My Creative Space ...

I've been plodding my way through this quilted table runner this week. Doing a bit at a time, when Nicholas lets me. I wanted something nice and bright, but at the same time "me" for our dining table.

Unfortunately my sewing has been hampered by a migrane this week that knocked me out for a day or two, I am just now starting to feel a bit better with most of the heaviness that a migrane brings, gone. We are still sleeping in 2-3 hour cycles through the night as Nicholas hasn't realised that there is a difference between day-time and night-time sleeping. I had forgotten what caring for a screaming baby was like with a migraine ...

As you can see, I still have to bind it, but doesn't it look great on my Jarrah table?

I picked up a metre of this gorgeous Japanese print from the Kimono Girls at the Australasian Quilt Convention and I used some Jelly Roll Solids from Green Fairy. The orange band is from the Haunted House range of fabric. The grey/black polka dot is from Spotlight, and having worked with it, I dislike it! It will be interesting to see how it survives a wash.

For more crafty peeps, head on over to Kooyotoo

Another Butterfly ...

Flipping through some of my iPhone pictures .. this one was taken at the recent "Black Market".

Victoria was so excited to see that there was a face painter there, and was even more excited when she saw her butterfly face. Some days I can't believe that she is almost 4 years old.

The Culprit

Apologies for the non-crafty post, it has been a bit of a challenging week for many reasons!

It wasn't rocket science. I knew that my daughter had issues with food colourings and additives. I was just hoping that she was starting to "grow" out of it. For her first birthday we had ordered a cake from a bakery and we got them to put "iggle piggle" on the top of it. Unfortunately she broke out in hives that night. It was our first real experience of her reactions to food additives and colourings. Since then controlled experiments with all sorts of processed foods have often resulted in skin irritations such as eczema and hives.

I didn't think twice when I pulled out the packet mix for Baby Cup Cakes from the cupboard. Tori and I had a grand time mixing up the batter, making the cup cakes, then the frosting. We even had someone over for morning tea to help us eat them.

Unfortunately she had a reaction last night. Woke up with her "back burning" and lumpy .. hives. After a weekend of exposure to all things sugar and artificial, it was all a bit too much for her. The cup cakes probably tipped her over the edge and then we had to deal with a very upset 3 1/2 year old.

When she has reactions like this we generally treat it with Polaramine which gives her some relief. the hives get scratched and then we have to treat the skin irritation with her eczema creams which consist of both cortosone and non-cortosone based products. We also have a topical antibacterial to use if the scratchings get infected.

So just when we had her eczema under control ....

Does anyone else in crafty land have food colouring or additive issues?

More Butterflies

Isn't this just devine?

 

via

Made by Luly Yan, more butterfly evening dress goodness here .. 

Easter Sunday

I love the innocence in their eyes as they discover that the Easter bunny has been ...

I love that belief in magic as they tell you that they saw the bunny hop away down the street ...

This will only last a few years and then they will have to try and understand the true meaning of Easter.

May you have many special moments with your families this Easter.

Butterflies

I seem to have a thing for butterflies at the moment.

I picked up this cute little number up the other day from Jeans West. Then I stumbled across this lovely piece on etsy Butterfly Wing by zippandesigns.

And then in my travels I came across this gorgeous Art Quilt by Caryl Bryer Fallert, check out the web site that goes with the quilt. Machine pieced, appliqued and then quilted. An amazing piece of work. Some of the techniques used in this quilt, reminds me of the Stained Glass Quilt book that my dear friends Kerri and George got for me.

I am wondering what the universe is trying to tell me?

16 years and counting ...

Another year has flown by rather fast and we find ourselves celebrating our Wedding Anniversary yet again. 16 years married, 21 years together ...  I am currently reading Kerri Sackville's new book and there is a line in it which says that when you are married for a while it is like reading the same book over and over. For us it isn't like that, we are both changing and certainly with the arrival of Nicholas, life is definately not the same book over and over.

In previous years I have posted some actual wedding pictures, but this one is perhaps my favourite. Can you guess where it was taken?

Andreas, I love you and feel I blessed that you chose me to share your life with. Even when we are operating on very few hours of sleep at the moment, you make me feel special and loved.

And the winner is ...

After a jam packed weekend, Victoria and I got around to "drawing" the winner of the book. Yes, I could have done a random number generator thing, but then it wouldn't have been half an hour of excitement for my 3 year old!

So we both printed off all the comments, cut them out and scrunched them up into my hubby's hat.

Victoria mixed all the scrunched up bits of paper together and then .. drumroll ... Heather from A Quilting Mother's Journey in Colorado.  Heather, if you want to email me your mailing address, I'll pop the book in the post for you this week.

Stay tuned in the next few days for another give away for April to celebrate my Birthday Month!

Stolen Bag from ACQ needs to be returned

 

I was speechless when I read that someone had the audacity to steal a sample bag from the Nicole Mallalieu stand at the ACQ.

 

If you see this bag on the street, with the very special button that was used to make it, ask the person where they got it from and then let them know that it is a stolen product.

And if you are the thief, and you read this post, pop the bag into a post-it bag and return to sender please ...

Help spread the word by getting the html for this wanted poster from Curlypops blog.

Button Goodness

I braved the Australasian Quilt Convention yesterday with Nicholas, but I haven't gotten around to writing a blog post and processing all the pictures that I have taken. I got a tooth extracted on Thursday and well, I am still very very sore :-(

Just a reminder that I have a market tomorrow. It's more of a gigantic garage sale than a makers market, but it will be a good day. Tori has been excitedly helping me make some button badges to take along, she has worked out how to use the machine herself.

Compact Mirrors

I was very excited when my mirrors arrived today for my market on Sunday. Trying something new with my designs on the back. Very Konstant Kaos ...

 

I've been stocktaking today. Laying out all my stock, pressing table cloths and making sure that I have everything that I need like bags and a float. I haven't had much time to sew as I usually would, but I am still looking forward to this market. I will be there under a marquee with Nicholas .. let's hope he behaves!

I am also going to have some "old" but in good condition club gear  and black corporate wear from when I was a size 10 ... so come along, enjoy the bands and company. Sunday is going to be a lovely day.

And if you love patchwork, remember that I have a giveaway that closes tomorrow midnight, Melbourne time!

Kitten Hugs

I had forgotten how small kittens could be ...

... and also how fearless they can be!

Friends have just gotten two 14 week old Abyssinian kittens, a brother and sister.

Is there anything better than kitten hugs (especially on a cold rainy day)?

7 weeks on

7 weeks on and somedays it feels like my house is a circus. Tori has a genuine love and affection for her brother, but sometimes it can be smothering. Her rambuncious nature can sometimes result in a crying baby, when of course Mummy wants him to sleep.

At 7 weeks on he is 5.5kg and 59cm. He gained 700 grams in two weeks at his last Maternal Health checkup. He is a good feeder, but doesn't seem to understand the concept of long sleeps during the night.

Music Monday

With a 7 week old I find myself trying all sorts of things to sooth the beast within him and put him to sleep. A few days ago I found myself with a screaming child in front of Youtube. I had given up on the tunes that I was using to sooth him, and was looking for some more ideas.

I had been meaning to look this song up on Youtube since my old 3rd Gen iPod shuffled into this album the other day in my sewing room. It takes me back to Year 12, when I first heard Clannad Past Present.



Then onto another video which took me back to the U2 Concert I attended in 1989, this was the first song that they played from the The Joshua Tree. The support band had finished they were tuning the instruments and then out of no-where the lights lit up the whole Rod Laver Arena and they started to play "Where the streets have no name". It was probably the first time I met my husband-to-be in a social setting. I still have the tour t-shirt, worn and with lots of holes. I can't bear to part with it.



Then another from one of my favourite U2 Albums, Unforgettable Fire. I love the haunting sounds of the opening sequence of this song.




Can't remember which album this one is off, but again, I love the riffs, melody and his voice.



And how can I post a bunch of U2 video's without posting this one? I guess I like the "old stuff" better than their new stuff.



As I am writing this post, Nicholas is slumped in my arms, partially asleep. Every once in a while he whimpers to let me know that he isn't quite asleep and that I have to continue watching Youtube video's ... here is one for you guys that like U2 and Ewan McGregor ..

Do you like U2? If so, which song is your favourite song??

The Black Market 17th April 2011

As mad as I am, I have booked a space at the up and coming "Black Market" on Sunday 17th April 2011. Located on the banks of Merri Creek yet again, we are hoping that the rain will hold off!

I am not sure how much "new" stock I will have there, but I will also have some second hand black clothes for sale. Come and say "hi". My next market will probably be in the second half of the year.

One of the reasons that I do this market is the atmosphere and the fact that it is more of a community gathering than a market.

The Resignators will also be playing, so it is worthwhile turning up just to sit around and have a listen to them.

Maldon Steam Train

We took off bright and early this morning to the Maldon Steam Train to celebrate Sarah's 3rd Birthday.

There was lots of fun for the kiddles ...

The train was going nice and slow with lots of whistles and even conductors!

But it was the biggest kid of all, who had the most amount of fun ...

my Hubby .. who easily took 8Gb of train photo's!

Victorian Goldfields Railway is open during the school holidays. I think next time I might leave the hubby to ride the rails while I make my way through the Maldon antique stores!

Nappy Clutch

Finally managed to deliver a few handmade gifts this week, so now I can blog about them!

After being told by another friend how handy this handmade gift was, I made another for another friend who had a little boy. Big enough to keep a handful of nappies and some wipes, good for that occassional short trip out of the house. I matched them up with some alien applique face washers.

When they finish with nappies, it can become a pencil case.

The print is a japanese one which I have had in my stash forever!

My Creative Space ...

I've finally managed to find the time to pin my Monochromatic Quilt to the backing fabric. So now it is all set to go, I just have to decide how to quilt it. So many options! I need to find the time to finish the last tutorial on the "night and day" block that is in the Sampler.

For more craft pursuits, check out Kootoyoo's blog

Kaos also has a giveaway, "I heart Patchwork" the book .. so enter! yes!

Thirty Nine

Another year gone past so fast in a blink of an eye and I find myself celebrating another birthday knowing that next year it will be the big "four-ohhh".

Tori giving Nicholas a bath

I spent my day today with my family doing basically nothing.

No stress, no commitments, although we did end up at a friend's place in the afternoon for coffee which then turned into take-out Indian.

Amoungst my Birthday stash was a few books, "The Creative Family" and the Sarah Fieke "Quilting from little things". Both should keep me entertained for a while.

Learn to Play

I am a frequenter of Diary of a Quilter, one of my favourite quilting blogs for inspiration. A blog post this week showcased a number of gorgeous quilts and one caught my eye.

Learn to Play, is an American Jane pattern and it ticks all the boxes on my list .. beautiful, challenging and functional. I can imagine this quilt being used in my family room, sitting along side my binary blanket.

So I have bought a copy of this pattern, to go on the to-do list ... on $14.50 USD with shipping and handling.

Patchwork Heaven

I needed to get some backing fabric for my Monochromatic Quilt this afternoon so I ventured out with Nicholas strapped to the front of me to GJ's in East Brunswick. I couldn't resist taking a few snaps of the wall of quilting fabric.

Their "Patchwork Room" was previously upstairs with their glitter and dance range on the bottom floor. Unless you were "in the know" you probably didn't realise that they had an extensive patchwork range upstairs. Now you can see it from the street.

The downstairs space is choc full of yummy patchwork fabrics, including lots of alternative prints.

Their Japanese corner now works better than it did, you can see all the prints without walking around a fixture.

And there is a table of pre-cuts when you walk in the door .. tempting you ...

Upstairs they are hoping to set up a space where they can either run lessons or have craft groups come in and sew. Very exciting!

Check out their new web site and subscribe to their mailing list to find out about sales and specials. They also have a frequent shopper program, just don't do what I do and forget to bring the card.