A Trip to the Farm

The last time we were at the farm in January it rained. It rained again this week when we arrived and I don't think it had rained in between. I think Dad will probably want us to visit again soon and bring the rain.
The countryside was so dry the whole trip so I am glad that some people had some rain. Not as glad as the girls who spent most of the morning jumping in the puddles in their new gumboots which quickly disappeared as the ground was so dry.

They also loved seeing their cousin, aunt and uncle.
My Uncle Bruce was also over visiting and we had a great walk around the farm.
Now I am back in the sewing room. It is nearly the end of the school holidays so I am making the most of having Chris at home and getting some sewing finished while I can.

The Something is a Koala

I finished him last night. Louie the Koala.

Something New

Something new I am trying, hopefully there will be a picture of it finished tomorrow.

A trip to Perth

It has only been a week since my last post and it feels like so much longer, maybe because a trip to Perth with the girls has aged me so much. I felt like I was 100 yesterday when we returned home. They had good moments, but the bad moments were awful. We lasted half an hour shopping with them and we took them to the zoo which started well, but both ended really badly with a lot of people staring at our screaming children.
Before it turned bad I did get to see some animals and get inspiration for new toys. Unfortunately I didn't get to see some Australian animals - the quokkas and numbats weren't being too coperative, but I did see some wombats, penguins, giraffes, elephants and more before it went bad. I've included the nice photos of the girls at the start of the day.

We did get to spend some time with Chris' family while the girls were really pleasant and the girls has a great time. Chris' Mum has been doing some cleaning and sorting and I got to take home some gorgeous old Carlton Ware and some other gorgeous stuff which is really pretty. I really love to have gorgeous stuff like this around will connect the girls in some way to their grandparents and great-grandparents. One of my favourite pieces I have is a small cup and saucer than my great-grandmother received in her Christmas stocking when she was about 10.

Now I think it is time to face the piles of washing and find some floor space in our house.

Felt Monster

I found a piece of felt I made last year. My first ever try at felting and its shows. It is really thick and not that felted.
I thought I'd try to make a little monster out of it. It is not showing up very well in the photo, but the eyes and mouth are embroidered on and there are a few embroidered squiggles. The girls seem to love him despite his myriad of imperfections.

More Felt

I did have plans to make something with my last piece of felt, but instead I had the urge to make some more. I am using wool tops from Treetops and it makes the softest felt ever.
Felting seems to be easier than sewing at the moment as the girls can help. There are no pins on the floor or sharp scissors. The girls like to play with their cars around me and then help roll a few times and then some more play. I do have plans for the felt I just have to bring myself to cut into it.

Bags and Felt

It was a weekend of bags. I finally cut into some more of the vintage fabric stash I have. The back one is for me and the first two are for the shop. Choosing which one to keep was a really tough choice, although I know I have some more fabric so maybe I'll end up with one of each eventually.
I went for a really pleasant bruch yesterday without the girls. You forget how nice it is to eat and how much easier it is to have a conversation without them. Somehow the conversation inspired me to have another go at felting. It was not as difficult as I remembered and quite fun so I think the girls and I might do a bit more of it this week. Hopefully this piece of felt will become something tonight.

Hot Choc Buns

These may look like little rock cakes, but they are actually yummy Hot Choc Buns. I really don't like sultanas, I'll eat them in fruit toast and Hot Cross Buns (and sometimes I won't depending on my mood), but that is it. So this year I made Hot Choc Buns, same recipe, but no candied peel or sultanas and no crosses. I think they may have looked a bit better with a glaze.
Amelia didn't seem to mind what they looked like.
Grace ate some in between jumping on the bed and doing some Grease Lightning dancing.

Finished Softies

We have had the most perfect autumn weekend here. The weather is beautiful. Mum has been up helping for the weekend so Chris and I went out last night without the girls. We were still home about 10.30, but we had a great time and it was so nice to be out doing something different.
The girls had their appointment with the speech therapist on Friday. I had been dreading it a bit, but everything seems to be ok. They were referred about 5 months ago as they were not talking that much and it took this long to get an appointment. I think they were worried that they were talking a lot to each other and they were understanding each other, therefore they really didn't have to speak a lot of English. It seems to be all right though, they have really improved in that time, they still talk in their own way to each other, but their English has improved.
Mum is out in the garden and the girls and Chris have gone to get ice-cream so I have an hour to finish some sewing.
Here are some echidnas, wombats, a giraffe and pigs I have finished in the last week or two.

Sock Bag

I really needed a little bag for my socks, big enough for my dpns and for 2 balls or wool. This is what I came up with. Pencil case style but with a tote like bottom so it can stand up. It is a pretty rough first go I was only able to snatch a few minutes here and there yesterday, but I'm pretty happy with the size and design.

Here is a peak at what is in the bag. Embossed Leaves Sock from Interweave Knits in Koigu. I really hope I have enough wool. I've crossed my fingers.

Embroidery

Not a lot happening here this week - little bits of sewing, lots of loud playing, the girls have taken up drumming with anything they can get hold of, a little bit of knitting, walking and a little cooking.
Here are some fabulous images from a great 70s embroidery book/leaflet called Cushions for all Seasons by Coats Sewing.

I am so glad I managed to get some of these fantatstic cards from Tiel!

Scarf

I finally finished a scarf for my sister, I had started making a shawl, but that ended badly and Kidsilk Haze is not to be messed with. I love this stuff, it is so soft, but I'm not sure I like knitting with it and when you make a mistake you just want to cry. So a scarf it ended up being, based on the one in Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

Turning Two

I think I have nearly recovered from the weekend and the house is nearly back in order. It was a bit warmer here than I thought it would be and combined with a lot of coloured icing it( there was some healthier food too) created a bit of chaos by the end.
Amelia insisted on wearing all her new hair clips and Grace's too, the first time she has ever kept them in. Grace excelled at present openeing by the end of the day.
It is hard to believe that two years ago they were this tiny.

More Sewing

I have been trying to clean up and get rid of some piles of sewing around here as Chris' Mum is coming to stay and she needs somewhere to sleep so I finished this bag and some platypuses. I have had this vintage canvas for over a year and could not bring myself to cut into it, but finally did as I know there is some more left for a bag for me. This one is in the shop and the platypuses will be there too.
Now I need to go and clean the rest of the house and somehow organise a birthday party for the girls for tomorrow. I can't believe they will be two!

Echidna

Poor Chris has been sick all week with tonsillitis, so the girls and I have tried to be very quiet. No, I have tried to be quiet and keep the girls quiet, so they have been allowed to watch a little more Wiggles than usual and I can see Wiggle withdrawal coming on - which is not a pretty thing.
A new echidna, this time in pillow form. Managed to finish it yesterday while the girls were napping.

Petula the Pig Pillow

The girls are still obsessed with pigs and it being the year of the pig I thought I'd make a new one. This is a kind of shabby chic pig pillow - very cuddly. I think I see an echidna pillow happening today.

Toys for Your Delight

I thought I'd share some pictures from a book I found recently called Toys for Your Delight. It's not a great pattern book, but has wonderful embroidery ideas for decorating toys.


I thought I'd also share a great project with you. My friend Emma has recently started a project trying to make 1000 fairy ducks to send to Africa. Check it out here.

Orange

Why is it the more I seem to clean the more I seem to make little piles of things to do? And why does there seem to be orange in every pile? It seems to be my favourite colour at the moment and it seems to go with everything, although I'm not going to start wearing it, the one thing it doesn't go with is my skin.

A couple of finished things from this week, another alien/giraffe.
A bag from some very cool canvas I found at Spotlight last week.

Fixing sewing machines

I finished the dress/smocks/tops yesterday. Typically the test buttonhole was perfect and then somehow the first one on the dress messed up. So no dress close ups. The girls weren't in the mood to be photographed yesterday afternoon. Amelia is wearing the pink and Grace is wearing the blue and green one I made from a thrifted old sheet which unfortunately didn't get softer with age.

I think both my sewing machines need a service. I managed to fix the tension on one yesterday after reading this article. I know though it will be so much better once it has a proper clean out. I know that they will be gone for a couple of weeks so that is why I have two machines, one can go now and one can go when the other comes back.

Smock Tops

I think the girls will be wearing a lot of smock/tops/dresses this winter. I love the idea of making something that can be worn as a dress and as they grow it can be worn as a top or over shirts depending on the weather. Thanks to a friend Emma for this inspiration.

Here is my first one, sans buttons. I always get stressed about buttonholes and put them off. I'm telling myself I am really waiting to get a few more done and then I'll do all the buttonholes together. This is made from an Ikea pillowslip in hideously bright pink and red. I love it.

My Aunty Irene made these wonderful quilts for the girls when they were born and the girls just love them. The back of them is minkee dot and the girls love to read and play wrapped in them. It doesn't really matter to them that it has been hot all week.

Minifashionista

Minifashionista has opened and you can find these creatures and dolls there. I just love the twins/multiples section, such a good idea.

Yummy Yarn

It's going to be another really hot day today, it seems funny knowing that as I sit here in a jumper, but I guess that is March for you. We had a pretty relaxing Sunday - can't say the same for Saturday, we went to Bunbury and freakily enough had as much fun as Amanda did. I am just really glad I didn't go by myself earlier in the week like I was going to.
I did discover another good thing about twins though. If you are carrying one screaming child around people just look at you like you are a horrible parent and have a horrible child, but if there is two of you carrying identical screaming children people smile at you and say "aren't they cute".
So here are some lovely pictures
Sock yarn from The Knittery.

Roving from Ewe Give Me the Knits. Both in Australia. Yeh!!

Zinnias

I thought I would try something new yesterday and do the shopping without the pram and use the leads/harnesses we bought ages ago. Might not do that again for a while. A friend described walking with his twin grandaughters as like herding cats and that desciption was so apt. They would not both go the same way and it rained yesterday morning so they both had to jump in every little puddle. We managed to buy the milk and went home. I was exhausted. It was one of those days when I felt like I was waiting forever for a respectable time so I could have a scotch.
Luckily the zinnias have flowered which made me smile.

There has not been much crafting this week. I have spent a bit of time downloading music for my Dad for his birthday - way easier than teaching him to use itunes as this would involve teaching him how to use a computer. So then I had to find some music for me which ended up being a lot of dodgy 80s stuff. I really needed some more Neko Case and Sufjan Stevens, but don't think I'll admit to the rest of it. I did finish this little bag though for a 2 year olds birthday. Hopefully there will be some sewing time over the long weekend.