Bursting the bubble.

Yes we are back from the beach, sigh, and reality certainly slapped me in the face.  I decided to head back earlier than Mr and Miss Whizzme who made one last beach visit.  My plan was to have a few hours to myself to unpack and do a little more sewing. Ha! Reality had other plans for me. First discovery on driving in were the sheets on the line, hung out before we left which Mr Whizzme had forgotten to bring in, slap.  That should have been my indication that more reality was waiting, potatoes nearly growing out of the pantry, slap, food in the fridge providing bacterial samples, slap, Miss Whizzme's onion plant sitting in rank water making the house smell, slap, no washing done, slap, the bed unmade, slap.  On the upside after so much time away, I was awash with remembering just how much I love our little house!  And I did manage to get a bit of sewing done this afternoon.  Just to add to my grief though the camera has decided not to allow me to upload any of our holiday photos?!  Instead I have given you a shot of the chevron scarf finally finished. Before Christmas even.  Guess you will just have to wait for the holiday pics.  One more day and school starts.  I plan to practice getting up early tomorrow - new year's resolution: to at least make it to school on time (well most days anyway).

Edited to add: please take the slapping here as tongue in cheek!  really being home is ok!

no reality for me thanks

That's right we are still at the beach, and having some wonderful weather which means that beach exploring is a must everyday. So our days are filled with lots of sun, sand, water, shells, crab spotting and even glimpses of fish.

But my nights are spent concentrating on creating winter for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap while watching the Australian Open.




Such a contrast has led me to step outside my comfort zone with quilting and try something different. This is just a peek as really I am not ready for the reality of daily life, back to the beach for me.... see you soon.

Distractions

This is what happens when you bring home new books on Friday night.  What you are looking at is our couch showing off its newly created cover.  The poor thing has been looking very tired and worn of late (especially after I washed the covers and they shrank - argh!) but structurally there is nothing wrong with her (or so Mr Whizzme keeps telling me when I mention replacement).  

The way it happened was.....,

Friday I popped into Borders with my discount voucher to get myself a copy of Jane's lovely book - The Gentle Art of Domesticity.  The trouble with me and book stores however, is that I find it very difficult to leave with just one book.  While looking for my proposed purchase I also discovered this book which Miss Whizzme became immediately mesmerized by, and then a little further on Jane Cumberbatch's (hmm, bit of a Jane them happening) book Decorating easy leapt into my hand.  I have wanted this book for a while but hadn't come across a copy.  And then of course I spied Lauren Child's recent project about Pippi Longstocking which I never read as a child so Miss Whizzme and I are discovering this together.  Finally, on the way to the register I also grabbed just a few mags to take down to the beach (what's a beach holiday without some reading material?!).  Eventually we made it home where I spent the rest of the night happily flicking through my purchases.  And that my friends is how a book can be such a distraction that before you know it a new sewing expedition has begun.  What made the whole distracted sewing adventure however, was when Mr Whizzme said, "Hey that looks great!", Thank you.

Now I really must get to bed, for it is off to the beach in the morning....

*Project notes; Fabrics used purchased from Ikea about 9 months ago, originally planned as new dining chair covers.  Cover constructed without pattern with help from Decorating easy (as mentioned above). P.s. If you really must you can see how hideous the couch had become here.

and now for some relaxation...or not!

Well the Whizzme clan is back at home base for a brief recoup and reorganisation before we head off to Phillip Island for two weeks - the real holiday - beach, beach and more beach (with a fair bit of crafting slotted in).  Don't get me wrong, Christmas in Adelaide was great, but hectic.  I'm looking forward to that go slow pace I think I mentioned in the last post, especially since the weather is heading back into the 40 degree category.  Pimm's anyone?

Enough for the moment though about our constant jaunts around the countryside.  This post was going to be me showing off all the things I've made (since this did start out being a sort of crafty blog).  I spent most of today taking photos of things and making lists of all the stuff I haven't shown you yet, except that the list is so long now and there are so many photos it has sort of all got out of hand.  I am now trying to categorize them into readable blog posts (should keep me posting until the end of January at least!) so I don't overwhelm you like has been known to happen before.  As such this post is now sort of rambly shambles!  Little Miss Whizzme and Mr Whizzme both have some sort of tummy bug (thankfully not the gastro kind) which has meant little sleep for me, and a lot of listening to whiny whinges (oh how patient I am!).  My highlight for today was finally convincing (promise of new kid's mag) Miss Whizzme to come to the post office so I could pick up my new purchase from Wallace Cotton (thanks to Megan for the lovely tip).

Some of you will have noticed that not only is our bed sporting a lovely new summer quilt with matching pillowcases, but that the bed is in fact in an entirely different room!  You must have missed this post which mentions the crazy lady (me) making Mr Whizzme rearrange three rooms just before we left for Christmas.  Everyone is extremely happy with their new rooms, and I am loving the new outlook from my bed, and my new extra big bedside table (which is hiding a fabric stash inside).  Wally however is now extremely put out as he can't get to my side of the bed, which is where he used to lie in our old room.  He is sulkily making use of the new floor space and floor cushions in the lounge instead!

After changing the linen etc, I found the wall stickers I bought before Christmas for Lucy's room but had put away.  (With the Christmas presents for Lucy that I left behind - oops! at least we know what we are getting her for her birthday this year).  Anyway, because Miss Whiny Whizzme wasn't feeling the best I thought I'd sneak in and jazz her new room up while she was lying on the couch watching the 3rd run of Pocoyo.

I must say I was dubious about these wall stickers being reappliable(?) but they are! I am really impressed with them.  I have hidden a couple of them around the room for her to find.

Now I really must go and get a little shut eye before the first sickie awakes.  

Lucky this is above the bed as a constant reminder.

what happened to lazy summer days?

The whizzme clan is still hanging out here in Adelaide. It is absolutely scorching hot here which you would think (well I did) meant that you could laze around reading books, using the pool and generally just taking it easy. No, not US. We have to be either visiting people, eating and drinking with people, or visiting, eating, drinking and talking with people. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing all my friends and family, and eating and drinking is usually quite a favourite past time - not to mention my ability to talk. But when the weather man is saying it is over 40 degrees outside, and not a whole lot cooler inside I think go slow should be the order of the day. I have decided that we are just a debacle, so I'll guess I'll just have to live with it!!

Today, is the first day since Christmas Eve I have been able to sneak away, find a cool quiet location and fire up my little broadband lifeline. I am being as quiet as a mouse while the others are out in the pool. Feverishly reading and catching up on as much as possible. So, quickly before the wet wild brigade find me some business to attend to: I had forgotten to wish everyone the best in this brand new year, and to say thank you to all of you who stop by. My new year's resolution is to be better at getting back to those of you who to take the time to comment, but given my inability to be resolute about any past resolutions I apologise now to you if this doesn't happen. I do have the best of intentions. Now I really must get back to my reading, you have all been up to so much while I've been offline. And as I have no photo's uploaded to share, here are some inspiring images I have come across today.

1. White vinyl bird applique pouch, 2. Hexagonlove, 3. Feliz Natal a todos / Merry Christmas to all, 4. piggies back end, 5. reindeer 7, 6. Kup Kup artworks, 7. Handmade Soaps, 8. Dahlias, 9. gingerbread house

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.