Just a minute ... in July

I am joining in with Jenaveve's Just a minute meme, where we take a few moments to recall what we've been doing during the month. So, this wintery July I have been ...

Watching ...

... a television program called Grand Designs.

Each week, this British design program follows the progress of an ambitious building project from blue print through to finished building. There's always serious money involved in building - often exceeding the ½ million pound mark (excluding the land) for a family home. The journey is guaranteed to be fascinating - and rarely plain sailing - as the owners navigate financing, engineering, project management and a host of inevitable show stoppers. Kevin McCloud, the writer and presenter (and himself a designer), balances objective commentary with sage observation.

Its worth a look if you like armchair building and renovation, as I do. (I am afraid the only home alterations that have occurred at Chez Hoppo Bumpo, have been a broken door handle and the addition of a wall frieze of grey handprints).

Cooking ...

... ridiculous quantities of scones. Everyone who has visited the house has been plied with them. I am practising. And still experimenting. There's less two months until the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show and I have applied to enter the cookery competition. Honestly, its just for fun; to be part of a creative institution. I'm probably 30 years too young to stand a chance!



I think my official tasters found the this last batch a bit crumbly, don't you?

Reading ...

... Jane Austen's Sewing Box, a wonderful book my sister gave me for my birthday. Its full of beautiful colour plates, historical descriptions of life in the late 18th century and authentic craft projects. Apart from the obvious eye-candy factor, the book is really fascinating (and I really can't resist a reference to a frock coat or cravat!). I'm looking forward to trying some of the projects - there's beautiful Regency paper flowers and a fabulous netted purse that I have been admiring.

Planning

... to panic. I may or may not be doing a craft market in September. Selling what you might enquire? Ah yes, my question exactly!


To see who else is playing along with Just a minute ... head over to Jenaveve's blog, August Street.

My creative space

I am joining in with Thursday's My Creative Space at Kootoyoo.

Clockwise from top right:

• Pattern - Folkwear 215 Empire dress
  


• Pattern pieces - traced and alterations made
  


• Calico - ready to be cut for the toile
  


• Inspiration - the gorgeous Jane Austen's Sewing Box
  


• Moleskine book - sketches, measurements and notes

Somewhat frantic work has started on the Regency-era gown. Stay tuned: this could be good for a laugh.

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours ..." (Jane Austen)

Thank you very much Kirsty for hosting My Creative Space. Its great fun seeing what everyone is doing. To see who else is showing their creative space (or to join in), head over here.

This week's "Eye spy" theme ...

Picture credit: Watch Collection by Eggmergency

I have been asked to nominate this Sunday's theme for Bug & Pop's fun "Eye Spy". Thanks, Cindy!

So bring out your stamps, tea towels, stolen airline teaspoons, unopened newspapers, toe nail clippings and other whatnots ... this week its:

Eye spy ... a collection

If you haven't played before, don't miss out on the fun. Its easy! Simply write your "Eye spy ... a collection" post this Sunday. Then leave your details in the "Mr Linky" on Cindy's blog so everyone knows to stop by and say hello.

Oh, Mr Darcy ....

from: "Jane Austen's Sewing Box"

It was a moment of romantic weakness.

Asked whether I could sew a period costume, I became completely consumed in the moment. Regency period how ardently I love and admire you. I adore your beautiful gathers and drape. Swoon. Then when I came to, I had apparently agreed to sewing an Empire gown.

Given my period sewing experience is limited to one 1940's retro apron, it wouldn't be unreasonable to see trouble looming on the horizon.

Luckily I have been given a terrific pattern to sew from. Its by a company called Folkwear and I have to say that the instructions look very good. The pretty dress has a narrow bodice gathered on to a slim A-Line skirt front and side panels and has a full gathered skirt back. There are little short sleeves with a number of variations. I do note - and not without a little trepidation - that the long skirt can be varied to include a train.

Much to do in the coming weeks.

The Empire gown has quite a low cut neckline and is fitted high up under the bust, so to ensure comfort ... and modesty ... I will need to start by making a toile. This will give me the opportunity to check the fit and make any alterations using some economical calico.

I will also need to start channelling my inner Regency-era sewist.
[Fade to dream sequence, which seems to include Colin Firth]

Mr. Darcy: So this is your opinion of me. Thank you for explaining so fully. Perhaps these offences might have be overlooked had not your pride been hurt by my honesty...

Hoppo Bumpo: My pride?

Mr. Darcy: ... in pointing out that sewing a dress for someone to wear to a ball in mid-August ... is ambitious ... if not a completely crackpot idea. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your circumstances?

Hoppo Bumpo: And those are the words of a gentleman. From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.

Mr. Darcy: Forgive me madam, but weren't we talking about sewing .... and aren't you married to Mr Hoppo Bumpo?


Er, yes. Back to sewing.

Eye spy ... beauty

I am playing along with Cindy's Eye Spy meme each Sunday. This week Stacey, from the marvelleous Sheeps Clothing, asked that we spy something of beauty.

Here is mine ...



Every day, I see it from my little window.



Made up of a myriad of colours and effects.



Beauty.



Thank you to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to Stacey for the great theme. To discover more beauty, head over here.

The talk

Mr Hoppo Bumpo has given me the talk.

The timing of the talk took me by surprise. Sure I knew it was coming one day, but now? It caught me off-guard. If I am being honest, I'd have to say I felt slighted by the talk.

So, what was the talk?

Maybe you've had it? The one where you are told that there is a sunset clause on home-sewing the children's wardrobes. See that big red ball disappearing on the horizon? Yes that would be Argy and Bargy turning 4 and 2 and insisting upon prêt-à-porter.

At first I wasn't sure whether to be flattered (did Mr HB think I'd actually sewn that many things for Argy and Bargy??) or insulted (hey, what the heck's wrong with my sewing?). Of course instead of heeding the talk, I have been feeling kind of inclined to thumb my nose; become defiant; go underground.

So here I am making some tracky daks* for Argy. I am using some purchased trims to make them look store-bought (see above). And have made a shopping bag to put them in, when I have finished.



Rebellious home sewing will continue tomorrow, after Mr HB leaves for work ...


* tracky daks - Australian slang for track pants or sweats

Just because its handmade don't assume its also tasteful

I have been playing with the Gocco printer I have on a (most generous) loan from Jodie. Most of my experiments have been sensible - solid pictures and sound black ink.

Yesterday there was, however, an aberration whilst printing some stationery. All I can say is that it involved sparkly silver ink, a font called Razzle Dazzle ... and rhinestones.

The effect is a little bit Elvis (in the later years) don't you think? Thank-you-very-much.

Eye spy ... something I should use

I am playing along with Cindy's Eye Spy meme each Sunday. This week's fun theme has been chosen by multi-talented The Bird Bath. She has asked us to spy something we should use.

Well now, that's easy - its my specs.

I've had eye glasses since I was about 17 or 18: I'm astigmatic and a little far-sighted. The lenses aren't particularly strong - they simply make things look sharper and brighter. They should, however, remain firmly on my face at all times.

Why, you might ask?

Well upon occasion when they haven't, my glasses have frequently and mysteriously been found in the possession of 2 year-old Bargy. And let's just say this: Bargy believes that the shape of spectacles should be rectangle ... as in, a wreck and tangle.

Expensive, that.

Thank you to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to The Bird Bath for the great theme. To discover more Eye Spy-ers, head over here.

Vintage

I have borrowed a beautiful song book from my mum - we think it was my younger sister's. Mum used to play the songs from My first sing-a-song book on the piano for us. The book brings back lovely memories. I loved the songs ... and the colourful pictures more-so.



The illustrations are by Mary Blair. She worked on animated features for Disney Studios in the 1950s. Later she worked freelance: illustrating and colour-styling sets, murals and books, including some Golden Books which are still in print. Her work is distinctive, colourful and charming.

And 40-odd years on, almost certainly considered vintage. These days the song book itself, sells for a pretty penny on "antique" book websites.



It has got me to thinking. If treasured books and toys from my childhood are now considered vintage, er ... what does that make me?

Silence of the mam

Its day three and counting: laryngitis. My old foe.

In my former working life (running training courses), it was an occupational hazard. It used to get me every winter. Yak, yak, yak ... until until suddenly - no voice. Now I am finding the same affliction returning. Of course its not so much from the constant chatter as the high rotation - and perhaps volume - of "get off that", "get out of there" and "don't put that up your nose".

So what to do when you have two lively small boys and a serious vocal deficit?

I have quickly discovered that squeaking is entirely ineffectual; perhaps even hilarious. Holding up cards with stern messages? Futile for the target audience. And wild gesticulation? Simply exhausting.

How about charades?

Yes, yes: 11 syllables. First word. Starts with G? Um, is it: get off my brother and stop pulling his ears? Why certainly, Mum.

Yeah, sure.

My creative space

I am joining in with Thursday's My Creative Space at Kootoyoo.

From top left:

• Cushion inserts


• Assorted fabric - red gingham remnant, Michael Miller Play Dot, white homespun, construction print from Curlypops


• Zippers


• Red candle

The soft furnishings at our place are endangered: our boys should really be named Search and Destroy. Our beautiful cushions have been tossed, jumped-upon, hurled, scrunched and pummelled within an inch of their lives. (Even as I type, some kind of fight has broken out over cushion stockpiles. It looks like Mr HB has also joined in the affray). In a bid to curb the violence, I am making Argy and Bargy a few of their own. And I am sure the boys will bring new meaning to throw cushions.

Our other creative project for the day will be to bake a little cake. It wouldn't be a proper birthday without a few candles and a bit of hip-hip-hooray, would it?

Thank you very much Kirsty for hosting My Creative Space. Its great fun seeing what everyone is doing. To see who else is showing their creative space (or to join in), head over here.

Karma

Marker accident?
Wearable art?
Or something coming back to bite me?

Stand-back-and-throw: more scones for sloths

Going on and on about scones ... again

I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.
[From: "Three men in a boat", Jerome K. Jerome]

That's me: in love with the idea of doing things, but frankly not particularly disposed to performing the hard yards. If you look up the definition of lazy, you are sure not only to see "Resistant to work or exertion", but the words "See also Hoppo Bumpo".

I suspect this is why - as I dropped an application to compete in a cookery competition into the post - I was already looking for the the shortcut to creating prize-winning scones.

I have previously written about my propensity for using the food processor to create scone dough: a technique that would horrify Nannas the world over. Its unconventional. But oh so quick. All done with the flick of a switch. I like that in a cooking method. It seemed to be the way of the future, until I saw a cooking demonstration on television.

Delightful TV chef Gary Mehigan was showing cookery contestants on Masterchef how to make his beautiful date and lemon scones. Whilst the end product was of interest, it was his method that caught my eye. Here was a recipe for scones, that involved only stirring liquid into dry ingredients. No butter. No rubbing-in. Fancy being able to eliminate the hard work of taking the food processor out of the cupboard!

I have embraced this new method wholeheartedly. I do hope my blue-ribbon-laziness is acknowledged (... even if my scones are not) at the forthcoming Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show.

Scones for sloths
(Based on Gary's date and lemon scones)

This method makes a beautifully light, fluffy scone. I should imagine that is better to use regular cream rather than a "light" version, as the cream provides the fat component. Fat helps reduce the amount of gluten that is worked up in the mixture. Gluten makes baked goods stronger - or more accurately, tougher - and is the enemy of the scone!

3 cups self-raising (self rising) flour
¼ cup caster (superfine) sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten (I use 2 heaped teaspoons of Orgran's No Egg egg replacer powder)
150ml (5 fluid oz) pouring cream
175ml (6 fluid oz) milk + extra
1 cup chopped dates and the rind of a grated lemon - OR - 2 teaspoons of vanilla (all optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC (425ºF).
2. Grease and flour a baking tray or line it with baking paper or a silicon baking mat.
3. Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl. If you are using egg replacer like I do, add this to the dry mixture too.
4. If you are adding dates and lemon stir these in to the flour mixture.
5. Pour in combined cream, milk - and the fresh egg and vanilla if you are using these.
6. Stir until you have a sticky dough. If you find there is still a bit of dry flour in bowl add more milk, little by little until the whole mixture is combined.
7. Turn out the dough onto a floured board and gently pat out to about 3cm in thickness. The less patting the better.
8. Cut out the scones - I usually use a wine glass (!), but have just invested in a metal scone cutter which is about 5cm in diameter.
9. Place the scones on the tray. Brush with a little milk or cream and dust with a little caster (superfine) sugar.
10. Bake for approximately 12 - 14 minutes or until the scones are golden and sound hollow if tapped on the bottom.

For the gloomy days

I am enjoying this little Korean notebook that Bev gave me to write in. The cover is a nice heavy weight card and the pages are reassuringly opaque and feint lined. A busy little panda graces the corners of the pages. The best feature though, is the sweet cover which opens to reveal this gem ...

Everybody has gloomy days. These are miserable days when you feel small and you shouting, "Please kill me!" Maybe work is pain in the nightmare. You're under major pressure to fill someone else's shoes and everyone is the office is driving you crazy. But who knows what amazing things are in store just around the corner? Best of all there's L.O.V.E.

And to think the cover looks so innocuous! One thing is for sure - I will Happy Smile (or will that be a guffaw?) every time I jot down my thoughts.

Happy Smile Panda lined notebook
by Artbox
www.artbox.co.kr

My creative space

I am joining in with Thursday's My Creative Space at Kootoyoo.

Clockwise from left:

• Partly completed evening cardigan
  
• Remaining cut piece of garment
  
• Instructions from Vogue pattern V1058

I am putting the finishing touches on this sparkly evening cardigan, which I am giving to my sister. I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago - the design is tie front with three quarter length sleeves and designed for moderate stretch knits.

Although I have previously been warned off Vogue patterns (due to complicated construction methods), I haven't found this one to be too daunting.

Vogue V1058 provides some good information in the instructions about fitting and altering the bodice and sleeves, as well as tips for sewing stretch seams and hems. The construction has been straightforward and I have been sewing pretty much to the letter in the instructions. So far I have only made one small departure. The pattern recommends sewing in stay tape around the neck and front edges to stop the garment stretching out of shape. I have also added tape to the shoulder seams, as I suspect these would otherwise droop over time.

Unfortunately the clear instructions and construction method have been somewhat counterbalanced by the fabric itself. If at any time you think you can hear some faint yelling in the distance, that will be me: as another cut edge of the fabric goes B-O-O-O-I-N-G and curls up tightly.

Thank you very much Kirsty for hosting My Creative Space. Its great fun seeing what everyone is doing. To see who else is showing their creative space (or to join in), head over here.

The moon at dawn

The grass was a crystalline silver carpet.
The morning air nipped at cheeks and finger tips.
But it was impossible not to stop - and admire.
A golden moon in a watercolour-wash sky.

Sewjourn

The house at Sewjourn

This weekend past, I stayed at the craft retreat Sewjourn, with a delightful group of crafty girls. Located in a pretty country town in Victoria, Sewjourn comprises a beautifully renovated house and a separate well-appointed - and very spacious - studio.

Craft heaven.

The studio has a magnificent, polished wood table that was large enough to accommodate the 7 sewing machines, 2 overlockers and other paraphernalia that we had brought with us. Double power points are spaced regularly around the table. There is an additional table, cutting mats, ironing boards, a kitchenette and bathroom.


Extreme crafting bloggers: Tinniegirl, Curlypops, Taccolina, Reenie-Su, Bellgirl and Beccasauras hard at work in the studio

The house which has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, can sleep up to ten people through various combinations of single, double and bunk beds. Jan, who owns Sewjourn, has thought of every necessity and comfort. The kitchen is well equipped, there is a beautiful dining room and a comfy loungeroom, complete with wood fired heater and piles of magazines.


Table laid for (yet another) fancy meal

So what did we do for the weekend?

The studio was a hive of sewing activity. There were quilts, jackets, bags, coasters, pin cushions, zippered pouches. Knitting, crochet and sketching also featured. There was also 80's music, some dancing and singing (did you know you can sing Amazing Grace to the theme tune from Gilligan's Island? No?), some op shopping and quite a lot of cooking and eating. Unexpected gifts too. Oh ... and the most important part .... loads of laughter.


Crikey - I finished a project!

It was a really perfect weekend. Thank you, Tinniegirl, for organising it all.

Sewjourn
92 Main Street
Lancefield, Victoria
http://www.sewjourn.net.au/

Eye spy ... something I love about my suburb

I am playing along with Cindy's Eye Spy meme each Sunday. This week the gorgeous Ellieboo picked the theme, asking that we show something we love or hate about our suburb.

Well, here I am at latitude -37.817, longitude 145.199.

I like a great deal about my coordinates. Its quiet, green and leafy here. The air is fresh; the people friendly. There are some very lovely old houses dotted about. The train clicketty-clacks through the middle of my locality with regularity. There are monthly craft and farmers' markets in walking distance. And if you need sushi, good coffee and or a collectible teddy bear in hurry its all just round the corner in the little suburban shopping strip.

There's no mistaking, however, that I am most definitely out in the "burbs". My home is 21 kilometres east of the Melbourne city centre. I used to live in inner city areas and sometimes miss the lively buzz a little.

But then I wouldn't swap the view above for the world. Once a year there is a beautiful fireworks display ... and I have a ringside seat out in the garden. I love it.

Thank you to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to Ellieboo for the great theme. To discover more suburbs, head over here.

Retreating

I am off on a craft retreat for a few days.

I am not sure whether I am more excited about the opportunity to finish a million projects .... or to craft, eat, drink and be merry with a bunch of lovely girls ... or the fact that I might be able to sleep in!

See you soon ...

Bling, bling

(With apologies to Abba's "Ring Ring")

I was sorting through my clothes
I was assessing all of those
That I shouldn't wear now that I'm a bit past forty
Experts say nothing terribly tight
Or too short, bold or bright
There's so little choice now that I'm over the hill and warty

And I'm down and feeling blue
Cos I dont know what to do with ...

Bling, bling. Can I still wear it at all?
Bling, bling: see I bought more than one ball
Bling, bling: I fear its my downfall
And I sit here admiring it secretly
Will people understand the need in me?
To wear bling, bling (I really don't mean to appall).
So bling, bling, I'm secretly knitting a ball


Four balls of merino/nylon/lame blend yarn bought on sale. A completely inappropriate purchase, but ahhh .... so shiny.