Sunday, February 28, 2010

I am in a bad mood...

with my iron



You know how much you use your iron when you do fabric craft... (and iron). My last iron lasted 12 years this lasted 18 months. Now I am going to take him to the fix it man in hope it is simple. I wonder what he will make of my creative drawing?

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Fabric ribbons



I cannot find ribbons to match the fabric for more upcoming loopy balls. SO I decide to make them with the fabric - bad idea - this is very labour intensive and time consuming - will not do again!

I will enjoy and admire now they are done!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

ambition + persistence = success!



It pays to be determined. I surprised myself and have made a smock bib. It has been tested, washed and a success! What I learned - making your own bias binding is not a good idea. This part took the longest. Now I just need to use the rest of the fabric and make one more. I am thinking I would make the back attachment a tie on version but then a Velcro is much quicker with little ones. Will have to think of a less fiddly way. Also the neck bit could snug his neck more but then it would not suit him as he got older... WIll work on these two ideas.

On the other hand the big boys in this place think I should attach Velcro strip to the bottom edge of the smock bib and to the edge of the high chair table. They think this would be an ultimate mess control factor. I think it is NOT A GOOD IDEA! I can see it getting unhygenic and the little man playing with it all feeding time. If you can think a reason not to do this - drop me a line. I need some more ideas to assure them it is NOT a good idea!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

A bit ambitious?


I have never made a pattern before. I have something in mind. Something very practical for the little man. A bib smock. Something that totally covers him while he eats. Peel off and wa la - a clean babe! I cannot find anything like it - let alone a pattern... Will update you on the progress...

Friday, February 19, 2010

Tomato fever



Have you ever seen so many tomatoes on one tiny little branch? They are all doing SO well. Grown from seed - hertiage tomatoes at their best. Family cannot work out why they never seem to rippen (wink). I tell them that is why they are called heritage.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Ribbon galore!



These arrived in my house today. How luscious are they?

Monday, February 15, 2010

Way way cooler



aah ha - you think so?

Friday, February 12, 2010

cool... very cool



They arrived! Now I can finish my first lot of Loopy Balls/Cubes!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A winning!




Am I lucky or what!

Nikki from Nicole Mallalieu Design sent me this parcel for spending over $50 in her net shop last month. It is her LATEST new pattern! I really should thank Leanne. She posted her version of her poppet purse - which I fell in love with...

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Wach ya doin?



Wach ya doin Sarah? Making taggy balls.

What for? some orders...

Orders? yes (grin).

Do tell... ohhh all will be revealed!

* edit - the balls are now going to be known as loopy balls as the external parts are actually not tags but LOOPED RIBBON... okay Mr. Patent...

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

On a lighter note

Raspberries are for squashing and spreading...

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Just think'n



I have been emailing with Nikki and she has me thinking a bit more about parenting...

We chat about the nature/nurture thing which she has blogged about recently but what Nikki got me thinking more about is balance - which we are ALL STRIVING to attain...

I was saying even been a parent now for 11 years I still feel I don't have the balance right. I think a lot of this is expectations I put on myself about what I need to 'achieve' and how I expect my children to be. I think the balancing act is difficult also because children are ever changing and growing... and so therefore their needs and behaviours...

So Nikki changed my thought processes and suggested...

if you are still feeling you are not getting the "balance" thing right after 11 years, maybe there is no "right". Maybe instead of feeling like we over-balance too often, we need to accept that there are times we'll do things great, and times we'll mess it all up. And that this is common and OK and normal. Rather than beat ourselves up and try harder next time, we accept that we just need to stop, realign and start again... without the self-angst... what do you think?


This was like a light bulb moment for me (why did I not think this myself?). Yes.. absolutely... yes. Yes - I work to hard to balance that I over balance. This has lead me to look at how I handle the children again.

What I think we are missing is community parenting - the support of having experienced elders and a large group of people helping each other. Families are living at much further distances from each other. Grandparents are working longer and retiring later so they are not as available to support. I also think as parents we feel 'we should' be able to get this right. We feel bad when we don't and shame - so we don't get help. Parenting is also harder because more people are leaving their homes to work. So they don't have parenting practise or the elders are not there to provide parenting support.

What are your thoughts?

I can banter on. Lets face it - life is the way it is now and we need to make it work the way it is. So I guess this comes down to finding supportive elders you trust who you can have access to. When it is hard or you feel like you are about to boil have something in place to help yourself and even the children. Maybe a phone call to someone you can talk to, or a pet you can talk to or an activity to help you keep calm. I have found in my parenting experience if I remain calm I find it a lot easier to cope. Even when the children around me seems to be falling to pieces. I also often encourage the children to take a deep breath before they blurt out the latest drama to me. Lately I have had trouble doing this.

I have gone out today and bought the book "Buddism for Parents" I have heard lots about it and think it is time I have a read of it.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Domestic Goddess - not



What is it about ironing?

I know stop blogging about it and do it...

I promise this pile has not been altered to look bigger than it is - promise... really....