cake faces

well it's a home day today, last minute packing for Mathilda's on Sunday, the slow cooker is being christened with ratatouille, washing needs to be done and I made my birthday cake this morning as I just ran out of time yesterday.....



the twins loved it as you can see by their little faces



somehow we managed to eat half the cake so I hope there will be some left for retro daddy this afternoon! I'll be back on sunday night with a full wrap up of our weekend!

women, don't drive

awwwww thank you for all your lovely comments yesterday! You all know how to make a girl feel special on her birthday!!! And on the eve of my big drive to canberra...I thought this clip was perfect timing!



Retro daddy loved this clip.....maybe it's because he knows what kind of a driver I am!

thirty four

ahhh thirty four, you just snuck up on me there! I still feel like I'm 30! But today is my birthday and I'm having a lovely day with my twinnies! We had my favourite muffin down at the mall, did a bit of housewifey shopping when I saw that slowcookers were 50% off at Target (so housewifey I know, but I'm looking forward to some delicious meals without needing to watch the stove!), have a meeting with a magazine about crafty things, my favourite chinese tonight and a cake courtesy of betty crocker!



some nice mail arrived from Bianca just in time for Mathilda's this Sunday, love the little red riding hood wrap! Thanks bianca, she's been sewing up a storm just for canberra ladies to get some of her cute wraps



katia popped over last night with some things for market too, I love this skirt so much, she's so clever and loves everything french!



I also got some lovely baby wool from katia too! Funny story, I said yes pop over 7.30 wednesday, no problem! Only for katia and her husband to arrive on my doorstep to find me in my pj's on the couch! I was soooo embarrassed, they kept telling me it was fine but I prefer to greet visitors in clothes not pj's but I just totally forgot!



why was I in my pj's at 7.30? Well you see I got the best birthday present a mummy could ever ask for, I saw a little hearbeat on a screen on tuesday and am...um... a little nauseous and exhausted each night. I have to sit tight for another month till I see my lovely OB but am very excited that our little family is growing again!

women: know your limits

Ok, if you need a good laugh today then you need to watch this!!!!!



tears rolling down my face with this.....so tongue in cheek but so funny!

Handmade in Canberra

Yes this is my year of getting out and about and we're off to canberra in march for Handmade Market. I've been hearing great things about this market from my lovely friend Jennie (everyone needs a friend like Jennie) so after a little nudge from Julie asking when I was coming down, I decided to go for it! And this morning I woke up to find my little dresses in their newsletter, thanks Julie!



so we'll be at Handmade on 28th March at Kamberra Wine Company from 10-4 with lots of lovely things! We're making a long weekend of it and staying on to see the Masters exhibition and hopefully beat the crowds by going on a monday and not a weekend, we'll see! My parents raved about it and suggested we do the one hour talk beforehand but I can't quite see my 3 darlings being perfectly behaved for a talk AND a tour of the artworks!!!! Oh and I'll have Katia coming too which will be a great help and company for the day!

mathilda's market

Sometimes I think I need my own personal assistant, I keep forgetting we are off to canberra for Mathilda's this weekend! So all canberra (and surrounds) people don't forget it's this Sunday at the Park Hyatt (what a location!) from 9am-1pm, free entry and I'll be there with loads of goodies including these super cute sweet boxes from Moda! So cute, 2 mini sweet rolls and a pattern all in a cute box! They look adorable stacked up and I initially ordered 12 but had to go back for another 24 as they are just too sweet!



If there is something you're after in particular please ask me this week and I'll bring it with me as I can't bring my whole store with me...there is only so much I can fit on a table and fit in the car with 3 children, a husband, a twin mountain buggy....you get the picture...

all done

Thank you for all your kind wishes for finnie, just like all little ones he has bounced back and is up to his usual tricks!!!! Today I managed to finish my little plume quilt....



I think it will make a nice playmat or quilt to have in the car as we have a couple of roadtrips ahead of us for markets this year. Just the right size to pop over the twins in their carseats



and you can't beat a folded up quilt! The binding was some old lecien colour basics that I once had in the store and just made the perfect binding...



in fact spots and stripes are my favourite binding fabrics! This was just the perfect project to ease me back into quilting after my 2 big quilts!

spoil finn day

what a night! I had just started to do some quilting, keira was happily playing with her new junior scrabble, retro daddy was doing the groceries when things with finn turned bad! I'm trying to forget it all but we called the ambulance and were raced off and spent a few hours at the hospital with him.



Poor finnie, he just hadn't been himself all week, getting over a tummy bug and must have come down with something else and the fever just took over him! I'd been giving him panadol during the day but by night time he wasn't responding to me, was totally lifeless, eyes half open and making funny noises till we got to hospital. Thankfully he is almost back to his normal old self this morning! He just wants to be picked up and cuddled all day and calls out mama whenever I'm out of sight, dear little thing.



We got home at midnight and are totally zonked! I need some serious quilting and calming craft tonight just to forget about it all.....so the binding wasn't done last night but yesterday afternoon I did quilt this lovely japanese fabric from a few years back. It's waiting for some bright red and white binding and is the perfect playmat size. Retro daddy, bless him, asked me did I piece all the little squares together.....um no but it's such a pretty fabric!

binding

well I'm almost finished my little plume quilt, the colour combinations are just gorgeous! Somehow I managed to quilt this before mass last night and then came home to make the binding and sew it on....



this afternoon I'll sew the back of the binding on and then I'll be done!!!!! It's perfect for autumn and winter and I'm now thinking about taking 2 packs, lots of white quilters muslin and making a big quilt!

Edited to add that ladies, free motion is easy!!!!!! You will need a darning foot or open toe foot (mine came with my machine), lower your feed dogs and go go go. I use machine quilting gloves that cost me about $3 at spotlight but sometimes prefer not to use them! Just make up a sandwich of fabric and batting and go for it. I found some great tutorials on youtube and crazy mom quilts video was excellent too!

a skirt for winter

last winter I didn't make as many clothes for my little ones as I would have liked, I was just so busy with the twins! This winter I'd like to make more and buy less (as it was an expensive winter for retro daddy)...so I stocked up on some denim recently for $10 a metre to try out a few things...here is the first...



I do love the little red ruffle trim....it's so perfect! Of course keira took one look at it and went 'oh no mummy it's not pink'......ahhh you can't win! But I am thinking a little knitted red bolero and white long sleeve tee will make it the perfect outfit!

while babies nap

every afternoon like clockwork the twins go down for a nap! Keira by this age had well and truly ditched the nap but I hope the twins keep napping for a while! Normally I run around putting washing out, sweeping up and playing with keira....as soon as the camera comes out this girl knows how to pose!



today, I was itching to put these plume charm squares to good use.....here they are quickly sewn together to make a quilt top in no time!



Miss keira was handing me pretend cups of tea as I was sewing, what a thoughtful girl!!

pretty in pink

ahhhh I love the sound of the courier truck parking outside my house! This morning 24 of these lovelies arrived and I am itching to use them! Will I get time to make a quilt before the next market...who knows!



This is plume by tula pink. The range is just full of lovely pinks, teals, greens and a bit of chocolate! Now, you know I love pink and the fabric is made in Japan so it was an easy decision to stock it! In the store now and coming with me to markets too!

happy valentine's day

this is retro daddy's valentines day present from all of us! a gorgeous bowl from ensparkle ceramics! I made a bee line to helen's lovely stall at the start of the market to make sure I came home with this lovely bowl. Retro daddy loves it and will use it for his cereal every morning.....I plan on building a nice little collection of helen's things as they are just lovely and we are doing most of the same markets this year!



I will be doing a full market 'debrief' (doesn't that sound like military speak) tonight when I get the photos from my dad! I asked him to come along especially to take lots of good photos of my stall! I'm still a bit precious about taking my new camera out. But just quickly, the market was great, beautiful venue and a bigger turnout which kept us busy all day!

Have a nice day, we're off for yum cha in manly and I'm wearing a loose dress as I'm known to overindulge!

another one under my belt

market, that is! What a nice day we had, the venue was once a church so I loved all the stained glass windows and high ceilings. Thankfully the torrential downpours we had the night before had vanished and we had a steady stream of people all day.



I had a great day in sales, ran out of some fabrics and should have taken some 1m pieces with me but I'm still learning since this was my 2nd market!



I must admit having the venue so close to home makes it very easy to keep doing the mosman venue as it's just so convenient!



I loved when people came up to say hi and have a chat, it's so nice to put faces to names and meet new customers!!!! katia was a huge help and everyone loved her little cross stitches, t-shirts and pretty hair things! It's nice to have some help on hand and of course I couldn't do it without my big strong retro daddy to carry everything in and out of the car. He does one trip for three of mine so I mind the little ones and he's done in no time!



I'm looking forward to the rest of the markets I have booked in over the next 2 months and then am kind of glad things are quiet in april and may to rest and start building market stock again!

Allie's Attic tomorrow

well market preparations have been a little slower than usual, the twins are back to their normal selves but then little miss keira was next for an hour or two! She is such a brave girl though, no tears, a glass of lemonade (with water) and she's her normal happy self this morning!

Now,do you love my new little business card clip from kawaii for you! It just fits the 'japanese and cute' brief perfectly!!!!! I won't lie that I could clear out that lovely store in one go!!! This is going to look so cute on my stall!



and somehow last night I managed to fill a big tub with lots of fat quarters, all wrapped in plastic to keep them nicely pressed and in shape between markets! Lots of new fabrics in there too....



So, if you're in sydney pop by tomorrow to allies attic ! I'll be there with katia so come and say hi!



I am so loving how close this market is to home for me!!!!! Maybe retro daddy will bring lunch in for me and the babies to cuddle, I hope I don't sound too sad but I miss my three little ones so much when I'm away from them. I probably need to toughen up a little but when you're used to having them around 24/7 it gets a bit hard to be away from them!!!!

attitude..........

yes here she is....giving me some attituuuuuuuuuuuuude! I must admit this doesn't happen too often (thank goodness!) but I insisted little miss wear this dress to her first school tour and information night tonight. She wanted to wear a navy blue one that was waaaay too small and showing off her boobies....



I can't stop laughing when I look at these photos because she is definitely working the camera...still...in her unhappy state! I should be on the tour with her but just as we were getting ready tillie started throwing up, again and again, and again...and then some more! I'm onto my 3rd load of towels in the wash and it ain't pretty! STOP PRESS....2 hours later Finnie has started throwing up.......oh no!



but don't worry, retro daddy was given strict instructions of what to do, where to go, when to pay attention and what to bring home! I think it's also nice for some daddy daughter time too! Mind you I think keira is more excited to see the pool rather than big school itself!

all in the store

phew, it's all in the store now and as a special introductory offer I've taken $2 a metre off all new fabrics...




and winner of puti de pome......according to random.org is 85, Mandy! Well done and thanks everyone for entering! New giveaway coming monday after I recover from the market!

oh happy day

it's always a happy day when new fabric arrives at my house, but today is an extra special happy day as 20 bolts of kokka arrived for the store! Here is a sneak peek.... straight out of the box!!!!



I'll be loading them all up into flickr this afternoon and into the store tonight!



I can't pick a favourite yet, all I can say is just in the nick of time for Allie's Attic this saturday and Mathilda's at the end of the month! I'll be taking fat quarters and half metre pieces to all my markets!



my lovely little ones also think it is a happy day as there are 3 boxes to play and hide in! At the moment I am blowing on keira's box from afar as we play 3 little pigs!!!! You can have all the toys in the world but big cardboard boxes you can climb into are the best!!!!!

a new outfit

I made keira a new little outfit yesterday and no sooner did we go outside to photograph it, than she jumped on her bouncy ball and crushed up the skirt!!



but that's ok, it has the played in look now! Fabric this pretty doesn't need anything too fancy so it was just a simple skirt....



and a little white tee with a matching yo-yo on the front, because as you all know I am the yo-yo addict!



We had lots of fun taking the photos and little miss was even telling me where she wanted the photos taken and what she would do! This is the 'I'm so cute and I know it' pose.



and I hope she stays my cute little model for a long time to come!!!!!

an interview with me

you can read it here! I'd just like to say I'm not a fan of pics of myself out there in blogland but they did ask for it! Just so you know (he he) and don't think 'ugh, is that what she looks like!'

Thank you to Mathilda's for taking the time to mention me!

Ava Tie Dress

Oh that Julie has been at it again, this time she asked for some fabric to make up dresses for my girls. Now sorry to tell you but she's my sister in law ok, she's not taking on any new one's at the moment! I'm so lucky to have someone like Julie in my family aren't I?



Tillie was napping so can't model her dress yet, but keira ripped off her clothes before she'd even opened up the parcel in excitement! Thank you so much julie, you did a gorgeous job on the dresses. The pattern is the Ava Tie Dress by Izzy & Ivy from my store and the fabric is from the clearance section of my store!



It's all perfect and there is even one for keira's dolly too....and so beautifully modelled by my top model, miss keira.



oh and I haven't drawn my puti de pome giveaway winner yet so draw open till tomorrow!!!!

the australian ballet 2025

I always hoped my little girls would love ballet and oh how my little miss does!!!!! Yesterday was her first class of the year and she just loves that her uniform changed from blue to pink....



I am just loving how she just works the camera these days! no prompting necessary!



oh the dear little face!

cut, fold, iron

there will be a lot of that going on as I get ready for markets....I cut the fat quarters, fold them up nicely and then give them a nice press with the iron and pop them in their baskets ready to go......



these gorgeous fat quarters of far far away are half way through the process and will be coming with me including lots of pink princess and the pea which I stashed away. A little birdie (thanks Carmel) told me there is a far far away 2 coming! Can't wait to get my hands on that too and will definitely be getting in the lovely pinks and purples for the store!

nap time

I couldn't resist taking a pic of my little niece bea who I mind every tuesday! It's a busy day minding 4 under 4 and this little one was fighting sleep for a good hour or so and then sleep won out...by the front door!



so for the time being all 4 are napping and I'm making up a cup of coffee, enjoying some cookies I made this morning and will get some washing on the line!!!!

I'm on facebook

yes, retro mummy is finally on facebook!!!! I'll be posting store updates and the latest news in there



just go here!!!!!!!!!!

posing

I remember a time when keira wouldn't stand still to model for me, now my little miss works a new pose after each camera click



we were having a lot of fun yesterday afternoon



I think this is my favourite...perhaps she thinks we're finished now!



and here she is moving my foot away from an ant!



Dress made by mummy in darla, it was my top seller at markets so I made lots more....I just can't get enough darla!