Sunday, February 28, 2010

Weekend sewing.

Well hello there!

Are you having a lovely weekend? I hope so.

I've been having a pretty quiet weekend with the two little girls while Bren has been in Melbourne and Indi has been spending the whole weekend at a friend's house.

Late Friday night when they were asleep and the house was way too quiet, (after I had dealt with the biggest spider you have ever seen, hmmm country living...), I thought I'd make them each a colourful piece of clothing. A top for Jazzy to wear over leggings and some pants for Pepper.

In the morning the top looked awful on Jazzy, too loose in places and too tight in others, so instead of fixing it I cut two strips off the back.

It fits Pepper but is a bit gapey in the armholes.

The pants were more successful.

I made them from a sheet given to me by the lovely SusieQ and some lace that I bought in a bag of scraps from a garage sale a few months back.

Don't worry, she only wore the top with the pants for the photo. I wouldn't let her leave the house looking like a floral bed sheet explosion.

I'm off now to pack some crochet stuff in a bag and head down to the farm stall.

I hope you are having a fabulous weekend! XX

p.s.. In breaking news; Pepper just did her first ever, non assisted, solo somersault!!

Friday, February 26, 2010

green magazine.

The latest issue of green magazine is out and my family and our business Daylesford Organics are in it.

See that bit where it says Family Farm? That's us!

We love green magazine and have been reading it, loving the feel of the paper and admiring the gorgeous photos and designs for years. We are absolutely thrilled to be featured in its pages.

As I wrote on my other blog, its a funny feeling to read a story about a family living this organic life and then to remember that the family is us. We are so busy in the day to day of family and farm life that we forget to look at what it looks like from the outside.

And just in case you were thinking that this post belongs on my other blog and not here, let me assure you that the article contains the words crochet and baking and even pot holder.

I hope you have the most wonderful weekend.

On Saturday, Bren will be at the Slow Food farmers' market at the Abbotsford Covent in Melbourne selling some of the produce mentioned in the article and we will be open from the farm gate stall from 11 - 5 on Sunday.

It would be great to meet you. XX

Thursday, February 25, 2010

My creative space.


In my creative space this week I am trying to remember the fine art of lino cutting and printing.

When Indi's class were lino cutting in art class late last year, I made a note to try it again before too long myself. The other day I asked the art teacher to borrow the tools and a few scraps of lino and here we are.

I haven't been near the tools or the lino since I was at school, but the smell of the stuff and the feel of the cutter gliding through the lino take me right back there.

The plan is to jazz up some of the bed linens that I have been sewing with that have seen better days. While I have some bright colourful sheets, many of the sheets I have been finding in op shops are faded and worn and need a bit of a new life.

Its very early days still and I am in desperate need of a roller to apply the paint and a way to hold the lino so it doesn't smudge as it prints, but I am a bit excited at the possibilities.

Pepper is creating her own master pieces next to me.

Of course, I have been crocheting a trim or two along the way too.

I hope you are having a creative Thursday. To see some other creative spaces or perhaps play along too, click on over to Kirsty's.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A dress for a pussycat.

Miss Pepper was invited to a pussy cat party yesterday.

So after school drop off we came home and got to work on the present.

She helped choose the fabric and insisted on a pocket.

This time I made the top of the pocket by gathering it and then binding over the top.

But when it came to putting on her pussy cat outfit, she wanted to wear her pocket dress instead.

And I was pleased to see that it passed the party wear test with flying colours.

By the time we got home it was covered in face paint, berries and the pocket was filled with rocks...as all good party dresses should be.

I hope you are having a great week.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I heart crochet!

There is so much I love about crochet!

I love how portable it is. I love how I never feel like I am wasting time at school assembly, in the doctor's waiting room or on long car journeys. I love how my hands are always busy. I love how sometimes it challenges me. I love how mostly it relaxes me. I love how you can make some really ace stuff. I love how there are a gazillion free patterns on the Internet some really old and traditional and some really new and trendy.

I love the wools, the colours, the cottons and the hooks.

I love that there is only ever one loop to find if your project unravels. I love how it is a conversation starter. I love that it is as addictive as samurai sudoku and online scrabble, but at the end you have something to show for your efforts. I love how it can transform a simple item of clothing into a piece.

I could go on and on...

But I think my favourite thing about this crochet this morning, is sitting with the little ball of wool on my lap and watching Pepper giggle as it bounced and danced as it unwound with each of my stitches. LOVE!!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Thinking & sewing.


Sometimes I have so many ideas in my head and so little time to actually make them, that I'm scared they'll run away never to be seen or heard from again.

The visual diary is a brilliant invention but for me, most of the time, it just feels like another thing that takes up my time and gets in the way of the actual making.

Sometimes when I finally get the time to sit down and make something I feel so overwhelmed by all my ideas that I don't know where to start. And then other days, like today, I feel like I have had so much time to process this idea that it comes together straight away.

In my head I had already planned this smock top. I knew which bits would be odd, what shape it would take and I had sorted out all the added details like the pocket and the binding. So when I had a minute to choose the sheets, cut the pattern and stitch it all together it was quick and easy.

The sleeves are a concession to the slightly cooler weather forecast this week but I am not going near my stash of cord and denim til March or April. I am not a fan of cooler weather or sewing.

I hope your Monday is a funday. XX

Thursday, February 18, 2010

My creative space.

In my creative space this week I have been crocheting colourful trims.

I'm loving the long rows of repetitive stitches and how meditative this sort of crochet is in the hectic world I've been living in lately.

I started off creating them for the sole purpose of decorating and adding detail to the dresses I have been sewing lately. But as my fingers have been creating the stitches, I have been dreaming up all sorts of different and exciting uses.

I could wrap presents with them, add details to cushions, stitch them to booties or bibs, tie them as hair ribbons, sew them on the cuffs of cardigans and pants and in the layers of a ruffled skirt. Indi thinks the purple would look good as a spider web in a Halloween costume.

To be honest, part of me doesn't even care if they get used in a project or not, I have just been enjoying making them so much.

To check out the other creative spaces or to play along, click on over to Kirsty's.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Some solutions.


Thanks so much for your empathy and advice yesterday. It all helps. The knowing that I am not alone and that so many of us are struggling to get on top of things and your words of wisdom.

Like Fruitful Fusion pointed out in her comment yesterday, 'sometimes we find ourselves being blown along with the whirl wind', but there's no reason why we can't enjoy the ride. We shouldn't have to wait for a health scare or a breakdown to appreciate the everyday, even the routine.

This morning I baked banana bread for lunch boxes and afternoon teas. Nothing like the smell of fresh baking to make you feel on top of things.

When I mentioned to Bren the trouble I was having trying to keep track of everyone he raced off to the shed and brought back some blackboard paint and a roller. This little bit of wall is next to the front door and will hopefully be the last thing we look at when we leave the house.

And I finally decided on the sleeves.

I think it probably needs a bit of crochet along the top of the hem ruffle to balance the crochet out. It is a few sizes too big for Pepper so there is no rush.

And the last thing is a reminder to myself not to drink more than two coffees a day. Even if the most gorgeous farmer boy in Daylesford meets me as I'm walking out of my pilates class and offers to buy me a cup. Drink water!! The extra energy that caffeine might bring will not be productive energy but manic, out of control energy which is NEVER fun.

I hope you are finding some solutions over at yours. XX

Monday, February 15, 2010

Monday mayhem.

So here we are, week three of the school year and I feel like its all getting on top of me.

It doesn't help that we work weekends. We leave for Melbourne when the girls finish school on Fridays, do farmers' markets and deliveries on Saturdays, drive home, go to bed, wake up Sundays and spend the day working in the farm shop.

Monday mornings we wake up to find school bags full of wet bathers and towels and uniforms, lunchboxes full of soggy, stale lunch left overs and tired, grumpy kids.

We'll get into a routine soon, but at the moment I feel like I'm constantly running trying to catch up. Who has swimming this week? What day is calisthenics? What colour leotard for what age? What song does who need on a cd for singing lessons?

So that being said there's not much time for making things at the moment. The crocheted trim in the above photo was crocheted in the car when Bren ran vegies into inner Melbourne restaurant kitchens and in between customers at the farm stall yesterday. Hopefully one day it will go on the neckline of a dress.

And this doily I crocheted last week isn't speaking to me as loudly as I'd hoped. Or possibly, I'm just not standing still long enough to hear.

I tried sewing the dress up to help but I'm still not sure.

Possibly sleeves,

or a collar, or maybe I'll just stitch it on whole.

I hope things are calmer and less soggy at your place and that your Monday is a funday. XX

Thursday, February 11, 2010

My creative space.

The bones of this dress are filling my mind and my creative space today.

I have been experimenting a bit lately with mixing crochet and dressmaking, but usually I have a fair idea of where the crochet will sit before I start the project.

While I was crocheting this pink doily, I thought it would be bound into the neckline like this dress but considering how big it is and how little is needed for the collar, now I'm not so sure.

Maybe a pocket or cut in half as the sleeves or maybe just sewn onto the front as a detail.

I have hung all the pieces up on the fence so I can watch them while I push Pepper on the swing and drink her sandy cups of tea.

Speak to me dress. How are you meant to be?

To visit or play along with my creative space pop on over to Kirsty's.

Visit my other blog.