothes as much as I do?? I have a WHOLE shelf worth of it in my cupboard. Some of it has been there for years! I just really can't bring myself to do it. There are pants to be taken up (all are DH's!) holes to be mended, waistbands to be taken in.. the list goes on and on and on and on..... We can't really afford to have them done and I can't justify spending money on something that I can do myself but I just can't get my butt into gear to actually DO IT!!! It's not like we need them done in a hurry though.. They've been in there for ages now.. surely another couple of years wont hurt.. right?

Random things.

I've got so much to catch up on but I doubt I'll ever get through it all.. For now, here are some pics (no sewing ones.. I can't seem to find my sewing machine under the mountain of rubbish on my sewing table!)

Just a picture of my girl!

Emily helping Daddy. She did really well! She put the screw in and turned it all by herself.. And she looks soooo proud of herself too LOL!

How pretty do all these cherry tomatos (is there supposed to be an 'e' after the 'o'?? I can never remember) look!! I must say, I am very proud of myself about these. All grown in my very own backyard by MOI!

Super, cheeky, beautiful girl...

Yep... they start young these days. Here she is playing 'daddy's 'puter'. There are some fantastic games at our local library. Are you a member of your local library? If not, join up! We love going to visit ours..
The 'ear mutts' (ear muffs) are worn EVERY TIME I vacuum.. She goes crazy if she doesn't wear them! She screams at me that I'm being too noisy.. even though her screaming is louder than the vacuum...

Holding a lizard. She was really good when we told her it was time for him to 'go home'. She even took him outside and released him.

Just another random photo. Just because.

No more goss from my end.

Does the toothfairy come to grown ups?

Well, I'm back in the land of the living (just)... The last month or so has been just horrible. All due to wisdom teeth! I had 2 top ones removed over 2 weeks (just with a local anesthetic) but I get quite sick with anesthetic so it took me extra long to recover from that and by that time it was time for me to get the second one out! Then one week after that I went in for surgery to get the bottom two teeth out (they were impacted) and for that I had to go under a general anesthetic. I am sooooo glad that I don't ever have to go through that again! (I hope! Someone PLEASE tell me that wisdom teeth DON'T GROW BACK!! If they really were WISE they wouldn't!!) Anyway, the pain was unbearable! I am a pretty tolerant person usually. I can handle most pain (hardly ever take medication unless it is absolutely necessary) but this was ridiculous! I ended up going back to see the surgeon and he diagnosed 'dry socket'.. by this stage I didn't care what it was I just wanted the pain to go away! I had been (accidentally!) overdosing myself with pain meds. It was just horrible! Anyway, two and a half weeks later and the pain is slowly easing enough for me to only have 2 panadol a day. It's really getting me down. Think about having constant pain for 2.5weeks straight and the medication that I was taking was barely taking the edge off the pain. It can really get you down! It turns out that I don't react too kindly to anything with codine in it (quite common I'm told) and unfortunately that limits the type of pain killers that you can have! Hopefully I'll be right again soon.. I'm sure I haven't been the most pleasant person to live with ;)

Inbetween all the pain and tears I did manage to do some sewing.. I made my God daughter a dressing gown for Easter. I used the pattern that the lovely Ingrid (over at lottilulu) sent me.


Please excuse the 'art work' behind the dressing gown..

So that's what I've been up to.. what have you been doing?

Oooh, 2 posts in 2 days! I'm on a roll!!!

Here is Emily 'modelling' her new quilt. She loves it so much and insists on having it on her even if the weather is too hot. Oh well, at least I know that my efforts are appreciated.

I just thought I'd show what 12 months can do. The first photo was taken in Dec last year ('07) and the second one was taken in Nov this year ('08). I am surprised that the headband has survived at all! LOL!!!

See!! I do sew!!!

I have been sewing.. I'm just a lazy blogger...
Kids are back at school and my baby started daycare this year. I thought it might give me a chance to catch up on some sewing/crafting that I've been missing out on so much but unfortunately I never seem to get around to it. I've been tending to things that I can't get done with a 3yr old 'helping'. Gardening, vacuuming (She screams at me that it's too loud.. funny thing is, she is screaming louder than the vacuum!) mopping.. you know the drill!

I did manage to make this bag one night. I found the chocolate brown micro suede (I think that's what it is) in a basket at the op shop.. The pink trim was a clearance item at a sewing shop and the linging is a linen that I already had in my stash. The pattern didn't have a lining or a zip and the handles were positioned a little differently. I was not on speaking terms with the lining after awhile.. I really should have just put the whole thing aside and went to bed but I am so stubborn (and I wanted it finished so I could use it ASAP!) I soldiered on.. Firstly I sewed the lining inside out. I was just going to leave it the way it was, trying to tell myself that I was the only one going to be looking at it and that it didn't matter that there were raw edges on the inside of the bag but I just couldn't live with that. I would be looking at the inside of my bag several times a day and I knew it would get to me. Instead of unpicking the whole lot I just unpicked the zip and cut out a whole new lining. This time ensuring that I had sewn it the correct way! Assemble it all together... try it on.. DOH! I had put the lining in backwards! So now instead of having the zip starting at the front of me, it started BEHIND me! I would have had to reach back to unzip the thing! Too hard when I am juggling a mammoth 3yr old wriggly worm, so the quick-unpick and I became reacquainted.. Finally got it all in place and it looks good. Next time I think I will make it smaller.. it's a little too big for what I need now. 6months ago it would have been perfect as it is roomy enough for some nappies, wipes drink bottle, food etc... I added lots of custom pockets.. One for my phone. One for my sun glasses. One for my keys. One for a drink bottle/snacks. I also added some pen pockets too.. I am forever rummaging through my bag looking for a pen..

Shocking photos.. sorry.

Anyway, I am hoping to be able to get some more sewing done soon. The next thing is finding some time to blog!

I'm a big kid now...

Here is Emily proudly showing off her new shelves. I got them from Ikea. They are in the 'Trofast' series. She is such a girly girl and loves all things pink (and so do I!). We went with the pink buckets. They also had green (also nice) and a white/transparent colour but PINK is the way to go with this little princess...

I have labelled most of the tubs with the names of what is (supposed) to go in each tub. Hopefully this will encourage Emily (and her Dad!) to put things back in the right tub so we don't end up with 'whoknowswhat' everywhere.. well, that's the plan anyway! I want to get some more to put on another wall.


And here is Emily demonstrating how she sleeps in her new 'big girls bed'! Isn't it the cutest little bed you've seen! I picked it up at an op shop last week. When I got home I did some research on it and realised that it retails for about $200! I certainly didn't spend that much. Less than half that actually. BARGAIN!!! She loves it so much. Me, well I'm not so sure because it means that my little girl is growing up :(
Been a bit slack updating my blob.. I'll get back into it once the kids are back at school...

Oh Christmas dress, Oh Christmas dress...

How ever gold are your stars...
Sorry, lame attempt at being funny (I promise I wont do it again!)

Here is the Christmas dress I made for Emily. I laid awake in bed thinking of something quick and simple to make (as you do) and this is what I came up with. I originally made this one and then I altered the pattern. Much quicker and easier. I love the fabric on this one. It's a light weight cotton, almost like a muslin/cheese cloth and there are gold metallic stars on it. I am thinking of putting either a gold or a white sash around the waist. Not too sure yet and time is running away from me!


So that's the dress.. Emily LOVES it. She wants to wear it all the time. It's her 'Frismas' (Christmas in Emily language) dress..

It's nearly Christmas!

Things are just going way too fast for my liking this year. It's nearly Christmas!! Can you believe it! I've nearly finished all my shopping but I still have to make a few things, handbags, pencil rolls maybe some pj's.

My youngest son turned 12 today.. They are all growing up. Unfortunately as they grow older so do I and boy do I feel it these days. Everything clicks and creaks as I move.. the few grey hairs that I've had since I was about 16 have multiplied rapidly. Long gone are the days where I would colour my hair just for a change or because I liked the colour.. Now it is necessary to colour to cover the grey patches. It would be nice if the grey would limit itself to an inconspicuous part of my head but noooooo.. it tends to attach itself to the front hairline or where my hair will naturally part itself... ARRGHHHHH!!!

I've been sewing. I wanted to make Emily a dress to wear for Christmas (although I don't know why.. It's always too hot for her to wear anything. The last 3 Christmas's she spent the day in a nappy and that's it! Anyway, I set about drafting up a pattern that I had in my head.. nothing flash, infact quite simple but it's lovely all the same. I will do it differently when I make the 'real' one. I made a practise one out of an old thrifted sheet.

Sorry the pics aren't the best.. I took them in a hurry..

This is what I get everytime I bring the camera out.. She will run away with her hands covering her face or hide somewhere or put cushions over her head.. I need to hire another child so I can get some decent pics LOL!

CHRISTMAS TREE.
I know it's only November but I just couldn't wait.. We put our Christmas tree up on the weekend. Emily is really getting into Christmas this year which is lovely. There are countless "Ooooooooh's" and "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh's" as we walk through the shopping centre and look at all the Christmas displays.

Notice all the red decorations at the bottom?? Emily has to have everything colour coordinated. She took all the red decorations and hung them on the tree.. LOL! Later on all the silver ones made their way together too.. It looks pretty sparse in these pics but once we spread the decorations out (again.. several times a day!) it looks much better..
Putting the star on the top of the tree was like an honour when I was growing up. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy seeing my very own daughter do the same thing with her Daddy as I used to do with mine. I have very fond memories of my Daddy holding me up (sometimes it was a very long way.. especially if we had a 'real live' tree that year!) while I carefully put the star on top.

This is not the best photo but I love it anyway. It's got a warmness (is that a word?!?) about it. She was in awe of the lights on the tree. I love the way her face lights up when she sees the lights on. It's so innocent and so... what's the word... Oh, I don't know.. it's just BEAUTIFUL and it truly makes my heart melt.

Random things.

Hello,

What has been happening here in 'Lollieland'?... Well, my 'baby' turned 14 this week!! 14! Can you believe it? He is nearly a 'man' LOL! (not that he acts like it sometimes.. Sometimes I think his nearly 3 yr old sister is more mature than him LOL). I do have to say though how very proud I am of him. He is polite, generous and well mannered. Not too mention good looking ;).. I get many compliments about what a lovely, well mannered boy he is.. makes my heart go all squishy!!

I started up a new shop here.

No other sewing happening just yet. I would like to get some clothes made for Emily. I also want to get some Christmas presents made too.

DH came home with this today...


Awwwwwww.. isn't he/she just the sweetest thing you've ever seen! Apparently it was being attacked and the mother didn't want anything to do with it so DH bought it home and called someone from some organisation (can't think of who at the moment!) and they came and picked it up. Emily was most upset that the man was taking the duck away but we tried to explain to her that he was taking it to back to it's family.. I think he said it was a Wood Duck.. I don't know.. whatever it is it is so cute...

What else? I can't think straight at the moment.. I am surprised that I have managed to post this much!! I will leave this for now and try to update a bit more soon..

Pooh!

What do you give a 13yr old girl who LOVES Winnie The Pooh? A Pooh bag and a Pooh pillow of course!

Back of pillow with embroidered birthday message.

Close up of embroidery.

Bag and cushion.

Time for a change.

I thought I'd give my blob a facelift. Like it? Still not too sure on a few things but it looks ok for now.

Not much has been happening. My boys have gone to USA for nearly 3 weeks with my parents for a holiday. Lucky them! I can't wait to have them home... not long now, only a few more sleeps.

Dh and I went op shopping the other day (I am not sure who is worse, DH or I!!).. He loves looking through things looking for a bargain.. suits me fine! I do too!! On the day there was a sign up saying sheets $2 so I picked up a couple that I liked. When I got home I realised that one was a Sheridan sheet (another one! That's 3 that I have picked up in my op shopping travels.) I love Sheridan sheets.. they are so soft and beautiful and soft.. did I mention they were soft?? The other one is the same as my banner! (Yep, I scanned my fabric for my banner LOL).. I think Clair had some fabric the same ages ago.. or something very similar anyway.. Not many patterns caught my fancy (shock horror!).. I have 2 nappy boxes FULL of patterns at the moment.. Can I admit on here that I have a slight addiction for patterns?? You wont tell anyone will you?

I've been sewing too. I made a top for myself. I tried to copy a top that I had bought awhile ago. Didn't turn out too bad.. looks nothing like the original though LOL!! I also made Emily a top as well but that just didn't turn out the way I had planned.. After unpicking the bias binding several times I got it to fit (it's only 'just' too big) but then the rest of the top looked like a tent so I fixed that up with a few rows of shirring.. I will try to blog it one day.. if she ever stands still!!

Speaking of the little darling.. She is at the most adorable yet patience testing age.. thankfully the patience testing doesn't happen too often. She is singing full songs/nursery rhymes on her own without prompting. She attempts to dress herself.. her speech is so clear. I have people comment on how clear her vocabulary is. I'm so proud of my baby girl..

Well that's about it from me for now. Hello to you all out there. Please take a moment and post a comment, even if it's just to say HI!.. It really makes my day (I don't get out much LOL!).

Lots been happening..

Hello!

Long time no type! I've been busy, busy, BUSY! I joined a gym a few months ago so have been trying to get there several times a week, add to that running the house, organising kids and chasing after/playing with a nearly 3yr old and there is barely any time left in the day! The ladies at my gym let me know that on their 'open day' they let members come in and 'advertise' their business etc and asked if I wanted to hold a stall. I jumped at the opportunity! So off home I went with ideas running through my head and only 3 weeks to pull it all together... Lots of late nights later and these are some of the things I had put together..

I sold a few things and got another order so I am happy with that. You can see these things for sale here.

Where am I?

Hmm.. where do I start?? I've been around. Not doing much.. well, yes I have been doing much but I can't, for the life of me, think of what I have been doing! I know it involves no sewing (Boo Hoo!!!) and no other creativeness (unless you call coming up with interesting meals to cook each night 'creativeness'!!)..

DD has completely dropped her day sleeps. That's when I used to sew/get creative. I would have 3 hours of peace to just potter around with my machine. But alas, that is to be no more.. by the end of the day playing, entertaining, cleaning etc etc.. I am far too tired to start on any projects and I am lucky to see past 9pm (lately it's been 8:30pm). I just about collapse into bed and sleep fitfully until morning just to start the whole routine all over again *sigh*.

I have put up a pair of pants in my shop that I made awhile ago. I did intend for DD to wear them but she had a growth spurt before that day to come around (typical LOL!)

Oh how I long to be able to sit and sew for hours.. that is just a distant memory for me.

Ooooh, but I did get some bargains at a car boot sale the other day. A lady had some patterns in a box and I asked her how much for 4 of them and she said, "nothing!" Cool! 4 patterns for free!!!

Oh yeah, we also went to Carrara Markets and I found the most amazing stall.. It had buttons, BUTTONS, BUTTONS!!! Oh how I love buttons. I remember sitting in my Nan's sewing rooms sorting through her button jar, which I later 'inherited'. It had a smell to it. Not offensive but an 'old' kind of smell.. I used to love opening the jar and just inhaling the sweet, plasticy(?) scent.. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Ooops, off track.. markets, that's right.. there were millions of them. They were in little containers according to colour/size/style etc.. and there was also a HUGE plastic tub FULL of buttons!! I stuck my hand in through the middle of the tub just to be sure the buttons weren't just stuck all around the inside of the tub to make it look like it was full LOL!! I could have easily spend an hour there. Unfortunately, the rest of the family don't share my love of buttons so we moved right along..

That is just about it for me. I am staying up way past my bedtime tonight! It's after nine and I am still not a pumpkin!! Better head off to dreamland now and get prepared for yet another day.. Pop in and say hello.. it brightens my day when I get a new comment :)

Funky Flower Pants!!!

I love this fabric. It is a lightweight drill (I think).. I love the colours and flowers.. I love the style of the pants.. When I made them they were the perfect fit. I was waiting for the cooler weather to hit so she could get to wear them. Finally when she gets the opportunity to wear them I find that she has had a growth spurt and they are now too short!!! NOOOOOOO!!!! I will most likely put them up for sale in my shop soon..



(no, she wasn't in trouble in this photo LOL.. she was either not co-operating or playing hide and seek!!)

Chocolate and Strawberry.

Time for me to do a catch up post. I have made a few things but keep forgetting to blog about them (tsk tsk!!) Here is a cross over top that I made. I think a few of my sewing friends have made it too. I have had the pattern for ages but couldn't find the fabric that was just right for it.. anyway, I eventually found this gorgeous fabric and whipped up this top the following evening. It was so quick to make. The binding gets a little fiddly but once you get started it's easy to finish up. I LOVE pink and brown (can't ever say no to pink!!).. I call it 'chocolate and strawberry' colours LOL..

I have no idea why she was posing like this.. LOL!!


Again, no idea why she flaps her arms about when the camera comes out LOL..


Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and well wishes about Emily's arm. She is fine now. Plaster came off on Friday and she is madly flapping her arms around so I don't think there is any permanent damage..

My poor baby has a 'fling' on her arm!!!

My baby has an injury! :(... Poor little princess has a strained elbow muscle. She will have the plaster on for a few days. It is mainly to make her a bit more comfortable because when she moves it it hurts.



So, that is what's been happening here.. Not much sewing happening.. A certain 2.5yr old has dropped her day sleeps now so I only get to sew at night and lately I haven't had the energy to do that.. I've got heaps I want to do but no time to do it.. Better sign off now..