Happy New Year - Reflections on 2014

Welcome to 2015!  Crazy isn't it?  I feel like last year went past in a blur and I'm left sitting here, in the first week of January, wondering what happened?  I did sit down before Christmas and update my Quilting Projects for 2014 page on the blog, so if you want to see the 18 quilts and some of the other goodies I made, head over HERE.

We have had a lovely break over Christmas, heading up to The Murray River for five days of relaxation with friends...

Yarrawonga at dusk.

The Murray at work.....

I spent a fair bit of time lately wondering where I was going to let 2015 take me?  Because I feel like 2014 was quite crazy, and I didn't plan things well, and I guess that's how I ended up stressed out and somehow contracting the RASH FROM HELL!  In the lead up to the skin virus, I'd had cysts on my eye, mouth full of ulcers and was literally just run down.  I am making a concerted effort NOT to let life get the better of me this year, starting with looking after myself.  This began with lovely 10km walks with one of my best friends whilst on holidays, and I'm happy to say, has continued since returning home - with daily 6km walks around our local area.  I've also started taking a bunch of vitamins and supplements too.  Which I suck at remembering to do, but am trying!

I turned my sewing machine on a couple of days ago, for the first time since just before Christmas.  I had my December bee block to get done, and was happy to tick that off my remaining things to do.  But as I sat in my little sewing room, I wondered what to do next?  I have so much "stuff" in that room - fabric, notions, wip's, finished quilts, blah blah blah.  And it's all a little overwhelming.  I've said before that I am not a "list" kind of girl, but I'm thinking I really need to write down what I want to achieve.  I read Angie's Must Make List for 2015 yesterday, and felt compelled to make one for myself.  But still haven't!

So, where does that leave me?  Lots of babbling and no real plan.  My quilty new year's resolution (which I shared in the current issue of Make Modern magazine) is to slow down.  Stop rushing around, and rushing in to projects.  This is easier said than done - for me - as it's how I naturally go about life.  But these are just a few things I've signed up for this year, and have plans to do.....

**  Artistic Licence Bee with Melbourne MQG (January is my month!)

**  Aussie Charm Swaps - I hope to run at least four this year.  The first one is in planning stages,   and I've opened a FB Group for all interested.  So if you're an Aussie or Kiwi, feel free to join.

**  Hazel Hedgehog QAL with Gnome Angel

**  Charm Dash Blog Hop - Coming in March, so get our your charm packs!

**  Write up pattern for Confetti Cannon and decide how/where to publish/sell it

**  The Bee Hive with Blossom Heart Quilts - Get all the details HERE.  My month is November!

**  Make 3 more 40th quilts for my BFF's - and maybe fit one in for myself!

**  Continue writing my column for Make Modern magazine

On top of all of the above, I have a few custom order quilts already being planned and would really like to build my Aurifil business up.

Phew.  I guess I've just started a list!?!

Right.  Back to sewing.  I've just pulled this out of my WIP pile.....

It is my favourite WIP from 2014, and I want to get it finished.  So that's my starting point for this year.....wish me luck!

Fiji - A Review of Sorts!

A little over a week ago, I was sitting in a hammock, reading a great book and listening to the sound of gentle waves lapping at the shore.  The only thing that could remotely annoy me were the ever present "mozzies", but even they were easily tamed with some local insect repellant.  My husband and I had seven whole days of peace and tranquility.  We had relaxation overload.  We met new friends and learnt a lot about different cultures.  It was an experience that I shall never forget, and one that I would most eagerly repeat, time and time again.  Our "honeymoon" we had waited almost ten years for, was amazing.  So here is my "sharing is caring" post - and a review of sorts - if only to get you all to visit this little peace of heaven!  Enjoy....

Leaving Melbourne at 2am was never going to be ideal, and try as I may, I could not get a wink of sleep!  So we landed in Nadi a bit worse for wear.  Greeted by a lovely driver, we jumped in his car and took a delightful slightly hair raising two and a half hour drive up the coast.  From there, it was a 30 minute boat ride, across the seas to a little island called Beqa.  And on that island was our destination - Lalati Resort & Spa.  Thankfully, we had these beautiful coconut drinks and a foot massage to greet us!  Oh, and singing and smiles from the local staff. 

This was the view from our room.  Literally steps away from the beach.  The sound at night, of the gentle high tide waves, was beautiful.

Looking out to the jetty from the social hub of the resort.  When I say social, I mean it's here that you can sit around with any or all of the other 16 guests.  Yep, the most guests at this resort at any one time is 18.  And I think that's what makes it so. damn. special.  Oh, and the fact there's no children - which was perfect for all the honeymooners and late honeymooners like ourselves!  You can slip in to the water from the jetty and snorkle to your heart's content.  We saw so many beautiful fish there and amazing big blue starfish!

My husband - just hanging around.

Some of the wonderful staff - Ollie, Josiah and Chantal.  They all live in surrounding villages on the island.  And they were all gorgeous souls!  Josiah was most impressed that I could upload a photo for him to Facebook - so he now has a profile pic!

On our fifth day, Josiah took us on a visit to his village - Lalati village.  It's only a five minute walk from the resort, but it was like stepping back a bit in time.  EVERYONE wore a smile.  And the kids were just divine!  We all had a hoot taking photos, singing and dancing.  Unforgettable.

And on this visit, we took a look inside their church.  Fijians are quite a religious bunch, with churches in each village.  This gorgeous little piece of handwork was inside, so I had to get a photo!

This is me with Captain Josiah after I'd been snorkelling.  We took a boat trip out to the middle of the ocean and were dropped on to the reefs.  To say I was shitting myself would be an understatement, but I sucked it up and relaxed.  It paid off.  We saw reef sharks and amazing fish.  The coral was beautiful.

And this is us with a local firewalker.  Yep, these fellas are known for their ability to walk on hot rocks that have been burning for seven hours.  Not even a flinch!

Excuse the grainy photo from my iphone, but this little cherub kept me company during a Kava drinking and dancing ceremony in the village! We had lots of fun taking photos!

There was no escaping patchwork for me!  This darling skirt was offered to me to wear when we went on a hike up a mountain to a beautiful waterfall.  We had to walk through another village to get there, and the local women do not wear pants, only skirts, so to show our respect, we had to wear skirts over our pants whilst walking through.  Certainly doesn't go with my runners!

And this my friends?  This is a photo of two extremely relaxed and re-juvinated human beings!  I took it just before we departed the island and headed back to the mainland.

I left Lalati with more than I came with.  Not in terms of possessions, but my heart was full.  The people I met and the places we visited just re-itereated to me how bloody lucky I am.  And how much "stuff" we have.  We left some of our stuff over there.  Basically because they needed it more than we do.  I wish I could have had the foresight to have taken lots more with us.

So there you have it.  A destination that I would strongly suggest you all get to one day!  

Have you been on a holiday lately?  Where would you suggest we dream of going to next?

Sweating my way to Health

Yesterday, I finally took the plunge and committed to doing a Bikram Yoga class.  I took the commitment one step further, and posted on Facebook my intention, so that I could not back out of it, and would have to answer to lots of people if I did!  Including the instructor, whom I happen to be friends with.  For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, here's the dictionary.com explanation.....

This would also be classed as the 

BIGGEST UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY.  

I leapt crawled out of bed at 6.40am and dragged on some of my gym gear from years gone by.  Put a couple of extra layers on because I knew I would freeze my arse off.  Jumped in the car and made the 20 minute drive to get to a 7.30 class on time.

Was greeted by the lovely Mish (instructor) who was impressed to see I had kept my word and actually turned up.  She gave me some quick instructions and directed me in to the class room.

BANG - smacked in the face by the 39 degree heatwave.  And fear.

Took my place at the back of the room, and was pleased to see that I was joined by another first timer - Matthew - who was a rather "burly" looking bloke, who had a strange look of fear on his face also...

Next thing i knew, it was show time!  I somehow managed to remember to breath, and managed to get through the first few poses (DON'T think Madonna).  Then my body starting reacting to numerous factors:  

1.  It was early morning and I had not eaten breakfast - I am a creature of habit and usually eat as soon as I wake up.

2.  I had clearly not drunk even close to enough fluids yesterday to have any sort of decent hydration.

3.  I was just a widdle widdle bit out of my depth!

But I DID soldier on.  Whenever I felt the need to pass out, I just quietly slid to the floor and sat for a minute.  Whenever I felt the need to throw up, I just quietly slid to the floor and sat for a minute.  Paints a pretty picture yes?

Ninety minutes later -  I was done.  I survived.  And I felt pretty bloody proud of myself!!  I looked over to my new mate Matthew and said if I could actually move I would hi-five him.  He retorted that he would cut his hand off and throw it in my direction....

I have thought about doing Bikram Yoga for a few years now.  Have spoken to a few people about it, but never got the feeling it was something I wouldn't be able to manage.  Now that I have conquered that first class, I know what will work better for me next time.  I know, I know - I'm a nut bag for even talking about the next time...

Next time, I will go to a day time or evening class - when I have had plenty of energy food throughout the day and plenty of fluids.  And next time, I will be better prepared - mentally.  Because I will know what to expect.

Why am I doing this?  Well, the medication I was prescribed by my lovely neurologist, to help my daily headaches and regular migraines, worked wonders.  BUT (pardon the pun) it also helped to increase the size of my arse.  So I am trying to find a better, healthier option to managing and hopefully eliminating the pain that is my head.  Fingers crossed that all the pain I am going to put myself through, sweating like mad, will be beneficial for not only my head, but everywhere else!

Have you done Bikram Yoga?  Have I convinced you that it could be a good thing?

And We've Only Just Begun.....

The Brown House.  That is the best description I have for it at present.  Brown.  Really brown.  But we have a vision.  Sort of.  It's a bit of a blurred vision right now, but I'm hoping my little exercise book filling up with notes will soon make it clearer.

I have a gazillion more photos of our new home, but am too scared to look too closely, for fear of running!  This little big beauty is most definitely a work in progress.  It's going to take a whole lot of hard work and hard earned money to get it to look the way we want it to, but I'm shitting myself quietly OK with that.

You see - this big brown house is where my husband was brought home to after he left the hospital.  Back in 1979.  This is his childhood home.  Last year sometime, he suggested that when his Mum was ready to downsize (she has been living here by herself for quite a while now) it would be the perfect sized home for us and our tribe, and perhaps we should think about purchasing it?  He left the thinking up to me.  SO I thought long and hard about it.  And after about a week, I told him I agreed.  This humungous house was pretty much perfect for us.  Except of course for the carpet, painting, tiles, gates, doors, decking yadda yadda yadda......

Soooooooo............as we begin this journey into home renovation - bare with me!!  This is not my first rodeo renovation, my past life ended at the final stages of an extension.  My plan is to have THIS marriage outlast THIS house!  I will more than likely be committed at some stage, and will require you to tell me that it will all work out.  Please.  Thank you.

Am I crazy?  Do you have any tips for getting through a rather large renovation?

Tree Change?

 I have just spent the weekend in a beautiful part of our country - Myrtleford.  Ok, I had to spend eight hours in the car to get there and back, but gees - it was worth it.  Just as we were heading in to this lovely little town, I decided I should get out my iPhone and start snapping some pictures.  The Autumn leaves reminded me of the trip I made as a teenager from the Gold Coast to Melbourne, and how stunned I was to see REAL LIFE Autumn leaves for the first time!  Queenslander's may have beautiful weather, but they miss out on one of nature's glorious shows.

Please don't judge me on the squashed bugs, as these were obviously taken through the car windscreen!

Whoops....these are my travelling jeans getting in the picture!

Why did we spend four hours in the car on this beautiful day I hear you ask?  Well, it was one of my dearest friend's 40th birthday party - so it was a Road Trip!  Danni had spoken of the beauty of her new little town, and how much she loved it.  To be perfectly honest, I think we were all astonished that our uber-fashionable friend, who was most at home in her Sass & Bide, would be content with her "Tree Change", but after seeing her gorgeous new home and the amazing surrounds, I can sort of understand.

Driving in to her street....

The little piggy pen

So freakin cute!

Amazing backyard view!

The Little House on the Prairie

You can sort of understand too now?

When the invitation came through for the big bash, I looked at the list of accommodation in town, and got straight on to Stayz.com.au and booked this darling pad - The Old Dairy.

Located on the main street, this converted dairy building is now a beautifully decorated three bedroom abode.  Perfect for the five of us who had shacked up together.

Divine little courtyard that caught the sunshine perfectly at dusk.

Stunning

And just for laughs....the ceiling fan that does not require blades.....interesting.

Conveniently positioned bakery across the road - great coffee I've been told!  Another random fact about me - I don't drink coffee!

Me & My Gal Pals!

So - that is Myrtleford!  We will definitely be back - but next time it will be with the tribe, and we'll go exploring in them there hills!  We won't be making a tree change anytime soon......but in exciting news - we had our home loan approved last week!  And we have a house lined up!  And now the hard work begins - renovations!

Would you, could you make a Tree Change?  Or are you more of a Sea Changer??

Husband Love

Still school holidays here.  And Winter has struck.....which in turn means everyone will inevitably get cabin fever.  My darling husband came up with the idea of taking the kids ALL THE WAY over the other side of the city to visit him at his new work place, and go out for lunch.  So, seeing as though there were only two available days left to do this, yesterday, I packed the kids up (and if we weren't meeting him for lunch, we would have needed to pack one) and prepared them for the trip - To visit Daddy!

Forty-five minutes of mind-numbing freeway later, and ending up in the middle of no-frickin-where, we arrived at his work.  He really was not joking when he told me he worked in the middle of a paddock!  You are probably wondering what on earth he does for a job?  Or couldn't care less? He's in logistics.  

***crickets***

Logistics - the storing and moving of shit from one place to another.

He runs a whole big mother-trucking warehouse where said logistics take place.  He's the Boss.  The head honcho. The big cheese.....

Anyway.  I digress.  The visit was successful.  The kids surely think the warehouse is a gigantic version of hide and seek, and are impressed that Dad has his own kick-ass office, where he gets to boss people around all day.  They left him something to remember their visit.....

The main point of this post, cos I know you're wondering, is to profess my gratefulness to thy husband.  Although he has always worked a fair drive from home (he actually drives that freeway in peak hour both ways!), it was not until yesterday that I fully appreciated just how much time he spends commuting.  To make a living.  For us.

On occasion, I have been known to bitch chat about how much I do for the family.  All the running around, the cooking, cleaning, washing, washing and washing, as well as my own part time job.  And as much as it irks me at times, I would not change a damn thing.  

Tonight, I'm sending out some special Husband Love.  Thank you dear husband for sucking it up each and every day, and getting the job done! Bravo!

Have you ever taken the time to thank your other half for all they do?  Or are you the other half and do you ever get thanks?

Disclaimer...........Don't get me wrong - I'll still tell him he should bow down to me for everything I do - maybe just not so often....

Crickets

This parenthood journey is a wild one.  I find myself going from one emotional point to another, in a matter of moments.  Yesterday I was lamenting over the loss of control, now my biggest boy is a teenager.  Today I find myself in a strange place.  Home alone.

Chloe hasn't been 100% the last couple of days, and given she still had a super high temperature at 4pm yesterday, I called my boss and asked her to fill my shift for today, as it's just too hard to get someone to come in for a shift at 8am if given no notice!  As per "Murphy's Law", Chloe woke up bright as a button this morning - temperature long gone and she was keen to go to creche.  So I did the usual school run and then dropped Chloe off to her "school".

Quickly stopped in to the shops to grab a couple of things, a girlfriend popped in for a long overdue coffee (I can offer REAL coffee to friends now we have a machine!), and then SILENCE.  I was sitting here at the computer listening.  To nothing.  No tv, no music, no Dora.  Nothing.

Silence is deafening....

It was then, the realisation hit, that this would be the norm in a couple of years.  Chloe will be off to Kindergarten next year, and then school.  And I will be childless five days a week.  For the first time in over 15 years!  This realisation put me in a little bit of a panic.  Strange - I know.  But after pottering around and doing a bit of cleaning, washing the dog and eating some lunch - I had nothing to do.  Again - strange.

What do Mums do with themselves, five days a week, when there are no kids at home?  Will I put Nick Jnr on the tv to keep me company?  Will I start asking myself "what have you been doing all day"?  Please don't tell me I'm going to have to go back to full time work again?

Day 15 - Phone
The rather lonely and not used much home phone.  I honestly don't know why we have one?

Pin Cushion Swap

Something I never thought I would be a part of!  Considering I only really took up sewing again a year ago, I'm constantly amazed at how much I WANT to sew.....and how much I WANT to make new things!  And this last week, I have made my very first, and second, pin cushion!

Lovely little flower from Penilla's Journey!

I wasn't entirely happy with my first attempt - only because I think I should have used more contrasting fabrics.  And then I remembered I had a gorgeous off-cut of the green elephants! So this is what 

came of that:

I'm so pleased I got another yard of this yummy fabric, it's patiently waiting for me to make Ms Chloe a Summer frock!

I have contributed the lovely elephant cushion to a pin cushion swap going on over at Oopsidaisi!  There are so many A-mazing pin cushions - some people are so damn talented!  Anywho....today whilst I was at Spotlight.....I accidentally bought some pretty felt!  Have never used it before, so I'm ready to get creative, and make myself something lurvely!

And just on a side-note......look what arrived at my house today:

This is how the lovely Jewel send her parcels - so pretty!

And this is my new stash ready for more pretty girl goodness!

That's it for tonight - off to bed!

Repeat Business

Whilst undertaking the mammoth task of cutting out 30 yards of fabric yesterday, it gave me time to reflect on the past few months of being Ms Midge....

Since I did the Market two weeks ago, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of wonderful feedback, incoming orders and general excitement from friends and family who have been following my little business.  But most of all, I have been pleased to receive repeat business!  This has boosted my confidence and made me believe that what I am doing is worth it.  I know I'm no rocket scientist and I'm not changing the world, but I can now say that I am providing little ones with quality, unique little pieces of clothing!

The main comments I have received are about the fabric choices I have made.  Both collections of fabrics I have used - Spring Birds and Journey - are prints that you just don't see anywhere else, and that was my aim from the outset.  As much as I love the whimsical little prints you can buy in bulk from our stores here in Australia, you just don't find the originality that I love about the prints I can find overseas.  And you see, that's where this little "journey" of mine is opening up all sorts of "cans of worms"!

Why, oh why, was it so hard for me to track down the first lot of fabrics I found?  Why did I have to go to the States to buy it?  Well, because it just isn't here! Sooooo, as my mind does, it starts to boggle.......and now, my husband and I have been wondering whether it would be the logical thing to do, to bring in larger quantities of these divine fabrics, so that the wider Aussie community of fabric worshippers could have easier access to them?  Still pondering this, but I'm sure I will keep you posted!

What do you think?  If I were to do a bit more investigating, would it be worth my while?

Delivery!

 Yesterday morning brought an oh-so-familiar tap on my door - the delivery man!  I thought I had marked my much anticipated parcel to be posted to my work address, so was a little curious as to what he had for me - until I saw the box.  My latest purchase of fabrics had arrived.  30 yards of pure happiness!  Julie over at http://intrepidthread.blogspot.com/  has me mesmerised by her delicious array of fabrics, and it took me quite some time to decide on this latest collection.  I think I did pretty well with my choice - certainly like no other fabrics I have ever seen.

I already had a pre-order from a couple of prints, so I got to work yesterday, and by 10pm had this to show:



Beautiful pink elephants for a lucky little girl



And amazing purple parrots for another lucky girl!

I have called this the "Journey Collection".  Matching these prints is already proving to be quite tricky.  The designs, colour pallettes and the way the patterns run are going to make life very interesting for the next couple of weeks leading up to my next Market!  But I am happy with the first two frocks - what do you think?