Great British Sewing Bee and a Crafty Update

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I have just finished watching the Great British Sewing Bee Season 3. Weeee!! I really really need to talk to someone about it! Have you watched it?! The show just fills me with so much inspiration and fuzzies, I feel like I need to watch all the series again, take down notes and patterns, and then get cracking with my life.

This was definitely my favourite moment of the series, two men helping one of the ladies work out her pattern. Aren't sewing people in general just so wanting to share what they have with the world??!

If you haven't watched Season 3, you can find it here on youtube. (terrible quality). OR start with Season 1 here.  (also on YouTube). If you're into sewing, you'll enjoy it.

Mostly, TGBSB inspires me to just start on something I've never done before. All of the sewers can create beautiful garments from just a pattern and winging it.

It turns out, I do have some sewing guts! I tried my first go at sewing knits last week on a whim! I've had the fabric and pattern sitting in my "to do" pile for 6+ months, I've been too scared of making mistakes (I've heard knits can be tricky), but I just thought I'm going to do it! NOW!

So I sat down, cut out the pattern and an hour and a bit later Milla had some fun new trackpants to wear! Pattern is Lazy Day Lounge Pants without the big waist band, but I'll definitely be doing the wide band around the top next time.

It turns out knits aren't toooo scary, and I'm planning my next go at them to keep the momentum going. Maybe a little sweatshirt with some of the left over fabric, or a knit tunic like this one for me!?

I also decided after dinner some time last week that I was sick of a whole cupboard being taken up by plastic bags so I got to work and whipped this up while the girls were reading bed time stories with their Dad! I've been meaning to make this for years. And here it is, just like that.

I just used bits of fabric from previous makes, some elastic, and it was good to go! MrMoo was pretty chuffed when he told me he made when he was 11, and therefore had beaten me at sewing! ;)

I like sewing things like this, because I think these are the things you remember from your childhood, right? I think my girls might grow up remembering that old bright plastic bag holding the swung around inside the pantry door. 

I'm trying to get some of my projects off the shelves and get them done (so that I can start more!!!), so I've just drafted up a table fort I've been wanting to make the girls since the new year! It'll be lots of fun in the winter I'm sure! 

So thats whats on my sewing table right now! Let me know if you watch the GBSB and we can talk about all the different garments (ps, SKANKLETS!? My word!!)

Love,
Sophie x

Milla's Imaginary Friend

For the last week Milla has been talking about the Mouse out by the big rock in the garden. She goes out to feed it breakfast in the morning, it takes naps during the day, and rides on the doll carrier on Milla's bike around the yard. 

Once this week it joined us in the car for a ride to our friends house, but it stayed in the car for a sleep while we went inside and played. 

I have confirmed about 4 times this week where the mouse was, fearing that it was a -real- mouse, but as Milla pointed to the mossy dirty saying "there!" I realised, this is a mouse from her imagination.

A pink and purple mouse that goes by the name of Lucy.

Golden Days

We were lucky enough to spend an extended Easter Weekend in Pohara, Golden Bay, the very top of the South Island, NZ. 

Holy Moly, it was beautiful. 

We stayed at our friends Mums home, a quaint home over looking the bay, with a wild garden for the girls to spend the weekend running around and getting lost in. 

We spent our morning on breakfast duty or sleeping in, the day time nap period eating bagels, talking or resting, and our afternoons off adventuring at the beach, markets, the labryinth rocks, at the springs and at animal parks.

If you ask me, it was the perfect way to spend our weekend. I needed it.

I really do love getting away from the concrete and getting into the rainforest-like-bush. I'm a west coaster at heart, and it was so lovely to be surrounded by such rich greens and overgrowing ferns with the sound of rain drops falling through the canopy. 

It did my soul wonders.

In the evenings we drank wine, watched movies, played board games and card games and discussed the meaning of life, our God, His salvation and where we stand in it. 

 It was sad to come home, but newly energised I've spent the last few days on little areas around our home, decluttering and cleaning, getting organised for the onset of winter and focussing on my little girls, who need my attention and love more than the cleaning needs me. 

On a side note: Do you ever get home from a holiday and hold your breath while you enter your home, preparing yourself to discover you've been burgled? I think about it every time.

Ah, so good. Whens the next holiday?! OH YEAH. A mums weekend away next month. Just me, my girl-frands, a glass of wine and some hot pools. Can it get better? Starting the count down now...

Go To Sleep (please?)

Is this real life?

Its been 3 nights of "rest with me" "I don't want a big sleep, I only want a little sleep" "I need the door open more" "I need more light"

Suddenly, my fantastic sleeper is dragging out her bed time by 3 hours, (and with it, her little sister, who shares the bedroom). 3 hours is a long time in preschooler land.

3 days is a long time in parent land. It only takes 3 days to forget what the last 3 years have been like (fantastic and easy bedtimes!), and make you wonder if this is what its going to be like for.everrr??

Today is the day of wear.her.out. We got up extra early, will be walking home from Kindy, and will be playing at the playground as long as we can. Including a complete bedtime routine, fufilling all possible scenarios and needs. There will also be bribes rewards (a new frozen puzzle I have hiding in the wardrobe should do it).

I need my nights back. This can't be forever, surely???

Katie Updatie - 19 Months

(all the words you love to use)

Katie Po-Tatie, It's been 9 months since your last Katie Updatie, I have felt the need to make another marker for you for when you are older, if you ever want to look back and revisit your childhood.

You are such a special wee girl, Katie. You capture so many hearts; with your sweet cheeky smile, giggles and cheerful parroting of words and phrases. Its really hard not to fall in love with you.

You spend your days with me and Milla; We visit parks, friends homes, church groups and shops. You especially love the time of day post 6pm once Milla is in bed, you take full advantage of some Big Sister Free time and pull out every single toy, read almost every single book and interact with your Dad and Me till your hearts content (or until we ship you off to bed). You love to have "bunny" in your bed, and will suck your thumb until you fall asleep. You LOVE sleeping.

You have a fiercely independent streak and you're currently figuring that out and testing it. You often don't want to hold hands or to be carried anywhere and will say "no!" and "down!". You'll say "YESH!" to any food on offer, particularly bananas, they are still your favourite and have been for a long time.

You're figuring out words and babble constantly throughout the day. You love to hold things up and get my approval on your pronunciation. You'll hold out a carrot and say "rart?", I'll say "Car-rot" and you'll reply happily "rarot!" and stuff it in your mouth. Carrot, mission accomplished.

Along with Bananas you also LOVE slides. Its your favourite thing at a play ground and you love playing on our little plastic slide at home. "shlide!" you say when you spot it out the window!

You also love having your photo taken and when a phone or camera is pointed at you, you pull the funniest cheesy grin ever!

For a long while over summer you were terrified of large bodies of water and wouldn't go near paddling pools or baths. Just in the last few weeks you've been back to enjoying bath times with Milla, it so great to see you two working together and having fun in the bath again.

After bath time, you really enjoy brushing your teeth. You're always the first to the bathroom when I say "Girls, teeth time!". You come running with your hand outstretched for the tooth brush.

You continue to be a transporter, as you have always seemed to be. You love playing with little things, putting them inside things and carrying them around to a new place, getting them out, laying them in rows, putting them back in. Its exhausting to watch you play like this, it takes so much patience on your part, but you love it and it really floats your boat. You love handbags, baskets, buckets and containers and anything you can carry things in!

Katie you are an absolutely stunner. With your golden strawberry hair and olive skin. You are a beauty!

Your favourite friends right now are Eda, Nina and Wes. You see them throughout the week, at creche during Womens Group, at Toddlerock and at Church on Sundays. They are your favs to play with and you all get on so well. You such good friends, and you are one too!

You also love old men. Especially any of your 3 Grandads, you'll snuggle up to any of them, along with Vynnie and Dawn.

But most of all, you love Dad, Mum and Milla. And we love YOU Little Katie. You bring the sunshine into our home. xxxx