Sew My Stash Sunday – 14

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I have a completed garment to share with you this week.

2015-04-26 01This is the top I have made to take to Singapore later in the year.  I bought the fabric a couple of months ago at Sckafs Fabrics at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.  The prices are not cheap but they have a range of top-quality fabrics that you won’t find in Spotlight or Lincraft.  This is a lightweight 100% cotton fabric but it looks luxurious and would be suitable for wearing in the evening.

I made a prototype here and the only adjustment I have made is to make the sleeves a bit longer so that they are elbow-length.

Remember this skirt?

2015-04-26 02Weeks ago I said that it was finished apart from the handsewing – yoke facing and hem.  It has remained in that state for several weeks but today I did the hem and hopefully the facing will be done by next week.  It was this skirt that I had in mind when I chose the fabric for the top.  There are many colours in the floral pattern, including mint green.  I think the top will look equally good with black or white trousers.

2015-04-26 03This skirt was even less advanced so today I attached the yoke and facing, inserted the zip and hemmed it.  There is now only the handstitching on the facing to do.

The reason I did not finish the skirts completely was that I ran out of daylight.  I find handsewing in artificial light quite difficult so prefer to do it during the day.  Even though the skirts are not quite finished, I am pleased with my progress this week.

Centenary

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Today, 25th April is the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli during WW1.

2015-04-25 012015 marks the centenary of this event and the various commemorative events have attracted huge interest and some of the largest crowds ever.

I did not attend any formal gathering but did spend time reflecting on the service of men and women in all conflicts.  As well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice, let us not forget the prisoners-of-war and those whose lives were curtailed by physical and psychological wounds and their families.

It seems that there is barely a family who has not been touched by war.  Social media has been awash with posts as many seek to share their stories.  One post led me to find this poem.  The final two lines are a stark reminder.

A Poem for Remembrance Day

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love.
For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.

But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?
Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child.
The blood that our soldiers shed.

The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.
Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief.
For the men who never came back.

But why, Mummy are you crying so?
Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child.
For the world is forgetting again.

Lest we forget.

Flashback Friday

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This is what I need to do this weekend.  Some things never change………..

Today I had a deep clean in our bedroom.  I took the mattress and base off the bed so that I could vacuum properly underneath it.  I turned the mattress when I replaced it.

2013-04-18 01I cleaned the windowsills, cornices and skirting boards.

The valance on the base was washed.

2013-04-18 02The valance was replaced and the bed remade with fresh linen.  I have swapped the light coloured doona cover that we use during the summer months for this one.

2013-04-18It changes the look of the room.  Although it is the same fabric, the darker colour  feels right for the cooler weather.  I have not yet put the feather doona on the bed – we have a cotton blanket and lightweight polyfill doona at the moment.

The weather is still quite warm at the moment but we will make gradual changes as needed.

What seasonal changes do you make?

Project 333 – Wardrobe Gaps

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There is nothing like a change in the weather to help identify gaps in the collection of clothes.  After a long, hot summer that I thought would never end, the weather has turned quite cool.

My cool season selection is somewhat depleted with the departure of three tops at the end of last winter.

2012-08-11 05I had this red/white striped 3/4 sleeved one as well as two black/white ones of the same style.  They were at the end of their life so I wore them to death on our holidays and then sent them to the op shop when we arrived home.  However, I have yet to replace them.

I am not sure what I want so I expect I will need to make a concerted effort and have a look around.  I also need another pair of trousers for work as I have one pair of black trousers.

Then there is the small matter of a coat.  I have a long, navy overcoat which is over 20 years old but in perfect condition.  It is more than I need in Queensland so I am thinking of parting with it and getting something more suitable.  I envisage a hip-length coat, preferably charcoal grey or black.

I have been so busy at work for the past couple of weeks that I have barely had time to keep up with the basics of washing and cooking, let alone considering changes to my wardrobe.  I hope to make time this weekend to look carefully at what I have and what I need.

Just Another Day………..

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You may or may not have noticed the lack of ‘Sew My Stash Sunday’ post yesterday.  There was not much use posting as I had not done any sewing.

A busy week at work followed by gardening on Saturday and guests for lunch on Sunday put sewing firmly on the backburner this week.

Today was not quite ‘just another day at the office’ as it was my birthday and of course that was a great excuse to have cake for morning tea.

2015-04-20 01GMan happened to have the day off today so it was lovely to come home to dinner prepared and ready to be served.

I am feeling very loved thanks to all the messages, phone calls and cards from my family and friends.

Salvaged and Spread

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Now that the weather has finally moderated it is a great time to be out in the garden.

2015-04-18 01We took the ute up to the neighbour’s place to collect the first of 2 loads of mulch that they had kindly offered to us.  This was from when they had some trees trimmed and mulched about a month ago.  Although we have had some light rain in the past day or two the ground was not too wet and GMan was able to bring the ute close to where we wanted to use the mulch.

The newspaper collection has been replenished somewhat, thanks to the generosity of friends and also some that GMan collected from his office.

2015-04-18 02Once again, the newspaper and mulch covered pretty much the same area.  We now have more than half of the front garden deeply mulched.

2015-04-18 03Here are the first of the sweet pea seedling peeking their heads through the soil.  There are also some almost microscopic seedlings which I suspect are the snapdragon or heartsease that I sprinkled in front of the sweet peas.  I am very excited at the prospect of growing some old-fashioned flowers.

2015-04-18 04These are some of the flowers on one of the hibiscus shrubs in the front garden.  It is in the part that is yet to be mulched.

2015-04-18 05It was 4.30pm and I had just finished photographing the garden handiwork when I noticed that this sunshower.  It is the regular rain and relatively warm climate that we enjoy which keeps everything lush and green.  Of course, the rich, volanic soil helps, too.

Little Bits

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If you haven’t already gathered from the lack of blog posts, this has been a busy week at work.  The next couple of weeks don’t look like being much better, either.

I have been getting along by just doing a little bit each morning and evening.  There are no major achievements but at least the household hasn’t fallen into complete disarray.

2012-01-20 04We have managed to have a home-cooked meal every evening, packed lunches and a healthy breakfast. I at least partly make the lunches the night before while dinner is cooking.

2012-05-05 04The dishwasher is loaded every day thanks to GMan and it only takes a few moments to unload it.

The washing is done and I have ironed enough clothes to see us through the week.  There are a few extra items that I will need to do on the weekend.  Having the clothesline on the verandah means that I can quickly hang washing out or get it in when we arrive home.  It is then folded and put away.

2013-02-15 02Everything has stayed tidy because there is no-one here to make a mess.

I hope to have something a bit more exciting to share with you on the weekend.

Breast really was the best

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This is a newish blog that I have just started reading. There are lots of great posts but this is a really special one that deserves to be shared.

Thank you, Anne.

Anne's avatar

My favourite breastfeeding photo. My favourite breastfeeding photo, graduating university and feeding my daughter

About 28 years ago I was privileged to become friends with a fantastic group of women.  We were all new mums, learning the tiring, challenging and beautiful art of mothering together.  We were passionate about our role as mothers and were all members of the Nursing Mothers Association, now the Australian Breast Feeding Association. I can’t remember what I learnt at our regular meetings but I well remember the support, understanding and bond I shared with these women.  On the days that I doubted my ability and when I felt as if I was going crazy from lack of sleep they were the ones that made the tea and passed the tissues.

We all breastfed our babies.  The five of us suckled 14 babies.  We weathered

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