the shawl grows

February 24, 2013 By 3 Comments

Every night I’ve been making some progress on the shawl. I’m more of a small project knitter like a baby or toddler cardigan but I’ve got to admit this shawl knitting is pretty addictive.

I just love watching it grow and am actually thinking I might do another shawl after this one. I know. Instead of a kina!

Now a few of you have asked about the yarn I’m using, it’s Allegro by Bendigo Woollen Mills. Sadly it’s not available anymore (see retro daddy, it pays to buy yarn as soon as you love it) except for a few destashes over on Ravely here. It’s a really nice one and the colour is lovely. And I’m not really a purple person.

My floors make for a nice backdrop since my dining table which I usually use is in the garage all wrapped up and waiting to come back into the house.

Tomorrow night I’ll be getting out my ‘hidden muscles’ to move all the furniture back into the house.

Oh and the pattern – I forgot to mention the pattern. The pattern is Textured Shawl Recipe here  and I’m following the instructions here.

Filed Under: kniting

and the floors are done

February 23, 2013 By 42 Comments

Well we are back in the house………..but unfortunately can’t put anything back on the floors until Monday night. Oh the disappointment when retro daddy walked back to the car to tell me. The floor guy then reversed out of our driveway, stopped to smile and wave to me and I had to do my best fake smile as I was so disappointed we couldn’t move entirely back in. I was just so excited to be going back to the house to get all the furniture in and have the downstairs looking lovely.

So back upstairs we will stay and I’ll be making quick trips downstairs in my very attractive socks as it’s strictly shoes off for the next month downstairs.

It’s all worth it though. The transformation is just amazing. I did always know that it was going to look good and it was kind of nice timing that we bought this house just after we finished renovating our last house. I knew exactly how I wanted it to look, I knew that the windows were just what I wanted and I just knew that we could do it. Well pay someone to do it for us.

It certainly has been worth living with that hideous green carpet for the past year. And don’t worry green carpet fans, I still have it everywhere upstairs so if you start to miss it just let me know and I”ll take a picture for old times sake.

I’m going to use this time upstairs to clean out the toys and clothes and get everyone’s bedrooms and wardrobes organised before the carpet goes in.

And in case you missed the drama on facebook, well the painter has packed up and moved on. The two week job was turning into six weeks and he just had the biggest dummy spit, packed up everything and walked off the job. Taking all the paint with him. But not before he spilt paint and turps on the freshly sanded floors and swore at the floor guy.

He received most of his money and we still have 2 areas to finish, the staircase and 3 sets of double doors to paint and install. Disappointment just doesn’t cut it. We think he underquoted both financially and in terms of time and was over it. We don’t need the stress and hassle of taking him to fair trading but he certainly won’t get good word of mouth from me.  And I just hope I don’t run into him at the shops. Talk about a nightmare!

But I won’t let it get to me. We’re glad he’s out of the house after such a carry on and retro daddy will finish what he can and get someone to do the doors for us. He has been reading his Home Maintenance for Dummies book this afternoon.

And just in case you needed a reminder of what we were living with…………..

Filed Under: homes, renovation, renovations

come peek in my windows with me

February 20, 2013 By 17 Comments

Thank you so much for your kind words about Nicki.  Retro daddy is on his way home and said he was so glad he made the trip. We have missed him so much and I want to know everything about it. I’ve been so flat out busy as we are living somewhere else this week and spending all my time in the car going back and forth and trying to keep up our normal activities. I think it’s been good…….until a sad song comes on the radio. And it’s been kind of nice not having to do housework or keep on top of the washing. I’ve just been taking it easy and doing what has to be done.

Like take time out to read a magazine, have a coffee and do some knitting while elodie and emerson play nicely.

Just before swimming lessons I quickly ducked to the house to find this sign. Do not enter! My own house. But for good reason. The floors have been stained……………and look amazing. We wanted to go dark at our old house but I was talked into a lighter colour but I just love the dark look.

These aren’t the best photos (as in I ran back to the car to grab my phone and quickly took instagram photos) but I had to share.

I’m not sure what you call the next process but they will put something else over the top of this to make them all nice and shiny. Exciting? yes!

Filed Under: hamptons style, homes, renovation, renovations

in memory of nicki

February 19, 2013 By 21 Comments

There is only one woman I’ve ever let retro daddy stay out till early morning in the city to play pool with – and that was Nicki. And as I publish this retro daddy is in Oklahoma to say his final goodbyes to her. At her funeral. The shock that she was so tragically taken from us hasn’t gone away yet.

We first met Nicki when she was the office manager when retro daddy started work back in australia just before we got married. Way back in 2004. He was only at work for a couple of weeks before our wedding day but Nicki organised a delivery of a few items from our bridal registry. She was a born organiser and loved getting people together. Drinks after work, thanksgiving day parties, dinners and lunches. I remember she organised a girls lunch at her flat for all the wives, girlfriends and ladies in the team and made 2 lasagnes including a vegetarian just for me as I didn’t eat meat. 

She was a traveller. Working all over the world with PWC and making friends wherever she went. And she was always on holiday somewhere and visiting new places. She actually had a big wall map with all the places she had been. We were so sad when she moved to London after Sydney and before she left gave me the most gorgeous big bundle of clothes from Baby Gap for the baby that was to be Keira. She was always so generous sending us gifts as our family grew. I still remember how she just picked up the tab at retro daddy’s 30th birthday party. She would have thought nothing of it.

Nicki became a mentor to retro daddy and if he ever had a question or didn’t get a job he wanted at work I’d always tell him to go and ring Nicki (wherever she was living). I knew she’d get on the phone and give him the right advice. And whenever she was in Sydney she’d come visit us.

If there was a baby in the room she was holding it, if there was a pool table she was playing at it or had her $2 coin lined up ready to play, if there was a bar she was having a drink with friends and if there was a reason to go out – well she had already organised a group of people to go out. And she didn’t need a reason. She was the person who kept everyone together.

She was funny, generous, a friend to everyone, so well loved and had the biggest smile in the world. I’ll remember her always having a perfect manicure, her love of t-shirts and jeans or shorts, her postcards from her latest holiday destination, her voice and big laugh, for calling retro daddy ‘J’, for her stories about all of her friends around the world and growing up in Oklahoma, for always caring about us and for her love of life. Tragedies leave us with no explanation, no reason, and leave us no time to say goodbye or tell someone how much they mean to you.

Nicki was a part of our little family and always will be. We love you and we miss you already and I’m sure you’re organising the social calender in heaven. Rest in peace, sweet lady.

Filed Under: everything else

say goodbye to the green carpet

February 18, 2013 By 38 Comments

Prepare to be amazed…………………

I can’t quite believe that the green carpet came out today. I know it’s just the downstairs but after living with this carpet for almost a year, well I just kind of thought that it was never going to come out. At our old house it was all floorboards and white walls when we bought it and it just made a nice blank canvas.

Bright green and brown swirl carpet and biscuit coloured walls do not fall into that category. And as much as we would have loved to have changed it as soon as we moved in we just didn’t have the funds to do it. So save and wait we did. And yes, trust me, I complained about that carpet plenty of times.

And I know a few of you over on instagram have been telling me you love the green carpet and are sad to see it go. I’m touched. Really I am. The thing is that I’m pretty sure if you lived with it that you’d be getting rid of it too. It’s everywhere. Mind you it’s been fabulous for hiding stains. 

I accidentally knocked off my coffee this morning just for old times sake. Just after telling retro daddy to watch out for my coffee.

The process will take a week from start to finish and I can’t wait to see the progress. The floorboards are in really great condition underneath. Probably due to the fact that the house was built in the 70’s. Sanding, polishing and staining them is basically the cheapest floor option but also it just makes sense since the floorboards are in such great condition and can be stained a dark colour.

And that is that……………can’t wait to show you when they are stained and looking even more fabulous.

Filed Under: hamptons style, homes, renovation, renovations

toffee apple tea cake

February 17, 2013 By 19 Comments

We move out tomorrow for the week so that the floors can be done downstairs. It’s been an exhausting weekend of moving out furniture and stuff. Retro daddy would walk past me with a few tubs or boxes and say ‘hi hoarder’. Ahem, I think I might be doing a big clear out before I put things back in the loungeroom and craft room. Just to keep the peace in the house.

Anyway, before we move out I thought I better do a spot of baking. Nice timing since on friday I received a lovely box of apples from Woolworths. Just because. Well actually because it’s now apple season. And while emptying out the lounge room I culled my stash of magazines and saw this recipe and ripped it out.  I love to do that – rip out recipes but then I’m pretty bad at just piling them up and never using them. So it feels really good to have ripped it out and baked it all on the same weekend.  The recipe is from Australian Woman’s Weekly and has been converted to the Thermomix by yours truly.

So get baking. I don’t think you’ll regret this cake…………….

5.0 from 2 reviews
toffee apple tea cake
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe type: Baking
Serves: 12
What you'll need
  • 60g butter, room temperature
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • 1⅔ cup brown sugar (370g)
  • 2 eggs
  • 300g low fat sour cream
  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 large apples (3 small)
  • ½ cup caster sugar
  • ⅓ cup water
Instructions
  1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. In the Thermomix do this by placing in TM bowl and process 30 seconds speed 4, scrape down at least once halfway through.
  2. Add in eggs one at a time. In my Thermomix I have machine running on speed 4, take out the measuring cup and pour eggs in the top. Beat at least 20 seconds on speed 4.
  3. Add in sour cream and mix well. In the Thermomix process for 20 -30 seconds, speed 4 and scrap down at least once halfway through. The sugar can stick to the bottom of the bowl otherwise.
  4. Add in sifted flour and baking powder and combine well. 20 seconds on speed 4 in TM bowl.
  5. Spread into lined square or round cake tin.
  6. Peel and core apples and slice thinly in quarters. Arrange on top of the cake (I'm pretty proud of my arranging - make it pretty) and then bake in a preheated oven. 180C/350F for at least 1 hour.
  7. The recipe called for up to 1½ hours but this was done in 1 hour. You want a knife/skewer to come out clean.
  8. Leave to cool in tin. Meanwhile combine caster sugar and water in saucepan and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil without stirring but instead swirl around the pan a few times until mixture has turned a slightly golden colour
  9. Drizzle all over the cake and serve and enjoy.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

Filed Under: baking, cakes, recipe, thermomix

another kina finished

February 15, 2013 By 13 Comments

well yesterday I wrote about the lovely day I was having. Retro daddy was here and we were each doing our own things, joking about the best flavour of the lindt balls, elodie was running between us and it was just nice to have him home and I was thinking I wish he could work from home more often. It was such a good happy day. Then his old boss rang, he went into the other room, talked a while, walked out and said ‘ nicki has passed away’. What? What do you mean? How? When?

Our sweet friend Nicki was involved in a tragic car accident in the snow in Oklahoma. And I still don’t believe it. I woke up this morning and wished it wasn’t true. Maybe it was a mistake. I wish it was but sadly it’s not. And so retro daddy will fly out monday afternoon to attend her funeral and I’m going to write a special post in the next few days as a tribute to her. I can’t even tell the little ones what happened to their ‘aunty nicki’ because it’s just too upsetting.

I’ve thrown myself into my knitting and finished off this little kina. My addiction to the kina is still going strong.  And to get out of the house and keep busy this morning I took myself up to Spotlight to find the perfect button. And I think you’ll agree that they are the most perfect match.

Ravelry details are here. The Baby Kina pattern is here. Now if you want the pattern in other sizes like doll, child or adult – just look at the left hand column of the website for the size you want then select the kina within that size range. I think this is my 7th kina but who is counting?

Finishing this off today reminded me that knitting is the best kind of therapy there is. I can just lose myself in the stitches and think, reflect, pray, cry and think of the memories. I am knitting a prayer shawl at the moment to gift to Nicki’s mum who must be in so much pain right now. And no, retro daddy won’t have it in his suitcase. This might take me a few weeks but hopefully will be something special to give. I’m using the Textured Shawl Recipe pattern from ravelry which you can find here and using the instructions here.

Filed Under: babies, baby, kina, knitting

having a lovely Valentines day

February 14, 2013 By 6 Comments

Happy Valentines Day lovely readers. I’m sure not all of my readers celebrate the day….in fact retro daddy was not a fan of the day in the early years of our marriage. But I think it’s a sweet day and the kids looooooove it. Plus I am having the most relaxing day today. Which is kind of good because yesterday was one of those flat out days – school pick up, homework, piano practice (where is my mum to tell her how sorry I am for not being the best piano student and for her patience), bath time, swimming lesson, class parent meeting, P&F meeting, bake some banana bread in love hearts for lunchboxes then bed.

Today I am totally taking it easy. A few loads of washing, a bit of knitting and playing outside with elodie – I’m trying to teach her how to throw a ball – she doesn’t want to let go and runs up and hands it to me. And to top off a perfect morning I also received the best sort of mail there is –  craft mail!  I ordered all of this lovely stuff (Lisa threw in the ribbons as extras, thank you!) from Crafty Mamas and I just renewed my Ottobre subscription. This is the year I will make more of the little ones clothes and find more time to do what I love……making things.

Retro daddy wasn’t feeling so well so he had to come home early and luckily he works above a Lindt cafe – kind of convenient since my favourite chocolates are Lindt balls. Although there was a little confusion earlier in the day. As he left the house I reminded him lindt balls. He called from the office and said ‘so you want a big box of ferrero rocher right?….I corrected him ‘no ,lindt balls would be lovely’. Glad he got it right although I have to hide these babies from the little people – elodie is particularly fond of Lindt balls. And I don’t know about you but I like them to be at just the right temperature so the filling melts as you eat it. So good.

He did good. I will be cooking him one of his favourite dinners of teriyaki salmon, rice and wilted spinach.  Hope you have a great day too……….

Filed Under: chocolate, marriage, sewing

what’s in my knitting bag this week?

February 13, 2013 By 9 Comments

I’m a year round knitter………summer, winter, autumn or spring I am knitting. I don’t wait for the cold weather. Now that I have my fancy pants knitting bag I’ve been keeping my projects in there and taking it wherever I go and know I’ll have a little time up my sleeve for a few rows of knitting.

At the moment I have 2 kinas on the go. (You can read more about my obsession with the Kina here) This pretty one is going to one of the twins preschool teachers who is off to have a baby soon. The yarn is hand dyed by Little Plum Yarns who you will find on Facebook here. She sells her gorgeous stuff on Saturday afternoons (not every week) and has the most gorgeous yarn.

I am just loving the pretty shades in this one. It’s nice when you’re making something small to use something a bit more special. It feels gorgeous. This is an 8ply and I’ve used 4mm needles to knit it. A little trick if you are ever stuck substituting yarn or needle sizes is to jump onto ravelry (www.ravelry.com) and look at patterns, put in the pattern you’re knitting and then search for the yarn you have or want to use. Chances are someone has used it before. Alternatively, instead of pattern search by yarn and see what needles and projects they have used.

And here is a little something I stashed away last year from Little Plum Yarns. It’s a similar colour but has a bit of silver in it. This will be so cute for some little hats for my girls I think……………

What are you knitting this week?

Filed Under: babies, baby, knitting, ravelry

a few of your latest questions answered

February 11, 2013 By 4 Comments

Oops I’ve been a little tardy getting back to people and answering their questions! I’m so sorry. 

You talk a lot about the babies but I’d love to know about Finn

oh dear little Finn. He is such a chatterbox and fun machine. Now of course you can see that he looks like his daddy. We call him little Justin. He’s very cheeky, if you try to tell him off he starts smiling and then you can’t stay cranky for too long because he’s laughing by that stage. He has a lot of energy (like most boys) and I’m not really used to it. Thankfully he wants to do ‘tae congo’ this year so I’m hoping he can put some energy into that without hurting his sisters in the process. 

He is also very bright and has a photographic memory. He will visit somewhere and tell you all about it, who took him there last, every movie he’s ever seen and who took him and who was in it and what he ate. You can’t keep anything from him. Now I realise that made him sound a bit like ‘rain man’ but I promise he’s just a clever and cute little guy. Oh and he shares a room with his best friend Tillie. Well that’s his best friend at home, his other best friend who he loves is Louis. Those two are inseparable and they might as well go to preschool alone because no one else matters if Louis is in the room.

 Where did you get your dining table from?

I always get this question every now and then and must put it in my Q&A. The dining table is from Alfresco Emporium in Collaroy and is part of the Boston collection. It was a bit of an extravagence but was the only table retro daddy liked so we went with it. I’ve teamed it with Ikea chairs and the beauty of having a piece like that table means I can get fancier chairs later one when the little ones are bigger.

this was a good one, how do you fit in exercise?

over the years I’ve tried so many things. When I was working and at uni too I went to the gym or ran. I’ve had personal trainers in the past when I was serious about working out (and was working full time). When keira was born I tried the gym with creche but hated it and she once was screaming her lungs out and that was the last time we went back. I tried bikram yoga – oh boy that stinky carpet was enough to send me out of the room. Imagine sweat in carpet in a high heat. Ewwww. It works, you feel amazing afterwards but it wasn’t for me. I love yoga but bikram while breastfeeding a baby and in summer was too much for me. I did group training with other mums and this was great but again I was breastfeeding and eating like a horse so the scales didn’t show much improvement.

When the twins were born I didn’t do any exercise. I had no time and was running around 24/7 after them and doing things. I lost all the weight I couldn’t shift after keira and recommend the ‘newborn twin’ diet to anyone. After elodie was born the weight wasn’t shifting as fast so I joined the nearest gym. It was great and the creche fees were a killer but they were well looked after and I was happy. I discovered zumba, lost all my weight and started to tone up after 4 babies. Just as I was getting into circuit classes and working harder with sprints and pushing myself, I fell pregnant with emerson

These days I have an elliptical trainer and treadmill in my spare room. If retro daddy is home in time I get on it around 8ish in the evening but generally if babies are sleeping  I get on it for 1/2 hour in the morning early. At the moment they are under dust covers  while the painters are here but having the equipment in the room next to the loungeroom is a winner! And when all else fails I walk up to the local shops with the pram and my runners on and walk fast!

how do you introduce a new baby into the house to older siblings?

I’ve decided after 5 babies that no amount of preparation and talking will help a toddler or preschooler get ready for the shock of a new baby. It’s just in their personality and nature how they will accept the change. Now Keira didn’t want a bar of the twins and ignored them for a good few weeks. She’d come into the hospital room and ignore them, we brought them home and she ignored them. After a couple of weeks she warmed to them. I can’t blame her – two babies! I’m pretty sure she thought one was reasonable.

Everyone accepted elodie without a problem and keira loved to help out with getting mummy nappies or wipes. And then emerson arrived and who loved the new baby more than anyone else has loved a new brother or sister? Elodie. That’s right. The youngest of the 4 big brothers and sisters just adored emerson and made a big fuss of him from the moment she met him.

Elodie is such an empathetic little person and if he is crying, she is right over at his side making little noises and trying to pat him. She was the only one in the hospital who just oohhed and ahhed over him. And Elodie was too young to know why I was growing to the size of a house and yet she loved him and made the biggest fuss over him.

Of course you can talk about the new baby and what might change and show them how tiny the baby clothes and nappies will be. And just make it fun, they are getting a new person to play with!!!!

Got a question? Just ask……

Filed Under: babies, baby

honey oat bread

February 11, 2013 By 6 Comments

I’ve been feeling a little inspired to bake some bread. Especially since little elodie will be doing some breadmaking each week at her new playgroup. And bread is so easy in the thermomix. It kneads it in a couple of minutes.

So I pulled out my Thermomix book and made the seeded loaf without the seeds. Delicious. Retro daddy decided to walk into the house at just the right time- I’d just pulled the loaf out of the oven and cut a slice for myself. And you’ll have to excuse that there are a couple of instagram photos as I hadn’t intended to blog it but oh it was so good I had to share!

And of course bread is best eaten hot with some butter on it……….ok, well I actually put nuttelex which is a dairy free spread on everything and it was so good. And this was also delicious toasted for breakfast and I was feeling all earth mothery as I made keira’s sandwich using it today. 

This is definitely one to make and if you haven’t made bread before or need to get back into it I think this is the one. Now the recipe says put it in a 20cm square tin but I’m thinking I might use a loaf tin next time…..I’ll report back.

5.0 from 1 reviews
honey oat bread
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe type: Baking
Serves: 16
What you'll need
  • 500g bakers flour (I use Lighthouse brand)
  • 1 sachet dry yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 50g oats
  • 1-2Tbsp honey
  • 30g Olive oil
  • 500g lukewarm water
Instructions
  1. Place all of the ingredients in your thermomix bowl. With dial on closed lid, knead for 2½ minutes on interval speed (that's the little wheat sign).
  2. You can also do the kneading in a Kitchen Aid or using your good old hands. Just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well then knead on a lightly floured board. It's a very sticky mixture and you want it to stay sticky so don't go overboard with the flour.
  3. Place the mixture in a 20cm square baking tin/dish (I lined mine with baking paper or you can grease it) and leave it in a warm spot with a clean tea towel over the top to rise. About 30 minutes. The dough should have risen to the top of your tin
  4. Sprinkle about a Tablespoon of oats over the top.
  5. Bake in a 200C/400F oven for about 40 minutes. It will look lovely and golden and when you tap the top of the loaf it will sound hollow.
  6. Leave in the tin for about 5 minutes then remove and slice and eat.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
Filed Under: baking, recipe, thermomix

old school chocolate slice

February 10, 2013 By 30 Comments

This recipe totally takes me back to cake stalls, birthday parties in primary school and the 80’s. I found this recipe in one of my Australian Woman’s Weekly cookbooks that was published in 1982 and it’s delicious. Except I had to reduce the butter. The recipe called for 185g but you can totally cut this down to 125g and still have a fabulous slice.

Someone asked recently how have I been losing weight while still baking. You might have noticed I took a bit of a mini break from baking but the great thing about having 50 million people in the family. Everyone eats everything up. And often I make something in the afternoon and if retro daddy is working late I’ll go to the tupperware container the next day and it’s all gone!!!! This did not last half a day.


4.8 from 6 reviews
old school chocolate slice
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe type: Baking
Serves: 12
What you'll need
  • 1 cup flour (plain or SR, I've used both!)
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup coconut
  • 2Tbsp cocoa
  • 125g butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Icing ingredients
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 2 Tbsp cocoa
  • 30g melted butter
  • 2 Tbsp hot water
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in Thermomix by placing cubes of butter in bowl and melting for 2½ minutes, 70 degrees on speed 2.
  2. Add in flour, coconut, sugar, 2Tbsp cocoa and vanilla and process 20 -30 seconds on speed 3
  3. **Tip out and press into lamington tin. If you're not using a silicone tin then line your tin so you can just lift out the slice
  4. Bake in 180 degrees oven for about 20 minutes. The centre may still appear still soft but the slice will harden up and you don't want to burn your edges.
  5. Grab a small bowl and combine icing ingredients and whisk together well.
  6. Spread over cooled slice, sprinkle with some extra coconut and slice and serve.
  7. I couldn't wait to ice and eat mine so I had warm slice with icing. It was perfect but you'll get a neater slice and presentation if you can leave it. I couldn't.
  8. If you don't have a Thermomix just combine all of the base ingredients, mix well and follow from **.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

Filed Under: baking, chocolate Tagged With:

I made elodie a dress

February 9, 2013 By 25 Comments

Although I have 3 girls fairly spread out in ages( 6, 4, 2)  the hand – me -downs don’t always work out and at the moment we have a bit of a stockpile going on in Tillie’s wardrobe as she’s quite thin compared to keira and elodie so the clothes aren’t moving out that fast. I went through my fabric stash which is now colour co-ordinated but currently living in my spare kitchen and pulled out a few fabrics to make a few things. And fill out elodie’s wardrobe.

I love this pattern. Simplicity 5695. There are a few options so you can make it a tiered dress if you prefer.

It’s super easy and this took me under 2 hours from start to finish which is always a winner in my books. The big kids were running around with the hose outside and daddy supervising and I worked quickly to get this done.

Unfortunately my little model was having a real case of fighting the afternoon nap and refused to put this on. So I’ll leave it till tomorrow morning and grab a few pictures before church.

Oh and because I know someone will ask me, the fabric was bought last year at Spotlight in the quilting section. I know I’ve talked before about the fabric I use for sewing. I prefer to use quilting cottons for my girls dresses because the quality is so good. In the early days I would use poly/cotton from spotlight or lincraft but those dresses really didn’t last the distance. I find these feel beautiful and last forever.

This year I really want to use up more of my stash and all the gorgeous pattern books and patterns I have here before everyone grows up and doesn’t want to wear my clothes anymore……………..

oh and you know why else I love sewing? Because I can brag to retro daddy that this little stunner cost me less than $10!

Filed Under: sewing, sewing machine

our renovation – day 17?

February 8, 2013 By 9 Comments

I have totally lost track of the days here. No idea where we’re up to so I’ll just guess day 17 or end of week 4. The painting is taking a lot longer than expected (was supposed to be 2 weeks) because the painter is down to himself with no helpers plus I think he underestimated the size of the house. Oh and if you need a refresher of the before photos – just go here.

So he’s been doing skirtings, windows (which are fiddly) and wardrobes upstairs. He still has about 4 rooms to do this on, 2 sets of new french doors to paint and install and my lovely big black glossy double doors.

I hope he can get it done in 2 weeks because the guys to do my downstairs flooors will be here and I’d like to just have it all go smoothly in terms of timing.

Anyway, it’s all looking fabulous so far. New paint especially on big dark brown wardrobes makes a huge difference. The kids have enjoyed camping out downstairs – there is only so much more camping out I can do in my loungeroom.

 

oh and the painting on the staircase has started and already gives me an idea of how amazing it will look. When we first visited the house it was the staircase and just this huge feeling of space in the foyer and upstairs landing that reeled me in. It’s not ofen we saw houses in our budget where we got a feeling of space!

I can’t wait to take pictures of all of the kids growing up on these stairs or in front of my doors.

And how is this sunset? Because we have so many little ones and two upstairs balconies we have to keep the doors closed so that no one goes out there. The painter has it open when he’s working and I had to pop out after he left and before justin locked up the doors again just to appreciate the view and beautiful sunset.

And that is that. I’ll be back later next week with more progress!

 

Filed Under: homes, renovation, renovations

Get out your diaries for our craft day

February 7, 2013 By 9 Comments

OK, I’ve just booked the hall so it’s all happening. Get our your diaries. We are going to be making some lovely things for Dandelion Support Network on Sunday 24th March in Sydney.

What are we doing?

We are making quilts and blankets to donate to Dandelion Support Network who are an amazing Sydney based charity who respond to requests from social workers and charities for mums and families who need baby and children’s items. Cots, prams, clothes, formula, nappies and more. They do such good work and they did have a local group making quilts for them that they would give with each cot/bassinet package but they’ve run out of quilts. So each quilt will be given to a family in need. If you go and follow their Facebook page here you will see that some of the requests are so urgent with women in shelters, refuges and no one else to turn to. They are the sister network of St Kilda Mums who are based in Melbourne and also do amazing work. You can find their page here.

What do we do on the day?

we will unpack parcels, make up quilt blocks, quilt quilts, make binding, attach binding, embroider/stitch a little message on each quilt, write a little card to go with each quilt. I’ll also get some people to make some quick patchwork quilts using charm squares and polar fleece/flanelette backings.

Where is it?

The venue is a community hall on Sydney’s northern beaches (lower) near the Wakehurst Parkway. It’s in  quiet suburban street with plenty of free parking outside. It is upstairs so if you need assistance getting upstairs or bringing your machines up just let me know and we’ll help you up. And if you are planning on coming please email retromummy@hotmail.com for the address.

What do you need to bring?

Your sewing machine, basic sewing supplies, any fabrics you wish to donate that are suitable and a plate of something sweet or savoury to share. I’ll have extension cords, powerboards and 2 irons all set up.

What does it cost?

Nothing. Everything is paid for and I have 2 huge overflowing tubs of charm squares, scraps, bits of fabric and 2 huge rolls of batting so even if you don’t have fabric just come along with your machine and we’ll get you sorted. We’ll have tea, coffee, sweets, water and drinks provided.

What size quilts should I make?

You can read some measurements here but just use them as a guideline, there are no hard and fast rules with this.

What if I don’t quilt?

Do you knit or crochet and could get started on a small cot or pram size blanket and finish it on the day. We’d love to donate some sweet blankets too. If you can sew a straight line and have a machine then come along and we’ll put you to good use. What about baby hats or little cardigans? We also need a person or two to stitch by hand a little message on each quilt just to make it a bit more personal and a keepsake.

 

What about the flood victims?

Yes if you would like to donate some quilts that aren’t for babies/toddlers then we will be donating those quilts and accepting blocks, quilt tops and quilts to donate to Queensland (perhaps Bundaberg) or another flood affected region. This follows on from the amazing number of quilts we donated with Quilts for Queensland back in 2011.

I don’t live in Sydney?

We would love your quilt blocks, quilt tops and completed quilts that are suitable for babies and toddlers. I am planning to do a melbourne day somewhere in the middle of the year when we’re next in Melbourne so stay tuned. If you’d like to send us something then please email retromummy@hotmail for the postal address.

You can read my previous posts on what we’re doing here, here and here. If you have any more questions just ask in the comments.

Filed Under: quilt, quilting, quilts for dandelion
« Previous Page
Next Page »