Oh the humanity!

Conversation between me and the receptionist at the chiro. We were talking about Masterchef.

Her: "Ohhh....what did you think about...."
Me: "Hang on, don't say anything. I've been away for 9 days so I'm catching up on the episodes I've missed. I've taped them all."
Her: "Oh, this was ages ago, you would have seen this already."
Me: "Oooo-k, if you say so."
Her: "What did you think about Hayden being kicked out?"

Long silence.

A tumble weed rolls past.

Me: "I haven't seen that episode yet".


On another note, why does my phone autocorrect the word "bum" to this.....?

What is a B'um? And where do I get my hands on one?

Speaking of bums.....well bummers anyway. My overlocker did a little whoopsie in it's beret (please excuse my awful Frank Spencer from Some Mother's Do Ave Em reference - I've never watched the show yet I feel the need to quote that line on a regular basis. Despite the fact it ended in 1978. And I wasn't born until 1981.)

Sigh.

It's hard being inside my head sometimes.

Anyway, back to the bummer of me being without my overlocker while it gets fixed. **Note to self - don't take sacred machines to be serviced by a man who works in a shed out the back of his house**

I am at a complete loss. I could be cutting things out or doing some prep work but without my overlocker I am hit by the futility of life. And what good is my sewing machine (don't you dare tell her I said this) if I can't finish the edges off?

So instead, I am wasting time on Facey.....and dreaming of the dress that the amazing Bec from Naughty Shorts is making me. It's going to look like this:

But it will be in this fabric:

And I will wear it with these shoes:

I feel better now! You can find Bec from Naughty Shorts here on Facey, here on etsy and her gorgeous blog here :)

I'm off to watch my Some Mothers Do Ave Em box set.

I love mail!

This is what was waiting for me when I got home from 9 days away.

There were bills too but I just chucked them in the bin.

I'm kidding.

I shredded them, then recycled them. C'mon, I'm not that environmentally unaware.

Spotlight here, Spotlight there

Ok, so I have no self control. Pffft, you say. We could have guessed. That's weird, I think. Why are you talking back to me? This is my blog, just read it and shoosh yourselves! You'll get your chance in the comments section at the end.

I buy lots of my fabric online. But I still love Spotlight because I love to see the fabric in person, to touch it and to hold different fabrics together to make a match. Somehow, every time, I spend far too much money.

This is what happens when I go to Spotters.

First of all, I give myself a little pep talk on the way. I say,

"Now, you don't really NEED any fabric, so we'll just look, ok?".

That's a good plan. I'll definitely stick to that.

"I might touch the fabric, but I won't even get a basket. Just looking, maybe a little touching. But no buying. Good."

I square my shoulders and walk through the door and no, I don't get a basket. No.

I get a trolley.

I swear, I don't even know how it happens. I think it's a throwback from my childhood, and something to do with the fact that I want to put the $2 coin in the slot to release the trolley. No big brother around to claim that right this time!

In I go, guiltily pushing my trolley, skimming past the homewares toward my favourite section. And then I'm there. In Fabric Town. Population: me. And some Nana's.

Instant fabric coma.

I walk. Very. Slowly. Past. All. The. Fabrics.

And then back again.
And again.

I look at them suspiciously....they're definitely winking at me.

And then....I touch one. And it's all over. I'm like a whirling dervish twirling around, flinging fabrics into my trolley, the matching threads, a packet of pins that I want just because they have pink flowery ends, ooh pinking shears...why, hello tape measure with a pig shaped case! Sale table? Don't mind if I do! Buttons? Sure, chuck em in! Wadding? Sure! Never used it before, probably won't ever? Never mind, in it goes.

And then it's all over. I take my ticket and line up to get my fabric cut. Eyeing off the other trolleys around me to see what they've got. At this stage, one of the sweet little Nana's inevitably asks me why I have so many fabrics. At which point I end up either giving them a business card or showing them photos of what I make. Shame? Never heard of it.

The ladies at the counter seem to be trying to take longer than each other to finish their current customers...they wouldn't be trying to avoid me would they? And then my number is called, my fabrics are cut and I'm out the door, my Spotlight card crammed with new points!

I go home, read this tutorial and organise my new fabrics to look like this.

I don't really.

This is what I really do.

Shopping at Spotlight counts as exercise, right?

It's a boy's life

I had a lovely liker on Facey ask me yesterday why I don't make boy's clothes, particularly seeing as I have the perfect model in the shape of my son. A great question, which I feel can be answered with this photo:

My child + food or drink = spillage. He takes after his father who constantly has a collection of smudges on the exact same spot of his tops. It's cute. When it's not on clothes I have made. It's easy to ignore the stains...I just squint and avert my eyes when I hang their clothes up. Also works well for ignorning creases, missing buttons, mismatched socks etc. I can go on. Suzy Homemaker, I am not.

But I digress.

I like to pretend that each bit of Yumminess clothing goes to pink princesses that tiptoe lightly through life, completely smudge free and perfectly presented at all times. They don't miss their mouths and spill milk everywhere. They drink their babychinos with a pinky in the air and nibble the accompanying marshmallow delicately. NOT shove in it their gob and make a grab for the sugar packets on the table, while dragging their sleeves through their eggs. Isn't that right?!

Don't shatter my dreams ladies.

In all seriousness though the reason why I don't make boy's clothes (and by the way - boy's clothes are not ruled out completely at Yumminess HQ, it's just not happening right at this moment) is because quite simply - my life is FILLED with boy stuff. And I love it, I truly do. But after a long day of trucks and hammers, getting to sit down with some seriously feminine fabric and creating something frou frou is what inspires me. And to me, it's so important to remain inspired to keep the Yumminess coming!

Plus, it gives me a chance to support other businesses who do make yummy boy's things, like these amazing businesses....please click on their name to find their site :)

Little Red Child - Facebook page

This is actually Alby's - we love it! :)

  

Oh Deer Me! Boys & Girls handmade pieces - Facebook page

We own TWO of these!

Furious Kingston - Website

Furious Kingston - Facebook page

How can you NOT love this!?

Boystrous  - Website

Boystrous - Facebook page

Tractors rock!

Jonny and Delilah  - Website

Jonny and Delilah  - Facebook page

Cute!

  

 Little Toot Creations - Website

Little Toot Creations - Facebook page

My little man in action :)

Our little baby bobbins

Soooo......I saw an ad for a TV show about people who are in love with inanimate objects. This woman was touching and kissing, of all things, a wall. Yes, you did read that right, a wall. It was a little disturbing but it got me thinking about what an inanimate object can mean to people. Clearly, there is some underlining psychological issue with the wall lady...but I'm the first to admit that I have kissed my sewing machine before. There, I said it. We're in love and we're running away to Mexico, where we will be joined together in holy haberdashery and live happily ever after with our baby bobbins.

Ok, I'm being silly (apart from the kissing the machine, that bit is true) but my point is that I never knew that using a machine would bring me so much joy. The thought of sitting at my machine after a long day and creating something from scratch makes my heart sing.

The first time I sat down in front of a machine was in November last year. I come from a long line of seamstresses, I remember in school holidays joining my Mum in the TAFE workroom while she studied fashion design and also playing with the (tailored!) barbie clothes that she and my Aunties made when they were little girls. My Aunty is a very in demand pattern maker who can look at a photo of an outfit and make a pattern from it - her talent is incredible. My Mum used to make us fake Mambo and Billabong clothes (actually, is that illegal? I'll have to delete that bit if the cops read this) and my god did I rock the gumnut baby jumper she made me - complete with actual gumnuts that had been drilled and attached to the jumper. My point is, that I have grown up being surrounded by handmade and it still surprises me now that it has taken me this long to discover it myself.

It was actually my Mum who bought me my first machine and as soon as I sat down in front of it, I whipped up a skirt. I have no idea how I was supposed to do it "properly" but the skirt is still in action and happily worn by one of Alby's little girlfriends. Isn't it amazing what you can do when no-one tells you that you can't? And I have never looked back. I'll always be grateful that my Mum never tried to force me into sewing. That she allowed me to find it on my own and that when I was ready, the timing was juuuuust right so that she would be the one to buy me my first machine. And to be able to bite her tongue while I haphazardly navigated my way around and figured out my own way of discovering the joy that is sewing.

That being said....I'm not above a bit of pushy parenting myself......

What? Someone has to keep Yumminess going when I go away on honeymoon with my sewing machine!