Sorting and keeping memories...

Sorting through your stuff and tidying up for the New Year is great fun and you find lots of great stuff, but it does have it's downside.

My boy and I did his room, finding 3 garbage bags of stuff for new homes and the Op shop.

My girl then caught the bug and has sorted through every shelf and drawer and thrown out about an equal amount.

-And there's the downside...as more and more clothes come flying out the bedroom door to the "no further use" passageway, you really realise they are growing up. We were a bit sad about a lot of the things she had grown out of but at one point we were both standing in the passage holding pyjama leg each and saying, "ohhh, not the Pepe le Pew pj's!!"

I have kept some of her clothes over time for posterity, but couldn't really justify Pepe pj's so I raced over the the sewing room, dug through the chenille stash and put together a little throw... perhaps you should don your sunglasses now!!

Then the design consultant cum pj owner wanted something groovy in the middle, I tried the circles, she said not enough pink, so we have now moved to the pink flower on top!

I like the shabby chenille look, but can't believe how hard it is to make yourself sew the wrong sides together instead of the right. Seemed pretty easy to do that when i was trying desperately...and probably futilely .... to pass sewing class at High School!

Has served 2 purposes, reduced the "sew it...don't find a space for it" stash in the sewing room by another metre and kept a lasting reminder of the pj's. Now how do I just freeze the kids for posterity and stop this rapid growing up???

Jelly wares Jodie was the lucky winner in my comment prize, she had some great recycling ideas for sewers, well done Jodie...and congratulations on the lovely new addition of Millie Rose...my niece shares that beautiful name.

Jodie may get sent some of these folded notecards..

Or even a desk calendar........

.........Which would you like the best????

Off to the beach, have a great day, Tracey

Happy New year!

Okay girls, thanks for all who played along- if you are tuning in for a winner....well, better give me until tomorrow!!
We had a little New Year get together here last night...and while it was half of the almost 42 degrees celcius that saw us all in the pool until after 2 am last year...it was still 4 am before I hit bed last night and seeing it is already midnight again I will wait for a little more coherency for drawing winners!

But, who needs coherency for blogging...heck, it's never stopped me before!!!

I am well and truly on the New year resolution track, my 1200 messages in my inbox are gone, as are almost equal numbers in bloglines feeds...I feel less cluttered already and I have had some great catch ups, with a good few more to follow for while I am supervising kids in the pool..(THEY may be happy to swim until 10 pm at about 14 degrees externally but I am not!!!)

They did get out in time for sparklers at midnight, I had a little play with my camera and forgive me for the indulgence but I thought these were pretty cute!

But I am getting way ahead of myself! Before having a party I had to do a few chores...

-well, this wasn't a chore. My sister doesn't sew and my DN Millie loves her hand me down dressups I made my girl, but really needed a good party one, so I came up with this. I mailed it and it got there in time for her to wear it not just to the dress up birthday it was intended for but to their New Year party. She refused to give in to the fact it was a beach theme... the dress was NOT coming off! Notice the judicious use of shirring elastic...the tute is in my sidebar...do you know that is the most commonly googled thing that gets people to my blog!

Now, here was the chore...or part of it!!

If you are going to talk about cleaning and sorting ....and ask bloggers about resolving to clean and sort.... you actually need to start yourself!!

Thus (isn't 'thus' a great word... I remember my Year 12 English lit. teacher telling me off for writing 'thus' and 'mayhap'....said they were old fashioned words for a modern girl..I said, "but I don't want to be modern, I want to be in Regency England with the Duke of Avon from a Georgette Heyer romance trying to woo me."... think that meant he didn't mention the language again!!!! Poor man wasn't game!)

Anyway, thus...I ended up with 4 hours until people were due to show and the entrance to my home looked like -who am I kidding, it filled most of the loungeroom!!......

wait...are you really ready...I am working on the theory that women don't like other women who are really tidy because it makes them feel inadequate...well, you are really gonna like me!!!!

That is most of the baby nursery that needed to be taken over to the sewing room...all the little things I have grabbed and dragged across in the last few months that MUST go back so i can open the nursery door!! We wont talk about the sewing room door, that project starts tomorrow and I am really not sure whether you are ready for the before picture!

On the good side, all this organizing has helped me find out what I am!! No, no, I'm not being deep...I have quite often been asked to describe myself in 3 words, it seems to be quite a general thing in a new situation and i am hopeless!! I don't know where to start and I certainly can't contain myself to 3 words!! And what do you say, do you build yourself up-discuss the good bits, or put yourself down...TOO HARD FOR ME!!!

But i sat down for 2 minutes in between loads to read the latest Notebook magazine. They had an interview with Kristin Scott Thomas..who I love in 4 weddings, and they asked her to describe herself in 3 words. Well, I think she used slightly more than 3, but hers is now my new answer...I may even put it in my sidebar if that will ever let me reload it!!

And the quote..."Chaotic but well-meaning!"

Isn't that just great....as I look around at farm bookwork, school minutes, card orders, pool toys and ironing (and that's just in the office!)-with chooks trying to get in the back door and lambs and kittens in the side, I am thinking I may even turn it into a t-shirt!

I had better got to bed but you will be pleased to know that by the time guests arrived that whole area was spick and span. Thank goodness no-one had to go in the sewing room!

Hope your New year was great. Here's to a good one in 2009

Until tomorrow... Cheers Tracey

Quilt gift-and blogiversary!

I have that happy, but completely exhausted, feeling that you get when you know what you did was worthwhile....like giving birth but mercifully without the stitches!

We are shearing here and I am feeding the whole shearing team hot morning tea, roast lunch, dessert and afternoon tea. Around that and the kids I also had to work on my friend's 70th quilt-that was still a lot of blocks short by Wednesday's mail! I had to present it as a top and I will add the missing blocks and quilt it as a work in progress. Thanks for everyone's input, I was a little strapped for time so didn't go too elaborate, I kind of split the difference and went for a 2 1/2 inch finished sash.

By staying up a considerable amount of Thursday night and enlisting the kids on their day off as kitchen apprentices I managed to get it into a satisfactory quilt top by the time I had to serve dinner then race to town to the handover lunch.

Here she is.. and do you think she minds that it is still only a top??? I don't think she would have minded if it were just the squares! She couldn't believe who I had tracked down to contribute a square.

She just kept crying, even an hour later we were having a quiet coffee together and tears were running down her face. I sent her off up the street to get tissues clutching her quilt box tightly before she headed away with the family to her daughter's. I spoke to her daughter last night and she said the crying had stopped but she was still clutching the quilt!

I love giving a quilt to someone who appreciates it, that is really why we do this crazy cutting up of fabric! Makes it all very worthwhile.

My batteries went flat, I'll get you good pictures when it is done. This is Valda's DIL and grandson at the left, and Valda and I on the right.

DH finished his day in the woolshed and went to bed with the flu so i spent a fairly sleepless night on the couch which did nothing to help the tiredness!

I had to stop and let this echidna past on the road on the way to town.

The dress making bug has quieted for a few days, here are the girls in their dresses...and baby Born's to match.

We have taken some Canola photos, if you saw how many it took to get these! The models were far more interested in chasing each other through the crop than cooperating, but that's all fun as well.

Just realised it is my 2 year blogiversary. I think we better have a giveaway, don't you? I haven't got any elaborate idea organized so I think we will stick to the tried and true...leave a comment about something you liked in this post or in the 2 years worth to go in the draw...and I guarantee the prizes (s) will be something worthwhile. I'll cut it off and announce the winner by wed nesday, 22/10-hopefully shearing will be over by then!

Have a great day, I am off to draft up sheep with a DH with the 'flu...oh what unbridled joy!!! Tracey

Of mail and family sewing....

Now, I know none of you would possibly think it to look at me, but I am 39......well past any age I ever went through of caring about labels. No, of course, I, as a sensible farmwife am only interested in comfort, economical choices and practicality in my purchases.
Yes, that sounds about right...

So, today, this came in a parcel from my girlfriend who lives overseas-she is the one whose Mum is getting the 70's fabric string quilt I have shown a little recently.


Now, the sensible farmwife in me would not scream and do a Jennifer Hudson impersonation in S*x in the City when she unwrapped this.......





-and found one of those things she adores the most....a bag!!!


And not just any bag, one of these bags.....






No, a sensible farmwife wouldn't get excited about that at all....(what a lot of fun those sensible farmwives miss out upon!!)



On a completely different note, in a completely different world, I am sewing label-less baby clothes.
My little niece has got me in the mood for making clothes.
I have adapted a bigger pattern of my girl's and had a good play-don't you love elastic necklines for hiding a heap of sins!!
I don't have this beautiful little miniature sumo to model for me today....
...she was just visiting and laughing at her Auntie Tracey yesterday-all that chubbiness at 5 months old just from being B/F- Not a lick of solids has passed that double chin!

So i had to enlist the asssistance of baby Born's modelling skills to try and work out if the neck will be ok.

As my chubby cheek's head is considerably bigger than newborn I am hoping I am on the right track.
(I love working with Baby Born, she never complains when you bend her arms the wrong way and I have never heard her whisper a word of censure over the pins sticking in her!)
I haven't sewn off the elastic yet, I'll take the machine when i go to my sister's next and do a few of the tidying bits down there-I hate unpicking dress seams just as much as patchwork ones!
My clever sister spied the Heather Bailey yesterday so that is how come it is an accent to the denim! I fussy cut and appliqued one of the flowers on as well-bit bright to see, I'll have to get you a real shot when it's on old chubby cheeks!


The kids and I have been desperately trying to get pics of the cats sleeping on Archie. The problem is when we sneak out the door to shoot they wake up...this is the best we could do this morning.
-Arch is such an accommodating shagpile, I mean dog!



Must be off, there are still a few "how to hold my bag so that you can see the label" poses I need to try!!!
Have a great day, Tracey