fiveandtwo

Contagion

We've had a "gastric 'flu" making its way through the family. Called so because you have the horrible aches and incapacitation of the 'flu in combination with vomiting and diarrhoea...fortunately it lasts about 24 hours, followed by a further 12 hours of "what the hell was that" and not being game to eat anything, followed by that splendid sort of euphoria that comes with being sick in bed and now being well - "I'm not sick, I can do anything".  It's fleeting but it's wonderful. I think that must be particularly heartbreaking with chronic illness and pain, no "getting better", initially at least. I am fortunate to only imagine it to be like this. 

This lurgy struck Giles last week, Clare and Ally both in the wee hours of last Saturday morning. Clare I got to before...Ally came to me, "Mum, I vomited" . As I was swabbing up the far-travelling splat she said excitedly, "I vomited on my feet!", like it was some sort of special trick. 

I was struck, later, much later than 3am, how much I'll miss these kind of declarations when my 11 year old "babies" get older, like next year probably. All of the kids have made such remarks, it's just that Clare and Al are the youngest.

So, I got the dreaded lurgy next, hence my intimate knowledge of its symptoms and the aftermath description is what I felt.

Maker's Market tomorrow! Aren't those octopi (?) something? I've made a green octopus/whale/starfish as well and they're packaged, in green/yellow/red  as a Trio Of Sea Creatures. I will not make any more unless I can charge $50 for one octopus. Much as I love to hand sew, all those legs - cutting out as well as sewing - was the finish of me!

Wish me luck for good sales tomorrow!

 

Weekend Of Goodness

Oh, how I love these weekends with like minded women at Sewjourn. K, S, G, C, J, T, E, K and J who doesn't have a blog. These women enrich my life so much. At Sewjourn and on the internets.

I made two pairs of pants, lightweight for summer (another pair is in the offing) and a boat neck t-shirt, an Ottobre t-shirt, a successful experiment top and an unsuccessful experiment top. In the to-do basket is another top for summer. I'm going up north at the beginning of October, hence the sewing of warm weather clothes. I may or may not post about the tops and pants. Depends if offspring are around and the light is good when I'm wearing what I made.

 
This is the only photo I took at Craft Camp. Taken because I was trying to tell the husband about this dressing table-turned-into-vanity at Sewjourn. We need to replace our homemade falling apart vanity and I have a dressing table just like this. He knows what I'm rabbiting on about since showing him this pic. I have an avocado green drop-in basin from the tip shop ($5!). This is a goer!

Ahh, Sewjourn love.

Gratitude

I'm immensely grateful for all your kind words of support. You are all wonderful.

I wasn't going to say anything, you know, revealing too much, going too far on what is supposed to be a craft blog, after all. Interestingly, I've found I have less time than before, although the no drinking change coincided with others that're labour intensive. I have an old Kenwood mixer from a garage sale, with a dough hook, and that makes short work of kneading the bread! The machine beavers away while I do other baking or prepare tea. Highly recommended, although I do knead it a little bit by hand at the end because I enjoy it. The Laucke organic bread flour I can get locally comes from Turkey! Rather more than 100 miles.

Not that much crafting has been going on. Hmm...could be I spend too much time fossicking in op-shops.

Leah had a netball game in Lakes Entrance on Saturday. With two oppys open and an hour to kill was I going for a walk along the beach? Not likely.

Buttons! And the bowl that they're in and the gorgeously soft charcoal wool fabric (with red embroidered dots) in the background.

Enid Gilchrist pattern books. How I love these books (no, love is not too strong a word). I have been using them for inspiration for my children's clothing designs. You know, that shop I'm going to have. You are all going to die of shock when it finally gets off the ground.

Old patterns are inspiring too. Interesting styles and design details. Little girl's dresses and skirts were  very short in those days. Well, except for the long 70's styles.

I think this comes from the days when many everyday objects had covers made for them. Baby powder containers and the like in this case.

Old cards. I particularly like "Jolly Birthday Greetings". I have a collection of old cards now. Like I really need another thing to collect...

I was very taken with this book. Clare and Ally don't like it and they usually like old how-to books. Mainly because the making materials are usually found lying around the house or in the shed. Materials usually don't have to be bought.

This book is full of interesting stuff. I guess I bought it for myself - I would've loved to have it when I was a kid.

  An old Sindy doll. My sister had Sindy and I had Patch (an English schoolgirl) and a trio called The Sunshine Family (mother, father, baby). Sindy today looks like a wannabee Barbie, sadly. My mum despised Barbies, hence the other dolls. I wasn't even aware of Barbie though, living in the boodocks without TV helped, and I loved my other dolls. I used them to play "Borrowers", I was very influenced in my play by the Mary Norton books.

And I have actually made something. This jacket for the new baby sister of one of Clare and Ally's friends. The pattern is from a Japanese book that I no longer have but was called something like "Organic Cotton Baby Clothes".

Must go and walk the dog !