NIKKI-SHELL

See you soon

Tomorrow is moving day.  It's going to be a busy one!  I'm looking forward to Sunday, even though i know the place will be a mess of boxes i'll be sighing with relief.
Our internet connection will be cut off this afternoon and should hopefully be reconnected at the new place sometime in the next week (i'm hoping sooner rather than later).
Anyway, once i'm settled i plan to get myself organised and get a lot done, some very overdue things will be finished and sorted and many new things too.
I sewed my black cullottes last night, only have the waistband to sew down and a hook and eye to attach.  I will have pictures for you next week, the camera is packed in a box...somewhere.
Ok, wish me luck and i'll 'see' you all next week.
xx

Oh, and thankyou all so much for the wonderful comments you left about my dress, each one made me smile a lot.x

Feeling flirty

I finished the dress.  It was a labour of love i tell ya.  I love the fabric i used but it proved to be the cause of swear words.  I figured out what i'd done wrong with the bust, i'd cut a piece of the fabric wrong which made it stretch and stick out, once i'd cut another piece the correct way it sit just right.  I think i ripped the seam for the bust about 6 times before i got it right and it took two attempts to insert the zipper.  I also had to adjust at the underarms to stop them from sticking out.  This pattern is for a size 10, which i am but i have big boobs so i was quite suprise to find it too big.  Anyway, i learnt a lot making this dress and now i know exactly what to do for the next one, ha glutton for punishment that i am.  The next will be made from plain old cotton though, much easier to sew.
Anyway, here it is:

Excuse the windswept look but it's ridiculously windy here today, almost got blown away earlier.
The pattern i used is this one.

Other projects on the go at the moment are:
Finish sewing up my Hourglass Sweater (just in time for Spring!)
Black cullottes- different style from the last 2 pair, these are all cut out and ready to be sewn up.
Vintage dress in blue linen- all cut out but i think i'll wait until we're moved before i start to sew it.

Talking of cullottes, i found a couple of patterns at the op shop today.  I snapped them up and am offering them to the first 2 people that leave a comment requesting them, first in gets first pick.

(size 12-14-16)

(size 10)GONE!

Ok, gotta go pack more boxes.

Found it!

We found a house!!  We move in next Saturday.  I can't tell you how relieved i will be once we are moved in.  It has 3 bedrooms which means i will have my own little room, WOOHOOO!!!  The girls are going to share a room and Kev gets the dining room as his music room/place to escape, we'll have the table in the kitchen instead.  And guess who i'll be living very close to?  How exciting, our girls get on great and i must say i think we do too so there should be quite a few meet ups happening.
So, we're finally getting around to finishing off the packing.  I've left a few WIP's out to try and finish this week although i'm not holding my breath.  I tried putting together a dress last night but had some problems with the bust area sticking out too much.  There were some obscene words muttered then i finally gave up when Esme woke for her ritual 11pm feed and our friend Richard arrived from Sydney to stay for the weekend, (he calls our place 'Hotel Prested').  I won't be beaten though, i've rippped out the stitching and will fix it, then all that's left is the hem and the tie for around the waist.
Here's a pic of the girls enjoying themselves with a cardboard box, ahhh sometimes i wish i were little again.

Thanks for all your lovely comments about my legs, i'm flattered.  They don't look so nice close-up, lots of horrible thread veins from standing all day on cold kitchen floors.  My Mam uses the saying 'milk bottle legs' meaning they are as white as bottles of milk.

Got no motivation

sigh......i've had a lack of motivation recently.  I'm stuck in limbo, waiting to move house.  Half our stuff is packed in boxes, the other half is everywhere, a bloody mess actually.  We've applied for a house and are just waiting to hear if we were successful, keep your fingers crossed for us please.  Didn't get it, bugger.  Back to looking. Oh, it seems all your finger crossing for Kev's interview paid off, he got the job and started last week, hooray!  I feel a little odd at home alone with the girls now, i'm sure i'll get used to it though.  Look how handsome he looked on his first day (although very serious)!

I went to a 'Craft as a career' seminar on Friday with KB.  It was very informative and great to see so many crafters/artists in one room.  Saturday was spent at the Melbourne Museum with the girls.  We were there for over 3 hours and still didn't manage to see everything, so we're probably going to go back tomorrow with Kev. 
I did give myself a kick up the butt this weekend and made another pair of cullottes, tweed fabric this time.  I made these shorter than the last pair, what do you think?  I'm not so sure, i think they show too much of my milk bottle legs.  Check out my shoes though!!  I can barely walk in them and my little toes are killing me but they look fabulous.   Excuse the crap pick but this is the best i could do with two kids grabbing the camera every time.

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day in Australia or 'Happy Do Day' as Mia has been calling it.  Kev's special day was celebrated by all four of us having a pajama day (apart from a necessary trip to the shop).  We made him his favourite breakfast of poached eggs and salmon on english muffins topped with hollandaise sauce and he drank his coffee from his new mug that was handpainted by Mia.  We played, lay on the sofa and watched endless Trotro and Peppa Pig, bounced on the bed in the afternoon and after the girls went to bed we had a night of ER and The Sopranos dvd's.
I think i can say that he enjoyed his day.

*this is an older photo of him, he no longer has the beard.