Drive thru' livin!

Today we went on an expedition....... we are not allowed to venture into civilisation due to the poxy, so it was an expedition of drive thru's. Thank freakin' feck for America and it's drive thru' mentality!! In the course of one trip I was able to drop off library books, go to the bank and get a coffee. I could have frequented the Golden Arches but.....well.....most of you know my feelings on that place and I was going to go to the drive thru' chemist just for the hell of it to see what I could get.......but thought better of it. Still we managed to pass a good hour!

Fortunately the weather has been good, so I have been able to let the kids run around outside, we have gotten out the paddling pool and water slide and basically just gone a bit wild. There is no illness attached to this leurgy keeping us trapped, no temperatures, runny noses, or blah-ness at all. In fact, were it not for the spots you would not believe they were "sick"!

As we haven't been able to go anywhere I've taken the opportunity to craft crazy and have made almost a new wardrobe for LMB! I've gotten braver with my experimenting and have made three items without patterns this week using up remnants from my fabric stash.

A pinafore dress for LMB made of a gorgeous red cotton with little red daisy button fastenings. I am pleased with how this has turned out and so is she, mind, when I make this next time, I will put more fabric into the ruffle at the bottom and probably try a contrasting colour just for interest.
This was a first attempt at a peasant style top. Yes, it is a top, it is just too hot for trousers, so there was much protest at even modelling the top, so I thought this would do for a compromise!! This fabric is actually rayon and falls delightfully. I have made a couple of cock ups on the sleeve attachment, but none that she will be bothered about. I think I need a few more tutorials on sleeves!!

These were a pair of shorts that I made using an old pair of Master Beehive the elder's as a pattern. They have a drawstring waist and took about an hour from start to finish. The fabric is pretty cheap and shitty (only cost about $4 to make!!) and frays a lot, so the edges are all beautifully serged to avoid further fraying and the buttonholing where the drawstring came out was an arse to do, but he chose it as he liked the colours.

I added a small pocket on the back to hide a flaw in the fabric that may in time start to fray. I thought this might give them a little more life. Still, at $4 and an hour in the making I don't feel too bad about them only lasting one summer!

Finally, using the same fabric that I used for LMB's peasant top, this is a made up pattern that I came up with in the car the other day when I was driving !!??!

It is a halter neck as you can see (excuse the poor quality of the photos - mind, if you think photos of yourself are hard to make, try putting darts into a bodice when you have no one else in the house to help you...........I have since ordered an adjustable dressmaking mannequin for future projects!!)

The back fastens with hooks and eyes and a few press studs and I have inserted some darts to make it fit my body shape better.

The front hangs with a v in the centre (excuse the fashion faux pas with the shorts, but I do have a lush pair of white jeans that will go well with the top!) and the halter fastens at the top. I sewed the halter in to ensure the gathering stayed put and again with the darts at the back, it was essential there was more "stay"to the front.

None of them are exactly Project Runway, but there is such an element of pride making something that fits you or your family directly, no one else has the same design and fabric anywhere or that is so cheap to make!

My Fall project when the kids go back to school is a black and white fifties style dress with a full circle skirt and red tulle underneath for LMB to wear as a party dress! I know, that is a huge piece to bite off and chew, but ....... watch this space!!

LMB has done something to the 'puter that means that I can't hold my finger down on the delete button anymore to delete a word in one go, instead I have to repetitively press the key for each darned letter. If anyone knows how to un-do this doing, I would be eternally gratefull as my middle finger is beginning to look like a small balloon!

Answers on a postcard please or you can leave them at any drive thru' in town!!

Bleugh.....Friday 13th I'm gonna kick your butt!

Anyone who says that lightening can't strike the same place twice, is, quite frankly, lying !!

Our week has become one that was meant to be a lazy, playdate dotted, pyjama wearing, chilling out kinda week, to a chicken pox riddled, confined to the compound of the house and yard, itchy scratchy and unable to go anywhere, kinda week. Not only are we tied here, but we are REALLY tied here as Mr Beehive is overseas so I can't even get out in the evening!

I had my own porta-shopping (courtesy of my dear pal!) this evening, rang my emergency order in for vital supplies - milk, bread and apples, at 3.30, by 4.30 she was here with it for us! Then my other friend dropped by with some stuff for Will and we ended up having a conversation through the confines of our wire gating! There were essences of "Strangeways" to the chat!

So this is not chicken pox bout one, but two in the Beehive. All three Beehives have had it before and now, it appears, caught a more virulent strain that has beaten a vaccinated country to survive and pass onto my, supposedly, immunised (naturally mind, not by the vaccine!) children!!! So what does that say for vaccines - they work? viruses morph and evolve to survive??

So, what with the house sale falling through, now chicken pox, I am sitting here waiting for the third thing to happen. It is, after all, Friday 13th this week and I am feeling my glass......no wait....my glass really is empty, not even half lol!

Ooooh, Cupcake and Arse ache!

Excuse the title, my day has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. This morning started particularly well:

I made this delight for LMB to add to her growing patisserie,

and managed to difuse a potential wailing situation when she asked (about 8 months after his leaving us) where her giant Elmo was. Bear in mind this monstrosity was the size of her and used to sit in her wardrobe unplayed with. She has not mentioned him until today.

"Where is my Elmo mama?"

Hmmm......silence.

"He's gone away to live with someone who doesn't have any toys"

"Who's that then?"

"Er.......Sally, her name is Sally and she is your age" - see that nose grow Pinnochio!

"Has he gone far?"

"No, not far, just to N****"

"Is he coming back?" - the dreaded question.

"No sweetie, Sally is his mama now and will look after him"

"Okay, can I have a peach?"

Phew! That had potential to turn out very nasty. As for the real whereabouts of Elmo, well, he did go for a short drive with Daddy to the Goodwill, so, in all honesty could be living with a three year old called Sally in N****!!

Later this afternoon, Mr Beehive phones to tell me our buyers have pulled out of the house purchase!!!!! Apparently they have cold feet! WTF! There really should be a cooling off period and if, after 14 days they haven't pulled out, then there needs to be a penalty if they DO pull out for cold feet or no good reason! So, we are likely to lose the other house we were in the process of buying if we can't find a new buyer asap for ours! Ironically, I haven't even SEEN the house we were buying, but it is gorgeous and has everything, upstairs room, downstairs room, garden, garage, walk to good schools and 40 mins to london for Mr Beehive.

Feck I HATE housebuying and selling.

Perhaps my next craft project should be little felt buyers and then I can stab them with pins!!

Vacation Creations

So "School is out!" to coin a phrase and we are making a slow start into the hols. As usual I have way more planned than I know we will ever get the time or energy to do! This year we have come up with a "Summer Ideas" bucket. The kids are putting in their ideas as they come up with them, of things they want to do over the summer and on days where we are looking for things to do, we are going to try to do some of the things in them. In all honesty I thought their fantasy would get the better of them and they would try to see exactly what we COULD do, but in reality, apart from "Eat an Alligator" the majority of the ideas are pretty tame.

Friday afternoon was a more challenging afternoon. I had planned for an outdoor playdate as the weather had said it would be good ! Well, it wasnt'. Three boys (I borrowed an extra - there were meant to be two extra but one wasn't able to make it - thank heavens!) and a girl, just fresh outta school for the long summer, wound up after graduations and closing ceremonies like rubber bands, they were bouncing off my walls like they were tennis balls!

LMB managed to jump onto her bean bag and thus burst it and all the contents all over the playroom floor. In my enthusiasm (yeah, right!) to clean it up with the vacuum, I didn't see the small lego piece under about 3 lbs of styrofoam snow and managed to bugger up the hoover! So I wasn't happy!

The weekend, naturally has proven exhaustingly hot - 100 degrees in some places, we had 98 in the garden! We had a barbecue planned with guests on Sunday. Such a beautiful day! About twenty minutes before they were due to arrive, however, the sky went black.........yes, that's right, not just rain, but wind and thunder and lightening. I was out picking up LMB who had been at a party and took the boys along for the ride. We were riding back in the eye of this storm watching the fork lightening bounce off the road beside the car as we tried to swim home! At home a huge branch had come down over the drive, narrowly missing our visitors as they pulled up the drive!!!!

Today, is once again over 80!!??

I have been knocking out a couple more bits and pieces so here are the few crafts I made today and yesterday:

A strawberry slice - requested by the kids for their "shop" They now want a bowl of strawberries and some peas - I could be sometime with the latter request!!!!!??!! Still, at least they haven't requested a "pooh" which is what the children of a lady on a crafting forum I frequent, did.

And a dress made from a tshirt and left over bits of material from previous creations.

I also finished Master Beehive the younger's new sweater (which incidently won't rotate on the pic!!)

and made a vintage style ra-ra skirt for a friend's daughter for her birthday.

I have nearly finished another one for LMB for next year.

My summer projects are a couple of pairs of plaid elasticated waist trousers for Master Beehive the elder and a batik style dress for me to wear over jeans, then in the Fall I intend to start my sweater! However, as with all my craft, there will be other bits and bobs that will catch my fancy along the way and slow down the process!

Crafty Beehive

We've had my mum here for the last ten days and it has been really fun! We've had the opportunity to go to the city, hang out with the kids, "do lunch" and have crafty afternoons sewing or knitting. I know, really sad eh?


We had one day over the weekend where the Little Miss managed to aquire a couple of new items for her wardrobe; a dress courtesy of moi and a skirt from mum.....I can't believe I am going to say this now, but fook me, I actually quite enjoy the calm from making clothes for her! Here are the finished products:

This was the dress that I made her! Don't ever ask me to make anything with bastard sequins again though! AGGGGGHHHHH!

And the skirt was mum's creation - excuse the constipated expression though, that is a trademark of the Little Miss at the moment - "see camera, make fucktard expression" - you know how it goes with three year olds.

Master Beehive the younger is graduating this week - no, he hasn't become the next Ruth Lawrence, but he "graduates" from Primary to Elementary in the Montessori programme. He is all set (by his own choice) to give a small tap display for his "performing piece" at the graduation, note this has to be called 'Tap" not "Tap DANCE" because apparently it isn't cool to put dance after the word tap!!!???? So he and I have been practising our routine (no! I won't be performing, but probably mouthing the steps from the wings!) this evening much to the distress of our lino! Here he is in his Tap paraphernalia from his dance display last weekend!

Fred Astaire, eat ya heart out mate!