One thing I miss about Sydney is...

my favourite beach...

I miss this beach so much.

I used to be able to walk it on the weekend, walk it with clients, stop by and sit for 5 minutes in between visits at work, collect glass from it.

I am yet to find a beach its equal.

Sam xox

The Kanangra.

Before I left Sydney I did a few days working on restoring a boat in Pyrmont. The boat, "The Kanangra", is actually part of the Sydney Heritage Fleet. A group of people are working together voluntarily to restore the old ferry back to her former glory. She was originally built in 1912 (you can read more about her here).

I was able to go along a couple of times and do some work on the ship. The men there were all really nice and their woodworking and craftsmanship skills was superb! The boat is located on James Craig drive and is currently next to the John Oxley (which is on dry dock at the moment). They are hoping in two years the top level of the Kanangra will be complete and they can then move the ferry up onto dry dock to complete the bottom level.

At the moment they are working on re-glassing the entire top level window. It is quite fascinating because due to the curve in the ship, every window is a different shape! So they have had to make sure they have clear markings on each glass panel before they remove it.

When I went I was given the job of removing old paint from the wooden bench seats. This involved using a 600oC air gun and a paint scraper and just melting away the paint then scraping it off. I had to wear a mask for safety. It was pretty cool.

It is encouraging to know that there are people in Sydney who are working (for free) to restore and maintain part of our heritage in this way. It is no doubt going to be a project that will take years to complete, but I am very much looking forward to seeing it in its restored glory. Hopefully one day I can have a trip on it.

Oh and by the way, the Fleet Committee have decided on restoring it inline with the colours and style of the 1950's!

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

We're moving.

You may (or may not) have been wondering why on earth I have been so quiet on this blog lately, and more importantly why I haven't been getting any sewing done! Here's why...

Yep. That is my sewing room. Full of packed moving boxes!

Jamie has a new job in Newcastle and we will be moving house on Friday. This has all happened really fast for us. It is a change neither of us was expecting, but we are embracing it as a chance to begin a new chapter in our lives. Newcastle really isn't that big a move. It's not like we are moving interstate or overseas, but it is sad all the same. It is only 2 hours drive from Sydney so we will hopefully still be able to come back regularly and visit friends and family. But it is still far enough away to mean that all our casual catch ups with friends that we do during the week just won't be happening anymore :-(

I will need to find a job, which I am feeling pretty nervous about, and really have no idea what I will do up there.

This week will be a whirlwind of packing, finalising details, and saying goodbye to friends.

However, it won't all be doom and gloom and stress. There are two exciting things for me about this move!

1) The place that we are renting has a backyard and a veggie patch already set up!!! No longer will my veggie plot be a tiny piece of dirt three flights of stairs below my floor, with only half a days worth of sunlight. I am super excited about weeding the space, fixing it up, and getting a home garden growing.

2) I will have the chance to set up a new sewing room. Our place will have three rooms, so that we have a spare room for when friends come up and visit us (please come up and visit us). The sewing room will be the smallest room at the back of the house. I can only vaguely remember what this room looks like, but it does have a cool old wooden door. Just like in our current apartment, it will be called the sewing room but it will have parts of it used for storing other things too.

So, here's where you all come in. I am asking you all how you have your sewing space set up? Do you have any tips for how I should be setting my sewing space up? Have you/will you do a blog post about your sewing space? Do you have any links to websites that document cool sewing spaces?

I am in need of inspiration! The quicker I have the space set up, the quicker I can get back to stitching...

Sam xox

Sea glass.

This week I discovered a little beach, tucked away in the tail-end of the Eastern suburbs. It is not one of the 'popular' beaches, it is not patrolled by lifeguards, and it is hidden behind some very steep cliffs. Standing on the sand, against the towering cliff walls, you are surrounded by an almost untouched piece of coastline.

Instead of the noise of city traffic, you hear waves crashing against rocks.

Instead of the smell of smog, you breath in the salty sea air.

Instead of walking on pavement, your feet sink into sand with every step.

This beach was perfect.

Along the shoreline I found some beautiful sea glass hidden under small piles of seaweed, broken shells and drift wood. I took it home, gave it a wash, and am letting thoughts run through my head with what to do with it...

For now it is home in a jam jar on my kitchen window sill. A daily reminder of a perfect walk along the beach.

Sam xox

Picnic and new friends.

I have had the most lovely weekend!

Saturday morning I packed up my bike with a picnic rug, a bottle of cider, and some food, and rode to Centennial Park where I met Michelle and Mill under a shady tree. We spent the afternoon catching up while we shared a picnic lunch.

Lunch! Mill brought along a pickled cucumber salad - a recipe she discovered during her time in the US. It was yum! Basically made from onions, cucumbers, sugar and vinegar.

What picnic would be complete without dessert? Meringues with berries.

The girls enjoying their dessert.

Today I met up with a fellow blogger who is currently living in Sydney. Jen is the writer of Pretty Little Pictures, a very inspiring vintage blog. I came across Jen's blog about a month ago, and after a few exchanges we decided we should meet. We met for breakfast at a cute cafe in the inner west. Jen was lovely! We chatted about sewing and the projects we are working on, and I invited her to come along to my next craft day.

Once the meal was finished we went to pay, and both pulled out tiny red vintage purses - great minds think alike!

The lovely Jen of Pretty Little Pictures

(with her little red purse).

Sam xox

It's looking like a wet Christmas.

Rain has been forecast for Christmas Day.

I wore a cardigan to work today.

It is snowing 6 hours drive from here.

The beach is too cold to go to.

What has happened to our summer?

Sam xox

Summer time.

It has been very hot in Sydney this past week. The days are getting longer and the humidity is rising. I cleaned up my balcony this weekend so that I can possibly buy a little three piece outdoor setting to have outside. This summer I would love to spend the hot summer evenings sitting on my balcony, watching the sun set, and sharing a meal with Jamie.

In this fantasy I am sipping iced tea from these beautiful tumblers...

Low ball glasses from Grandma's Junk Drawer

Anchor Hocking Tumbler Set from linneamarie

Striped Bar Glasses from jenscloset

Red Floral Tumblers from oldstuffinboxes

Blue Glass Tumblers by winkinpossum

Sam xox

To market.

Image borrowed from here.

A colleague of mine invited me along to a trip to the Eveleigh Farmers Market that is held near her home every Saturday. I had not heard of this market before, but Marjolein promised it was great.

I met Marjolein at her home, and after a 10 minute walk through some beautiful back streets lined with terrace houses and home to a number of cute cats, we arrived at the markets. What I noticed straight away were the number of bikes lined up along the footpath with baskets on them, the owners being somewhere amongst the crowds of people and fresh produce. We walked the aisles, tasting a variety of dips, cheeses, and meats, while mentally I was preparing a shopping list to take with me next Saturday. The variety was really impressive, with my favourites being the meat stalls (if you are considerate of 'food miles' these meats had only traveled a couple of hours) and the stall selling only zucchini related produce.

As I had a fridge at home half full of groceries still, I did not buy a lot. But next week I will definitely be doing most of my grocery shopping here, and might even ride my own bike there and park it amongst the others...

Yum!

Sam xox