Purple Frangipani

Sew what

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:33:00 +0000

With all the writing I have been doing lately and the list of things I keep forgetting, I had a sudden feeling that maybe I had forgotten how to sew - especially since I haven't sewn for oh, about 4 weeks.

So I pulled out an unfinished project and threaded up my over locker. 20 minutes and 3 rethreadings later I was ready to go. I sewed 3 more seams on a dress I keep meaning to finish.

Crisis averted - all good. Project packed away once again for another 10 days. (And only 10 days!)

Markets

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:36:00 +0000

If anyone had been looking at my website and saw that I planned to do a market on 5th December - I'm sorry to be part of false advertising, but it's not happening.

However Purple Frangipani will be at a new boutique children's market Allie's Attic on Saturday 13th February 2010 in Mosman.

More details closer to the day. It seems so far away! But at least it's something great to look forward to.

Julie and Julia and Hommus

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

On Friday I went to see Julie and Julia.

Lovely movie; sweet simple stories, nothing controversial, and especially nice to have a movie where the main characters were both married and their relationships were explored in a positive light. I recommend it :).

Anyway, in honour of Julie and Julia I thought I'd post a recipe - there isn't any lobster killing involved and no butter either (Julia would not approve!).

Lately I've been experimenting making healthy food from scratch in an effort to get a bit healthier. Something I came up with was an absolutely delicious homemade hommus. (It's a very rough recipe, but it's the kind of thing where you just keep adjusting too your taste)

In a blender put 1 400g can of drained and rinsed Chick peas (you could also use the dried ones, just leave in a bowl of water to soak over night first).

Then add a generous teaspoon of chopped garlic, a pinch of salt, a table spoon of lemon juice and a table spoon of water. Also add chopped coriander (I'm lazy and keep a tube of the prechopped stuff in my fridge and just add a good squeeze - I think it adds about 2 teaspoons. Probably finely chop half a bunch of fresh leaves).

Then blend to the consistency that you like. If it's not blending to the right consistency just add a bit more water.

This tastes sooooo good. Ten times better than the store bought stuff. I love it with plain rice crackers so you get the full flavour of the coriander. I haven't tried it but you could probably substitute the coriander for another herb that you like (such as mint or chili).

It keeps in the fridge for about a week and I've had success with making big batches and freezing it in small containers then pulling them out as I need them.

Thinking

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:29:00 +0000

You know how parents of new babies can't seem to talk about anything other than their little one? I feel like I can't write anything without it being about due dates and theories :).

But I have been thinking about other things the last few weeks. Mainly about my life - and what I want it to be.

There are somethings I want to change but have absolutely no control over. I need to learn to accept that trust that He's got it under control.

There are some things I want to change (or maybe, run away from would be a better phrase) but I have a feeling God wants me to stay and persevere. So I've got to take a deep breath and keep going - and learn to do so with a joyful heart.

And there are things which I want to change that I can change. So I've started to take some steps to change them. The first few steps might be small and on tip-toes but I'm starting to be more confident, plant my whole foot on the ground and hold my head just a little higher.

(photo credit)

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:57:00 +0000

I've been really frustrated lately. Mainly at myself I think, but I've been projecting it onto situations in my life which isn't helpful.
Maybe it's the extra assignments and staring at blank word documents, but I can't seem to form coherent sentences right now.
My brain feels tired. In a curled up on the couch, staring into the distance for hours at a time kind of way. I'm hoping it will wake up again soon.

Psalm 147

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Praise the LORD.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

Psalm 147 verse 1

How often do my prayers focus on me? How often do I praise God simply because of who He is?

(photo credit)

Creative Space 22/10/09

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:16:00 +0000

I couldn't find any buttons which looked right. So today I'm learning to cover buttons.

To add to a pretty little pinafore.

More creative spaces at Kootoyoo.

Water Play

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:44:00 +0000

In my opinion there is little that can entertain a toddler quite like water play. I have never met a toddler who doesn't love to splash and pour and scoop.

I look after the children at our churches Mum's bible study. Every Tuesday morning in school term I keep two toddlers and 3 preschoolers entertained so that their mums can meet together and study God's word.

Today I was in the back yard with two screaming toddlers (they do love me - they just don't love me in the moments after their Mums have disappeared). The sand pit had no real effect so I pulled out a tub and the hose and filled it up. We had about an hour of fun with a shovel, two ice cream containers and a water can. We all ended up soaking wet, but also laughing hysterically. Next time I'm pulling the water out first.

(photo credit)

Parallel lives

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:59:00 +0000

Yesterday was Diwali, the Indian festival of light. I only know this because I worked all day in the candle shop and we had people come in all day either gathering supplies or buying gifts to give. I have little idea of what Diwali is about but from talking with one customer I know they light lots of candles and have sparklers.

I was still thinking about this when I came home, as I walked through the complex our flat is in I noticed that one of our neighbours were obviously setting up to have people over for Diwali - they had fairy lights up everywhere and were cleaning furiously. Later that night I could hear the laughter and talking coming from their balcony.

It seems strange that people live so close to us, yet we have nothing to do with them. I wouldn't have thought they were celebrating a festival except that I knew about it from work. People around me have significant days and festivals that I have no idea of.

I'm not exactly sure why I thought about it so much. It all seems so disconnected and fragmented - living within cms of people and yet having no idea what makes them tick.

(photo credit)

Creative Space 15/10/09

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:03:00 +0000

Machine embroidering along the edge of a teeny tiny baby dress.

More creative spaces at Kootoyoo.

Earthquake

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:09:00 +0000

(This is part of an ongoing series chronicling memories of my life growing up as a missionary kid in Vanuatu. For a quick overview and links to previous posts you can click here)

Reading Rachael's posts about earthquakes and tsunami warnings reminded me about the earth quakes we experienced.

Tsunamis weren't in the worlds consciousness the way they are now, it was not something we ever really worried about (through we knew they did happen - friends of our had witnessed a 'big wave' on one of the littler islands after an earth quake). It was the earthquake that we felt and concerned us.

Our first earthquake happened within a few weeks of our arrival at Talua. Joshua and I were doing something at the kitchen table and it struck - we didn't know what had hit us. We sat screaming in the kitchen clinging to each other. Emma our house girl walked in after it had finished and laughed at us. I remember being rather indignant, how did we know that the house wasn't going to fall down around our ears?

Through the years we got use to them. They weren't very common, but they weren't a surprise either.

You can hear an earthquake before it comes. It's a low rumble, almost like a large semi trailer trying to get up a hill. When we moved back to Australia our house was near a busy road. There were times when I would hear the sound of the trucks and my body would involuntarily brace itself.

Within a few seconds of hearing the sound the earth would move side to side, a rythmic rolling sensation. When you tried to walk your feet tripped over themselves, but if you held onto a wall or furniture and braced yourself you were ok. Ornaments would tip over, and pictures might fall from the wall.

We were lucky we never experienced a really ferocious earthquake. Most of them were small and over within a few seconds.

In Vanuatu it's very rare to hear of major damage from an earth quake. The traditional houses of bamboo and wood has enough of a give in them to be okay. Most other buildings are only one story high and have steel running up within the walls to protect it in earth quakes. I use to worry about a tree falling on our house, but I'm not sure if that's even possible?

While we were there the worst thing we heard of was a concrete water tank which watered a village on a nearby Island split in two, and was useless. A new water tank had to be made and water carted over on canoes for a few weeks.

The water in the water tank near our house would still move within it even after the earthquake had finished. It would slosh out one side, then the other. Slowly less water came out as the water level dropped and the momentum lessened.

Earthquakes are generally accompanied by earth tremors. You might get a small tremor, which was followed by the main earth quake, then in the following hours a few more smaller ones as the earth settled itself into it's new position.

Baby Quilt

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:34:00 +0000

The quilt is all finished and gifted; so I can now show it without spoiling the surprise.

Isn't it cute? I'm really happy with it, especially considering I hadn't really done a quilt before (Well, there was a disaster in year 10 textiles when the teacher thought I knew what i was doing, but I didn't). The main problem I had was with the binding, I just sort of winged it :).

I basically just worked out dimensions for a simple square quilt with a simple boarder in between. It ended up being just under a meter squared - perfect for tucking in a cot or laying on the ground for baby to lie on.

I adapted the lion applique from Kim Schaefer's book Quilts, bibs, blankies . . . Oh my! It has lots of cute ideas for boy baby things, or gender neutral which is good because so many baby patterns can be a bit girly.

For the backing I decided to take a short cut (quilting purists stop reading now!), I just laid the quilt top onto a piece of polar fleece and quilted over it (no batting). I wanted the back to be pretty too so I quilted the cross in the squares before I appliqued the lion on. You can see the crosses on the back when you flip it over.

The baby should make an apperance in a few weeks, can't wait!

The Lord is King!

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:21:00 +0000

I find it interesting that among Christian children circles (especially in Sydney), you only have to say Colin and people know who you are talking about. No full name needed.

Being a Sunday school teacher I know most Colin songs by heart, and I'm a bit of a fan.

So when a friend from church rang to say she had tickets for her and her kids but had to work and did I want to take them for her, I jumped at the chance.

It was my first Colin concert, I had alot of fun :) - probably as much as the kids; I love being an early childhood teacher! Colin sang a range of songs from across all his albums - and entertained the kids between the songs with crazy clothes changes and silly skits.

I'd defiantly recommend going to one, it's very reasonable compared to alot of other kids concerts I've seen advertised and I felt that Colin interacted well with he kids, getting their input and encouraging them to join in. I'd say that the best age is preschool to early school (4-7 year olds)The almost 3-year-old I took was a little overwhelmed for most of it, but got up and danced towards the end, where as her 4 year old brother loved the whole thing.

I hope Colin is still doing concerts when I have kids.

Green dots

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:24:00 +0000

I've had to put most of my creative ideas on hold for a few days because I remembered I had to make a present for a little baby who will soon arrive.

Even though I know it's a boy I didn't want to go with the predictable blue, and went with a nice green colour palette. It's not too bright, but not too pale either.

This is my first venture into quilting - I've got a little over a week to get it finished! :)

"It works for me"

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:07:00 +0000

I had an hour commute to prac each way, as much as I'm enjoying the extra time to do things, I do miss being forced to sit and stop for the time each day. I can't read or do work on the train (because of a rather weak stomach), so I listened to bits and pieces on my ipod - among music and my talking Bible I discovered pod casts.

My favourite was CraftSanity, a show which interviews different artisans and crafters. Many of them were really interesting, and inspiring. Some of my favourites are interviews with Amanda Soule, Anna Maria Horner, and the Beerhost Family.

It was through CraftSanily that I discovered Mohops, because of an interview with Annie Mohaupt who makes them.

Check out these shoes, they are so cool! They have a hand carved wooden sole and little straps along the side that you thread ribbon through to create the top of the shoe. You can interchange the ribbons and tie them in different ways to create all different types of styles.

They even make a thong version which I think is genius because I live in thongs (flip flops) about 10 months of the year, and could mix and match the ribbons to match my clothes. I'm so ready to start cutting up some of my own shoes and seeing if I can convert them to a similar style . . .

I'm Back

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:09:00 +0000

(I think)

Resurfacing from prac-land (as I like to call it) always takes a few days.

Not helped by the fact that I'm frantically trying to complete an essay on the differences between Applied behaviour analysis and Relationship based therapy in the treatment of Autism. Yeah, confused me too.

The hour commute each way to prac gave me heaps of time to sit and think and dream up lots of ideas for creative bits and pieces I can't wait to get started on. Many of which are now possible because of this lovely contraption now sitting patiently on my desk.

As soon as the essay is done I start a week of holidays and hopefully will be able to reveal more.

Watch them Grow

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:58:00 +0000

I've hit the point in my prac where I have begun to really care for the children. There are a few I will be very sad to leave.

Such as *Ethan, with a head of gorgeous blonde curls, one of the quieter children but whose language has expanded by leaps and bounds even within the few weeks I have been here. His dad is German so he has a few words which reflect that - every time a car drives past the play ground he gets excited and calls out "auto! auto! auto!"

And *George, the little boy who's a little bit uncoordinated. He just has to walk (well, run really) into the room and I start smiling. He manages to have a stack about 20 times a day, but just picks himself up and laughs. He always has this cheeky, fun filled grin on his face.

Every prac there are a few children I remember long after prac finishes. I often wonder how they are going and what they are up to now.

I suppose that's the life of a preschool teacher, spending a year building up a relationship with children - then sending them off into the world. It's a little sad, but it's also exciting. This is such a wonderful age, full of discovery and wonder. What a wonderful chance we have to help them develop in such a precious time of their little lives.

*(not their real names)

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:30:00 +0000

I was planning to write a couple of posts before I was sucked into the vortex that is prac.

But it didn't happen.

And now I am so consumed by prac I can hardly pause for a breath. I'm enjoying it, but I have never felt this tired before in my life. Even the week of physical labour on a work site in tropical heat during the Vanuatu mission did not feel as exhausting as this.

I don't know when I will surface again, but I thought I'd add some pictures of a bag I made to help me carry all the stuff I need into the city everyday. It's so huge, with lots and lots of pockets. Though it has a bit of a nappy bag feel about it.

Water Tank

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:38:00 +0000

(This is part of an ongoing series chronicling memories of my life growing up as a missionary kid in Vanuatu. For a quick overview and links to previous posts you can go here)

Out the front of our house you had a clear view of the water tank where all the water for the collage was stored. It was piped from a spring up in the hills, and collected in the huge concrete tank.

There was a little bottle which floated on the water, a string was attached to it and came out the overflow pipe. A small weight on the end of the string told us where the water was up to. If the weight was low that meant the water level was high, so the bottle floated near the top. If the weight was near the roof of the tank it meant that the float was way down the bottom of the tank and therefore the water was almost out.

Mum had a habit of looking out the front door to check the weight level several times a day. She was often the first to know when the water started to drop; she would send one of us kids over to find Dad at his office so he could tell Yarael, our handy man.

The pipes which carried the water were laid on top of the ground. Sometimes someone would accidentally break them when gardening, sometimes someone would be angry with someone at the collage and they would cut the pipes, sometimes the pipes came apart because a tree fell down or a join broke.

When the water level was lower word would go around and everyone would conserve the water. The truck would set off to the river to collect drums full of water. The truck would they drive around the campus, when it came to your house you went out and handed up your buckets to the students and they handed them back full of water.

We used half a cup to brush our teeth, half a bucket to flush the toilet, half a basin to wash the dishes. We would have a shower with half a bucket of water. It’s amazing how little water you can use if it’s not there when you turn on the tap.
Yarael, would set off to walk the pipe line and fix the pipe. Hopefully he could fix it easily and the tank would fill up in a day or so. When the tank was full we turned on the taps and heard the groans and splutters of the air in the pipes. Then everything would go back to normal again

Ruffler

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:29:00 +0000

Quite a while ago I bought a ruffler for my machine. It's quite an intimidating piece of equipment, but defiantly worth the investment if you sew alot of gathered garments. It makes tiny gathers as you sew, which means you don't need to sew long stitches, pull the thread and then attach - saves so much time!

My ruffler attachment in action - impressive, isn't it?

But it isn't something you just attach and instantly start sewing, it takes a bit of practise and patience to start making good gathers. I found an e-book on you can make this which is so useful! You have to register to download it, but registration is free, so if you have a ruffler and need a bit of help, or you are just interested in finding out if it's worth getting one I'd recommend you download the book and have a look. It's very comprehensive (30 pages!), with lots of pictures to illustrate and shows all these things you can do with a ruffler I never knew about (and weren't in the instructions that came when I bought it).

Tea?

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:38:00 +0000

I hosted another women's afternoon tea for the women at church this Sunday. They are a lot of fun, there isn't really any purpose; just to spend time together. We sit and chat and share and laugh together. It's so rare that that happens any more. There are so many meeting with agendas, ministries to organise, deadline and schedules. It's very rare that we have a chance to just be together. Yet it is during those times that you get to know each other a little more, and become a community together.

Do you like my cake stand? My Aunty didn't want it so she passed it on to me, Yay!

Day dreaming outside

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:34:00 +0000

Today I spent the entire day inside, as I was working at the store from open to close.

The weather the last few days has been so beautiful. Real go-outside-and-lie-in-the-sun-weather.

I've started some of my observation days for prac. Spending your day with under two's teachers you many things. One of the most important is to delight and wonder at the world around you. I laughed with the children as bubbles floated across the playground and popped when we tried to touch them. I delighted with the children in the different noises we can make from simple toys cars (more than you would think!). I wondered at the blue sky and the birds the flew around.

This is your task; get outside and wonder with childlike delight at the world around you. Don't try to explain it away and don't try to make sense, just wonder.

(picture credit)

The Show

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:02:00 +0000

It just so happened that Mum was in town during the week of the Stitches and Craft show. So we set off to explore, as it has been several years since we went to one of these shows.

My main tip if you are heading there over the weekend would be to go straight to the top level. This is where all the beautiful things are. It is full of hand printed fabric, indie patterns, beautiful crafty goodness. I felt that the organisers should have given these stall holders larger areas, there was plenty of space and all of the stall holders were squished together which made browsing harder than it should have been. And I could have easily browsed double the amount of these stalls.

Unfortunately alot of these pieces were out of my price range (the poor student that I am) but I built up a big collection of business cards with plans to check it out over Christmas holidays(when I get more work and therefore cash). I did pick up two mixtape zines, and got lots of helpful tips from Nicole of nicolemdesign (check out her bag patterns, they are beautiful) - she explained how to use Vilene s520 to make bag bases, which I put an order in for.

We then ventured downstairs. After the top floor the rest was a bit of a let down. There were too many people and it had a more generic feel about it. I sighed over some over lockers, got a replacement blade for my rotary cutter, and Mum got a collection of fat quarters. There was a craft book stall I would have loved to browse but too many people pushing and shoving. We escaped back to level 4.

I'm amused to see how my crafting tastes have changed. I barely glanced at the scrap booking stalls, where as a few years ago I would have spent hours collecting different paper. I also wasn't that interested in the quilting fabric. I much prefer the hand printed linens, unique patterns which you don't see anywhere else, and being able to chat with the people who design and make all the bits and pieces.

I had been looking forward to seeing Handmade Nation, but apparently there were 'technical difficulties' and it didn't play. Becasue of this we ended up heading home at 12:30, which was alot earlier than we planned. It was nice to spend some time with Mum, and I did get lots of inspiration - which is the real fun of craft shows.

A beautiful reminder

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:02:00 +0000

My tulips have flowered!

See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:28-33

Buds

purplefrangipani@gmail.com (Erin) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:55:00 +0000

I turned around and suddenly my tulips have buds, and they look like the will flower in the next week or so. Can't wait!

I'm just excited that I haven't killed them yet - I'm bad at remembering to water my little garden.