I think I’m safe because all the recipients of these Poppy dolls are too young to actually read yet, let alone be surfing the interwebs between naps, so I’m not spoiling any Christmas surprises. To make these dolls I flagrantly neglected to observe much of Fiona’s excellent advice, especially re stuffing materials and technique because I wanted to use only scraps to make them real rag dolls. So they are even stuffed with scraps, resulting in the Lumpy Look, which Fiona specifically cautions against. But on the up side, the scraps give them a nice weight and I also got to see one of my baskets of off-cuts disappear. And I love the idea that one day (in the probably not-too-distant-future given my inferior softies sewing skills) all those scraps might spill out and be of interest. To someone. Maybe.

Thanks, Fiona, for the wonderful pattern and Happy Christmas my girls and nieces and dear little friends. XXXXX

We’ve booked our ‘viewing slot‘ for Milla’s birthday. Crowds guaranteed - they better be real pandas and not keepers in bear suits. I can feel some souvenir purchasing coming on!

In other costume news, the annual ballet satin and tulle challenge (a dawn fairy this year) is almost finished and seven sets of Scooby Doo ear bonnets are ready for this week’s junior primary school concert.

PS Fake panda pic by Ben.

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

This is the kids’ art gallery that started happening soon after we moved into this house. Asha sticks things up and takes things down and Milla likes to pull people over and show them her pieces. We mean to paint the bricks one day, but til then the gallery cheers it up.

Life with an almost two-year-old and a five-year-old is intense. It wasn’t until they went for a sleep-over at my parents’ last weekend that I realised how thick the silence in house was without them. They are noisy. And the negotiations with Milla over every single thing would test the patience of the UN. Plus school life is busy. There are notes to sign, readers to track, lunches to be made, drink bottles to be found, school dresses to be washed, hair-dos to be done. Every day! You develop tactics to escape for a few minutes – hanging out a load of washing can take quite some time … And how long has Ben been feeding the chooks for?! Living is a blur.

Lectures have finished, just got to squeeze out another couple of assignments, and then I’m done with that for the year. So I’m thinking I should just keep up the momentum and do a couple of pre-Christmas market stalls - there’d be hats like this one. And it’s hat weather. We don’t do hot in Adelaide, we like to go the whole heatwave hog.

A sweet and folky card from Jess at Peeping Tom Paper.

A new purse from recycler extraordinaire Enhabiten.

And how cute (and also useful for a handy reference) are these badges? On The Button.

(Pics from the etsy sellers.)

Inspired by the lovely Scout, this is a list of things I’ve given up trying to explain/worrying about.

1. Milla, at 21 months, has never slept through the night. She wakes at least once, much more if she isn’t sleeping next to me. This has led to much tiredness. But I love her just the way she is.

2. Feeling self-conscious about wearing the clothes I make. Either people are too polite to comment, or they don’t notice at all. Either way, I’m fine with that.

3. Being a little bit hurt when strangers tell me that my blue-eyed, blonde daughters look nothing like me. Hey! Ouch! But I take their point.

4. Preferring to read adolescent fiction over adult fiction. This started as legitimate research and professional interest but is now a genuine love. I just re-read Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park, a brilliant Australian author, and it still made me cry.

5. Why our cat is called Miew. Because it’s pretty obvious. Doesn’t make it any less embarrassing though.

Pic by Ben

This is Molly. She was legless and languishing in the Woodside salvage yard before she was re-homed with me via eBay. I don’t think Molly has birthed and breastfed two babies so our measurements don’t align well - too pointy and uplifted here, a little too much booty back there. But nevertheless she is willing to stand still and remain relentlessly cheerful and supportive of my making endeavours. Just what you need in a dressmaker’s dummy.

And this stack of hats and overalls is ready to be packed and then racked at Little Bird, sunny Port Elliot. Hi, Kate!

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