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

What a clever husband.

I have been lusting after wooden thread racks for a while now. They seem to be an aesthetically pleasing way to store spools of thread. I also like the idea of having thread on display, it helps you remember what colours you already have, before you go out and buy more for a new project.

I hunted down some nice thread racks on American eBay that I thought were being sold at an affordable price. I showed Jamie. He looked shocked. I pointed out their awesome features to him in a bid to try and convince him to say "yes" to me buying the racks. Instead, he insisted he could make them for me himself and would have them finished before any internet purchases could arrive in the post.

Together, we sat down a drew up plans to make my ultimate thread racks. It looked good on paper.

We then spent a Sunday afternoon working with meters and meters of wood, drill bits, a saw, glue and sandpaper, and after a few hours we had two thread racks each able to hold 50 spools - that 100 spools in total!

I plan on buying some cord and hanging them both above my sewing table.

Thanks Jamie! Now I know your hidden talent I will be aiming much higher next time.

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

My sewing room on "Down to Earth".

I am excited to say that my sewing room has been featured in the "This is where I work" series at Down to Earth.

Click here to see the post!

Thank you so much Rhonda for including me and my little room on your blog. I love reading your blog and the variety of topics you write about, the very practical advise you give, and the creative ideas you share.

If any of you are thinking about living a more self-sufficient, mindful, and sustainable life, I would recommend having a look at the Down to Earth blog.

Thanks again Rhonda!

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!

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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

Sewing room overhaul.

The past two nights I have been feeling strangely motivated! I decided to clean up my sewing room so that I am able to work in it. So often when I decide to do this, I only do a half-attempt, often becoming so overwhelmed by the amount of crafty stuff I have that I feel defeated before I even begin.

Not last night! Pulling everything out of the sewing room left a long trail of stuff through our tiny apartment. Jamie watched me work at a distance. I re-organised and re-packed all my gear, and here are the results:

Sam xox

My 50th post.

This is my 50th post! Thought I would share with you a picture of my sewing room. I have finally hung two quilts on the walls above my sewing table. The larger of the two was not made by me, remember Jamie bought it for me for my birthday two years ago? The blue one is mine, and I am very happy I have found the perfect spot for it, because of its tiny size.

*please excuse the mess!*

Jamie and I are heading off today to the snowy mountains. It is such a beautiful place with lovely memories of when we got engaged!

Sam xox