The Curtain Down At The Van

If only... if only... if only we owned our own home, it would be as beautiful as The Van.

These curtains took ages! My former house had come with 100+ year old heavy Italian Sateen curtains that my landlord had put in. He was a decorator for Georges and had taken them out of an old homestead. I cut them up and dyed them in tea...

I did one lot in strong tea, then added more boiling water to do the next lot, etc. So the pieces grew lighter and lighter. Mixed with the original off-white it looks quite nice I do believe. Ross humbly and sweetly says it's the nicest thing at the van, but you havn't seen his woodwork and design. I'll show you... I took some pics today. Luvverly!

With the light behind them, it's a warm, glowing stained-glass that makes us happy and warm and glowing inside.

No Sewing This Weekend

zzz

Need I say more? Night feeds... hmm, I'd say I'd forgotten about them but she's stayed a few times now. Just now little Petal was crying weakly so I (not hastily) pick her up and she falls asleep instantly... so... I put her down in bed... Whaa! Whaa! ...I go pick her up again... instantly sleep. Try again, same ending. So I jiggle her about for a bit, then throw her around in my arms while wrapping her more securely and she flops around like a rag doll, properly asleep. So cute! 5 months. We call her the mental case because she laughs and smiles all of the time, except when I point a camera (you can see we persisted). Mercedes Mental Case. You can just see Pink Doll next to her. I let them play sometimes.

All Right, I Confess!

There's more. OK, the trunks in the bottom picture... one's stuffed full of fake fur and the other (and the red case) are filled with discarded fur (long story) and a light box on top, which is why I married the one true. Top pic, hidden behind the easel and canvas and looking deceptively small are the six plastic boxes full of Wagga stuff. FULL. Pink and orange milk crate boxes... interfacing, machine thread, Chrissy deco's. The two wire drawer sets are art supplies (not including Ross's) and kit stuff. Plan press is full of paper and drawings and this is Ross's mostly. Under the plan press you can just see my two very special, VERY SPECIAL current work boxes.

Saddest, awfullest thing is that I havn't sorted my tax/important papers yet and in the deepest recesses of my inner spirit I know I won't either.

You can see that Steven Cox's painting has been banished to the back room too.

Ok, So I've Got A Lot Of Fabric

And you can't even see the rest of it. For @#!!s sake! It's ridiculous. In a happy kind of luscious exquisite, shiny way.

I make a solemn vow to not buy a single textiley-type thing for at least six months and that includes beads and embroidery thread and interfacing and oil paint and paper and canvas and patterns and wool and anything. Only exception is zips and that kind of thing. Promise.

That cabinet is 2.4m square. I pulled all of my vintage fabric out of the boxes and bags so it's on display and at hand. I feel like giving you a tour, pidgeon hole by pidgeon hole but I don't want to bore you.
The thing is, now I've handled and lovingly folded every single piece of fabric that I own, so I feel terribly, sleeplessly inspired and I have a clean room to plan and plot and lay things out.

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And those green shopping bags are full of books which will go in the new extented bookshelf in the other rooms. I hate my books being stuck in the back room. Just thought you should know. Maybe some of them will bite the dust?

I Dyed These Today For Baby La!

P.S. The colours are deeper and stronger and lovlier than the photo. It's late and I had to at least show you. If I think of it I'll replace it with a daytime, non-flash pic. And the green on top is a soft minty colour that I had but looks nice.

And when did Dylon dye decide to be $7.50 each??!! Crikey! But it's for baby. Giggling, laughing, mental-case Mercedes. My kids are all red-heads and so the residual fabrics I have from 10 minutes ago when they were small are orange and peach and watermelon, not pink and purple. Sadie looks gorgeous in purple and rosy pink so it's a first for me...

Darling poppet, Shula, gave me a delightful pattern for baby shoes and so I boiled bits of an old cream blanket in the dye, then dried it in the dryer to shrink it. AND today I found an old chenille bedspread at the op-shop! AND I have a doctor's certificate so it's all good! Routine, non-sick-type doctor's appointment so nothing to slow me down. Happy la!

Blackwork

This is a stitched adaptation of an etching, which I would show you if I could be bothered looking for it... The one below is a cameo. The picture is odd because it's shiny, metallic fabric over the silk.

4

Favourite skirt circa 1997-2002:

bum

I found all of these while I was cleaning the back room and it seemed important to stop immediately and share. This skirt has been a little bit too small for a couple of years now, but you never know! The design isn't terribly well balanced but it didn't seem to matter, no-one looked at it anyway because my legs were long and exposed and seemed to get the attention. No-one looked too hard at the skirt without blushing. Then. Once upon a time. I had Uber-Frau legs that Robert Crumb would have loved. I was strong and fit and slim.

If I did this skirt again, or, you know, did another, I'd embroider a design as a panel, rather than have it at varying heights. I always thought it would look lovely on a wedding dress... I don't think I'll have the opportunity for myself. My one true love sees us as committed, forever-types without the public declaration. He doesn't get the all important frock angle. Never mind... I'll make a regular skirt or something...

PS Feel free to pillage...

Oh And I Put Myself In For This...

I found this, I think, through a link on Shula Hoop's site Poppalina... It's a grand idea, go see! I put a skirt I made out of an old daggy dress on there... I won't repeat myself here, just have a look will you!

I'm down for the next six month thingy.

New Kiddies. Well, New Kiddies Heads...

Have a look over here, and if you want to see all of my posted dolls, look and you will see........

I Think I Put This In Somewhere Else But I Can't Find It So...

Tank Cosy

source unknown, sorry

Sewing Store Room 'Before'. Hopefully 'After' Will Be Later Today

When I'm busy doing, things can get a little out of control. It shows you how precious I'm not or I wouldn't show you. Mind you, if you were here there's no way I'd let you see. I'm trying to embarrass myself into action.
Trouble is I just have too much stuff. But it's a dilemma, as you will all appreciate, because I may need it. I have a suitcase full of trim that my Grandma gave me. I've used it a lot. It's so luscious. I want to decorate the house as I have done the caravan... Once I get this exhibition out the way I'll hopefully have some brain-space for other non-rabbity things.
I have a heap of old blankets and woollen fabric for the Wagga's, which I want to make for myself and all of the children and for the show. I promised Leah last night that when she gets back from Europe in four months, her Wagga will be on her bed. Even though her birthday was last December and that's when I started it for.
I have so much Japanese fabric and fur fabric and fur and thread and books and exotic brocade's and so on, and paints and inks and paper and doll's spare parts and boxes of cards that I should try harder to sell.... you know how it is.

The Nice Girls Are Getting There

I've drawn up the next design since this is nearly finished. The ears looked stupid so I'm bringing the hat out to cover them and making the halo come in as well. The hair that's sketched in isn't how I'm doing it after all... should have sketched on paper and not on the piece, but I always use a 4-8B pencil which washes off easily. Their shirt is all silk on silk fabric and is so nice to work. I love sewing with silk. I altered their noses too.

TIP: Use an old toothbrush, loaded up with pure soap, to gently was off lines and stubborn marks.

There's been a woman recently justly accused and found guilty of murder and she had an Indian skirt that shed little brass sequins, which I collected and sewed into the halo's. Ha ha ha!! My Mum didn't like the idea but I said to her, nobody's perfect.

It Was My Fourty Ninth Birthday Yesterday

And I let myself buy all of these beauties and pretend it was from Ross. And it was because he likes it like that. I've been putting the dolls on the New Junk & Blather site as they arrive from around the world, but have left them packaged until now. They are my very own, very happy, friendly, Texas Rangers.

Ruby (my youngest daughter) and Anth and Jadey and Mercedes gave me the Wilfred DVD. Laff and laff and laff!!!! So funny!

Little Sadie is 4 =1/2 months and so funny and gorgeous. Jaden just has to jump up and pull a face and she cracks up like a mini mad person. So he jumps and jumps until it's not funny any more but he keeps going and somewhere along the way it gets funny again. The baby is desperate to laugh, just waiting for a reason to smile. Her little arms and legs go at once with excitement.

And Mum gave me her old pearls. We had a good day. My oldest friend, since we were 14, came over and that was good too. We did the hitch-hike up the coast thing a few times when we were 17 and shared houses until we both got hitched.