Lap Quilt

I got some scrumptious Flat Fats I've been eyeing off at Spotlight while I was there the other day and used this pattern from the very talented Amy Butler.

I wanted a 1930's feel with the bonus of it being dark enough to live on the couch and deal with any stray spills etc (you hope it doesn't happen, but with a 6,3 and 2 year old in the house, you never know!). So a few hours of cutting and stitching I went from this:

to this! Viola!

I love the simple almost monochromatic feel to it. Well, I suppose that should be duochromatic?!

I would love to stretch myself this year and branch into risk taking colour schemes. I adore Helen's work as she's never afraid of colour and it always seems to work for her. I am coming to love quilting above all sewing and hope 2009 is the year for me to learn to fly within the craft. I have been drooling over Kellie's amazing work and I am completely smitten with her applique work. I am thinking of making something with applique next up...

I have my Fat Quarter Swap FQs ready to go, I am just needing my little niceties to finish it off and it will be in the post! My EB haby swap is coming together nicely as well.

Finally!

I finally got some sewing done! I made this cushion for myself and Mum requested it in black to go with her room... So I've left it 'modern' and clean, without ruffles or anything else. I so hope she likes it. Please excuse the horrid photos and unironed finished product!

e made a trip into town yesterday to go to the Hatching Dinosaurs exhibition on at the Museum. We even went into the Art Gallery! The kids but they were fascinated by the war memorial on North Terrace and I took a couple of cool shots that I really liked there.

A New Bed

My old bed has served me for over 11 years and I love it. But seven moves later - the old girl had given up the ghost - slats would drop out in the middle of the night and it was being held together with half inserted wooden dowels.

After a good look around I decided to get a white bed and after a mammoth trip to Ikea yesterday, I came home with in excess of a hundred kilograms of wood & metal to be made into a new bed & TV Cabinet.

I woke up this morning in this....


And tonight I will be going to bed in this!!

It only took an hour to put together and I only swore twice, which was right at the end trying to fit the slats in. Now I am dreaming of girly quilts to make to pretty it up.

We take the ocean with us.

When a woman makes a baby, she gives it water, inside her body, to grow in. The water inside her body is almost exactly the same as the water of the sea. It is salty, by just the same amount. She makes a little ocean, in her body.

And not only this. Our blood and our sweating, they are both salty, almost exactly like the water from the sea is salty. We carry oceans inside of us, in our blood and our sweat. And we are crying the oceans, in our tears.

¬ Excerpt from Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts. An amazing work - please read it if you haven't already... I will go into more detail about my thoughts and emotions on this book soon, but I wanted to share the above excerpt as it prompted me to take this photo.

New Year's Resolutions

So I don't usually go in for the hype of NY Resolutions, but this year I have made one (that I am willing to share out loud) - I am wanting to get more involved in the Blogging Crafting community, push my boundaries and skills and make an effort to 'connect' with more crafters.

So my first little step is to participate in Ginger Monkey's Swap! Something nice and simple to start with :0) It's very exciting! I've done swaps with the fabulous EB girls but this is my first foray into Blog Swaps.

Menu Plan Monday

I have done my food shopping and come up with this weeks' Menu Plan

Monday - Satay Chicken with Rice
Tuesday - Moroccan Lamb Chops with Spiced Couscous
Wednesday - Chicken and Salad Tortilla Wraps
Thursday - Rissoles with Mashed Potato and Vegetables
Friday - Beef Mussaman Curry with Rice
Saturday - Ham and Cheese Quiche with Salad
Sunday - Leftovers, Toasted Sandwiches

Baking - Snickerdoodles, Pikelets, Banana Bread

Thanks to I'm an Organising Junkie for the great idea!