Re-arranging

I spent a good portion of yesterday morning moving things around my home, re-decorating you might say, in a minor way. I haven't taken the time to do this in such a long while. But, I have motivation you see, becuase on Friday I am having a little morning tea for my girlfriends. And I want everything to be just right.

I started by moving the blue plates off the entrance wall. They now sit on a wall beside the kitchen.


I then re-arranged things above the TV cabinet.

And then the entry. I plan on filling a vase with some bright pink lilies and the Amy Butler fabric ties the pink, green and brown in perfectly.


Whenever I am arranging my special pieces around the home I am always inspired by the beautiful tablescapes that Anna shares on her blog; Absolutely Beautiful Things and her recently launched website; Black and Spiro. The way she mixes colours up is so amazingly and of course her love of blue and white china is a passion I share.

Speaking of china, I have been getting all of mine ready. I am so looking forward to this morning tea and will do a little show and tell with more details on the day.

3 Tops :: Part3

The last top. View D of the Simplicity pattern. Made from a beautiful viole that my girlfriend bought from a recycle fabric shop in Mornington, Victoria. It has a little silk in it and sits so beautifully.




I cut the sleeves in a little more than the original pattern and used the same piece front and back. I didn't hem the top as the fabric already had a lovely selvedge on it.


The top isn't as sheer as the photos show. I just loved the photos with the light shining through, it emphasises the pattern.

Procrastinating

Tonight I am selling my wares at our kinder market night and I still have few things to get ready.

But the kids are all home sick.

And last night Steve brought me home a new toy. It is a little distracting.



I am not in anyway a gadget person and am feeling a little overwhelmed with this surprise. I thought I might hop on Apple's app store and see what there is to download. Well, where do I start? Any of you crafty girls out there with an iphone that can point me in the right direction? What are your favourite apps?

Maybe I need to look for an app that can make bows.

Note: the kinder market night is in Blackburn so if anyone would like to come along, just email me and I will send the details. tmmorris@bigpond.net.au

Who Needs a Lawn Mower?

We could call him Edward Scissorhands.







Before my girls went to school they used to drive me wild with their crafting mess. For always was the playroom floor covered in tiny bits of paper from the cutting and pasting. I kind of hoped when we had a boy that his mess would be different. But, with his good fine motor skills, I guess it is no surprise that he loves the scissors almost as much as his sisters. I am happy to say that he takes his cutting outside, most of the time.

3 Tops :: Part 2

The second top.

I absolutley love this pattern! Simplicity 2586. I had to buy it online as it is not available in Australia. I have done quite a bit of tweaking in every version I have made (of course), but the base is good.


The pattern gives several options, but not one with straps. For this top, I just took a pencil and drew in a suitable line and then traced the pattern. The pattern also has a high neck on the back but I just used the same pattern piece for front and back. The other change I made is that I did not shape the body,instead I just cut it straight down.


It sits really well across the back and the front. It is such an easy to wear, pretty top. The cotton voile is from Lincraft! I loved it so much I went back and bought the rest of the roll and have since made a couple of nighties from it. The nighties are also very sweet and only took an hour each to make, start to finish. That's my type of sewing!

3 Tops::Part 1

So, as I said the other day, I have been doing a little sewing. I have made three tops, a couple of nighties and have another dress cut out. And almost all of it is for me! That certainly makes a change.



This is the first top which I sewed a month or so ago. I traced the pattern off another top, which I loved. It has a couple of simple but nice features: the wide neckline (almost a boat neck) and way the shoulder seams sits just over the shoulder, not centred. This is accentuated by the two different fabrics, both from Darn Cheap. The front is a lovely soft cotton sateen and the back is a knit. The colour in the photo below is a little more accurate.



All of the loose tops this season are very easy to sew and this one was no exception AND I actually wear it!

Good Bread

We love good bread in this house. And it can be hard to find, especially on holidays. That's why I was very happy to discover a great bakery whilst holidaying on the Mornington Peninsula last summer. The best rye sourdough I have tasted for a while, beautiful fruit bread perfect for breakfast and paninis for lunches.


Yesterday we enjoyed a great day on the beach at Rye. And of course, I simply had to stop in a pick up some bread.

The bakery is called Baker Boys and from the outside doesn't seem any different from the normal Aussie bakery, but look beyond the counter to the bread on the shelves and you could be mistaken for thinking you were in France.