WHERE I LOVE TO BE....

'

  
Recently we  had a weekend at Stadbroke Island QLD  and it was divine.

 As a family, it's a great place to go. Really,  there is nothing there, it's so not the Gold Coast, and that is the beauty of it.

The house we rented had no TV or WIFI, we didn't miss it and it was quite refreshing without it. We can't wait to go back.

Deadman;s Beach

Fishing....

 

 

 

 

Me at Deadman's.

 

Wonderful husband.

KEEP CALM AND STAY ...DRY

It's raining,  it's pouring, the old man is snoring...

It's pouring rain here in sunny Queensland. the washing won't won't dry, the pool is going to overflow and there is flooding around the area.  

None of the above really matters to us, we are dry,safe, have power , food and each other. So what to do when housebound?

Sew of course.

Following Colette's advice I am cuting out one day and sewing the next , so on this rainy Sunday I have cut out 2 cushions and a wrap dress. To be sewn tomorrow...

Back when the days and nights were dry I made this Vogue 8379. 

Out of 10 I would rate it 8. The instructions were good, it is as it says "easy" though there seems to be a lot of sewing involved. 

I consulted Pattern Review  http://sewing.patternreview.com. before I started. The majority of advice said "easy/ good" but advised to lengthen the waist by an inch or so. On that advice I made a muslin and deemed it good to go as it was. 

Whilst it is fine, I think an extra inch to the waist might add to the comfort of the dress. Overall I am happy with the resut, ha, ha. give or take an inch.

Voile is lovely to work with and perfect for the hot Aussie summer., I had an extra win with this dress as I used a ball point needle and sewed the voile successfully. 

Voile is a beautiful fine, feminine fabric that I am keen to work with again.

Number 2 son has been playing around with a camera and candles and I have been playing around with the image on Pic Monkey.

JANUARY

I love this time of year! It's hot, very hot and a lot of time is being spent in our pool.

The kids are enjoying school holidays and Bruce has been home on a break before starting a new job.
life has been very relaxed, late dinners, late nights, late mornings and forgetting the day and date.

I have been enjoying just 'being' my family though I am not getting any sewing done.

The only  sewing i have one apart from my caftan is this nightie.

I  used a pillowcase dress pattern. It was quick and easy to make and  I love wearing it. 
Sweet dreams guaranteed!

                            CoCo loves to snooze right where I am working.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

       2013 is here so it's out with the old and in with the new!

                                 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

 

 

2012 has been good to us. We all had a good year with no major disasters or problems and we are looking forward to 2013.

 Bruce is starting a new job mid January so his resolution is to do a good job.

At the end of January Luke will be starting a new school and his resolution is to improve his grades. It will be an exciting and challenging time for them both .

Jack resolves to learn something new, maybe a language, a skill or a sport. Liam doesn't have a resolution, well not one that he telling us anyway.

 

I have both resolutions and goals for 2013. My two resolutions are  to:

 

 Be mindfull everyday in every way and practice daily meditation and Yoga

 

Live, love, laugh and have fun with family and friends 

 

 

My goals are many, I think they are doable and in no specific order they are:

 

Learn Spanish,

 

Spend less and live simply

 

Be happy and have fun 

 

Less wine, sugar and wheat-  more Bollinger

 

Attend a fortnightly Yoga class

 

Cook something new every 2 weeks

 

Sew more

 

Garden more

 

Market more

 

See a film monthly

 

Have a murder

 

Learn to Astral travel - for virtual holidays.

 

 

That's probably enough for 12 months and I will revist this post in June to see how my goals are progressing.

 

 

Carribean NYE Party 2012/13. Bruce, me and Jack
 

 

 

MERRY XMAS

WISHING a happy, and  joyous Christmas to all.

Enjoy this happy time with family and friends.

 Kate x

Ho, ho, ho.

BEAUTIFUL BATIK

 

Bali, in fact all  Indonesia is known for it's beautiful Batik and different styles are found in different areas. 

Batik shopping with two grumbling almost teenagers was not my original plan but I had to accept the reality.

It was hot and I mean hot and humid and when there is shop after shop stacked with fabric it can be a little, no rephrase, very overwhelming. Haggling is also expected everywhere in Bali , the exception being restaurants and once you have engaged in haggling you won't stop it. 

I have also realised that whilst I both love and covet beautiful fabric I am not a fabric hoarder. I can't shop for material if I don't have a vision in mind of what I want to make or if I can't "see" the fabric in something.

Anyway to cut a long story short my batik buying trip was successful and I settled on several pieces of batik from traditional to contemporary, painted to stamped.

 


Our Driver "Blue" was great, he pointed in the right direction to a reputable batik dealer and then to Ubud market.  the quality varies enormously so without a lot of homework or advice there is a fine line between being ripped off and getting a bargain. 

My pieces ranged between $5 and $20 for 2 meters. I am very happy with that.  

I do have ideas for each piece ranging from dresses to bags and beyond. To be posted soon....

HALF FAMILY HOLIDAY

 

Can you believe it, approx 12 hours before we were due to depart to Bali, Jack informed me had a sore back.

Jack had been saying for a few days that he had a sore throat but I was ignoring him and hoping it would pass, jack always seems to have a sore throat. Anyway I had a look at his back and horror it was covered in red welts and that was just the beginning.

Off we raced to the Dr who diagnosed an allergic reaction, high temp and a very swollen, red throat. The Dr also advised that unless he was much better inthe next 10 hrs or so and could equalise his ears, he was not to fly.

10 hrs later, he was worse. Bruce and I went into risk management mode and it was decided that it would work best if I travelled with Luke and Liam and Bruce stayed home with Jack.

Well that's how we rolled but the whole dynamic changed.

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Orchids were everywhere

Balinese Florist

beautiful tropical flowers

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2 minutes down this lane to...

The Yellow Flower Cafe

Yellow flowers

There were offerings to the Gods everywhere.

Jack was diagnosed with "Strep Throat' and was really sick for a week. Fortuneatley the travel insurance  will cover Bruce and Jack's ticket.

Bali is beautiful, lush and verdant. It was hot n steamy, like being in a sauna 24/7 but I love it. the boys took a while to get used to it and spent a lot of time in the pool.

It is very cheap to be in Bali, $5 will buy you a feast though there are expensive restaurants abround as well. Western food is avaiable and while it's Western Food in the East it's pretty good.


I can't wait to go back, next time with my whole family.