update

Life has just been flying by, so sorry once again for the long absence between posts. At the moment we are rather caught up in the every day busyness that comes with having a family, which at times can be very difficult and tiring. How can parenting be so frustrating, delightful, tiring, rewarding, emotionally draining, incredibly fun, demanding, hilarious, heart breaking and heart bursting all at the same time? I don't do the roller coaster very well. However, I do feel like one of the richest people on earth having been blessed with these three little people. I wouldn't choose to do life any other way. A little more sleep would be nice though.
Needless to say, I didn't get very far with the Kids clothes week challenge. 2 out of 7 days...hmmm will have to try a little harder next time.

We are in the middle of trying to de-clutter the house and clear a bed room for Jude. He still sleeps in with us, but I think its time he had a space of his own. We were going to put him in with the girls in their poky little room, but after trialling that for a few nights we realised that 2 poor sleepers in one room was probably not a good thing. The only room left for him is my sewing room, so I am going to have to say goodbye to that space for a while. I will still be sewing, just not as regularly. We will hopefully find a space for my machine in the office...the relocation of fabrics could prove to be a challenge!

The rain has just been bucketing down here the past few week. We have spent a ton of time indoors enjoying and enduring each others company. I have pulled all the winter woollies out of the cupboard and put them to use. Maeve and I have been baking and crafting while Grace is at school. My Maeve loves to bake and loves her aprons! The morning school run has proved to be a bit of a mission amidst the torrential  downpour. The girls see it as a bit of an adventure though. I am so grateful for good friends and car pooling, so I don't have to repeat the 'adventure' in the afternoons!

Hopefully I will be back soon with photos of room changes, or maybe even a little knitting. Hope you day is a great one!

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!

I like...

The sun was lovely and warm on the front steps this morning. A very inviting place to sit and finish off my latest embroidery. Jude sleeping, Maeve making cakes in the sandpit and me stitching. Rare quiet moments like this need to be seized while they last... I am slowly learning.

This is another one of Grace's drawings. Very special because it was one of the first sentences she wrote on her own (without copying it out of a book), that I happened to find lying around the house. The girls would love a pet. Unfortunately right now (and I can see for a very long time to come) three children is more than enough for me to cope with. So sorry kids, pets are just going to have to wait.

 

I have put together some photos for those of you that wanted to see how I attached the linen to the canvas. 

1. Use a cheap art canvas to cover with your embroidery
2. Lay your fabric over the canvas taking care to position it so it looks balanced. Stick a few pins in to hold it in place.
3. Flip it over and start stitching the sides together at the back. You will need a very long piece of strong thread, and may even need to join it a few times if it runs out. If the edge of the fabric is raw it will fray easily. Just turn it under a centimeter or two so you are stitching through two layers. That should make it strong enough. You need to make sure you fabric is pulled firm so it sits nice on the front of the canvas. Mine looks like I have pulled it too tight, but my linen was super soft and needed to be pulled into place.
4. When your sides are done, fold the top and bottom piece of fabric towards each other taking care to fold your corners nicely so they sit flat without looking bulky.
5. Pin the corners in place and stitch the top and bottom edges together in the same way you stitched the sides.
6. The back of your canvas should look something like this. The dog one I did last week was way messier, but hey...no one will ever know! 
7. Then if you like you can put some thread across the back so it can be hung on the wall. I cant explain exactly how I did this...goes something like this though: Knot doubled thread to one edge then knot it on the opposite edge, so it is fairly tight not loose. Take it back to the other side and repeat process so its quiet a few strands thick. Then knot along the thread to hold them all together. 

And you're done!

(edited to say: alternatively, get yourself a staple gun and save yourself half the hassle. Thanks to my wise friend Lissa for the advice!)

wordless weekend

holidays

I cant believe how much I am enjoying the school holidays. Especially considering two of the children have been unwell. No mad scrambles in the mornings or me loosing my patience over children being slow to eat breakfast, put on their shoes, do up their seat belts. Not to mention trying to decide what to put in the lunchbox. It's been so nice. Given me a chance to catch my breath one again. I have been trying a few new projects like embroidery which have been incredibly relaxing too. Having a go at turning some of Grace's drawing into embroidery's we can hang on the walls. She is very pleased that her artworks are being copied onto fabric, and watching with great intent to see the finished project. This morning we sat out the back in the sun, I watched the kids play and stitched away. We shared morning tea together and chatted and laughed over bowls of mandarins and tasty biscuits. It's so special being able to relax together as a family and enjoy each others company and silly jokes.

tinkering

We have been doing a bit of much needed organising and cleaning around the house. So when I was clearing piles of junk and paperwork off the top of the piano, I had the sudden urge to pull it all apart and see if we could find out why middle C was no longer working (all after midnight I might add). We found the problem, and with a little felt and glue were able to fix it.
The poor piano has been so neglected as of late, and it was so nice to have a little tinker on it. Its been years since having lessons, but it's amazing what comes back. Sort of like a long lost friend.
And then I felt a little sad for all the years gone by that I haven't played, and the skills that were forgotten. I would be so nice if I could find/make the time to play, especially for the kids. I would really love to be able to play songs they could sing along to.
It's funny the whole parenting thing. When you are expecting your first child, you have such grand plans of what you are going to teach them, the life experiences you will share. And then all of a sudden you find yourself with two, then three children and the days somehow become very full all on their own.
Just to keep on top of the washing, have the children fed, clothed and happy, with dinner on the table every night is a real achievement. And the finer details of parenting, the extra skills and creative experiences you were going to teach have slowly slipped into the background and you realise that these things are no longer as important as you first thought, for now anyway.
I guess eventually we will get there. And in the mean time we will focus on loving relationships and growing together as a family. Its a beautiful thing watching the bond form between the children, how they care for each other, the jokes the older two share. Of course its not all love and laughter, there are plenty of 'moments' to be had.
But I do like how the precious moments between them are the ones I remember and hold on to.

welcome winter

Winter is here. I must say I am not exactly leaping for joy, but I am looking forward to the hearty soups and stews. Not so excited about the possible repeat of the $500+ gas bill we received last winter. If you are thinking of a fake log fireplace run on gas- don't do it!



The last few nights I have been madly tracing patterns and cutting fabrics in preparation for our weekend away. We are off to the country to stay with my folks. Its my favorite holiday getaway complete with sewing room and baby sitters, ah the luxury! Hopefully I will have more exciting photos to show next week.



And here's what happens when my husband looks after the kids...much fun had by all!