when I worked in the city and I’d finish a review or file I’d always sing doo doo doo …another one bites the dust…… and funnily enough thats what I did when I finally finished the binding on this …my first ‘larger than a dolls quilt’ quilt..done and ready to put away

the fabrics are all scraps with the backing a lecien mrs march fabric I found at half price a few weeks ago……I love the binding and think the freshcut fabric makes the best binding…and my mitred corners are coming along nicely thank you

I got the pattern from one of the small patchwork books in the store (I always keep one for myself)

now I just need to get to the 3 other small quilts that need binding………

I’ve been tagged a lot this year (oh yes because I’m soooooooo popular) no there have been a lot of meme’s going around but I like this one so thanks Jade

the rules are here ….ok so here we go
raft……because I love it, think about it, talk about it,spend money on it all day long…just read my blog for evidence!
p shops…love ’em but have been doing more dropping off than buying lately
eading…I read craft magazines and books, childrens books, blogs, the paper and patterns everyday but should read more novels….I still have a few on my bedside table from when I was pregnant (how embarrassing)
est…put my feet up, have a tea and knit, sew, blog …..something I do every night when miss keira chooses to go to sleep
nfertility… I didn’t choose it ..it chose me and its all consuming and I could do without it thank you very much
ctopic pregnancy…ditto…not a day goes by when I don’t think about what could have been

so now I tag all my EB sewing and quilting girls…………….

and I’ve been a little naughty this morning…when all the house was nice and quiet I went shopping(edited to add the house is not so quiet because my beautiful baby just fell out of bed….mummy has stopped crying now its ok)……….now I need the patience to wait for them to arrive….I’m loving this site ..ok first up is the new softies book which is so cute

next up is last minute patchwork gifts…there are some beautiful small projects and a baby’s quilt that I’m dying to make

and lastly a cute knitting book just released called minnies…and has patterns up to 3 years old which is good because a lot of my debbie bliss books stop at 2years and keira is a big girl

and here is my latest knitting project coming along nicely…its the shrug from debbie bliss simply baby which was released this year…so cute…I have a lot of cashmerino aran but am making this in dashing (from SL) because some of my mummy friends put the jumpers straight in the washing machine and I won’t feel so bad if I used this wool

look what I received in the mail today….beautiful linens by lara …..I couldn’t wait to rip off the packaging and the colours are just amazing…I hope they come up as beautifully in the photos

first up is riverside adventures in robins egg

then birch forest in teal…..umm this is coming up more blue so I’m off to take photos in natural light

going in the shop now……. after I’ve taken my cut of course…. these will make great bags, cushions, teatowels (if you can bear to use it on your dishes), homewares……

ohhh and my quilt is ready for binding! I’ve decided I’m not into hand quilting and will stick to machine quilting from now on…..and my little baby has discovered one of my jewellery boxes

and is having lots of fun despite some of these pieces being totally inappropriate for a 1 year old (i.e can be swallowed, choked on ) but for some reason nothing is going in her mouth…..yet

Well when I posted off my scrap swap I knew I’d gone overboard when it weighed 900g….but I didn’t expect my partner Nancy to go as crazy as I did…..but she did……..and T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U Nancy I love it all..and go and check out her blog for lots of lovely inspiration

so I wasted no time in picking a project

and putting your scraps to good use…..a few of my scraps are in this crazy quilt that I’m now hand stitching circles all over and getting sore fingers…more photos to come when I’m finished stitching…so yes I’m totally obsessed with quilting….I borrowed 9 books and magazines from the library mostly Kaffe Fassett as I’ve been eyeing his fabrics for a long time and finally succumbed to buying some….

and I’m loving watching keira wearing clothes I’ve made now its warm….she just looks so adorable and I’ve been geting some lovely comments with this little swing top and bloomers

now don’t forget to visit retro mummy as I want most of the store sold up before the move so I can start afresh down there with lots of new goodies…FQ start at $3 and everything has been reduced!!!!

I don’t know the rest of the words to the song but finally I’m on ravelry! They say they have over 15,600 members and I’m sure I’m 15,559….my user name is retromummy by the way

Well it has been a productive day…I should have been sorting, decluttering and preparing for the move to melbourne …yes everyone thats where I’m going…..melbourne……so yes I should have been doing things but instead we went to the beach early and this little miss has no fear…running into the waves and deep water and trying to undo my hand! uhoh

and on the sewing front I made a dress (dodgy photo but cute dress)

and did some binding on a bassinette quilt for a baby arriving soon

I’m also waiting for this book in the mail this week…the latest debbie bliss baby book (because I already have 4 of her baby books and of course needed one more)….I think this is her best with shorties, a baby bean bag (how adorable)…and lots more

so its been a great day and this was keira at the end of a hot day watching her daddy in the garden……isn’t the skirt lovely……I can’t take credit for it as its from belinda but is just adorable….the heather ross fabric is perfect….

Well this is my morning…..drop Keira at daycare, go to SL to see sewing teacher and get some hints on my dolls quilt, walk to sewing store and buy walking foot that was according to the sales person suitable for my machine, go home, make a mess of dolls quilt as fabric won’t feed, get in the car and see sewing teacher, walk to sewing store and be told no refunds, show quilt and demand refund, get refund, walk back to see sewing teacher, lose interest in walking foot and promise to buy one friday…….I’m still unpicking 4 rows of extremely tight stitches….

I did manage to make this gorgeous Amy Butler sunhat for myself and will be restocking the pattern (gosh I love having a shop in my craftroom) shortly…

and here’s my model who also loves it

Well today was one of my dear friend’s baby shower….can you believe she’s having a baby in 2 weeks….I can’t! She does not look the blob I did before Keira! Amazing

I made everything for her present with the exception of a little babygap jumpsuit!Reversible nappy bag, changemat, pillow, bib, singlet, appliqued jumpsuits even the card and it was all happily received.

Keira wore a dress made by Mummy.

and got amongst the flowers in our garden…hubby thinks they’ve gone crazy but I love all the daisies out the front…

and then at the party Keira thought she was the baby and jumped in the bouncer!

It was a great party and I love that my friends are starting to have babies…good luck Ingrid and Jason…

there has been a lot of sewing going on for miss keira…all vintage patterns and floral fabrics! she will be going to her first baby shower this saturday and I wanted a few options and so we here we go… oh and please excuse the bad photos and uninspiring background…its raining and my model likes to move!

there is the strawberry pinni with matching bloomers…this gorgeous fabric was from Japan and absolutely adorable.

the pink smock dress (still to be hemmed)

the orange floral dress (that should have had the contrasting fabric in the middle but mummy read the pattern incorrectty!)

and Keira’s favourite place in the whole entire world is the park down by manly beach….here she is yesterday


next post will be all my yarn beautifully organised as there are changes afoot here in the retro mummy household…I can’t give away too much because there are so many things ahead of us like interviews, negotiations, a pre-assignment visit but lets just say there is a lot of organising and decluttering required if one was to leave australia………..

Another day another skirt! I tweeked the pattern and made the waist smaller the sides wider and it’s made a big difference….the fabric was $6 from Spotlight’s clearance table and makes this easy, quick, comfy and cheap!

I’m also happy with my perfect marmalade…a little bit of something called jamsetta to make it set and voila….marmalade…with my cute little russian doll from Japan whose little head bops up and down and side to side! Super cute!

Ok I’m off to cut out fabric love hearts for my childrens liturgy group tonight…we’re making fathers day cards and I think it will be a great way to use up my scraps!!!

Well yesterday wasn’t as profitable as last week unless your name is Jade who was a sellout and did very well….deservedly.

hubby is in New York today (with our camera!) hopefully buying me a few books and magazines and its just the girls at home! He’s on his way to a “conference” (yeah right) in florida….so I started to knit a chocolate and pink dishcloth from mason dixon last night only to be woken up by Keira so we watched you’ve got mail, went to bed and keira had half the bed to herself which she made the most of!!!

and for a bit of a laff this sunday here we go…..this is if you like cats

and if you like dogs

Keira has been bopping to both of these this morning saying woof woof….show it to your kids and I’m sure they’ll find it just as entertaining

and before I forget the funny and witty whitney tagged me….I think I’ve done this twice so here are 6 things you didn’t know about keira!
1. Keira loves to start her day with a banana and vegemite toast
2. Keira’s favourite words are cheese and mummy (who can blame her)
3. Keira weighed 3.9kgs at birth and was one of the biggest babies in the nursery (to one of the smallest mama’s)
4. Keira keeps saying sista…..we will be working on this one next month
5. Keira is showing an early interest in crafts by walking around the house with my measuring tape around her neck and putting cotton reels, tapes and button sheets in and out of my jars……for hours
6. Keira is the 1st grandchild and great grandchild on my side of the family and 17th on hubby’s side!!!!!

firstly thank you for all your lovely comments on keira! we do like to think she’s pretty cute and she’s sleeping after an exhausting day!

So its Friday and its been another spending week…I’m still preparing to part with a lot of money for my 2 large wholesale orders for the shop!

But for myself….all of this goodness from the lovely leslie….I’ve eaten a few sweets (yum that marshmallow filled with chocolate was divine) but how gorgeous is everything and way too many freebies but thank you! I’m a huge hello kitty fan so love my little silicon brush! can’t wait to use the fabrics

then I won (I use that term lightly since I’ve parted with cash) on EBay these very cute holly hobby fat quarter packs…. mmmmm can’t wait to use them …unfortunately the good holly hobby stuff is from the states so you need to be prepared for shipping costs.

Today Keira and I checked out Remnant Warehouse which is fabulous…look at just half my goodies….all lovely Michael Miller prints….its a lovely store, lovely old fashioned service and right under the flightpath…I looked like a country gal when a plane flew low overhead and I was shocked by the noise level.

and lastly look where retro mummy now is….craft search ….hope lots more business coming my way and I’ve done my first crafty listing here …I have made too many log cabin cushions but they’re so cute and take no time at all.

oops and its flashback friday and the theme is t-shirts so here we go…this is me and my own retro mummy back in 1977…the t-shirt has Babette which was my retro daddy’s patrol boat in Cairns.

I’m off to Kirribilli markets tomorrow if anyone is bored on a saturday (oh and lives in Sydney!). I promise to have some photos of all my lovely wares afterwards

Miss keira loves car-kay…..thats cupcakes to you and me! she can’t get enough of them and usually stuffs them in her mouth looking for more….

and big thanks to claudine my personal IT consultant for my beautiful banner and shop button! you are the best….fabric love coming your way

Yes its retro daddy’s birthday and he turns 32!! We’ve been together over 6 years and is definitely my best friend, my drinking buddy (well when I drank), my shopping buddy (not always willing), daddy to keira (and a good one at that), CFO of the family (I’m CEO apparently), funny, happy, generous and most of all LOVING!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday Justin!

I’ve also been busy on the sewing front with these little numbers..a cute little romper suit with matching hat for keira

a wonky log cabin bag! I’ve ditched the rotary cutter after it took off the top of my finger and now I just cut strips of fabric….this is backed and lined in calico with a nice long strap to wear across me….inspired by the crafters companion tote and claudine’s gorgeous bags! credit where credit’s due

and some of the 81 childrens patterns that arrived on my doorstep and are gorgeous!

and drum roll please…the winner of the flickr group contest is…..marie! our new flickr group will be named oh sew retro mummy! thank you everyone for your suggestions…much better than mine so please come over and show us your cute projects insired by japanese books, fabrics, anything cute!!!!!

Well its flashback friday again and this week our theme is groups…I decided families and better yet family weddings. I’ve been a flowergirl twice and here I am….both about 1980 I think

first up is my aunty annie and her wedding…thats me on the left next to my little sister phoebe and my mum on the right

then there is aunty debbie and her wedding with her 2 bridesmaids (her SIL’s) and I’m on the left too…next to my sister again!

I love that my mum made both my flowergirl dresses and I still remember the fittings, the pins, the standing on chairs to get the hems right! I also love that both my grandfathers who aren’t with us anymore are in the pictures and look so lovely.