Sunday Stash & Dash

I'm pleased to say I haven't made any SUBSTANTIAL purchases of fabric in recent weeks.  A few metres here and there of Homespun for quilt backs and this little bundle of yummy.....

I bought this AMH yardage from Jodi at Tickle & Hide (she's having another destash on IG tomorrow!) and will use it for my Modern Medallion backing.  She threw in the other goodies which was just lovely!

I'll class these as stash additions, because hey, doesn't everyone need cookies and chocolate to sew?!?!  The Kate Spain Aussie Charm Swap is in full swing, and the lovely Amy popped these in with hers - they will be most appreciated whilst sorting five billion charm squares!

Speaking of sorting - this is what charm square madness looks like people.  56 piles of fabric goodness.  It's FRIGGING hard work!!!!  But the end result will be UH-mazing!!

And just quickly....... a late night pic off my phone last night, to illustrate how wonderful surprises can be hiding in your stash.  This is the oh-so-divine Koi fabric range, and has been sitting patiently on my shelf awaiting a project.  What better time for inspiration to hit than a Saturday evening??  It was all chopped up, and today I put a whole quilt top together!  I will share it with you all on Wednesday.  All I will say is this - my bestest friends in the world better bloody love me!

I'm linking up - You can too!

Sweet Pouch Swap Finale!

I returned home yesterday from four days away to a lovely email from my new friend Barbara in Germany.  She received her Sweet Pouch Swap package!  So now, I can show you what was made and sent....

 

I took quite some time deciding what I would actually make for Barbara.  I realllllllly wanted to use one of my decorative zips, but was struggling to work out how.  In the end, I just pulled a Tim Gunn and "made it work"!  I opened up my beloved scrap bag of Notting Hill and got to work....

 

I wanted to incorporate quilting in some way, seeing as though it is what I most love to do.  So I made a teeny tiny little disappearing nine patch.  I think the finished dimensions of the patch was around three inches!  I finished off this side with Aurifil #1100 with some straight lines echoing the patch.

 

And of course there had to be paper piecing too!  I used another of Kristy's Quiet Play patterns to piece together a "B" and then whacked the free motion foot on and wrote the recipient's name.  I love how the Aurifil #1100 hot pink shimmers against the denim!  To finish, I used #2810 to do some wavey lines across, with a little loop randomly placed.

 

Then once it was ready to send off, I filled it as much as possible with some iconic Australian chocolate and lollies!  Tim tams, Furry Friends, Fizz Wizz and Natural Confectionary Company!  Yummo!

Not long after drafting this blog post, there was a ring at my doorbell - and my package arrived from Barbara!

 

I absolutely love the zippered pouch she made for me, and the embroidered quote is just perfect.  She also included two of my favourite Terrain prints - how divine!  I've already started on the chocolate.....

 

I LOVE her tags!

And this is the first linen to ever enter my home - can you believe?  It may just have kicked off a new obsession.....uh-ohhhh......  You can visit Barbara's blog HERE to get the low-down on how and why she put my package together - so utterly thoughtful xxx

The One Where Parental Guilt Got The Better Of Me!

Approximately 26 hours ago, Andrew and I had a conversation with the kids about Halloween.  About how they would not be going trick or treating.  About how we didn't believe in Halloween.

At precisely 4.05pm today, as I got out of the car after a day at work, I was met excitedly by Chelsea and Cadyn who could not tell me quick enough how their friends' Mum was taking their friend trick or treating, and they were invited, and they really really really wanted to go, and it was life or death, and.....well you get the idea?

As I dragged my tired arse inside, along with Chloe's tired - I've been at creche all day - arse, I repeatedly said we had told them no last night.  In amidst all of the excitement, Chloe miraculously woke up and was all of a sudden raring to go.  I told the kids they'd put me in a really crappy situation, because I would look like a mean Mummy if I said no.  They concurred.....

So at precisely 4.25pm I had three even more excited kids throwing on costumes and their silly sucked in Mum using the green eyeshadow I didn't even know I owned to make them all look "ghoulish".  We then jumped in the car and drove to above mentioned friends' house, and proceeded to paint other kids faces and carve a pumpkin face?!?!

Yes, it was lovely to see the kids so excited and dressed up amusingly.  Yes, it was lovely to see the smiles in their eyes when people opened their doors and actually showed some excitement towards them.  But no, it still is not my thing!

I'm not usually sucked in by the kids - but tonight, they won hands down!

Excitment +

See that masterful Pumpkin Face?!?!?

Tired little Fairy Witch!

Do you suffer from parental guilt?  Do you "like" Halloween??

Who The Hell Am I?

The ever-challenging Eden has brought back her "Fresh Horses Brigade" with a rather interesting subject - "Who The Hell Are You?"  I was shattered to see that I had missed the cut off for the link up by a whole 17 minutes - and then started questioning that perhaps it was the universe telling me I either A. Have no idea who I am? B. Would spend WAY too much time trying to figure out how to put myself in words or C. Would give up?   Soooooo, in the spirit of giving myself too much to think about, I'm going to try......


"Passionate, frustrated, loving, multi-talented, mum, wife, lover, friend, introverted, extroverted, bitchy-when-I-have-to-be, honest, bark-worse-than-my-bite, impatient, no-nonsense, emotional, tired, bubbly, little, free-spirited, caring, protective, anxious, loyal"


These are all the words that came to me, un-censored.  I really LOVE who I am.  At times, I don't like myself - and that is mainly when I get caught up in other people's dramas.  I'm still working very hard at taking a step back.  


I'm proud of the person I have turned out to be!  I'm proud of the fact that I have managed to keep four kids pretty damn happy, and I am complimented on their pleasant natures and great manners.  I'm proud that I have a MORE THAN FABULOUS husband and marriage.  After an epic FAIL first time round - I wasn't sure I had the tenacity to be a wife.  Turns out I go OK.


I wondered where my youngest little man got his sensitive and anxious side from?  The last couple of years have taught me that he gained all of that - and more - from ME.  The girls at work always make me laugh, because I give the impression that I'm a hard arse......but I'm a little like Snack chocolate - A block made up of little pieces of hard chocolate, with soft centres - in a variety of flavours.  If you don't know what you're looking for, you don't know what you're going to get.  It's a pretty good comparison.  My family and closest friends know me VERY well........all others really have no idea what to expect.  I like it that way.....


---------


A couple of days ago, whilst doing my grocery shopping, I received an apology.  I burst in to tears.  The power of that one little word is HUGE.  With this apology also came a decent sized weight from my shoulders.  This community I have lived in for eight years, is soon to be a memory.  I want to leave it with good memories.  So if you're reading this - Thank You. x  

Monday Funday

A bit of Monday night random thoughts for you all.....cos I know you need it!

Please tell me I am not the only person who is regularly greeted with poo in the toilet?  You know, you innocently walk into the bathroom and go to sit on the toilet to see that the person before you has not only failed to use toilet paper, but has also failed to flush?  Do little kids just have this inept ability to "snap one off", or could it be that they have no problem walking around with poo stuck to their undies every day?

Told you it was random.....

I am taking a strange amount of joy in taping empty boxes together and filling them ONLY with stuff I am remotely interested in carting to the new house.  I am taking even MORE joy in putting a whole bunch of crap next to said boxes, preparing them to go to their new home at the OP shop!  Or bin - sssshhhhhhhhh........

I continue to be freaked out by the 13 year old MAN that is residing in my house.  It just IS NOT RIGHT that he has gone from being a little boy to a mumbling, deep-voiced, pimply and somewhat hairy human being.  It does not help that this person also thinks he can raise his voice and question every. single. thing. we. say.  Nope, not helpful at all.

I wore leggings today.  And leopard print.  Together.  I got some strange looks - I'm always in jeans or skirts - I think everyone at school pick up was confused?  Cadyn was confused - Cheetah or Leopard?

We watched an epic of a basketball game on Saturday - Chelsea's under 10 team in the grand final - coached by my husband.  They came from behind to draw and went in to double overtime.  At some stage during the last 15 minutes of the game I felt like I was going to keel over.  The Mum sitting next to me said I went white as a ghost whilst I took the "Brace" position you learn over many years of watching serious airline stewards.  Lucky for me I had lollies in my bag and powerade was rampant on the bench!  I can laugh about it now - but the serious side of this is that I have had a pathology request on the fridge for two months now.  I'm off to have my GTT test tomorrow.  Remember the two hour torture glucose test you have to have when you're pregnant?  I am *meant* to have them every two years - post gestational diabetes with all four kids.  These funny little episodes I have been experiencing for a few months now are hopefully not indicative of anything serious......cos I will seriously KILL someone if I can't eat chocolate or lollies anymore!!!!

And last but not least in this Monday mundane.  During Chelsea and my post-grand-final-loss-shopping-trip, we I came across this delightful product.....

If I were Kate Middleton/Wales, I would not be a happy Princess!

February - done and dusted

February - you have been a fabulous month!  And it's been great taking part in the Photo A Day Challenge!  But today marks the end.....

Day 27 - Something I've Eaten

 Not a hard one......I eat chocolate every.single.day.  I don't gorge myself on it, I actually have very good self control.  One to two bars of a family size block every day.  About an hour after lunch.  It gets me through the rest of the day......

Day 28 - Money

I worked today.....and had the terrible job of going to Ikea to purchase a piece of furniture for a resident.  It was such a difficult task.  All that wondering around the massive new Springvale store.  Gazing at all the shiny things.  And even the not so shiny things.  My eyes were glazed over by the time I reached the checkout.  But I showed amazing restraint, and only spent $30.98.  My husband is astounded......

Day 29 - Music I'm listening to

The kids received $200 worth of iTunes vouchers collectively over Christmas.  Crying shame.  The result of this was an influx of great new music.  Lucky for us, the 13 year old has fabulous taste in tunes.  My favourite at the moment, and the song I always start with when beginning my sewing days, is Florence and The Machine's "Shake It Out".  It gets things moving.

Tomorrow, March 2012.  WOW.  How did that happen? 

Tomorrow brings Fat Mum Slim's March Photo A Day to life.  Are you joining in?