On Reading and Crying

When we were children my mama read us The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde and cried (I mean really cried - the works)
at the end I said:
I never want you to read to me again
and my younger sister said:
read it again Mum, read it again

Currently I am reading my boys The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S.Lewis. It is the 6th of the Narnia books and we have also read Prince Caspian and they have the audio books (abridged sadly) of The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

I adore the Narnia books. Every couple of years I read them through and I always get something new from them. They are so much more to me than just good yarns.

I find parts of them rather emotion inducing but I am committed to not having a Happy Prince moment! Tonight I read the following - with rather a lot of pauses and quavering.

"My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Alsan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia."

I know it probably seems totally strange as a part to make me emotional, but it is Reepicheep's dedicated fervor to continue on with all of his might that I find so wonderful. It speaks to something deep in me - this determination and whole-heart quest. His heart is fixed with all his courage on his destination and he will go in that direction until he has nothing left in him and there go down still facing towards his dream. (For those unfamiliar with the Narnia books Reepicheep is a mouse with courage to turn an army - he's absolutely gorgeous).

Do you ever cry reading aloud? And which reaction would you have had as a child? Mine or my sisters?

love you more than a book that can be read 100 times xxxx

Make My Week - Trimmings No. 2

Here is my second entry into the Umbrella Prints trimmings competition

this time I ordered a mixed packet and decided to go with a hearts theme.

Using a similar approach I cut hundreds of hearts of various sizes and used every single piece of the fabrics to make a multitude of hearts!

I made four simple cushion covers on the theme of love - LOVE, kiss, heart and balloons,  using op-shop fabric for the body of the cushions. The backs are an envelope back with a sqaure of velcro in each to make sure they stay firmly closed.

Honestly I think these turned out pretty average - it just goes to show sometimes things don't come off the way you hope they will. Still they are complete and that's the main thing. :o)

What now? On May 30th (this Friday) all the different images of things people made will be uploaded to Umbrella Prints pinterest board and then you can madly pin all your favourite projects. Each time you pin an image from their board (so please don't pin from this post if you like mine), that project gets a vote and the winner gets prizes. Cool huh?

As always joining in with the super talents over here

love you more than a project finished in the nick of time! xxx

Me Made May - the next installment

We I only missed one day of photos this week so not too bad :o)

A few outfit repeats this week and a new dress which I'll tell you more about another time but it makes 4 clothing makes for me this month! Yay me. Yes also I am going crazy taking photos of myself and I am wearing my slippers on 2 days, but I don't go out in them, okay? Also I pretty much didn't wear any make up this week either.... yeah I'm pretty inspiring right?

May 21
Yes this is the day I forgot but this is the dress I wore - with different shoes, hair, tights.... anyway. Just squint your eyes up okay?

May 22  - This is a New Look Project Runway pattern I borrowed from my sister last year. I adore the fabric. It's a little shorter than I usually go for and I wish I made the the sleeves roomer but I love it anyway.

May 23 - You've seen this one last week - do excuse the slightly crazy look and pose!

May 24 - my stretch dress - superb photo don't you think???

May 25 - this is my new dress - the fabric has been cut out and ready to go for nearly a year!! Finally made, so pleased to have this out of the 'must be done' pile.

May 26 - this is one of the wee kimono t-shirts I made over summer and it's the first time I've worn it. The denim skirt is one I made nearly 8 years ago.

May 27 - The new dress worn to look like a skirt with a glassons cardi with embroidered flowers that lovely Louana sent me.

Phew! Nearly at end of May. Have you done MMM? How much of your wardrobe is handmade?

love you more than a photo shoot done by a professional xxx

Trimmings - Entry One

This year I was very excited to discover that Umbrella Prints is a fabric maker that operates from Adelaide. Each year they hold a competition to see what people can make from a little packet of trimmings (a bit like the scrap bag swap that Nin hosts but more specific)

I ordered 2 packets and this is my first one.In the Blues Packet this is what I got.

My first idea wasn't going to work because of the small total area of fabric I got so I changed it up and made a very simple baby blanket. It seems to be baby season in our lives again so over the next few months I'll be coming up with gifts for little special people that arrive in the lives of friends and family.

I attached all of the fabric to a bonding fabric and then drew on all the raindrops. This meant there was basically no wastage, as you can see some of the drops actually have multiple fabrics in them.

I haven't added anything into this blanket so it isn't a quilt - this is intentional so the receiver has the option of using it for swaddling, floor play or other general uses. The background for the drops is organic cotton and it is backed with soft flannelette that picked up second hand.

I love the colours and the fact that by chopping the pieces up so much I could make something much bigger than my original idea.

I'm quite pleased with my final result.

What now? On May 30th (this Friday) all the different images of thins people made will be uploaded to Umbrella Prints pinterest board and then you can madly pin all your favourite projects. Each time you pin an image from their board (so please don't pin from this post if you like mine), that project gets a vote and the winner gets prizes. Cool huh?

How about you? What do you like to make from tiny scraps?

love you more than presents ready for new arrivals xxx

also linking in with my favourite Thursday girls

What I'm Reading - High Altitude

This is one of those books that The Atlas usually picks up to read (as I head to the craft section), it's the story of Mike Allsop - a true adventurer.

Mike is a pilot (who almost died in a plane crash), an Everest climber and a ultra-marathon runner. So he's pretty much everything I'm not - although he is a kiwi.

This book details some of the astounding things he has achieved in his life and the drive that it took him to get there. Mike is also a husband and a father of 3 children.

More than once during the book I thought about his wife Wendy, and actually I thought more about her than I did about him as I read. The courage and generosity she has to encourage Mike to do these kind of things when they have 3 children and it means she is holding down the fort, as well as (I imagine), saying her prayers he will come home safe.

The book is not about her and the premise is not to make people think about her achievements but I guess that is what is lovely about someone telling their story - the interpretation and the impact is in the hearer's ear.

I wasn't inspired to try the things Mike has done (heaven forbid - I am not keen on any of them!! and even more so now) but I was inspired by the kind of woman Wendy is - her selflessness, her ability to be sacrificial for the man she loves, her ability to be doing as much (in different ways) but to remain, largely unrecognised (although it must be said, Mike does praise her a lot). She is the inspiration for me in this story.

Mike's style is very kiwi and I'm not even really sure what that is or if I would have noticed it so much had we not being living in Australia for the last 5 months. Perhaps it's his turn of phrase, or the things he does, or his observations, whatever it is - I can tell he's a kiwi, a bloke and I think a bit of a larraken!

One thing that I adored about this book was the way people stepped in to Mike's life to assist him in achieving his goals. I can't get enough of people cheering another person on and this book is full of the goodness of people towards others. I also loved Mike's determination to succeed, Pain is only temporary, quitting is forever. I need more of that grit.

This is a book for the adventurous and for those that long to live right on the edge. It's a book about seeing a goal and going hard out until you realise it.

Details - Published by Allen and Unwin, available in Paperback $29.99, and ebook and is about to be released in a new paperback format for $24.99

love you more than reading on the edge without the imminent threat to life xxx

Week 21

Getting ready to leave the house this morning

my 2 sweet and lovely boys

love you more than morning light and photographs coming together xxx

A Little Bit of Wonderful Colour Swap

Although winter doesn't seem to be coming here in Adelaide any time soon, I do think of winter being a little colour lacking so I thought maybe a colour kiss by way of an easy swap could be in order?

I'm calling it 'a little bit of wonderful', you know like a wee unexpected burst of colour on a dreary, cold day. You don't have to be a crafter to participate in this swap.

This is a colour based swap. You will get an email with your partners details and some of their favourite colours. Your challenge is to choose one colour they love and base all your items around that colour. (As much as you can - creative license is okay!)

Please include 3 or more items in the swap (they can be handmade, or thrifted - if your partner is into thrifted stuff please check, or bought all shiny and new).

Also you must include something to inspire them - a note from you, a quote or poem you love, a link to a song you love or a copy of a story that makes you smile.

Feel a bit too open ended? If so here are some ideas to get you started:

Stationery - sitckers, note paper, pencils, washi tape....

Treats - sweets, chocolate bars, soup sachets, spice mixes

Creative - ribbons, buttons, ric rac or something you have made, cookie cutters and a favourite recipe

Winter Pick Me Up - seeds to plant in spring, a mixed 'tape', cute socks, soap, nail polish, candles .....

Price guide is $20 (excluding postage) but you are welcome to get creative and spend less if you want to. Please keep it around this mark though and don't go too far over or throw something together for $5 - we don't want receivers to feel embarassed or disappointed.

These are the rules
- Open to Aus and NZ only to keep postage manageable
- Sign ups start May 25th and close June 10th.
- you will get your partners name, answers and postal address by the 20th of June and need to have your parcel sent by 30th of June.

please only sign up if you are genuinely excited by the idea of making a 'wee bit of wonderful' parcel for someone

To sign up please leave your name and email address in a comment and I will email you a form to fill out. If you don't fill the form out and email it back I won't be able to pop you in, as your partner will need these details.

Thanks to Cat the swap queen for her lovely input - I hope I do you proud :o) I tried to make a button but I couldn't get it to work so here is the picture instead :o) x - somethings never change!

love you more than shopping for someone wonderful xxxx