the joy and the struggle

Hmmm, the Christmas season. 
I love the preparation for Christmas. I (generally) love baking, making and thinking of people I love as I think of gifts for them. 
I don't love trying to think of presents when I am uninspired... the "I'm only getting you this because I am expected to get you a present" present. I don't love creating handmade things and gifting them to unappreciative people who think I have taken the 'cheap' option by 'doing the homemade thing'. 


For anyone who doesn't know- many crafters don't necessarily craft for thrift now- my mum always made our clothes because it was cheaper (and I assume, for personal satisfaction!)- that isn't true these days. If I make myself a shirt, say, it will cost more that I could pick one up at a chainstore or op shop for, for sure. The pattern, the fabric, the time, the energy...it's not about thrift (it can be and that's pretty fun too)- it's about creativity and my spirit, as I have said here before.


I digress. What I don't love, is when gift has turned to expectation. Joy and celebration turns to stress and busy-ness. Thoughtfulness has turned to obligation. 
We don't get junk mail but I do see the piles that arrive at my work at this time of year- it's nuts. Really. And when did gifts for children get so massively out of proportion? In my opinion. I don't intend to judge other peoples practice, just expose the tension in my mind.
I could go on, this churns me up abit, but I wont.


I don't love so many people encouraging consumerism in my children- I don't like 'what do you want for Christmas?' but I dislike 'what are you getting for Christmas' even more. I have an 11 year old son and a 9 year old daughter. If you have hung around here abit you may realise we live relatively simply. 


I don't want to drown my children in stuff (there bedrooms get messy enough as it is!). But I also don't want them to feel like they are (and we are) total freaks because they haven't got their own laptop, iphone, ipod touch, playstation, tv in their room... whatever. There's plenty of time for those things, isn't there? 


Sigh, I really struggle with this. I read an article about a bloke who is a professional 'declutterer'- or something like that- he said children's rooms are interesting, it's often the parents who want to hang on to the toys but as he encouraged them to get rid of some of the stuff in the kids bedrooms every single time he would witness a child come in to their clearer room and dance!


I don't really want to teach my children to value their possessions above their relationships, but I have never heard some random stranger ask 'who are you going to spend time with this Christmas'.  I also want to demonstrate generosity and thoughtfulness to my children; my discomfort with all the 'stuff' isn't just about the huge drain on financial resources (although- I don't think there's any need to go into further debt over your kids Christmas presents, just quietly!) I hope they see and value the time I spend making jam and understand that that is part of the gift.


At 9 and 11 I reckon my children are now at a more 'peer influenced' age, so how do we parent so they are not excluded from there peers whilst upholding our values and what we think is important. I don't know what gifts our children will be getting from us for Christmas. Our family present from the 'in law' side of the family is a family ticket to Puffing Billy. Great present, we are going to have our 'big day out' in January probably.


I find the comparisons hard too. What are your kids getting? What did you get? My kids get home grown fruit and vegies, parents who hang out with them a decent amount, meals around the table, family games...I can't wrap any of that and put it under a tree but they are some of the things we have decided are important. 


Another article I read recently was by a Palliative Care nurse who said that many peoples dying 'regrets' are remarkably similar- they wish they had spend time with their friends more, maintained a bit of silliness (!), gone  abit slower... and the one that challenges me- had the courage to live according to their convictions- be who they are- rather than live according to how they thought other people expected them to live.


What a big rant, I didn't intend to rave on, there's alot banging around up in my head today and no other adults around- so I chose to 'chat' to you!


I'd be really happy to have a conversation about this stuff- does anyone else on the planet find the excess difficult? Wonder how to 'do' balance? Or do you all love the Christmas spend up? Am I just over thinking it all? 

Pud

Christmas baking has commenced. I made over 50 of these for the volunteers at my work, boiled fruit cake made in muffin pans decorated to look like a pudding... not my usual kind of baking but they were well received. I also made gluten free mince pies, the filling was good (apparently, I don't eat the stuff) but I need to work on my gf sweet pastry. I have more to bake and sew before Christmas...I need to start a list! Sent from Yahoo!7 Mail on Android

Dotty

I have been really excited about my toiletry bag. I haven't wanted to show you because it was a present- but it's been given now, so it's show and tell time!

Of course it's my next project from "You Sew Girl" for my Tanya and Nicole Challenge.

I wish you could feel it- it's 'crisp', not crunchy or stiff, or flimsy but suitably substantial...guess what...that would be the interfacing, I may be at risk of becoming a bit of an interfacing nerd! But I think it really does give it a wonderful finish. 
Lots of people who I have showed it off to have picked it up and felt it and commented about how smart it felt (I didn't bore them with too much about interfacing!). 
I found the pattern easy to understand and I am less daunted by zips than I used to be (the method of putting this one makes it accessible for anyone who can sew a straight line). I was thankful my machine doesn't tend to mind a bit of bulk at times and I found sewing the binding on was not problematic, but I am familiar with binding from my quilting- not that I have all those angles and turns when quilting. I machine sewed  both sides, and while I wasn't 100% happy with some bits I was happy to acknowledge that the 'overall effect' is what counts and don't think the dodgy bits were too noticeable- this is something that will improve with practice and I will get some more practice because I have three more on the go. Surprisingly both my children have put their orders in for one which was rather flattering- they are generally not overly forthcoming with praise or affection for some of my crafty projects!

Don't you love it when you have a gift that you reckon the giftee is going to love. These are some things I photographed while at her house on the weekend- see where I got my colour inspiration?

Making

Mondays and Wednesdays are my usual 'work outside the home'days. It can mean that I get over excited about Tuesday and try and cram too many things in. I will initially think, ahh, Tuesday, I can take it easy abit, and then, I will start 'taking it easy' and that will lead to me creating a massive list in my head about all the things I want to do.

Take today for example, today is the first day we have a pretty decent crop of apricots to pick- so I think- 'great idea, I'll make jam'. The apricots are now picked (not by me, I probably should mention, in the interests of full disclosure!). They are now waiting to be washed, cut up and made into jam.

And then I remember that the fruit I have soaking in (3 different types of) grog is ready to mince and go on to the next step of my fruit mince tarts for Christmas. So I have made the pastry and minced the fruit...and walked outside and realised it's really hot (and look up the forecast and it's going to be 36 degrees). So that's as much of that as I am going to do today because I am NOT putting my oven on in this weather.

The natural thought progression then moves onto hot weather, inside, creative pursuits and I think, yep, today I will make progress on my list of things to make before Christmas. That might involve; a library bag, 3 more toiletry bags, 3 nighties,, and a few other things. There has been action in the sewing room, not of which I am ready to show because they are all presents and I forget which relatives read or know about my blog and don't want to pre-empt the gift giving. 
What I can show you though, is the 'was going to be a gift' dress, I saw the intended recipient on the weekend and I think it will be too small. This is the second Oliver and S 'Ice Cream Social' dress I have made.
I vaguely remember a few years ago there was an ice cream dress bloggy sew along, well, not out of character for me I am a late comer to this pattern. I really enjoyed sewing it, it was the first Oliver and S pattern I have made and I have just bought two more I liked it so much.
I liked that I understood what it was  telling me to do (sometimes took a few reads, or me to clarify it with my sewing 'help desk', but, for example once Karen cleverly advised me that I was looking at the wrong page and a good trick she finds is to follow the instructions in order!). When I had to match up notches, there they were, in the right spot.

I enjoyed the detail of the 'v' on the pocket, not too tricky at all (amazing what following instructions can do for you!). I hadn't done that before. 

These are not my preferred choice of fabrics and colours, but that's okay, because I wont be wearing it. I did it with the intended recipient in mind she likes butterflies, pink, yellow, girly, pretty things. I do find it much easier to sew with fabric I love though, colours I love. I mean, this was okay but wasn't my favourite.


On that note, I might go and get on with all the days 'making'...I possibly should include- make the dinner, make the clothes clean and dry and folded, make the place abit more presentable generally- but I don't find that making half as much fun!

Paddock to plate

I love those particularly abundant times of year when the garden is offering plenty. Especially when the plenty has a relatively short season (eg. asparagus) so we never feel the weight of 'what are we going to do with all these...insert name of vegie'. The short season means the produce isn't taken for granted. Berries and cherries are always pretty special too. If you ever wonder why raspberries can be expensive, spare a thought for the picker- and hope they are getting a decent cut of your money. They a little, fragile and tricky to pick compared to many of the larger most robust fruits. Paddock to plate in under 10 minutes. Nice. Sent from Yahoo!7 Mail on Android

Garlic time

At this time of year, the garden starts to burst..in a good way. The garlic harvest has commenced, this lots has been hung out to dry...kind of literally. It's in a room in our old shearing shed which has a slatted floor so air can circulate as the garlic 'cures'. So it will dry without going mouldy. I love garlic. Sent from Yahoo!7 Mail on Android

Clever phone?

Playing to see if I can work out how to post from my phone...may have been more handy when internet was down. A few weeks ago it was my friends 40th. The theme was 'movie stars'. Can you tell who I am? The bee from the bee movie. Sent from Yahoo!7 Mail on Android

Happiness of the crafty camp variety

If I had written a blog post last week, it would have been all about how incompetent Telstra is- I have been internet-less, or with intermittent internet use for two months...and been shoved from one (generally pleasant enough) customer service officer to tech support to complaint resolution (yes, I have my very own Telstra case manager now!)...to little avail.


Oh, how I have missed my blog, and your blog. I have been skimming on my clever phone, but that tiny screen is hardly satisfactory when we are talking about crafty blogs- I want to be able to see your photos, and the prettiness of your whole page, all at once. And I want to be able to write comments...I am not really 'down with' writing 'UR pix A1' (that's my attempt at text message language,which I find really hard, because I like spelling). Not just the text message language, I tend to be slightly verbose generally (sorry!).


Anyway, that was last week, we are into a new week and separating the two is Sewjourn. 

The fabric scramble- what to do when you can't pack  everything!

I have talked before about craft and spirit ... and I think this weekend it's those intangibles that made me happiest.


In many ways my life is quite isolated, we live on a farm, out of town, we do have close and wonderful neighbours, but on my 'home days' the only people I see all day, besides my family,  could be the other children (and sometimes adults) at the bus stop. I do enjoy the space, but I really like people too. 


I like what can happen when people come together- when 'the whole becomes greater than the sum of it's parts'. The engaging in conversation and building on ideas, sharing of knowledge (in all directions), the inspiration, encouragement, compassion, wisdom, acceptance. I like different people, different personalities, different styles, different ways of doing things coming together with a mutual respect.

I could show you lots of photos of our weekend but it's been done before, 

There was crocheting, patchworking, quilting, bag making, hat making, sewing for small people and sewing for ourselves, there was bathers, party dresses, shorts, knits and wovens. 
Does that sound overwhelming? I wanted to do everything- watch people, chat to people, sew with people. There are quite alot of photos floating around and I have yet to see one of me sitting down at my sewing machine (can't quite understand that!) while Lara has her big dot point list of completed projects, I am happy to report back that this is coming along quite nicely, thanks!

Thank you Nikki, Lara, Annie, Karen, Rachel, Kathryn, Megan for a really fun initiation into craft camp. You're all ace.

Some pig!

I mentioned the Prize winning show entries, well I just took some photos of a few things...

The pig. Hmmm, I am not sure where it's going to live now!

The appliqué- patient Grandma taught Jack how to do blanket stitch. Bless her! These were two of my favourite things that Jack entered...and possibly two of the easiest to photograph.


And here's a photo of my 'token entry' (I like to enter at least one thing in each year, if I am around, to support the local show)...the prize winning 'lemon butter'
The dodgy thing was, that the certificate didn't have my name on it, it had another local gal's name on it- she's a Tanya too, but totally different last name. I saw her at the show and she told me she didn't enter anything (so strange mix up to make), she was abit disappointed to hear the winning loot was a grand total of 50 cents! 

Work in progress

The 11 year old had asthma and was off school for 3 days during the last week of school. He wasn't unwell, but his asthma was too unstable for him to be at school- which meant that he was at home, looking for things to do. We have a small local agricultural show and the 'show schedule' was floating about- so J made that his reading material. And he got busy- circling, highlighting (making a generally messy page) of the 'under 13 section'. He worked out that a particular section had an aggregate prize, for the person with the most points over about 12 different classes.
I haven't got the list on me, but it was fairly ambitious!

"An article made from paper mache" was on the list...

This turned into a prize winning paper mache pig! He also put in a stitchery, applique, article made from recycled material, a card, hand painted article...and a few others. He worked really hard to finish his entries, getting abit disillusioned at the persistence required at times! He was so self-driven, I was impressed.
I did warn him that a win wasn't guaranteed, pointing out that he might be up against kids doing textiles in Year 7 who had more experience than him, but he was pretty confident telling me "even if that's true Mum, I am pretty happy with the quality of the things I have put up". He wavered once on the day it came to delivering the entries into the show for judging..."Will these things have my name on them?"- I explained that if he won or came second they would, but otherwise no "Why?"..."Oh, just cause if my mates see them with my name on them, they might tease me for doing girly things".
Happily for him he 'scooped the pool", came home with a $15.00 voucher and $8 in prizes ($1 a win)- technically minus $5 for the entry fees- 50c x 10)- and I wonder if he will be keen next year to head back and defend his title!

Four

The lost wristlet was eventually found, I had left it at my friends house, and I eventually reclaimed it.

The lost mobile phone was never found and I eventually bought a new one. I wasn't sure, I was umming and ahhing about whether I needed one. I think I said that before here.
I got one that does tricks (it's smart apparently). I have used the phone a couple of times and realise I like the extra bit of security of having it there, especially if I am driving. I also like texting and email access...not that that is necessarily a good thing! The 11 year old also doesn't mind the odd phone call to the mobile to find out when I might be home from work, whether I can please buy some gluten free cereal on the way home- important things like that. Sadly for him (sometimes) I am not a great phone answerer at the best of times and I still haven't learnt my way around mobile phone etiquette.
If my phone rings and I am at work, do I answer it?  and what about if I am in a parent teacher interview at school?- I am embarrassed to admit that I did answer my phone during the parent teacher interview, mainly because my phone never rings and it was a local friend so thought it may have been an 'emergency'- no, she just wanted to know if I wanted her to bring me a 'real' coffee home from town! I am still not great at ringing mobiles either- what if I am interrupting someone? Some of my friends only have a mobile now, so I have to get over that, you know, get with the times!


More about the wristlet...I am sad to report that it's "old sewing", I did have my machine out the other day but not much got done. I think I have a bit of a mental block about what to sew, hasn't really happened to me before, or at least, for ages. My crafty friends came out on Sunday night and while both of them nearly whipped up a whole quilt top, I, umm, sorted stuff out...which was good to do but not very creative!

I do love this little wristlet, and I do love how in Nikki's book she builds on projects, so when I show you my next project from the book (which is soooo close to finished I should just do it!), you will recognise some aspects of this little wristlet- she steps you into techniques gradually, I like that. 
In fact, I have recently heard Nikki being called a genius

Hex

The hexagon got finished a while ago, but I handed it over before taking any photos. I visited it (well, it's new owner, really) last week and pulled out the camera for a bit of a snap.
Hexagon quilts are really hard to photograph...

The front is quite 'scrappy' and the back is also piece with the more muted 'Dick and Jane' range.

The pattern is from Anna Maria Horner's baby book  and it's called 'Sixth times a charm'...I didn't do the method she suggested but used her photo for inspiration and kind of winged it.

This quilt was made for a very special  baby, long awaited and much loved...and very very cute xx