IT's a small thing

but this is the first time i've been here and someone ELSE is looking at my blog, woo!

not sure what they're looking at, as i'm too darn tired to blog much (4.30am start to the day anyone?), but, woo, yay anyway!

Radiogram

is ours, woo!

We like cucumber

A bit too much.

Mice

Or rabbits or pacman have been taste testing everything in our crisper drawer... Methinks it was a small blonde pacman. Waka waka waka

I think he was hungry.

dear triumph...

Dear Triumph,

why do you only make this wonderful style in white or a weird flesh tone that doesn't match any real skin colour? and only in limited sizes? if this was black and available in my size i would buy lots. lots and lots. and so would vintage pin-up girls the world over. there's a hidden market there you know. sigh. maybe i can find a white on ebay somewhere and take it in...

Doreen 'L-02' long line bra

xxxCherry

crazy dreams

as you may or may not know, mums who co-sleep (or sleep near) their babies don't enter stage 4 sleep (the deep sleep, oh how i miss it!) and upon waking, remember dreams more so than before baby came along. i don't always remember mine, but a recent one stuck due to it's complete craziness;

scene1: i was in theatre having a c-section for my second child(no, not preggo yet, and not planning on a c-ser), and i was watching them cut me open. interestingly my insides were leopard print with scarlet trim-sweet!), and then just as they're about to lift the baby out...

scene 2: post op lying in my room and hubby walks in, with a shaved head and glasses(apparently he'd been to his school reunion, and it required the shaving-as you do). he says 'surprise, we had twins!' um, yay. strange it wasn't picked up on the scans, but hey, ok i'll roll with it. 'do i want to see the babies?' well, yes, that's would ever so neat, yes please. in he walks with the two tiny babies. one girl and one boy. the girl has pale skin and dark hair, and the boy has tan skin and fair hair. picture perfect. except for one striking feature- they're rabbits. yup, i've given birth to twin bunnies. what the hell is my sub conscience telling me?!?

crazy brain.

thrifty thursday

a wrap up of the latest op-shoppy finds that now live in our house, welcome my lovelies!

two vintage board books - illustrated and printed in Japan - too cute!


A whole hoard of books for the wee one, including:
'where did i come from' from 1977
'the digging-est dog'
'how do dinosaurs clean their rooms?'
'frosty the snowman' golden book from the 60's



some great kitschy finds for the kitch-en:

the salt and pepper shakers are on long handles to shake-a shake-a over the BBQ! And the barrel comes with 12 cups. small cups though, so we figure rum?

Some cute things for the table; capsicum coasters, a wild chicken toothpick holder and some chillis that hold napkins. they look great on our laminex table!

and some lovelies for me!
A leather 50's look handbag (it has LV logos on all the brass trims, but i have no idea of it's a real one or a damn good fake-but i don't care, i just like the look of it!)
And an old leather dr's style briefcase (missing the key, phooey) but gorgeous nonetheless.

Some cute shoes for summer, both worn only once or twice, yay


And finally some cute little underthings. i'm always a bit partial to vintage lingerie, especially if you pair it with crisp clean white bonds briefs or tanks to modernise it. I've never really gone for the true vintage reproduction look-i think it's just way too costumey for my taste, but i do like to incorporate pieces into my wardrobe in fresh ways. and now that baby weight is all gone (thanks breastfeeding!), with the exception of my enormous norgs of course, i can start wearing cute clothes again, woohoo! just in time for summer too, yay!

ok, off to bed, my brain is mush. toodles!
xCherry

new mai tai

after my delicious new industrial machines were serviced, the first thing i made was a new carrier for the little man. unfortunately my plain machine decided to blow up (well, leak vast amounts of hideous smoke and nearly setting off the fire alarm, eeek!). so alas i had to finish off on my trusty metal domestic, but still, i made something, woo!!! no fault of the service man, the machine was on its' last legs,(and a super-duper-nearly-free kinda bargain) but i thought it would last longer than that! poo. oh well, at least i can get another one now that is in better nick. anyway, this is the carrier i made:


it's black stretch cotton twill (a beautiful fine, light weight), with the pocket from a vintage silk kimono:


it can be worn as a front carry, back carry or side carry, so much more versatile than the sling or bjorn. and when made from pretty fabrics, it doesn't look so, um, hippy. nothing wrong with being alternative, but personally i don't really want to wear rainbow colours or crazy prints like so many mai tais are made from. bleaugh.

and the boy likes it too! (excuse the house clothes)



xCherry

Happy fathers day!

Love, kingston. Xxx

inconvenient fussy week - but so much development!

soooo, i had planned to be making things left right and centre this past two weeks. but of course those of you with babies know how well plans last! no sooner had my new shiny machines been serviced (by this lovely guy-go see him if you need anything, he was great), but of course little king started going through:

• his 36wk wonder week (see here & here for info)
• sleep hell due to above (no naps, and waking through the night and being miserable from no sleep)
  
• teething (just moving- no more yet)
• learning to pull up (success!)
• learning to climb (success!)
  
• learning to walk holding our hands (success!)
• separation anxiety (gaaaaaaaaah - limpet again!)

so the whole time has been spent carrying him around, comfort feeding and generally trying not to die from lack of sleep!
i'm so lucky to have friends and family that have helped us get through this! a special mention to Cat and D for allowing us to play in Dylan world when i just couldn't face going home!


in better news, we have gotten sooo much better at catching his wees and poops. we caught all his morning wees in the potty yesterday, and he stayed dry throughout his nap, and then we caught his after nap wees too! yay EC!


so right now my fingers are tingling with hope that he'll be a bit better this coming week, as i'm really looking forward to making some new clothes!

hope everyone else is having a better start to spring.

xCherry

Just waiting on a service.

Man coming on tues. Yay! We have a plain stitch, a 4 thread overlocker, a coverstitch and a buttonholer(in shed) just need to sort out a cutting / pattern making table that fits a small space but also expands to be giant enough to cut wide fabric. Hmm maybe a small dining table that expands? Thinking thinking.

Looking like daddy

And growing up so fast, not a baby baby anymore, no no no.

New shoes!

For the little pre walker. Leather bobux in size hephalump. Love! And so excited, i get my industrial machines serviced on tues. My fingers are tingling already!

new desk + shelves

we need a new computer desk, now we're in our neeeeeeeew house. we moved closer to civilisation, so DH doesn't have to die in traffic every day anymore. but of course we now have no monies, what with only one income, so we want something cheap, but not hideous. but cheap things are usually ugly, especially office furniture.

then i found this on recyleart:
love, love, love.
so this is the next 'big' project. but in black. not purple. never purple.
and since we rent i'm going to have to ker jiggy it, so it doesn't need to be attached to the wall to stay up.
clearly i need more power tools.

it's a great site, with other nifty creations such as a building made from kitchen sinks:

and this pet bed made from an old suitcase (too cute):
go have a look for some inspiring (and cheap) ideas.

xcherry

Already?

The all fours rocking has started and he can already seal flop forwards on both knees. Must move to house with less stairs asap!

Ladies man

Six months already?!

Aspergers and me

Yes, well, many people in my real life are aware of me being on the spectrum, but after being asked to write about my experiences for Essential Baby, I thought it's only fair if I share here also. I have never been ashamed of it, I actually found diagnosis quite liberating because there was a real reason I didn't feel right and it wasn't just 'stress', enabling me to move forward in my life.
If you're interested, the full article is here: Aspergers; through adult eyes.

xxxCherry

Playing Catch Up

Sooo, we've hit the dreaded four month sleep 'regression' in our house, hence the no posting for a month (yikes). Any semblance of a sleep pattern has gone out the window and poor little king has been a bit of a wreck because of it.
It started about 3 days before daylight savings went back, then of course that happened, which did NOT help. And then a visit to Granny & Grandpa in Adelaide over easter was too much excitement-sleep just got in the way. Of course having no routine for that time meant he got all confused once we got home, and over-tired too. Then teething started, and to top it all off four month immunisations. After charting his sleep on exel, it seems he's trying to go from mostly asleep to mostly awake during the day, and this obviously takes some time developmentally. (yes I am that geeky, but this guy is worse)
But through all this we've had some good things too: he's learned to roll back to front and to stand up from sitting (with a hand held from dad). He's tried pear, and loooved it, drooling, lunging at the spoon with his mouth and grabbing the container to throw pear everywhere. Avocado was a great success too-a green moustache is very sexeh, apparently.

He's nearly discovered his feet-he keeps staring at them, and has grabbed them once, but not really with intent yet. And he's nearly commando crawling, spinning in a circle, and moving about 3 inches forward, but we're still a way off yet.
His eyes are slowly going brown, and he's looking a lot more like his daddy (personally i think it's the monobrow, but don't tell him that!). His hair has yet to fall out and re-grow, but there's a lovely bald patch on the back from rolling around looking at everything-very becoming.
I haven't had much time to make things alas, but I've managed to fix and mend a couple of things that were in desperate need of it (bras nearly falling off, holes in favorite shirts that get worn to work without getting me to fix them. sigh.)
With a little more sleep, I'll be more inspired, I promise!

busy busy busy

Too busy to post this week gone. In the good way, thankfully.
*My mum came over from Tassie on the weekend to spend some time with the King, which was great. A really nice relaxing day. Having Kingston has definitely improved our relationship a great deal,I think because we now have a shared topic of interest we can talk non-stop about!
*Finally managed to vacuum the house, which was starting to grow things I'm sure. (dull but necessary-next I need to mop up all the vomit spills, at least most are just milk from King ha aaha )
*Been emailing back and forth with a long lost friend from way back, who now has 2 kids, her youngest was born within the week of King which is pretty cool, so talking baby shite lots.
*Personal training on wed nights, with these guys: next level Gary is fit as fuck and a lovely guy, so slowly getting my body back, which is nice. (currently a slim size 10, with huge norgs, but I've lost 5cm off my circumferences so far...wooo!)
*Best of all though, I have actually managed to do some making! Nothing on the range yet, I've been procrastinating on the patternmaking front, but some little things for king, which I'm happy about. I did cut out 10 size small minky nappies for him, leave them in my 'to do' pile, and then discover 4 days later he's grown out of smalls....bloody growth spurts! he weighs 7.01kg now! so i'll just leave them until the next one comes along, and they can have them.

Ok, ok, pictures, right? who goes to blogs to actually read anyway?!?

A taggy blankie for King. (the button is bigger than a film canister, so safe if the rick rack breaks), the back is minky (sooooft), and the monkey faces are great, as King is right into faces at the moment.

A grandpa cap and slippers for King. I had a cap that was toddlers size (52cm) and i copied the pattern and then graded it down to 00-0 size (49cm). I also added some elastic at the back (under the lining), so it will grip his head until he grows into it. And a cute rocket pip label.
The shoes also have a soft leather sole and will fit until 6months, so he should get some wear out of them I hope! I just followed this pattern.

I also made a new playmat, as I wanted one with the overhanging bits to hang toys from. (King looooves hitting things), so I cut up a pop-up laundry basket and used the heavy wire from that. covered them in some hand made gingham bias tape, and made some 'stoppers' for the emds with leather inside to preven the wire from poking through. the rest is just the usual sewing etc...
Apparently it works! Apologies for the shitty lighting, but we couldn't wait one second to try it out!

xCherry

Odd One Out -winner!

It seems almost unanimous; #6 bites the dust. Also, I think I will rework #5 a little, since everyone is right, it doesn't quite fit in with the other designs. I do love a good strapless 'prom' dress though, so it might just need a play before it fits well... i'll be back with options, don't you worry!

Thanks so much to everyone who made comments (even if they were left in the wrong place, lulupants!), I really appreciate it!
The humble prize goes to Levine as per this random hat pick,
pls let me know what address you would like the goodies sent to, so I can post asap.

And because I hate to leave a post without a picture, the little man having fun in the park:

xCherry

Odd One Out Givaway

Soooo, I have too many ideas for my new range. Part of design is knowing how to cull to get the best possible end result. Of course, this is the part I find the hardest!
So I need your help please.
I can only include 5 out of these 6 dresses in my new range. Which one do you like the most? Which the Least? and Why?
Personally I'm leaning towards removing #6, as I don't really wear blouson-y shapes so much. But I know not everyone likes their clothes slim cut with low necks, like me! Oh and the colours and prints are all substitute at this stage, but just representative of what I would like. (I've butchered the lovely Lara Cameron's ginko print, but I think it would be lovely in a black base with jade leaves, and will most likely get this fabric printed up by Ink & Spindle for the range.)
As an incentive to get all you lurkers to help me out, I am offering a givaway to one random commenter: an assorted bundle of cute scrap fabrics and notions for making and crafting. It's not much, but I hope it will help get some ideas flowing for you!
5 fabrics (about 1/2m of each), 2 vintage pieces of lace, some vintage buttons and a 'home companion' dated 18th dec 1948

Oh, and comments close Monday march 23rd 10pm EST, so I can post your goodies out on Wed.

xCherry

Happy Anniversary

I have a confession to make: both Jim and I forgot our anniversary this year. and last year. and the two years before that. we suck. but in fairness, we've been together three times as long as we've been married, so it's just not the be-all-and-end-all for us. king's birthday is more important(which we haven't forgotten). oh, we have no idea when we first started seeing each other either. all we know is 'july sometime 1995'. we really suck.

what important date don't you remember that you really should?


xCherry

game on moles

it's that time of year again- derby time!!!!
alas i wont be skating (still getting fit post baby), but some amazingly fit and skilled skaters will be. please show your support and come along, it's fantastic to watch: a real sport, not just hot chicks on skates.

Date:	04 April 2009
Time:	19:00 - 22:00
Location:	Puckhandlers
Street:	Cnr Davis and Blake Streets
Town/City:	Reservoir, Victoria, Australia

more info here
see you there!

xCherry

did it!

Dress achieved!
The stitches and craft show was great, too; As well the ubiquitous old lady floral quilting and scrapbooking extravaganza, there were some fantastic modern craftsters with some amazing talent. If we weren't completely broke, I would have bought too many things from some great local artisans. I wanted to take lots of photos too, but I didn't want anyone to think I was planning on stealing their ideas!
There's too many to mention everyone, but my favorites included:

Ink & Spindle
Fantastic quality fabrics with really original and beautiful prints.

Audrey & Maude
I fell in love with their robot softies.
Twiglet
I am sooo making one of her ear flap hats for king
(sorry, i'd buy one if i could!)

Well, right now I am drained and knackered from a looong night with the wee little man, so I might go curl up with a good book for an hour (and maybe snooze if I'm lucky)
Who was your favorite at the fair?

xCherry

A miracle happened: crafting enabled!

SOoooo King decided that he's a big boy now and is ok to sleep by himself during the day.

oh. my. god. i have my hands free again! woooooooooooooooo.

i know, it's a bit over the top, but i don't care, i can make things again! yay! so i ransacked a couple of opshops on wednesday (my car day-i get to leave the house), and found a couple of bits and pieces, including this quilt cover, which is going to be turned into a dress by the end of the day if it kills me:

I'm thinking something retro and house-dressy (i'm living in jeans and tanks and the jeans don't quite fit any more which is a good thing as they're a size bigger than i pre-preggers wear) so i want some dresses to wear around the house that are comfy, and cute and i can breastfeed in. the last one's the killer! so i've come up with the below idea, and hopefully i can get it done for the weekend. (i want something nice for the stitches and craft show) so wish me luck, and speedy fingers!

Oh, and there's a cute meme via Meet Me at Mike's - have a go! You just google "Unfortunately Cherry" - or whatever YOUR name is and then cut and paste your favorite quotes! Here are the more ridiculous of my unfortunates -

UNFORTUNATELY....

Cherry's problems are many, so many.

unfortunately Cherry seems to be too cement headed to see that.

Cherry 2000 is an old model, and replacement parts can only be found in the anarchic, post-apocalyptic "Zone 7."

Unfortunately, Cherry’s punishment doesn’t stop there. ...

Cherry did not report the actual numbers of insects (s)he obtained, (s0)

Unfortunately, Cherry’s book is a bit of a “doorstop”.

Unfortunately, Cherry gets her leg amputated by the mad Dr. William Block...

Unfortunately, Cherry doesnât have a rich uncle or wealthy parents that help pay for her musical endeavors

Unfortunately, Cherry becomes all the more emotionally dependent while Fish is never going learn to control himself

ha aha ha, what's your favorite 'unfortunate' for your name?

xCherry