goodgracie.com

Sassy, isn’t she?

Dress 1 from Every day (ISBN 4579110439), pockets altered. Fabric, vintage seersucker.

Think we’ll go to the beach after school. Sandwiches for tea.

xx

I love this chair by Melbourne designer Suzie Stanford. It is upholstered in found tapestries. Isn’t it beautiful?

I’m gradually getting past my fear of sewing with knits, mainly because they are quite forgiving of my habit of sewing a new outfit in the minutes before we’re due to go out somewhere. This is a kind of super long tank top. I’m hoping nobody actually points and laughs when I wear it out of the house because I quite like it.

And this bag I also made right before going out. Because I rashly put my ‘handbag’ collection in storage during the Great Decluttering, thinking that surely I could stick to the same one for a few weeks. And no, I can’t. This is just a simple shoulder bag with a zip pocket on the front made using thrifted wool and zip and a small piece of beautiful Pippijoe hemp cotton fabric, which is lovely and thick and soft.

I’ve been working on some winter versions of the good gracie staples. Asha was a good sport to model for me in 30 degree heat. Although there was ice-cream incentive. See more here.

If I’d thought even a little bit about ’styling’ this photoshoot I would have 1. tidied the lounge room 2. polished the mirror and 3. stopped the baby from plunging her hand down my front. The mirror is one of my favourite possessions, salvaged for me by my dad when I still lived at home. It deserves a polish every now and again. My dress is made from a tablecloth and pattern from this Japanese book (ISBN 4579110439). That one on the cover. It’s a cinch to make.

In an effort to keep a record of how much my materials are costing me, I’ve started this journal. As simple as it looks - what, where and how much. In the interest of keeping it simple I’ve just kept it to ‘batch’ cost and not individually priced everything because that might be aiming too high. Asha helped me do the sticking in because a four-year-old can smell a craft glue project a mile away.

Our first camping trip with two kids was attempted and hailed a success - despite the ute’s air conditioning breaking own, the baby getting sick on the first day, almost getting blown away in gale force winds and a post-camping tummy bug that wasn’t pretty. Uh uh. I combed all the op shops (three) in delightful Port Fairy and came up with a couple of fabric gems. We beached, we picnicked, we Cheeseworld-ed (we needed petrol), we drove back with the windows down and the kids quiet in the back.

And one of my favourite musicians has started a blog and revived my nautical obsession in one go. Sarah Blasko rocks, in an alt folk pop kind of way.

One Ikea bunkbed and a second-hand chest of drawers later and I have a whole cupboard for my fabric stash. (In the one-thing-leads-to-another way living in a small house goes.) The girls’ room had a major rearranging, completed just in time for bedtime (Ben was banging in the last bed slats just as Milla was losing it). Now we also have an extra bed in the house, for sleeping in with the baby. Officially referred to as ‘co-sleeping’, we call it the ‘only (way to) sleeping’.

The apples, trees and strawberry fabric is my latest thrifting find - possibly my most favourite pattern ever. I’m worried that I’ve really worn out my luck this time. I’ll have to make a significant offering to the thrifting gods.

A peek at a batch of hats I have in the making …

And finally I have to be in the running to win this gorgeous blouse. If I won it, I would so take it out for a groovy glass of milk.

To celebrate the South Australian government’s ban on plastic shopping bags from tomorrow, this is my tutorial on making your own grocery bag from a vintage (or any kind of) tea towel. It’s really so easy a tutorial is hardly necessary, but just in case.

1. Take one vintage tea towel quietly living out its lifetime folded away in a drawer.

2. Fold in half right sides together and sew along outside edges.

3. Turn right-side out and attach two wide drill tape handles. (Fold under raw edges of tape and sew securely.)

Easy to chuck in the wash, durable, strong, just the right size and colourful. Not guaranteed to make doing the shopping any more enjoyable, but at least your groceries will look pretty.

Oh, and Happy New year!

This is my Christmas dress, made from fabric in this haul. Worn to lunch here today for our 13th anniversary. Not a wedding anniversary, a ‘meeting’ anniversary. Because we’ve been together ever since.

I’ve still got some sewing to finish - some matching nighties for three sets of sisters and hopefully a Christmas dress for Asha as well. We’re having turkey this year, so I felt some dresses were called for in the poor old turkey’s honour.

Happy Christmas everyone! Specially those of us who are lucky enough to be in New York!