sleepy and selfish

What a funny week that has been had. Felt like I was under some sort of a strange spell. 

There has been sickness and sleep deprivation too, so I've been relying on a lot of stimulants just to make it thru. But as always there have been lovely moments to savour.

The pears are dropping in abundance. If you live locally and want some let me know.

They are organic and from a prolific 100 year old grandaddy tree. Bon cretien variety.

I try my darnest to make sure none get wasted, but most years we resort to putting free bags of them on the side of the footpath. Upside is they have always been chocka in our freezer and make great winter crumble (with cardamon and cashews and ginger) and baby food galore. So far, no one has been donked by one falling. But the kids are in the direct line of fire as the sand pit is under the tree. Maybe I should enforce helmet wearing in the sandpit right thru march.

The veg garden has been wrapped in its snuggly winter pea straw blanket. 

 

I have discovered new ways to redirect the attention of the smallest child. She is dextrious and carefull enough to play with the pins in their cushion and also the old cotton reels, but alas she has tired of it lately. This is where bowls of things have come in handy. Bowls of nuts in their shells and measuring cups to transfer them to and fro in. A bowl of drift wood pieces and string. Who isn't partial to sucking on a salty piece of driftwood?I got myself a whole hour this way.

It's these little set ups that buy me time to sew along side her. A few seams in a dress that I work on and off on over a couple of days. I still feel selfish when I'm not sewing to finish an order or for the kids, but I have been working very hard to try and over come this. To proove it, I have a few garments to show that I've sewn for myself over summer.

A burda pattern, Comfy as with a side zip and lots of twirlability.

The was the first of my Japanese patterns (also from stylish dress book no.1).

It's a bit of a preggy number if you are used to things being more fitted.

But it's one that I will wear outside the house nevertheless. A good winter smock for wearing with merinos underneath.

This is a winner. A little Anna Maria number. A shape which I think would suit all shapes and sizes. I love the side seam pockets and I' m already cutting out another!

And finally, dress S from stylish dress book no.2. 

Fabric from these guys.

Had some probs with this one. But nothing that wasn't rectifiable with the seam ripper and made right again. It has a flouncy Alice in Wonderland feel to it. Not too Grand Motherly and pinny-like I hope. 

The pattern doesn't suggest you do the shirring high around the waist. But this clever lady does. I don't think it would of been right without it and it was so much fun to do, that I think I might be doing a lot more of it from now on.

It has to be said that one of the reasons I really like these patterns is because they have a lot of pleating and gathering around the neck lines. They puff and billow but look equally good cinched with a belt or shirring. This does wonders for creating fullness around a bust that is lacking or has dramatically diminished in size (having been suckled by 3 gorgeous babies for 3 years and ten months total). Not so selfish after all.

sewing in sunday morning sun

From the Japanese Stylish Dress Book number 2. Introducing Pattern X.

The most important construction steps are well depicted and technical, albeit in Japanese! Luckily a girlfriend of mine does know a little and helped decipher the sizing chart (busto,waisto, hippo or something to that effect). These patterns tend to assume that you already know the fundamentals of sewing, as there are a lot of beginner level steps that are omitted.

That being said, I do consider myself an intermediate sewer and this is my third garment from this increasingly popular series, but twice I forgot to add my seam allowances (which aren't included on the patterns). D'oh. I'm blaming it on the dreamy photography and styling. If you aren't familiar with this series you really should check them out. Here and here. They really are quite addictive.

Over all, this has been a quick one to whip up and results in a blouse (I guess you would call it that) which is part bat wing, part peasanty, very floaty and thus will be very cool to wear in summer and great for keeping the sun off my skin. Apologies for photo above but it isn't really that short on the torso (I was being playing coy and scrunching my shoulders up). It also doesn't show the shape very well, which has turned out just as I hoped, altho I am in the habit now of taking a couple of inches off the sides of these patterns as they are exceptionally voluminous. 

The mister's verdict was "...it'll be good for wearing around the house" Jeez!! I actually really like it!

New Shoes!

All those hours of home haircuts sure did add up. 

And upon feeling my heart a calling towards a certain

Shoezies I swooned and fell for these impeccably cobbled sling backs clogs.

In mahogany leather with the cutest subtle turn-upward toes (a little asian inspired perhaps)

but with the dutch brass tacks and clogs feel happening as well.

I titillated myself prancing around the house in them with lipstick on. OH yeah.

I displayed them centre stage for all to see when I wasn't wearing them and when I was I couldn't keep my eyes off them.

My new best friends. These shoes. Hard earned. I cant sew them, But boy I can love them!

Rainy Day

Today we woke to droplets of rain rolling down our windows.

Mushrooms abound from our own bucket growing someplace dark and warm.

One boy loves his raw, freshly twisted from its spores.

Homemade muesli made different every time depending on what is at hand.

Reminding me of the muesli my mother in law made for her father. And how after he died she gave what he had left in his home to us. It was generously packed with brazil nuts, cashews, molasses and cranberries. She dotted on him all the time in these small ways and that batch of muesli was the best version I ever had. 

And home haircuts. I lure them with lollies. They suck them too fast. I end up eating more hair than they do lolly. They've had the same old scarecrow style since they were six months and surely too young to be needing haircuts in the first instance.

They looked as if they had been fertilized from their tops, or like fluffy eagle chicks or those pantyhose faces sprouting grass. I usually end up chasing them around the house during the next day or two making subtle corrections where their patience allows. Its a kind of how-to-pretend-you-live-on-the-prairie-even-tho-you-don't- sufficiency that has had me cutting their collective heads about 32 times at an equivalent salon cost of $15 per cut (conservative) with an approximate salon saving total of around $480. That's makes me feel really good ...because I want new shoes.