outdoors

We went to our favourite park in Monbulk (the place famous for fruit)...

We found a beautiful park and it is nearly always deserted. It is amongst tall trees and there are walking tracks that follow a creek.

We walked and then played.

....you are never too big to slide!

female role models

Besides the women that I actually know, who are each fantastic in their own way...these are my role models.

They are all so inspiring to me.

The world was and is full of fantastic women.

Audrey

Drew

Marilyn

Zooey

Nigella

Ellen

Audrey

Julie

Sophia

Anne

elton

When I talk on this blog, I am not very personal. It's hard to be open.

I talk about quilts or colours, what pictures I like and general what am I doing quiz's. Like a small talk blog.

Today I thought I would talk about a big part of our life, or our whole life, our little boy Elton.

Ever since Elton was a baby, I have always felt like something wasn't quite right. A mothers instinct is pretty strong and I know now, should never be ignored.

Elton never hit his milestones at the times that were stated in the baby book....you don't want to pressure your child and every one is different, but we are talking about simple milestones like smiling or eyes lighting up when they see you, little words.

I would take Elton to the child nurse but she didn't seem overly concerned, so I just worried to myself and to Ben.

The differences with milestones probably became more aware when we had Audrey. There are differences between boys and girls, but being born 15 months apart, I would put them on even par.

Elton is 3 and a half now and we take him to see a paediatrician. We have been for a few visits with 6-8 week gaps in between (which is extremely frustrating) and for the first few visits he was saying Elton has Aspergers Syndrome which is a mild form of Autism.

On our last visit, he said he could be in the line between Aspergers and Autism.

We have taken Elton for two hearing tests and our next one is in August. We have an appointment for his eyes and next week we go to the Children's Hospital for genetic screening.

The paediatrician made his initial diagnosis on Elton because of his head circumference (Aspergers children have larger head sizes), his limited eye contact and general observations including 2 little pinky fingers which are half the size they should be and bend inwards to his hands.

Elton is so beautiful and I wouldn't want him any other way, and then I would as far as being without me is concerned. I want him to be able to feel confident to go to school and I want other children to accept him. We go to playgroup and I know kids are not really aware at this age, but kids seem to run away from him and it really upsets me. I see beauty in him because I am his mum, but it scares me that other children won't see his personality or be able to understand what he is saying. I want school to be fun for him.

I know how upsetting communicating is for me, being his mum and trying to figure out sometimes what he is saying, that I can't imagine how hard it must be for him. How frustrating for him. A great deal of Elton getting upset has to do with not being understood.

Elton to me is very shy, very sensitive and this follows through with his eye contact and his mannerisms. He is just like me.

Elton is improving so much everyday and tries so hard. At the moment we are working together in the bath to get Elton to float on his back. We almost have his head in the water.

Elton's words have also improved and he loves acting. He can also throw a ball so far and likes to dance and sing. He is also very smart and has a memory like an elephant. We love him so much. He is our Elton and so precious and he helps me all the time at home. Helping collect the wood, looking after Audrey, picking up mess or help cook. He is so dear.

So it is a very confusing time that we work through as a team. You have to trust the doctors, but you must also listen to yourself and most importantly your child.

i love green

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quilt-a-long week 2: cutting and sewing

All set for week 2? If not, I will make a little side link when this whole tutorial is completed, so that you can print it and keep it for later on.

How did you go with gathering up the material? Did you find any bargains?

This week's post is divided into two parts - the pillowcase/cushion cover and the quilt. If you got extra material, you can make both!

With the cutting, I iron the edges nice and crisp and cut freehand. If you are not keen I suggest making a template of your square out of cardboard. You can then draw an outline on your material with dressmaker chalk or you can run around your template, cutting your material with a rotary trimmer.

You can also mark your measurements for your seems on your template.

The Pillowcase/Cushion Cover

Scroll down to follow the beginning steps for the quilt for ironing.

My cushion cover is 50cm x 50cm (19 1/2 inches x 19 1/2 inches).

My squares are 13cm (5 inches) x 13cm (5 inches).

My lines are 4 squares by 4 squares so I will need 16 squares in total.

Once you have cut your material, do a layout of your patchwork on a clean surface so you can work out your pattern.

Pin your first two squares with the good sides facing inwards. Allow for a seem - don't sew to close to the edge.

If you are hand sewing I would choose either the running stitch or the back stitch. See an article here for how to's and just take your time.

Sew your material together.

You will then have a nice clean join when you open up your two pieces.

On your opened piece, get your next square and lay the good sides together on your right hand square.

Pin and sew.

Then you will have 3 pieces and so on.....

I have now completed my first row. 4 squares.

Set the row aside and start again....

When you have 4 completed rows, iron all the seems on your messy side nice and flat and cut off all loose threads. Next week we will join the lines up.

The Quilt

My quilt is going to be made up of 20 large squares measuring 11 inches x 9 inches.

If you would like smaller squares, you can follow the measurements for the cushion cover and do them 5 inches x 5 inches. You will need 80 squares.

The first step is ironing my fat quarters.

Cut off the writing or mark.

Fold your material in half.

Iron a nice crisp edge.

Slip your scissors into the fold and cut towards your body with your hand placed on top of the material making it nice and tight.

Fold all pieces in half again.

Iron.

Cut in the fold. You will then have turned your fat quarter into 4 large squares. If you want smaller squares, keep folding and cutting.

I have my 5 piles of 4 squares ready for positioning.

On a clean surface, do your layout.

For a tip, you can separate your lines with blank paper. When you get to the piece of paper, you will know it's time to start a new line.

Lay your good side face up.

Take your next square and place it on top of the square good sides facing together.

Pin your seem allowance. Not too close to the edge.

Sew your lines.

See the Pillowcase/Cushion cover tutorial for finishing your line.

When you have your squares sewn into lines, turn over and iron your seems nice and flat. Cut off all loose threads and we will join them next week.

If you have any questions, please comment or email.

In this post if you are making the quilt or pillowcase, leave your name and introduce yourself to the other girls. The ladies that come to my blog are so beautiful, it would be nice if we could all "meet" and stop by each other's blogs.

....and if you have scraps don't forget them. This is my on going scraps quilt. Every time I have a piece of scrap, I add it to this quilt.

See you next Monday!!
x

spark party

Last chance to win some giveaways at The Spark Party.

I posted my "how to make a cute luggage tag" project and there are some fantastic tutorials - how to make a journal, deck of cards mini album, gorgeous lanterns, and lots of inspiring pictures and fantastic collections.

a message in the fog

favourite faces

Our favourite people. They are simply the best.

Beautiful Elton. His eyes are the window to his soul.

Battle of the cheeks.

Audrey's beautiful hair. She loves to have it brushed and takes her hairbrush to the shops. I wonder where she picked that up from............

the spark

If you haven't been to The Spark yet, you should go over and make friends.

Every month the girls have a competition and the prizes are so good.

This weekend there is going to be a a Spark Party and it goes over 3 days with lots of nice things to look at and lots of giveaways.

I am guest blogging on your Sunday (our Monday....I am going to have to work out the time difference...I feel a Bridget Jones moment coming on) and I hope to see you there!

a spot of bother

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Well I have had a spot of bother this last day or so. My face was alot like this little doggie.

I hadn't heard from anybody (except a couple of my dear friends) about the parcels I had sent out for my A Little Me gift-a-way....I don't expect a thank you from anybody, but I thought it was a little strange I hadn't heard a peep.

Anyway, I have been worrying about the parcels and Wednesday night, I get them sent back! I had printed out these cute address labels and they had peeled right away. There was nothing on the front of the package except my return address on the back.

I then had to open them all and re-pack them. I am so sorry. By the time I get to the end of the list, I am going to be a professional. At then moment I am like Bridget Jones.

As much as I love my cute labels, I will have to hand address them now because those labels just do not stick.

Then yesterday our computer died. Luckily I have a IT man available 24/7 and he fixed it. He is very clever my Benny. No matter how much I love my phone, it is not a computer and posting takes four times as long which is impossible when you have little children.

But there is hope on the horizon. I turned the computer on and there is a lovely thank you email from beautiful Astrid who lives in Germany and she got her parcel!! With the dodgy label and everything!.....and the computer works. Good day.

grandma and her vintage phone

I can't believe that one day my children's children will say "oh look..here's a picture of Grandma with her vintage phone."

They might also say "Grandma was a nail biter."

Can't win 'em all.

pink

i love pink

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quilt-a-long week 1 - collect your things...

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ok....ready to start your beginners quilt? Let's go!

Week one for the quilt-a-long is a little about quilts, inspiration and buying your things.

Quilting is so much fun. I have been quilting for about 6 months and I really enjoy it. I love that a quilt can look like anything you want. You can patch all your scraps together and have a mismatch of colours. You can have your edges fraying and have an inside out quilt. You can do different shapes - from long strips of fabric, circles or large squares. There are no rules.

The more quilts you make, your own style will start to emerge.

You should not be hard on yourself and if you are a perfectionist, go easy on yourself. When you attempt something handmade it should look just that - handmade. It's the quirks, the whimsy and the little differences that make us love something made just for us.

This is a beginners lap quilt and the quilt is going to have no measurements. For your first quilt you don't want to be worrying about getting everything just right. If you stress about cutting your material down to the last inch or centimeter and it doesn't go to plan, you won't want to try quilting again.

The squares for the top of our quilt are large (we will cut next week). It is easier to learn if you start on something not so tricky and you will have oodles of confidence to try new quilts if your first one is easy to do. You are more likely to give up if your first quilt it too hard.

Over the next week you will need to gather up the following -

*5 fat quarters in different contrasting patters (fat quarters are pre-cut pieces of material that are folded into a square shape)
*1 single bed sheet
*Batting. I always buy more than I need because I can use the leftovers. For this quilt I would buy the single bed size. It will be more than enough.
*yarn and sewing needle (the eye should be big enough for the yarn to be threaded through)
*masking tape
*pins
*safety pins
*pair of scissors or rotary trimmer

This is also a challenge. Do you think you could buy the material from a thrift store or markets etc for $2? Even part of it?

Dani from The Power of Two has a blog that makes you think about $2. Doesn't seem much. $2...but when you start to think about how $2 could make a difference to someone, you realise that $2 can mean the world.

I found my 5 fat quarters at a bargain store called Dimmeys here in Melbourne, $1.70 for 5. My single bed sheet was from Savers and it costs exactly $2. With my batting, pins, etc I would be over the limit...

Can I make a quilt for $2 - yes and no.

If I was to make the quilt outright, buying the material from the shop. No.

If I made the quilt from recycled material I have at home, used calico for batting. Yes

If I made one large square and my friends each made a square and we pieced it together and donated the quilt. Yes.

Search your home. Some of the material you need could be right under your nose. An old tablecloth, a skirt that no longer fits, old baby blankets or cot sheets, can all be turned into something else.

For the hand sewers, you could make a patch pillowcase out of felt (if you are new to sewing). Felt is great for beginners and it is very easy to sew by hand.

If you have a pillow at home you would like to cover, buy a piece of backing material a little bigger then the size of your pillow (allow for seems etc) and different pieces of felt that go well together for your front.

If you would like to make the quilt, it is not impossible. Just take your time and you will finish it.

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This quilt made by Alicia from Posie Gets Cosy (above) is how we are going to quilt our quilt. This is what the yarn and sewing needle is for.

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So to wrap up you need to pick which project you want to do - the quilt or the patchwork pillow, buy your things and wash and iron your material.

See you next Monday for the cutting. :)

new blog to love

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My beautiful friend Jules has started a food blog called Battlestar Mess Hall.

It will feature Jules' yummy cooking, recipes, photos and restaurant reviews.

If you are like me and are always searching for food inspiration, follow Jules. I have eaten her food and it's delicious!

1 year anniversary

One year ago yesterday (Sunday 28th June) we said goodbye to Perth, Western Australia and arrived in our new home state, Melbourne Victoria.

We took a drive to Healesville and went for a walk around the little town. I took some photos of the town. It is so pretty and the drive to Healesville from our house is lovely. Winding, through beautiful trees and narrow roads. It's in our shire, 30 minutes away.

Ben and I talked about living in Melbourne and one year on and we are still excited to be here. It feels like home.