To Sell or Not to Sell...

Decisions, decisions...

I am blessed in life.

I am able to be a stay at home and easily indulge in my crafting and sewing passions,

well, as much as time allows with 3 young kids.

When I got back into sewing a couple of years ago,

idealistic me had visions of sales, custom orders and some small income from my habit...er, hobby.

However, the demands of running a household, 3 children (2 not yet in school)

and a fabulous ability to procrastinate means that my etsy shop has gone by the wayside

and I have not been trying to sell anything, unless the offer has fallen into my lap.

Yes, I get the pyjamas made, the school clothes fixed and lunch wraps sewn up as needed

(well, not even that at the moment)

but beyond that seems to much of a commitment.

However, she says, eyes hazing over with daydreams of financial and creative success,

there are 2 possibilities in the near horizon giving me the chance to dip my toes back in again:

one of the internet shopping variety and one of the local kindergym one-off market stall variety.

The internet one is imminent and a tad hush-hush

but this will be my first listing.

Keyka Lou pocket clutch.

Denim with Moda Urban Chiks Swell fabric.

Urban Thread embroidery.

The kindergym one is a bit further off but it is amazing how short 10 weeks seems when you would be required to produce a stall of goods for sale...

and you really don't have one little goody.
Unless you double dip.

We'll just have to wait and see on that one!

Mamu designs Vivi skirt

A love/hate relationship

Mamu Designs have some lovely patterns but I seem to struggle with them.

I have made up a couple and find it to work out what the instructions are telling me to do.

I wish I had my pre-baby brain back!

Anyhow they are straightforward enough to make them up with the bit of guidance my muddled brain can get from the pattern.

This is version 4 of the Vivi skirt,

made with 2 panels only.

Can be worn either way.

Fabrics are cord (patterned cord Robert Kauffman print)

I have never, ever been a fan of cord but then I had no idea how scrummy the

lovely quality, soft, fine cords were.
Now I do...

...and I am a little bit converted now.

Secret Guide to Successful Weight Loss

Shhhhhhhhh!

OK I know that I could write this down and sell it and make a fortune

but I'd rather just share it with you all

out of the goodness of my own heart.

Having lost 7kg in 7 weeks,

I have worked out the secret!

Seeing the number of parcels that are turning up on my front verandah on a daily basis,

it suddenly make sense.

2 simple words, my friends.

Online. shopping.

I am not eating out of boredom. I am shopping online.

I am not scoffing snacks due to stress. I am stuffing my cyber shopping cart full of goodies.

And it is working.

Admittedly it is not a cheap weight loss solution.

Though probably still cheaper than a gym.

And it might well cost me my marriage if hubby gets to see the credit card statement anytime soon.

But I can just sashay my newly taut, trim body in his direction

and all (shopping) will be forgiven.

I hope.

A lazy Sunday avo at the luminarium

Amococo luminarium, Adelaide Fringe, 2010

1000 square metres of handmade, inflatable wonder.

Sewing dabbles

Yes, sewing dabbles.

I feel quite pressured and disorientated at the moment.

I have lots of projects (some sewing, lots not) on the go.

Some that involve deadlines.

And some that don't but I feel the need to put pressure on myself.

I try and remember daily that luckily I am a SAHM,

there is NOTHING that HAS to be done...

Well, apart from making sure that 3 children end up safely back in this house by nightfall,

that they have had something resembling a green vegetable between getting up in the morning

and going back to bed in the evening

and that they get an occasional bath.

But I put pressure on myself.

Always have and daresay always will.

So between cleaning every cupboard in the house

and cooking up tomato pasta sauce before our home grown tomatoes rot in a mass frenzy,

I got a bit of sewing done.

One which has a deadline

and one which didn't.

Onion 20028 bootleg trousers

(simple pattern but very long in the leg)

Duck Soup Originals easy knit skirt

Fabric from Crafty Mamas shop

Embroidery Matruschka Pimpinellskova from Huups
Love this pattern. So easy and fast to sew up.

Twinkle by Wenlan A Plus A-line skirt

Something for me.

This was from the Burda site as a free down load.

Great little pattern makes a great little skirt.

The only grief is taping together about 30 pages to get the pattern sheet.

And I did have a few cross eyed moments trying to work out which pleats went where,

especially as I was between sizes.

It is lined with a side zip, fitted yolk and front pleats.

Fabrics are an upcycled curtain for the skirt and

a sheet for the lining.

Approval rating?

I love it!

The Important Dilemmas of Parenting

...in my world.

Do I get the plastic pencil sharpener with the snazzy doovalacky attached

...which catches the mess

             but will get trodden on and smashed...

...or thrown like a frisbee               

or filled with some liquid or bodily fluid instead of shavings...                       

or     

...or the metal one...

                                                     ...which will not break so easily

but will leave a trail of wood and lead in its wake...

...or become embedded in a limb or orifice

thus requiring a trip to emergency...

Who could know?

Romance isn't dead...

...though it may well be in its death throes...

OK money-grabbing commercialism aside,

hands up if you have anything planned this Sunday of the romantic persuasion?

Hubby and I have been married 15 years this year,

together 20 years.

I do remember those heady days of wild passion and heart fluttering moments.

But they seem a long time ago.

Something in the past 20 years

(something probably involving a gazillion nappies, a huge sleep deficit,

and a morbid fear that any romantic interlude could produce another offspring)

has waned.

Yes, there is comfort in the familiarity of our relationship.

He loves me warts and all

as I do him.

I know that and am confident in that.

But ask me to find the time to plan a surprise candelit dinner

or the enthusiasm to find some totally appropriate, manly, romantic gift

or the time, enthusiasm or energy to...well, you know,...do that,

and I find it all to be a bit of a challenge.

Between Christmas and 1st April,

hubby and I swap cards for Christmas, both our birthdays, Valentine's Day and our wedding anniversary.

There are only so many variations on the theme of

"geeze, hon, I love you to bits,

always have,

always will,

but wont it be super nice when the kids are old enough to feed and dress themselves and leave us to ourselves"

So Sunday will bring an early morning bike ride for hubby,

and I'll leave a card on his pillow
(and hopefully there will be one on mine if he has listened to the "It's Valentine's Day on Sunday, hon, hint, hint"

One single bloody card isn't too much to ask for is it?)

Mind you, we have swapped roles.

Hubby now does indeed take the time and inclination to try for more quality time for the two of us

while I am more disinclined to not worry about that stuff until the kids leave home.

Hmmmm, that could still be 30 years away and we may end up trying to remember how to be romantic while hooning down the sidewalk on our little motorised scooters,

me with my blue rinse,

him with his dicky hip.

20 years ago we swapped red roses and saliva (oh, yes, sucking face and all that)

Now we trade breakfast duty and a sleep in.

I used to be a hopeless romantic.

Now I am just hopeless.

But it's something that I should be working on every day,

 not just when Cupid has his one day of the year.

Quote of the Week

By Terry Prachett, English author:

 The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

Farbenmix Antonia tee

With Smila's World embroidery.

I have been wanting to make this sleeveless version of the Farenmix Antonia for a while

as I have seen a lot of lovely ones around the place.

It was quite straightforward,

yet I still managed to not notice that the sleeve pieces weren't mirror images

and had to be cut on each side of the fabric.

So don't look too closely at the sleeves.

(I decided to leave them as the amount of work involved was greater than the

chance that most people would notice the mistake)

Will get it right next time.

Fabric- Plain- Stella from Crafty Mamas; Striped- Euro knit from Crafty Mamas

Embroidery- part of Sakura set from Smila's World

Approval rating- happy little goddess

I really love the cut of the body of the Antonia.

It sits so nicely and lightly flares out.

This one might be a bit small but I am hoping to have a couple of these in the winter wardrobe

so the long sleeves tees can be worn underneath.

A Touch (or Two) of Embroidery

For my boys' tees

(Both from Embroidery Designs)

Bought some cheap tees to practice my knit embroidery on.

Went well apart from the "oh crap-the embroidery machine has taken artistic license and embroidered the edge of the tee into the design-oh bugger" syndrome.

All part of the ongoing learning curve!

Heidi and Finn Comfy Yoga top

12 Challenges in 12 months: February- knit

I made this up quickly and apart from a real "duh" moment,

it was fast to make and it is a snuggly little lined top for winter.

A bit shorter than I would chose

but I am thinking of it more as an outdoor coat than an indoor lounge top

which is for what it was probably intended.

Knit fabrics are both from the Crafty Mamas shop.

And no, the goddess didn't approve.

Half an hour after the tantrum at being asked to wear it, I was making some very silly noises

to get the model to accommodate for photos...

There will more than likely be a second part to this month's challenge for me

as I would like to try the Farbenmix Antonia variation with the neck ties.

Upcycling furniture

Decorating a pine chest of drawers

Every now and then I dip my toe into the more general crafting waters

beyond sewing and crocheting.

This is a project that I have been meaning to tackle for a year,

ever since Made by Miffy posted her tutorial for upcycling a chest of drawers.

Aren't they divine?

This was the object of my artistic intent:

I have been collecting bits and pieces from crafting shops- both cyber and brick variety- over the past year

and can honestly say that the redecorating has cost more than the whole

pine chest of drawers cost me as a Uni grad a looong time ago.

Anyhow, last week I jumped in, threw the family out of the dining room

and started.

And it was just one of those things that went just the way I had hoped it would.

There were a few "moments"...

...when a child scratched my paint job

...when the papers buckled upon sealing (eek!)

...when the swanky looking stamp thingies just wouldn't do what they were meant to do.

But man, I loved doing it

and I love the finished product.

Sit back with the popcorn and have a squiz-

cos I took LOTS (and I mean LOTS) of photos.

I'm very proud of the result.

Now I am just sealing it with as many layers as I can so a little 2 year old wont start pulling it to pieces as soon as it returns to her room.