small but tasty

 

This was a quick knit as Matilda had been wearing one of Lachie’s old navy blue hats.  Followed a pattern for Zoomy wool on 7mm needles for a 5-6 year old.  I downsized to 5mm needles with 12ply wool and thought it would still be big… or my dear bub has a big head!

 

 

 

Back to the drawing board!

 

 

This bothers me, and for some time I’ve been trying to think of a solution other than spending a huge sum of money.

(the old phone point on the wall)

Phone company wanted $250 to disable the line to this location so point could be taken away.  There was a phone attached when we moved in which overhung the woodwork on both sides, so that came off straight away, but I’ve been left with this rather unsightly mess.  Unfortunately the one on the timberwork has to stay, so don’t look there!

 

 

Now I have this! 

It’s going to be a key holder and I’ll screw on a chrome double hook before using command velcro to stick it to the wall.  I’ll just unscrew the big plastic cover plate and shove the phone socket into the wall cavity.

Voila – gone!

Frame came from here.   Made  to measure and delivered within 24hours.

 

 

and papers from here.

 

 

bought more to put in these frames.  Didn’t realise until I got home that some were Amy Butler.

 

Did a bit of Spotlighting this morning.  More on that later.

 

Lx

 

gotta love power tools

 

 

urghhhh – an unfortunate shade of peachy orange Mum!

I’d been looking for another table for the back living room and found one online, one at Ikea and nothing that grabbed me enough to depart with the hard earned, so we remained tableless.

On a recent visit to my Dad’s he asked if I’d like this table, as he was going to get rid of it.  It belonged to my Grandfather, who gave it to Mum and now it’s mine.  I think I’d have said yes even if I didn’t like it, but it was exactly what I had in mind when I went looking, so was rather chuffed.  I had forgotten the unfortunate mid 80s makeover Mum gave the rumpus room in Glen Waverley.  The lounge suite and curtains were the same delightful hue -

so bring on the power tools!

one night with the heat gun, an hour with the sander and a bit of stain and gloss all-in-one and here is my new table

(those of you who know a thing or two about restoration, please look away now)

 

 

I didn’t do a great job, but in my defense, a lot of damage had been done prior to the last paint job, including some white filler.  You can see that the thin edging around the rim is wearing away in spots.  I’m going to use some Japan Black and a fine brush to touch up any dodgy spots like the one front and centre in the pic above, as well as spots where I couldn’t completely remove the colour (including EVERY join), before lightly sanding and applying a second coat of my stain/varnish.  Don’t stay tuned for the final episode, this could take a while!

Amelia has declared her love for the orange table and can’t believe her mum could make the table look to yukky. 

 

 

A new mirror was the idea for behind the table.  I aspired to the bevilled edge mirror framed with mirror, but we have so many other house priorities….

so here are 6 x $10 mirrors stuck of the wall with command velcro. 

I’m looking for a table lamp (I will move my knitting before Matilda plays with it), but for same reason, must be robust enough to hit the floor a few times without being broken or causing injuries.  Maybe the lamp is in stage two of this room makeover.    The wing back chair was my feeding chair.  I brought it out of the nursery to photograph with all intentions of selling it on ebay, but I liked it, so it has a new home. 

 

 

I bought this fabric at a factory sale on the weekend for 3 bucks for the roll – nearly 2.5m!!!  It works back really well with my chair, so today I got two 65×65 feather cushion inserts from Ikea and will wizz up a few covers for the couch.

Good news is I’m feeling inspired to sew for myself again, and you can watch this space!

 

Mrs Darcy

Mrs Darcy was finished some time ago.  I didn’t blog hoping to get a better picture, but I’m sure you don’t mind

 

 

The jury is still out.  Love the colour, feels divine – but- it’s hard to wear over the bust, I keep pulling at it, it’s cold on the chest, and the twisted rib that should be a feature sits out and makes me look bigger than I am around the waist.  I’ve worked really hard to lose baby weight after Matilda, and this doesn’t do me any favours.

After washing it I haven’t put the iron anywhere near the rib.  I’ll wear it tomorrow and see how I feel.  The pattern did need a fair bit of interpretation, and having completed one, I felt ready to go again with a few more modifications.

 

 

I’m using 2 ends of 8ply (rather than one of 10ply) on same needles to give more of a milano finish.  I’m going to start the button holes in the first row after the garter stitch band, and add a few more rows to the twisted rib.

Will also add more stitches to fronts, start decrease much higher up and not decrease as many times to give more coverage over the bust.

 

But, after knitting a fair chunk of the back I’m not sure I want to continue.  Will this basically be as unflattering as the first?

So I’ve put it aside and started on my Owls jumper. 

I love knitting and find it so relaxing, and it makes it easier to justify time in front of the tv!

Lx

 

a little bit here, a little bit there

 

 

I have been busy crafting these past few weeks, just not busy blogging.  I’m still working on finding that elusive balance between creating my ever evolving home and simply maintaining and running our family household, making versus buying, I’m always putting off purchases thinking ‘I can make that’, and then we go without, or I have it hanging over me as another chore, and then there’s quality time with the kids, time spent nurturing, teaching, developing and just plain having fun and still finding some time for me and the adults in my life….

 

True to form I have a few knitting projects on the go.  I haven’t started the Owls jumper, although now the weather has officially turned, a big woolly jumper holds enormous appeal.  I would love to whip up a few knits for the girls (Lachlan doesn’t seem as interested, would prefer his footy jumper) and I was blown away when my lovely cousin Clare called me yesterday to tell she has rediscovered knitting, and Matilda is to be the recipient of her handiwork.  Can’t wait!!

 

 

I am rather addicted to Ravelry, and found this knit called MrsDarcy by Mary Weaver.   The pattern has been made up by 400 odd Ravelry bloggers, and whilst is has a few errata to deal with, there’s nothing that someone who’s knitted before, or can hold a knitted piece against a similar finished garment won’t work out for themselves.  And seeing as Mary has published this pattern for free and as a novice, I’m happy to say congratulations and a huge thankyou!

I’m knitting the last sleeve now, so hopefully the finished garment will be ready to show you before next weekend.

 

I’ve also made a coat for a friend’s little girl, but not wearing my blog hat at the time I didn’t take any photos.  pics to come later.  Amelia also has one in a different colourway that is nearly finished – definitely on the list for this week.

 

 Kitchen update…

 

The walls and ceiling are now white, and boy, was it like turning on a light.  I guess given all the work involved that was the result I was looking for!  The woodwork and cabinetry that has been painted only has one coat, so I still have a LOT of painting to do, but I’m getting there (inbetween my knitting).

The shelf is Lack from Ikea.  It’s the one where you can’t see any brackets, and after looking on the net when it didn’t go up as easily as I’d like, I discovered it’s notoriously hard to install, and without being fixed to studwork, no matter what wall fixings you use, it’ll only be weighted for 5kg.  Given that the shelf just fits the space, I couldn’t move to find studs, so it’ll be decorative only.  I’m also considering a few extra brackets on the top side of the shelf just to keep it level. (these shelves according to google have a habit of leaning forward).  I’ve also discovered that my tiling is WAY OFF being level, as is the benchtop, so I did my best with the shelf to get it to look level while not accentuating the inherited old house issues.

 

You can see the biggest contrast against the white wall tiles.   And here is the new tap. 

None of the bottom cabinets have been painted yet.

 

 

Even with only one coat you can see the difference between the lovely ‘vanilla ice-cream’ and my new ‘white watsonia’.

Happy Mothers Day Mums!  and especially to you dear Molly xxx

 

changes at dear molly

People who know me outside blogland will know I like to decorate, and those who knew Mum would know that she was partial to a bit of painting, curtain making, room re-organising and even tiling – so I think it’s about time to bring my home renovating and decorating into the fold of dear molly.

I’m still working on my relationship with this house.  We’ll have been here for 2 years in July, and whilst I feel comfortable here, I’m yet to leave my mark, and there are lots of things I’d like to change or tweak.  I was pregnant when we moved in and have obviously had a little one ever since, and for that reason a lot has been put on hold.  We’ve done the expensive but behind the scenes jobs of switchboards, safety switches and surge protectors, new powerpoints, internet cabling and replacing the central heating and installing an airconditioner, but now I want to decorate!

 

I’m starting in the kitchen, although I did do one pretty major job in here last year when I had a stone floor ripped up and laid floating timber.  The stone floor was probably lovely and worth a penny too, but it hadn’t been installed well, the sealing was worse and everything stained, and the grout lines so deep the only way to clean it was with a scrubbing brush.  I’d like to say I’m fanatical about cleaning, but I’m not, but this floor was really doing my head in – to the point where I traded my 10 year anniversary eternity ring for the new floor. (I’ll get the ring later he!he!)

I got a catalogue from Schots yesterday and I’m sure the tiles were from there, but they were so hard to care for, so cold under foot, very scratchy and impossible to mop – different mops I tried all teared and I ended up with blue or orange bits stuck in the stone!  In another life I’d love a good stone floor, but with underfloor heating.

 

 

The front rooms, entry and hall of our house are timber lined and unpainted, and this was the best match.  I had darker jarrah floors at the old house, and everything would show.  I think pine is the most forgiving.

I do love my floor!

 

 

Here is my kitchen.

The house had been completely repainted prior to selling in a neutral tone, only not my take on neutral

This is Vanilla Ice-Cream.  Sounds delicious, trust me it’s vile!  It gets a dirty yellow colour at night and in my very dark kitchen.

I’m changing to

It probably looks even more white than this.  The stools at the bench are White Watsonia from our old house.  I’ve lived with this colour before so it’s easier to just go this again, otherwise I’d probably choose Berkshire White, or good old Antique White USA.

 

Painting has begun.  We have a strapped ceiling so the cutting in was horrendous, but then the rolling was easier…

It’s amazing what taking a picture of your room will do for perspective.  Things you live with and just don’t notice leap out at you.  Our tap was leaking and I’ve bought a new BIG goose neck with a ceramic handle.  Should be a great feature when it’s installed.  Also grabbed a cheap shelf from Ikea, the floating one, only it’s pale pink (on sale for $20!) so it’ll need a few coats of paint.

 

 

The shelf will go under the red picture (moving) and at the same height as the fireplace surround.  Can’t wait to do my next post.  The wall tiles actually look like they’re part of the colour scheme now!

School holidays so have to run, but I’m excited at the thought of posting more of my little reno projects.

 

See you soon,

Lx

 

new projects

I’m starting to get back into the swing of things.  Just having needles in my hands again has set the creative juices flowing and I’ve spent a good few hours on Ravelry looking at patterns for myself and the girls.

I came across a lovely knitter via Ravelry in Denmark who turns out the most unbelievable number of projects.  Wow she can knit, certainly worth a look!

So, with a few knits on the go, but nothing for moi, I’ve decided on this:

 

 

It’s a beautiful pattern by Kate Davies.  This is her blog where she has generously posted the pattern for free!

I’m really excited to get started, yarn turned up today!! (camera giving me grief – sorry!)  so here’s a pic from the website:

 

It’s a 12ply 100% wool called Rustic (colour ‘Earth”) from here, and all for only $33 with no postage.  gotta love that!

 

Off to watch some Better Homes and knit.  Bring on the footy!

 

Lx

 

spinning round and round

I’m feeling like I need to get off this ride and sit down for a while.

School, kinder, playing, doctor’s, ballet, supermarket, cooking, cleaning, reading, ironing, more cleaning, eating, blogging, dreaming, nagging, washing, routines, appointments, birthday party’s, new mum’s morning teas, wanting to sew, wanting to paint (house), wanting to craft, wanting to go to brown owls, wanting to…..

I remember reading a blog from the lovely Thornberry last year when she lamented the need to downsize her activites to something more manageable.  Boy am I at that place.  I feel I’ve been stretched that bit too far, where at best I can give 60% and I want to do sooo much more.  The kids all being sick over the past week hasn’t helped.  Getting up 2 -3 times a night makes it worse. 

 

But, I can see the light.  I need to treat this like a paid job, get better with my lists and prioritise my days.  So with that off my chest here’s the first UFO I want to clear out before I start any new knitting projects.

 

I’ve done the front and back and fingers crossed I’ve got enough wool left to finish it in Cleckheaton Merino Gold.

 

in this Debbie Bliss pattern.  It’s size 4  (L is now wearing a 6) and even though it does look to be enormous,  I’ll keep knitting to size rather than adding too much length to the arms and making it so completely out of shape no-one could ever wear it.  I’ll finish it and see…hmmmm

 

And I’ve been tracing – Ottobre patterns that is.  Sewing to happen imminently – it’s getting cold!

 

A bit more from the Star Wars party

 

The kids had a ball!  16 kids with half a pool noodle each all going Darth Dad at the same time – it was hilarious!  They were using their light sabers to keep black balloons in the air, which became a game of smash and pop (otherwise known as belt the cr*p out of it)  and duelling against Darth before entering the dark cave under the stairs with a torch to enact a Jedi rescue.  The birthday boy was thrilled and the kids all had an awesome time (if I do say so myself!)

 

After one failed attempt I had to resort to the packet mix mud cake and a bit of gel icing (along with a raid of the lego box) to decorate the cake.  In the end the kids loved the cachous meteor field atop the cake, resplendent with a mix of retro storm troopers, Darth Vader and the new Clone Wars droids.  It was just hard to convince them that they were ’stylists own’ props and wern’t going to be dished up with the cake!

 

 

Blogging is so therapeutic isn’t it?!  I’ve got this far and just realised one of the reasons I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now.  My babe is nearly a babe no more.  As number 3 she will be my last bubba, and two major events are about to happen.  She’s nearly standing and walking won’t be far away, then she’ll be a toddler (tears!)  And after feeding her for 13 months she’s nearly weaned herself.  I’d planned to do one feed until about 18mths, but this is what she wanted.  She’s not a bottle girl either, it’s all cup, sipper, straw or even open if I’ll hold it for her.  Big changes at our house!

 

Thanks for listening to me ramble.  I’m off to make a list.

 

Lx

 

more lbd and another party

 

Here is the hem detail of the black dress I was wearing at Duncan’s party.  It’s a very fine tulle, organza ribbon and seed beads. 

 

 

I’m sitting here staring out at the rain – such a lovely thing.  Had the heater on this morning though – that’s Melbourne for you!

 

This weekend our house will become a Jedi training camp for 6 year old younglings wanting to learn the ways of the force

 

 

the invitation reads

the rest is our personal details, so not for the blog!

The kids will be making their own light sabers from half a pool noodle, learning to use their light sabers against suspended black balloons and taking on Darth Vader (aka Duncan) in a battle of good v evil in the enclosed trampoline.  They will also have to crawl through a tunnel into a cave where the Sith have been keeping hostages.  Each Jedi trainee will have to rescue one hostage (soft toy).  There’s a game of Star Wars snakes and ladders I picked up at the supermarket and of course plenty of force-fortified food to keep the Jedi going throughout the day.

 

I can’t take the credit for this idea, although I did design the invite and had it printed double sided on heavy weight gloss card and trimmed them up myself.  I just did this as a table in Word and took it on a memory stick to Officeworks.  The party ideas came from here

 

I did have a great idea for a cake that unfortunately won’t come off this time.  I’ve spent far too much time looking for a plastic kids mask of Darth or a Storm trooper to no avail.  I wanted to use it as a mould to paint with chocolate, then fill it with smarties, add a layer of choc cake to the top of this then flip it over onto a board.  A bit more melted choc to secure the whole thing to the board, a bit of black gel icing to do some contrast on the face and some silver for a bit of extra effect.  Then rather than cutting the cake the birthday boy would smash it with a spoon and we’d serve the shell face of Darth Vader with the smarties and cake.  Yum!  Spiderman is the superhero of the moment if you can convince your child to go for that.

 

So now I’m off to the Cheesecake shop to see if they have a Star Wars cake topper.  I’ve left it too late to buy online.  Last resort will be a light saber cake made from swiss rolls.

 

getting organised

 

My sewing room is starting to take shape.  Clearly we’re going for function rather than beauty, and $5 shelves from Ikea were always going to be difficult to put up in a straight line.  No 2 brackets were the same and there was a bit of cursing to get to this!

 

I’m still not convinced about the pegboard, so I’ll leave it leaning against the wall and see if I use it. 

MyClover bias tape makers are hanging up, although after buying a cheap bias attachment foot for my Husky, I’m now thinking the real deal might put me in binding heaven.

Just add that to my list!

 

Great news is once I get the electrician in to wire me up, I’ll have my own computer in the sewing room.

 

 

Lots of work to do here (d’oh!) and more Ikea shelves for all my filing.  Who would’ve thought kids could create so much paperwork?!  and I’m sick of it all being in the kitchen.

 

Ottobre Women arrived today, and not one thing I want to make.  Just as well the kids mags are so inspiring.

 

Duncan’s 40thwas on the 21st and I spent the best part of a month organising a party.  It was called ‘Retro Metro’ after the nightclub that was huge in Melbourne in our uni days.  We had security and a doorbitch, great dj with authentic lights and a smoke machine, passes to get in, and a stamp on the hand for free drinks at the bar.  The music was all late 80s/early 90s, and we danced ALL NIGHT!

 

I made this dress for my 30th, and it got a bit of an upgrade when I couldn’t find anything I wanted to buy (always the way).  It’s a stretch shirt dress that previously had capped sleeves that I just turned down, and I added an elastic belt and flower.  Remember Jo, the lovely bride from last year!

I’ll take a daylight photo of the embroidery and hem detail tomorrow.

 

I’m working up to some real sewing, I promise!

Lx

 

I’ve been tagged

Tamara from  quarterofaninch  tagged me to play along with ‘number 6′  – here are the rules:

“Open the 6th picture folder on your computer, open the 6th photo and blog it. Write something about it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same.”

 

 

This is Amelia (who is about to turn 4) at 12 months of age.  It was at our old house that we had finished renovating a few months before she was born.

Trousers were made by me and Matilda wears them now.  We know Amelia has more hair than Matilda (now 13 months) but we still think there’s a pretty strong family resemblence.

 

To break the rules, here’s another pic – this time of Matilda, taken last night.

 

She’s definitely my smiley baby, in her jammies.

 

Now to tag 6 more….

Victoria at 13mimosa

Shells at shellbellsbubbachicken

Mel at jellybeanangel

Bek at redchocolate

Marlya at stitchesandroses

Girls, you know I’ve been awol for a while, so if you’ve already been tagged, sorry!