Matching Pegs

After a few weekends off due to bad weather, construction resumed this weekend on our fort/cubby/space station (Rory is absolutely Lego-Star-Wars Mad, and has decided that we have a space station in our backyard).  First the frame for the roof was completed.

And then, an exciting trip to the hardware store to select a roofing material.  Luke settled on wide fence palings, as the cheapest, aesthetically pleasing option.  He put these up in spite of a rain shower that sent the kids inside.

We plan to paint the whole structure when the weather improves.  Meanwhile inside I made yet another Log Cabin cushion - the final one.  Here is the before shot.

and here is the after…

And for those that are interested, here is a view of the backs of the cushions, which are all made from fabrics that I purchased at Purl Patchwork in NYC.

The Matroyshka fabric backed cushion was the first one I made, and I put the zip where I usually do.  Once I started making the others, I made the decision to use two different fabrics on the back, and because I bought such small amounts in NYC, I had to place the zips lower down, so the backs are all different.

The fabric makes me happy every time I look at it.

Finally here is a link to a site that made me more than happy.  It made me laugh so hard that, (like every cliche), tears streamed down my cheeks, and my stomach was sore.  It is a site about Cake Wrecks, cakes that are just wrong, and it was the post titled “Get Me Holly Hobbie’s Head on a Platter” that really had me in hysterics.

I found this site via a link on, Emmzeegee’s website.  Emmzeegee was a friend that I worked with back when I was childless (and so was she) and I have only reconnected with her recently.  She has triplets who are now 7 years old, who I last saw when they were about 6 months old.  Two of the triplets share first names in common with my twin brother and I, which is kind of cool (but a complete coincidence).  Anyway, check out the cakes, they are great for a laugh!

My Friday Archive post spent most of Friday half written and it is only now that I have gotten to it.  Instead of finishing it, here are some of the things I did….Played with play-dough, Built Lego “castles”, supervised the 2 year old painting (don’t put that brush in there until you wash off that blue first), nipped up to the shops, washed 12 sink loads of dishes, and finally did some sewing.  There were lots more boring things I did of course.

So here is my dip into the archive.

This is a page of sketches taken from my Industrial Design Honours Project in 1997.

My basic idea was that mobile phones are like watches.  They are functional objects we have with us all the time, that should allow us to express our personality through more than just different coloured covers (coloured covers were a pretty new thing back in 97).

Essentially, 11 years ago I came up with, and explored the idea that the phone handset would just be a touch screen with only a couple of buttons, and there would be a separate interactive part (think blue-tooth) that would function as the hearing/speaking unit (back then we did not have blue-tooth).  This separate wearable unit could come in a myriad of different designs, ranging from expensive pieces of jewellery, down to kid friendly plastic pieces - much in the way watches range from expensive gold and platinum through to “Dorothy the Dinosaur” kids watches.  The wearable unit was based on hearing aid technology, and could communicate wirelessly with the hand piece, and, like hearing aids, didn’t need to be very big.  The microphone did not have to be held adjacent to the mouth, etc.

Somewhere I have a bunch of models of different “jewellery” interactive units (which is what this page of sketches is of). Some were to be worn like necklaces, others were brooches, tie-pins, and I also had a couple which were to fit onto the side of eye glasses.  The point was that once you designed the technology, you could commission artists and jewellery makers to come up with new designs, to allow people true self expression.

For the past 11 years I have watched phones come closer to my idea, but no one has run with the jewellery thing. It is only a matter of time - but remember, you read my garbled account of it here first!

Here is the sewing I did yesterday afternoon. I took these…

Added some Needle turn applique, and created these for my friend Carolyn’s new home.

Quite a satisfying little project.

This morning the kids have had swimming lessons, so this afternoon I am heading to my parent’s house to wash the chlorine out of the towels and bathers.  Hopefully this is the last load of washing I will have to do off site.  Then it is Roast Lamb for dinner, yum.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Before

After.

Look who I found soaking up a little bit of winter sun in my garden yesterday. Like any other cat, this one looks quite comfortable perched in an unusual place - the handle of my rotary clothes line. This little aqua cat just needs a name, any suggestions?

It was quite a busy weekend here, among other things Michaela had her first swimming lesson. She was a star, and was smiling whenever she didn’t have a concentration face on. Some of the other little people in the tiny pool with her cried and cried, which was distressing for everyone, but didn’t seem to get to Michaela. Of course I would love to share how adorable she looked in her new speedos and goggles, but apart from potentially attracting creepies, I didn’t want to take a camera along to a kids’ swimming lesson.

On Sunday, while I took Rory to a gymnastics birthday party, (what a fabulous idea, Rory loved it) Luke opened up a craft box we have had for a while, and made some soap with the girls. It is still not dry, but the lavender in it smells wonderful.

Finally, have a look at this, the first of our Magnolia buds is starting to open. In no time the tree will look spectacular.

Don’t forget to leave a comment to help me name the cat, who now has a little heart on his/her chest like the bunny rabbit.

This is Mr Chocolate. I made him 4 years ago for a close friend. This little chap was actually the logo of Rebecca’s Online Children’s Clothing Store, which is currently inactive - having your fifth child will do that to you :-).

I finished Michaela’s Bamboo/Cotton scarf. It is tiny, but perfectly proportioned for her.

She has worn it quite a bit lately, as it has been quite icy.

We have a jam packed weekend, so the post ends here

Here is a funny little bunny I finished making last night.  She is made of Flea Market Fancy fabric, which is actually a map of Paris, so she is called Jeannot Lapin (Bunny Rabbit in French).  Michaela has been playing with her this afternoon, in the cubby.  This is actually Lapin deux, the first was smaller, and the ears became just that bit too small to turn out the right way, but I like the position of them better.

Amelia has ordered a Teddy in a purple fabric and Michaela has ordered a Cat in Blue.  Rory, as usual, just wants “something more scary”.

Yesterday was my Mother’s 60th Birthday (Happy Birthday Mum).

We had quite a subdued lunch, as that morning a family friend had passed away.  Our Friend Helen died after several weeks in intensive care.  She was a wonderful dynamo of a person, who never let her ill health hold her back from what she wanted to do.  Her sheer force of will was amazing.  She had a very strong sense of justice and actively campaigned for many causes.  She was a retired Uniting Church Minister who baptised both of our daughters.  She will be missed by many, many, people.

My Mother is another very strong women.  She has had to deal with a lot in her life time, and through the course of her life she has gathered lots of very practical wisdom.  I talk through the minutia of my life, and hers with her, almost daily.  Who would I be without her?

Don’t worry Mum, we will celebrate in suitable style at a later date, you sure deserve a proper party.

After Wednesday’s events, we have had lots of school holiday family time - just what the doctor ordered!

On Thursday the kids were busy in the kitchen making dough creations, that we “fired” in the oven and then painted.

This weekend there was a great deal of construction going on in the back yard.

It went from this, which was built last weekend,………………. to this…………

And finally this. So far it is an elevated platform, which will have rails added around the sides, and a nice wide step and eventually half of it will have a roof. The kids are very happy with Luke’s log constructions.

Meanwhile inside I was working on a log construction of my own.

It went from this, to this below.

It is one of several cushion covers in the works that I have finally gotten around to. I just have to finish sewing on the binding. Stay tuned for more construction efforts

This was a fun project I started and finished yesterday.

I purchased this plain wooden G from Spotlight (only $3.19) and decided to cut into some of my fabric from Purl in New York.

After cutting the fabric into a square slightly larger than the G, I gave the back of the fabric a spray with some Quilt-Basting spray that I had (I didn’t have any spray adhesive).

I placed the fabric over the front of the G, pressing it down gently to help it stick to the front face only. Next I trimmed back the fabric to leave a “seam allowance” of enough fabric to cover the sides of the letter.

Then, holding it up to the light with the front facing towards me, I cut into the “seam allowance” with the scissors, with more clipping on the curvier parts and none on the flat surfaces.

Once it looked like this, I took to it with the Mod Podge (a product I had never tried before). I pasted down the “seam allowance” by putting a little MP on the wooden edges, and then more over the top of the fabric as I pushed it down with a brush. I then covered the front face of the letter with more MP, taking care to wet the fabric right through, without leaving larges excesses of MP on the surface. After it dried I added another coat, then a third.

Finally, I dry brushed some gold acrylic paint on the sides of the G, to slightly disguise the places where the bare wood is not covered by the clipped fabric - you can still see the pattern on the fabric through the gold though. Now I just have to work out how to hang it. This is what it looks like when it borrows a picture hook - not quite right.

I actually completed this letter in tandem with another, a J for a new baby born yesterday morning, Jasper (I love that name). This one is plain blue, made with paint and not fabric, but gold around the edges again.

Lastly, a question. If a crafter crafts in a forest, and no-one is there to take a blog photo, did the crafting really happen?

Last night I finished embellishing two more t-shirts, for Ethan’s sisters, which turned out really well, but it was too late for a photo. This morning there was no time either, even though the light was good for once. I wrapped them up and sent them to school for the recipient’s last day (school term actually finishes tomorrow for the rest of the kids). So I guess as far as the blog is concerned, it didn’t happen…..sigh. But on the other hand, I got a lot done yesterday - 4 items started and finished in one day, even if I can only show you two.

What is this skinny looking creature looking at?

A treasure map to find Ethan’s Treasure…….

This was a quick project - A going away present for a little friend who is moving away from our area soon.

I used a couple of Pigma pens to add Ethan’s name to the Treasure Map fabric, and then used Vlisofix to attach the fabric to a plain Tee from Target. To finish it off, I zigged and zagged around the edges of the map fabric on the sewing machine. I have two more tees to embellish for Ethan’s sisters.

Although I have no photos to show for it, tonight we ate in style. At great expense, the oven has been repaired! We ate a chicken and vegetable pie, and a delicious rhubarb and apple pie that I made with a orange juice and zest (after a squiz at a Margaret Fulton Recipe, which was actually for a crumble). They were both scrumptious, if I do say so myself.

Saturday found us at an enormous play centre, celebrating Rory’s birthday with his friends.

The party was a great success, and Rory was particularly impressed with the cake.

Of course, It had to be baked in someone else’s oven (thanks Leigh!), but it was the Hawks decoration that Luke put on the top that won Rory’s praise.

As Amelia put it, “That was so good of you Daddy, to make a Hawthorn Cake, when your team is Carlton“.*

Sunday was quieter, but no less busy.

We spent quite a bit of time in the garden, planting my birthday plants, pruning, and enjoying the plants that we already have. Michaela was busy pulling the buds off the Camellias, and wanted to make sure I got a picture of her treasurers

In the photo above, you might be able to see a peek of another flower, of the felt variety, that I made this weekend.

These clips were heavily inspired by a motif that is often seen on Asian textiles, the cherry blossom. I made one in a coral colour and another in purple.

This one is actually a little present for a birthday girl - I am looking forward to seeing what it looks like in her hair.

Finally, some late afternoon sewing - an unfinished project. Can you guess what I am making?

*These teams are Australian Rules Football teams, for those of you who have never heard of the Hawks or the Blues.