Daily Goodness....

I have been taking it easy lately - perhaps the notion of the Birthday Week got to me, and I've decided to extend it to the month. Or maybe the Autumn is just starting to sink in, and I'm leaning towards inside and cosiness.

Whatever the reason may be, there have been eggs:



and the Saturday papers:


(how cute is that girl on the cover of the A2? I love her little cheek dots...)

Some sewing with some antique lace gifted to me by a friend:



and patching old with old - my new garage sale quilt is getting some feedsack love - those feedsacks come courtesy of the Big Box of Staggering Genius......



And finally - I have spent many cups of tea browsing through the Mikes' book - Now that the book has been officially launched, I can share a bit more of it with you:

The layout is cute as a button -



with a page for each contributor showcasing some very sweet little bits and bobs:



and my quilted backgammon board has come up a treat:



There's a Flickr group up and running, so if you do make a project from the book, please post your photos of it here - we'd love to see what gets made - that's the best part!

I hope you're all having a lazy, relaxing week too.....

xxxx

Favourites.

I have Autumn on the brain, today.




1. naturally dyed eggs, 2. Northbridge Stripes, 3. sunday stash #10, 4. number 29, 5. earlier that morning, 6. I I I, 7. weaving cloth, 8. in league with matchbox stuffers, 9. kitchen, 10. sock yarn salad, 11. FGR: Gettin freaky with the geeky., 12. Well, what do you keep in your sock drawer?

Earth Hour

We'll be doing this tomorrow - at work and at home...... I'd love it if you all did the same!

xxxx

More goodies....

A big thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes - I've had a very good few days, filled with yummy food, flowers, and messages from friends and loved ones all over.... I'm a lucky girl indeed.....

The birthday week ( I always insist on having a whole week of birthday benefits!) was made even more exciting by the arrival of this little beauty in the mail yesterday:



I can't even tell you how exciting it is to hold this lovely book in my hands - the layout is gorgeous, and the projects are all fantastic - I feel extremely privileged to have a pattern inside, in the amazing company of many of my favourite Aussie crafters....

Our crafty Queen Pip has done a wonderful job, so grab yourselves a copy and make her rich and famous!

I'll be sure to share my project with you once the book has made its way out into the world, and if you do happen to make something from my pattern, please send me a photo - I'd love to see it!

I'm off to iron my new party dress - I'm being taken out for another birthday dinner by some lovely girls, wearing a handmade dress, no less! I'll be sure to post some photos of it soon, along with my other winter wardrobe creations....

until then,

Leah xxx

A good day....

It's been a good day, so far.....

Woken up by a delivery man with an armful of divine orchids for my birthday:



We have an amazing flower wholesaler just down the street, and I'm always dropping loaded comments about the exorbitant benefits regular flower buying gives to a relationship; so far such comments have fallen on cheekily deaf ears, but apparently birthdays are a big exception!

This week has also bought some other goodies my way - all declared birthday presents as they've made their way through the door:



A 'Hairy Lady' teatowel and decals by the wonderful Camila Engman in association with the equally wonderful Third Drawer Down - they told me there is only FOUR of the Hairy Ladies left - so if you want one, now is the time.....

earlier this week, this magic parcel arrived:



Full of unspeakably beautiful things - a hand printed linen scarf, a leather cuff, and a wee soap in the shape of a cow - all from the amazing hands of
Kirsten - thanks so much Kirsten - I love it all!



and last but not least, a trp to a garage sale yesterday yielded some seriously good stuff:







I got some brilliant vintage fabric, a huge bag of red buttons, and one of those magical vintage comforter quilts - the kind that make you feel like you're six years old again, wrapped tight in the soft cushiony goodness with a cup of milo.... the best!

it's also won favour with another member of the family:



She has fine taste in quilts, I must say - seems I am training her well.......

Well, that's it for me today - I'm off to spend the first day of my Thirties eating spicy cold noodles, pottering about, and retiring in the afternoon for a whisky or two at my favourite local....

Have a beautiful day, my sweets.....

xxxx

marking the time....

This is a post to mark time, today - a celebration first, of my second blog anniversary. Two years of writing and sharing and making and posting - I remember thinking when I first started that if I could get to two years I would feel accomplished - now it has happened without me even thinking about it. Thanks so much to all of you who have been dropping in and reading during this time - my life is much richer for the benefits blogging has brought to it - new friends and likeminded souls, emails chock full of knitting patterns, surprise parcels in the mail, google analytics full of new visitors.... it's a satisfying thing for me to have created something that purely brings me pleasure.

I am celebrating by marking a different kind of time - the turn of the seasons - I am dragging out the patterns and fabrics for Autumn, knitting like crazy and plotting some warmer wear:



I'm trying to use as much from my existing stash as possible - remnants of linens, warm cottons and knits, wools and such. I may have to splash out on some charcoal wool fabric though. I have a picture in my head of my new winter skirt that won't be held to reason or thriftiness. ha!



The piles are looking inviting though - I'm hoping to make at least one cold weather item a week - that way I should be well prepared when the cold really starts to bite...



The third way I am marking time this coming week is my 30th birthday - it's on the 23rd of March, a week from today, and though it isn't causing the kind of insane crisis inducing paranoia women's magazines would have you believe, I am feeling a little reflective. It's a strange thing to suddenly realise you're supposed to be a grown-up. I swear I wake up some mornings and still feel about twelve. And I get up and look in the mirror, and realise I had exactly the same haircut when I turned twenty:



Heh heh - see how I just slipped that in? The Greatest Shave day went extremely well - with us raising about four thousand dollars (we still haven't done a final count) for leukaemia research.

A big thankyou to all of you who sponsored me - your generosity was amazing to see, and appreciated all the more because I know we've all been pooling our extra resources into the bushfire relief effort lately. Thanks so, so much.

My head is a little cold, and it is a bit of a shock to go from So Much Hair to so little, but I am getting used to it already. Stay tuned for some crazy dye jobs and mad haircuts as I suddenly realise I'm thirty and fall into a crisis inducing paranoia causing me to desperately try to reclaim my lost youth....... ha! Either that, or I'll manage to master the art of the Knitted Hat. Rather more likely!

Keep warm and well my friends, and to those in the Northern Hemisphere - enjoy the sun, we're sending it your way.....

xxxx

The Hair.

My hair. Five years in the making, is on borrowed time.



On Saturday, myself and a whole bunch of others at the pub where I work are participating in the World's Greatest Shave to raise money for research into Leukaemia and other blood-related disorders.

Here's the spiel:

Your favourite bar staff are taking part in the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave 2009. Please BE BRAVE and sponsor your brave bald bar staff! The funds we raise will help the Leukaemia Foundation to provide practical care and support to patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders. Donations can be made via the website or pop in for a cold one and donate your loose change.

I know we've been through a major fundraising effort in the past few weeks for the Bushfire Relief Fund, but if you have any cash to spare for the cause, I'd love it if you'd sponsor me. You can donate by visiting out team website here:

Wheatsheaf Hotel Greatest Shave Team Page.... just click on "Leah" and you can make a donation from there.

Otherwise, if you're in Adelaide, you're welcome to pop down to The Wheaty (39 George St Thebarton) on Saturday at 4pm to see me lose the locks. eep!

I'll be sure to post many pictures of the shaved head in the next week or so.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Leah xxxx

away for a bit....

Back Soon, originally uploaded by redcrayon.

I'm off for a quick family visit for a few days......

See you all on the return side!

xxxx