My Creative Space

A splendiferous pile of snippety scraps....

Some whirring away on Jan in the kind of haphazard way that makes my heart sing...

Making some yummy sandwiches by layering with some quilt batting and trusty old calico...

Trotting off to a free motion class at this little slice of heaven and whiling many an hour away making e's, vines and squiggles.....concentration tongue protruding no doubt!.....

Cutting rainbow loveliness into circles and squares....adding lolly hued bias binding....

Being seriously chuffed at my little collection of pot holders and coasters and marvelling at how
with the flick of a glittery wand scraps can be turned from a pumpkin into a coach....Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo!

Ogling all these delicious projects and pondering whether I really need to sleep every night.

Hankies for my B!

I abhor tissues! I detest how they lie about the house all manky and germ ridden . Or scrunched in a festering ball in the bottom of your pocket waiting to take a spin around the washing machine emblazoning all and sundry (usually attire of the darker variety) with Monet white speckles. ...

Hankies...especially gorgeous vintagey ones however, couldn't be lovelier.

How could I resist these vintage, still in the box beauties for my own little B!

For the most gorgeous tale of op shopping delight pop over to my quilting teacher extrodinaire's lovely blog.

Belated "Dadda's" Day

Papa bears are just so easily pleased aren't they?! Fondue on Dadda's Day Eve at our fave Swiss Restaurant....

Our traditional "Paris" brekkie the next morn (This spread greeted us each morning on the basement floor of our quaint little hotel on our honeymoon in Paris...and again years later when we stayed there again...oh the lure of the "laughing cow" cheese!)

And a wee Soulemama inspired, poppet made bookmark. One for Dadda...one for Poppy...and one for Grandfather (or Ajafather as mon bébé calls him).

Piccies drawn on A3 paper (she is only 2 and a half after all) where whisked off to the local newsagency to be reduced to a more manageable size. Bijou deliberating over just the right shade of embroidery floss in the cotton aisle at Spotlight...an adventure in itself!! Mumma bear whiling away a good week of poppet day time sleeps to get them done in time.

My girl and I choosing matching vintage fabrics and sewing them together on Jan. Again another adventure that required a bucket load of patience and the odd time out...for me, that is!

Ajafather simply had to have spikey hair....don't you love those eyes?!!!

And Poppy's giving us a wave...


As for Dadda...well those little lines above his head... who knows what they are...but let me tell you mon petit poppet insisted they be there!

I'd like to think perhaps they're little halos!

It's the Little Things

A whisker of oil....a sprinkling of popping corn....a glass lidded wok to watch the magic unfold...

"The kernels are all rolled up like a ball, Mumma"....

"Then....pop...Pop....POP!"

Such a simple (and healthy) yet deceptively moreish afternoon treat. And it doesn't matter how many times we do it, there are always jumps and squeals of excitement as that first golden bead erupts and morphs into a fluffy white cloud.

It really is the simple things.

A King Amongst Men

I have been a virtual infection magnet the last few weeks attracting all and sundry to my poor suffering body. There was the sore throat that made medieval surgery with nought but the aid of a stick to bite on for pain relief seem like a walk in le Bois de Bologne! Then there was the hacking cough that would win me the prize ribbon hands down in a wino impersonating competition.

And because I'm a greedy lass I couldn't refuse the delightful conjunctivitis infection that glued not one but both of my eyes together. But the cherry on the top was an ear infection that has rendered me quite deaf in one ear for the time being. I'm such a generous soul playing host to all these viral house fellows aren't I?!

But through it all....he was there...he was always there! He has cooked, cleaned, washed, bathed, dressed, fed and both mothered and fathered our babe (and even me on occasion when I stepped wearily out of the shower and was simply too tired to dry myself), put her to bed....put me to bed! Made me gorgeous chicken soups and banana breads....and kept my spirits up. He has gently but firmly convinced me I am doing too much and need to rest more. For this and all his other magic I am so grateful.

My soul buddy....I love you to Andromeda and back a bazillion times!
You are a king amongst men!

Washing Powder

We have been making our own washing powder for quite some time and have always had great results. The recipe however was a tad time consuming and at a stage of my life where I'll forgo basically anything (not food!!) for a Nanna nap, finely grating a bar and a half of soap is sooooo not happening!

But when I unearthed this miraculous book of homey wisdom in the local library I found a new recipe that takes literally minutes to make. I've since purchased the book and continue to read and re-read it for household recipes and inspiration.

You simply chuck the ingredients in the food processor and give it an almighty whizz. What you create is a lovely fragrant and bubba skin and "Flipper" (remember him?) friendly laundry powder that works a treat.

I've trebled the original recipe to save even more time for kipping. "Yay!" says my pillow!

Wendyl Nissen's Laundry Powder

3 cups washing soda (try to get the soda not the crystals...I just got mine from Woolies!)

3 cups baking soda (bicarb soda)

180ml liquid castille soap

6 ml lavender essential oil (or whatever takes your fancy)

If you're using washing crystals, give them a good whizz first on their own to reduce the lumpy crystals as much as you can.

Slowly drizzle in the castille soap while whizzing. Add the baking soda and lavender oil and continue to process. It should be "soap powder" like or perhaps a bit more clay like if you use the crystals.

Use 1 tablespoon for an average load and double for a big load. Because it's low on the froth it's safe for me to use in my front loader.

Happy washing...and happy weekending!

My Creative Space - The Sock Saga!

Twas a blustery Winter's eve when a crafty lass blossoming with a swollen belly full of baby embarked on a mission...a rather ridiculous one in hindsight...but a mission nonetheless. Her desire fueled by hope, curiosity and not a too shy amount of cockiness was to make socks!

A vintage basket overflowing with pointy needles, sock yarn and a cryptic pattern followed and hence began the saga of the socks. Her road was peppered with many an obstacle...knitting in the round for starters, working with four pointy little sticks akin to juggling dry spaghetti, picking up stitches, etc.... And although her challenges were vast, her perseverance and spirit remained. After many a night tucked up on her lounge she completed the first sock!!

With triumph she declared to her lovely Hubby that she had finished. And with the next breath and shoulders slumped she made the realisation that she had to do it all over again.

One trip to a country getaway and many a late night later she was nearing completion of her sock journey when tragedy struck. Popping out of the room whilst her babe played quietly on the floor she returned to discover her pointy tools plucked from her meticulously knitted stitches and poking voodoo doll like from her ball of yarn. "I made an echidna!" chortled her wee poppet!!! Stitches picked up, disaster abated...many a deep breath taken!

Finally with a final flick of a yarn needle and a ceremonious snip of the scissors her quest was over. She had made socks! The weather was now turning from chilly to balmy but the lass endured those socks...sweaty, clammy feet and all...day and night!

For other crafty treats let's take a peek here.

Postscript: Last night the lass peered down to discover a hole in the region of her big toe with all those stitches unravelling. With a venemous, "Bugger!" she did what she does best. She turned the now loathed wooly creation inside out, revved up her trusty sewing pal Jan and stiched the life out of that toe. She is only human after all!!!