Alewives fabric arrived!

I am an excited girl today - my special order of super fabric from Alewives Fabrics in Maine arrived right to our door, delivered by Postman Pete. I now have five new, beautiful fabrics to craft with. My mind is a swirl of images - hats, pants, skirts, cushions - oh the thinks I can think!

Mid-Summer garden update

The veggies are growing thick and fast at our house at the moment. Zucchini's continue to produce, beans are growing up, up, up and he tomatoes and corn are almost ready to pick (along with the cucumbers, parsley and pak choy).

Fabric wall art

Lately I've been fascinated with fabric, wool and thread (if that wasn't already obvious from my last posts :-). I dream about their colours, I fantasise about the softness of a skein of wool or the feel of jersey cotton.
And I've begun to think more creatively about my use of fabrics. "How else can I display this beautiful fabric?", " I think to myself..."how can I solve this problem by knitting or stitching?" Perhaps I'm becoming a fanatic, perhaps I'm rediscovering an old friend, either way I'm enjoying this new passion and its hold on my life!
With all these thoughts swirling around in my head I decided to create some art for my girls bedroom walls - partly to decorate, partly to display. So Bethany got the Matryoshka doll pattern and Rosie chose a circus elephant from a larger pattern to match with her impending trip to see Cirque du Soleil with Noni and Pa.
Lovely!

Rosie's explorer bag

Rosie's love for exploring came to the fore this week with the creation of an explorer's bag for her to carry her tools in. She needed a bag that would allow her to carry around binoculars, a drink, something to write on and a plastic imitation Swiss Army knife. So, after some discussion together about the colour this bag should be (brown or green to blend in with the bush), how many pockets it should have (one large opening inside and one outside pocket for her binoculars so she can pull them out quickly if she sees a bird) and how long the strap should be (long enough for the bag to sit on her hip) I whipped up a satchel from some old curtain fabric I found at the op shop and a brown fairy tale fabric from Kelani that I'd been saving for something special.
Needless to say, it was all Rosie asked for and has been used everyday since its creation!

Zucchini Pasta Sauce

It's zucchini season at our house and after making zucchini slice, zucchini loaf, BBQ zucchini etc... and giving some away we still had more that we could possibly eat.
After some research I thought it was worth turning them into pasta sauce (we eat a lot of this over the year) with some locally grown tomatoes, onions, garlic and rosemary from our garden.
I used a recipe a friend told me about last year from Stephanie Alexander where the ingredients are reduced and concentrated by roasting them in the oven first, then blending them up and heating to boiling, putting in sterilised containers etc...
Enjoy the photos!

Sewing Machine Cosy

My hardworking friend, my beautiful sewing machine, received a much-needed make-over this week with its own special cover (though I think cosy is a much nicer and more appropriate word for its soft, special clothing).
I had some fabric from Kelani Fabric Obsession that I had been saving for just this purpose and its finally found its home protecting my tireless machine.
I loved this Japanese fabric for its little antique sewing motifs and dodgy English expressions - it's combination of whimsy and sewing felt perfect for the work I do with my machine!

Bethany's bolero

I've been working for a couple of weeks now on some knitting. I know, I know, we're in the heat of Summer and I'm not known for completing my knitting projects... But I felt confident that I could finish a little cardy for my littlest girl. So, armed with some Cleckheaton Naturals 100% wool in a light blue fleck I knitted up a storm for two weeks and came up with the cutest little bolero this side of the divide (well, I may be exaggerating there but I'm proud of my efforts and I think Bethany likes it too).

The value of play

As Rosie reaches school age I've been pondering about the role of unscheduled play time in a child's life lately. How important is it? And for how many years? These are the more analytical questions that have been floating around in my head but no matter how I look at it I come to the same conclusion - that play is very important, perhaps even the most important thing for a child. But then I take this conclusion further and wonder if that's true for all of us, no matter what our age or disposition.
Play has a wonderful, magical quality about it doesn't it? I can see it as Rosie and Bethany play together, or separately, or with their cousin Elsa (or cousins Alec and Eddy). And I can feel it when I let myself forget work or chores or jobs and just play myself. Time slips away and is unimportant, imagination takes hold and anything is possible. A table becomes a house, then a restaurant, then a dance studio. A small table is a cooktop.
Yesterday I watched as my precious ones and their cousin played in an ongoing imaginary wonderland. There were negotiations and sharing throughout their joint-creativity. I listened to their stories, their changing expectations, the tangents of enthusiasm and was very thankful that I consciously gave them time for play. For this is what children (and the child in all of us) are made for, this play is their beauty. Play together. Play side by side. From cooking with octopus oil to making gum leaf stew. This is true reality-imagining that, as a parent, I aim to encourage as much as possible.

The girls in the house/restaurant/dance studio

 

Buckets of Summer fun

For our Summer time in the sun this year I wanted to make a hat for each of my precious little ones (and for others too). We have lots of hats already, but we all need something new and specially handmade for us by our Mama don't we? I wanted to shade my girls heads with beautiful, hand-chosen cloth as they play freely in the sun, on the beach or in the backyard.
I found a wonderful pattern in 'Oliver + S Little Things to Sew' by Leisl Gibson for a reversible bucket hat for children and waited impatiently while other things went on at home (as they do) for some time to sew one up.
My first attempt was an extra small hat for Bethany in a green fabric (one side) and a Japanese pink flower design on the other. Pleasingly it sewed up quickly, hid my mistakes well (we all make these on a new pattern don't we?) and fitted well.
So next up was one for Rosie, this time with an owl theme. Hers is a medium and features a sea-blue owl design on one side and a white owl pattern on the other.
Both have been very popular and cute on these two littlies.
Next I sewed up a large hat for an adult in pink spots (from Kelani Fabric Obsession) and Japanese purple flowers and fans (from a shop in Bright). Mum loved this hat and its now hers.
Since this explosion of hat-stitching I've had a request from Dad for his own - hmmm... I might need to buy some more lovely fabric :-).