Watch this space ...

Yes, I know! Protracted absence and pretty boring really. Spice (well at least posts!) promised soon.

So, until that moment, a little peek into the corner of LittleStar's bedroom::
(lots of homemade, crafty goodness in this weeny little space)

Oooh, and aren't these butterflies just gorgeous?? See here for more about this fabulous collection.

Liberty print - aren't they divine?

Chat soon (I promise!),

Stella

4 Hats

This is one of my hats. that's the crafty one! The one I want to spend more time with ... but sadly, usually the first one to be sacrificed.

This is one of the hats I made for one of BigStar's dolls while we were all bunkering down for sick week! I made a whole outfit for her - but first I need to lament ...



And it's the lament of MANY of the creative Mums I know out there. How do you find the balance??

The hats I am constantly taking on and off are:
:>the crafty one :>the studious one :>the professional one :>the maternal one

And which one wins??? Sometimes they all fight against one another and sometimes, I just want to take them all of and let my hair fly free.

And, did you notice? As I did only once I had written the list?

There is no Stella hat. Not one where I get to be just me. Not being for any particular purpose, but just being.


That has been what I have been struggling with this past month or so ... finding that time for me. And I know I'm absolutely not alone here ... I'm just feeling a bit, well, absent. But I'm here now so I'd better make the most of the 32 minutes of me time I have left!!

After Easter, I travelled to another city for an education conference and I loved it. I missed the Stars and the Husband, but it was actually quite liberating to have no-one to answer to for a week. We had a really dynamic presenter and I came back so inspired to be an even better teacher that I spent a great deal of 'me' time afterward preparing resources and actually having fun with my classes. I teach special needs students and I implemented things that I thought were beyond them ... and they surprised me and deeply touched me with their ability to get a lot of it ... and the difference it made in such a short time was incredible. So, of course, as often is the way, inspiration and success bred motivation and dedication and my 2-day-a-week job became a 5-day-a-week commitment and the only hat I have worn for a while has been the professional one. Very rewarding, but the other hats were wilting with neglect. Especially the maternal one (but of course I keep putting that one one at the bookends of each day).

BUT, the studious one is very very tight and if I don't wear it often enough it shrinks!! The only thing to keep it stretched is regular wear and so, when not wearing the professional hat, I have needed to squeeze into the studious one to keep my supervisor off my back. I keep telling myself I can convert it into a bit floppy hat by the beginning of next year (but damn that feels like a long way off from here ...).

Are you seeing a picture here?

Frequently worn professional and studious hats.
Neglected maternal hat (but still worn daily).
Absent crafty hat ... and that's the one I feel that I need to feed me ... but ...

... but ...

... the first to go.

And now, I NEED to drag it out of the bottom of the craft basket and put it on again.

So here goes ...

Step 1: Sit in my favourite evening crafty spot
Step 2: Pull out my yarns and hook
Step 3: Sigh ... and start

Step 4: Write a post for my blog ... a reminder of recent crafty moments ... and fuel for more ...

So, here are a few more pics of BigStar's recent requests.


Isn't she gorgeous? I think this photo could be little blurry, but you can see how pretty she is. Her name is Nina and she was a gift from BigStar's godmother for Christmas and she really is like a little best friend for her. She talks to her and sings and dances with her, although I have had to make Nina sleep in a little Barbie bed beside BigStar's or she would have been trashed in a week (BigStar is only 3, after all!!). But she insisted, while laid up for days on the couch, that Nina needed more clothes to wear and, because I had this lovely soft cotton in my bag due to other projects, we designed and made a gardening outfit for Nina (BigStar's label here, not mine - I tend to wear much more practical outfits when I'm in the garden!!). BigStar is quite delighted with it.

I actually had fun making such tiny, soft little pieces. Next time, we'll include more colour ... but I'm quite happy with these sweet little prototypes. Although don't ask me how I actually made them! I kind of made it up as I went, but next time I am determined to write it all down and share it here once I actually have some steps to follow. I do, however, now have something to go by ...

And Nina won't have to be naked in the garden!

And now, I'm very happy that I've completed Step 4 ... but Step 3 needs so some attention ... so, computer packed away and hook in hand, it's time to sigh ...

Chat soon,
Stella xx

InsideOutside ... Crafty Spots

This is where I sit in the afternoons while the Stars are asleep and enjoy some space and sun just for me. The day is calm and quiet and I see random people walking by on their way to and from the train station and bus stop through the park. The bus is actually a free bus to my uni, so I am sometimes one of those randoms, but on Home Days at about 2pm you'll find me right there, making things. 

Usually, there is also a cup of tea close at hand, although I took this photo while the kettle was boiling so it's not there yet.

The Stars and I made chocolate muffins yesterday for morning tea and they really do make rather a lovely afternoon tea as well!!

We are lucky enough to live right next to a large public park and we all (including the pooches) make Great Use of it whenever we get the chance. This afternoon, after Nap Time, we gathered our baskets and wandered into the bushland to collect treasures. First we visited 'our' bowerbirds nest to see if he had collected any more blue bits and then started finding interesting leaves, dried seeds, sticks, pebbles, flowers, paper bark and any other things which took our fancy. We'll be making some artworks with them tomorrow. Then we walked all the way to the top of the park to the playground for a push and slip and a rock. A very basic little set-up, but to the Stars it is as good as any great adventure park AND, even better, it's just a short walk away. We don't even have to lock the house.

The second pic above is the view to the park from my favourite armchair and the next is a pic of the Stars escaping on the weekend in a break from the rain.


























My favourite outside spot is a morning spot, when the sun comes streaming onto our back deck at perfectly morning tea time. I couldn't get a great shot of it this morning because of the extreme light variation, but I'll show you the best I got, including guest appearance by Little Star. It does seem a little, well, colourless at the moment but, don't worry. I have plans ...

And from here, I often have that feeling of absolute and complete ... well ... Completeness. I have a cup of tea at my side, a project on my lap, pottering Stars and sunshine (as I'm only usually out there when it's a sunny morn).

If I look down to the back I can see little girls in the vegie patch ...

If I look straight across I can see little girls having tea parties ...

(I admit a cheat here - I took these a couple of months ago while BigStar was entertaining her favourite CuzStar and the garden was looking particularly gorgeous).

















And looking to the deck, I see little girls playing, eating, drawing, dancing, giggling ...


My heart Sings with happiness on these mornings, and I had one today.

A Happy Day.












And now that this post has taken so long I'll have to leave with a teaser for the next one ...

A little project for BigStar on request while we've been sick the past couple of weeks.

And on that note, chest x-rays tomorrow to try and get to the bottom of LittleStar's continuing ills. Will be happy for a definite answer so we can treat it one and for all. But, must go now as I'm making a gift for my sister (again, by request!!) and I want to have it finished for tomorrow.

Hooky, hooky, hooky ...

Chat soon,
Stella
xx

More please?

As I was tucking in BigStar the other night after another round of The Germs, she looked at me so pathetically that all I could do was cuddle her in close and whisper in her ear "I love you the whole world" (a favourite saying of ours which she invented one day). She smiled so bravely and asked,
"Mum?"
"Yes sweetheart?"
"Can you make me some more hearts for my bedroom when I get better? They make me feel like the germs go away."

And that moment was one of the sweetest I have had during the whole time of Vomit (two)Week(s). I had only finished them for her a few weeks ago, using the fantastic pattern shared by Julia Crossland and she was SOOOO excited when they were installed across the top of her wardrobe. She insisted I started making a set for LittleStar straight away, although her wardrobe is considerably bigger and a few other projects have gotten in the way (including Vomit Week) and so they are not finished yet. Soon ...

I love BigStar's bedroom. It makes me smile every time I walk in, and even many times when I just walk past as I do several hundred times a day (our small house means everything is in 'glimpsing distance' without having to take too many steps). It is happy and cosy and colourful and inspiring. I know she loves it just as much as I do and LittleStar has even started to feel the pull and can be found sitting quietly on the little couch, with many books arranged around her. This is a favourite place to be on Mondays and Tuesdays when BigStar is at pre-school.

I asked BigStar one day if I could move in and she looked at me in wide-eyed shock.

"But Mum! You wouldn't fit! And Dad would be lonely. You can't come, Really."


My Mum made the patchwork cushion on the red armchair, along with a matching bassinet quilt and cot quilt as a Welcome To The World gift when BigStar was born. I've been meaning to take a good shot of the quilt and I'll have to get around to it (in other words, get off my Lazy Bum!). I just admire Mum's skill in this soooo much. She made up the design and cut, stitched and quilted every piece by hand. Funnily, she thinks all of my crochet work is fantastic because she can't do it, but her needlework, it's just a thing of beauty every time she finishes something else.

My sister made the name canvas out of left-over scraps of fabric when Mum was finished. We are, in our own ways, a bit of a crafty kind of family. It's actually really nice to have someone to have creative conversations with who is often thinking along the same lines.


I'll have to show you LittleStar's sometime soon too.


My sister also made the hair-clip board with some bigger fabric left-overs. The toile (which you can't see too clearly) is just beautiful and Mum spent a great deal of time to find exactly the right design that she was happy with.

It's actually up a little too high for BigStar to help herself but, trust me, that is a Good Thing!!







Right now, I have several current projects on the go. I have finished some and will post about them soon, but now, it's bed time. I'll just show you the inspiration for the one which has been on my lap this evening ...

See those chairs? How do they look to you?

I hear you saying Empty. White. Hard. Cute, but Missing Something.

And you are Absolutely Right.

They are actually Star sized chairs and, whilst very well loved by the Stars, I know they would love them a whole lot more with something nice and soft to rest their little bots on. And, with winter coming on, a little something to warm their little leggs.

Yes, definitely. Can't wait till they're done.

Chat soon,
Stella
xx