wordless weekend

autumn in the Blue Mountains

I thought you might enjoy a look at some photos of our time away in the Blue Mountains. It was so refreshing to get away for the quick break, beneficial for all! The girls had a wonderful time staying behind with their Grandparents. Jude loved being the only child with us for two days. We loved spending more time with him without all the usual distractions. The mountain air was so crisp and lovely. We visited antique shops, look outs, markets, cafes, and the most amazing miniature toy shop full of tiny things for dolls houses etc. I wish I had taken more photos in there so you could see how amazing it was. It was a place I remember visiting as a child on a few different occasions while we were holidaying in Blackheath. We also drove down to the Megalong Valley, which was just beautiful.

kids clothes :: day 3

Well, yesterday wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked. Nothing got sewn, or even cut out for that matter. I traded in my sewing hour for a nice dinner out with my man, which was totally worth it! I will probably have to put the next few days on hold as well, as we are off the the Blue Mountains for a weekend away with only one child!
Anyway, here are some fabrics and pattern I have out to get creative with. Its easy to see what season we are coming into just by looking at the fabrics and colours I have chosen. Only 18 days till Winter!
I am thinking of Sewing the Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket for Grace. I would also like to sew her a floral gathered top of some sort to go with the Jacket. Maeve seems pretty well off for clothes at the moment as I just unpacked all Graces old size 3 winter clothes. I might make Jude some pants similar to the ones I just made for Maeve, and he needs some fleecy sleep suits to wear over his pj's with the cooler weather coming. Hopefully I will report back Sunday!

kids clothes :: day 2

I am back for day two of the Kids Clothes Week Challange over at elsie marley! The objective here was to make a pair of pants my 'skirts-and-dresses-only' girl would actually wear. I thought they turned out pretty cute. When I showed her this morning there was a very long pause before she finally commented, but she is happy with them...phew! The embroidered heart on the pocket was a hit.

kids clothes :: day 1

Here's my first completed item of kids clothing, sewn last night and embroidered on this morning. This is part of Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes Week Challenge. Wow, try saying that really fast with your mouth stuffed full of biscuits. Could be messy.

Anyway, back to the shirt. This one is a baby gift and the pattern is from Ottobre 3/2010. Its the Savanni Voile tunic. Such a sweet pattern, and I am so glad it comes in Maeve's size. You will probably see more of these soon.

kids clothes week

A last minute decision: 

To join in the action over at Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes Week! 

Anyone else in on the fun? 

I will be off for a cup of tea soon, then sew till I drop.

And to get the ball rolling, here is a skirt I made for Grace about two weeks ago (technically cant be counted though). I didn't use a pattern, just based it off an old denim skirt she has worn to death. Seriously, you could put your finger through the fabric! This fabric is a lovely light denim I scored at the Salvo's last time I visited. I have plenty more to make something for Maeve. Now, off for that caffeine fix...

my mum

This is a photo of Mum, me (10 days old) and my brother on his 2nd birthday. Taken back in the early 80's. She then went on to have another 3 children, so there are five of us. I think she is nothing short of amazing! Not a day goes by without me wondering how on earth she did what she did. I often think of her during the difficult moments with my 3, and imagine adding an extra 2 children to the mix. I always remember her as being calm and having everything under control. I am sure she would probably tell you it was anything but! She said she did all she could at the time, and trusted God to do the rest. Good advice Mum.

Here we all are 9 years later. That's me on the right sporting the awesome fringe. Mum always cut our hair. I think the first time I ever went to a hairdresser was when I was about 16. She also use to sew a lot of our clothes. The outfit I am wearing was one she made for my 8th birthday. She also made my sisters sweet little dress. She use to go to TAFE on Monday nights after my sister was born to have sewing classes. I remember her learning to sew stretch and quilts. She taught me to sew when I was five, and in later years helped me get started on knitting and crocheting. She is such an inspiration in so many ways. I am so blessed to have her.

I hope you wonderful mothers out there have had a very special day with those you love. Those in my household who I love the dearest, totally took me by surprise today by... a brand new Cannon 550D is now mine to play with! I know, pretty good hey!! Lets just say I had no idea, none whatsoever! Totally stunned and feeling very spoilt. Now I have to work out what to do with the thing. Nicer photos to come once I get my head around it all!

wordless weekend

reminiscing

I have just spent half the night looking through photos of the girls when they were tiny, hoping to put together a few nice ones we can print out for the walls. But no such luck. I went all soppy remembering how gorgeous they were and just spent hours flicking from one album to the next. Both these photos are of Grace, on her 1st birthday and the other at about 15mths. I could have put up hundreds more! I rarely ever print out photos, but after looking at these I must. Photos really help to jog my memory and take me back in time. I cant wait till Jude is toddling around like this!