Tutu cute!

So much can change between posts I'm afraid... I should, right now, be enjoying a spin on my new ALDI overlocker, but, alas, it was not to be.

Not only do I not have the spare $199 to buy it but negative reviews of the machine in question had me rethinking... even if I could afford it.

I went to my local sewing machine shop instead & enquired about layby, the lovely lady told me to hold off for the Mothers Day catalogue if I could so that is what I am going to do. I'm going to put $20 aside every week as if I had an overlocker on layby already & put that down as a deposit if there is some great machine on super duper special.

Other than that, I have made Punky a tutu... just because. You will note that poor Miss P has a black eye, the result of a nasty incident with a metal door mat... :(

I made the tutu with strips of netting knotted over some elastic, I like the look but not the fit (it's all stiff because of the knots & feels uncomfortable as they sit right on the waist.) so I am going to see what I can wrangle with a bit of tweaking & perhaps some sewing.... stay tuned! If I can work something out I just might share my very first tute.

Yesterday I attended a training day for a sustainability workshop I've volunteered for, it was interesting & fun & I really enjoyed it. We had a delicious lunch & got eco-freebies... woot!

We also tried a new playgroup this week, I don't know why I didn't like the last one we went to, but I didn't. This one was very different, it's a multicultural group with mostly refugee families, everyone was incredibly nice & Punky had a great time running around with the older kids.

I'M GETTING AN OVERLOCKER!!!

...and I'm just a teensy bit excited about it!

We got an ALDI supermarket brochure in the mailbox today & one of next week's specials is an overlocker... for $199!!! Oh yeah baby, you're coming home with me!

Now I don't want to start the projects I was considering until I have her... last night I spent what seemed like forever cutting out these;

...I was going to sew something up tonight... but now.... maybe I'll just make the flares... The overalls are size '1/2' & may be too small, am thinking I might just add another few centimetres all the way around, just in case.

Usually, I hate "people", but not today....!

No, because today, people have made my day. My week, hell, my month & perhaps my year.... some lovely person, unknown to moi, upgraded little ol' me to platinum membership on bellybelly.
I could not believe it when I saw it this morning, got teary & crazy happy all at once. When I first heard that there would be Random Acts of Kindness like this, I was 150% sure that I wouldn't be a recipient... I just knew there were so many more deserving BB members than I. I am still in shock, it really is amazing how an anonymous act of kindness can make such an impact on someone. I wish I knew who it was so that I could thank them, but at the same time, not knowing is a cool feeling too - wondering who it could be & why they picked you to bestow their kindness on...

Whoever it was, I hope they know how grateful I am & how happy & dare I say it, loved, they've made me feel. Every single BB girl I have come across is a beautiful person so I can honestly say that even without knowing who it was, they are one gorgeous lady.

xoxox

My own online stall....?

Since I started making things for Punky I have always had the idea that one day I might open an Etsy or Madeit store & see if anybody would actually like to buy something I've made (Imagine!).

I have yet to get around to it however, hardly suprising given my attention span & wont of starting new projects as often as I blink, however;

I may actually be getting my act together.

Yesterday I stumbled upon the Simple Living Flea Market, while stooging around ALS & I emailed the lovely owner straight away, something that surprised even me. I was compelled to contact her about a stall, everything about the site appealed to me, especially the phrase "...favouring the planet over profit..".

I hobbled together a logo for my stall this morning & am planning on breaking out the sewing machine a little later.... oooooooooh!

Also, it's The Boy's birthday today, have made him a cheesecake that I shall not be partaking in, but cheesecake is his favourite & it's pretty much all he's getting today - he got a subscription to Diggers club too but I could hardly wrap that.

Poor little Punk has a cold, she's being a trooper about it though, my little soldier!

I'm so EXCITED!!

Oh I am SO HAPPY to be able to say that Punky is back in cloth!!! Yeah baby!!

We've been having MAJOR nappy rash "ishoos", as in, it seemed almost the second I put a cloth nappy on her she would get a red butt... :( Rather than have her uncomfy, or worse, in pain, I had to resort to 'spossies but I didn't give up on finding a way around the problem... how could I? Cloth nappies are not only better for the environment but an entire stash can be bloody expensive, I couldn't have my gorgeous MCN precious' going to waste!!

I was at my wits end trying to figure out what was wrong... we hadn't changed washing powder & she'd been in the same nappies for ages without a problem.

Things I tried that DIDN'T work;

Fleece liners
Disposable liners
Washing with new detergent
Washing with no detergent
Washing with soap nuts
Applying cream with every change (bottom balm, bepanthen & various other lotions & potions...)

Finally a lovely lady on bellybelly recommended I try more natural liners as they had worked for her, almost immediately I rushed on over to Nappies Covered to get me some bamboo velour & raw silk action. The bamboo is for general use & the silk is for when there is irritation, it is apparently great for clearing up nappy rash.

So, I got the material on Friday & washed it, cut out the liners last night & today we're 2 nappies in without a hint of red!!!

It is so, so, so great to have Punky back in cloth!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone that has suggested solutions to our horrid cloth issues & who extended their commiserations on having to buy 'spossies.....!

Also, congrats to the gorgeous Maz of Maz-a-licious MCN Covers for her successful stocking last night at WAHMNaps, she has generously pledged to donate 10% of her sales to the Bushfire appeal & raised over $130 almost immediately - yay Maz... YOU ROCK!

I wanted this lovely but unfortunately Punky is to giant for a petite little medium these days...

Undecided....

I have been thinking about doing away with this blog already. Would that be some sort of record I wonder? It just seems so insignificant & dare I say it, self indulgent, in light of the terrible tragedies that seem to just keep happening.

As of this evening I am undecided. I have enjoyed the brief time I have been blogging & know that if I stop I won't start again, ever.

It doesn't help that I've still made bugger all... plenty of ideas but still no motivation... unless...

In lu of Crafty Mamas which is down at the moment I stopped by Craftster today & saw the Feb challenge, "Craft your favourite song". I immediately had a couple of ideas & if I can get myself motivated it will be my first Craftster challenge.

So what have I been doing if not cutting, pinning, sewing? Shopping, actually. I've put a bicycle on lay by & yesterday bought a bike trailer from eBay for towing Miss Punk grandly around town like royalty. I'm madly looking forward to getting both of them, unfortunately though, I keep putting off going down the street now... I think to myself "...oh it would be so much easier with the bike...!" - Right, that's true, but I don't actually have it yet, do I?

Here is a picture of the cool contraption;

Nice, no?

...so tired...

*yawn* Just a super duper short post as I've not yet found a magic energy elixir - The fam & I just got back from a short sojourn to the coast, it was lovely but oh-so-tiring. I couldn't even tell you what time Punky ended up going to sleep last night *yawn again* but I do know it was laaaaaaate. Like maybe 1.30am late.

First there was the hysterical crying, she was truly inconsolable, then came a very brief nap, followed by over-tired hyperactivity.... oh it was joyous.

I had a full on bawl about the bushfire victims this morning, probably because I had very very little sleep. The personal stories are filtering through in the media now & they are just bringing the harsh reality home for me. The whole things is absolutely devastating.

I am sure everybody knows by now about the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal (Click here if you haven't & would like to donate) & have given generously, but people interested in handmade goodies can also check out http://handmadehelpsout.blogspot.com/ where lots of big hearted people are doing their handmade bit to help out.

A Very Pleasant Sunday.

Punky & I had a gorgeous day today, caught the bus to some markets 15 minutes away & pottered around the little town for a couple of hours. The op shop was open which was surprising for a Sunday - but I'm not going to complain! I bought a lovely bag & book on growing veggies while The Punk was so enamoured with a pink ball that the sweet shop assistant gave it to her.


From the markets we got some yummy soap & a shampoo bar & afterwards we played in the park.

It was such a great day for us - in stark contrast to hundreds of families around Victoria today. I feel almost guilty to have enjoyed the day with my daughter while so many people have lost everything they've worked for or even their lives. I have tears in my eyes just typing this.... 700 homes lost & over 65 people already confirmed dead.

My thoughts are with everyone touched by this horrible disaster & my heart goes out to each & every one of you.

Dinner...

Even though there was a cool change this afternoon our house was still stifling when it came time for dinner, especially in the kitchen. I wanted to spend the least amount of time possible in the kitchen so it had to be pasta (it would have been salad but I was informed that the lettuce had seen better days...).


I didn't think to take a photo so this one is from when I posted this recipe to VegWeb quite a while ago. It's so simple, fast & tasty. Punky loves pasta, especially the part where she tips the entire contents of her bowl on the floor. Apparently, you've not tasted pasta until you've tasted it "straight from the rug".

Broccoli and Mushroom Fettuccine

1 head broccoli
5 larger sized button mushrooms
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup vegetable stock
500g cooked fettuccine

Cut broccoli into small pieces. Blanch in boiling water until bright green (up to a minute), drain and set aside. Heat oil over medium heat, add garlic, chili and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are tender. Add broccoli and vegetable stock, then pasta. Combine well and when pasta is heated through, season with salt and serve. It's "supposed" to serve 4-6, but if you have anybody in your house like The Boy, well... it just won't.

That's not really a recipe in my opinion... more a suggestion, I think a recipe is more something that needs to be written down, something you can't figure out for yourself. Chucking some veg in a pan with some pasta isn't exactly brain surgery, but it's yummy all the same.

Before dinner the news was saturated with pictures from the bush fires that are wreaking havoc around Victoria. I was moved to tears watching a reporter who had lost contact with his wife while she was on their property in the midst of a blaze. It was heart wrenching. Luckily she was fine, but it was then found that a neighbour was missing, I hope with all my heart that that neighbour has also been found safe. 14 people are confirmed dead so far, with fears of the death toll rising.

Victoria police confirmed the deaths tonight and say they fear the figure may reach into the 40s.
At least 100 homes have been destroyed as nine major blazes burnt out of control across Victoria in the worst fire conditions in the state's history.

- Telstra BigPond News

Pretty much every fire I saw on the news had been deliberately lit.

I don't think I can even articulate the disgust I feel for someone who would commit such an act.

I WON!!

Yesterday I was very excited to learn that I won the competition I entered on Crafty Mamas, '..make treasure from trash'.


I have only ever won drawing competitions, and none of those since leaving school, so winning something with my sewing, still being such a novice, is awesome!!


I'll be receiving a $25 fishpond.com.au voucher which will come in handy as I'm looking to buy a pattern drafting book that is a bit out of my price range at the moment (IE: it isn't free...!).


My entry was a bathrobe I made for Le Punk out of a couple of old threadbare towels & a couple of cloth nappies. Apart from the morning when I took these photos, it's been too hot here for her to wear it!!

It was so fun to make, I didn't use a pattern or measure anything, I totally winged the whole thing from start to finish, I just had the general idea of the shape from an old book. I added the flowers over my mending when I noticed that the towels were even more dodgy than I realised & there would soon be holes in Punky's new robe!! I wish I had the knack for sewing more things straight off the cuff, it was so liberating to just cut & sew & sew & sew without having to worry "..am I doing this right?"; I figured if it didn't turn out, in the end, it was only a couple of old towels.

I have to add that Amanda did a fantastic job with her entry too - how she managed to sew with plastic bags I have no idea!!

The Op Shop Rock!

An unexpected trip down the street this morning (we were headed for playgroup, but it turned out not to be on...) saw us score some bargains at a 1/2 price oppy sale, as if op shops weren't already cheap enough....

I'm sure we looked a sight; me pushing Punky's pram along with one hand, while wrestling with a massive wooden blackboard in the other. Punky clutching her new doll that was pretty much the same size as her... but hey, at least it wasn't as ridiculously hot as it has been.

So, for the princely sum of $5.75 we got the previously mentioned blackboard & ice-cream doll such as I have fond memories of from my childhood, a Fischer-price play mat (I couldn't resist it, it has a veggie garden in one corner!!), several pieces of material including a very funky paisley number & 2 great screw-top glass jars for that time in the future when I start to pickle & stew things... ;)

On Wednesday I also scored many bargains, I was Punk-less on the way to do the grocery shop so I took my time rummaging around in the books, something I normally can't do with Miss P demolishing all the shelves in sight. I found some GREAT craft books, a golden hands book on making toys, an Enid book for making babies clothes, a book on drafting & adapting patterns & a big thick book with a myriad of gift ideas, that has me longing for a jigsaw (and the knowledge to use one.). Also, more fabric!!

I'm hoping that my fantastic fabric finds will help motivate me to sew; I haven't sewn in a week... maybe even a week & a half... my sewing machine is in the back room, the "sun" room - also known as the "obviously hobbled together in an afternoon from pieces of crud that happened to be laying about, the more heat conducting the better, for occupant frying purposes" room & well... it's just been too bloody hot to go out there, let alone sit & sew.

My last attempt in the cool of early morning (probably 35 degrees already), a pair of PJ pants for myself from a cute op shop sheet with little girls printed on it, had me sweltering & hallucinating about an oasis in the middle of the room, so I thought I'd give the sewing a break until it was cooler & concentrate on lying in Punky's paddle pool while she climbed in & out of it & lying under the ceiling fans in the lounge room, alternating periodically, you know, just to keep the spice in our days.

Problem is... now it's cooler I seem to have lost my sewing mojo. I avert my eyes as I pass my sewing machine lest it realise that I am actively avoiding it & not just busy... doing, you know... stuff. I have maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaany things on my 'to do' list, or I would have, if I bothered to write such a list. Cute little perfect-for-the-punk vintage flares patterns that I bought on Ebay, a gorgeous little play set from a pattern generously sent to me by Gilly via the Crafty Mamas forum, more PJ pants for Moi, presents for peeps that I've been meaning to make for ages..... but I just can't seem to make a start...!

Getting started in the garden.

We recently moved to a country town from the city & the house we are currently renting has an ENORMOUS yard - complete with a few lemon trees, olive trees, an apricot tree and a... well... I don't know what it is... I think it's a 'shade house'? Is there such a thing? I'd call it a greenhouse except for the fact that it isn't any warmer in there than outside & the rain can get through the cloth on the roof.

While we were in the city The Boy had started growing a few tomatoes in pots but they were done away with in the move so we're starting again from scratch... why couldn't we have moved in Spring!! I am desperate to plant all sorts of things but am restricted to sowing some boring old winter crops... I say "crops" but I don't know if that is the right word for a few styrofoam boxes filled with potting mix.

These are the "...almost before" photos, as some things have already started to sprout. I think the heatwave we had really helped the seeds to germinate in record time, I just had to make sure I kept the water up to them. I only put the boxes into the shade house a couple of days ago, I was scared of all the spiders & creepy crawlies that I imagined were in there (turns out, actually, that I wasn't just imagining it... *shiver*) but as Punky was wanting to play in the dirt everytime we went out to water, I had to put them up out of her reach anyway.

I keep daydreaming about the day when we have our own little house & yard, it's going to be fence to fence food I tell you!! Until then however I'm going to really try & make the best of what we can do here. I love checking on the progress of my seedlings each morning & Punky loves running around outside & playing in the dog's water.... I want growing food & knowing exactly where it comes from to be a part of her life & hopefully, eventually, come naturally to her, so that she has the knowledge & enthusiasm to sustain herself & her family. That is a gift I wish I had recieved & we all know we want everything for our children that we didn't have ourselves, whether that is a fancy dollhouse with working light fixtures (ah, to dream!) or a healthy connection with our earth.

Without furthur ado....

....on with the first post. Better to get it over & done with I think. I have been putting off starting a blog for a few reasons, one of which was definitely the question "Why?"; I wondered who would I be writing for, what purpose would spending even more of my time on the computer actually fill & what, exactly did I hope to achieve by writing things online that I don't actually bother to write about in a diary... or anywhere?

The answer is Punky. I'm going to write this for my little girl, my darling baby, the best thing that ever happened to me & the little person who makes each & every day so bright. Even if blogs are incredibly passe by the time she is old enough to read one, I want her to be able to, if she would like, read about the days we spent together & what they meant to me. I want her to read about how I sewed things for her. I want her to read the recipes that she ate when she was little & how she inspired me to live a better life for her & with her. I want her to read about my starting out in growing our own food & hopefully read about our successes. I want her to remember the photos I took & realise why I took them. I want her to be able to appreciate her babyhood & childhood, just as much as I am.

So, my darling, this is for & to you. I love you more than inadequate words typed in a humble blog can say.