Matching Pegs

Happy 8th Birthday our wonderful, talented, big girl.

You are our super-imaginative, creative girl, who eight years ago turned a couple into a family.

You were the youngest of our three to smile, at 11 days old.  Here you are on that day giving Daddy one of your best!  Even from those early days, you would follow conversations with your eyes, always curious about what was going on.  These days you like to think deeply about the things you hear, and often ask us questions, ages after we have forgotten the conversation.

You walked earlier than you brother or sister (11 months and one week) and people used to stop and stare at this tiny girl walking by herself.  You are not such a “little dot” now :-).

Here you are with Rory (when you were 4 and 3/4 and he was almost 3) and we can see you holding Michaela when she was only 3 days old (You were just 5).  You are a fantastic big sister, always making up wonderful games that you can all play together.  In fact, most people who know you talk about your wonderful imagination, as well as your fantastic drawing.  We are proud of you, our clever girl, who tries so hard to do things perfectly; just don’t forget that mistakes are part of life, and remember to always make new ones.

Here is one of my favourite photos of you, when you were 21 months old, just before Rory was born.

No matter what, remember that we love you, always. We are so lucky to be your Mum and Dad.

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!

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see………….

OK so it’s not strictly true, the skies are not blue at all, they have been very grey.

This week Winter has been starting to get to me, I have been feeling a bit blah. At the start of the week my washing machine died, in a water flooding out the bottom kind of way. This problem will hopefully be fixed on Monday, but luckily I have had some kind souls who have let me wash in their machines. Thanks Mum and Leigh, this photo is for both of you.

So today things were looking up. My skies were blue, because I had two hours to myself while Michaela was at Occasional Care. I sat and sewed (for the first time in ages) while I was serenaded by the divine Ella Fitzgerald, who never fails to lift my spirit, and induces me to lift my voice. So what was she singing?

Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on

Hope you have blue skies where ever you are*

*(Metaphorically speaking, ’cause I don’t mind grey skies, if we get good rain with it)

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.

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.

We had a beautiful sunset tonight and I could not resist sharing it with you.  This is the view across the top of the neighbouring houses.  As a family we all went to see Kung Fu Panda this afternoon, which was actually not bad as far as school holiday movies go.  It was Michaela’s first movie and apart from moving between Luke at one end of our 5 seats, and myself at the other, she made it through the whole movie without making lots of noise.

Here is an update on the fort/lookout/cubby in the backyard.

This was Luke working out how high the step needed to be, so that Michaela could climb up.

She was a real little Tradey, helping out Daddy.

As regular readers know, Friday is the day to dip into the past, but today I am going to show you a piece of design that is not my work, but is from our family photo archive.  A few people I know have just had, or are going to have babies.  This is the best piece of baby related gear that we purchased, hands down, so we now have three!  It is a fabulous piece of design.

This is our eldest daughter Amelia, at 5 1/2 months in January 2001, sitting in the Tripp Trapp highchair by Stokke, a firm from the Netherlands, (the second link takes you to the USA/Canadian site, as it is in English, but the first link shows the chair as it is sold here even though the text is Dutch.  There seems to be a different baby rail sold in the US, which is not as elegant).  Back when we purchased this, they were not sold in Australia, and I think it was my first ever Internet purchase, through a New Zealand importing firm.  A very dear friend had one that her in laws had purchased in Europe, and I thought it was worth tracking down.

As you can see, unlike other Highchairs, the Tripp Trapp adjusts from being suitable for a baby right through to an adult.  What you can’t see in this picture is that the baby rail at the front comes off, and the chair seat interchanges with one that does not have a strap.  For an adult, the larger footrest becomes the seat.  At almost 8, Amelia still benefits from that little bit of extra height to sit comfortably at the table.

Now here is what I was doing (with the kids) yesterday.

I was actually drawing Teddy bears, when Amelia got our her drawings of possible doll faces.  We were talking about proportion again, and how eyes are actually across the middle of a face, and not near the top.  Before I knew it, look who had appeared. Along with various stylized Michaela’s along the bottom, there is one of each of us, (I had to get out a photo to add Luke and I).

Here is a page of Teddies.

Here is another current project in the works, yet another scarf.

This one is quite narrow as it is to adorn a pretty little neck - Michaela’s.  It is made with Bamboozle yarn which is 70% Bamboo and 30% Cotton, so it is super soft and light.  As usual, it was the colour that caught my eye, yet another variegated yarn, in such beautiful fruity tones.  I also have some put aside for me :-).

Lastly this is Michaela’s handiwork.  Inspired by a large creation the bigger kids made, she presented this to me - her first castle - and asked me to take a picture.

Have great weekend everyone, more regular posting will resume again next week when term starts again.

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

My little bottle of Mod Podge is going a long way, and I am loving it.

Here is another really quick project, that has been seen all over the craft blogs thanks to Anna Maria Horner’s appearance on Martha Stewart (there is a link in Anna’s sidebar to the video tutorial). It’s called Fabric Silhouette Painting, and while I was looking at the video, I had a great idea for what I could make - A decorative house number. Just the right kind of project for a gloomy Melbourne winter day.

The tutorial starts with a pre-stretched canvas and a piece of fabric, cut to size, that you staple to the back of the canvas. Unfortunately, I only had a domestic stapler, and not a staple gun, so I didn’t really get the fabric tight enough (hence the slightly wrinkled appearance of the finished numbers), but I carried on regardless. I chose to use a great Heather Ross fabric that I got in NYC at Purl, called Matrioshka Dolls (in beige)

Here is the fabric covered, Mod Podged canvas, with a paper stencil that I have made to trace out the numbers. All that was left was to mix up a colour to match the trim on our house, and paint out the background, and then a final coat of Mod Podge. Check Anna Maria’s tutorial for better instructions.

I really like how the nesting dolls are peeking out of the numbers; a detail you can’t see from the street, but will notice as you approach our front door.

While it is under the eaves, it will undoubtably be exposed to some weather, (although, on the south of the house, it will not get direct sunlight) so my husband is sceptical about how long this will last. Nevertheless, Luke kindly drilled in some screws to hang it on.

This shirt is one I think Luke has had longer than he has known me. He recently rediscovered this to wear for weekend gardening, and the kids told him he looked like a farmer, which certainly didn’t make him unhappy.

So where are these Winter flowers I mentioned in the title? One lot grows right next to the house number, over the boring old grey lattice that surrounds our verandah. It is one of my favourite Aussie natives, Happy Wanderer (Hardenbergia Violacea). We have planted lots of purple flowers because I love they way they look up against the terracotta bricks of our house.

These are just coming into flower, and the flowers will last for months.

Here are the other winter flowers, but they are a little stranger…….

It might be a little difficult to see, as it was starting to get dark, but the kids have picked up a whole lot of Camellia blooms that have fallen to the ground, and they have decorated the Magnolia Tree. In a month or so, this tree will have lovely purple blooms of it’s own, but for now, it has bright pink flowers.

“Sometimes I wonder why I have to stay

Being the same person day after day

So out with the clothes box and on with the gear

And very soon somebody different is there”*

So here is my little Jedi in all his glory. It is a dress up day at school today, and the theme that the student team in charge chose was “Super-Heroes, or Careers”. The kids who dressed up had to make a gold coin donation, which this time is going to a fund for a nearby school who had a fire. Amelia chose to go as an artist.

I think they both look wonderful!

For those that are interested, Rory’s Jedi Robe is made of Polar fleece (no hemming required), and I used the details here (scroll to the bottom of the page, where it says “Making A Simple T-tunic) as a reference for this project.

And just because the other two are up there, here is an adorable photo of the littlest one, pretending to be all grown up with a towel on her head.

* And yes that is another quote from one of Justine Clarke’s songs.