Rainbow Sunday.

Hello! How are you?

I'm good. I'm happy. I'm having a lovely day.

My folks have been staying here for a couple of days. After breakfast this morning, we rolled out the surveyed map of their block of land and talked about it. What's going to go where and how and when.

We often dream excitedly about what it will be like when they live across the lane from us, but its has been a long time since we've lived near by and I can't really imagine it. Shared meals, a break in their fence for my girls to ride their bikes up, company, extra hands, extra ears, extra drivers, extra cuddles, sheep, a place to run away to...it all feels so exciting.

After they left Farmer Bren went off to be a farmer and I took the girlies to the Sunday market. I'm on the hunt for floral china crockery for the caravan.

Soon after we got there Miss Pepper met a friend and went off for a play at her house. I think this might be the first time she has ever done such a thing. She must be feeling so grown up and independent right now. We feel a bit strange without her.

We shared some little pancakes, chatted with friends, I bought a jar of antique lace scraps and three china plates for a dollar and then we came home.

On the way home from the market we stopped and took some pictures with my new Grandma's Rainbow cushion. Its Michelle's latest pattern.

I finished it last night and realised I didn't have an insert for it. So I walked through the house pulling all the inserts out of other, shop bought cushions. I felt a bit like Goldilocks: this one's too big, this one's too lumpy, this one's too round. Eventually I made one myself and stuffed it with some quilt wadding. I'm still not thrilled with it but it'll do for now.

Grandma's Rainbow Cushion details here.

So now we're home. The big girls are making robots on the craft table, Bren is reading the paper on his ipad on the couch, Miss Pepper is still at her friends' house, I'm about to hit publish and then decide what to do with the enormous crate of pears my Farmer Boy just brought in and then maybe do a few rows of my knitting on the couch. Its cold, wet and windy outside. Perfect baking and knitting weather.

What are you up to?

Have fun out there.

XX

10 things about pants.

1) I wear pants every day. I always wear a dress or skirt over the top though to cover my bum. Sometimes I wear tights but I don't love tights because they remind me of the itchy ones I used to have to wear to school.

2) I hate trying on pants in shops. I don't even look at pants in shops. The pants that end up living in my wardrobe/floordrobe have been handed down to me, I have had for ever and ever or are one of the two pairs of jeans I have bought in the last five years.

3) The other day a man popped in to buy eggs. It was the weekend and I was home alone with the girls and I went out to the cool room in the shed and got him his eggs. Later on I was told that I had a big hole in the bum of my jammie pants and he would have seen that I had black knickers on.

4) My sewing idol and friend Kath says that her favourite thing to sew is pants.

5) I dress my girls (well the ones that let me choose their clothes) in pants and skirts and dresses every day. I love this look on kids and it is so practical too.

6) I made these pants this morning to use up some of the smaller scraps in my basket and to try to make some bottoms as fun as the tops and dresses I've been sewing. I think they'd look great with a dress over the top. Something colourful or even a denim pini.

7) I don't like any of the words that mean pants. I don't like the word trousers, or slacks or pantaloons or bottoms.

8) I will never make or buy a pair of day time pants without a pocket or something on the bum. Except leggings. Leggings are ok without bum pockets. But whatever you do, please don't get me started on jeggings.

9) Part of the reason for making these pants today was to use up some of the smaller pieces of Michelle's scraps. Check out her blog to see what she made from the fabric before it became my scraps.

10) I loved making these pants but the fit was a bit of a question mark. I have made lots of dresses and skirts and can pretty easily work out how to size them, but pants are a bit of an unknown. In the end I made some and had to wait until the girls got home from school to see who they fitted. Jazzy! Size 6/7.

I hope you've got some fancy pants to wear this weekend and somewhere fun to wear them to.

See ya. ♥♥♥♥

ps. They're in my shop.

pp. 10 beanie things here.

My creative space.

After my crazy hour of procrastination yesterday, I came to the conclusion that as well as a time limit, I also needed incentive (a bribe). So it was decided that if I stopped mucking around and wasting time, I would allow myself to get straight into cutting up Michelle's fabric. No finishing off projects, no hemming jeans, no unpicking. My new fabric straight away.

And so I did.

And this little dress came together in no time. Its called The Buttontree Lane Dress of course. And as soon as I press publish on this post I'll be popping it in my shop.

The gorgeous pocket is one of Wendy's.

After I finished that dress, I made the ruffle and sewed on the doily that finished off this dress. Too easy.

I did get a fright this morning when I woke up and opened my eyes and saw that yellow fabric on the back of the dress. It took me a second to remember that I'd kept one pillow slip for our bed and cut into the other one for this dress.

This week I'm also hooking away at Michelle's latest cushion cover. I've finished the white bit and now its time for the fun, colourful part. Yay!

I've been knitting away at a test jumper but am on hold until the designer reworks her numbers. Fingers crossed I can keep going from here without undoing anything, or at least not too much.

And the preserve of the week this week is grape jelly. Mmmmm. I didn't even realise it was that pinky colour until I took this photo. I thought it was inky purple. I think I might have to make some crumpets for afternoon tea now.

So what're you up to?

Bye. X

The P word.

For days and days I've been dying to get a chance to sew some stuff.

Earlier in the week I put aside this morning, Wednesday morning, to sew for a few hours and to sew alone. I have the house to myself and I have nothing else urgent to do. This is scheduled, time tabled sewing time.

But do you think I've started sewing yet??

Nope! I've washed the breakfast dishes, done a load of laundry, checked in to see what my Ravelry friends have been up to over night, read a few blogs, replied to a couple of emails, had a shower and washed my hair and now I'm procrastinating by writing this blog about procrastinating.

What's wrong with me?? Why don't I want to do the only thing I've wanted to do all week when I finally get a chance to do it? Why all of a sudden do I have this mad urge to sort through the odd socks basket? I think I'm a basket case. Its not as if this type of uninterrupted sewing time comes around all that often these days.

Ok, its time to get strict with myself. Its 9.40am, at 10am I will sew.

Does this sound at all familiar to you or do you think I'm cuckoo? Do you have to make deals with yourself? Do you sometimes need a bit of a push in the right direction?

Have a wonderful day out there. Hopefully I'll have something of the sewing kind to show and share in the very near future.

See ya. X

ps. Julie made the gorgeous pin cushion.

Shallow.

I had a bit of an emotionally full on morning this morning.

Well, actually this story begins when a friend of mine was having an emotionally full on morning this morning. My part of it came when I got her baby to look after for a couple of hours.

Usually these days when I am lucky enough to hold someone else's baby it involves lots of sitting around and cuddling and drinking tea. Not this time though. This time we were at bush kinder and so there was lots of walking and sitting and climbing and dancing.

Miss Pepper didn't mind sharing me at all. In fact watching how independant and grown up my baby is was an enormous emotional moment in itself.

And then there was this baby. There was the juggling of my bags, the ache in my shoulder after a while, the entertaining her and letting her pull at me and chew my hair, the smell of her...you get the picture. It was all so familiar and delicious and yet for me it is all gone.

Eventually her Mama came to take her off me. Eventually I let go. And then, thank goodness, Miss Pepper came and grabbed my hand and we skipped up the road.

Are you ok? My Farmer Boy asked me at lunch when I told him of my morning. I think I probably could have crumbled into a messy heap right now I replied, but I have just picked up two packages from the post office this morning and so I'm ok.

I think I'm a bit shallow like that.

Package one was crammed full of Michelle's fabric scraps. Eeeeeeep!!! Lucky me and thank you so much Michelle. One woman's scraps are definitely another woman's treasures.

I realised that I know nothing about fabric though when Michelle wrote that she is particularly excited to see what I am going to make with the voile. Hmmmm which one exactly is the voile?? I must say that I'm particularly excited to have some of the denim apple fabric Michelle once made herself a gorgeous skirt out of.

Package two was three bundles of wool from Kate. Some delicious greeny wool she dyed up for me and some of her gorgeous blue sock wool. Thanks Kate, I love, love, love them.

So you see I'm ok. I have gorgeous new bits and pieces to play with, the sun is out, my washing is drying on the line and my grape jelly is bubbling away on the stove.

Deep breath...

Ciao, ciao. XX

week.

Wishing you the sweetest week ahead.

May it be full of surprises and inspiration and joy and giggles. I hope you have the opportunity to dance, to tell a riddle, to go on an adventure and maybe to do something you've been wanting to do for a while.

Above all, I hope someone tells you they love you.

See ya later alligator. XX

Endweek.

Hooray for the weekend!!

I'm hoping for a bit of crochet, lots of lounging about the house, some knitting, maybe a garage sale or two, some honey spinning, some sewing, a test drive of a chunky caravan pulling car, some baking, hanging out with Farmer Bren's folks, maybe a dvd, lots of coffee and anything more...or less...is a bonus.

And here's a photo of the finished and felted slippers from yesterday.

Thanks for all your felting suggestions. In the end I popped them in a bra bag in a hot wash with a pair of jeans for agitation and then into the dryer for about five minutes. They fit into the palm of my hand now. Too cute!

To finish them off I sewed on some velcro and then crocheted a little white flower for the clasp. Raveled here.

Oh and no one believed me this morning when I told my girls they were all adopted as an April Fools. Oh well.

So what are you up to this weekend? Have you got any big plans?

I hope you have fun and maybe a bit of an adventure.

See ya. XX