All Things Mum

* Thanks for making my towel so... cuddd...leeee... ;) Happy 18months my little man! You are now due for immunisations, sorry. You bring so much joy to everyone in your life. Every day we are blessed to have you. Before I know it we will be celebrating 18years in a blink of an eye. Today was a really good day. You know those days when things just run smoothly. Not everything gets done but most things get done without not much fussing from the children. The weather today was really nice to us too. It was like Spring but in Winter. It will get really cold further down the track. I am not looking forward to that but I am making the most of the sunshine today. We also recieved some Natural Confectionary lollies from our elderly couple from next door. They also included a nice 'get well soon' card. So incredibly thoughtful. It made the kids day that's for sure. They are the only lollies I get for my kids as they are free from artificial flavours and colours. Below is a maternity...

Little Munchkins is doing another giveaway here . It's too good to miss. She's giving away one pattern of an Oliver + S outfit to two winners. Novy's site is terrific and I'm a really big fan. I really love the Oliver + S patterns. I recently aquired the Puppet Show tunic and shorts (pictured) and I can keep making them for Little Miss right up until age 5. There is a serious need for me to get off my bum and make some outfits for Little Man too. We're all still sick at home. It sucks big time. I'm following the rules, no cough medicine for under 2's and following strict guidelines for medicating my 2.5yr old. There is nothing worse than thinking that over medicating will help them get any better. Me, well, woe is me. I can't take anything except panadol so I'm pretty much doing without. Hope you're all having a restful weekend.

Brrrr, it's cold around these parts. I am NOT a cold person. I use to be but now I'm a wuss. What I dislike most about Winter... colds and flu. Yesterday both the littlies were sick. Little Miss had a really bad flu. She had a temp all night but we did get lots of sleep in spite of it. Little Man had a runny nose and vomited on me but still managed to be mischievious. There isn't much that keeps him down. Today I managed to catch a sore throat and a few coughs. Urghhhh. But, down to business. Above is the finished quilt cover hanging on our line to air out the nasties in the sun. You can't see the buttons along the bottom cos they are hidden! Brilliant. Next up, the original Japanese long coat from the book and below... our version. I finished it yesterday while hubby watched the kids ... sleep. It didn't stop him from asking me what I was doing (hiding) in the computer room. I got the black wool jacketing from Spotlight. There's quite a bit left over. I must h...

When is ironing fun ? When it involves patchwork strips or charm squares that are freshly washed and dried. When ironing ensure you don't stretch out the fabric too much as you want to keep the 'squareness' and not warp them out. Also, best to square up your strips before you sew them together. Sounds logical but for my first patchwork effort, it gave me more work to do afterwards. This is the patchwork top for Little Miss' single bed quilt/duvet cover. I hope to finish it today. I need to cut out the backing and add the buttonholes and buttons. It sounds simple enough but for me.. well.. it's going to take some time or I have to delay my cleaning. I spent the past week cutting up my Ava Rose Layer Cake for this project. To make things easier for me I just folded them in half and cut them lengthways. I did wash them before cutting BUT I should have followed Amy Butler's tip to put a diagonal snip the corners before washing to prevent fraying (and warping). I r...

Follow this link to a really cool giveaway by 16 Etsy shops! It's really great to be introduced to handmade goodies on Etsy and our Aussie dollar is doing quite well so why don't you spoil yourself? Have a fabulous and safe long weekend fellow Aussies .

Sometimes it's really nice to have the in-laws live 5mins away. So the while the sis-in-law borrowed the children for just over an hour I finished sewing up Sara's Sling Bag . I had cut up the front the night before but didn't have nice fabric for the base so I bought some yesterday and popped it all together last night. The thing about shopping for matching fabric and notions is that you really should have swatches with you to see how it will match. That way you're not umming and arrrhing at everything or if you're like me ooohing and aaahhhhing , wishing you could take it all home. Here's the inside with two pockets made from the same beige cotton drill base. And because I *heart* my serger I had to show you how I am progressing. Hubby was really pleased at the results ; ) Money well spent, you see. I just really love this oriental garden fabric I picked up in the quilting section of Spotlight. I am thinking a lap quilt for the remainder of it. So off to th...

I didn't have a great birthday so here's my consolation. The above fabric is Ava Rose Layer Cake that I bought ready to make Little Miss' quilt cover. I thought about a quilt but I'm not skilled enough to get that one started. However, I did decide that a small charm pack of Moda Wee Play would suffice my itch to make a baby quilt. I purchased both of these from Fabricdirect.com.au . They have the cutest selection of fabric and even teddy bears. Ordered on Monday and delivered on Wednesday. How fabulous is that!!! "were you expecting something?" hubby asked when he brought in my package. "yes, I was.. happy mail!" I said with an exuberant smile. We sat together tonight as I perused Etsy for a quilt pattern and found a cute basic one. Lucky our Aussie dollar is doing fantastically!!! A sneaky peek at the fabric I used for Sara's giveaway bag. Pretty cute huh.

Thankyou for all your wonderful posts. My eyes have gone all squinty from reading them all. The winner is number 154 who is... Sara of Saraisabee Check out her super cute blog. She's also giving away a cute fabric box for her U.S readers. I'll be starting on your bag tomorrow and hope to send it out by the end of this week. Probably on Friday when I have hubby home to look after the kids. E-mail me your delivery address. Congratulations and thankyou for participating. I will be celebrating one year of blogging so looking forward to doing another giveaway soon! I have to run. I have made my own chocolate birthday cake and I have to check how it's going. I wish I could say I've had a great day but it's been a bit of a wierd downer for me. The cutest thing right now is that my 2.5yr old is showing me her chocolate stained fingers and face. It's very cute but won't look good on my beige couch so I'd better get her washed. Later! Thanks for stopping by.