family photos

The girls’ primary school had a family photo fundraiser recently through Advanced Life Photography.  Just wanted to share the photos –  because the one of the girls is absolutely adorable!

How sweet is that! Aged 10 and 5 respectively (grade 5 and Prep). I know that this photo will be one that we look back on over the years. My two primary school girls.

Okay, my husband is looking a little vague in this one – and he’s usually extremely photogenic! – but otherwise it’s pretty good of all of us.  Yes, my husband and I are looking quite middle-aged now, but that’s because we are 48 and 44 respectively!  That is middle aged, if you live to 96 and 88!  I keep kidding myself that the kids are keeping us young….

We only had about one family photo done when I was a kid. My husband’s family had loads, because they were migrants and always wanted family photos to send back to the relatives still in Holland. I remember visiting houses where there were numerous family photos on the walls, and I was always fascinated. I like having family photos around me – they remind me of how things have been, and are an interesting link with the past for the people to come. Do you get family photos taken regularly? And how long do you display them for?

(And to the relatives and godparents reading this – yes, you will get hard copies in the mail!)

(and yes – I did make all three dresses!)

getting organised

Well, things are still pretty hamstered, but I expected that.  But in two weeks today I’ll be off at Sewjourn, sewing up some of the what feels like hundreds of garments I have cut out over the past few weeks.  They’re all quick sews, almost all knits.  I really need to slow down and make some proper woollen jackets and coats for this winter, especially for the girls.  We have a trip to Tasmania planned in July – it will be COLD!  But in the meantime I’m writing more lists (yes, I am a list-writer Meredithe!), ticking more things off the lists, writing more things on the lists, getting through the commitments, and buying fabric to make Clare an “Anne of Green Gables” dress to wear at the school Literature Character Dress Up Day in late May.

I’m making view A – the dress with the floral bodice and solid skirt. I’m not making the jacket that coordinates – getting the dress made well in time will be enough for a dress-up! Clare was very pleased with the fabrics and trims that I chose – I usually choose such things with her, but she was at school and I needed to get it done. We’re still working out the best way to dye her hair red for the occasion. Spray on colours will be too tomato red, I think. I suggested an auburn rinse, but warned her that it would last through 8 washes or so. She was horrified at the thought! In the meantime a friend suggested that she could do her hair in a sock bun. I had no idea what one was, so Clare has been busy googling and we have found an excellent website called cute girls hairstyles. She is spending lots of time finding out groovy ways of doing her hair. Fun!

And if you were wondering what I was going to make for Stella to wear on the day – she’ll be going as Silky.  I gave her no option!  Luckily she loves The Magic Faraway Tree series.

bits and pieces…

Wow, that weekend flew by quickly!  We had a “home” weekend, which was needed after a busy week full of play-dates for the kids.  With Stella starting school, I thought that it was important to foster her new friendships with playdates that she can’t easily have during term time (after school care two afternoons per week and other activities on another two).  She is making friends with the sweetest little girls – but it also means that I am spending time getting to know new school parents.  Although I am often quite social, I am actually a person who really needs her alone time to recharge and reconnect.  So all this socialising and being nice to people was wearing me out!  The weekend was a welcome respite.  So, what did we get up to?  The kids watched an inordinate number of movies on TV.  They prefer DVDs to going out to the cinema, and there was a huge DVD sale on at the local supermarket.  They also spent a lot of time out in the backyard on the swing set and trampoline, so it wasn’t all about screens!  The Uno set also got a fair workout.  My husband repaired my bike carrier (broken when I fell off almost a year ago), mowed the lawn and started repainting around our deck.  We both managed to get to the gym for a decent workout.  Had coffee at a local cafe.  Read the newspapers.  I began work on getting through the mending pile (some achieved by putting the garment in the bin).  And I did other bits and pieces.

Some hooking while watching Downton Abbey last night.

Made some yo-yos for a quilt top while watching Doctor Who with the family (even little Stella who is possibly much too young to be watching it but isn’t scared as long as she is snuggled up to Daddy).

Inserted twist locks for the very first time (beautifully, if I do say so myself) while doing some secret pattern-testing.

Nothing finished, but lots in progress!  And spent a little time on Ravelry finding a jacket pattern to crochet for the twin baby girls that a friend gave birth to during the week.  Now to make a final decision on what to make for the SewcieTea coming up this Sunday – and getting it done!  But had better dash off – the week has started again, and we’re off to swimming lessons every day this week.  With some more playdates thrown in for both children.  Oh, to be a primary school aged child – my girls have a pretty good time of it!

our Easter weekend

We are usually part of the stream of cars heading out of Melbourne on the Thursday afternoon before the Easter long weekend.  This year it was different.  Both girls had their usual after-school activities happening on Thursday – Guides for Clare, Beginners On Stage for Stella – and Clare had been asked to sing a solo at church on Friday morning.  So we stayed at home that evening and let everyone else battle it out on the roads.

Clare did a beautiful job of singing “Come and see” to open the Good Friday service.  I was rather in awe – she was so poised, with barely a trace of nerves.  As she said to me, “well, I had the words in front of me”.  I am a very proud mother!  Then for another change to our usual routine we headed in to the Royal Children’s Hospital to take part in some of their Good Friday Appeal festivities that were open to the general public.  Most Melbournians – actually, most Victorians and many New South Welshpeople as well – are very familiar with this appeal.  Huge numbers of people get together to raise funds towards additional equipment and programs to benefit the kids at RCH.  When I was a child I spent many (tedious) hours watching the Appeal count on television on the one commercial television station that we had in my country town.  I think that the Appeal is ingrained in the general psyche.

There were meerkats to visit, the aquarium to see, a gourmet BBQ hosted by George Calombaris, an extremely impressive art and craft area for all kids to take part in, and numerous famous sportspeople and actors/personalities to sign autographs and have your photo taken with. Not that I recognised any of them. Oh well.  The appeal raised a record $16.4 million dollars.  Amazing!  And the girls had an absolute ball.

So it was afternoon before we made it to Grandma and Pa’s house!  And wouldn’t you know – the circus was in town!

Funnily enough, we’d been to Cirque du Soleil the previous weekend. All my life my husband has been wanting to go to the circus. Well, now he can die a happy man – because we’ve just been to two circuses one week apart! The Great Moscow Circus was loads of fun – a traditional circus that included knife throwing, juggling, clowns, horses, aerial performances, balancing, tumbling, and motorbikes inside a globe. Very different to Cirque du Soleil’s Ovo, which is an amazing visual and aural feast – but just as much excitement and just as much skill and talent.  And a quarter of the price.

After church on Easter Sunday was the traditional egg hunt. There are lots of places to hide eggs on a half acre block!

The girls were very happy with the proceeds of the hunt. Clare saves her eggs and slowly nibbles them away all year. Actually, I think that she’s only just finished last year’s chocolate haul. Stella is a different story.

Can’t…eat…any…more…chocolate…

Easter eggs are a versatile thing. Clare used them to teach Stella division the following day.

We managed to fit in a wonderful dinner with some special friends on Sunday night – the girls didn’t get to bed until 11.00pm, which is definitely the latest that Stella has ever been up! Mum and Dad looked after us beautifully, as always, and a relaxing weekend was had by all.

And then before we knew it, the time had come to join the stream of cars heading back in to Melbourne. Easter weekend over, school holidays only just begun.

At church, we watched a dramatisation comparing Jesus’ resurrection to the emergence of a butterfly from it’s cocoon. The same, but changed. It was a beautiful allegory. For the girls and I, Easter is not just about the eggs, the hunt, the Good Friday appeal, time with family and friends – and this year, the circus. It is about the crucifixion and the resurrection.

But I was still pleased that the Easter bunny came to me too.

first and last

It’s Stella’s first day at school.  You were expecting this blog post, weren’t you?

She was incredibly happy this morning.  Up bright and early, into school clothes, hair combed, ate breakfast, lunch packed, teeth cleaned.  I think it’s the fastest we’ve ever been ready for school.

She sang the whole way there.  ”I’m a schoolgirl now”.

Very happily posed for photos.

Then as soon as her classroom door was opened, she dashed in, put her bag away, and settled down to an activity.  She had to be interrupted for a last photograph and final cuddles.  I think that we were the first parents to leave the classroom.

So that’s it.  Her first day, and my last child at school.  It’s the end of one era, and the beginning of a new one.  It’s been a day of mixed emotions.  I’ve had a lump in my throat at times and the occasional tear in my eye, but she is SO happy to be at school and she is so ready for it.  And so are we.  Time keeps moving on, and things continue to change.  They grow up.  As they should.

Buchan

What a wonderful Australia Day long weekend – we went to Buchan!

The girls were very excited about visiting the caves – both the Royal and Fairy Caves. Clare pronounced them “cool” and “awesome” and Stella said that they were “freaky” and “scary”. We stayed at Buchan Valley Log Cabins, and I suspect that the highlight of the weekend for the girls was roasting marshmallows with the family staying in the cabin next door. A perfect way to round off the January school holidays.

And thanks so much for all the Vogue 8552 love – I’m definitely making at least one more!

school holidays

Yes, I’m loving these school holidays.

Just one more week for the kids. This time next week we’ll be making sure that Clare is all sorted ready for school, and Stella the following day. Wow. Where did that time go?

New Look 6071 (again)

Somehow I always feel a little bit smug when I use patterns for a second time.  I’ve suddenly halved the “cost per make” factor – well, the cost per pattern factor, really.  And when I use them more than twice – why, bliss!  I often theorise that the first time that I make something it is really a “wearable muslin”, and so I keep plenty of blog notes about what I’d do differently or what I would adjust the next time that I made it.  And then I forget to check my blog before diving in a second time, so repeat the same issues.

Interestingly, I forgot to read my original blog post on New Look 6071, but it doesn’t seem to have affected the fit in any adverse way. I forgot to make the centre back and side seam allowances 1/4″ instead of 5/8″, but the dress still fits nicely – and doesn’t have many of the pull/drag lines across the back that were evident in the first version! Or maybe you just can’t see them with this fabric.  Poor stripe matching across that centre back seam –  but it was the best that I could do in this already mis-matched stripe!

It’s a great reminder about what difference the fabric choice makes in the finished garment. Not merely in terms of the colour or print/pattern, but the qualities of the fabric such as drape, degree of stretch, the clingy factor, and so on. This is a textured knit jersey with minimal lycra content (you’ve seen it before in this dress) and I was originally quite hesitant about using it for New Look 6071. Looks like I was wrong! Interesting effects too with the wobbly stripes and the twist front.

So considering that the fabric was leftovers and the pattern had been used before, maybe this does count as a “free” garment! The neckline is low, so it’s best with a camisole. The weather cooled off enough on Saturday for me to need another layer over it – I was quite happy with this styling.  Although it would have been vastly improved with some lipstick.

Now, you’re all wondering about the bra-making progress, aren’t you? Well, I’ve assembled most of the “ingredients”. And my first lesson is that bra components are expensive to buy from Spotlight. And that no-one has a clue in store about what “powernet” and “tricot” etc are. Let alone knowing if they stock them, and where. I’ve quickly determined that the way to go when wanting to make pretty matching sets will be to buy fabric/fittings kits via the internet. In the meantime – I plan on cutting out my first bra today!  I was planning on sewing up some lovely loose yarn-dyed linen trousers today – but when I went to cut them out last night discovered that I hadn’t bought enough fabric.  I tried really hard, but there was no possible layout that would allow me to squeeze out the trousers.  Aaaargh!  So it looks like a jacket from one piece of linen, and a skirt from the other (yes, I bought two lengths of different colours).  But not today.

So, it’s the last full week of school holidays!  I’m still not back to work for another two weeks, which is wonderful.  I really did need this extended break.  I’m loving spending time at home, doing some sewing, some organising, some planning, and some of those jobs that you always put off until you are on holidays. We have had numerous kids over to play, been out to lots of activities, had dinner and lunches with friends, and are generally enjoying our time together.  Well, my husband is at work, so I’m enjoying my time together with the girls!  For some reason, Clare turning 10 and Stella about to start school feels quite momentous to me.  I can see that my babies are no longer babies – they have developed into such wonderful people and the world is their oyster.  2013 is going to be a huge year of change – but it’s good change.  Fingers crossed!

the closest my kids will get to having pets

They want a pet.  Can we have a dog?  Can we have a guinea pig?  Can we have SOMETHING?  They know that we can’t get a cat – my husband is allergic.  So they plead for a different animal.  But I just don’t fancy having to look after another living thing in our household.  I have enough trouble keeping the plants alive.  So as an alternative, they practice pet ownership on these.

Many many years ago we did tell Clare that once she was at school, we’d consider getting a dog. Instead, we had Stella.

I hope that the New Year has begun swimmingly for everyone. We’re currently having a lovely family holiday in Canberra. There is SO much to do here, and in the limited time available to us we’re barely able to scratch the surface!  We’ve visited relatives and I’ve caught up with a special blog friend, we’ve been to Questacon twice, visited the National Gallery and the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition, and today will head in to see Parliament House and the National Portrait Gallery. And yes, all of these activities are indoor ones. We’re seeking the air conditioning. It’s hot here! But it cools down beautifully each night. We are lulled to sleep in the evening by the sound of burnouts and cars revving – Summernats is on at the moment too. So must dash – more touristy things to do today before the long drive home on Sunday!

Christmas Day

I love Boxing Day.  I love the slow pace and the gradual getting myself and the household back together after the hustle and bustle of Christmas Day.  But Christmas Day is great too.

Lots of laughs, lots of bubbles, lots of fresh food, and lots of family fun, especially with the indulgent big boy cousins.  As Stella said, “best day EVER!”  And yes, I did manage to get my a dress for each of the girls and a dress for myself finished in time.  Back later to blog each of them!  And hubby wore his fish shirt.