Book Review: Sweet and Simple Handmade

Picture from TinyHappy

When I got home at lunchtime I found my copy in the post of Melissa's new book.

(I pre-ordered the book as soon as I knew Melissa wrote it

because I read her blog and love what she does.)

I immediately opened it up and flicked through it while I was making some lunch

and before our eggs had cooked I had decided what to make.

I want to make lots of things from the book, 

so I grabbed a nighty off the top of my refashion for Annie pile.

.I brought this years ago from Ezibuy and it was a bit small for me

so I put it in a clothing swap and someone took it and wore it as a dress on their holiday overseas.

Then this weekend they put it back in another clothing swap

and I got it back! The well travelled nighty.

The Easy Wrap Dress looked perfect for the amount of fabric in the nighty

and it was cut out in no time.

I didn't have any bias binding handy, so I just used some left-over quilt binding I had sitting there

and I hemmed the arm holes instead of binding them.

And before you knew it, Annie had a new dress.

The instructions are logical and easy to follow.

I don't believe I've ever used a book I brought so quickly.

It's a dear little dress that she can wear over a merino in the winter

or a t-shirt or singlet in the summer.

And best of all she likes it and my book has paid for itself.

Now I need to find my stash of corduroy and whip up some winter pants for her.

If you have small children in your life,

this is a great book. I give it five out of five unreservedly!

Thanks Melissa, it's perfect.

Perfection or Practicality...

One of the jobs on my to-do list was to make a couple of hot-water bottle covers.

It gets blimmen cold here in the winter and we don't heat our bedrooms

(hello ice on the inside of the windows anyone?)

so a hottie in the beds at teatime, means a cosy bed to pop into later.

I had some bits left over from Annie's scrap vomit quilt

(haven't showed that here yet) and on Saturday afternoon I had a couple of hours peace

and decided to knock the covers together.

The quilting wobbles (I was on speed)

and the seams don't match but really its a hot water bottle cover.

We are going to put them in our beds and pop our frosty toes on them.

They didn't have to be perfect, they just had to be practical.

They have been tested out and passed the quality control,

the kids reported that the hottie stayed cosy and warm which is what I wanted.

I know it's really easy to obsess about making things perfect

and I agree to a point, but there's a time and a place.

A hottie for a bed and feet? no way

A hem on a good dress? yes please.

I'd also just like to point out that sometimes we sacrifice completion

to make something perfect,

and even a wonky hottie cover (or quilt) will keep your family warm.

A ufo in a basket will not keep anyone clothed or warm,

or cosy in any way, but a finished project whether it's a cushion,

a cardy or a hottie cover, will bless your family

and it's very wonkiness will make it all the more beloved.

I would bet that most of you reading this have a UFO tucked away somewhere

that is not quite how you wanted it,

my challenge to you for this week, is to pull is out,

compromise your standards and finish the thing so your family can use it.

You'll never regret a finished project, you will a pile of UFO in the cupboard.

Me? I'm off to tackle the World's Biggest Ironing Pile,

pretty sure that will bless my family this week!

In memory of Kathreen, a woman who knew what was important...

This morning I woke up and read the very sad news about the death of Kathreen

and Rob who is missing. Kathreen is very well known in the crafting community

and runs a very successful website called whipup.

They were on the trip of a lifetime with their two children, 10 and 13

around Australia. I've been watching their pictures in my Instagram feed.

I've felt so sad all day. Yesterday morning they woke up in their tent

and had their breakfast and probably had a bit of argy bargy about chores

because that's what families do,

and then at some point they went down to the beach to enjoy the sea.

Just an ordinary day like any other.

Except it wasn't.

It was the day the trip ended.

I said this morning, and I'll say it in this space,

If you had one year left to live,

wouldn't you want to spend it camping with your kids?

Imagine all the conversations they have had as a family

as they travelled on the road, as they cooked dinners and washed the dishes.

Long leisurely conversations about the things that matter.

This afternoon I got out a couple of fabrics that were "too special to cut up"

and made a banner with hugs and kisses.

I ran out in the rain in bare feet and cut a branch off a tree

and my dear friend Gill popped around and she crocheted the cord to hang it up.

I've hung it by the back door to remind us

to tell each other "I love you"

and to treasure each day as the gift it is.

I also put some wild flowers in a travel cup at my entrance

to honour Kathreen and the way she lived her life,

in a way which encouraged others.

She leaves behind a legacy bigger than she could possibly imagine,

the best way to remember her is to be present with our friends and family

and make sure our priorities are in the right place.

Kathreen, you will never be forgotten.

Thrifty finds this week...

I went op-shopping this week and for the first time for ages

have some treasures to show.

Large cake tins are so useful, not just for cakes

but also for puzzles or games storage.

A tiny little metal plate for Annie

just because it's super cute.

We always need pudding plates in our house,

we have a few of these and they are so durable, good old Crown Lyn.

A couple of cute side plates.

A couple of Golden Books for the collection.

Haven't seen these before. The Zoo ones especially has cute pictures.

And best of all a wonderful teapot,

I have a nice little collection of these now,

I need to give them wash and polish them all up again.

And last of all the prettiest sheet I've found for ages.

I've given one to Kate for her shop

and I'll keep one for backing a quilt.

Linking up with Max.

A couple of sweet pillowcases....

It's is my mum's birthday today on Mother's day,

a double celebration and I wanted to make something nice for mum.

I was pondering what to do with what I had here

and a memory popped into my head of pillows on my parent's bed when I was a child.

I remember them having his and hers pillowcases and I loved them,

it made me feel safe somehow.

I had a couple of really lovely pillowcases and I got some very soft visafix

and I enlarged some words on the computer very big and traced them on.

I used a lovely natural coloured linen fabric for the words,

I didn't want it to be to garish. The pillow slips are actually softer in colour than this.

Then I blanket stitched around all the letters.

I won't lie, it took me five hours, even though it's just a few letters

but I'm stoked how they turned out.

My mum liked them too which is the plan of course!

I think I might have to make some for us.

Actually I was thinking it would look quite sweet with a little cushion

with an ampersand on between the two pillows.

Mr & Mrs

These would make a lovely present for an engagement party

or a wedding present I think.

Taking a detour....

The main road to our house is closed at the moment

and I always forget till I get to the no-entry sign

and have to take the detour down the motorway.

Every single time I see the no-entry sign I rage at the detour

and then pick one of the alternatives.

It's a the same feeling in a smaller way as when I stood at the site

of the children's school and raged at the injustice of it all,

and wanted that life back even though I knew in my head it had long gone.

Yesterday I spent some time with a dear friend

whose life had hit a detour, and the alternative paths turned out to be

complete rubbish roads as well.

My heart broke for her.

It's ok to spend a bit of time raging at the detour sign,

it's ok to cry and shake your fist and stomp your feet.

It's not ok to set up camp there (I know some folks like that)

but it is ok to regroup and work out where to go for there

and it's ok to feel sad about the fact you can't go where you thought you were going.

Part of our humanness is that we feel sad or happy,

that we make plans and dream dreams.

In the hard times we realise one of the most important things,

is that we are not doing life completely by ourselves.

We are just not designed to live in isolation,

we are designed to live our lives in community.

So even if our life suddenly detours and the alternative sucks,

our community of people will rally and support us as we choose a new path.

I know a lot of folks think that believing in God is a prop for weak people,

but we are people, we are human!

we all need something much much bigger than ourselves to hold onto,

a hope that coupled with our community (friends, family, pet rat)

carry us through the very grim times that sometimes we find ourselves in.

My friend gave me this beautiful piece of floral fabric

and as I have been thinking about her and her truly horrid situation

this simple block popped into my mind.

The very lovely paired with the plain.

It's the plain that shows up the beautiful,

just like the hard times in our lives show up the real beauty,

and there are loads of different things you can do with it, if you are willing to try.

As long as you can embrace the change,

a detour is not the end of the road, but an opportunity to try a different path.

I love you my friend, you know who you are,

you will get through this xoxoxox

My Thoughts on the Rebuild of Christchurch

Around dinner tables and in café’s around the city, folks chat about the progress or lack thereof in Christchurch. It seems everyone has an opinion. And rightly so, it is our city. I’ve heard a few conversations about how our beautiful city is going to be replaced with a bunch of ugly tilt slab buildings.

The thing is, yes we want a beautiful city, but the flip side is we need a city. We need buildings and businesses and all that entails. We need it now. I read yesterday there’s still another year of demolitions. Time is ticking on the clock, the people of Christchurch can not wait for ever. Also the supply of money is limited, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to explain all that to anyone.

In fifty years time, imagine what Christchurch will look like. Yes it might have some ugly buildings, I’m pretty sure it will not be exactly like the dreams the visionaries have right now. Hopefully there will be lots of green spaces and beautiful trees.

But that is ok. The earthquakes have devastated Christchurch. Earthquakes have devastated the people of Christchurch. In fifty years time the important thing won’t be how the city looks, it will be how the people live in that city. Visitors to Christchurch might remark on the beautiful gardens and the established trees, they might remark on the ugly buildings.

But what they will go away with will be their memories of the Christchurch people, the creative and interesting vibe that the city has. The back drop may end up dull and a little grey, but the people who have reinvented themselves will be what dresses up the city of Christchurch and make it a place everyone wants to visit.

It’s already begun with things like Gapfiller and all the amazing graffiti art and the Art Gallery Installations. What if we just got on with rebuilding in the best way we can and focus on being as creative as we can in the way we live in this city.

That’s my five cents worth anyhow.

What do you think??