I’m so happy today, I was able to add to my savings towards my Women for Women sponsorship – look at my total, it’s $82.00, that’s what I’m talkin’ bout! Who says that?! I’m 38 years old! The money came from the sale of my baby blankets, so thank you so much to the girls who purchased them! I am eagerly pacing around the house, jumping at every motor-bikey sound I hear because I’m waiting for the posty to drop off a big bundle of new fabric so I can get to it and make some more blankets. Her’s another peek at what I’m talkin’ bout…

This gorgeous fabric is designed by Erin McMorris. Here’s a wee bio,

Erin McMorris studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati and then textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has doodled, drawn, and designed in London, San Francisco, and New York, and currently rests her laptop in Portland, Oregon.

The collection is called Wildwood and here’s a good description of it (better than I could write myself),

Wildwood wanders through a light-dappled forest of swirling vines and dotted blossoms. Both natural and contemporary, this collection mixes citrus yellows, mint greens, bold pinks and cooling grays to create a landscape that is uniquely lush.

Mmmmm..sounds yummy.

I am about to embark on a new run of baby blankets for the upcoming winter months here in Australia, here is a sample of some  brand spankin’ new Joel Dewberry fabrics I’ll be using,

It’s just gorgeous, the fabric is from his Deer Valley range and these examples are from the Azure palette. I’m loving the clean cut out quality of the deer fabric next to the vintage quality of the flowers and all in my favorite colours, red, blue and brown. It is a Spring release but I think it will be just as lovely for winter. Here is a beautiful Deer Valley quilt from Spool Sewing, who by the way have some free pdf patterns on their blog, I’m keen on the grocery tote pattern as it looks easy and well…I need a grocery tote!

Mia recently went through her wardrobe and had a clean out so I bagged up her throw away clothes with the idea of re-fashioning them. We often buy clothes for the fabric (not really the case with this dress though) so I thought it was nice to keep that fabric for other projects. Here is a little dress she wore a loooong time ago…(modeled by miss judy)

And here it is as top…

That was obviously pretty easy. miss judy feels better and so do I.

Here’s an apron I made some time ago and had forgotten about…

I have loved the flower fabric for a while, it’s called Breeze Lei and is designed by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller. I wish skirts had big pockets, I hate carrying a handbag around and imagine it would be very liberating to walk around with two free hands, you know outside the house. Too bad bum bags are a bit “sporty geek”, sorry if you use one. Could we somehow have a cool bum bag and a new name for them!?

My absolutely gorgeous, wonderful, amazing and talented daughter, Mia, made her first skirt yesterday and did an awesome job of it!

Mia thought the fabric was cool because it reminded her of a Nancy Drew skirt! Knit sweater, belt and glasses would complete the look.

Great job Mia!

Postquote: “A daughter is one of the most beautiful gifts this world has to give.” Laurel Atherton (ain’t it the truth!)

I am loving these Japanese patterns, just the right amount of adorableness mixed with style..don’t you think. The skirt was fun but a little challenging at times. The pattern instructions are all in Japanese you know! I speak nor read a word. By the way this is a size 5 for a little girl (hard to tell in the photo with no reference).

I’m so exhausted today so I’m not going to write much. More sleep please…

Postquote: “Eat, drink and be scary” Author Unknown

Here’s a little cutey from a pattern in a gorgeous Japanese book I bought a while back.

I would make the straps and ties a little wider next time but overall this is a very sweet dress. See it sitting on my new chairs I bought from ebay – will be recovered. One day.

I’ll just ad one more photo, I have been meaning to put these on for a while. Really cute and “yummy” miniatures from the Mullumbimby Craft Fair.

Postquote: “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” Albert Einstein.

I feel so bad about the knitted cushion I’m “making”. Because I havn’t been making it, I’ve been making other stuff instead. The reason I feel rotten is because I am using a pattern from a library  book and it’s well overdue which means I really do get three quarters into a project then start another one and I really do always return books and DVD’s way way late! It’s all true! Well look what I have done…

and

It’s coming up to Christmas and I’m thinking about our Christmas Party, I imagine 500 fairy lights twinkling in the warm summer air, coloured Japanese lanterns (battery operated) swinging softly in the breeze, childrens feet running in lush green lawn etc etc…, I’ll post a more realistic report after the event.

I love this charity, Women for Women International.

I’m reading Great Expectations.

Recently watched and loved Burn After Reading. How awesome is John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

Am listening to Okkervil River.

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate it!

I recently finished embellishing this gorgeous Anna Maria Horner fabric with running stitch using thread to match each autumnal colour. I am very pleased with it and will be using it for a cushion. I am calling the cushion “Through the leaves” because it reminds me of dappled sunlight dancing on leaves

Its spring outside in the garden, it’s very busy…see the bee…it took be ages to get that shot! They move so quick I was chasing them all through my front garden, in bare feet; my head down near my knees like an enraged ape…hopefully my neighbors could see the camera in my hands, seriously!

I hope all is bright and sunny where you are today.

Postquote: “Spring is natures way of saying, “Let’s Party!”"., Robin Williams

When I wrote the title of this post I accidently wrote “I Live New York”! Well I would love to. Rick and I spent our last anniversary in New York…three crazy days…no kids…it was wonderful and we really really want to go back with the kids. Anyhoo there is a little NYC history in my sewing room as of today. I found a great site esewingworkshop.com that has a tutorial on making a cushion with an invisible zip. Guess what ?! My zip is not invisible…but it’s getting there…

I see you zip…

I am loving the knitting. I’ve been doing it at night when all is quiet in the house (this is usually the 23 minutes before I have to go to bed). But it is very soothing and mind numbing which is just what my mind needs at the end of what I guess is called life. Here’s what I can knit in two lots of 23 minutes…

Well…it is my first knitting project! The yarn is a gorgeous silky smooth cotton so the finished pillow will be wonderfully soft and dreamy…sounds like a holiday…but not in New York.

Postquote: “When you leave New York you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough.”, Fran Lebowitz