Un personne, un weekend.

My weekend was lovely. I had the house to myself and had absolutely no plans. Here's what I did with all my free time...

~ The housework got done ~

~ The washing was put out to dry ~

* I did not make this quilt.

~ Some magazines were borrowed from the library ~

~ An old woolen picnic blanket found a new home ~

~ The most amazing vintage store was discovered ~

~ Some vintage items may have been brought home from said store ~

~ Spring sewing preparations were made ~

~ Spring sewing began ~

* * * * * * *

I also did an 11km walk and a spot of gardening. I am now feeling very refreshed and don't want to go back to work tomorrow.

How was your weekend?

Sam xox

We have settled.

Hi Everyone,

I feel like it has been ages since I last put up a post. It has been. We haven't had internet at our new place, so I have been using my iphone, which means I have been able to read all your blog posts but commenting is a little tricky.

In the last three weeks Jamie and I have moved house and have been trying to settle into our new routine. That being, we live in Newcastle on the weekends, then Monday to Friday I live off the kindness of friends and family, on a continual rotation of people's spare beds and floors while I finish off my position at work in Sydney.

I feel like I haven't really moved to Newcastle yet. I only spend two out of seven days here with Jamie. I have a couple of job interviews lined up, so fingers crossed that will yield some employment for me up here :-)

Now, on to more important things... like sewing.

I have not done any! I am having massive withdrawal symptoms from not being able to stitch when I want to. Currently my new sewing room is still a pile of half opened boxes and stacks of sewing magazines. I haven't had the chance to really get in there and sort it yet, but as today's weather here is looking dicey, I might be able to begin the sorting this afternoon.

Here are some photos of what the room looks like (before all the boxes and furniture filled it)...

It's the smallest of the three bedrooms, and I would call it a single room, as it is only like a half sized bedroom. The windows are my favourite feature, as the one on the left is where my table sits below, and it looks out onto our garden and veggie patch. I think this will be a lovely spot to sew. You can't see in the photo but there is also a wardrobe (out of sight to the left of the shot) which came with the house. It has a lot of shelving storage space in it which I think is going to be great for storing most of my sewing stuff concealed from sight!

Talking about storage, we have moved from an apartment with a huge lock up garage to a house with not even a car port. We desperately needed a shed, so that was our first homemaking project...

Jamie selecting sand for leveling the shed.

A shed we bought on eBay. We lost the instructions.

We were lucky enough to have two friends visit the day after we moved in.

We had our very own 'shed raising'.

The final result (Jamie has since installed the sliding doors).

The veggie plot in need of some serious work.

Last weekend I did some work in the garden. I have weeded completely the main part of the veggie garden, turned all the soil, and filled our compost bin to the brim with different bits and pieces.

At this time of year there is not a lot I am able to plant which means I have a lot of time to be able to spend on the planning of the garden. Deciding on the layout of the plants, what to plant, and when to plant them. I am going to keep some sort of gardening diary to help me with this. I am very excited to finally have the space to build a veggie garden that will hopefully provide us for most of our veggie needs. In my apartment in Sydney I was pretty limited to what I could grow. Now the possibilities seem endless...

Glad to be back!

Sam xox

Possibly the best landlord in the world.

Ok, so we went to pick up the keys to our new home earlier this week, and guess what was waiting for us on our kitchen bench...

A bottle of local wine, a hand written card, tin of fancy cat food and the local paper. Could this be the best landlord ever?!?

The big move is less than 8 hours away, with the removalists arriving at 7am - I better get to bed and get some sleep!

See you on the other side :-)

Sam xox

Sewing room.

Sunday night was spent giving my sewing room an overhaul! I had too much furniture in the room, and the shelves on top of my sewing table were becoming very oppressive! A 'quick' re-arrange of a few pieces of furniture around (and out of) the room has left me with a much more functional sewing space.

I now have space for both my machines on my table now, with room to spare.

I will tell you more about this beauty soon...

Sewing patterns.

I am seriously excited about the coming weekend. You see, I have taken some leave from work and Mill and I are getting together for a sewing triathlon. No, not three items of sewing, but three whole days of sewing! We will be spending three whole days and two nights together in a massive sewing marathon. I can't wait! My list of projects I fear may be more than even three days of sewing can handle! Will share my plans later this week.

Sam xox

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the new financial year in Australia.

I thought today would be the perfect date to take my first steps towards a simpler life.

I have been reading Rhonda's Down to Earth blog for many months now, and have been taking peaks here and there at other readers blogs, who have committed themselves to living a more simple life. What I love about Rhonda's blog is that she does not set out 'rules' about how to lead a simple life. She instead says that a simple life is unique to each person and their situation, and what some of the changes are that they can make. Big or small, all are valued.

So, here I am making the pledge to live a simpler, more mindful life. I am excited and nervous about this commitment. I know I will have successes and failures as I try to make the changes to my life that will help me make this a reality.

I have spent time identifying the skills I already have that I can use:

* Sewing

* Cooking

* Gardening

I will make use of these in the following ways:

1) I am making the pledge here and now that I will not buy a single piece of clothing for the next six months - I will have to make any clothes I want instead! The exception being undies, singlets (yes I wear singlets) and stockings. The rest I will make! It is just too easy as a 25 year old girl living in Sydney to go to the massive shopping centres and pick up 'bargains' on sale that I do not really need. I'll admit that I am so guilty of this - going into brand name shops and buying a piece on sale just because it is cheap. Not because I actually need it. Six months might not sound like a long time to others, but to me its a big but hopefully achievable goal.

Two changes of season. 26 pay cheques. 183 days. I can do it!

So, if I do want a new piece of clothing, like some skirts for summer, or some spring dresses, I will have to source the fabric, design the pattern (or use one I have already) and actually MAKE the clothes.

2) I will make more homemade foods. I am actually already pretty good at this. I am not the kind of person who buys frozen or pre-made meals for dinners regularly, and we don't have take-away that often. What I am talking about is taking the time and effort to actually make bread, yogurt, jams and biscuits instead of buying them.

3) I will grow seasonal vegetables and maintain a herb garden. I am still waiting for my first round of vegetables to be ready in my garden. My friend Mel gave me an awesome potted herb garden a few months ago, and all the plants have either been used up or have gone to seed. I want to replant this pot as it was just the perfect size and shape for a balcony herb garden!

Now the skills I want to learn:

1) How to use my overlocker. I want to find a place that gives actual lessons on how to use these, as I am sure there is a better way to use mine than I currently am (plus I need to learn how to adjust the tension correctly)!

2) Knit dishcloths. I am ok at knitting, and would love to find a free online pattern for a dishcloth using basic knitting stitch - any suggestions???

3) I want to establish more environmentally friendly cleaning methods. I want to actually learn how I can use environmentally friendly materials to clean my house. I know there has been a lot written about this, and I am sure I can look it up online, but I have not yet, so hence this is a goal.

I will continue blogging about my progress, and I am sure my skills/goals list will continue to grow.

First steps!

Sam xox

Ugh.

Ok, so four hours after my post about "How clean my house is" we had a plumbing disaster!

As the shower water was going down the drain IN the shower, it was coming OUT the bathroom floor drain, and right under the bathroom door, and into the hallway, lounge room, and bedrooms!

UGH!!!

All our carpet is sodden with water, and we have used every towel in our possession in a vein attempt to lessen the damage. After a call the the building managers, we had an emergency plumber come who did clear out the blocked pipe. We had to knock on our neighbors doors to ask for fans to borrow, and we now have four pedestal fans blowing in every room of our apartment. Our wooden furniture is also precariously propped up using anything we could find (I am worried it might rot?!?). *sad face*

I now have 12 wet towels that need to be put through the wash, a house that looks like a bomb has gone off, and a cat who thinks this whole adventure has been a little bit too exciting.

Two positive thoughts though:

1) Leaked shower water actually smells very nice - must be all the body soap bubbles!

2) I am so grateful that during my cleaning spell today, I did not bother to mop the floors!

Sam xox

A woman possessed.

I was a woman possessed this week! I have been feeling like I am in a real rut with my quilting (I think its to do with Mill still being away) so I thought I would give my sewing room a good clean out. It was supposed to be a quick sort through a few boxes, but then I just couldn't stop! What ensured was the removal of almost all the furniture from this room, our bathroom became an impromptu library, and the lounge room, well lets just say we had to do a little acrobatics to move around the house!

I did the whole thing all by myself (Jamie was at work) even moving the queen-sized bed and mattress. I am sooooo happy with the result, it feels so clean and fresh!

Here are two shots of what it used to look like. Lots of teaching books piled on high shelves. Little space to actually do much sewing. The chair was in the middle of the L shaped space.

This is what it looks like now. I love the way the bed is now, with the photographs above it, and the blind no longer being behind the bed head.

You might not be able to tell from this photo, but there is just so much more floor space to work in now, and being rectangle shaped and not L shaped this new space is so much more inviting for any visitors that want to do craft too! Last job will be to sort out my sewing table! Eeck!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I have been looking on eBay UK for Liberty of London silk scarfs, which sell on the website for a huge amount of money. I picked up these two beauties for under $15 each!

If you can, post photos of you sewing rooms or where it is you like to quilt? I always love seeing other peoples work areas (remember when Lane let us have a look into his sewing room? When Nancy showed us her chair?). I think it adds to the connection we have with each other as quilters.

Sam xox

Home.

I had a bit of a 'homey' day yesterday. I spent the morning writing a job application, and then shared a lovely lunch with Michelle down at our local beach. I love that it is the middle of May but the weather is still warm and sunny enough to spend a day at the beach.

We then went back to her apartment and spent two hours on YouTube watching original Julia Child 'The French Chef' TV episodes - very funny!

I arrived home to find our first delivery from Aussie Farmers Direct. Prada seemed excited about it too.

Lifting the cardboard lid, I was delighted to find this....

Cooked with the potatoes, corn and carrots last night, and they were super fresh! Better than our local supermarket (I swear the stuff our supermarket sells has been frozen for half a year before they put it out for sale)!

Oh, forgot to mention, look at the beautiful Sweet Peas Michelle gave to me! I have had a very difficult week with personal matters, and she knew just what to do to brighten my day. Aren't friends so special like that?

I had fun putting a few stalks into a little vase I picked up at a second hand shop for 50c.

Continuing on with my 'homey' mood, I managed to rope my husband in to spring cleaning our kitchen with me. He was not happy about it at first, but after a while I think he really got into it, re-organising the electrical cords on our appliances, setting up a more functional coffee making area, and generally being the heavy lifter when I wanted big objects moved.

Here is the beautiful clean site that greeted me this morning...

Prada seems impressed with the new setup too but "Get off the bench you filthy thing!" It would appear that I still have some work to do on pet discipline...

Sam xox