Music of the Storm (A most difficult week)

"Rain, rain

Beating against the pane!

How endlessly it pours

Out of doors

From the blackened sky

I wonder why!

Flowers, flowers,

Upspringing after showers,

Blossoming fresh and fair,

Everywhere!

Ah, God has explained

Why it rained!"

Charles E. Cowman

Anniversary

8 years yesterday.
Still love Tim.
Why?
He loves and serves God.
He is honest and authentic.
He is a critical thinker.
He plays great guitar.
He protects me.
He doesn’t have back hair.
He has style and chooses his own clothes!
He encourages my interests and growth (not physical growth so much…more personal!!!).
He is a bit ‘green’
He ‘kisses noses’ with the girls and taught them the “Let’s go fly a kite” song.
He likes my cooking but loves his Mum’s tuna mornay.
He dreams. And so do I, of me growing old, with him.

Pink Magnolia

I hope the small, tired looking magnolia tree in our garden is a symbol of things to come at our new home. Over the past three weeks we have ripped up nauseating carpet, cut away overgrown bushes, repainted yellowing walls, cleaned stinking toilets, replaced unbecoming lights, and moved in. And these delicate, gorgeous blooms flowered on the day we arrived. Now the most beautiful changes can happen in this unheeded house... the laughter in the backyard, the hiding in the cupboards, running up the hallway, finger painting on the walls (not yet though... please!), twirling in the lounge room, cupcake baking in the kitchen, splashing in the bathroom, and cuddles in the bedrooms. Come sun and watch us grow!

Letter to a true friend

Dear Big Box,
Thankyou.
For the one hour that you held the attention of my daughters this morning, so that I could do some more packing, I am truly grateful.
Sincerely,
Katherine

P.S. Do you have any friends who might be available for an hour tomorrow? Mr Ball of Wool, or Ms Jar of Bubbles perhaps? Please give them my number.

Pom poms

I saw a great red hooded towel (at Sambag) and wanted to make one for India and my niece Rayya, for Christmas last year. I couldn't get any red towelling or pom pom trim at the time so we ended up with a more subdued version of white with peppermint green trim. I must admit that the white hood looks a little bit scary (KKK like?) from the back, but from the front her cheeky eyes and grin framed by that string of pom poms could melt your heart! I found out afterwards that the towel fits Elara too, though it's a lot shorter! Though I used towelling by the metre, you could also easily cut up an old towel, and hand towel (for the hood) to make this. I figured this pattern out myself because I wanted the design to be just like the one I'd seen (!), but there are plenty of tutorials for similar online.

Blossom bunnies

These blossom bunnies were last years Easter gifts for India and my niece Rayya, just 4 and 6 months old at the time! I used denim for the bottom third of the body and inserted a small sack of beads in the base to help them stand upright...alas they still prefer to lean! They were designed by Sarah at red felt flower, or can be found in the first 'softies' book.

What to wear on Wednesday: Vintage style dress-ups

If there is one thing I enjoy about packing up a home, moving, and unpacking your home again, it's the finding of old memories. So this week, or until we actually move, I thought I'd show some pre-blogging projects and/or recollections that make me smile.

This is a dress-up collective that I made for a lovely friend of Elara's. All in bone, white and pink vintage style, it included:

• thrifted, then embellished, gloves
• gold sequin bolero
• bridal veil
• fluffy shawl
• flower and lace hair combs
• fan, and a
• pretty pink parasol

It turned out a charming gift, and so much fun for me, finding and crafting all these little things!