crochet for cleaning

After spending a solid 2 hours cleaning my house (this is the problem when you have 3 bathrooms and a miss tillie who draws on all the walls), my mind turned to crocheted dishcloths.....you might remember I did this cute cloth for my little ones and they now have a few we use for bathtime....keira calls this one her princess cloth!

so after my cleaning I checked out the Lily sugar n cream website which has so many new free patterns and now I have a sudden urge to get crocheting cloths again....I mean how cute are these cloths below!

images from here 

I'm not so sure I'll use them for my cleaning but how cute are they and I can tell you from personal experience that they are ever so quick to whip up. Plus they just go through the clothes washer and dryer with no problems too. So I hope you'll get crocheting some cloths too......

knitting weather

Keira asked me this morning, 'are we having a home day mummy?' and I said yes straight away! One of the nice things about being a stay at home mummy is deciding when you'll take home days where you wear whatever you like and don't leave the house all day. The big heater is on, I sorted out all the toys (it's been on my to do list for like forever) - so we have now plastic tubs dedicated to each little person and 3 garbage bags full of toys going to the local jumble sale. 

And I'm also knitting...remember this bolero/shrug I made for miss tillie last year....it's one of my all time favourite knitting patterns and I'm making it again in the largest size for her.

And I'm also counting down the days till some absolutely gorgeous knitting books arrive from the UK. I'd never heard of millamia until I read Knitter Sue's blog yesterday.

But oh my I've fallen for their gorgeous colours, modern designs and the fact they are in baby and kids sizes means I can knit for all my little ones and totally justify the addition of 2 new knitting books to my huger than huge craft book library. I just hope it travels quickly.......

because I'm itching to get started especially as there are knits for all seasons! I also love how you can see all the patterns in the book before you order it! Sorry if I make you go over there and order them yourself, I just had to share how gorgeous they were! Oh and you can pre-order them at wool shack I see, just go here

back from our roadtrip

Well we're back! Exhausted and not sure where retro daddy got his energy to go for a run after he unpacked the car for me! I've parked myself on the couch and am not going anywhere.........

If you've ever wondered how we travel to canberra here we are taking a pitstop. We take a seat out of the car and somehow manage to fit everything in (and yes I put the twinnies straps back on as much as they hate seatbelt straps). I've put my request in for an 8 seater next year with dvd players so I can do markets with the new bub on board....we'll see how we go getting it past the CFO of the family (aka retro daddy).



Canberra was chilly...bbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and you'd think after growing up there I would remember how cold it was but..... um.........no, it kills me everytime I go down there and breathe in the cold air. I had a lovely spot at mathilda's and was so proud of my full hat tree, so what if I almost gave myself RSI in the process.



Hats were popular again and there was even time to do a spot of crochet during the day which was nice. Thank you Michelle for the cute peg doll kit which Keira and I will be making up this week and showing off!



but I forget I'm pregnant and stand up all day and I'll be paying the price tomorrow. So thank you Anne and the team at Mathilda's and thank you Canberra....I won't be down again till November because as you know I need to have a baby in between but I look forward to coming down again!

oh and how did I forget - I do have some hats left so just email me (info@retromummy.com) your size and I'll let you know what colours I have left! Hats are $20 (newborn) or $25 bigger sizes + postage!

see you at mathilda's

Well everything is packed and ready to go in the car and I'll see my lovely canberra customers and friends tomorrow...................

Last night I was up making 20 flowers and on the car trip down I'll be weaving in ends and sewing on flowers and then I'm done!!!

surrounded by pink

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Finn when he fell asleep on the couch this week. This little guy will fall asleep anywhere.......



But my poor little guy only has pink pillows and blankets around, so I think that is a good reason for a new quilt and cushion just for him!

tinkerbell - this one is for the little girls

My girls love Tinkerbell, so we're pretty excited that a new Tinkerbell movie 'Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue' is coming out in September on DVD and for a short time at the cinemas in August. So temporarily hand over your computer to your little girls and let them watch this little trailer.....I'm sure if they are anything like Keira they'll ask you to watch it again.....



it gave me 7 minutes and 29 seconds of peace with a few oohhhs and ahhhs!

1000th post giveaway

Oh wow this is my 1001st post and I can't believe I missed the 1000th post yesterday! I love blogging and started way back in 2006 at knitter and new mum when I went a week overdue with Keira. Then a year later I moved to my retro mummy blog and haven't stopped since.

Since most of my photos have revolved around this girl (who always makes me want to whip out my camera).... here she is to celebrate! And I think 1000 posts deserves a good giveaway...



1st prize is a brand new copy of Whip up mini quilts
2nd prize is a big pile of fat quarters from my store
3rd prize a pack of 100 hexagon papers and big bag of my scraps so you can make some very cute hexagons....and rest assured I have good scraps

So, just leave a comment and you're in the giveaway....I'll draw the winner next Thursday evening and yes you can enter if you live overseas! good luck................

you need some kleenex for this blog

I've been discovering lots of new blogs lately and one of my new favourites is nienie dialogues.....if you haven't heard of it then go and have a read....but bring the kleenex first...

there is no craft on this blog just a beautiful family, an amazing story, honesty, love, hope, faith and beautiful pictures. And I did warn you about the tissues....ok!

here's one I prepared earlier

It is Wednesday and that means time to show off my hexagon flower for the week! And here she is.....I made her at the etsy craft party last friday night. I was so determined to finish that flower that I was head down while talking at the party to get it finished!



The fabric for this flower is bliss, a yet to be released range by Moda which will definitely be in my shop again since my haul from the trade show sold out in record time. I'm so busy with market preparations and am looking forward to a month between markets so I can rest up and do some more relaxing hexagons while I'm parked on the couch.....

getting chunkier

Now, I'm not talking about my bodyshape which is definitely getting chunkier.......no, I'm talking about my crochet hats. I knew it was going to take me forever to refill my hat tree before Mathilda's in Canberra this weekend and I just don't have forever at the moment.......



so I went chunkier with my wool and what a difference! Instead of doing 1 hat a night I've been getting 3 finished....yay! So now I will now have a full tree for Mathilda's this weekend in Canberra!



Well after I weave in the ends, make flowers and sew them on...of course! And here is my model making a fashion statement. She has taken to dressing herself on some mornings and today we are wearing a bolero by mummy, t-shirt by country road, russian doll skirt by mummy and barbie leggings with lace trim.



It was quite a combination teamed with her red shoes, but at least it's one less person to get dressed in the morning! EDITED to add that I know everytime I post a picture of my hats you ask for the pattern! It's still in my head and I adjust each size as I go - but since this is my last winter market for the year I might just have to write down the pattern for you - because I know I've said I would in the past!

it's a twin thing

I've always known my twinnies love to follow each other around everywhere and in public they are inseparable. Keira loves to do her own thing and yesterday at a party I got some cute snaps to prove my point. Here they are hanging out emptying the chip bowls (this is their favourite activity at parties)



just checking it all out



meeting the chickens and saying hi - we spent a lot of time 'talking' to the chickens yesterday.



eating together....



At home they often play on their own but it really is cute to see how they love to be by each other's side.

it'll be alright on the night!

and it was! our etsy craft party was great fun last night. We had 26 people at last count and the noise level was high!


There was waaaaaaaaaaaay too much yummy food for all of us to get through



there were craft projects to choose from



lucky door prizes (so generously donated) to be won



and the night just went so quickly! But it was a success and I'm glad it all ran smoothly, I think I could do another craft party but give me a few months and a bit more planning!

There's a bear in there.....

When Fee our resident knitting teacher for Notebook asked if my three would like to go to the playschool set - well I had to wait a few minutes before I replied so I didn't sound too keen but wowee what a great opportunity. She definitely has the best job in the world making sets, costumes and props for Playschool. Gosh, I remember watching playschool when I was little so it was always going to be a very exciting outing. Here we are in the green room having fun with the visitor stickers ( I knew those stickers wouldn't last long)



then we got to meet the cast of giggle and hoot and that was when everyone got a bit too starstruck but we high fived and went on to the set - keira was hilarous and said ' I don't think we should be here' as if we were trespassing and then Finn almost had a meltdown as we left the set as he loved being there.



Next stop was the playschool set to meet the toys and have a look around.....tillie adored jemima and the toys and pretty much spent her time there talking to them



Finnie was obsessed with Little Ted's rocket and the little house
and when I tried to move him away he just threw himself on the floor so as not to be lifted up...



we had a bit of time here to play around which they all loved



then we were lucky enough to watch a rehearsal where Alex was doing a cooking demo and they all sat so beautifully - oh I was so proud



and then lastly we asked for a photo with Justine but little miss starstruck was just so shy...and you know how much my girl loves a photo so this was the best I got! Oh and Justine is so gorgeous in life, really beautiful and they were both sooo friendly and lovely.



So that was that, back to the car and home again and of course now keira is saying that was the best day of her life. And how can you say thank you enough times to Fiona for the most wonderful morning....definitely one of the most exciting things to happen to my little ones this year! I still can't stop thinking about it and it was all just fabulous!

We're so excited about Toy Story 3!

One of the things I love about Keira growing up is being able to take her to the movies!!! She loves everything about it from the popcorn and choc tops to the big seats and the big screen. Sometimes its just daddy daughter time but I think we all might have to go along to see Toy Story 3....and we are loving that Ken and Barbie are in the movie too!

get your tickets to our etsy craft party

Yay, I love a bit of last minute excitement and planning! Tickets have just gone live for Notebook Magazine's Etsy Craft Party tmrw night. You buy a ticket beforehand, bring a plate with you and you'll get a glass of champagne/lemonade on arrival, a notebook goody bag, tea/coffee all night and lots of craft activities to do with your scraps (please bring some fabric or cardstock scraps with you).


picture courtesy of blissinateacup found on etsy

I can't wait..bookings are here and it's going to be a great night. You just come along, find a seat and get crafting...we have over 30 interested ladies and one man (yes, one man) so far - so I'm hoping it's a great night!

another wednesday, another flower

Here are my flowers so far with my latest addition at the front! I have 11 more large flowers to do before I hit the smaller flowers for the quilt.



I'm actually finding it so satisfying and have decided to do one flower a weekend so that I'm always prepared for Wednesday's show n tell!!

the many faces of keira

Today was our family interview at church for Keira's school application which for me was the perfect excuse to buy keira a new outfit from my favourite french kidswear store Okaidi (it's at Stockland Balgowlah for my Sydney friends and probably too close to home for retro daddy!)



I just wanted one nice photo in her new clothes



but she puts on the funniest faces and poses



that I couldn't stop taking photos of her!



and here is her oh I'm so holy and looking up to the heavens pose!



oh she does make me laugh! The interview went well, the twins smushed crackers into the carpet and made a huge noise the whole time but thankfully keira is all done for interviews now!

fabric on my doorstep

What a surprise to find a bolt of fabric on my doorstep this morning, this one was on backorder and is so lovely. I love that it's 55% linen/45% cotton making it perfect for winter!



Up in the store already here and my mind is ticking thinking boys pants, library bags, cute pockets and more.........

sweet soy chicken

That Liss from Frills in the Hills is always putting a new recipe on her blog that I just have to make and this Sweet Soy Chicken was one of them. Now when I'm not pregnant I don't go near meat but something happened when I was pregnant with the twins and chicken made an appearance in my diet! I don't care for it when I'm not pregnant so am guessing my body is telling me it needs something! Kind of like the way I eat chocolate way too much lately.....



Now this recipe is oh so easy! I left it too late to get it in the slow cooker so it did about 45 minutes in the slow cooker and 45 minutes in the oven. I also had no brandy so used some japanese cooking wine and extra honey, served with white rice and for vegies I sauteed chinese broccoli and some mushrooms in oyster sauce. Oh yum, thanks Liss! A real winner and I took some tips on your presentation and retro daddy was very impressed!

free motion practice

Any excuse to use my new machine....and I'm making a simple cot quilt - well we'll probably call it a comforter since there is no patchwork! I'm quilting 2 large pieces of co-ordinating fabrics from the Darla range (one of my all time favourite ranges). It's looking so pretty and is for the new baby but keira is already trying to take it as her own. I have actually already quilted most of it but thought it made for a nice picture under my machine.



I figure if I start now I'll have a little assortment of baby things made and ready to go. My new machine is a dream - a little face with a tear comes up to tell you when you've made a mistake (how very japanese and cute) and the machine stops and a message comes up telling you you're about to run about bobbin thread which is just a dream when you're quilting. Oh how I could go on about the machine but all retro daddy says is 'have you got your old one up on ebay yet' - oops!

busy weekends

There was a time when weekends were fairly quiet but lately we've been busy with 4th birthday parties, markets, classes and always having something on. This weekend was no exception with another party for little miss keira, my trade show, dinner and a movie with some oh so lovely ladies (thanks Liss for organising a great girls night out, it was non stop talk and laughter), church, then helping out at church with the baptism preparation group (oh all those cute babies). Thank goodness tomorrow is a public holiday with nothing to do!



These photos were all taken today as I try harder to take better photos of my three and make sure I don't miss anything as they grow up so quickly on me.



And I couldn't help myself this morning, seeing them all in their puffa vests before church...adorable!



and then this afternoon retro daddy got up on the roof and swept all the leaves off the pergola onto the paving....it was too much excitment for keira to have leaves rain down on her and then jump around in them



And it wasn't long before Finnie woke up and had to get amongst the leaves too. Their little faces are changing so much and I love being able to capture it all on camera!

at the candy store

Today at the quilt trade show was like my day as a kid in a candy store....and especially when I get to buy lovely charm square and jelly roll packs to take home!



and the only photo I took was where I order my kokka....too focused on ordering, obviously! Luckily, my little buddy Jennie took lots for the two of us. Our aussie shows aren't like the big ones in the states but for me it's a great day to see and order the new fabrics and I've come home with 5 full pages of fabric orders.



While we have to wait patiently until September for the fabrics to start arriving (oh my goodness so many cute ones!) I've put a few things in the store so you can feel like you've been to the show too! These fabrics won't be available here for a while so enjoy!

keeping me honest

Well I'm a day late but here is my hexagon flower. This posting a flower every wednesday does keep me honest (ok well I've missed a week or two but who's counting). And at this rate it will probably take me a year to finish my hexagon flower quilt!



for this flower I used some Plume (Moda) charm squares and I love charm squares for these big hexagons as they are just the perfect size! So now I just need to start on the weekend so I can get a few done by next wednesday.