the winter *I* chose happiness

this morning I was delighted to join the Big Hearted Business morning tea in St Kilda.

I joined with a room full of creatives to listen to what Clare Bowditch shared, and oh my, is she an inspiration.  her warmth and composure and confidence just radiates - it was like sitting in front of the sun with cup of tea for an hour.

we heard her take on making creativity work, and on overcoming the obstacles we have, that, it seems are usually in our own head.

she guided us on a little journey, inviting us to reflect on our life in 5 years, what it would look like.  I'm sure there were plenty in the room who'd gone along with clear plans on what they hoped to achieve, but for me that invitation to look to my future brought a welcome epiphany.

and with that, a commitment to express myself more here, and track my journey.

so I came home and spent the afternoon sewing, naturally.

ups and downs

I can't believe I didn't post this over a year ago when I made it, but I didn't, so there you have it.

I made this Charlie and Lola inspired snakes and ladder's quilt for miss Lo's 4th birthday.  the snakes and ladders are raw edge machine appliquéd, and the tokens are free motion machine quilted using felt.

I had masses of fun making this!

what are you waiting for?

always apathetic me, but this is a day to change.  to paraphrase some thoughts lately: it not now, then when?

I'm turning 35 this year, which means it's time to start having grown up conversations with my Dr about my family health history.  and though I consider myself a good listener, when it comes down to it I had to start *that* conversation with my mum all over again.  when I actually started to make notes I realised I didn't really understand the ins and outs of my family health history (parents and grandparents health concerns and the like).

and above all I think it's time to "man up, ladybug" and start behaving like a responsible adult - a person who is mindful with health, mindful with exercise, mindful with expenditure.  I want this to be a turning point for me  at what is (let's be realistic) is probably the halfway point of my life: a point I look back on and realise that this is the year that I got it.  the year I finally realised that NOW is the time to be healthy, NOW is the time to be fit, NOW is the time to look around at the things I have (literally and metaphorically) and be god damn grateful for every last bit of it.

none of this is profound; none of it ground breaking; nothing original.  but it's important to me, now more than ever.

what are you waiting for?

slipping back into the fray

what else to do when you feel like you're wasting your evenings already, as if the weeks are slipping by, and as if there are so many things "to do" that you just don't know where to start?

start blogging again, natch.

sinceI last wrote, I've continued to quilt (intermittently), produced a second (and also thoroughly adored) child,  built and moved into a beautiful home (ok, so I didn't exactly wield a hammer but it was still a tad stressful at times).  and back to work a coupla days a week too.  

I don't feel as if the balance is quite right but then, who ever does?  when it's near enough, I'm happy enough, and that will be fine for me.

love is...

... devoting 7 weeks of your life to support your daughter and her family as they transition to being a family of four.

a quilt made of Amy Butler Love seems an appropriate thankyou for such a gift, don't you think?

40th birthday quilt

back in November, my big sis celebrated her 40th. plans to meet in NY we scuppered as I was in the early stages of pregnancy and so I promised I'd makeher something special.

fast forward to a few weeks ago, and the promised gift had not yet been created. but her arrival in Melbourne for a fleeting visit from London was fast approaching.

I waddled around the Finders Keepers market and saw the lovely Ink and Spindle stand. I was inspired by their packs but opted to select 7 different fabrics from the FQ and other range.

3 power quilting sessions and it was finished!

the back is asymmetrical: 2/3 30s repro and 1/3 plain cream w a thin scrappy strip of the fabrics from the front.

I love the almost Japanese look of the back fabric.

my first attempt at machine binding was a relative success. I'd happily use that technique on quilts again, especially where the quilt itself has been machine quilted.

suggestions, please

my 4 year old niece has broken her arm above the elbow: any suggestions for gift/activities we can send her to keep her occupied?

what have I been up to?

in no especial order: packing to move house, breaking my foot, moving house, arranging demolition of old place, and finalising plans to build a new house. oh, and gestating our second child. that's tiring enough. I'm 23 weeks along, and looking forward to meeting "Pip" at the end of June.

Baby-Lo starts 5 hour kindy session on friday which I'm hoping will afford me some uninterrupted craft time. I can't wait!

a conversation...

todd-lo: "the fairies spoke to me"
me: "really, what did they say?"
todd-lo: "they said you should bring me some treats"

she not only knows the system, she rorts it.

5 weeks after the fact...

and I have some delicious stash to show for it. SD gave me, amoung other things, a voucher for Tessuti. that man really does know the way to my heart.

I bought 4m of Liberty Tana lawns (I'll link, rather than be naughty and borrow the pictures - trust me, it's worth clicking to see them!):

Willow Tree Grey
Isla Rose Charcoal
Daisy Pop Grey
Crysanthemum Black/Silver

(there's a theme in there, isn't there?)

I have no especial plans for them, though am contemplating starting a stash of grey lawns/voiles to make a summer weight quilt for our bed. yes: contemplating the second one, prior to completing the planned linen blend one that I've got on the cards. (the fabrics for which I proudly showed off at MQG last month).

more making

See - I do sew and craft. Sometimes.

this is a tried and true pattern - the 2 + 2 blouse from oliver + s

I simply adore these patterns: really easy to follow, so adaptable, and every time I do another one I learn a new technique. Time to whip out some of the others in my stash to extend my skills, I think.

the main fabric I bought from spotlight approximately forever ago - I love it because it reminds me of a Hundertwasser print. the purple trim I'd bought as a dodgy FQ from spotlight for $2.50. I'm not sure it's the best match, but really just wanted to whip it up from fabric I had to hand.

when

when you've struggled to find balance, and you finally do
when you've worried you might never find yourself again, and then you appear
when you've feared that what was the most magical thing in your life has been buried, and it hasn't
when you've found your feet as a mother, lover, friend and daughter:

could you contemplate risking it all again?

WIP for baby-Lo's new room

Here's an overdue shot of a WIP for baby-Lo's room.

when I bought the kit from Amitie at a quilt show last year I intended to whip it up, and have it machine quilted, having never made one before. after practising on the "shirt quilt", I considered quilting by hand.

so I embarked on the couch-quilt to pratice with perle 8s, as I'd not done any handquilting before.

having finished that, I'm now fairly much back in the "professional machine quilting" camp AGAIN! I just want this done - tomorrow. so hopefully I'll be packing it and baby-Lo in the car and trekking to Amitie to book it in. (my local joint and the one machine quilter I spoke to are both taking bookings for end of July, and I just want it DONE!). Enough vacillating...

In the washup

I'm sure there are thorough run downs of SIT 2010 around the traps, so let me just say: I LOVED IT!

This snap shows all the bootie in the "showbag"

Clockwise from left: Thea and Sami wire coat hanger cover kit, Sew it Together manual and stash-bag, bamboo needles from Craft Junk, Lark green journal, customised Moleskin from Cass, Ricrac fabric teaset pattern (swapped for robots with Leah), fabric sampler pack from Oz Material Girls, Retromummy handpieced hexagon sampler (front), and finally a covered button sampler pack from Jackobindi!

Phew - and if that wasn't enough, I also scored this wicked door prize from the ladies at Craft Junk. Any beady eyed readers will notice an additional 2 bamboo crochet hooks, plus a circular bamboo needle. That's because the super friendly ladies at Craft Junk realised that I'm keen to learn how to crochet, so slipped some extras in! Talk about lucky lucky me...

I can't wait to try the hand-dyed wool. It's a Bendigo knitting mills, and I believe was hand-dyed specifically to co-ordinate with the colours of SIT 2010. How cool is that?

Here's another snap of the now finished couch-quilt, and the cushion I whipped up to match (backed in the same organic Tessuti denim as the others).

and the fabric request? I *think* it's a Michael Miller - I'll try to find out and update!

ETA: it's NOT Michael Miller - it's Alexander Henry Veronique fabric

feathering our nest

I've finally, finally, made the cushions I planned at last year's Stitches and Craft show. They are all backed in a beautiful Organic denim from Tessuti. It wasn't the plan to be so extravagent, but I'd bought 5m of it almost a year ago for something "special". and I decided that the beautiful Australian printed linen was definitely "special" enough!

This is winter nest by Kristen Doran - I think I bought this from Kelani at the S&C show last year. Others by Kristen available here.

This I bought from Kelani fabrics, and it's birch by Lara Cameron, also available here. I've also go this in the charcoal on black colour way, which I'm stashing to make a quilt for our bedroom.

This is the quilt I've made to go with them on the couch - not matchy, just co-ordinating which is just the way I like it (unfinished binding hiding in this shot)

And here's the group - you can see the denim which backs them all. the other two cushions are rectangular. One features a strip of birch overlaid on plain linen (which backs the quilt), the other you can glimps I quilted to work in with the border on the quilt.

I'm really pleased with how they look, and how the work in with the couch-quilt (that is nearly finished too - unfinished binding hiding in the photo).

And in other exciting (for me) news - I'm delighted to have won a competition on Able Mae! 'ray!

My stacked coins quilt for our nephew

So I claim to be a sometimes crafter, but you'd never tell!

Here are some pics of my 2nd quilt project, washed and dryed and ready to post to our newborn nephew. Super crinkly - but I quite like that.

This shows it folded, ready to send. Admire the clever herringbone machine quilting pattern: it's puckering because I pulled the backing fabric too tight before basting. We live and learn. I alternated the direction of the stitching, so it does kind of look like it was on purpose (or "a dolphin" as we say at home).

This shows the backing - I loved the chocolate polkadots, and thought they worked nicely to balance all the green and duckegg blue.

And here you can see most of the front. I wanted a casual modern look, and I think the narrow quilted "stripes" achieve that well.

The patterned fabric came from Busy Thimbles - Cherish Nature charm pack. I fell for the egg and butterfly motif, and I'm really happy that the colours are classic with a modern twist.

The charm squares made it a really straight forward project, and removed the risk I felt in having to cut accurately.

Backing and plain fabric from my local patchwork shop. Batting is 100% cotton, so it's not too hot for a littley living in WA.

My SIL says she loves it, which is lovely and I was delighted to find that the duckegg blue was a colour she'd picked for the baby's nursery! Smiles all round.

Woops ahoy

So in other hilarities (posting blank updates included) I've just this minute discovered via http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2010/04/call-me-elastic-woman.html that Stitches and Craft is in Caulfield this year. Was it last year? I thought it was the showgrounds in Flemington, and so had happily volunteered to work 3 of the 4 days.

I thought it was an easy 7 minute drive from home. Not so. Au contraire: it's more like a 50 minute drive. Bother, said Pooh.

Getting back in the saddle

Complainication

I've been thinking, lately, about the way I communicate. That feeling I get when I feel someone really understands me, or the frustration I feel when I'm just not heard.

People are quick to boast "I don't complain", as if it really is something to be proud of. But to me, not complaining means not communicating and nothing good comes from not communicating.

If you go into a shop, and the shop assistant ignores you, treats you poorly or otherwise leaves you feeling pissed - then complain. If you don't, then the situation won't change - they'll treat another customer the same way, oblivious to the mistake they're repeating. When you complainicate, you give them the opportunity to change and you give them space to improve.

The same is true in our personal relationships. If you never complain when your partner leaves their towel on the floor, then they will never understand how much it irritates you, and they'll have no idea why you suddenly go postal after 15 years of it.

A few times recently, I've been reminded how important complainication is: SD and I are both tired, and stressed and worried. But until 2 weeks ago we both carried that stress for ourselves. We both worried about the highs and lows we felt in caring for our little lady, and both felt terrified about what that meant about our own state of mind.

Once we actually started to talk to one another, that fear was shared - shared in both the sense of balancing the load, and in the sense of being "heard".

All to often we carry our fears, complaints and worries alone. We say we're protecting those who care about us from the burden of our worries. We say we're "not complaining" as if that implies we're coping fine.

I disagree - bring on the complaints! Share your worries and fears. Acknowledge that you feel angry, scared, tired or stressed. Tell someone - complainicate. Trust me - you'll feel better when you do.

I want to talk...

baby-lo isn't a baby - before my eyes she's become a togla. ar a toddler. whatev. I should call her "lo" now instead.

a few times in the last week I've been faced with a situation which leaves me thinking. lo is busy learning news things and starting to assert her independence. the things I say and do will establish the ground rules for our interactions, and will really define the way I parent.

it's got me wondering what kind of parent I want to be, what is important to me, and how can super-dad and I ensure we develop consistency in our approach to parenting?

here's some examples:

1. on sunday, bl carefully pushed a stool over to the toybox in front of the tele and used it as a prop to clamber onto the toybox and reach a doll on the top of the tele


2. on monday while visiting a friend, bl was presented with a plate of sliced fruit. she wasn't interested in eating it and so tipped the plate over

so they're totally different instances, but for they've started me thinking about parenting philosophies and encouraging positive behaviour in toglas.

in situation 1, the most important issue is safety. but in some ways I applaud her ingenuity. I don't want to just say "naughty girl" when she's being inventive, not bad. I said "well done - great climbing. mummy doesn't want you so close to the tele though darling - let's put the stool in another room". but I don't want to encourage potentially dangerous climbing.

in situation 2, I was acutely aware we were at someone's house and I really felt like I was on display as a mum. I said "let's keep the food on the plate. if you don't want any, I can put it away". and yet I don't want to become an ineffectual mother who brushes aside delinquent behaviours as all being "cute". having said that, in that instance I don't think bl was being intentionally destructive - so it's not a strict discipline thing either.

lot's of book blurbs I've read talk about discipline which makes me a bit uncomfortable. I think there have to be ways to encourage positive social behaviours while still making clear boundaries. I'm conscious too, that consistency in approach will be crucial.

I worry about the messages children hear when we label them as naughty or nice, good or bad. I feel really uncomfortable when I hear parents talking about their child in negative ways - especially within earshot. I cringe when I hear parents describe children as difficult, high maintenance or highly strung.

praps I'm coming to this later than other mums, almost certainly I'm over thinking it. what do you do to encourage positive behaviours, and how do you respond to inappropriate ones? is there a book or philopsophy or mantra that you follow?