Sew I got stuck into my fabric stash, all prepared and ready to sort through and choose what I’ll be taking on ‘the trip’. Not this weekend’s mini break, I’ll only be taking the SHAWL there. Not the early March Noosa-for-a-wedding trip, that’ll be crochet too I imagine, but NOT the shawl, which will be finished by then I promise! No, I mean our super duper nomadic lifestyle around australia in a caravan trip.

 We are SO limited for space its not funny. BUT, my sewing machine IS coming, and with it the cutting mat/ironing surface thing, the ruler & cutter, sewing box, PATTERNS, mags, and um, fabric. The thing is that like most crafters I know, fabric stashes grow very quickly. I love fabric! It has been so hard to reduce and choose. Anyway, the fabric sorting was going well, and then I got distracted and made this.

The easiest dress EVER. It is a pilowcase dress made using regular fabric. For the polkadot strip along the bottom I used the selvege from another fabric = no hem! So fast! I whipped up a teatowel topper while I was at it. For the caravan! Photo to come of that one.  I thought of writing a tutorial for the teatowel topper, but seriously would anyone else want to make one?

More photos of the dress in action. The mean thing about this is that the REAL beach is only 300m down the hill. Yes, mean mummy prefers to buy ice creams than spend a hot  hour or two at the beach.

Oh wow,’boost’ on picnik really makes that red ZING!  Apologies for any damage to your retinas.

Now I have this great idea for ‘fess up Friday’, where I will reveal my deepest darkest… ok maybe not those…. but some stuff I bet you haven’t heard from me yet. Only thing is, tomorrow we are headed off to Daylesford for the weekend. And for the Maker’s Market YIPPEE! I may not be able to sneak in a fess up. Or maybe I’m just making excuses, OK ‘Fess Up Friday’ starts tomorrow. Feel free to join in

I’m afraid this will be a very boring post about my current predicament. You see we’re living in a kind of limbo land, somewhere between home and our home on wheels. Belongings have been boxed up, given away or sold. This includes shoes. The current mob still needs to be pared down (or is that ‘paired down’?) to fit our most humble abode-to-be.

Here they are

And my two ‘helpers’ who loved to try on all the shoes. Which on the steps seemed a bit dangerous!

The ladybird and dinosaur were added in Picnik… we had a fun time!

So as mentioned, our ’stuff’ is SLOWLY reducing. Bag after bag heading out the door to friends or to the oppies, who are my friends too. I’m not doing too badly with the shoes. I still haven’t found my nice sandals, purchased especially for this summer *sigh*, and Zoe’s left goldie is missing this week. Still that looks like TOO MANY for a caravan trip!

I’m being strongly encouraged to get stuck into my fabric stash. Yep, the best of it came here with me. It is so difficult to decide what to bring! The poor folks left behind to sit in storage for twelve months or more. Tomorrow is D-Day. Decision making time right here. One tub to take. Shown right here on this blog tomorrow night.

Wish me luck.

Oh, and show us your shoes!

Me? I want these for the wedding we’re going to in March…

thanks to Vic and Gypsy for My Place & Yours this week!

I’ve been eating birthday cake

Working on the shawl

Reading the ‘Bean’

Punctuated by many questions from the kids, frozen oranges, lovely visits from friends and SLEEP, that delicious past time.

I hope yours has been just as enjoyable!

Again, apologies for my lack of blogging… but just think, in a couple of months this blog is going to get EXCITING! If you’ve somehow forgotten, our little family is heading off on a big adventure! Yep, come April we’ll finally begin our journey up the East coast of Australia. I for one, can’t wait.

I feel like I’ve had my head in the clouds these last few months, or rather clouds in my head, a sleepiness I just can’t shake. This week has been better, although now I’m having trouble sleeping. I’m crocheting my little heart out to finish a shawl for a very nice friend. I’m using the crochet as a meditation, it helps quieten my mind. So what was I doing at 1am? Yep, up on the couch crocheting. I couldn’t sleep.  

Now look at this big boy. He really has grown up so much lately. His proudest achievement is having the training wheels taken off his bike, and he tells ANYONE who will listen.

Right now he is waiting patiently to make a birthday cake for ‘Pa’ ~ my Dad. We’re doing a blackforest cake. Yum!

Is what I’ve been hearing NON-stop for days. Now the little one has started…
Anyway, we’ve mostly moved. There is still stuff to collect (like most of my clothes), a garage sale (or “garbage sale” ~zoe) to have tomorrow, a big house to clean and a craft space to organise here. Actually there is alot more, but it would be totally boring and self important to write it all here right? Oh, you mean this IS boring. Sorry.

OK, the WINNER of the little skirt is KATE! thank you for your comments Tas & Vic…yep, I think we NEED more hairclips from Helen
xoxo

My sewing room is COMPLETELY EMPTY. You heard it here first…

We will be outta here by Saturday.

Indi (our cat) is going to live in Cairns! Providing I can get him on a plane.

I have managed to take some decent photos of Tate with his haircut, I endeavour to upload and share tomorrow - hold onto your hats!!

Today was SUPER busy at my place of employment, which may involve golf of the miniature variety

Kitchen and bathroom to be packed tonight, onto the bedrooms tomorrow. Any help welcomed wholeheartedly!

*****END*****

another photo of my most/only willing model…

My parcel from Eternal Creation arrived today. Gorgeous! Two dresses for me and a little pair of earrings… hurrah! I’m loving the picnic dress SO much! If anyone asks, they’re for the trip!

xoxo

Introducing the wee babies; Baby Mo (or mowa), Baby Itch and Baby Hugh. All thoughtfully named by Miss Zoe. Oh she is a funny thing! I can’t wait to witness all the mischief they get themselves into with their new mummy. Made by Donna at Bits for Bots! Snaffled at a Gossamer Dreams stocking.

The most awesome hairclips EVER! From the wonderful Helen…

You’ve met Audrey the pixie, well here’s her new monkey friend (far left). Initially named ‘Boots’ by Miss Zoe, which I haven’t heard mentioned since. I’m hoping for a more imaginitive name for this guy. From Michelle of Poppy, Bean and Bloss.

And NOW for the giveaway…. One little skirt, made by me. Size 2ish. If you’d like it leave a comment here in the next few days. I’ll pick a winner on Thursday… right before the computer gets packed…eeep!

So today it was time for the final stages of the sewing room pack-up. It was very difficult to do, pack up for ‘twelve to eighteen months’. Mr Tweetheart wanted to assist, which sent me into a panic, but also made me move much faster. A few things have become clear during this process, mainly the fact that I am a hoarder. Well, not a magazines stacked to the ceiling, every back issue of TV week type hoarder. But someone who rapidly aquires ’stuff’, and who isn’t very good at keeping that ’stuff’ organised and within a reasonable quantity. I’m not going to mention just how many boxes were packed from my sewing room…

Wishing you a hip happy new year! So far it’s a goodie at our place!

Oh look, I finally visited picnik!!!!  Expect my photos to be looking much cuter, different and unusual! Thanks goes to Vic, who I finally listened to! ‘2009 - the year that was’ collage on the way. I totally recommend checking out picnik. I’m loving it compared to photoshop, which frightens me a little. Probably because I’ve never spent enough time working out how to use it. (it could have something to do with the terrible instruction at uni 10 years ago…)

Its been an action filled week here. Packing galore! Not silly fast packing, proper decluttering, going through things, sorting, labelling kind of packing. The stuff is going to be stored for 12-18 months, and we aren’t paying $215 a month to store junk!! two footrests waiting to be ‘design-sponged’? Oh yes, they’re staying. Boxes of clothes I thought went to the op shop 4 years ago? GONE. Mr Tweetheart’s old skateboarding knee pads? GONE… oh whoops, retreived from the bin. Sorry about that. LOL. Piles of magazines? GONE. There is a whole room of things that I consider GONE, but they’re actually waiting for our mega garage sale. January 10th. Be there. It’ll be a buy one, get one free type deal. Hell, maybe fill a bag for $5? A few weeks ago I was considering opening the house up ‘everything $5 each’.  Amazingly we are getting there. Two reformed, well semi-reformed hoarders, working together. We haven’t EVEN sworn at each other for DAYS. That’s the new year for you!

Oh, I have a little skirt to give away…. I’ll take a pic tomorrow. Really! xox

Apologies AGAIN for my sporadic blogging. We are still at the green house, filling boxes, de-cluttering and dreaming of our trip.

Highlights of christmas were ~ waking up to the sounds of little hands ripping into wrapping paper, “Santa has been!”, “Feliz Navidad” (from Zoe, the Dora fan), riding my bike to my folks’ place wearing my NEW helmet, Tate learning how to skip, the FOOD and outrageous stories from my bro. Now what’s a christmas morning photo without bad hair?

Low point ~ erm, falling off my bike on the way home… too embarrassing! It could’ve been the wine, or my lack of fitness and coordination… 

Remember this boy?

Here he is, freshly shorn for xmas.

He is completely happy with his hair cut, feeling and acting like a big boy!

I have been doing the teensiest bit of crafty stuff. Some clips I’m working on for the nieces…

And an apron or two

Now I haven’t properly introduced this little lady…. please meet Audrey, a gorgeous pixie from Megsie.

Bye for now! We’re off to Sorrento on the ferry ~ yee ha!