Celebrating

• Birthday flags went up
• Cape made (the night before and still doesn't have a hem)
• Super hero stance mastered
• New scooter loved (and coveted)
• Cake chosen, made and eaten (he is in love with tennis at present)

Oh how fun the last three years have been.  So worth celebrating and making memories.

Washing - Fun & Scary

This week I washed a clothes line full of fabric I've recently added to my stash.  

I finally used a voucher I was given for Christmas and some other fabrics that my wonderful mum brought me from South Africa.   Some of it has plans, others just dreaming about all the options.  

Oh the fun, imagining all the things that it could be.

I also washed the first of my spun wool.  

I finally went for my second lesson last weekend and learned how to ply the wool.  

Then apparently the next step is wash it so that it binds together and doesn't knit on the bias. 

How scary.  

I also have some beautiful hand-spun blue wool that is for a cardigan for me.

You can see the difference between my beginner spinning and the consistent 'she's been doing it for years'  spinning.

Weekend Fun

Hope you had a chance to relax over the weekend and are ready for another week.

Old Things

On the weekend we went to an old machinery rally.  The boys love it and to be honest, so do I.  Here are some of the old tractors and trucks we saw.

A collection of various tractors

I love that the headlights look like eyes!

Look at those back wheels.

Grandads truck - always a hit (and we are allowed on this one).

No idea what this is - but it looks like fun to ride in.

We all went for a ride in these old drums converted into trailers - so simple but oh the fun!!

On Friday Mornings ...

We now have tennis lessons, both Isaiah and Jai.  The boys are loving it and going amazingly well.  I wasn't sure how Jai was going to go but his concentration surprised me.  The coach is so patient and encouraging.   

And after their lesson, while the boys had morning tea, my sister and I had a lesson!!  It is great fun and I'm really enjoying learning some of the techniques to really play tennis rather than just wacking the ball.  

In March

is the character trait we are going to be learning more about and trying to weave into our everyday lives.

For Me

I bought some fabric on impulse a few months ago.  I had no plans for it but it was going to be something for me!  I was inspired by Made by Rae's Spring Top Event.  I found this Simplicity pattern that I thought would go well with my fabric.

This top seemed to take forever to make.  It happened during rest times over a month or more.  And then I tried it on half finished and didn't really like the way it looked so left it on my sewing table for another couple of weeks. Perhaps there was even some guilt about spending time on a project for myself.  Some how it is easy to justify sewing time when its clothes for the kids.  Anyway, eventually I decided to just do it and see what happened.

I'm really happy with how it worked out - After adding the tie it becomes a lovely fitting top.

I love that when I make my own tops I can make it a size ten at the top and then a 14 at the bottom to accommodate my post-baby belly.  I also love the way it is finished.  For no particular reason I decided do french seams, and then when it came time for the sleeves they have binding on the seam.  So it has a beautiful finish.

All in all, it was a trying sewing experience, but I would definitely make this pattern again.  I'm already on the lookout for the perfect fabric.  It may just be hiding in my fabric cupboard somewhere, perhaps it needs a sort!