baking and making with my family of 9
What a surprise to find a bolt of fabric on my doorstep this morning, this one was on backorder and is so lovely. I love that it’s 55% linen/45% cotton making it perfect for winter!
Up in the store already here and my mind is ticking thinking boys pants, library bags, cute pockets and more………
That Liss from Frills in the Hills is always putting a new recipe on her blog that I just have to make and this Sweet Soy Chicken was one of them. Now when I’m not pregnant I don’t go near meat but something happened when I was pregnant with the twins and chicken made an appearance in my diet! I don’t care for it when I’m not pregnant so am guessing my body is telling me it needs something! Kind of like the way I eat chocolate way too much lately…..
Now this recipe is oh so easy! I left it too late to get it in the slow cooker so it did about 45 minutes in the slow cooker and 45 minutes in the oven. I also had no brandy so used some japanese cooking wine and extra honey, served with white rice and for vegies I sauteed chinese broccoli and some mushrooms in oyster sauce. Oh yum, thanks Liss! A real winner and I took some tips on your presentation and retro daddy was very impressed!
Any excuse to use my new machine….and I’m making a simple cot quilt – well we’ll probably call it a comforter since there is no patchwork! I’m quilting 2 large pieces of co-ordinating fabrics from the Darla range (one of my all time favourite ranges). It’s looking so pretty and is for the new baby but keira is already trying to take it as her own. I have actually already quilted most of it but thought it made for a nice picture under my machine.
I figure if I start now I’ll have a little assortment of baby things made and ready to go. My new machine is a dream – a little face with a tear comes up to tell you when you’ve made a mistake (how very japanese and cute) and the machine stops and a message comes up telling you you’re about to run about bobbin thread which is just a dream when you’re quilting. Oh how I could go on about the machine but all retro daddy says is ‘have you got your old one up on ebay yet’ – oops!
Today at the quilt trade show was like my day as a kid in a candy store….and especially when I get to buy lovely charm square and jelly roll packs to take home!
and the only photo I took was where I order my kokka….too focused on ordering, obviously! Luckily, my little buddy Jennie took lots for the two of us. Our aussie shows aren’t like the big ones in the states but for me it’s a great day to see and order the new fabrics and I’ve come home with 5 full pages of fabric orders.
While we have to wait patiently until September for the fabrics to start arriving (oh my goodness so many cute ones!) I’ve put a few things in the store so you can feel like you’ve been to the show too! These fabrics won’t be available here for a while so enjoy!
Well I’m a day late but here is my hexagon flower. This posting a flower every wednesday does keep me honest (ok well I’ve missed a week or two but who’s counting). And at this rate it will probably take me a year to finish my hexagon flower quilt!
for this flower I used some Plume (Moda) charm squares and I love charm squares for these big hexagons as they are just the perfect size! So now I just need to start on the weekend so I can get a few done by next wednesday.
One day, maybe one day they will all sit together for a photo! I thought it would be cute to take some photos of them looking lovely before we headed into the city today….as you would expect Keira was posing and insisting I take more photos of her!
but the twins were not interested at all,
Finn couldn’t sit still to save his own life and thought it was funny to keep jumping off the couch
and little Tillie wouldn’t even look at the camera
so after 20+ photos I called it a day
but I did get some cute ones in….
Thank you to Julie for scanning me a copy of Keira in the paper today! She looks cute but you can tell she was getting tired of smiling for the camera. Keira thought she had to hold the smile the entire time and I was trying to get her to smile again but no the smile turned into clenched teeth!
I think a copy of this paper will be the perfect thing for Keira to take into group time at pre-school next week! She was at the supermarket today singing out I’m in the paper , I’m in the paper and of course it didn’t matter that we were in Sydney and the paper was in Canberra!
Some people think I’m just crazy to be having a 4th child but to me my problem will be stopping at 4! I just love having babies and adore all my own little children who are just easy going, easy to love and of course beautiful (and I can say that because I’m their mum).
Now this photo hasn’t come up well from the paper and I’ll keep trying to get a clearer one, but I had to share this local family with their 7 children selling up their $2.6m+ home. I mean whats not to love…….if you can do it so well and so stylishly (the whole house is hamptons beach style and stunning) then why stop. So no, I’m not going for 7 but let’s just say I’m not saying that number 4 is my last.
I also love photos of anna maria horner’s gorgeous brood – someone else doing the large family thing very stylishly – but I just can’t see her driving the people mover around! Maybe she has all the seats reupholstered in her own fabric ranges! So come out all you large family readers and closet large family lovers, tell me your large family inspiration!!!!
yay another handmade market under my belt! I really enjoy doing handmade market. It has a lovely vibe, there are always familiar faces and old school friends to say hi to (that’s canberra for you!). We left the hotel at 8am and got a rude shock with the cold air…my poor little children who have never been in such cold weather before and were having fun blowing cold air out of their mouths!
Straight to the venue and setting up the table in our lovely spot and getting ready! Here is keira manning the stall for me (before doors opened at 10am) while retro daddy ducked into the city for a jug for my knitting needles. I knew I’d forget something!
Keira then had a mini photo session with the Canberra Times and they rang for all of our details so I’ll be sure to post the photo from tomorrow’s paper! I had to make keira look all wintery with one of my hats and katia’s blanket wrapped around her and she is very excited about being in the paper! Here she is at the end of the day enjoying a princess cupcake from katia.
So thank you to Handmade for such a lovely market and of course to all the lovely people who stopped by to say hello, have a browse or buy something! One of the best things about markets for me is being able to talk to people (ok and also get out of the house) and really enjoy myself. Everyone is so friendly and lovely and oh if you have a little baby in a carrier on the front of you then expect me to go a little bit crazy over your baby! I just can’t help myself!!!!!!!
No, not the one in the tummy, the one that now sits on my sewing table! Now everyone I’ve told has said ‘didn’t you just get a new machine’! Well yes, last year I did upgrade to the innovis 600, but then after my sewing training with Melanie (the lovely Brother rep whose job I want) she just got into my head that I needed the brother qc1000. I kept checking on ebay and at sewing stores, longing for one and then lo and behold one comes up on ebay from a reputable dealer!
what’s a girl to do but bid and hope she gets it and I did! and for less than my current machine cost new! wooohoo, we’re talking huge savings. I can see the touch screen means no little people around as it was all too exciting for Finn!
so I still get the features I love like auto tension, thread cutter, fancy stitches but I also get a touch screen , huge extension table, 3 free motion feet, USB port and other fancy features! So my lovely pink brother will go on ebay on sunday (on strictest instructions from retro daddy) so I’ll be taking my new manual with me to Canberra this weekend for some bedtime reading.
Oh and in all the excitement of opening the box I sliced my finger and ended up at the dr’s – thankfully just a clean out and a steri strip but it was a deep cut that had me a little worried!
No, not the one in the tummy, the one that now sits on my sewing table! Now everyone I’ve told has said ‘didn’t you just get a new machine’! Well yes, last year I did upgrade to the innovis 600 but then after my sewing training with Melanie the brother rep she just got into my head that I needed the brother qc1000. I kept checking on ebay and at sewing stores, longing for one and then lo and behold one comes up on ebay from a reputable dealer!
what’s a girl to do but bid and hope she gets it and I did! and for less than my current machine cost new! wooohoo, we’re talking huge savings. I can see the touch screen means no little people around as it was all too exciting for Finn!
so I still get the features I love like auto tension, thread cutter, fancy stitches but I also get a touch screen , huge extension table, 3 free motion feet, USB port and other fancy features! So my lovely pink brother will go on ebay on sunday (on strictest instructions from retro daddy) so I’ll be taking my new manual with me to Canberra this weekend for some bedtime reading.
I still love you all eventhough I’ve gone a bit quiet on here! It’s just now that keira’s party is behind us, I’m madly getting ready for Handmade! There are fabric bolts that need to be magically be transformed into cute little fat quarters wrapped in plastic, hats that need ends weaved in and flowers crocheted and over 30 t-shirts waiting for retro mummy tags to be attached not to mention some more dresses that I hope to start and finish!
So bear with me and we’ll get there! It’s also a big week as keira has her interview for school this week…..who am I kidding….our interview! What a decision on where to send her, will she get in, will they tell us she is too young eventhough she is reading and writing and does the cutest sign of the cross on herself!!!!! Who knows…..fingers are crossed, her new outfit is ready and I’m sure she’ll ace it!
And these are the lovely flowers retro daddy bought for keira’s party day – as he left for the shops he said are you sure you don’t want carnations – remember
phew, all the cooking and cleaning was worth it as we recover from Keira’s party today! I love a good old fashioned party and everything ran smoothly! The girls ate coconut ice, snow white slice (white chocolate, marshmallows and rice bubbles), little sandwiches (cream cheese + ham, egg + mayo), vegetable frittata, sausage rolls, grapes, white chocolate freckles (white chocolate and silver cachous) and drank lemonade with little cocktail umbrellas in their princess cups ( I couldn’t help myself).
here all the little girls sitting nicely waiting for the sausage rolls!
we played pass the parcel, musical statues and pin the tail on the donkey!
and after games, we decorated cupcakes as our craft activity which was lots of fun…….
I can’t remember where I saw it on tv a while ago but for little girl’s its a winner!
and then it was time for cake! The birthday cake turned out nicely – always a worry on the day! I went for a simple and pretty design from Donna Hay Kids magazine 2008.
I used her butter cake recipe and I must admit that in previous years I’ve used packet mix and spent more time on the decorating of the cake but there is no turning back now, butter cake all the way for birthdays from now on. So we’re all exhausted but had a lovely time!
After what seems like weeks of rain in Sydney, we ventured outside this morning to do some sweeping and tidy up before keira’s little party this weekend. Mummy managed to get the leaves into a nice pile and then my little helpers came in….Tillie don’t hit your brother with your broom
they had fun together
until Tillie decided she’d leave it all to Finn (like mummy normally leaves it to daddy!)
and Finn really got to work….and then there was no pile!
I’ll leave most of the house cleaning until everyone is in bed otherwise it is all in vain! This week I had just removed a nice crayon artwork from the wall only to find the next day Tillie had taken a big purple pencil to another wall!!!!!!!! Keira had no interest in drawing on walls but somehow the twins manage to get it done when I’m not looking! Thank goodness for gumtion!!!!
