A Twirly Skirt

I finished off the Twirly Skirt for Grace and she loves it.  It was a fun sew.  Here is Grace showing off her new attire...

Do you notice her sweet necklace?  I got it from GreenDDesign.  It's adorable and Grace thinks that it's wonderful.  Can't you see how much she loves it in the photo below?

Sorry about the blurry photo - it's an action shot.

In fact, she loves her twirly skirt so much she insisted on creating and sewing one for her 'baby', too.  She is hand sewing it all.  She has made a few things on my sewing machine but I am not ready to let her go free on my new one.

Sewing a dolly skirt for her 'baby'.

I LOVE watching her create and sew.  It reminds me of when I was young and the joy I had watching my Mum, Nanny and Mama create and then 'trying' to do something myself.  Aghh, good times.

My New Machine

Well I picked up my new sewing machine yesterday...hooray!  I'm having loads of fun with it, too.  I ended up spending a little more than I intended but I got the Brother NV-600.  I know that it's early days with the machine but I'm loving playing with the new stitches and also exploring free motion sewing...whee!

Yesterday I made these cute little note folders for Patrick and Grace.

We're flying back up to Sydney to visit some friends next week so I thought these would be perfect for our flight and also for some fun at the hotel.

I bought Gracie the Junie B Jones puzzle book and slipped it inside along with a blank note pad and a new pen.

Paddy loves word searches so I popped a book inside his folder, too

Enjoying the machine

Sewing the fabric for the tie on the Twirly Skirt I made for Gracie.  I am still finishing it off so more photos of that tomorrow.

Sigh!

I'm feeling a bit glum!  Martin went back to work today after 3 blissful weeks of taking life slow. I miss having him here and I know the kids do too.  I also miss having an extra pair of hands to help around the house.  I am so lucky that he loves to cook.  He cooked most of our meals the whole time he was on holidays.  He is a much better cook than me and the kids devour his meals - they don't do that with my meals. Well it's back to reality today - cooking, errands, cleaning...sigh!

What a great break we had together...

Park visits

Coffee/milkshakes

Visits to beautiful country towns - Bendigo and Castlemaine to be exact

Enjoying amazing gardens

 More park visits

Enjoying time in the country looking a gorgeous orphaned calves

 Ice cream...YUM!

Well I hope his first day back goes well but boy do we miss him! 

A New Machine

I NEED a new sewing machine.  It is now off my want list and onto my NEED list.  My old Janome is on its last legs...literally.  It has been serviced twice and still manages to pucker and has even ruined some of my garments...ughh!

I have been reading review after review as to what machine would best suit my needs and is within my price range and the one that keeps ticking all the boxes is the Brother NV-400.

I was lucky enough to get some $$$ for my birthday so now I don't feel too guilty about spending so much money on a machine just for me...hooray!

I'm off to get it today and I feel like a kid in a candy shop - I'm so excited. 

Now what will I sew first?  My sewing board on Pinterest  is full of so many great ideas.  Grace insists I sew something for her but I think I'll start with these cute little quilted coasters.

My Word!

The concept of the word for the year is a great one.  Karri at House of Tubers mentioned her word for 2012 is - simplify.  What a fabulous word and one I try to live within my life, too. Her thoughts got me thinking...what was my word of the year?  I got about my daily routine as I thought and the word that kept hitting me was...

To cherish something reminds me to stop, reflect, notice, embrace, linger, celebrate, let go, enjoy and sometimes refocus.

As each year passes by, I find myself wanting and needing to hold on to and remember.  I feel the need to linger in the special moments and remember the faces, the voices, the love and the surroundings.

It is school holidays here and as I watch my kids play with each other I am amazed at how fast they are growing up.  Patrick is about to change school as he goes into Year Five and Grace is starting Year Two...crazy!  I know that I need to cherish these moments before they become a distant memory in time.  Thank goodness for photos (the ones on the hard drive and the ones in my heart), my blog, videos, phone calls and the folders I keep with lots of drawing, letters and cards that they have made.  I am so glad that I have made a point of documenting their lives in a variety of ways.

I am going to...

remember the moments.

Cherish the stories 

and celebrate life!

40!

In only a few more days, I turn 40!  I was very grateful to have a small celebration while I was in Sydney.  It was at my parents house with immediate family.  I am not into parties at all so this was the perfect way to mark the occasion.

A few photos of the celebration...

My babies! 

With my parents

 My little family

The kids with my parents

 With my Aunty

With my sister

With my Mother In Law

A New Year!

Happy New Year!

We gave a hearty goodbye to 2011, surrounded by some special friends, delicious food, excellent wine and children swimming at the beach, playing and enjoying life to the full.  It was a perfect way to ring in 2012.  I hope it is a sign of the year ahead!

I LOVE new beginnings!  Everyday is a fresh start, full of more love and fun - who knows what may happen?    I also LOVE the beginning of a new year.  I'm not into making resolutions but I love the idea of a new calendar waiting for new event, new possibilities, notes and new challenges.  How exciting!

Now that we are back home in Melbourne I'm looking forward to a few weeks of fun with my kids.  We have a great summer list of things we'd like to do - picnics, beaching, board games, jigsaws, sprinkler fun, swimming and maybe even a zoo visit.

Celebrating the New Year in the most perfect setting.