Project update (and moan)

You may think I've been idling the days away preparing for the packers to sweep all our worldly goods into boxes while I wave around looking ethereal without a care in the world.

Let me tell you;
a) sorting out kids toys is a right royal pain in my a*se. Trying to hide the culled ones is an even bigger pain!

b) We still have 10 days of living in this house to go. A myriad of decisions as to whether to throw away the packet food now or wait just in case I need it to make some dish???

c) This office sewing area is still a nightmare that needs urgent attention. Of course, I am in denial and hope it will all miraculously be organized by the 15th (without me having to do it, of course).

I've been getting some practice in on Big Bernie (the Bernina).

 Taggie

Cushion Cover

Play quilt

Quite industrious if I say so myself! Bernie and I are slowly getting the hang of each other, as you can see.

I've been a very good girl....

...so Santa, will you please bring me one of these little beauties?!

Foolishly, I went into the Sewing centre for some white thread. I was thinking of an upgrade to a machine that so I could do my larger size quilts instead of having to send them off to be quilted. I was looking at a larger Janome but I was lured by her Swiss charms (and the Stitch Regulator) She costs an awful lot of money, even on sale. Sigh.

When you wish you'd just handed over the money.

Some of the girls, namely Kath, Lisa , Sniff and myself, along with the lovely Mr. Charlie, took a lovely road trip on Friday just gone to the Mornington Peninsula to frequent a fantastic event called Christmas at the Studio.

Great hilarity ensued on the journey there, so much so that we were told, "Be quiet, please, I can't hear my movie!" from the smallest traveller, even with headphones on head!

There were lots of lovely things to buy.

There was lovely food and drink to buy too! 

And balloons!!!

One lovely thing to buy was a Handmade Advent Calendar. 

It was $75. 

"Too much!", says I, when I can easily whip a couple up myself!!

I went to task on my project that very night. 

By the next day I was about ready to stab myself in the eye. 

What a bloody faff! 

Cutting out all those ruddy numbers, pulling off all the iron-on sticky paper, pressing them onto all the pockets then sewing around the little buggers almost did my head in. 

So this is it. 

They're getting one calendar and I'm putting two chocs in each pocket!

Next time I shall be mindful of how long "handmade" actually takes. 

And fork over the money!!

Blogtoberfest, Day 1- a series of confessions!

First of all, I'm a day late starting Blogtoberfest as it is indeed the 2nd of October today. I looked at entering last night, but hate blogging from the iPad, and although the movie I was watching was average at best (Tomorrow, When the War Began) I couldn't be arsed getting up and going to "the pit of despair".

Which brings me to my second confession.

 This is the worst half of the pit of despair - the sewing part. The office part is pretty messy too, but this is the reason I am not motivated to sew at the mo'.

 It really beggars belief! There is crap everywhere.

I am resolved to spending a good part of my day trying to get this beast into some semblance of order.

The Old Red, White and Blue

If you have been taking any notice whatsoever of my little progress bars on the side, you will have seen that one of the quilts has recently seen some action!

For the last couple of days of my in-laws stay, I've been making new curtains for Charlie's room.
Yes, we live in a rental.
Yes, it may be a waste of money to make new curtains you may never use again.
But the old ones were;
a) the shittiest faded salmon pink color you can imagine
b) come summer they may as well be open as are virtually see thorough. I need something better to con him that it's night time!
c) they were on rods and the gap had been sewn too narrow and they wouldn't slide. Tiebacks do my head in.
d) until we leave these isles and return to The Homeland, I refuse to live with any more "other people's crap" than I have to. I have been doing this for 11 long years of rental properties in 8 countries. The pink Austrian blinds in the lounge are bad enough!

Anyhoo...I have had this project on the back burner for a while and thought it the perfect time to complete one of the infamous WIP's that I have vowed to wipe out by 2012.

I'd like to say I'll get it done tomorrow but I'm dreaming.

Biggie Smalls has a 7th birthday on Friday and I have to knock out 2 dozen iced and sprinkled cupcakes (school), and ice cream party cake and party food (family, little friends party, Friday Night), Beyblade cake (Sunday, Laserstrike party) .

Plus go to the gym and Costco tomorrow.
They all have to be home made according to his lordship, as "your things taste perfect, Mum"
How can I argue with such wanton bias?!

I love this skirt...

on the beautiful Emma Watson (aka Hermione, my future daughter-in-law according to Charlie)

I reckon, with a pile of Anna Maria Horner fabrics, I could probably knock off similar one fairly easily. It will undoubtedly be shorter and (a lot) wider than that one. I may not look like Emma Watson when I put it on, in fact, I am fairly certain of it, but I am still inclined to try.

But..
a) will I start off with a hiss and a roar and then lose interest?
b) I have a pile of unfinished projects I have vowed to finish by the end of the year (see the progress thingummys)
c) I have too much fabric and shouldn't really buy any more...

I shall hereby muse about it today and make my decision tomorrow.

Rapunzel

I've always fancied myself as a bit of an artist...but perhaps I'm deluded. I used to do a bit while I was teaching and really enjoyed it.

We have bought a fair bit of art since we've been here in Australia in preparation for filling the walls of the house in NZ, when it gets built. Now it's getting a bit crowded on the walls here, to be honest. But there will be a lot of wall space to fill when Le Manoir is built!

Two of my favourite pieces are by a local Camberwell artist and illustrator called Anna Walker. She exhibited at the Canterbury Primary School Art Exhibition for the last couple of years and we commissioned her to do "Into the Woods" last year and "The Princess and the Frog" this year. Ours are similar to these but Red Riding Hood has a wolf too! The leaves and dresses are made from tiny bits of fabric.

Anyhoo, I was inspired to try to emulate Anna's work when I saw Heather Ross' Far Far Away Collection of fabric. Here is a very bad photo of the Rapunzel fabric (sorry!)

I started this about a month ago so not much progress made yet, I'm afraid. Bear in mind, this won't be the finished product as it would just be a copy of the Fabric design (or what I think passes as a copy!) I'm just trying to get a feel for the watercolours and how they go at this stage.

God knows if I'll ever actually finish anything worth framing. And I have the frame all ready too (ever the optimist!) Shame the paper I bought is the wrong bloody size!