another day, another quilt

this afternoon I finished this quilt for jasper. I started it yesterday. Well, that's not entirely true, I've had most of the squares cut out for a couple of weeks, but when I first put it together, it wasn't quite right, so I deleted a few, and then found a new fat quarter, and then remembered an old velvet dress I had stashed (thanks, sam), and then it was finally right, so I threw it together. Now before you go thinking I'm some kind of quilting phenomenon (is that spelt right? that's one hard word to write), you should know that once I start on a project, I either leave it sitting around for two years until I finally get sick of looking at it and do something about it, or I sew like a maniac and finish it all in one hit, usually at the expense of dinner and household chores. Let's just say, last night we had eggs and toasties for dinner. Not that I'm admitting that was my fault though, because I fully blamed the mr for going skateboarding until 7pm. It's getting chilly at night now (yay, I can light the fire soon), and everyone has quilts except for the jasper, so I felt it was high time I made him one. This was actually my second attempt. The first one, which I will be able to show off soon, was all in blues and browns, and about half way through, I realised that it was more fin than jasper, an observation that was seconded by the young man himself as he was watching me sew it up. "Mum, can't I just have that quilt?" (I could hear the cogs turning..."it's not like jasper's gonna know any different"). Um, ok. In all fairness, fin's quilt was one I started when I was pregnant with him, and finished about three years later. Yeah, it was one of those projects. Anyway, it's all a bit yellow (for some reason, I was going for "gender neutral"), and also quite small, so he's been asking for a new one for a while now. The top of it is finished, I just need to put it all together now, the part I dislike the most. Oh, and one other thing, I think I've decided to make one more this week, for a special event that's happening later in the week. I'll be back soon. p.s thanks for the lovely photos, northern sky

some days are slower than others

today was all about nothing. This lovely scene depicting our washing on the line basically sums up what I achieved today. Oh, that and banana and pear bread, which I must say went rather well. It was one of those days where I had every intention of getting some stuff done, because jasper seemed to be getting into a bit of a groove and I stupidly thought that if I just stayed home for the day, he would have some little naps, and I would be able to do stuff. But no. Because some days are about smiling and some days are about crying. Today was about crying. And not sewing. Oh, don't worry, I didn't get all in a huff about it, because I find it very hard to get angry with the sweetness that is jasper, it's just frustrating, when you spend every bit of the little bit of spare time you actually had, doing the washing. The washing, that is, that seems to be taking on a life of it's own, and today took up not only the big line, but two smaller ones as well. Ah, bring on the holiday, when I won't care if the kids are filthy and I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for a week.
In brighter news, I think I have a new second-favourite female artist (I don't think hope sandoval will ever be removed from no.1 position). My sweet man brought me home a present yesterday, as he often does, and which is one of the reasons that I'm still here doing the washing. It was the new cd from laura marling, and it's good. Very good. Check it out.

a very thrifty easter

this morning we got the little man all dressed up in his new hazyjanes that I whipped up yesterday morning while he slept for three hours, and his very funky tie dyed jacket from the lovely bohemian babes, and braved the weather to attend the annual patonga easter fete. Fin and willow both had colouring competition entries to enter, so it was a great excuse to get out of the house for a while. And look what the thrifting fairies had waiting for me:

yeah, I'm pretty darn happy with that flowery letter rack, I like the way it says "memos" rather than "bills". So much friendlier, don't you think? Another letter rack, because, you know, you can never have too many of those, a few vintage kids books, a nice little plate, and that wonderful vintage bassinet, which happens to be exactly what I've been looking for, to take away on holidays in a couple of weeks. Sadly, the kids did not win the colouring competition, but they were consoled with scones with jam and cream; my boys do like to partake in the odd devonshire tea if there's one going on.

I thought I might also add today a "real" corner of our home, because a friend who reads my blog came over recently and commented on how neat and tidy the place always looks in the pics, and how do I manage it with the kids? Well, the truth is, I don't really. The place generally looks like a bomb's gone off somewhere and also, one would think that it is a carpenter's shop, because on every available surface you might find a tape measure, maybe some screws, the odd wood sample, or if you're very lucky, even a power saw. I do have random cleaning frenzies, and arrange all my things, like my prized pippi longstocking book that the lovely mr bought me for christmas, so that they look nice, but then someone comes along with a roll of tape, or a deck of pokemon cards, and we start all over again. I've come to realise that everything in life is a work in progress, and that living with four boys will always be messy.

yes, it was a good friday

this basket o' bunnies (and friends) went off to jasmine greens yesterday, whence they will hopefully wander off and find new homes with all those poor little people who can't have chockies at easter time. I say this with true sadness in my heart, as I can't imagine an easter, or a life for that matter, without chocolate. I have just now devoured half of a red tulip elegant rabbit (thanks, ty) and am looking forward to a weekend indoors with the good stuff, as it is of course raining, as it does at easter time on the east coast of australia. It's been stinking hot all week, which was a bit of a shock to the system after a very autumn-like summer ( I think I mentioned that before), and when I reminded mr. arran that it would in fact be raining on the weekend because of the easter thing, he didn't believe me, but then when we woke this morning, there it was, just as predicted. But, you know, I'm pretty happy about it, because we're not travelling anywhere, and because chocolate is so much more enjoyable when you can snuggle indoors and enjoy it with other good stuff like more chocolate in the form of hot cocoa. However, if it is raining in two weeks time, when we pack up and head north on a little adventure, I will not be so happy, because me and four boys in a van in the rain is not really my idea of a good time.

some hairs are longer than others

remember this little face? Well, after hanging out with a blue cattle dog for the past six months, she didn't turn out quite as pristine as one could expect from a breed with an "oodle" on the end. Because, you know, they did tell me that she would need brushing, and I was like "yeah yeah, just give me the dog", and then I went and had a baby, and a few things got forgotten about. Like brushing the dog. Then I started to notice that the dog was putting on a bit of weight, mainly in the rear end, so she was given the dubious title of "fat arse". And then one day, I gave that fat arse a bit of a pat, and discovered that it was in fact one giant fur ball, so matted that not even water could penetrate the giant tangled mass. I did consider handing her over to the groomers, but then thought better of it, in case they just took one look at her and called the RSPCA, so to the scissors we went. After about two hours of combing and clipping, the back deck looked like it had been the venue for a beginners class in sheep shearing, and that was only stage one, we still have the back legs to do. However, now that arse isn't so fat anymore, and sally has decided that she likes the layered look.

how many am I mum?

yesterday was willow's fifth birthday. Five at last! He kept asking me "how many" he is, and when I would answer, "nearly five", "four and a half", or "four and three quarters", he would get very frustrated because he wanted to be a whole number. So now he's five, and he's happy. And he's actually of school age, which is good, considering there are kids in his class who are already six. I bought him a little ukelele for his birthday, which he is most impressed with, and he now plays it to jasper to put him to sleep. As you can see in the picture, jasper is really enjoying that. There was of course a birthday song, which went something like this (to the tune of "I won't back down"):

"Where the viking goes and it's backing down

and it's going high and low

and then I tested out the bestest dragon in the whole entire world

and then I became the viking king

and then I destroyed all the bad boys"

Yeah, I think we have a song writer on our hands here.

lurking

the things you find hiding under the seats when you finally decide to clean your car...

making headway

after a particularly shitty morning at the shops the other day, I decided to abandon the grocery shopping (who needs food anyway?) in favour of coming home and settling my troubled child who clearly does not like going to woolworths. Who can blame him? Once home, the little angel promptly went off to sleep, and left me with some unexpected time on my hands, which I for once put to good use and finished off this skirt which was ordered before christmas, that being the last of my orders from the shop. Now, I didn't harbour any high hopes for this one, expecting to be interrupted at any moment by crying babe or telemarketers on the phone, but this time, the planets actually aligned, and I was able to complete a job from go to woe, and do a darn good job on the zipper if I do say so myself. Now let's just hope it fits the lovely lady I made it for.
In other news, I have just uploaded the new hazyjane website, the new simplified version. There are a few things that aren't finished yet, but I'm liking it a lot. Especially the new font I discovered, called pupcat. If ever there was a great name for a font, that's it. I tell ya, things are happening around here.