Guess where I've been today??!!

I handed my children out to various places this morning, grabbed a friend and headed into the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Show.  Such fun, loads of stalls and a hundreds of ladies - some of them quite pushy!  I cant begin to tell you how many times I was hip and shouldered out of the way... and not by spritely young things either!  Watch out for Nanna's on a Mission if you get a chance to go!

Highlight of my day - getting to meet the super lovely Toni Coward of Make it Perfect fame!  So lovely.  And she was working on the Kelani Fabric stall which had the most gorgeous fabrics.  I only wish I had more dollars to spend.  Of course I forced my friend to iphone photo us for posterity!

(I totally need to remember to pull that potty tummy in next time!)

The nice thing was that there is quite a range of crafty stalls, not just a focus on quilting.  My friend bought some beautiful balls of lovely alpaca yarn for a crochet project.  We found this lady too selling the most interesting balls of 'yarn'. Made from offcuts of new fashion garments and consisting of strips of high quality cotton she had the most gorgeous cushions, rugs and bags on display.  Look at this great fruit bowl made from it!

image

And of course I forced my girlfriend to take a happy snap of me in front of the sign at the doors!

Please ignore the fact that I was blinking and focus on the large green cutting mat I purchased!  Bargain price and I also bought a rotary cutter with it.  So much for waiting for someone to buy me one for my birthday!

My creative space...

....is actually a creative space!!!

We moved a few things around in the house, got rid of the guest bedroom and created a space for me!

Woot Woot!!!
Future houseguests will have to get used to sleeping in our front loungeroom instead!

This is the obviously the before shot... vacuum cleaner and all.

During the whole moving process - I did manage to cull a lot of my books but still... I managed to find my Year 12 English texts and even a Philosophy one about the Meaning of Life!!!  Yes, I generously have donated them to Salvos.

Basically, we have moved one of our huge Ikea shelves in on one wall and then our old dining table onto the other.  Space, storage and sunlight!!!  And a door I can close on any potential mess.

The table is still a work in progress - I am desperate for a quilting mat and a rotary cutter (which I will be requesting for my birthday next month any family members who are listening).  But there is lots of room for my sewing machine and then a workspace next to that.  And that giant blue wall - I think it needs some art.

My nice tidy bookshelf.

Yay!

On other creative fronts, I haven't actually managed to do much more on my lovely blanket but we are going away to our beach house this weekend so it will be accompanying me on the trip.  I have finished row 7 of 15 with the ends sewn in and it is looking so, so good!

Wordless Wednesday: Reading at Bedtime

Join in with Wordless Wednesday



Point and Shoot: A Saturday Drive

I spent the loveliest day on Saturday going for a drive with my mum.  We headed to Woodend and Hanging Rock, the place my mum got married to my stepfather (who recently passed away).  My mum raised us on the movie Picnic at Hanging Rock and has always loved it - we all do!  From there we drove through to Daylesford for lunch and a visit to the Lark store and then onto Ballarat where we had the nicest visit to Morgan Wills' new shop, The Crafty Squirrel.

Lovely memory blocks found at a yummy cafe in Woodend.  I think I'd like the King and Queen ones over my bedhead!

Have you seen the movie? Watch the clip to the end - I have a suprise for you later!

     Hanging Rock





    My lovely mum and I on the walk to Hanging Rock summit.    




     We did wonder whether Hanging Rock might need another name!!??










Holding up the 'Hanging Rock'




     Strike a pose!!!!  Mum and I crawled through all the cracks and crevices re-enacting scenes from the movie!




   I even managed to crawl right to the very top.  It really is the most incredible view in all directions.  I highly recommend a visit - even small people would be able to manage the walk.

A highlight for me - finally a visit to the Lark shop!  It is just as lovely as you'd imagine with load of gorgeous things to buy and really lovely, friendly, helpful staff!

The Crafty Squirrel in Ballarat!  You might notice that I am wearing one of Morgan's scarves for the occasion - and how great is that matching yarn-bombed telegraph pole out the front!





Honestly, the things we do.  And we weren't even drinking.




I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  If you've got some pictures to share you can always join in with Point and Shoot.

This week I'm grateful for...

I'm totally going to be materialistic and shallow this week.  I hope you don't mind.  If you do, you better go and read somewhere else.

Things I'm grateful for this week:

• I am secretly in love with my newsagent - not only does he get the new Mollie Makes in via air freight, he saves two for me - one for me, one for my gorgeous friend!
• I have a new babushka to add to my collection!  Isn't she lovely?!  She's a bedside carafe!  Her head comes off to create the glass.  I'm thinking I might just fill her with the crochet flowers I make off the front of my new Mollie.
• Sussan had a sale this week - 50% off their already reduced stock.  I may have bought a stripey top and two lovely oversized cardigany wrappy type numbers.  And layby-ed some jeggings.
• Tomorrow (Saturday) I am leaving the smalls with their daddy and escaping for a drive with my visiting mum.  We are planning on climbing Hanging Rock in Woodend on a quest to find Miranda, popping into the Lark shop in Daylesford and maybe even squeezing in a visit to the Crafty Squirrel in Ballarat.  Trust me when I say that not a thought will be spared for my husband standing in the wet and cold on the muddy ground at Auskick!
• School, kinder and creche went back this week.  I am doing the dance of joy.

My Creative Space... bored yet?

I hope you are not sick of the sight of these lovely squares getting all joined together because I'm not!  I've actually almost finished that 6th row.  I have had trouble this week finding time to sit down and crochet up a storm so I am not as far along as I want to be.  Plus, now it is getting on the large side, it is no longer a transportable craft - I think I feel some crochet bunting coming on just so I have something to carry around in my handbag!

The more I add, the more I fall in love with it!

I love the circle's buried deep in their white squares!

I'm particularly loving that no two are the same!

Love - even with my crappy late night iphone shots!

And one more for good luck...

All the cool people hang around here on Thursdays!

School Photo Success

When I was in primary school, I totally loved school photo day. I had (please excuse me while I rave about myself!!!) the most lovely, long milk blonde hair and on school photo day we would all recieve brand new little combs with which we had to tidy ourselves up with!

I got more vain every year with that hair of mine.... until year 8ish when it turned the mousy brown I currently live with and try to dye back to blonde every chance I get!

Oscar bought home his handsome prints today and I think they are great (not biased at all... much). How could you not love that cheesy, dimpled grin?!

I mostly love that for about $30 you get this fantastic book filled with photos of various sizes and colour washes, book marks, gift tags, wallet shots etc to hand out to all those family and friends that, I am sure, are desperate for pics of my boy to put all over their fridge!

And then of course, there is that awfully entertaining game of laughing at other people's children who have ended up with their eyes closed in the class photo!
(just in case you didn't know - I am closet bitch!)

Granny square desktop anyone!

Spied here first,

but originally from here.

Love.



Post Birth Beauty

I'm feeling quite brave this evening and in honour of Mrs Woogs blog regarding birthing beauty in women, I am putting my post birth photos into the mix.

Statistics:

3 ceseareans, 1 emergency, 2 elective.

Fairly ginormous babies (one of which ended up being 11 pound 3 - that's just over 5kg's people!)

Massive weight gain during pregnancy - about 30kgs for each one, not helped by the introduction of mint chip icecream.

 Oscar Grant

 Isaac Thomas

 Matilda Anne

Attactive?  At the time I thought no.  I felt like a bloated, water retaining, beached whale of epic proportions!  There was definately no waxing of nether regions, no make up, no styled hair and no painted nails. 

There was loads of drugs, stitches, bleeding, discomfort, sore boobs and tears.

Would I change any of it?  Never!  I think it is important to remember that pregnancy and birth is just a moment in time that passes too quickly.  While there are some icky bits, it's all a means to an end - a very much wanted end.  I am lucky - I have 3 healthy, happy little people.

One of my favourite photos - the boys checking Matilda has the right amount of fingers!

Do you feel brave enough to put your birth photos on blog display?

Go and visit Mrs Woogs for some more gorgeous Birth Beauty.

And clearly, I think a prize needs to be awarded to Beth at BabyMac for sharing hers!



My creative space.... Granny Love

It's just not complete without totally bad iphone photography is it?  And the one below is a real treat - taken by my husband in the dark lounge with no natural light while screaming at Offspring on tv.  And the pink wheat sack perched neatly on my shoulder... that's because I woke in the morning completely unable to turn right.

Still looks pretty though, yes?  My 180 circles are ever so slowly getting their white borders and being linked up to a lovely colourful neighbour.  Three rows down, ends sewn in, only twelve more to go!

And just because one bad iphone photo is never enough...

here's another!

Other creative types hang around over here.  Feel free to join us!

Eat your Granny Squares!

Source: sugarandmeringue.squarespace.com via Sonia on Pinterest

Oh my word!!!  What more is there to say?  Click on the linkyloo and it will take you straight to the full tutorial.  I am totes requesting these be made for my birthday next month.

Just like Alice...

.... I fell down a rabbit hole yesterday, a pinterest shaped one.

I have been obsessively planning and pinning party ideas for my two smallest smalls - parties that are actually not happening till October and December!  But since I follow (toooooo) many blogs I keep seeing ideas pop up and it is the perfect spot to put all those ideas for future reference. 

So, while I know that they are not original ideas, the soon to be 5 year old is having a lego party (thanks to Donna Hay's most recent kids edition for including the most excellent lego blocks cake for me to copy!) and we are going with rainbows for the small girl because, well, have you seen those many layered cakes???!!!  To pretty for words.

It's also the perfect place for me to go troppo with my babushka obsession!

And get all inspired with other people's beautiful crochet!

Do you pin?  What are your most popular catergories?


I feel a bit blonde mentioning this, but I only worked out yesterday how to take a screen shot from my computer!!!  Did you know how to do this?  Mr Google was kind enough to send me simple instructions but basically hold down the 'Alt' key and the 'PrtScn' key (normally found up near the top left of your keyboard somewhere) then head on over to the paint function found in Accessories and paste your image in there.  You can now edit and save it like a normal image and use it obsessively in your blog 3 times in one post!  (see above!)

Point & Shoot: a kiddie focused weekend!

A trip to the movies to see Cars 2.....

...where one of these small people fell asleep on their daddy.

A couple of games of bowling....

....where one of the small people solidly beat their mummy.(And if someone could enlighten me as to why two games of bowling is cheaper than one??!!)

And just because I think it is looking so pretty...

... I couldn't wait to start joining up those 180 circles!  Two rows done with their ends sewn in.... only 13 more to go!

See some other happy snaps from the weekend with Point and Shoot over at sunny + scout.



My creative space...

In my creative space this week:

180 crochet circles were completed...

...with no two the same!

Anyone want to come over and help me sew in all those ends and then crochet them into squares whilst joining them at the same time and ensuring that no colours end up all clumped together???

And you might remember my first attempt at an owl last week?  On deciding his eyes were freaking me out so were sure to freak out the birthday girl, attempt number two was made.

Much better, me thinks.

The bonus of Tasmanian relatives

I am well aware that this does not look super appetising but let me tell you right now - this is the yummiest chocolate snowball EVER!!!!  It is made with the softest, smoothest marshmallow and covered in real chocolate, then rolled around in even more flake-like chocolate.  My in-laws are visiting with us for a few days before they trek off to Switzerland and they bought us these delicious morsels from a place called Anvers in Tasmania.

Yesterday there were 24 of them, today there are 18 left. 

I think someone needs to stage an intervention.

This week I'm grateful for... no alarms.

Oh, school holidays. How you tease me with your initial awesomeness.
A slower more relaxed pace, pyjamas all day and absolutely no screeching alarm clocks going off every nine minutes because my arm is still to sleepy to reach round the side of the clock and switch it off completely so I just bang away on top hoping to somehow hit the snooze button.

Feeling grateful?

(disclaimer:  I was actually up before 8:53 this morning.  Just not early enough to dust the bedside table obviously.)

Friday Fun

Drowning in a sea of balls at the indoor playcentre.

Finishing off my inner circles for my granny blanket (while my children drown in a sea of indoor playcentre balls)!  The one on the lid is what they will all look like in the end - not a great example as it has a purple centre, then dark blue, then the light blue, all of which haven't really iphone photo-ed very well (what a surprise!).  I have been using the Royal Sister's pattern.

A little bit of shopping on the way home.  I pledge my eternal devotion to supermarkets that provide these teeny trolleys for small people.  And yes, those are bananas in her trolley.  At $13.98per kg.  Apparently my husband is rich.

What happens when you have drowned in a sea of balls all morning, then shopped up a storm?  You fall asleep on the couch during your 75th viewing of Toy Story 2, which really just means that you now wont go to bed tonight till 10.30 tonight!

My lunch while they sleep and rest.  A combination of lettuce, avocado, olives, fetta, cucumber and some cut up falafels with some balsamic on top.

How's your Friday going?

(I'm also squealing on the inside as my followers just clicked over to 50!!!!  Gosh, I must be interesting.  I wonder how many of those are my family members?!)