I had forgotten you*

Not strictly a song title, I know, but it is appropriate, thank you *Mr Paul Kelly... I had completely forgotten to put the credit for that lovely photograph of the school at Latton into my blog - it was taken by Ian W Stokes, and you can see it here:


I love Panoramio, it's the cheapest way I know of to see places I've only dreamed of visiting, and it never ceases to amaze me how clever people are with their cameras:

Copyright  Androo.  (I haven't figured out how to do the ascii thing on this laptop yet).  I feel much better today, more human, and I can think again.  But only enough to see that the house looks like a bomb has hit it (see what happens when the tidying person takes a day or so off?) - and yet, funnily, I can summon up absolutely no energy for tidying.  I did stack and run the dishwasher, because leaving dirty dishes on the sink is my idea of slovenly, and we haven't fallen quite that far into disrepair yet.. although the milk has gone off, and we're just about out of bread.  Yikes.  Better get well soon, methinks, or we're going to be well into the Dave Lister School of Slobbing round Slobbily.


Yes, definitely feeling better.  Other news - the lovely beautician where I go infrequently to allow them to use me as the model for 'what happens if you don't look after yourself', or, on other days 'this is what happens when you let yourself go', was very kind about me not turning up for the 6-weekly hot oil & hair ripping out experience I had scheduled for today - and I quote "we don't want your germs here".  Thanks, Kerrie, I'm always happy to see you too - but she did have a question about these:

I'd forgotten that I'd left a set of 3 in there for them to enjoy - and apparently they've been getting queries with regards to selling them - well!  I said $3.00 each, but Kerrie seemed to think she could get $5.00 for them no trouble.  I said if she could do that, she was welcome to take 10% (does that sound right?) for her trouble.  She said she would see what happens!  Man, when I can be bothered, I'm going back into the magic room to make some more!  

And of course now I've remembered what happened to these, and why, when my lovely customer Carmen from California ordered this set, and I knew I'd made them, but I couldn't find them - not like me at all, and you, up in the back row, stop sniggering, I had to run around like a bluear*sed fly make her a set from scratch, and do you think I could find that creamy birdy fabric?  Man, it was almost ugly, let me tell you.  However, find them I did, make them I did, posted them off & got lovely feedback on their nicely lavendery-stinkiness... and that's why I had to make them, because I'd given them to the beautician to up-stink their salon.  Well, if we can use 'up-cycle', I don't see why we can't up-stink.  Debate on the need for the hyphen welcome here...

And now, gentle reader, having assuaged my conscience with regard to Mr Stokes and the credit for his lovely photo of the lovely school where I learned the value of a comma, and not to put too many instances of a preposition in a sentence, and all about Thomas the Tank Engine, and Little Black Sambo (hey, it was the unreconstructed 60's), I am off to visit the new abode of my WMIL*, and to plan the housewarming gift I am going to make for her.  Much joy to follow for all, I suspect!

Ciao!

Winner takes it all...

I just found out I've won something!  Man, that is so exciting.  I have a very paltry history of winning things - it's so small & pathetic I can probably list all the occasions - first one was when I was about 5 or 6, and the small two room school I went to (see picture!) had a fete - and I spent sixpence of my hard earned pocket money on a ticket - and won, yeehaw, a bottle of beer and a bottle of lemonade.  I seem to remember that I didn't even get to share in the lemonade, but I do remember that Dad made shandies out of the winnings!  


Next, I won a terrarium in a raffle at my first job - and it wasn't exactly auspicious, either, because I'd been given the job of selling all the tickets, so of course my win was highly suspect... I have no idea what happened to the terrarium.  It had an african violet in it, and with my extremely ungreen thumb, some might even say, 'pink', I'm pretty sure it didn't last too long!  I've just realised that's nearly 30 years ago.  Man, I feel old today!


Then, 2 years ago, when I was working as an IT consultant, I won a $50 gift card to David Jones, an upmarket department store here in Sydney.  I used it to buy morning tea for my colleagues, so we all got to enjoy it...


That's it, until now - I've won some oilcloth from the lovely Susie, who has this very beautiful blog -  justlovethatfabric@blogspot.com - how exciting is that?  I'm going to make something for her out of it, after I work out how to sew it!  Pictures forthcoming, you betcha!

The carnival is over...

And I'm back at work, after 10 funfilled days at home with a cold, flu, cough, sniffles, sneezing, and a runny nose... and not much sewing!  We did pack in a bit of activity, including the trip to Melbourne to the exhibition - and how lucky it was that we went overnight, rather than just the day trip I'd originally planned - because the gallery was closed on Tuesdays, except for an exhibition of Salvador Dali's work - now don't get me wrong, the man was a genius, but the art I like to look at doesn't involve lobsters on telephones! 

Anyway, luckily we had the next day to come back to see the exhibition, but I must say I was a bit disappointed - there were only about 10 garments on display, but quite a few references showing styles from the times, and some decorative objects and furniture and that was about it.  Not really worth a trip to Melbourne by itself, but I thought dinner might make up for it - and that too was a bit disappointing - but the fact that we both had no working tastebuds didn't help!

Hotel was lovely, though, we had a room overlooking the garden, which was quiet and spacious, and in easy walking distance of the Gallery - and we bought Series 7 of Spooks - if you haven't seen this show before, you owe it to yourselves - it's English, based on spies in MI5, and it's great - good scripts, interesting plots, great acting, great gadets - I love it.

Then we went to the Hunter Valley, and I made this:

and this:

lined with this:

Kaz has a pretty interesting Pig collection, and I did a bit of checking on Etsy for Pig fabric - there's quite a bit around, including this, which is supposed to show French pigs:

and I think it's really smart - and I am tempted, I must say!

And I also got a couple of orders - my friend Kaz's friend Clara wants one of those pouches, but lined with the pigs, and with the Eiffel tower on the outside!  Maybe I'll get the French pigs for her - she is French, after all!

And now, off for a nap.  I hope to feel better soon... maybe!

Warning, Small bragfest follows

So I finally finished making MaddieGal's pouches, posted them off to sunny California (where the weather has to be nicer than it's been here for the last week) and can sit back and brag about it. I'm thinking of putting together one of those brag books, just so I can carry it round in my handbag & whip it out when somebody wants to show me their kids, dogs, cats, grandkids, small stinky aliens they found in the backyard, whatever. I think it's perfectly reasonable to do this! Anyway, I've built a mosaic over at BigHugeLabs & put it in here for you to enjoy:

I missed out on breakfast this morning with my friend Deb and her two lovely children, because I'm still infected with the filthy cold - and of course I've also infected MWH*, who is not quite so wonderful when he's sick, let me tell you. It's a sure sign that he's sick when he gets up & immediately puts the fire on (at 9.30am) - usually it doesn't go on until about 4.00pm & that's only after we've put extra jumpers, socks and scarves on. I blame his Scottish blood...


Anyway, I now have the most exciting task of sorting out the 2 foot (60cm) high pile of papers acquired over the last year, some of which relate to last year's tax, which I am about to take to the accountant in the vain hope of getting some money from the government... hah!


Think of me kindly, gentle reader, as I may never be seen or heard from again...



*My wonderful husband

From little things...*

So, on Tuesday, when I had to go into town to work, even though I'm on holidays, I treated myself to a new perfume... and the purveyors thereof had one of those 'gift with purchase' thingys going on... (note I didn't say "free gift with purchase"...)

Well, the thing for me wasn't so much what was in the box, but more what it was all delivered in - these three pouches, in pink, coral and white plastic, with contrasting stitching - and I thought, Thank You nameless purveyor of cosmetics and perfume, for giving me the perfect sizes for my next sewing venture - I'm thinking of making a series of these using some fabric from a co-ordinating range, probably not Erin McMorris, only because I'm now dreaming in Wildwood, but maybe something a bit more blue and green.  We shall see.


Now, it's nap time.  I've been fighting an incipient cold all week, and still feel bad enough to be in bed at 9.17am... shocking.


Nighty night!


*Copyright Paul Kelly

Gone, baby, gone

I am so done! All of the pouches for Lovely Carmen in California are finished!  I've put a couple of nice surprises in the parcel for her (which I will post about after the parcel arrives!), and hopefully she'll love them all - I'm sure she will.


This is probably my favorite:

- it's the world largest pencil case - and it's lined with gorgeous pink & green - which sadly I can't remember the source of...


but it's nice to have them all finished (all 15 of them!) and be able to shut up shop for a week - MWH* & I are off together for a week now - cry havoc and let loose the dogs of whoar!


*My wonderful husband

Holiday? What holiday?

So, at 6.28am, the clock radio switched itself on. My side of the bed, no less. Then the light came one. Ditto. Hmmm. Who's having this holiday, anyway? Then his nibs decides to get up at 7.00am, and by then, of course, I'm wide awake, so I reach for my book, hoping in vain for a cup of tea and toast from the 'working one'.. ha! Get it yourself, you're on holidays. It's no wonder I have the lawyer's number on speed dial. But that's only because he's actually a friend of mine. His. Ours.Anyway, I eventually staggered out of bed at 8.40, only, note you, once I had finished the book. It was good, I must say. My WMIL* lent it to me yesterday & I stayed up very late reading (because I'm on holidays, did I mention that?) and couldn't wait to find out what happened! Of course, I never doubted for a minute that she was innocent... ... ... that might be enough about that. Don't want to spoil it for anybody else!

Other things - little trip off to the stainless steel shop for the carabiners with the ring in them that nobody else in the known universe seems to sell, he had 23 hanging in the shop & I took 20. Didn't want to be greedy.

Also bought some stiff interfacing, they must have used it for wimples & veils in the 11th century, it was so stiff - I made a single pouch with it, but no more. It was so stiff I could barely turn the damn thing inside out - it actually made my hands sore, trying to manipulate it for the corners. I peeled it off the other

fabric I so efficiently ironed it onto this morning & have consigned it to the rubbish bin, to be fallen upon by builders looking for material to shore up falling down buildings, or maybe repair the space shuttle. Waaaaay too firm for me! Anyway, I've fallen back on the pellon & interfacing option, which gives a nice firm finish but is still soft - hopefully that will be okay with Miss Carmen, for whom all this effort was!

Other pieces of effort in the same burst:

And then this:

I have to say I love this combination of grey & rusty brown - I've never considered that they went together in real life before,

especially when you see a middle-aged man with a combover wearing a grey suit & brown shoes, but this definitely does not pop up that mental image! I'm really happy with the combo, and the lining just finishes it off nicely:

Very swish, and for sale, of course, here.

That's it for now, more tomorrow. Holidays are fun!