Welcome Lockyer!

Lilly has a new cousin! Lockyer was born on 30th September at a very healthy 3.5kg. We went for a drive to visit him today and managed to get a photo of him checking out the world outside.

I made him some flags to decorate his bedroom walls with. I bought these retro styled quilting fabrics ages ago for a project that never even got started. This is a far better use rather than sitting in a box!

Red "Docotor's" type bag

I can't believe he did it! My darling husband hates when I street shop ... but this time he did it all by himself. He found this gorgeous bag on the side of the road - even had to stop and turn around to get it on the way to work! It is a "Solid Hide", made by M. A. Waters & Co. in Newtown, NSW, and is called the "President" (according to the label).

Lilly's 2nd Birthday

We made a cake a couple of days before Lilly's birthday (so we could take some to day care to share). This particular day it was imperative that one wore a fairy dress - just as well we had one on hand. The best part was licking the bowl - and because it was a marble cake we had 3 to lick!

Then we had a little break eating a banana on the lounge - we had to check out the banana quite closely... then watched a very fascinating fly on the wall:

Then on the weekend we went to Symbio Wildlife Park:

Loved running around looking at all the animals - loved patting them even more (except for the little ponies...bit scared of them!).

Neck Tie Skirt - trial #1 - modified

After making the black denim & red necktie skirt, I modified my first green necktie skirt. I unpicked them all, took out the stiffening, pressend them flat, and re-sewed the skirt - using only 3 ties this time instead of the original 5. The "tie panel" sits & flows much better now. I also used a different snap fastener which turned out much better. I wore this one to work today - you have to trial these things you know! And with my new brown boots I bought from a sale table ($40 down from $260!) I thought I looked pretty good!

Chela's cowgirl hat

Today Lilly played at Chela's place. So last night we made a new hat for Chela:

This is an improvement on Lilly's cowgirl hat, and I think it's just right now! I like the way the brim sits when it is down - much better than Lilly's. (It doesn't sit down on the glass head, as this is an adult size head, but toddler size hat.)

Next is one for Seth, Oliver & Isac ... then maybe I can make some to sell!

Black Denim & Red Necktie Reconstructed Skirt

This has been underconstruction Tuesday - the skirt and some of the ties were found during thrifty shopping on Tuesday (along with my lovely yellow shoes!). So here is a photo of the 'before':

I didn't like the buttons, but used the off'centre split for my necktie insert. This time I unpicked all the ties, removed the tie shaping/stiffener piece, and pressed the remaining fabric flat. This gave a much softer, flowing fabric. So I didn't end up using all the ties in the above photo - I only needed 3. Here's the after photos:

The waist is adjustable again - this time I use a snap tape. The skirt I started off with was a 10 with a waist measurement of 33" (84cm). It is now adjustable between 31" & 34" (79cm and 86cm). I wish I knew someone who was a size 10 so I could see what it looks like on!

Yellow Shoes

For those that know me, you know that I am not really a shoe person. The majority of the time I wear some kind hiking shoe, thongs, or my preference is bare feet. So to say that I bought 2 pairs of pointy shoes in one day...you better be sitting down! One of these pairs I got from the Salvos (Unanderra), who happened to be having a sale - 50% off shoes... so they were a total of $3!

I like the first photo because I think my feet look small from this view... but I love the button detail of the second photo.