Greetings from Mooloolaba

This week has been pretty amazing. We have flown hundreds of kilometres from our Central Highlands home to the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland. We are staying right next to the beach at Mooloolabah and it's pretty close to paradise.

Jumping in the pool is a big priority right now.

As much as I love living in Daylesford it's so nice to be WARM and also to be somewhere so tropical and beachie. The kids are having fun although they are so tired from so much swimming and beach fun that they are taking it in turns to be cranky. The sun wakes us just after 5.30 in the morning so the days are long!

I haven't been blogging at all which has been weird but fine too. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone when I get home. I have managed to find some great local opshops though, I'll do a show and tell in my next post.

Yesterday after several days of near perfect weather a huge dust storm swept through. Top soil from inland turned to dust and made the sky & the light the eeriest shade of red. It reminded me in a way of the mist in Daylesford in winter.

Walking on the beach has been a highlight. The sand, so soft. The water, so blue and clear. Bill has been skipping stones and finding smooth rocks and colourful shells.

Its fun hanging out with the kids, with Mark, with my mum. Family is so important to me and having time together, like this, is the best.

I am loving this holiday so much and just stepping out of normal life has been so good for me. It's still tiring and hard sometimes, as family life is, but I am already thinking of booking in for next year! I am missing our dogs though and the chooks, this brush turkey is the closest thing to a chicken that I've see so far!

Hope you are all having a great week, lots of love, see you soon xo

My Creative Space

I have just visited Kootoyoo's lovely blog & thought I'd play along today. My creative space is a bit hectic, kind of messy, very colourful and so enjoyable. I'm in a really good creative space right now, loving my sewing, loving the rhythm of my work.

The whole process of working with lavender is very satisfying too. Pulling the flowers off the stem, mixing with rice, funnelling into birds and hearts.

Each part is fun and I need the variety, the different stages keep me motivated. Breathing in the beautiful, locally grown lavender is soothing, uplifting.

Choosing colours, matching colours, playing with colours and textures, watching the colours turn into something else, come alive.

Each bunny, heart, bird that I make had her/his own personality and I love to see each individual nature emerge, kind of like my kids I guess.

The birds are new to me & to Dandelion. I've always been keen on birds, I like to watch them hoppping along fences, soaring through the blue sky, waiting patiently on wires, swooping in their amazing, syncronized, group formations. I like ducks, swallows, kookaburra's, willy wagtails, geese, owls, penguins, lots of different birds... but I'm not so in love with rooks & crows. My Blanket Birds are made from bits leftover from Blanket Bunnies. It feels good to be using offcuts from offcuts, finding a bird in a scrap.

We are going on a much needed holiday in a few days...what will I do without my bits? My sewing machine that needs a service, the little birdies, my bunnies that need cardi's, my lavender...my lovehearts?!! I might have to get creative in different ways. Somethings you just can't plan. xo

Garage Sale madness...

Saturday morning at our house was relatively quiet. Mark took Bill & Lucy to the footy on Friday night and stayed in Melbourne so I was home with only two. A change of dynamics and numbers sure makes a difference! This seemed the perfect opportunity to cruise some garage sales, the girls grabbed their pocket money & purses and we were off!

It was truly a magnificent morning. A million happy endorphins raced through me as I found treasure after treasure. The girls were a tad more contained but nevertheless happy with their finds. This blue fan, which looks a bit dangerous I admit, was such a lovely blue that it had to come home with me, a tin of pencils, all sharpened, some sweet fabric & a bunch of old teaspoons. (I think I have Second Handitis. Careful, it's contagious.)

It was fabric galore which is just as well as I am in full swing with sewing at the moment.

A crazy owl tea cosy!

This dear boy & his doggie has seen better days but is so sweet.

As we pulled up at the last garage sale it didn't look promising. A couple of big cardboard boxes in the driveway...hmmm. But we got out anyway and found some lovely surprises. The boxes were full of old sheets and linens, fabrics and pillowcases. I dug down to the bottom and found this amazing technicolour crocheted blanket!!

After it was washed and hung on the line the chooks looked out in amazement! What colour, what movement!! Squawk!!!!!!

This little item caught my eye too. The gentleman who sold it to me had a laugh when I wondered out loud what Mark would think if I was in the gay mood?

"Well Love,we're in the right town for that!!" Ha!

There were other lovely items such as the pretty cross stitched house that Sunday chose for her room, the little box of badges & the Holly Hobbie sheets, wow! After such fun in the morning it was off to Ballarat for ballet and out to lunch with friends. In the late afternoon Mark & the kids returned and Sunday & I headed down to Melbourne for the night. Charlotte & I went out for some gnocchi & pizza and then on to look at books. Besides being semi stalked in the bookshop it was fun. (Being a serial chatterer can get you into trouble!) Then it was back to Fitzroy where I fell into bed, exhausted after all that driving, treasure hunting, touring Victoria etc. What a great day.

In the morning I got to see Charlotte's latest art work for school and then....she made me a ring!

Staying at Mum's is always relaxing and I like having a look around her bits and pieces. I found this felt picture I made for her when I was about 9. I remember it took ages and I couldn't fnish my hair or foot!

Too quickly it was time to go. A stop at Bourkies Bakehouse in Woodend was a high priority,. They have delicious old style cakes and pastries which are out of this world. I'm a big fan of the apple shortcakes and vanilla slices but everything is good. Home again and back into the swing of busy family life. Baths, nit treatments, washing to be sorted, cuddles, dinner on, dogs fed, chooks put to bed, stories, another weekend comes to an end. Hope yours was good too xo

ps. thanks to everyone for your kind comments on my last post. I am feeling alot better, thankyou! xo

On the mend...

This winter I have hardly been sick at all which makes a nice change from previous winters - the worst being the one when Rosie was born and I had the flu & pneumonia. So, health wise, I have been travelling along nicely. But now it is Spring and this week I have been laid up with a tummy bug of some sort which has left me very drained and in bed alot of the time. You know that 'hit by a truck' feeling? Well a whole lot of that & a nice dose of total body fatigue has knocked me for a six.

It's actually been weirdly relaxing as I haven't been able to rush around in my usual mode. Rather than fighting the bug I've been going with it and not worrying too much about keeping up around the house. Lets face it I'm never going to be a great housewife as there are too many more interesting things to do than keep a tidy house. So there has been alot of lolling around in bed and a tiny bit of pottering around, picking up a few things here and there in a lackadaisical fashion. Oh and a bit of quiet cutting and sewing which has been therapeutic.

(This being sick caper is a whole lot easier now that I don't have as many under fives running around. In the past when I have been sick there was NO TIME for me to be unwell, it was impossible to even lie down. People out there with several small children, I remember how it is, boy do I remember.)

Whilst tucked up in my bed I have found myself soothed by my collections of odd things, memorabilia, colours, photo's, things that are distinctly me.

This glass dish above was my Nan's sugar bowl. Now it holds little precious bits & pieces, watched over by Nan and her baby (my mum).

Can you tell I'm not a minimalist? I love all my treasures, they all have some kind of significance or memory. Having said that I am also better at letting things go that are not meaningful anymore, or that may bring someone else more pleasure than me. Do you have room of your own, a study/bedroom, a place that is just about you? I really need this as it seems to ground me in my hectic life and gives me the space I need to think, dream, plan, relax, be.

I know not everyone has the luxury of their own room but even a part of a room can be good, or perhaps somewhere outside in the garden. I also like to have something I've recently made nearby to look at or pat affectionately (I think the illness is unhinging me slightly...) eg. my Australiana tea towel covered pillow, see above (also not too familiar with irons...)

Today I woke up feeling a bit better and managed to stumble up the road to meet Kate in a warm cafe filled with beautiful Spring sunlight. It was good to sit there and chat about the millions of things that fill our worlds and to feel vaguely human again. I always come away from coffee with Kate feeling inspired & happy, she's one of those friends that gives me alot in so many ways. If you live in Melbourne or are visiting, pop in and see Kate & Bren at the Farmers Market, at the Collingwood Children's Farm tomorrow. You can pick up some of their amazing produce from their Daylesford Organics stall. I think it's going to be a windy, windy day so hold onto your hat and watch out for flying chooks.

Besides feeling like I'm on the mend it's also been a real tonic to be enjoying some long overdue sunshine. Today I have been out chatting to the chooks and GET THIS, hanging actual washing on the actual washing line. (As opposed to draping items all over the house in an attempt to dry them within several days...) To me this is close to bliss. I love my wonky washing line and the dreamy state I get in when hanging out the washing. It's sad but true, being out there with the birds and flowers, smelling that good country air and pegging away, I'm in heaven.

So, that's me for another week. Tomorrow I'm going to have dinner in Melbourne with Charlotte, followed by a good old snoop around the books at Borders in Carlton. Can't wait. What are you up to on the weekend? xox

Family, friends, love

Mark enjoyed some special treats and some Fathers Day loving yesterday. Mark is a fantastic dad and spends a lot of time reading to the kids, cooking with them, playing, doing 'tricks' & having fun.The kids enjoyed giving him their homemade cards and bookmarks. Charlotte was home too so that made the day complete.


Charlotte was four years old when I met Mark & he is like a dad to her, they have a sweet relationship. When she was little they called each other Matey and it kind of stuck. Now he is Big Mate & she is Litte Mate.

We had a pretty busy, but fun, weekend with alot happening as usual. I managed to get some sewing done which was good as I have quite a few ideas at the moment and like to keep the momentum up! Have you heard about Lark's new shop which is opening soon in Daylesford? It's very exciting and I'm so happy to be making Dandelion bunnies & other bits for the shop. As well as Lark's amazing range of vintage inspired toys and gifts Allison will also be stocking lots of lovely items made locally.

I've always had a thing about hearts. Probably because of what they represent, love really does make the world go round! I have been working on these lavender filled hearts which are perfect for putting in pillows to help with sleep & relaxation, and they smell wonderful too. (My kids all have one, or two, and they are very comforting to snuggle with.) I was going to call them Sleepy Hearts but now that I've done a few, with lots of different fabrics, I think they will be called Love Hearts instead. As they could be excellent to put in drawers and cupboards too it seems a bit too specific to call them Sleepy Hearts...what do you think?





I'm not the only one getting creative around here, Charlotte is busy getting her work done as it's almost the end of term. This weekend she borrowed a friends camera to take photo's for a photography assignment called "Family".

The girls didn't mind getting dressed up of course!

I had a lovely visit from Steph recently and we were chatting about some of the things we are grateful for. How much there is!! After she had left I realised I'd left out one of the most important things...my friends! I really love my fantastic friends, new & old, in Daylesford, Melbourne, in Blogland, all over the place! They all bring different things into my life and I appreciate them all in so many ways.

One of my good friends, Michelle, had a birthday the other day, actually it's the first day of Spring, what a great day to be born on!! So, anyway, I have got a few little things together for her and hope to catch up with her today. She has a busy life, with work and family, I hope she enjoys these sweet smellings things from Daylesford Aromatherapy.

I also made her a bag to put it all in...lucky I had this 1973 teatowel handy! Reminds me of the ace 1992 apron that Curly Pops made for Charlotte. (I'm not sure if they made calendar teatowels around my birth year..but then that was the 'olden days'...thanks kids...).

So, how was your weekend? Hope it was relaxing and fun! xo

Lavender & lamingtons

Yesterday Rosie and I and two special friends went to the beautful lavender farm, Lavandula, out at Shepherds Flat. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the little girls ran and ran and ran.

We sat and had a picnic surrounded by daffodils and marvelled at the weather - after a long, long winter it was good to feel that sunshine and smell the spring air. Do you like Rosie's new pink shoes?

Michelle snuck in a cat nap while we went in search of donkeys. Hee haw...

What a lovely place to visit, it always makes you feel good. I don't know alot about its history except that it was once a working farm owned by local Swiss Italians. I'd like to learn a bit more about Lavandula and hope to visit it a bit more often.

The other reason I was there was to purchase some of their lavender. I needed it to fill the little Sleepy Hearts that are my current sewing project. I'll post some photo's soon, I'm quite happy with how they are looking.

I'll be bringing some to the pre Christmas Daylesford Makers Market which is coming up in November, as well as the usual Blanket Bunnies & other Dandelion items. I hope to see lots of bloggy friends there at my Dandelion stall, it's such a lovely way to catch up in 'real life'. Do pop by the DMM blog and have a look, & if you are interested in helping out with the market you can find details on there as well. It should be another amazing market, I'm really looking forward to it.

Besides lavender experiences this week has been choc a block full of things. Raffles at school, PerformingArts night catering, book club, classroom helper, chooks, footy tips & prizes, basketball, art class, ballet, lunches, dinners, washing, sewing, dreaming, screaming (nah..just joking...hang on, maybe there was some screaming... ) and the usual mayhem that is family life. Phew!

Anyway, there has also been Laminton making!! Yep, you heard me, lamingtons. The great Australian cake. Never having been a big fan of these coconut covered delights I am now officially hooked.

Rosie enjoyed the whole process, especially cracking the eggs (No shell in the mix!)

Can you hurry up so I can lick that bowl....?

And here are the little beauties themselves...they didn't last long of course. (If anyone would like the recipe just send me an email. They are easy to make and it's fun dipping the cake in chocolate syrup and rolling them in coconut...mmmm)

So there you have it, another fun packed few days have flown by. I can't believe it's Friday ...hope you all have a great weekend xox