Eek, two weeks until BIDM!

Boy have I been queen of procrastination this year... 'I really should be sorting through Jett's clothes getting ready for the next boy', 'I really should be restocking the new bathroom vanity now that it's finished with all of our things that were carted down to the spare bathroom downstairs during the reno', and most recently 'I really should starting sewing for the next BrisStyle Indie Designers Market in two weeks'. That's right, two weeks. And I've done squat. Not a thing. Nudda. I feel like I'm uni again and leaving everything to last minute!

But what have I been doing instead? Between spending time trying to get Jett to keep his daysleep and then getting him to sleep at night, then tidying the house of toys and the odd bout of cleaning that I feel I really have to do every now and then, I just want to sleep. Like all the time. Except I can't - I have a toddler and a bladder that doesn't understand :p

So in a bid to get motivated I headed off to some op shops hoping to feel inspired by fabric, tea towels, tableclothes, anything! (oh yeah that's right, I procrastinated that trip for two weeks too!) And I think it worked - after a trip last Wednesday to four op shops carrying Jett around to each one and trying to explain that he can only pick 'one' toy to take home with him, I was feeling deflated as none had anything a bit special. But as I was leaving and trying to explain to Jett that he needs to hold my hand when there's so many cars about, some bright coloured tea towels caught my eye in an antique shop. Hurrah, hope at last. So in we went, amid nervous glances from the lady in the shop who didn't seem entirely comfortable with my toddler (with said chosen dinosaur figurine in hand) accompanying me. And it was a good score - so many vintage tea towels to choose from! I finally felt motivated and spent the next day cutting and pinning and getting ready to pull my finger out. Here's a sneak peek of some bags/tea towels that are still either waiting for buttons, waiting to be put together with linings and straps, or just waiting to become 'something'. The above pic is a bit hard to tell as the lighting wasn't great, but I'm a bit excited about the red London bus bag (top left) - I think it's going to be very cool and I don't think I'll be disappointed if it doesn't sell as I wouldn't mind keeping this one for me...:pBec's been a little more organised than me and you can check out some of the very cool little coin purses coming at you in two weeks from Beckybean here!!

OK it's so past my bedtime so until we meet again :)

Vintage sewing patterns for sale!

My sister has been busy sorting through all her old patterns she has acquired over the years, and has been uploading them to the Beckybean Etsy shop to support THE HANDMADE HELP BUSHFIRE APPEAL . These funds are currently providing direct assistance to survivors and wildlife affected by the fire storms in Victoria Australia through the RED CROSS and WILDLIFE VICTORIA. All of the monies raised from the sales of the patterns is being donated, so now's the time if you're feeling it's time to make a new dress, or an outfit for your little one/s. They are up there pretty cheap (US$4 and free postage within Australia!) and go for way more on sites like ebay etc. So get sewing and support a well-worthy cause :D

A new year and a birthday party to boot

I can't believe it's already mid-January. Happy new year everybody! Yes, again I'm 3 weeks late and this isn't my first post for the new year but I finally feel I'm catching up with everything, including blogland. I'm super excited about 2009 - this year I'll be helping my lovely sister with her Beckybean shop which should be great fun! I've made two market totes in the last week for my mum and aunty and am keen to whip one up for myself, before we really need to start stocking the shop.

As some of my readers may have read on Bec's blog, her birthday was last weekend, so we had a little family party. Bec decided on an 'Asian' food theme for the day, which I was very happy with. As with all of our get togethers the food was sensational and in abundance. Dishes included san choi bao, steamed dim sims, fresh snapper spring rolls (certainly a massive highlight for me!), cupcakes and I 'volunteered' Kym to make his spicy beef and rare beef salad he picked up from his time at Green Papaya a few years ago.

Unfortunately I didn't think to get the camera out fast enough and missed my chance to snap some of the dishes - as you can see by the above pic, the rare beef salad was a hit as there wasn't much left! The spicy beef proved to be a bit 'spicy' for most, but we all persisted as the flavour was just so damn good. One of the perks of being married to a chef is we get treated to some superb dishes every now and then :D

But I really cannot go on enough about just how tasty everything was though. The clean flavours of everything meant it was possible to eat quite a lot (yay!) and not feel disgusting afterwards (even bigger yay!). Matt even made Bec a yummy chocolate birthday cake - the first time he's done this since they've been together some 10 plus years! Matt's food is always great but desserts are not normally his 'thing'. Nor does he want them to be... What an act of love! I'm sure Bec going on each year that he has never made one for her had nothing to do with it at all :P


As you can see by the pics, the cupcakes certainly got Lee's and Kate's approval. And what birthday party would be complete without a bounce on the trampoline???

This last pic is one of my favourites from the day - it's of Bec holding one of her new presents from my aunty - how gorgeous is this pink tea cup?

Hmm...writing this post about food has got my tummy rumbling - off to the fridge for some chocolate I think :D

Eye-Spy : Something Id like to try in 2009

Wow, there are so many things I'm wanting to try this year. Where to start, where to start...

- I want to learn how to make PJs for Jett (actually I'd like to know how to follow a simple clothes pattern for that matter).
I have this great fabric I found at an op shop that is still in it's original packaging. It was a single sheet set and I plan on using this. My last attempt at a clothes pattern was nearly 15 years ago in textiles at school and it was for a skirt made from some horrible synthetic material that I really thought I would wear (shudder to think what it would have look like had it worked)... but the waist was so big it wouldn't even hold up. I have my fingers crossed that my next attempt will be more successful!

- Make an apron for me - my sister has some lovely homemade ones that I'm always envious of when I go over and we cook, so I'm determined to try my hand at one. Being married to a chef and waitressing many years ago, means all of my aprons are the super practical - black with a pocket at the front, or plain white that come nearly to floor.

Oh hang on, we do have one that was given to us - it has a print of 'the only gay in the village' (David) from Little Britain... Not really one I want to parade around in when we have people over for a meal. It's certainly up there with the aprons that have boobs on the front... So a new 'girly' apron for me would be grand!

- Learn how to paint some simple kids pictures on the blank canvases I brought nearly two years that lie around the house begging to be used... (I have mentioned previously I'm a big procrastinator right?)

- Oh and I think one that I continuously have to tell myself to do - try to learn how to be more patient :P

I'm sure there are many other things which right now I cannot think of. Write a cook book of 'homestyle' foods we know from our generation before the recipes are lost in our minds, figure out what's going to make me enough money so I can keep being a fulltime stay-at-home mum (I think this is where sewing with Bec will come into it), learn another language - something other than the few Italian words I know - 'Mi chiamo Jade' and 'Dario non e sempre in ritardo'... (Bec I'm guessing you should get this last joke??). Ah, so many things and not enough time to do them in :P

Thank you to Red Chocolate for picking this great theme, and of course to Cindy for hosting.

My first sale!

I've sold my first bag to Kym's sous chef Matt (it's for his mother in Canada) today which is very exciting. Typically, I'd been procrastinating it for a few weeks until I bit the bullet, ordered the fabric, reminded myself how to put them together, and got on with it. I'm actually very pleased with the bag and Kym tells me Matt was very happy with it. Yay! The elephant fabric is by Sprout Design which I brought from Duckcloth and I've used denim on the cuff and strap, with the internal lining coming from a pillowcase I had. I think I could get into this...

Now, if you're looking at this bag and thinking 'hmmm... that design looks familiar', that's because it probably is. My sister is Beckybean and she sells her bags on etsy. She's been kind enough to lend me her pattern and show me how to make them. Perhaps I can become her 'Aussie sweatshop' and work from home while Jett is little...? This just may be my new plan!