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.

My offering to the wakeboarding gods...

My brother (AKA Boy) needed some repairs on his wakeboarding boat ready for the October weekend. When I was looking for an industrial sewing machine he told me that this would be a job for me...he came true to his word...so here is a sample of my work.