The past few weeks

I seem to be only capable of writing one post every few weeks and loading all the photos I've managed to take in that time...  Too busy to slow down. I sometimes wonder if the crazyness of being at home minding two young toddlers and gardening, sewing, trying to keep the house/ building site tidy-ish transpires through these posts... A friend told me the other day she thought we actually liked living in a messy house. I was a bit shocked, I have to admit. Do people think I like living in a house with toys and clothes thrown all over the floor, dishes pilled up by the sink (we don't own a dishwasher) and dust gathering on every single piece of furniture? Should I be madly cleaning everyday to keep the place tidy and let my kids play by themselves, growl at them as soon as they drop some avocado on the floor and teach them to fold and put their clothes away as soon as they can walk? It is my bad luck that I have a partner that couldn't care less if the house looks like we just moved in even though we've been living here for 4 years now, except when we have visitors and then he'll have a full day of spring clean. Maybe we should have dinners and parties more often?

My kids love to eat. They don't seem to feel the same way about tidying their mess

So, to put the record straight, I am definitely not the tidiest person on earth either, but I do like a nice clean house with a good Qi (pronounce "Chi", as in energy flow in Feng Shui) and lots of storage to keep various objects hidden away. When we moved into our house, Tahi was 1 month, we had no furniture apart from a table and a bench and the house was pretty much a building site. Four years down the track the house is still a building site, although very much closer to the finished state. Josh thinks cleaning up and putting things away is a waste of time. I am busy with two kids and a garden, and, as anyone with kids will know, it takes 3 times as long to get things done. I decided a while ago that I wasn't going to stress out about having a clean house and that my sanity and that of our couple was more worth it than a clean house. I might have my priorities wrong and I have clenched my teeth quite a few times at the state of our living quarters but I'm still alive. And slowly getting the house to look a bit more respectable.
Anyway, the couch is close to finished and a welcome addition to our lounge, I have it one pallet hight at the moment with two of the three cushions I planned on making and it looks really cool, is very comfy and actually a nice height for slouching with the kids. I cut out some square of foam from a couch found on the side of the road, luckily they were the perfect thickness.

Pallet couch stage one.

I also broke my New Year's resolution to stop buying fabrics until most of my current stash was gone. We had a clothes swap and I scored a couple of nice bits, including some really nice oilcloth (some of which I used to make a new "make up bag" (now, I don't wear make up, so it's mainly for toothbrushes and various creams and remedies). "That's not technically a breach of New Year Resolution" I though, since the fabric was free...
But then I did buy some fabric last week from a friend who brought it back from China. I'd always wanted some of that red fabric with the beautiful flowers and birds... Damn, only a month into my resolution, I sincerely thought I'd do better than that...

A nice piece of oilcloth fabric. Too good to leave behind!

I used some shower curtain fabric to make the inside pockets.

My New Year's Resolution fail (#1)

I also got round to (finally) making a couple of tunics/ kaftans for Miro to protect his lovely baby skin from the sun. He of course looks very cute in them. I will make some more in time for the shop, it's on my to do list somewhere between twirly skirts and upcycled pants.

I love the fabrics of this tunic! The main fabric is from a summer kimono, a soft delicate white cotton with a dash of blue squares. I used some of the african wax fabric I bought off a friend for the cuffs

This one is a longer night gown version for night time. We have had a relatively crappy summer with some cool nights. This was the perfect outfit so Miro wouldn't get too hot or too cold.

Anyway, I do apologize for my lengthy posts, I will try to be a bit more regular in the future. Well, I hope. And I really appreciate the comments some of you leave, I feel really bad for never answering but I do read them!