Brooched.

After much agonising and researching and procrastinating and planning, I am happy to report that I have finally finished my doily brooch for Susie's Flowerpress Brooch Swap.

But before you go thinking it was easy and straight forward, let me take you on a bit of a brooch journey.

First off I thought I'd make it out of bits and pieces from my Farmer Boy's shed.

When that didn't come together, I started crocheting a multi layered and petaled flower. When that looked like it was going to turn out enormous, I ditched that idea too. I hope to go back to it and finish it at some stage because it'll look great as a corsage on a bag or jacket, but not really a brooch.

Then while looking at pretty pictures on Ravelry one night I decided to make a doily brooch. And after looking at hundreds of doily patterns and not loving any of them, I made up my own.

Or at least I thought I did, but when I came home and did a Pinterest search I came up with this. It looks so similar to mine it's scary. Wow!

It seems my pattern might not have been so original after all.

I crocheted five small doilies yesterday on the train to Melbourne and back. It took me that many goes to get the size and shape and pattern I liked. But do you think I wrote it down as I went along so I knew what I had done? Nope! This silly billy had to guess and count the stitches each time.

When I had finally come up with a pattern I was happy with, I decided the cotton I had grabbed that morning was far too white, so we soaked the doilies in my Mum's tea pot and then in a salty vinegary solution to set the new colour.

Mmmmmuch better.

After that all that was left was to stitch it onto some denim, glue a circle of denim on the back to neaten it up and then the brooch pin.

Raveled here.

Woohooo, I'm mentally ticking brooch swap brooch off my mental list.

What's next? Some caravan sewing I think.

Have a fab weekend y'all.

Sixty four!

Exactly one month to the day since the oldest four girls in our family gathered in the city to support each other through Farmdoc's open heart surgery, we came together once again. This time Abby came all the way across the seas to join us too.

And this time we came together to celebrate.

We sang Happy Birthday.

We danced to the obvious Beatles song.

We drank coffee.

We ate a big lunch and a little cake.

We reminisced.

We spent time together with no husbands, or boyfriends, or children, or pets.

We talked through issues and told stories.

We cried at his speech and laughed at hers.

What a day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hope you had a great day.

xx

ps. Bloody Blogger just swallowed this post when I tried to publish it the first time. I think it was better the first time too.

pps. Thanks heaps for all the answers to my last post. You guys are awesome.

ppps. Imagine how much fun it'll be when you turn 64 and get to spend the day with your adult children. Now that'll be a great day too I think.

pppps. I'm on officially on Pinterest now as Foxslane.

Close, closer, closest.

There is chaos in my head. I wonder if you might help me with any answers you might have. Please. Just one or as many as you know the answers to. Thanks.

If you were taking five people away on a caravan adventure for up to six months, how many sheet sets and towels would you take?

Do you sometimes wish your kids' friend's parents would just drop their kids off and leave so you could get on with what you were doing?

Did you have any idea that cutting fabric squares and then sewing them back together was such physical work? My back aches.

Do you prewash your fabric before you sew with it?

Do you ever read travel blogs?

Is there any way to join pinterest without having a twitter or facebook account?

Do you eat too much salt?

If you don't empty the washing machine and hang out the laundry, how long will the washing in the machine stay clean for before you have to wash it again? What's your record for amount of times washing the same load?

If you were completely up to date with the laundry, would there be enough room in the cupboards for all the clothes and manchester?

How is it possible that I ruined not one but two batches of cookies today by adding one tablespoon of bicarb instead of one teaspoon?

Would you eat carrot and coriander soup?

Do you take your camera every where you go?

Would you feel embarrassed if you were in a cafe and reached on the floor for your ball of wool only for the chair to come out from under you with a bang and for you to land on your bum with the biggest clatter?

Are your computer backups up to date?

If you had a three and a half year old and you went for a family bike ride, how would the three and a half year old be catered for? She is too big for a seat on the back, but probably a bit too unsteady for those handle and wheel contraptions behind the bike.

How come I know every single word to every single song on the So Fresh Hits of Winter 2011 cd, and yet I have no idea what music I like any more?

Why, when my to-do list is so long it almost induced a panic attack this morning, did I start a new crochet project to make myself feel better?

What excuse can I give a little one for the tooth fairy being over a week late?

What are you having for dinner tonight? Do your kids eat soup?

Do you have any questions you need the answers to?

Bye??

Doona 1# covered.

Hello!

What's cooking good looking??

I'm good. I've spent so much of the weekend sewing. I've finished the bedding for the bottom most bunk bed in the caravan.

One pillow case, one fitted sheet and the mixiest-matchiest doona cover.

Many, many 22cm squares of vintage sheeting, measured, cut, ironed, over-locked and sewn together. Basically, lots of sheets cut up to make more sheets.

More than once I wondered what I was doing and why was I doing it. We all have perfectly good doona covers already. Why was I letting my gang trash my house, cook up all sorts of wild and wonderful snacks and change clothes about a hundred times, so I could sew? Why was I rushing through meals, being impatient with phone conversations and Jazzy's friend's parents, just to sew more squares together?

I guess I knew I couldn't leave it unfinished or I'd never get back to it.

So I sewed and sewed and sewed and sewed.

But then when I finally finished and laid it out on the bed and stood back and saw the bigger picture, I understood. It's bright. It's colourful. It makes me happy. If I am to live in a caravan for up to six months, it may as well be styled to make me happy.

Ok, now that's done I'd better go and hang out the washing, clean up the bomb site that is my house, be friendly Mum to Miss Jazzy's friends and their parents when they arrive, relight the fire, bake something for lunchboxes tomorrow, think about dinner, and then maybe I can pull out some sheets for Miss Jazzy's doona cover. Bigger squares this time I think.

I guess I can no longer tease my quilting friends about cutting up fabric to sew it back together again.

Have you had a great weekend?

Hope so.

Bye now. xx

Even though...

Even though I said I wouldn't do any non caravan related sewing until I have finished the curtains and the doona covers, I did.

Even though I said I wouldn't spend any time in op shops today looking for cool vintage sheets, I did.

Even though I didn't find any cool vintage sheets, I did find some great knit fabrics.

Even though I decided I am over wearing knee length a'line skirts, I wore one this morning and felt frumpy.

Even though we were delivering vegies and eggs this afternoon, I made my farmer boy take some pics of me with my knitting and my new skirt. Oh the life of a blogger's boy.

Even though I had the house to myself for a few hours this morning and lots of caravan sewing to do, I sewed a skirt.

Even though I felt guilty about it, I still kept cutting knit fabric and sewing myself a skirt.

Even though I have a skirt pattern in my head that works for me, I changed it and cut the pieces on a curve.

Even though I usually over lock and hem everything, I left lots of raw edges.

Even though I almost tripped over doing it, I still had such a laugh while taking the above pic of myself and my new skirt.

Even though I told myself I would never again buy the laundry detergent with the smell in it, I did and I love it.

Even though my family call me the style police, I still cannot work out what fabric to use for the caravan curtains. And does the print go on the inside or outside?

Even though Miss Jazzy is such a girly girl, the blue and white pattern above is the sheet she chose for her caravan bed sheet.

Even though I had planned to have dinner made when I went to pick up the girls, I only had a new skirt made.

Even though my list is still as long as it was this morning, I have a new skirt.

Even though I really, really want to make big girl skirts and put them in my shop like lots of lovely emailers are asking me to, I don't have the skills to grade the pattern for different sizes. Sorry.

Even though I really love writing this blog, I can't seem to write a magazine article about blogging.

Even though it's the weekend, I hope I can get the girlies to bed early and have a bit of couch time with my farmer boy.

Even though I haven't crossed anything off my list today, I hope you have.

Have you? Hope so.

Have a great one y'all. x

Sheet!

I'm afraid there's not much of a creative space here at Foxs Lane today.

What there is is maths!!!! And numbers and measuring and a ruler. If only Mr O'Brien could see me now.

And there's also lots and lots of sewing around a rectangle. Straight lines and then stretchy elastic lines.

One of the first things we did when we brought our new/old caravan home, was to chuck out anything fabric. The curtains, the couches and the mattresses. When we went to buy new mattresses the other day we discovered that the sizes we were after didn't exist. So we got some slabs of high density foam cut. Perfect.

Today I'm sewing custom made fitted sheets.

I'm using this pattern but I'm stretching the elastic around the hem.

The little girlies and us are having floral vintage sheets. Miss Indi doesn't like such things so I made her a sheet from an old plain blue flat sheet. It's probably a good thing to have a bit of plain in this mixy-matchy-patchy van.

What are you up to?

See ya. x

Mental list.

A while back Miss Indi declared that when the count down til the caravan adventure hit 30 days, then it was real and we could start getting excited.

This morning we hit the first day of winter, one of the hardest frosts I have ever seen, the first time all three of my children slept in until 8am...and 30 days until our departure date!

Along with all the squealing and high-fiving going on this morning, I felt a bit of panic in my stomach. My goodness have I got a lot to do in a very short amount of time.

So I thought a to-do list. I know most organised people write lists, but I am not one of them so I didn't.

The first thing on that list is to finish all my crafty commitments, starting with The Hottie Challenge.

Details for the enormous crocheted flower raveled here. I made the actual hottie out of an old grey blanket and bound it in black. For future reference, perhaps I should have considered binding it all together before sewing on the chunky, impossible to get through the sewing machine, flower. Just a thought.

This hottie will be winging it's way to Ms Curly Pops this afternoon and from there to the Open Drawer people where it will be exhibited between July 1st and July 24th and then hopefully sold to raise some bucks for research for heart and lung transplants.

Ok, next on the list is my brooch swap brooch.

I have no idea where to start.

Is it weird that something is making me sift through lots of washers and fittings in Farmer Bren's shed in hope of inspiration?

So that's me for this afternoon. One challenge done, one swap, one test knit and one crochet test to go and then the serious business.

Whatever you do do not let me partake in any more swaps or pattern tests or any other bloggy fun until I have ticked off if not completed my mental caravan list (pun intended).

I hope this afternoon finds you organised and inspired.

Bye now. x