Mad Quilter

knit Spin Weave

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 09:01:00 +0930

I'm starting a yarn shop!

Studio

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 09:18:00 +0930

My studio is progressing. Peter is now painting.

Windows

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 4 Jun 2014 18:13:00 +0930

My studio has windows!

It followed me home .... Can I keep it??

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 23 May 2014 09:38:00 +0930

It followed me home can I keep it?

Finn X spotted fleece

I work at the Wirrabarra Craft house once a fortnight on a Thursday morning.

I look forward to my day there, there's always something new in store including Lucinvale fleeces.

If you love unique, hand crafted quality then make sure you pop in and have a browse. All our lovely volunteers love a chat too.

I'm at the markets!!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 23 May 2014 09:31:00 +0930

Now you can visit me at the Wirrabarra and Port Pirie markets.

2 nd Sunday of the month - Port Pirie 8:30- 12:00

3 rd Sunday of the month- Wirrabarra markets 8:30 - 12:00

I'm stocking:

Hand crafted items ... Hats, mitts, scarves, shawls and more

Fibres .... Washed fleece, dyed fleece, carded fleece, dyed rovings, and more

Yarns .. Handspun and commercial yarns hand dyed.

Come and make an enquiry about upcoming classes and workshops..

Learn to spin

Spindle spinning

How to hem pants

Beginning sewing

Custom work is always welcome..

Spinning,

Alterations and mending

Hemming.

Have you noticed...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 3 Jun 2013 11:24:00 +0930

Have you noticed how happy you are when you get what you need, not what you want?

A deep thought. Yes, Ive been running again. I do my best thinking when I'm plodding along.

I ran my 5th half marathon just over a week ago. My fastest so far.
Giving myself what I needed, not what I wanted has certainly paid off.

I want Timtams and cakes but I need lean protein, vegies and fruit. If I had what I wanted, too often, I'd still be over 100KG but by having what I needed I'm now at a healthy BMI and running half marathons.

It's a philosophy I'm taking into my parenting too. I don't always give my kids what they want but I always give them what they need. Water, Healthy food, love, safety, routine and a place to call home.

There's always a little room for treats, too much of what you want doesn't lead to happiness.

I hope today you get what you need and not a smidgeon more!

Still on the run.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:53:00 +1030

I'm still running.
I'm still surprising myself at my "stick-to-it-ness".
Some weeks I'm more dedicated than others.
I'm still around goal weight, made it past a year.

I swam again this summer. Wearing swimmers and shorts. Still gives me a boost to pull on a pair of shorts. When I was big I dreamed of wearing shorts.

I ran a half marathon last weekend and have entered another which is in less than two weeks.

I came second in the Booleroo Tri- challenge. Another medal in the cupboard. I also got medals in swimming this year. The older I get the less competition I have ;-).

I've not added any more babies to the tribe. Although a newborn can still make me melt. Peter says, "no" and "we're almost out of nappies!"

Not much creating going on here. The occasional spinning, a little knitting and the odd crocheting. Swim season kept me well occupied.

I still occasionally dream of being a textile artist but I'm realistic in that I have more than enough to do right now in raising a family.

The kids are all "disgustingly healthy!" To quote a doctor. A true blessing I am enormously appreciative of. My baby is now 3 and oldest will turn 16 this year.

I still pop in to ravelry on a spasmodic basis. I'm still staying off the social media. Even managed to permanently delete my Facebook! That took some effort and patience.

Cheers
Tracy

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:49:00 +1030

Raising Awareness and funds for Autism SA

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:18:00 +0930

Hi all!
Long time no see? Over 6 months!
Time has whizzed by.
I'm bringing the blog back, for a few months as I fund raise for Autism SA.
James was diagnosed as Autistic a while back now and is now receiving support from Autism SA.
Autism SA works to raise awareness of Autism, educating the community and supporting individuals and families of Autistic individuals.

To raise awareness and funds I will be running in the City To Bay on September the 16th. I would really like it if you could support me in raising awareness and funds for Autism SA by clicking on the link below and donating to Autism SA and passing on the message to mutual friends to come and support me too.

Link here:

I Love Someone With Autism

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:35:00 +0930

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:33:00 +0930

Hi all!
The blog is no longer active and I won't be restarting to blog.
I questioned how healthy it was for me to put a window into my families lives, I found my answer was that is was not a healthy thing to do.
I hope the patterns here are useful to

No idea!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:17:00 +1030

Self revelations come on my runs.

Today's was a relatively short run for me at 4kms. I'm not a fast runner, yet. I'm getting there with the distances. I enjoy my runs so much that I get out of bed at 6am to do them! Today's run was great, I did some good times in a couple of my 1/2km splits.

12 months ago I would of laughed at anyone who told me I'd be happy to get up at 6am to go run. Some days I squeeze in a second run after dinner.

Today's run revelation was that I have no idea, no idea of what I am capable of! Twelve months ago I would of told you I couldn't run for 1 min, let alone an hour. Now I run almost 2 hours!

I've come to see that my only limitations are the ones I set for myself. That by thinking "I can't" I'd fulfilled those limitations.

I'm happy to say I have no idea of what I am capable of. I'm so looking forward to finding out what I can do, no longer hampered by the self doubt and negative self talk.

I've gone and done it...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 09:52:00 +1030

I've signed up and paid for my first 1/2 marathon!

I'm going to do the Clare Half Marathon on April the 1st!

Now I'm dragging myself out of bed at 6 am to get my runs in.

My aim is to finish, I'm not concerned about my time.

My longest run so far was 15kms about 6 weeks ago and I still had some get up and go at the end

so I'm certain I can do a half, which is just over 21kms.

If you're in Clare on the 1st of April,

make sure you throw some water on me and say hello!

Fake it 'til you make it!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 2 Feb 2012 09:54:00 +1030

Today is my year anniversary at Weight Watchers. A year ago today I joined. A year ago today I made the decision that this was the last time I'd ever weight 89.9kgs (or more) I took the last photo of me ever at that weight.

A year on and I've achieved my goals.

At times it's been an easy ride at others the hardest journey I've ever taken. I've learned so much and grown so much. I've become mentally and physically healthy.

There were days I just had to fake being the healthy, fit woman I dreamed of being. Times I had to ask myself, "What would a fit, healthy woman do?" Would she go the gym or sit on the couch eating the salt and vinegar chips?

Days I had to ask myself, "Who do you want to be?" The depressed, overweight mother or the fit, energetic, happy mother. Days I just had to fake being that fit, happy, energetic woman.

Ever day I faked it was one day closer to making it. By acting like a fit, healthy energetic woman I have become that fit, healthy, energetic woman. Today I don't have to fake it anymore.

My blog has been poorly neglected of late. I've lost my blog mojo, not a bad thing really. I did weaken and rejoined facebook for a few weeks there but once again 'social networking' started to take over my life. Would a fit, energetic, woman sit on facebook? Or would she be out playing with her kids? I decided to deactivate my facebook account again, I'm not the sort of person who can use it in a balanced and moderated way.

The blessing of being bored.....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:35:00 +1030

When i was growing up, to say "I'm bored" would of been like swearing to my dad. He'd quickly put me down by telling me, "Only boring people are bored!"
I've grown up to think of boredom as a negative emotion and state of being. And I've gone on to also parent expressing to my children that boredom is a very negative state of being.

But is boredom such a negative thing?
And should children be made to feel bad about being bored?

There are many who will tell you that kids are increasingly bored as they no longer have the concentration span to stay engaged in an activity for any length of time. I'd argue that this isnt true I've got kids who will spend hours on a single game on the computer!

So what is boredom?
For me boredom is a restlessness and inability to settle to a task. A seeking of something new to do. An itch in my soul that needs to be scratched but I just can't reach. Being bored is not a comfortable feeling, for me it comes with a lot of guilt from childhood. I can hear my dad ... Only boring people get bored.... Those who lack imagination get bored.... As a result I feel sad and angry with myself when I feel bored.

But is boredom really so bad?
I'm starting to think it really isn't the negative thing I have always thought it to be! Boredom is the thing that spurs me on to try something new. If I hadn't been bored with my other crafts then I may not have tried spinning. I often feel bored prior to designing many of my designs here on the blog. Boredom really is the catalyst many of us need to try something new. Maybe boredom is the sign of a very creative mind, an inquisitive mind a mind that thirsts to know more.

Parenting and boredom...
I'm rethinking the way I respond to my kids now when they tell me they are bored. If I look at boredom as being the tool of a creative mind to learn more then my attitude to the emotion of boredom changes.
I can start asking a few questions and learning more about my children. Why are they bored? What do they need to learn? What new experiences can we engage in as a family?

Maybe I can use their boredom as a way for us to connect and be together as a family.
Why don't we go the park while we think of what else you'd like to do?

Boredom is such a complicated and sophisticated emotion and being. Truly a necessary emotion that I believe is responsible for many advancements in human knowledge and understanding. Instead of putting children down when they express they are bored maybe we should encourage them to explore the feeling and embrace the new learning it brings.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:28:00 +1030

We've had our Pageant.

Another fabulous community event.

With lots of local floats, lollies and good cheer.

It's such a lovely way to get together as a community

and celebrate the start of the Christmas Season.

It's become a tradition to put our tree up after the Pageant.

Heather was fascinated with the process.

All the decorations from years past were hung with lots of talk about their history.

" I remember ..." was said frequently.

Very few of our ornaments are shop bought.

Mostly they have been made by the kids in years past.

And here is the little Geek.

Heather managed to snaffle both ipads.

One she had iview on and the other she was playing the new ABC Kids app.

She is a whiz with an ipad.

Not a lot crafty going on here.

I've been baking lots of Gingerbread and eating it too!

I've been swimming a lot, which makes finding time to run difficult.

Rose and I have been to two swim meets this season..

Rose keeps beating her personal best times.

I'm slowly improving my technique.

The kids are all out swimming me.

Many of the kids I train with, I taught when I was relief teaching a couple of years back.

It's nice to spend time with them again in a different context.

The kids are been great in accepting me as a fellow team member.

Our swimming club has such a lovely supportive and friendly atmosphere.

Taking the plunge

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:42:00 +1030

Pattern For the English Woman's Weekly 29th November 2011

Less than 4 weeks to go...

and I still haven't bought a single present!

So much for last years promise to myself not to leave it to the last minute this year!

I've opened an Etsy store.

My handspun yarns will slowly get listed as

I work out what I have and get the time to take photos.

The LINK to the new Shop.

I've been setting myself some new goals.

One of which is to become a Successful Creative Fibre Artist.

I had to think about what my measure of success is.

I've decided it's money!

And as such I need to start making an effort to sell some of my yarns and creations.

If I fail, well I fail, there's nothing lost.

And I'm used to failing so it's not a new emotion to deal with.

But you never know I may just be successful.

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

Ho Ho Ho....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:43:00 +1030

Ho Ho Ho..

There's 4 weeks to go!

Just in case you didn't know

A rather wobbly santa.

Pattern from the English Woman's Weekly 29 November 2011

Fit Your knits.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:10:00 +1030

Another Craftsy course I'm enrolled in is Fit Your Knits.

One of the knits featured is Bad Penny by Stefanie Japel

Bad Penny is a free pattern from Knitty.com

I've altered the Bad Penny pattern to include waist and hip shaping.

Although the pattern is a little big in the shoulders for me,

I am happy with the fit of the waist and hip shaping.

I knitted the smallest size of this pattern,

I will knit it again but will reduce the size by casting on less stitches.

I'm enjoying the Craftsy Course.

I've been binge eating again.

I still battle with the emotional eating.

Last night I baked some Afghan biscuits and

I knew when I was making them I was going to binge,

but it didn't stop me!

I'm an emotional eater, 12 months ago I would of told you

I'm fat because I eat too much and don't exercise. I just like eating.

I know now it's a lot more complicated than that.

You can like eating and not be obese.

My obesity came from emotional eating.

From not dealing with my feelings but eating them down.

From not saying and expressing how I feel.

I can see now if I don't change my parenting my children

may too be dealing with obesity.

I need to help my children to learn to express themselves emotionally.

I need to stop telling them how they should and should not feel.

I need to start telling them it's ok to feel angry.

When I'm angry and frustrated I eat my feelings.

The kids were noisy, arguing and fighting last Saturday.

I was feeling frustrated and angry and fed up.

I headed off to the supermarket to grab a few things for lunch.

While there I bought a large pack of Salt and Vinegar chips.

The thought pattern as I put those chips in the trolley was....

"Oh you've been so good,

you deserve a treat,

you can just have a few and put the rest on the table for the kids,

they are on special!"

Most of the chips were eaten by the time I got home.

I won't be going near the supermarket when I feel so angry and frustrated again.

When I started my journey to lose weight,

I never knew how much I'd learn about myself along the way.

When I started I was so focused on all I had to give up to lose the weight,

now I see how much more I have gained.

I may never get to the point where I don't battle the binge,

but being aware of my behaviours and the triggers for them

gives me the ability to learn new coping skills.

Comments are turned back on

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:35:00 +1030

After cleaning out my email inbox of over 2000 emails!!
I have come to the conclusion that having comments turned back on may be a good idea.
I found emails in my inbox that readers have sent and I've not replied too because I hadn't realised they were there. Emails lost amongst the marketing emails and spam emails. I think I have been a little too free in signing up to all the FREE marketing emails, with all the FREE patterns and information.

Another example of information overload and how it gets in the way of being productive.

I'm going to start blocking and unsubscribing from many of the marketing ones, will be a work in progress!

If you have sent me an email of late and not heard back from me, expect a reply shortly!

It's all in my mind...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:54:00 +1030

In the supermarket yesterday I was lined up at the checkouts. One of the other school mums stopped and smiled at the woman in front of me and started a conversation, she never acknowledged me! Seemed to look blankly at me as I smiled at her from behind the woman she was chatting to.

I was a little upset as I left the supermarket. Had I offended this woman? She normally smiles and says hi. We aren't friends, more nodding acquaintances.

I let myself stew on the incident for awhile, then it struck me, she probably hadn't recognized me! I haven't seen her for awhile. It's happened a couple of times now. Especially since my last hair cut and colour.

Makes me ponder how I sometimes create my own dramas, by making assumptions.

It's just not FAIR!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:32:00 +1030

One of my children just loves to scream, "It's just not fair!"
Usually screamed at another sibling, or me, or just life as a whole.

Life really isn't fair. Something I tell my kids often, a lesson they seem to be learning slowly.
Makes me ponder, why do many of us believe life should be fair?
Does it make us feel safe, by believing there is a set of fairness rules for life?

How my children deal with their perceived unfairness of life will be a test of their character and of my parenting.

I can finally see there are three ways I can deal with difficult moments in my life....

1. Rant, rave, scream. Make myself and everyone around me as miserable about the situation as possible.

2. Work to change the situation. Take inspiration from the adversity and make the most of it, as an opportunity to grow. Use it as the catalyst for change, that will make the world a better place.

3. Let go and move on.

I am much happier when I can accept that life is just not fair.

While I'm in a deep and meaningful mood....

I've discovered that:
I'm much happier when I'm not overwhelming myself with too much information.
I'm more creative when I'm not constantly on the net looking for inspiration.
When I focus on a few core things in my life, I can achieve many things.
Simple doesn't mean easy. It's simple to lose weight eat less, exercise more... but is it easy?
Simple things are the most important things.

Hat, hat and more hats!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 15:10:00 +1030

Sweetpea hat

I spent a happy weekend working through the Craftsy Course

Learn to Knit Hats four ways.

Wheeler

I really enjoyed the course.

Even though this course is aimed at beginners

there were still a few little tricks I learned.

There are 3 hat patterns included in the Course Materials.

I enjoyed knitting along with Stefanie Japel

Sweet Pea again

I tried a couple of new to me ways of knitting hats.

I'd never knit in the round with one long circular needle before.

I still prefer the short circular and will mostly use my new found skills

for decreasing the tops of hats instead of Double Pointed needles

Rosie

The course covered a lot about design of hats.

And I feel pretty confident now in designing a few of my own hats.

You may see one or two new hat designs popping up on the blog in the near future.

If you are interested in doing the course,

check out the discount you get if you enroll in the FREE shrug workshop.

I need to knit a couple more of the shrugs in cotton.

They'll be handy in keeping the sun off my shoulders as I walk down to the pool.

You're worse than a reformed smoker!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 4 Nov 2011 14:56:00 +1030

I had a huge chuckle when Pete threw at me today..."You're worse than a reformed smoker!!"

He's right you know!

I just want to shake some people and tell 'em.

"Wake up! You're killing yourself!"
"You are beautiful, you are worthy, you need to love yourself!"
" You deserve to be here for as long as you can."
"The world needs you!"

I walked past a beautiful, tender young mother in the shopping mall the other day. She was cuddling and kissing her child. The love just radiated from her. And she was morbidly obese. And I felt so sad for her, sad for all she may miss out on. Sad for the example she unwillingly is setting for her child.

I am going to keep this weight off. I have too, I have seven beautiful children to raise. I tell myself it would be wrong for me, not do everything in my power to ensure I am the healthiest I can be, to live as long as I can, to be the mother they need me to be. That is my motivation, it's also the stick I hit myself with when I think it's all too hard.

One-skein knit shrug

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 4 Nov 2011 12:34:00 +1030

I've been getting emails with offers for joining Craftsy.

I've ignored them mostly, then I took a little peak

and found they had a FREE workshop with Stefanie Japel

One-Skein Knit Shrug

The pattern is free with the workshop.

I really enjoyed the workshop and ended up buying a couple of the courses.

psst...Size 9 Jeans west jeans ;-)

I knitted my shrug in my handspun yarn.

The shrug is easy to knit and can be varied easily.

I will be knitting a few more of these little shrugs.

I've discovered that swimming is like riding a bike,

once you know how to do it you can remember how to years later!

After 20 plus years of not going anywhere near a swimsuit I'm now swimming laps!

I'm remembering how much I loved swimming as a kid and the skills are returning.

I'm getting better technique, endurance and speed every session.

As a kid I was in Surf Life Savers and spent many hours in the pool training.

I grew up on the beach and even used to surf!!

Over the years I had forgotten how much I loved to be physically active.

I used to think my weight wasn't a problem, it never stopped me doing what I wanted to do.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being active.

I'm turning 45 in a few weeks!

And for my birthday I'm hoping to get an underwater MP3 player.

handspun and knit socks.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 4 Nov 2011 12:13:00 +1030

It's been a while since I made socks.

My stash of handspun is getting out of hand so time to get some knitting done.

I spun the yarn from a Lucinvale fleece, I dyed with Earth Palette dyes.

It's not a particularly soft fibre so will wear well for socks.

I'm not a snob with fibres or fabrics.

I've been working with fibres and fabrics long enough to know they all have their place.

I like a fibre with a little strength for bags, socks and hats, things that need to take hard wear.

I like soft fibers for scarfs, cowls and things to cuddle into.

Hand knit socks are just so nice,

I knit them to fit my feet perfectly.

I can make them delicate and pretty or practical and hard wearing.

I can make them soft and snuggly for indoor wear

or tough and practical for hiking up a mountain.

Since losing the weight my feet now fit into lots of pretty shoes!

I now have a shoe fetish.

Was it easy for me?

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:41:00 +1030

"It was easy for you to lose the weight!"

I know why people make such an inane comment, that belittles my weight loss. They do it because they think anyone who loses the weight it is easy for. It makes them feel better about not having lost the weight themselves.

I too made those excuses. It was too hard for me to lose weight, I have 7 kids under 14 years, I have a husband who works away from home, I'm breastfeeding, I don't have the time for me to exercise and on and on I'd make those excuses. They are just excuses!

I worked hard to lose my weight. It took a lot of effort and focus to change my behaviours. It didn't happen over night, it was day in and day out of eating to propoints and exercising. It was recording everything I put into my mouth. It was exercising when I didn't want to or feel like it. It was staying focused on remaining positive I was doing the 'right' thing on weeks where the scales didn't move or worst moved the wrong way!

Being in the normal weight range makes me one of the odd ones out these days. I go shopping and I'm often the only person in a normal weight range in the shop! I never realised when I was obese how many of us are.

And I also never realised how much harder it can be to find clothes for people in normal weight ranges these days. Miller's starts at size 10, and a very generous size 10 it is!! Dress sizes have been sneaking up, big time. I know because my Size 12 1990's Lisa Ho ballgown just fits me, but I can squeeze into a few size 8's these days.

With so many of us being overweight, it has become normal. To such an extent that plus size models are becoming popular. The media jumped up and down seeing the super skinny models but no one seems to find plus size models to also not be a great role model. I want women of a healthy weight advertising clothes. I don't want permission to get big again. I don't want to feel comfortable to be outside of my healthy weight range again. I don't want clothes sizes to continue to get increasingly generous to make me feel it's ok to put on those extra few kilos.

It is not ok to be obese, it's not ok to be over weight! It's a health risk and just as smoking and alcohol abuse are not ok neither is over eating and under exercising. Like smoking around kids affects their health, being overweight and obese when you have kids affects their health too. Kids learn from what they see around them. As a community we do pay for the health care costs as a result. Not that I'd advocate we don't but I think it is all of our concern that as a society we are becoming so unhealthy.

If I can do it, you can too!

Oh so far.....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:05:00 +1030

Taken 25th September 2010

Taken 19th September 2011

Today I wore a swimsuit,

I went to the local pool and swam my first lap in about...

I have no idea! Must be at least 20 years at least.

Silk, merino, glitz and bunny OH MY!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:42:00 +1030

The fiber was from a Batt Club from Jane at Moseley Park

I chose a simple pattern to show off the beauty of this yarn.

Josephine shawl

I added a crochet shell edge.

Where's Ollie?

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:29:00 +1030

Sleeping in a pile of fleece!

Spin and weave

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:22:00 +1030

Spun from Lucinvale fleece, that I dyed with Earth Palette Rubin.

I left this as a single yarn which I heavily fulled to add strength.

The fulling must of worked as I was able to use the yarn in the warp with no breakage.

I love the texture and colour in this scarf.

It's already gone to a new home.

Spin, weave, sew

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:13:00 +1030

Romney X fleece from Lucinvale.

Spun and plied on itself.

I spun mostly from the fold of the lock.

Woven on an Ashford Knitters loom into fabric.

Sewn into little drawstring bags.

Embellished with crochet flowers also from handspun yarn.

Amazing how much I get done when I'm not surfing the web for inspiration!

Interweave Fall 2011

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:02:00 +1030

I love a good knitting magazine.

I do try to resist buying them as I have way too many now.

Interweave Knits Fall 2011 was too good to walk past in the newsagents.

Yarn: Shiver

Pattern: Pembroke Wrap

This took less than a day to knit.

I bought the Shiver at spotlight on special for 50c a ball.

It's a soft acrylic and has been in the stash for a couple of years now.

From fleece, to yarn, to skirt

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:37:00 +1030

There is great satisfaction in taking a fleece.

Washing it, combing it, spinning it,

washing the yarn and knitting it.

To produce something wearable.

Pattern: Bryn Mawr skirt - Interweave Knits fall 2011

I spun the fleece by grabbing handfuls at random and spinning from the lock.

This lead to the lovely variation in the colour.

The yarn was plied on it self.

The fleece was incredibly soft a Finn X cross from Lucinvale.

Now at 59kg, I am working on maintaining my weight.

I bought size 9 jeans from Jeanswest yesterday.

I finally found jeans tight enough in the legs with enough room for the mummy tummy.

Halloween

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:11:00 +1030

Bliss...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:49:00 +1030

Two cups of skim milk Cappuccino, an hour of uninterrupted knitting,

reading emags and NO children!

What more could a mum want...

to come home and do an 8km run before starting dinner.

Scream!!!!!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:55:00 +1030

I didn't realize I was the first woman over the finish line and left after the run.

Turns out I won a medal and some cash! Not bad for a 44 year old mum of 7. All goes to prove it's never too late to get fit and fabulous!

How much yarn is in that ball? A simple way to work it out!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 9 Oct 2011 18:06:00 +1030

I have lots of balls of yarn sitting around that I have partly used and have

no idea how many meters are left.

This is what I worked out to do....

It's the maths teacher approach ( in a former life I was a maths teacher!!)

Here 10 meters of yarn = 12 grams

Measure out ten meters from the ball,

make a little ball around your hand, without breaking the yarn.

Measure the weight of the little ball on the kitchen scales.

Weight all the yarn.

This yarn is 60 grams.

I know that 12 grams is equal to 10 meters

I divide 12 ( the mass of 10 meters) into 60 ( the mass of all the yarn)

Which gives me 5, I have 5 lots of 10 meters
Therefor 5 multiplied by 10 is 50 meters of yarn.

Now isn't that easier than measuring it all....

Another Goal Kicked!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 9 Oct 2011 11:13:00 +1030

Way back on February the 2nd I set myself a few goals.

Even wrote them down.

To loose 30kgs and run in the Jamestown Fun Run.

crossing the finish line ..Time of 27:01:83

Today all my goals are complete.

I need to set myself a few more goals.

From Obese Couch Potato to Fit Fabulous Forty+

in 10 months!

Dreams do come true, it takes an hour a day.

Challenge completed

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 4 Oct 2011 20:30:00 +1030

We made it. Ten playgrounds in one day! One in Alford and three in Port Pirie.

I didn't take a photo of the fast food outlet playground. The last one, at the beach, we made just on dusk!

Home safe and sound. All tired and happy from our adventures. I'm trying to work out how far I drove today, I'll estimate about 400kms.

The playground challenge update

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 4 Oct 2011 15:49:00 +1030

We're up to six now.
We logged two in Port Broughton and two in Kadina.

Will we make 10???

We've done a little Geocaching along the way. Found one, missed one.

Today's challenge!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 4 Oct 2011 10:30:00 +1030

Today we are aiming for 10 playgrounds in one day!

Pete had taken James, Liam and Lilly away for a few days to visit friends. Leaving Rose, Fern, Michael, Heather and I with the other car and lots of school holidays to explore!

First stop was Gladstone! One park down.

Second stop Crystal Brook.
Now which way do we go from here?
We might just flip a coin and see which road we head down next.
Will be back later to update you on our progress.

From Humpty Doo

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:13:00 +0930

Do you know where Humpty Doo is? I do!

Today's mail brought a parcel from Humpty Doo

(I do like saying Humpty Doo, it makes me smile to say it.)

I've been through Humpty Doo a few times, mostly on a bus on my way to or from Darwin.

Vickie kindly sent me this parcel.

I commented on her blog and won her give away!

Heather helped me open the parcel and prompty ran away with the contents.

She was yelling, "mine!" as she ran.

When Healther went for her nap, I got to work!

I took a couple of measurements from Heather before her nap

Not easy to do these days as she likes to wiggle!

I drafted up a simple sundress which would fit into the fat quarter of fabric.

I used my patchworking skills and cut the fabric in half

and rejoined it to create a fabric from both

fat quarters.

I cut out the dress on the fold making the front

slighter bigger by moving the fold away from the pattern a little,

this gave me room for a gather on the center front of the dress.

I searched through the stash and found some ribbon, ricrac

and a button covering kit

In less than an hour I was finished.

I gathered the center front a little and I bound the neckline.

I used the ribbon to bind the armholes and make ties as the same time.

I added the ricrac to the seam and hem.

I used the covered button to create a rosette.

Then I had to be patient and wait for Heather to wake!

She likes her new dress!

My baby is now a full fledged toddler.

Part of me is sad as she is my last baby.

And part of me is happy as we are now moving on from the baby stage,

I can see an end to sleepless nights, nappies and breastfeeding after 14 years!

Thank you Vickie for your kind gift.

A memory to hold onto....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:12:00 +0930

As I sat and spun this morning Heather climbed onto my lap for a snuggle. My baby in my arms, fiber in my hands and the rhythmic movement of hands and wheel. Just so special a moment I want to remember forever I SMS'd for Pete to come take a photo.

A sunny creative happy week.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:57:00 +0930

The weather has been glorius here.

The sun shining and the warmth returning.

I've been taking advantage of the weather to get some fleeces washed.

I've dyed up a few skeins of commercial wool.

And dyed two fleeces.

I'm already spinning this one up.

I've carded most of it on the Ashford wild carder.

I picked up a couple of Lucinvale fleeces cheap as they are last years.

I wanted to get them washed to remove the lanolin.

Pete moved the old microwave from the bus and has set it up in front of the kitchen window for me.

I feel like I have my very own dye studio now!

I love playing with the dyes and enjoy that the results are often not what I predicted them to be.

I'm not the sort of dyer who measures accurately so my results are varied and unrepeatable!

One day I may get around to keeping a dyeing journal, but that may ruin the fun.

No, Michael wasn't into the toxic dyes!

He was into his finger paints.

Creativity and messiness run in the family.

Another of my new outfits.

A little summer dress from TEMPT with a little cardigan over the top.

The last few days I've been wearing SHORTS!!

Sorry for shouting but I'm so excited to be wearing shorts!

I kicked another of my goals last night and ran 5 KM under 30 mins.

I'm grateful no one else was in the gym at the time

as I was whooping it up and jumping all over the place when I finished.

Nothing like achieving a GOAL to make you feel fabulous!

Time to set some new fitness goals.

This is the best photo I could get of Heather wearing the new top I knitted her.

Little Miss is very active.

Thanks for the shoes TAS.

My creative space

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:54:00 +0930

I love spring! Sunny mornings spent spinning outside, while watching the kids play. Total bliss!

Today's outfit....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:33:00 +0930

Being brave here! My new running outfit of runners tights and top! No room for the shapewear when I'm running!

Today's daywear... Big W skirt worn over leggings and topped with a Valley Girl light knit cardigan worn over a Cross Roads basic long sleeved T

Today's outfit......

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 9 Sep 2011 09:05:00 +0930

I have just had a huge shopping trip in the city. Spent lots and bought lots. Most exciting were my New Balance runners and runners leggings!! Now I look the part, just need to work on the speed.
I caught up with friends and family. Was spoiled with lots of praise and compliments.
Lots of sales in the clothing stores so my goal money went far. I had so much fun trying on lots of different items. Sizing was hard to work out. In some stores I was a small, in others a medium, others an 8 and others a 10!

I finally fit into my Lisa Ho ball gown from the early 90s which is a size 12! I think sizing has become very generous in the last 20 years!!

Keeping the doona in the cover!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:40:00 +0930

Here is my latest idea. My doonas are always getting scrunched up in the covers.
My solution is to use my snap press. I put snaps into each corner of the doona. Then the sockets of the snaps into the inside corners of the doona covers, I put them in the seam allowance so the snaps would be hidden.
Now snap the doona to the cover and turn the right way! Simple. Now off to test if it works. I may end up adding a couple more snaps in the side seams if the doona is still bunching.

I'm using my iPhone to post this. My first attempt of an iPhone post!

An inspiration board for your iphone!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:05:00 +0930

I had so much fun today playing with this app!

The App is KraftMyStyle

It allows you to montage photos together and create a style board

I plan on using it to inspire me to create

all sorts of things!

All the photos were taken with my iphone.

I grouped them with a theme.

The Native one will be a hat next week!

It's a free App!

Sunny mornings

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:28:00 +0930

Good Morning Readers.

I rolled out of bed at 6:30am this morning and took myself for a jog around the block. Half way around I was crying! Not because I was sad but because I was happy! I've come so far in the last 8 months both physically and mentally.

This mornings revelation on my run was that the vacant spot inside, I'd been filling so long with food, approval from others and stuff, was filled. That hole had been a lack of self worth, self appreciation and self esteem.

Some interesting reading on Approval Addiction ....
Approval Addiction Keeps Us Trapped
Approval Addiction how to end the need to please

I feel so good inside and outside. I can now give myself the love and approval I need. The blog was part of my 'Need To Please'. Removing the comments and followers was necessary for me, I had to stop medicating myself with my Readers approval.

I started my weight loss journey to look better and improve my physical health. I've done so much more than that. I've learned to love myself. I've learned to accept myself, to be proud of me.
Losing weight might of seemed like the hardest thing to do at the beginning but it has been the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Ok, enough of the deep and meaningful!

This weeks crafting:

I knitted Heather a vest.

I've often admired this type of vest pattern

but couldn't bring myself to buy it as I knew it was so easy

so I came up with my own version.

Heather is growing up.

She loves anything electronic.

I added some wavy lace for interest.

I'm really happy how this turned out.

I worked this in the round from the top down.

The back is higher than the front as I think garments sit better.

I worked a few extra rows after the yoke on the back before joining back in the round.

This is Joe's fleece from the Moseley Park Fibre Club.

All spun up. I spun some very fine and some think and plied the two together,

Another Moseley park Fibre Club, this one Silk and Alpaca.

It has a beautiful drape and sheen.

And this is a single yarn spun from one of Kathy's plaits.

It had the colourway name of Peter Pan and I think it was silk and merino.

I fulled the yarn, this gives it added strength.

While I was out running this morning.....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:53:00 +0930

Dear Readers,

While I was out running this morning .....( I still get a buzz from telling others I run!!)
I was thinking a lot about everything. I love running the way my mind moves from one great revelation to another. I can solve the world's entire problems in my mind while I run.

It's a beautiful sunny day today and I ran my 4kms in 32 minutes, not bad for a woman who struggled to walk 20 minutes, six months ago. I use a great iphone app called Walkmeter when I walk, cycle or run. It keeps track of my distances and pace and gives me a link to my route in google maps, it even adds my run to my calender, I can look back at all my runs and see my improvement. I can play my music or listen to a podcast on my iphone, while using the app.

I've not opened my computer for four days and as a result it took awhile to download the 80 emails that had come in it that time. I have been reading them on the iphone. I'm also now keeping up with the list of blogs I read using an iphone app. I hadn't been checking reader for days and the list of unread blog posts was getting scary.

We are all looking forward to the East Of the Rangers Choir performance in Port Pirie on Tuesday night. Rose has a solo and Fern with two other singers is performing a song. James is also in the Choir, that has taken a lot of bribery and testing to get him to participate. James has had his second diagnosis of high functioning Autism and the paperwork is in process with Autism SA. Having a label makes it easier to understand his behaviour and to explain it to others. It also will give him and us the support we need to help him achieve a happy, fulfilling life. We are very fortunate to have a large loving family who will support one another and give James the support he needs.

Physically and mentally I am much stronger and happier. I'm finding working on my mental health takes more discipline than my physical health. It can be harder to squash those negative self thoughts than push a few weights or run a few kilometers at the gym. Ive carried many of my negative self images from childhood. I'm using a few Self Hypnosis apps on the iphone to help me improve my self esteem. I am getting a lot better, I can now smile and say thank you when someone pays me a compliment! I no longer point out every flaw that is present or wave off the compliment with comments that belittle my efforts. I still have a long way to go and I'll get there. It will take time, I've been self esteem destroying for years, my own worse enemy. I did poorly at school due to what I now know to be Dyslexia, so for years I thought I was 'thick'. My pet name growing up was 'fatty', that too takes a lot to heal from. I always had a mental image of myself being fat. When I looked back at a few childhood photos I was surprised to find I wasn't a fat child, both my sisters were very slender and I was just differently built. I'm enjoying the process of healing and becoming a confident, happy, healthy and fit woman.

With all the extra time I've gained by giving up the computer addiction ....

Handspun and knitted purse

Worked on my health and fitness.. 63.3kg now

Knitted armwarmer thingies with my handspun

Woven a scarf with my handspun..

and another one....

and another one...

and yet another scarf....

for a change of pace I knitted a hat!

and some fingerless mitts in natural coloured hand spun wool

Pete is now on his way to Tennant Creek for work and to be spoiled by all our Tennant ~~friends~~ family.
A few weeks of single parenthood for me. I actually enjoy it for a week or two, after that it gets a little tiring and I miss Pete a lot. It is nice at first to have the bed to myself, until I get invaded by bedbugs! It's nice to be in control of the TV remote, mostly the OFF button! It's nice that mummy's is the ultimate disciplinary voice, what Mummy says goes! I can write a longer list of what's not so fun about being a single parent but I'm these days much more focused on the positive!

I hope you all have a fabulous week. Filled with love, laughter and learning!

Love
Tracy

Knitting with Hanspun

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 1 Aug 2011 21:33:00 +0930

Pattern: Shrug This

Heavily modified.

I made it longer, used 8mm needles,

and I added some shaping to the bottom.

I knitted the top in some of my handspun yarn.

The yarn was spun from one of Jane's beautiful blended batts.

I used one of Spinningwoodies handmade buttons.

Happy Birthday Rose! Where did 11 years go??

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 1 Aug 2011 21:19:00 +0930

Hard to believe how fast 11 years can fly by.

Sorry Sue, Janene, Josh and everyone else for being

so slow putting up the birthday girl photos.

Rose decorated her own cake

with yummy strawberries.

The kids had lots of fun breaking open the pinata.

Mt Remarkable

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:16:00 +0930

Rose and I headed back to Melrose.

Today was beautiful, sunny and a little warm.

The perfect day to attempt a climb of the mountain.

Rose set the pace.

She had me almost power walking up the mountain!

We stopped at a huge rock for a rest.

And we climbed higher and higher.

Past the remains of a plan that crashed into the mountain in 1980.

It took us almost 2 hours to make the 6 km climb to the summit.

My thighs were not happy.

We sat and munched on strawberries and apples.

Rose climbed onto the top of the pile of rocks that mark the summit.

We searched for the geocache that is here but were not successful.

Might have to make the climb again.

The scenery, fauna and flora made the ache in my body a little easier.

The kookaburras laughed at us often as we made our way back down the mountain.

We stopped at the huge rock again for a photo.

By this time it was my bum that was hurting for the downward slope.

More information HERE on the beautiful township of Melrose

and the Mt Remarkable National Park

Renewal and new beginnings...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 14:06:00 +0930

This morning as I did a sprints session on the block next door.

I found the first Jonquils had flowered.

I looked up and saw the almonds in blossom too.

Spring is on it's way a time of renewal and rebirth.

Pretty fitting for me too!

I see hope everywhere these days.

My glass is more than half full.

Instead of seeing the negative, I'm see the positives in my life.

And I do have a lot of positives!

I later took Heather for a bike ride in the baby trailer.

And it suddenly hit me.

I'm not a fat woman dreaming of being fit anymore.

I am that fit fabulous woman I dreamed of being 6 months ago.

The photo quality isn't the best.

I had Fern take the photo on my iphone last night.

Pete's been away for almost 3 weeks and last night he came home.

I wore my new dress and makeup.

He was pretty impressed!

He's been warned the new wife is high maintenance!

She likes nice clothes and pretty things.

Wishing you all joy in your world today.

Dear Diary....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:35:00 +0930

Since taking the comments off I feel like I'm writing a diary rather than a public blog.
I feel safer to say what I want to say in many ways.

Yesterday felt a lot like Christmas used to feel like when I was a kid. I'd anticipated and dreamed of the day so often. Thank you to everyone who sent me emails congratulating me. I could not of made such huge changes to my life without the love and support of family and friends. I do still want to stay in contact with all of you and love getting emails. Emails are so much more private and personal than comments left on the blog. I'll add my email to the side bar later for those who don't have it.

I'm doing really well at avoiding the forums. I was finding I was whining too often and being too negative. Once I wrote down my grumbles, I gave them too much power. I'm working really hard on being more positive and focusing on the fabulous in my life. I've also been really good at not spending hours on the net. I spend around 30 mins a day now. Mostly checking on Ravelry and Weight Watchers and the occasional blog post here. The kids have noticed the difference. I've been a lot more present with them.

Reaching Goal weight isn't the end just the beginning of a healthy, happy life. I'll still be at the gym most nights, because I like it! I'll still be making healthy food choices because I want to stay healthy.
Last night I ran 60 minutes on the treadmill! This morning my bum is sore and I like feeling sore, because it reminds me how hard I worked.

Yesterday I bought another new dress, got a hair cut and waxing, dyed my hair and splurged on some Mineral makeup. The biggest reward was seeing my huge smile in the mirror and knowing how far I have come and being so proud of myself for doing it.

Pete is rewarding me with a generous amount of money to go shopping with in Adelaide. I need to plan a wardrobe! I don't have many clothes left that fit. My Gym buddy dropped me around a pile of size 10 jeans as the 12's I'd bought were very baggy. I've bought a couple of nice dresses. I need new underwear desperately, my knickers keep falling down and my bras are too big to give much support. I've taken to wearing a crop over my bras to keep everything in place when I run and jump. I need to take my wedding and engagement rings to the jeweler to have them resized. My feet have also shrunk, I need smaller shoes too.

So what am I going to buy?
What is my 'style'?
Decisions, decisions....
What do I want my outwards appearance to say about me?
I want it to show a happy, confident, fit, creative, loving mum.

When I was obese I wanted to hide under polar fleece, not that it ever made me invisible. It just said I don't love me enough to make the effort to show the world who I am.

I'm scared and excited all at the same time. It's been so long since I could walk into any of those trendy clothes shops and know something would fit me. What colours do I like? What suits me?

Thanks for listening, I hope your day is filled with happiness.

Goal!!!!!!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:29:00 +0930

I did it!

Time for a new hair cut and outfit.

Goodbye Obesity!

Goodbye Plus size clothing!

Goodbye Fat

Hello Fit

Hello cute little summer dresses, hurry up summer!!

Hello shorts!

Hello swim suits.

Hello health and energy.

I am NEVER going back.

Fibre clubs.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 23:05:00 +0930

EL spun from the lock and plied with itself.

June's Fibre clubs are all spun up.

I loved spinning both.


EL spun in the lock letting the tips hang out. Plied with silk

Incredibly soft angora bunny and silk.


Suri Alpaca and silk. Oh so yummy.

One of Kathy's beautiful batts plied with EL X Merino from Jane.

Another of Kathy's batt plied with EL from Jane

We are loving school holidays here.

School Holiday fun

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:30:00 +0930

The school holidays are just whizzing by.

We've been having a cold snap here.

The fire has been needed to keep us all warm.

It is all hands on deck when we get a firewood delivery.

The Teen managed to get out of her PJ's to help.

Heather helped out to.

She loves to join in.

We've only managed one trip to the park.

It's been so cold and wet here.

Sausage sizzles at the park are a favorite thing to do.

We've baked and decorated cupcakes.

And eaten them too.

Decorating bought biscuits is a fun thing to do

when it's cold and wet outside.

I have dusted off my spinning wheel and spun up a few yarns,

while sitting in front of the fire keeping warm.

Fiber club goodness... June

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:13:00 +0930

English Leicester, carefully washed to preserve staple

Jane is running two fibre clubs at present.

One is a natural Fibre club and the other Dyed.

The July installment arrived yesterday.

I need to get some photos of it later.

My wheel has been packed away of late.

Heather is fascinated with it and likes to stretch out the springs!

Thanks to the lovely Kathy, who sent me a couple of replacement springs,

I should soon be spinning away again.

English Leicester Locks and dyed Silk Cap

After my initial dislike of spinning silk,

with lots of practice, I've come to enjoy it.

The more I practice the better I get.

My new project is...

HERE

With project BIG almost at goal I needed another challenge.

The stash of Hand spun yarn is increasing quicker than I can knit it

I need to find some of it a new home,

and more space for all my fluff!

Day 2 and 3 Of school Holidays.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:53:00 +0930

Day 2 - Sunday

Rose had a sleep over guest.

Too wet to go the park again so we settled for an itunes movie on the AppleTV

We all enjoyed chocolate dipped strawberries.

I worked them out at 1 ProPoint each.

5 ProPoints later.....

They were nice.

We had to use white chocolate.

Mr Nobody had visited again and all the

milk chocolate had disappeared from the fridge.

The usual culprit is in Tennant Creek!

Day 3 - Monday

Another wet day.

We dug out some art and craft supplies and got creative.

The teen didn't make it out of her PJ's ..again.

Michael had fun with some stickers.

I discovered, Shape Wear avoids the muffin top!
I need to sit down and do some wardrobe planning soon.

I'm looking forward to some serious clothes shopping when Pete gets home.

Running, jumping and playing

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 08:25:00 +0930

I've fought depression on and off most of my adult life.

Being obese didn't help.

Does depression cause weight gain or does weight gain cause depression?

Who knows? but the two are very strongly linked.

Interesting read HERE

Getting fit and healthy to live an active happy life

is not just about losing weight.

I need to do something about my mental health too.

If I don't work on my mental health then the chances are I'll end up undoing all my hard work of getting to goal weight.

When I watched 'The Biggest Loser' this year the thing that struck me the most was how the participants got happier as their weight went down.

They grew in confidence and self esteem.

I realised that losing weight isn't only a physical process it's also a mental one.

My mental health and my physical health are interdependant.

Getting physically healthy and staying there means I need to get mentally healthy too.

I need to stop the negative self talk.

I need to work on developing positive self esteem.

Getting active is more effective in helping people with depression than the drugs!

Interesting read HERE

I love running. Something I thought I'd never say.

I can now run for 60 minutes at 7.5km/h!

I started with the C25K programme

and I'm now using the Bridge to 10k.

The feeling I get when I finish a run is so wonderful.

I come off that treadmil so proud and happy with myself.

I love that I'm doing something I thought I could never do.

When I first started I struggled to run the 1 minute.

It took me 4 weeks to complete the first week!

At Week 3 I was ready to give up, I just couldn't do the 3 minutes.

What got me thought is some great advice to slow it down, just work on getting the motion going.

Plus my self talk ....

"Woman, You have birthed 7 times! You can do this! Just get on with it and stop your whining!"

After the intial physical challenges of getting my body to run

I found comes the mental one.

Once my body was used to the running motion,

the mental battle started to keep me going.

I now feel like I'm winning the mental battle too.

Change is hard but the rewards are worth it.

Losing weight and getting healthy are just an hour a day.

You can do it too.

School Holiday fun

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 07:49:00 +0930

First day of the school holidays.

It was wet and cold outside, so no trip to the park today.

Instead the kids organised themselves to make biscuits.

Wendy bought them a cookie cutter set with over 100 cutters in it.

Everyone helped with Rose directing the action.

She's a little bossy... I wonder where she gets that from?

Michael joined in,

as you can see by the amount of flour on his jacket.

No one thought to wipe the table down afterwards!

The kids played table tennis a lot during the day.

And now they have decided not to play a competition but to aim for the longest rally,

the fighting has eased.

The teen never managed to get out of her PJ's!

The biscuits were iced and shared out.

I had a little nibble and they were nice.

Can you see my hand weights on the bench?

I keep them in the kitchen for when I have a couple of minutes.

I use them to do exercises like these, while I'm waiting for things to cook.

I get a few sets in during the day without feeling like I'm exercising.

What you give out, is what you get back.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 9 Jul 2011 10:14:00 +0930

With spending less time on the computer.

I'm doing more with the kids and house.

When I'm restless I would normally head to the computer to entertain me

now I'm looking for other options.

Yesterday Heather, Michael and I headed out shopping.

Things went well for a little while.

We had a lovely morning tea.

Vanilla slice for the kids and a skinny cap for me.

The kids were happy and I was happy.

Then I went into Kmart to have a browse in the clothes section.

Michael didn't want to be there.

He was bored, it wasn't what he wanted to do so he made up a game.

He was using the clothes aisles as a maze.

And three times I lost him.

There was no way I could look at anything,

he'd disappear on me as soon as my attention was off him.

I hadn't brought Monkey with me!

Monkey is a backpack with a tail attached that I can hold.

I like Monkey as it means I don't lose him.

I have been told using Monkey is like putting a dog on a lead!

Well today with no Monkey, Michael disappeared 3 times in Kmart.

Then when I was at the checkout waiting to be served he ran off again.

I eventually caught him at the front doors of the mall.

Michael won't let me hold his hand and I'm pushing a stroller with Heather in it,

I can't keep all my attention on Michael.

Ok, thinks I, I can solve this.

I put the stroller back in the car and loaded Healther and Michael into a trolley.

I still had food shopping to do.

Michael did not want to be in the trolley!

Tantruming 3 year olds in supermarkets, are not fun.

There is always the older woman who looks at you like you are the worse mother she has ever seen.

Yes, after 14 years of being a mother and having 7 kids you'd think I'd know better but I did it anyway.....

"Michael if you don't behave, we will not go to the park!"

Can you guess what happened next?

" I WANT TO GO THE PARK!"

was screamed for the next 10 minutes.

It got me thinking.

We really do get back what we put out.

I was angry and frustrated with Michael

and Michael was giving me that anger and frustration back.

While In Kmart I bought a table tennis net, bats and balls.

School holidays are starting here and I want to give the kids something fun and active to do.

When the kids got home from school they were so excited to see the new table tennis set up.

There was about 30 minutes of happy cooperative play.

Then it started, they made rules.

The competition starts and the fights began.

One child screams, then another.

Then the tears come.

Lots of "It's not fair"

And finally, "I hate YOU!"

Emotions are contagious,

When we are happy, others smile back.

When we are angry with others, others are angry back.

When we hit out at someone, they tend to hit back at us.

When we say mean things to others, they tend to say mean things back.

When we are negative around others, others are negative back.

Many a time I've been guilty of taking part in the negative game.

You know the sort of conversation.

"My life is so hard, I have 2 toddlers and they never stop!"

"I have a teenager who ..... plus a toddler."

and on and on the conversation goes with each person adding to the negative game.

Then somehow it turns into a competition to be the one with the most negatives!

And then the fights.

What we put out, is really what we get back.

If we put out negativity, then we get it back!

The best solution is to avoid the problem in the first place.

To avoid being negative and entering the negative game.

And if I end up sucked in then I need

to let go and move on.

While at Kmart I also bought a couple of kites

and a badminton net and games set.

I'm looking forward to many happy days in the park being active with the kids.

And maybe we can teach each other some conflict resolution skills!

You gotta have goals!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 8 Jul 2011 08:37:00 +0930

1st of March 2005, over 105kgs!

Bronnie asked, "Couldn't you find a worst before photo?"

Well Bronnie, I CAN!

I've been asked many times, "How have you done it?"

So here it is, I've put together a few of my blog posts from my Weight Watcher blog.

If you are bored with life, if you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things--you don't have enough goals. ~ Lou Holtz Quotes

When I started 5 months ago I wrote down my goals.
Writing my goal made it specific in what I wanted to achieve.

I thought about the reasons why I wanted to achieve my goals.
My biggest reason is my kids. I want to be healthy and fit to be the best mum I can be for them. I want to teach them how to be healthy and fit so they too can live happy, healthy lives and bring up healthy children.
Losing weight has nothing to do with WILL power. That's right! I finally figured it out in my head. Loosing weight has nothing to do with Will Power. It's all about Want Power.
I Want to be fit and healthy.
I Want to live a long life, to see my children grow to be adults.
I Want to see my grandbabies born.
I Want to be an energetic Grandmother who's children will shake their heads and tell off for traipsing all over the world. And as badly as I WANT all this is how hard I am going to work at getting it. There are no more excuses. I WANT it all and to get all of this I NEED to look after ME. It's selfish of me not too. My kids need me, my future grandbabies will NEED me and I NEED to be here for them. The selfish thing to do would have been to continue to ignore my own health needs. To continue to let my weight get out of control. My health is my NUMBER ONE priority. It's not about losing weight to look good, it's about being the healthiest I can be. My Dad died at 60 from cancer. My youngest will only be 16 when I'm 60! If I can now make myself as healthy as I can be I'll have a much better chance of fighting any illness that may come later in my life. I'm telling you all, it's not about having will power, it's about having what you want and need. Work as much as you want to be healthy, fit and energetic and you'll do it too!

I made a plan for how I was going to achieve my goal.
I joined WW, I found the time for exercise. I read lots from the WW site about healthy lifestyles. I tracked my food and learned about my food choices. I got the support of Peter, he gives me the time to exercise each day by looking after the kids while I go the gym. When he's away for work I walked each night back and forth on the road in front of our house while the kids were sleeping and later as my fitness improved I rode my bike with the two little ones in the baby trailer.

I set myself a deadline for my goals and broke my big goals down to smaller goals.
I set a weekly weigh in and dates for my fitness goals. Giving myself a specific time to reach each goal. I worked out little goals to help me get to my big goal. I broke my weight goal down to weekly and monthly amounts. By achieving my little goals I know I'm on track to getting to the big goal. Like eating elephants it's one bite at a time. This stopped me getting overwhelmed by how BIG the goal was.
I bought myself a size 16 dress from the op-shop which was too small and every morning I tried it on. I got excited when the buttons fastened. Once that was fitting I bought a Size 14 skirt.
I set myself challenges for my fitness. I started the C25K programme and used a programme on the exercise bike and aimed at bettering my times.

I revisited my goals often and changed them as I needed to.
I decided 60kgs might be too low a weight for me and reset to 65kg. I moved back my date for the 5km run. Now I've moved my fitness goal to 10kms.

Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.
W. Clement Stone

I have rewarded myself along the way with new clothes and time to myself. With 7 kids time to myself is a treat. Pete looks after the kids while I have my 'mummy days off'. I take myself off to nearby towns and go for long walks on my own.

I am only 700gms from goal and I need to think about my next set of goals. I need to start working on my self confidence and self worth issues because if I don't I'll end up back where I was. I'll continue to bury my feelings with food instead of speaking up and saying how I feel. I need to kick the 'need to please' and learn to be true to myself.

So have you set your goals yet?
Have you given yourself a great reason for getting to your goal?
Have you written your goals down?
Have you a plan on how you are going to achieve your goals?
And how are you going to reward yourself for meeting your goals?

A lovely day

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 7 Jul 2011 21:03:00 +0930

Michael, Heather and I had a lovely day out at the parks today.

I was a pirate captain and Michael my first mate.

I climbed on the play equipment with him and slide down the slide.

And my bum actually did fit in the slide!

I'm being the mum I want to be, one who is present with her kids.

I have the energy and focus to play.

While traveling over to Laura to play at the park I was listening to ABC radio

and was fortunate to listen to Conversations with Richard Fidler

Richards guest this week was Paul Gilding

I was totally inspired by Paul Gilding.

I'd like to read his book.

To really make my day a great one I got on the scales this morning and I'd lost 2.3kg!

That is the most I have ever lost in a week.

I was pretty amazed as I'm so close to goal I thought the weight loss would be slower.

Plus I had that eclair and biscuits!

And no I won't take that as a sign I should eat them more often.

Only 700gms to goal!

I hope you had a lovely day too.

Comparisons.....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 7 Jul 2011 09:59:00 +0930

From early on I've been told not to compare my kids to others. That this wasn't a good thing to do. I heard the message but didn't really understand why it was so important.

I'm a shocker at comparing myself to others and finding myself not measuring up. Be it the blog, my weight, my mothering, my house or even my possessions. For years I've allowed myself to do this and the result is poor mental health and self esteem.

Our schooling system doesn't help, it sets us up for this type of thinking from a very early age. Child X got an A and I got a B therefore child X is better than me is the thinking. Gosh even the way schools mark and grade kids sets it up. Ever heard of the Bell curve?

I've often made myself feel better by thinking at least I'm not as bad as another, but you know what? I am no better than you and you are no better than me. We all do things we aren't proud of or we aren't the best at. By making such a comparison all we do is make ourselves feel better by making someone else seem smaller to us. I've done it for years but when we know better we do better. And from now on I'm going to work on not doing that.

I'm going to find better ways to boost my self worth than comparing myself to others and judging them. When we judge others, we judge ourselves. I don't like the judgement I've come to about myself and I'm going to change it. I need to change it because I don't want my kids to also use the strategy of making others smaller to feel better about themselves. I want their self worth and my self worth to come from who they are, not what they are not.

So how am I going to make this change? First by recognising what I do. By avoiding being in situations that I make those sort of comments. By being more mindful of how wonderfully unique all human beings are including myself.

Sometimes.....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 6 Jul 2011 12:17:00 +0930

....we just need to accept and move on.
.........we just need to let go and work with what life sends us.

Maybe things happen for a reason or maybe not.

There comes a time when we have to face ourselves and admit it. Admit we create our own problems and we need to create our own solutions.

I'm addicted to forums.
I spend lots of time there, time I should be spending on house work and caring for my children. I escape there. I unburden there. You can be a stay at home mum and not be there for your kids. Why do I disconnect?

I get depressed about the state of the house, well maybe that's because I don't clean it! I get down about a lot of things that if I did something, I could change.
Like my weight and I'm changing that.

So how does it happen, how do I get myself to such a state that I lose sleep over what was said in a forum but will ignore that the bathroom hasn't been cleaned.

Why do I feel the need to escape my life in forums? Or food (an old habit now)?

I have a fabulous life. I have 7 beautiful kids, a husband who loves me, a safe country to live in, plenty to eat (too much really!) and a home that the bank is happy to let us pay off.

Ok my challenge to myself is to give up the forums. To programme some house cleaning into my day. To stay connected to my family instead of zoning off into cyberspace.

My challenge is..... to limit my computer time to 30 minutes a day.

I can do this. I've lost 22kgs so I know I can set myself a challenge and achieve it.

Rosa

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 6 Jul 2011 08:33:00 +0930

Pattern : Rosa's Sleeveless Cardi

Yarn: Moda Vera Charlotte

Needles: 8mm

I'm not that happy with this knit.

I think because the yarn I chose to knit it in was too bulky

and the garment doesn't drape well.

It's bulky and very unflattering to my emerging waistline.

I might try it with one of those wide belts?

The neckline is also too wide also due to my choice of yarn.

Being Mohair I am not going to rip this back as the yarn wouldn't survive the process.

The texture of the yarn is luscious.

And it will keep me warm without adding bulk to my arms so I can wear a coat or jacket with it.

Life certainly has a way of knocking us off our feet at times.

A few things happening here of late that are a little challenging to deal with.

Like eating elephants it's one bite at a time and trying not to get overwhelmed.

James has been diagnosed by an Educational Psychologist with Autism.

We are slowly digesting the report and considering the next steps.

It's neither a good thing, nor a bad thing.

It is what it is, no more, no less.

Thimble Pip tutorial, great for stitch markers!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 4 Jul 2011 20:14:00 +0930

Mad Quilter's

Thimble Pip Tutorial

or Stitch Marker Keeper

I remember Thimble Pips from my childhood.

Called that as they were used to keep your thimble safe

and I guess because they are in the shape of a pip!

I loved playing with them squeezing them open.

They were often made with scraps of luxurious fabrics like silk and satin

and embroidered with beautiful stitch work.

Let's start by making the pattern.

It's very simple to do and by making your own you can make a size you like.

Simply take a piece of scrap paper fold it and using a cup draw a semi circle on the fold.

Then cut it out.

Trace around your pattern onto some scrap plastic.

A margarine lid is great you don't want something too stiff nor too light.

You need three pip shapes to make your pip.

Use you pattern and cut out six fabric pieces with a small seam allowance.

As shown in the photo above.

This is the time to add any special embroidery you would like.

Trace around the pattern onto the fabric with a pencil or wash away pen.

This is your stitching line.

With a very small running stitch sew two of the pip shapes together,

right sides placed together.

Do a couple of little back stitches at the points to make then stronger.

Leave about an inch on one side unstitched to turn the pip shape out.

Turn the pip out and push in the plastic pip shape.

I used a pin to help me ease out the points

be careful doing this as it's easy to make a mess with the pin.

Once the plastic pip is in place

use a tiny whip stitch to close up the gap.

Finish all three pips.

Take two of the pips and whip stitch them together.

I used a doubled thread here for strength.

When you get to the end don't break the thread.

Do a couple of extra stitches into the point and start to join in the third pip.

Sew the third stitch into place.

Keep the whip stitches small and even.

I've seen these joined with beautiful embroidered fly or feather stitch.

You will need to be a little careful in getting the curve together.

Make a few extra stitches into the intersection of the three pips

to give the pivot some added strength.

The corners will act like a hinge to open the pip.

Pop your stitch markers into your Pip!

Sorry the photos are a little grainy.

Inspiration struck after night fall!

Stitch Markers Tutorial

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 4 Jul 2011 16:17:00 +0930

Stitch Markers are so easy, cheap and fun to make.

You probably really don't need a tutorial to work it out!

But here goes anyway.

Run off to the nearest $2 shop and get yourself a cheap set of pliers.

This set cost me $10 from Cheap as Chips here in SA

Or maybe you already have a set?

You really only need one with a side cutter on it.

But the set was cheap and handy.

Also from Cheap as Chips.

A packet of bead $3.

Some tiger tail, it's a thin type of wire. $2 for 6m

And some crimps, they came in the same sort of bag as the tiger tail about 100 for $2.

So $7 of materials will make you a LOT of markers!

Cheap Huh?

Cut your tiger tail around 3 inches in length.

Needs to be big enough to hold your selection of beads

and have enough of a loop for your needle to go through.

Fold the tiger tail in half.

I threaded a little seed bead on both ends.

i find putting a little bead on first stops the big bead riding up.

Next put on your bigger bead.

Thread it onto both ends.

Next slip one of the crimps onto the end.

make sure it is around both ends of the tiger tail.

Then using the nose of your pliers squash the crimp

so that it seals the tiger tail.

Cut off the sticky out ends to neaten.

This stops the ends catching on your knitting.

And there you're done!

Simple!!

Now off you go and make lots of them.

I've seen lots of these sold in sets of four for around $10!

So if you wanted you could whip a few up for the next craft market.

You don't want stitch markers too big, they get in your way when you knit.

You could get some of those beads with letters on them and make words.

You could use letters like K, P, YON and give them a knitting theme.

Spell out your name so you know they are yours.

Use letters to mark back, front, side seams.

And I'm sure you can come up with lots more creative ideas.

So off you go..off to the dollar store and get busy.

Lovely gift for a friend who knits.

I'll be back later with a tutorial for a little stitch marker keeper!

Self Sabotage....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 4 Jul 2011 09:40:00 +0930

I'm still 3kg to go to goal.

But I'm struggling staying on track.

The exercise I'm doing easy and loving.

It the food I'm wrestling with again.

You'd think fitting into size 10 jeans would be all the inspiration I need to stay on track.

But you'd be wrong it seems.

The bad habits are sneaking in.

The self talk goes .."oh, you've done so well. Go on you can have a chocolate eclair with that coffee"

Or "mmm those biscuits smell so good just one won't hurt" ..nine biscuits later!

Pattern: Ruched T from Interweave knits 2011

Yarn: Panda Heath (50c a ball! only took 5!)

Needled: 4mm

It sure is quicker to knit for the new body and cheaper too!

The reality is I am always going to have to watch my weight.

And that is the reality for most of us.

You can't just get to goal and stop eating well and exercising.

If you do, you end up back at the start again.

Which is why it is so important for this to be a life change not a diet.

It's got to be something you do for life.

So that eclair and those biscuits will need a little extra work in the gym and I'll need to be a little more careful in what else I put into my mouth this week and hopefully at the end of the week I won't have gained.

But if I have it's not the end of the world is it?

Because this is a life change not a diet.

And it's ok to have the occasional indulgence as long as I stay on track.

So the photos are going up on the blog a little early to keep me motivated and on track.

Happy 9th Birthday Liam and another yarn

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:17:00 +0930

Happy Birthday to Liam.

It's become a tradition here for the birthday child to decorate their own cake.

We get very interesting masterpieces.

No cake for mummy as I had a weigh in the next morning.

I made a sock weight yarn this time.

spun from a ply of EL X Merino and a ply of Coopworth.

Both fleeces I bought from Jane at Moseley Park.

A pair of socks for me.

The advantage of all this spinning is it is not possible to put food

in my mouth while using my hands to spin!

I had a great Weigh In on Thursday and lost 1.2kg

Putting me in the healthy weight range with a BMI of 25!

And under 70kgs!

And a total loss of over 20kgs.
To celebrate I went clothes shopping and bought myself a gorgeous new dress.

Only 4.7kgs to go to goal.

New yarns

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:58:00 +0930

One of Kathy's beautiful batts plied with some of her dyed silk tops.

My spinning is really starting to get there.

I'm really pleased with my progress in learning to spin.

I'm self taught using the internet, videos and books.

My sister told my mum...

"Tracy can do anything when she sets her mind to it."

I was rather taken back by the compliment.

Donna was referring to my weight loss.

I've always doubted my own abilities but now I'm starting to believe she's right!

Some of Jane's El X Merino fleece plied with Romney Ball from Kathy.

I'm building up a fine stash of handspun yarns.

Might be time to think about passing on the pleasure and having a give away soon.

I learnt a new term ..

SABLE Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectation!

I wonder if my hoarding of 'stuff' is related to my weight?

A little snap shot of where I am on my weight loss journey.

Yep, that is 27cms off my waist! and 11cms off EACH thigh!

I still can't believe I am doing it!

I have a fine yarn to tell you...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 9 Jun 2011 21:55:00 +0930

If you could have a dream come true and it meant

spending an hour a day working on it, would you do it?

Merino spun fine

I'm spending an hour a day making my dream come true.

I call it Project Big.

It was a BIG project but now it's not so BIG.

I started Project Big on 02 February this year.

When I started I wasn't sure I could complete it.

It was a huge project.

Project Big was inspired by Bronnie a long time and dear friend.

Bronnie has encouraged me and kept me on track.

I started Project Big after a phone call one Sunday morning.

Bronnie is the sort of friend you can spend 3 hours on the phone with

and never run out of anything to say.

This particular Sunday we were talking about our dreams,

for ourselves and our kids.

Our dream was to be the best mothers we could be.

The mothers who would be the role models our children need us to be.

After the battery ran out on the phone I put it down and went to my computer and took a huge step towards making my dream come true.

I joined Weight Watchers Online.

Seven children in 12 years had been my excuse for not addressing my health needs.

For letting my fitness decline and my waistline increase.

NO MORE EXCUSES

It was time to be the mum I wanted to be.

A fit energetic mum.

A mum who can chase and catch her toddlers.

A mum without the health concerns obesity brings.

A mum who will be here (god willing) to see her grandbabies born.

My dream is almost complete.

And all it has taken is around an hour a day.

An hour a day is nothing to pay for health and wellbeing

and the chance to see my grandbabies

Now I eat well and exercise each day.

I spend an hour a day exercising a gift to myself and my family.

I no longer use the excuse I'm too busy to look after me.

I know I can never be too busy to look after one of the most

important persons in my childrens lives.

Peter has held my hand and joined me.

He is looking fabulous too.

By changing what I cooked, reducing portions and encouraging him to exercise.

He too has regained his health and fitness.

I can now run for 30 minutes.

I never thought I could,

I smile at myself in the mirror at the gym as I run on that treadmill.

I'm so proud of myself.

I've thrown out all my BIG clothes.

I'm not going to show you photos yet.

I still have a few weeks to go.

So make sure you come back in about 6 weeks

so I can show you the results of Project Big.

More EL X Merino yarn

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 2 Jun 2011 08:54:00 +0930

I'm still working on spinning up the EL Merino Fleece

I bought from Jane at Moseley Park

I spun this skein finer than the bulky weight I spun last time.

I'm planning on a knitted scarf with this.

I was careful in the spinning of the singles.

I split each batt in half and used half in each skein in the same order.

This resulted in long repeats of colour with some smaller sections of overlap.

I think it should knit up with large stripes of colour.

Fibre!!!!!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 1 Jun 2011 16:10:00 +0930

A little trip to Littlehampton resulted in a few fibre purchases.

The Adelaide Hills Spinners and Weaver Guild had their open day and I went along.

I bought two beautiful handmade spindles,

both are rim weighted and spin perfectly.
Ron (Spinningwoodie) Made these beauties.

There was so much beautiful fibre to choose from.

I was spoiled for choice.

I bought batts, plaits, Alpaca, wool, angora bunny, merino and silk blends,

BFL blends, weaving shuttles. .......

Rose, Heather and I had a little holiday in Hahndorf.

We had a lot of fun and met up with Nanny for a day.

Slouchy Berret

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 25 May 2011 15:41:00 +0930

There is something so satisfying in taking a raw fibre.

Washing, dying, carding, spinning and finally knitting it.

It's magic really, transforming fibre to a usable item.

This is EL X Merino, which I blogged about here.

The pattern was based on Spring Beret by Natalie Larson

I did modify a little as my yarn was bulky weight.

I knitted with 8 mm needles and casted on 52 stitches,

I had to tweak the number of stitches for the lace pattern.

The lace pattern was simple enough not to be lost in the texture of the yarn.

Rose was kind enough to model for me.

This is my hat so a little big on Rose.

Not only is Rose beautiful it turns out she sings beautifully too!

And has won a solo in the East Of The Ranges Choir.

I'm very proud of her.

Washed, dyed, carded and Spun...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:51:00 +0930

I do love my fluff.

This is English Leicester X Merino fleece.

I bought from Jane at Moseley Park

I washed it and dyed it with Earth Pallet Dyes

Then I carded it all into batts on my Ashford Wild carder.

Then I spun some of it into this very squishy bulky weight yarn.

Lots of bounce in this!

I may have been quiet on the blog but I've still been crafting along.

This is alpaca yarn, I spun

The beige is a 3 ply and the brown 2 ply.

I bought the alpaca tops from the Laura Folk Festival.

These two skeins both have mohair in them.

One is plyed with silk and the other with

Romney Ball from Kathy's Fibres.

Project Big is almost completed!

I'm rather excited about it.

And can't wait to show you.

Fairy Floss Drop Stitch Scarf

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 14 May 2011 17:32:00 +0930

I knitted up my handspun Fairy Floss yarn

Spun from 50% BFL and 50% Silk Batt and plied with Silk.

Pattern: Drop Stitch Scarf a free Ravelry Download

Needles: 8mm

Yarn : Handspun Silk and BFL

Rose was kind enough to model.

And take a photo of me modeling too.

And here is my Rainbow Princess.

In Willow and Moo from top to tail.

Sara sent the singlet to Heather when she was born.

The skirt and legging were Heather's Christmas present.

I certainly won't loose her in a crowd in this little outfit.

I'm going to miss Willow and Moo, now Sara has decided to scale back.

Fortunate for Heather there are 3 more rainbow redondo skirts

for her to grow into as her sisters grow out of them.

Spinning Fairy Floss

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 8 May 2011 21:46:00 +0930

I call this Fairy Floss.

It is as sweet, soft and delicate as Fairy floss.

I spun this yarn using April's Batt Club Installment

from Jane at Moseley Park

The last installment of this fibre club.

Rumour has it that Jane is soon to announce another fiber club,

If you haven't tried one of Jane's clubs you have seriously been missing out!

The Batt is 50% Blue Faced Leicester and 50% Lustrous bleached Tussah silk .

There was also a silk cap included which I used to ply.

I was actually nervous to spin this Batt,

I was just so worried I'd ruin it and not do the fibre justice.

It's a real pity you can't touch this yarn.

It's very soft and bouncy.

Now, what to make with it....

It has to be something for me!

I made myself an armband for my iphone this morning.

I've been shoving the phone in my bra when I exercise, not very comfortable!

This was quick to whip up and I used up a couple of scraps I had on the cutting table.

Which is why the straps don't match!

I tested the design out at the Gym and it works great,

iphone stayed put and out of my way.

____________________________________________________________________

I've been thinking about starting a fresh new blog.

You know, one of those blogs with style and focus.

This blog is a little too much like me eclectic and homely.

It goes off on a tangent and never seems

to have a polished style or focus.

It's not a very tidy blog, a bit like my house really.

You know if I had the discipline and the ability to stay focused.

I would start another blog,

but I think if I did, it would just end up like this one.

Darting from craft to craft.

Maybe I have Crafting Attention Deficit Disorder.

Or then again, maybe I'm just plain old disordered.

As much as I dream of being a focused, stylised person.

I know it's not me.

So I think Mad Quilter will just have to stay as it is.

A rather eclectic blog with no set focus or style,

But with a lot of warmth, giving and love.

Cozy's Hexagon Jacket

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 7 May 2011 11:33:00 +0930

Another Free pattern.

I love that people are so sharing on the Net.

This Pattern comes from HERE Cozy's Corner Blog.

I liked the clever construction.

It's crocheted as two hexagons, which are then seamed.

Once seamed together I added the ribbing and the collar.

I finished the collar with a little crab stitch.

I like the look and texture of a crab stitch finish.

A tutorial of Crab stitch is HERE if you want to have a try.

The sleeves I finished with some post stitch ribbing.

Tutorial for Post Stitch ribbing is HERE

My model was once more uncooperative and

ran as soon as I pulled the camera out.

Most of my shots looked like this one.

I had to use the zoom on the camera to get the front on shots.

The yarn is a very cheap acrylic from Kmart, that I got for 50c a ball.

My mum used to dress my sisters and I in matching bright orange, striped jumpers

when she'd take us out to places with crowds.

She said it was so she'd remember what we were wearing if we got lost and

being such bright jumpers it was easier to see us in a crowd.

I think this will be Heather's Jacket for crowded places.

And while out in the garden we tried a Pomegranate

Little Hotshot

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:57:00 +0930

Pattern: Hotshot by Julia Stanfield

Yarn: Heath 8ply by Panda

I made up the sailboat.

I thought the jumper needed a little extra.

My model wasn't keen on staying still.

He likes his new jumper but wants mummy to add a star to it.

A little fashion designer in the making.

My cheeky baby boy is fast becoming a little boy.

Visitors to the garden

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:45:00 +0930

I was sitting out on the front veranda this morning watching the visitors to the garden.

It's a peaceful place to sit, have a cuppa tea and do a little crochet.
Certainly quieter than house full of kids.

Isn't he/she beautiful?

Is it a ringneck parrot?

There were four of these beautiful parrots.

The wattle birds were also around chasing off the sparrows.

The butterflies were busy in the Lavender.

As were the bees.

Gladstone and Laura

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:15:00 +0930

Another afternoon of geocaching.

This time in Gladstone and Laura.

Gladstone has an old gaol, which you can B&B in, if you ever fancy locking the kids up.

Gladstone also has THE best op-shop,

I found an extra bowl for my Kenwood, a K beater and balloon whisk there for $5.

Laura is the home of Golden North Ice Cream and the kids had to sample some.

A couple of the cafes do a sample bowl with a pile of different flavors.

Laura has a great play ground for the kids to let off some energy.

We went looking for 6 caches and found 5.

I thought that was pretty good.

One was a Mystery cache so we had to solve the clues

to work out the co-ordinates to find this one.

The one we didn't find was in Laura.

Will try again another day.

The statue is of CJ Dennis

CJ Dennis spent some of his schooling years in Gladstone and Laura

Triantiwontigongolope was part of the clue for this geocache.

Another cache found at a long ago school site.

It took a little bit of dirt driving to find this one.

Fern was navigating, so I got directed to the wrong road.

We're running out of near by caches!

Another Geocaching adventure

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:24:00 +0930

We're getting a little geocaching addicted around here.

A pretty good addiction.

Costs nothing, you learn lots and get active too.

The perfect family pastime really.

Yesterday we headed out to find two more caches.

One we were successful at and one we didn't find this time.

We found the traditional cache by accident looking for the Mystery cache.

Traditional caches are found by using the GPS coordinates.

While Mystery ones require you to solve a couple of riddles and problems to get the GPS position.

I loved this old school, it had a clue to the Mystery cache.

The photo was taken on my iphone late in the afternoon.

It looks rather spooky!

Geocaching - Taking us places we've never been

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:47:00 +0930

After our morning walking in the forest.

We decided to do a little geocaching in the afternoon.

This time we were successful.

Rose found the one here quicker than I got out the car!

It was a fascinating place.

Hard to believe that for 45 years children went to school in this little building.

The chalkboard was still there!

Many of the names listed on the board we recognised as local names.

We found 3 more caches today.

Lilly found her first! One that we had failed to find on another occasion.

I'm Mumto7 on the Geocaching Site, if you'd like to add me as a friend.

Conservator's Walk - Bundaleer Forest

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:27:00 +0930

Rose. Lilly and I so enjoyed our walk yesterday

that we wanted to do another walk today.

We decided on the Conservator's Walk,

it's a similar length to the Scenic walk we did yesterday.

I think there was a little more hill climbing but it wasn't too steep.

This is the Conservator's Hut.

People camp here while traveling the Mawson and Heysen trails.

The walk was wonderful.

There were plenty of birds and we even spotted a couple of Kangaroos.

We passed a couple on bikes rding part of the Mawson trail.

I was once more blown away by Lilly, she didn't whine at all.

This was a bit of a surprise.

I didn't expect it and the funny part was I'd been thinking, as we walked,

how like a church the forest was.

I felt so peaceful.

The views were certainly worth the climb.

We could see all the way back to town.

There were information boards along the walk.

Telling us lots about the forest, trees and wild life.

The trees were beautiful.

The poplar leaves have changed colour and are falling.

I love Autumn.

A walk in the Forest

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:44:00 +0930

Rose, Lilly and I went for a walk to work off all that Easter feasting.

We live close to the Bundaleer Forest.

There are many walking trails through the forest and

the Heysen and Mawson trails also pass through.

It was a nice walk up the hill.

The view from the top was worth the climb.

We could see for kilometers across the fields.

The wind turbines were far off in the distance.

I think they are ugly and you have to question how green they are

when they take so much to construct and transport across the world.

South Australia is littered with tumbed down stone buildings.

Makes me wonder about all that time, hope and effort put into constructing these buildings.

And why they were eventually abandoned.

The trails are well sign posted with information boards along the way.

The old stone walls, built so long ago.

All that time and effort.

Did the builders make a go of this harsh land?

The walk was 4.6kms and a fair bit of it up hills.

Rose and Lilly did well.

Lilly got a little tired towards the end.

I really enjoyed the girls company on the walk, they loved it as much as I did.

Another abandoned house.

It would of looked lovely in it's day.

It had 6 rooms, bigger than our little cottage.

I think these are the reinforcing bars to keep the walls straight.

And this would of been the kitchen, I think.

The fireplace is different from the other rooms,

probably to take a wood stove and oven.

Egg Hunting

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:17:00 +0930

I for one am thankful that Easter is but once a year.

It may be a lot of fun.

But all that excitement, mixed with a lot of chocolate,

usually results in over tired, hyped up children.

And this wasn't all the Chocolate.

I also made them eggs.

Heather and Michael were busy ensuring they got more than their fair share.

Michael not only ate all of his chocolate he also stole a lot from his siblings.

Which started many screams and tears.

Heather's favorite place to be is on the table.

She is strong enough to drag the chairs out to climb up on.

Michael and Heather don't just look alike!

Playing with scraps

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:29:00 +0930

I'm terrible at keeping scraps.

Today I decided to use up a few of the off cuts.

I dug out a t-shirt of Heather's and traced around it.

Then I played with flaring the side seam.

I changed it to a raglan.

Once happy with the shapes I got to work digging through the scraps.

She really did like it!

But while modeling fell off the mini tramp.

I rather like the result.

Heather quickly brightened up once in the sandpit.

I top stitched the seams for added strength so this top should survive the wash well

(unlike my Bras!!)

When the going gets tough, it's time to go sewing

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:09:00 +0930

I like to escape to the shed when stressed.

It's either that or eat!

I played around with the Sew Simple Dress I drafted for Heather.

I altered the front, making a crossover neckline.

I traced off my original draft and played around with the line.

If you do the same, remember the seam allowances!

Did anyone want a copy of my neckline variation?

Send me an email if you do and I'll email it to you.

The brown stretch was another op-shop find.

There's not enough for a matching pair of pants, I may have to play around with the pant pattern and put a stripe down the side so I can use the remains of the brown.

I like brown, it's a lot softer than black.

I think brown like black slims a silhouette.

I joined the pieces at the shoulder.

Then I used a three step zigzag stitch to finish the neckline.

I overlapped the top pieces and attached the skirt.

Then completed the dress as for the original

My model wasn't cooperating today.

She doesn't like to stay still.

Why stressed?

I'm the mother of a teenager.

Is that enough of a reason?

Hormonal teenage daughters and hormonal middle aged women,

should not be living in the same space.

And to top my day off, Pete threw my new Bras in the wash without putting them in a bag!

Two bras that are no longer wearable.

Lucky for me it's Easter so I'll get to eat Chocolate for a day or two.

What I'm doing today....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:15:00 +0930

I'm moulding Chocolate eggs.

Preparing for Sunday's Egg Hunt.

A little messy but I'm sure they'll still taste great!

Boiling eggs for lunch.

I found this great little gadget to help me get the eggs just right.

Now everyone can have an egg just as they like them.

I like mine with rummy yolks so I can dip my soldiers in.

I've been baking Hot Cross Buns

The recipe is from HERE

This is the third time I've made these this week, very yummy.

Our Holiday Monsters

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:24:00 +0930

There are some fabulously talented and inspiring women writing blogs.

One of them is Jenny at ..Ohjoh..

After reading her blog yesterday

I decided to plagerise her Holiday Monsters.

I did leave her a message and tell her I was about to steal her idea!

The kids started by drawing their monsters.

Half way through the process I felt like banging my head against the wall.

Rose had her third round of tears and 'I cann't"

Fortunately Liam and Lilly were less traumatised by the imperfection of their creations.

At the end of a very stressful morning we each completed our Monsters.

Being the imperfect mother of a perfectionist isn't easy.

My little perfectionist has to correct everyone.

She gets very upset with any of us if we aren't right and has to correct us all.

How do you help a 'right' fighting kid,

accept that sometimes it's ok for others to be wrong?

Sometimes for the sake of peace and good relations,

it's better not to tell everyone they are wrong.

I can see her future relationships being hard to maintain.

I love the park

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:43:00 +0930

I really appreciate a good play ground and park.

Our local one is wonderful.

Lots of green grass to run and play on.

Lots of play equipment to swing, climb, rock and jump on.

And lovely free BBQ's, cleaned by the local council staff who do a fabulous job.

We've had pancakes on the BBQ twice this week!

We had so much fun the first time we had to go back and do it again.

The perfect place to meet up with friends.

There are many smart mums who host birthday parties at the park.

No worries about cleaning up the house, or kids making a mess.

Lost of space to play games and run.

I'm always amused by the way kids make new friends at the park.

Without the inhibitions of adults, they are happy to play with anyone.

Games get invented and lifelong friends made.

So here's my tip for the school holidays..

Mix up some pancake mix, pour it into a milk carton.

Pack some maple syrup, cream, jam. butter, sugar and lemon.

Take some oil, BBQ tools, paper plates and paper towels.

Pack your knitting and some water.

Ring a friend.

And head to the park for a couple of hours.

Sew Simple Dress - Size 6 Years! Free Pattern

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:58:00 +0930

MAD QUILTER'S

SEW SIMPLE DRESS

SIZE 6

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PATTERN CLICK HERE!

It will take a little work to cut and paste the 6 pages together!

The construction instructions are the same as Heather's Sew Simple Dress

LINK TO CONSTRUCTION INSTRUCTIONS

I made the sleeves a little longer in Lilly's dress.

You may want to experiment in making a long sleeve version.

I played around with adding a contrast fabric at the bottom and the neckline.

These dresses are lovely layered over a long sleeved skivvy and pants.

I designed this to fit onto a 150cm knit folded in half and half again ,

to get both pieces out in a single length of fabric.

Just as I did with Heathers.

Making this a very economic dress to make.

Mummy Day Off

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:11:00 +0930

Every now and again I need a day off.

A day away from the kids, a rest from the noise and dramas.

Before kids I lived on my own for 10 years.

Now I wish I had enjoyed that alone time much more than I did!.

I took myself off to Burra today.

I got to listen to my choice of music in the car.

I wandered around Antique shops with no one demanding a loo.

I got to eat my lunch all by myself.

I enjoyed chatting to a potter in her studio.

And no one was bored and pulling at my leg.

I wandered the streets and read the heritage information signs.

I meandered along paths with no idea where I was going,

or where the nearest toilet was.

I hiked up hills and had a good look around.

With no one complaining they don't like walking.

I listened to the birds and heard rustling in the grass.

Not a scream to be heard or a fight to be umpired

I was awed by the past.

I admired the skills of stone masons and builders.

And wondered at the harshness of life of a miner and his family.

I explored historic buildings.

Taking the time to read the captions of photographs

And finding a wool carder!

I guessed what this was before I even read the card.

Every now and again I need to be reminded that

I need to look after me, to be the best mother I can be.

And that includes giving myself some time off.

And now I am home...

The kids are tired and hungry.

The 'witching' hour is here.

I better get into the kitchen and feed everyone.

I had a lovely day.

Marshmallow Adventures

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:59:00 +0930

Who doesn't have a photo of a baby covered in food?

And aren't they always the cutest photos.

Heather has been supervising the making of Marshmallow Bunnies.

We both are now suffering from sugar highs.

Well we did have to taste test and clean the bowls.

I made two batches this morning.

I wanted to test out the moulds.

A bit of a disaster so far but I'm learning a few tricks as I go along.

I used this recipe

This is the first batch I made.

I let the marshmallow get too thick before putting in the moulds,

they didn't mould very well at all.

A coconut covering is hiding a lot of sins!

These are my moulds.

I only have 4 and 7 children

Two batches were required to avoid the fights.

To stop the marshmallow sticking to the moulds.

I sprayed each with oil and brushed it in.

Then coated the oil with a mix of half and half corn flour and icing sugar.

It worked and none of my creations stuck.

My problem I think is whipping my marshmallow too much

and having it too thick when I put it into the moulds.

I thought I had it thinner in the second batch but still it didn't mould well.

I did manage to get one bunny to mould well.

But really once you get his fur on (toasted coconut) it's hard to tell.

I think I'm going to be a popular mum when the kids get home from school today.

But I also think I'll regret this when they are bouncing off the wall with the sugar high.

A rather dorkey Easter bunny

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:41:00 +0930

Mad Quilter's

Dorkey Rabbit

Why Dorkey?

Well I think it looks a little dorkey.

I chatted to my friend Bronnie about Dorkey Bunny.

I wasn't sure if I should share his pattern as he is rather dorkey in my opinion.

Everyone has different tastes, someone might like him, said Bronnie

DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN HERE

I used calico and a scrap of quilting fabric to make the pocket.

Cut 2 of the rabbit.

Cut 1 of the pocket on the fold, with fabric right side out.

Baste pocket to the front and add three crosses for the face.

I embroidered the crosses,

a laundry marker could be used to draw the crosses on.

Place the two right sides together and stitch around the bunny.

Leave the opening for stuffing as indicated on the pattern.

I used a short straight stitch for this job.

Use a short stitch to make the seam stronger

and less likely to pull apart when the seam is clipped into.

Clip well into the curves.

When turning the bunny poke his ears in first.

Makes turning him easier.

Start by stuffing into his ears first.

Use small amounts of stuffing and stuff out his cheeks too.

If you use too big an amount of stuffing it doesn't fill the curves well.

It's often cheaper to buy a cushion insert or pillow, than stuffing from a craft store.

As Bunny is probably not going to be a lifelong friend,

I don't stress about him being not made of topnotch fabrics and filling.

He'll hold a hard boiled egg in his pocket.

Or a little chocolate one.

This year I'm planning on a handmade Easter.

Sew Simple Pants - FREE Toddler pants pattern

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:39:00 +0930

Mad Quilter's

Sew Simple Pants

DOWNLOAD PATTERN HERE

Stretch fabrics ONLY.

These are designed to be snug around the lower leg to stop them riding up

and leaving Heather's legs cold.

Her feet are cold enough as she never keeps shoes or sock on!

I put a bit of room in the bottom and a higher rise at the back to accommodate her nappy.

This pattern was designed for Heather who is 16 months old,

with lovely chubby thighs.

When making for your child you may need to widen or narrow in places to get a fit you like.

I'm going to assume by readers are pretty bright so won't give you a material list.

The length you need is around 20 inches and you need the stretch to go across the pants.

These 5 pages make up the pattern.

Download, print, cut and paste, matching the markings on the pattern.

There is only one piece to making these pants.

Next cut two pieces, one for each leg!

Cut from your fabric folded in half so you can match any stripes well.

I use a rotary cutter as it gives a nicer cut edge than scissors.

Now off to the sewing machine.

Sew the front and back crotch seams.

I used a narrow zig zag stitch.

You can use a serger or an overlock stitch if your prefer.

I'm pretty lazy with my overlocker, I hate threading the damn thing!

Sew up the inside leg seam.

I start at one leg and sew to the end of the other, matching the stripes and the crotch seams.

Now you can decide to finish the hem on the leg before you sew up the inside leg seam.

I like to do it after so I can make sure the length is right.

Finish the leg hems, if you didn't do them before sewing up the inside leg seam.

I turned up 1cm and sewed the hem with a harrow zigzag.

Now finish the waist.

How much elastic? I measure around Heather's waist with the elastic to find a nice fit.

This piece was 15 inches and was very soft and stretchy.

I overlapped the two ends without twisting and sewed them to the back crotch seam about 6mm below the edge.

Next I matched the center of the elastic to the center front and sewed the elastic here too about 6mm below the edge.

Then I folded the edge over and sewed the waist down.

Enclosing the elastic as I went and being careful not to sew through the elastic.

I like this method as the elastic now can't twist in the casing.

Mark the center back seam with a piece of ribbon or a tag to help Daddy dress wiggling toddler.

And you're all done.

Now for the variation:

Add some ribbing at the waist, instead of elastic.

Another pair I made in testing the pattern.

I'm showing these off as I matched those stripes beautifully!

I added cuffs to the bottom of this pair.

And no I don't like the fabric choices on this one either!

I only had scraps of both so thought I'd experiment.

They'll do for PJ pants.

Sew Simple Dress (long sleeves) - FREE Pattern!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:35:00 +0930

Mad Quilter's

Long Sleeve

Sew Simple Dress

SLEEVE PDF DOWNLOAD HERE

DRESS DOWNLOAD HERE

SEWING INSTRUCTIONS HERE

When making the long sleeve version you attach the sleeve to the dress pattern as in the photo above.

If you find your fabric isn't wide enough to cut the dress as the sleeve is placed you can do as I did and swing the sleeve closer to the body.

Like here.

As this is stretch fabric there is still enough room for movement.

Doing this makes this a more economic pattern.

I also varied this by flaring the hem out.

Follow the same construction as the short sleeve version.

In the dress above I used ribbing on the neck.

The neck is snug and a tight fit over Heather's head.

So you may want to make the neckline bigger for your little one

or cut the neckband with a little more give.

Another variation is to cut this dress short and make a top.

In the photo above you can see where I decided to make the hem line.

I curved the hem similar to the original hem and added a little flare to the side.

I shortened the sleeve too.

The neckline was finished simply by turning the neck edge over 6mm

and stitching with a decorative stretch stitch.

I hope I've inspired you to have a go at making your own versions of this simple dress.

All of these dresses and tops costs my very little to make.

All but one of the fabrics were op-shop finds.

Stay tuned for the Sew Simple pants pattern!

(as seen above)

Please if you have ANY problems with these instructions, photos and patterns.

PLEASE contact me and TELL me.

I really do get very upset when I read on forums and blog posts when you have had a problem.

I also think you may find you aren't the only one,

so if you leave FEEDBACK on my blog others can learn from your experience.

I'm really not that upset with the criticism,

BUT I do get upset when you tell everyone but me about it.

And if you think I'm being a bit precious..

Let me visit your blog and make a few opinions on my blog

about your colour choices, layouts and projects and see how you feel.

You see I just would not do that as I think that is bad manners.

Oh and if you don't like my fabric choices,

you are very free to contact me and offer to give me some fabric you like better.

And if you don't like my photos, you are very welcome to buy me a new camera.

And if you don't like my instructions you are very welcome to pay for an editor to tidy them up for you.

OK now that is out of my system we return to normal transmission...

Taking my Bat and ball and going off to sulk for awhile

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 9 Apr 2011 13:04:00 +0930


Sorry if the photo isn't up to standard! You can pinch it without asking

I'm going on a Net Break.

I'm taking my bat and ball and going home.

I don't like the rules and I don't want to play.

I'm off to have a sulk.

Be back when I'm a little more grown up.

More Sew Simple dresses and a Rant

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 9 Apr 2011 10:23:00 +0930

I had a little more time last night in the shed sewing.

I made up another short sleeves Sew Simple and drafted up a long sleeve version too.

I made the long sleeve version in velour.

Added a couple of doily pockets.

The longer sleeves should keep Heather a little warmer in Autumn.

I'm debating if I will make this one available as a free pattern.

I'm feeling a little grumpy with the web world right now.

I'm rather over the popularity contest that blogs have become.

I was never popular at high school either and of late the blog world is starting to remind me of high school.

People happy to link to me with their opinion of my work

but not leave me any feedback.

People who will 'borrow' my photos but then comment on how they don't like my fabric choice but the pattern is OK.

People who link to my pattern saying how lovely it is but commenting on how unclear my photos and instruction are.

I think it's fine to make an honest assessment of someones efforts and work.

What I do find upsetting is these same people don't make an effort to leave me any feedback.

So how am I to address any of these problems, if I don't know about them?

It reminds me of the behind your back gossip at school.

If you have something to say, please say it to me first.

I can't do anything about something I don't know about!

How do I know what is being written about me?

Well, what some may not know, is blogger now has stats and those stats will give you the links to those who have linked to you.

Maybe I just need to stop reading my stats and then I wouldn't be so MAD.

I make stuff for my children and share with the blog world.

It takes me maybe two extra hours to write up the tutorial and post the patterns.

This is done for free, I am not charging anyone for my patterns.

All I ask is some feedback in return and what I consider common courtesy,

But then again courtesy may not be that common anymore!

Sew Simple Dress - FREE Pattern!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 8 Apr 2011 18:03:00 +0930

Mad Quilter's

Sew Simple Toddlers Dress

Size 12 to 18 months.

I love stretch fabric.

Sew easy, sew forgiving.

I saw a dress my friend Tas had made for her Daughter and I loved it.

I was inspired to design and draft a similar style of dress.

As you can see this is very simple the back and front are cut the same.

Then the front neckline is cut.

The sleeves are grown onto the dress.

So there are only two pieces to this dress.

So you will need:

A small amount of stretch fabric. A 1/2m is plenty.

A sewing machine or an overlocker.

I used a rotary cutter to cut my fabric, but scissors are fine.

Matching threads and a stretch machine needle.

Plus a copy of the pattern.

Start by DOWNLOADING the free PDF pattern

Print it out without scaling and join the three pieces together as indicated on the pattern.

Cutting Out

The pattern is placed on the fold of the fabic.

Fold the fabric so you cut both pieces at the same time.

I do this to match the stripes and it's quicker.

Use the back neckline pattern to cut both pieces.

Cut a strip of fabric to make the neckband. 10 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches.

The stretch should go along the long length of the strip.

Take one of the pieces and cut the front neckline out.

Use the pattern as a guide.

This is now the front of the dress.

With right sides together sew across one shoulder.

I used an overlock stitch to do this.

If you don't have this stitch a narrow zigzag stitch will do.

Being a stretch fabric there is no need to finish the edge as it does not fray.

Fold the neckband in half along the long sides, so the right side of the fabric is out.

Attach the neckband to the neck.

Slightly stretch the neckband as you sew and be careful not to stretch the neckline.

If you aren't confident doing as I do you can pin the neckband into place.

Now join up the other shoulder seam.

At this point you could decide to hem the sleeve in the flat before you join up the side seams.

Some find this easier than doing it later and working in a small circle.

Sew up the side seams.

I start at the edge of the sleeve and sew to the hem.

Take care not to stretch the fabric as you sew and matching any stripes.

Turn up a hem and sew with a narrow zigzag.

Or alternative you could lettuce edge the hem.

You could even leave the sleeves and dress unhemmed as stretch will not fray.

Sew the seam of the neckband down so it doesn't irritate your princess.

Do this by making a couple of stitches to attach the seam to the garment.

If you sewed a hem to the sleeves in the flat do the same to those seams.

And here's the model shot!

She climbs everything.

Her favorite trick is to climb on the dining room table and do a little dance on her stage.

Long sleeve and top variations HERE

Remember my copyright.....

I offer all my free patterns with the same Copyright:
It's ok to share these patterns for free
It's ok to make things from these patterns to sell
It's not OK to sell my patterns
It's not OK to claim my work is yours.

Please leave me a comment if you make anything using the instructions I have shared.
I'd love to see it.

You have to have a goal to achieve a goal

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 8 Apr 2011 08:27:00 +0930


Alpaca fleece and tops - Bought at the Laura Folk fair

I've been thinking, I do that sometimes.

Thinking about goals.

About how important they really are to our lives.

How having goals makes me feel good about myself.

How goals give me focus, purpose and direction.

When I'm depressed I don't set myself goals.

I've been working on a BIG project.

When I started I wasn't sure I would finish.

Now I'm half way through.

Having a set of written goals is helping me get to the end.

If you want to achieve a BIG goal it needs to be written down.

Written goals, reviewed often, keep you focused and on track to achieving them.

Alpaca Fleece - My goal is to spin this.

Goals are S.M.A.R.T

S = Specific M = Measurable A = Attainable R = Realistic T = Timely

Be it a little goal or a BIG goal.

Setting a goal is not enough.

You have to plan to achieve it.

You need a plan of action.

You don't get where you are going without a plan.

Just as you need a map to get to a place you've never been before.

A plan keeps you moving towards completing your goal.

crochet bag ready to felt

When I lack goals and plans in my life I feel lost.

I need direction,

I need to achieve something.

Just having one big goal isn't enough for me.

A goal that is too big is overwhelming.

And once overwhelmed, I just don't do anything.

I need to set myself little goals along the way to keep me motivated.

Little goals I can celebrate and get that sense of achievement from.

Felted bag - might need a little embellishment?

Some goals are too big, like raising kids, to ever feel like you've achieved them.

I know what my big goals are, I wrote them down.

So what's your goal for the day?

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 7 Apr 2011 13:27:00 +0930

Wild Things.....They make my heart sing....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 4 Apr 2011 19:44:00 +0930

Wild Thing No. 1

Wants to be a princess but at times is more like a troll.

Her scream is ear piercing and heard often of late.

Another phase I hope will pass quickly

Wild Thing No.2

A better behaved Wild Thing that does as it's told.

My new Wild Carder!

I've been playing lots with this wild thing, it doesn't throw tantrums.

Wild Thing No3

My first attempt at core spinning is very wild.

Fiery orange and deep purple, what a contrast!

Wild, energised and dramatic.

I made the mistake of trying to put this through my normal flyer.

I had to keep stopping and hand winding the bumpy bits passed the loops.

Forgetting I had the perfect flyer for this job.

Wild Thing No. 4

Is a little more subtle in the colour, but just as wild in the texture.

It spun a lot easier using the Freedom Flyer!

March Dyed Batt Club

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 2 Apr 2011 18:04:00 +1030

This months Batt was made of a blend of Romney, English Leicester, merino, x bred, bunny, silk and glitz.

It came with 50gms of Silk Laps.

The batt spun up beautifully.

I had a few issues with the silk.

It stuck to my hands and I had to pre-draft it a lot.

I got some great tips and pointers from Jane and finally got into the swing of spinning silk.

I can't say spinning silk will be something I'll do a lot of.

I prefer wool.

I do enjoy the fiber clubs as it does stretch my spinning skills.

I really enjoy spinning from batts.

Felted slippers.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 2 Apr 2011 17:02:00 +1030

The evenings are getting colder.

Almost time to start the fire.

Time to think of getting the flannel sheets on the bed and digging out the wool doona.

Time for making comfy warm slippers.

I have a pile of Vintage Hues by Cleckheaton

I bought it for $1 a ball from Kmart a couple of years ago.

The pattern doesn't have great reviews on Ravelry but I gave it a try anyway.

I figured many who had tried to make this pattern

may have confused the English crochet Terms with the American ones.

And I think I was right.

Because for me the pattern worked perfectly.

A couple of turns in the wash and here they are.

I did take them out a couple of times to get the size right.

These are lovely and thick and should keep my feet toasty this winter.

Pattern: Felted Slippers

Yarn: Vintage Hues by Cleckheaton

Hook: 6.5mm

Time taken: One evening and one afternoon.

Cost: 3 balls @ $1 = $3

Did the earth Move for you?

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:56:00 +1030

This was a nice quick knit.

Knit from some yarn I spun up, details HERE

Fern is now at high school.

Hard to believe how fast they grow up.

I love how this knit hugs her shape.

I loosly followed Shannon's Versa pattern.

Using 8mm knitting needles.

Last night at about 10pm I felt the earth move!

We had a tremor here.

The details are on Geoscience Australia Website

It was a magnitude 2.4 quake, situated at a depth of 7 kms here in Jamestown.

It was enough to rumble through the floorboards and wake the kids in the top bunks.

The kids were a little scared, I think due to the other serious quakes recently.

The last of the mug rugs for now.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:28:00 +1030

I think I'm over my Rug Mug phase for now.

This was a little left over patchwork from another project which I added a butterfly too.

I played with my machine and put in some fancy stitches.

We all spent the afternoon walking around town looking for geocaches.

Managed to find one. The other eluded us.

Will have to have another try later.

I have been trying to spin but Heather is determined to stop me by pulling off my drive band.

She's also taken to climbing up onto the kitchen table, via the chairs.

Yes, it's another Mug Rug!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 10:56:00 +1030

When I get into a project I can get a little obsessive.

Pete want's this one for his computer desk.

I finished the binding by machine, would of looked nicer if I'd used a fancy stitch.

I think I have an addictive personality.

Lucky ( or is that unluckily) I tend to get tired of things pretty quickly.

So most addictions wane of their own accord.

My BIG project is progressing well and I'm well into the zone with it.

Yet Another Mug Rug

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:25:00 +1030

A very Aussie Mug Rug this time.

I lived 16 years in the Territory.

I moved to the Territory straight after University to take up my very first teaching job.

I only intended to go for a year or two.

I worked In Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and on an Aboriginal Community.

I found my life partner and birthed 5 of my 7 children in the Territory.

Made some wonderful life long friendships

And I started my quilting journey too.
(I've even eaten a Honey Ant!)

The Territory will always be a special place to me.

After seeing the Todd River flow, more than 3 times, I'm sure I'll return one day.

Pete still works in the Territory.

He travels up on a semi- regular basis and works at home in between trips.

And some times he pops into Polka Dot Fabrics in Alice Springs and brings me back a treat!

Another day, Another Mug Rug

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:15:00 +1030

Another Mug Rug.

I'm joining Erin on her Mug Rug Madness.

Go check out Erin's Blog, she has giveaways and tutorials!

I tried something new and scalloped the edge.

Some raw edge applique and a fussy cut flower.

The perfect little project to try out a few new to you techniques.

Mug Rug Madness

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:20:00 +1030

Erin over at two more seconds is hosting

Mug Rug Madness

This is my effort.

I haven't done much quilting for awhile.

Thought I'd have a go at making some of these tiny quilts.

May inspire me to get back into some quilt making.

I'm still working on my BIG project, it's coming along slowly.

I'm hopeful I'll finish in time for Christmas this year.

Family fun, Geocaching!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:29:00 +1030

Geocaching!

Why have I never come acoss this before?

It's been going for 10 Years and I've been missing out on all that fun!

I remember seeing Geocaching mentioned on a blog awhile ago

but I really had no idea what it was.

Last night I heard all about it while listening to a Podcast Fat2Fit Radio.

I was so excited after visiting the Geocaching website

and finding lots of caches were hidden in our little town!

We decided we'd go treasure hunting Sunday morning,

only to wake to rain. rain and more rain.

In the end we decided to brave the weather and do it anyway.

On our first search we weren't luck enough to find the cache.

So off we walked to the second site.

I used my iphone and the Geocaching App

I don't think it was working, we mostly relied on the google maps and hints to find three caches!

It was great to be active with the kids to be all working together to solve the problems and find the treasure.

Liam found the first Cache which had a Travel Bug in it!

We have to put this little bug in another cache to help him in his journey.

I found the second cache!

And we learned a lot about RW Williams along the way.

Peter found the third cache.

After we solved the puzzle to get a hint.

After a wonderful afternoon of walking in the rain,

playing in puddles and finding treasure

we headed home for afternoon tea.

We're already planning out next Geocaching adventures.

I now want to get a hand held GPS so we can find the harder caches.

KOGO Time

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:14:00 +1030

I'm once again knitting for KOGO

This is a scoodie.
A scarf with a hood attached.

First time I've made one of these.

The pattern is free on the KOGO website.

I used two strands of Heath 8ply and 6.5mm needles to make this a fast knit.

I'm planning on knitting a few scarves to send too.

I had to come back and do another edit as I'm brain dead right now and the spelling was awful.
If you notice anything else keep it to yourself my ego may not survive being told what else I have got wrong.
And while I am back here I'll share Heather's latest trick..

Yes, she can now press the button on the ipad to make it come on.
Frustration then happens as she hasn't worked out the slide bit to keep it on!

More handspun, a spindle and a new use for my project bags

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +1030

I spun a thick single from some Earth Palette dyed White Finn ,

which came from Kath Lomman from Mount Bryan SA.

I plied the thick single with a fine single I spun from English Leicester I bought from Moseley Park.

The dye, the Finn and the EL are all from South Australia!

I spun and plied on my Ashford Joy.

I'm loving my new wheel, I pack her in her bag and take her to the park with the kids.

For more portable spinning, nothing beats a drop spindle.

I've been practicing with some Romney Ball that I got from Kathy (SA again!)

And I found a new use for my project bag.

It makes the PERFECT drop spindle bag.

I have a few of these little bags. I made them to sell and they never sold.

Now I'm pretty happy they didn't, at the time it was a bit depressing.

I have now given up on the idea of making any sort of money from my craft.

I'm happier to just craft for my own brood now.

I feel a lot freer to craft whatever takes my fancy and not thinking will it sell.

I really admire people who can make money out of craft it takes a lot of time and dedication.

For me time is something that is too precious, to spend crafting for others.

You can use the project bag to hold your fiber as you spin!

As well as storing your spindle when not in use.

The bags handle makes it perfect for hanging out the way on your arm as you draft and spin.

MY FREE ~~PROJECT BAG~~ DROP SPINDLE BAG

TUTORIAL IS HERE

Reno Update

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 08:06:00 +1030

The kitchen floor is now tiled.

After years of horrible lino, cork tiles and concrete.

The professionals did a fabulous job of working around us and I was only without a kitchen for two days.

The floor was very uneven and the professionals had to even everything out with the glue as they laid the tiles.

The professionals have finished in the kitchen/dining and

Pete is going to do the painting.

And I have a shower!!

We decided on a shower bath setup.

We don't have a lot of space in the bathroom.

We could of had a bigger bath but with 4 girls to go through teenage years

the water bill would be huge!

There are a few things still to do in the bathroom.

A shower screen needs to go in.

The electrics need to be fitted.

A little more grouting and sealing.

The partition between the vanity and bath needs to be ordered and installed.

The partition needs to be made to measure.

The partition is made with a privacy door.

It will be on feet and not the full height of the room, allowing light and air into the bath area.

Putting a partition in will separate the vanity and toilet from the bath.

Allowing someone to use the bath while another person uses the vanity or toilet.

The boys will no longer have to wait for Fern to get out the bathroom so they can brush their teeth in the morning.

The laundry just needs painting.

I can't wait to get in here and sort it all out.

There is still a door that needs to be fitted between the dining and laundry.

The opening between the laundry and bathroom has no door.

Mother, Daughter bonding

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:45:00 +1030

The heart in the burnt tree made us smile

I think it's important to make special memories with each of my children.

Finding one on one time with so many kids can be difficult.

Today I took off and escaped with Rose to Melrose.

I've talked about doing the walking trails, since we move to SA.

Today was the day to go and look, scout out the location for a family walk.

Rose was fabulous.

We walked the nature trail, 3kms up and down the side of a mountain.

Steep climbs we had to huff and puff up and coming down on the sides of our feet with our hands out to steady us.

Rock hopping over the dry creek beds.

It's not a suitable walk for the little ones, as at stages you are walking along steep slopes.

I can see Michael deciding to tumble down the slopes for fun!

look close, Can you see?

And towards the end of the walk we heard a noise and looked up to see....

He really was enormous.

I'd say at least 2 meters from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail.

Rose was a little worried as we had to walk under his tree!

The trails at Melrose are also for Mountain Bikes!

I can tell you, you will never see me on a mountain bike on those trails!

There was a shop we walked passed, Over The Edge, that rented Bikes.

I didn't bother to go in.

Now I'm thinking I should of ..they had wool and chocolate too!!

And another little shop had the most beautiful handmade tiles.

Pete should be relieved I saw these after we had finished tiling the bathroom.

I hope Rose remembers her special day out.

Mmmmm yummy yarn

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:35:00 +1030

Spun from last months Fibre Club from Moseley Park.

This one is EL X Merino and EL lamb.

I plied with EL too.

And this one is Merino, baby camel, tussah silk with a little glitz and Angelina to make it sparkle.

I also plied this with EL.

Now I just have to wait for this months installment.

Reno Update

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 6 Mar 2011 11:59:00 +1030

The tiling has started in the kitchen now.

The girls and I shifted furniture using skateboards.

The builders had to angle grind the floor down in sections.

You could write your name and draw pictures in the dust this created.

Putting tarps over stuff was pretty useless, I found the dust still got in,

I ended up washing everything anyway.

When they tile the left hand side, I'll be without a kitchen.

One day to lay the tiles, one to grout them and maybe one to put the kitchen back together.

Lots of BBQ chook and salad from the Foodland coming up I think.

Yes, I'm still without a shower.

Once the old tiles came off a problem was found with water leaking.

That meant building up the wall to smooth it out and sealing the wall with some plastic that is painted on in two layers, each layer needed to dry.

The old floor drain had also been leaking so had to be replaced.

Turns out all the mold issues I had in the old bathroom were not just my slack housekeeping skills.

We also ran out of the floor tiles, as I decided to tile up the steps with the floor tiles and we no longer had enough. That means an extra couple of days. One for finishing the tiling and another for grouting.

We couldn't use the existing plumbing either as it was too old for the new fittings.

All new plumbing needed to go in.

It's been a long slow process.

Renovating old houses is, due to everything not being stock standard and having to be cut to size.

Walls and floors aren't straight, nor square.
There is a lot of fiddling and maths to get everything to fit together.

I know many builders don't like to work this way, they like to knock it down and start again.

If we had gone that way it would of cost us more and we would of had to move out for 3 months.

Who would like to rent to a family with 7 kids?

Especially my mob who love drawing on walls and spilling food at every opportunity.

The builders are saying the end is near.

I won't get my hopes up yet.

I don't believe Pete until he has booked a ticket home.

"ll wait until the builders are packing up before I get too excited!

Ninja

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 19:40:00 +1030

A cute little Ninja for James.

Another FREE pattern!

I love how generous people are to share their talents on the web.

The net has made it easy to share and learn.

I find so much inspiration from reading blogs and participating in forums.

I wonder if the net has taken over too much in my life.

I spend a lot of time on the computer at the expense of making 'real life' friends.

With the kids still so little I find it hard to get out of the house.

I have made a support network for myself here on the net.

Maybe I also need to be more active in making a 'real life' support network too?

'Real life' friendships take time and energy both of which are in short supply right now.

Never Not Knitting Theme Song

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 1 Mar 2011 22:24:00 +1030

This is for TAS :D

This is the theme for the Never Not Knitting Podcast it's worth a listen. It's one of many I listen to. I'm a podcast junkie. Once upon a time I made my own podcast... there is always the hope I may resurrect it. Finding inspiration and free time together tends to be the main hurdle.

I have an addiction..

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 1 Mar 2011 15:29:00 +1030

....... to fluff.

The above two batts are this months installment of the Moseley Park Fiber Club.

I was so excited I had to show it off to the builders.

I'm sure they weren't as excited as me.

And this is the yarn I spun from the Xmas Fiber Club.

Tussah silk and camel, plied with Romney.

The Romney I spun from a Romney Ball I bought from Kathy's Fibers

The feel of this is amazing.

Soft and squishy and the colour is so vibrant.

This was the original sliver from the Xmas club.

I have something very exciting happening right now,
it's a long term project so I can't show you yet.

(and no mum and Sue, I'm not pregnant!)

Yet Another Kokeshi

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:51:00 +1030

Lilly's Kokeshi doll is now finished.

I used THIS pattern again.

I like the shaping in this one.

It is a little more fiddly than THIS one

"Mum, the boys don't have anything. Could you make them Ninjas?" asked Rose.

Mmmmm. Ninjas they say. Let me see, there is THIS pattern.

The boys haven't seen it as yet so I may get away with not making them...

I would of taken a photo with Lilly giving her new doll a hug.

But she's a rather grotty kid after painting this morning.

She gets more paint on her and her clothes than the paper.

So I settled for a photo of her little grotty hands.

No, TAS, I am not making Heather one.

She's the youngest of 7, she'll have to learn to speak up and be quick if she wants anything.

Kids of big families learn quick to be quick.

I felt awful one day when a little girl visited.

I called out, "Afternoon Tea!"

The kids came running and wolfed down the afternoon snack.

5 minutes latter in came the visitor, nothing left!

She was busy playing and didn't come straight away.

She was one of two and thought her snack would still be there when she'd finished playing.

And I just didn't think, I assumed all kids knew when food was called you came quickly!

The next time she visited I served up in individual bowls,

which I don't like doing, it means even more washing up.

She was pretty quick in coming to the table that time.

Washing dishes is a constant chore in this house.

Another Kokeshi

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:37:00 +1030

I should of known I wouldn't be allowed to only make one Kokeshi!

The girls started arguing the moment the first one was sighted.

"Can I have it?" asked Fern.

"No, I want it!" yelled Rose

"It's not fair." whined Lilly.

I sat here today watching Kung Fu Panda with the kids crocheting another little Kokeshi

I used this PATTERN today.

Another Free Pattern from the net.

I followed the designers suggestion and included a coin in the base to help the little doll to stand.

Rose got yesterday's doll.

This one is for Fern.

I need to make another for Lilly.

Thankfully Heather isn't talking yet!

Kokeshi Doll

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:51:00 +1030

Kokeshi Doll

I dislike being sick, especially when Pete's away.

I have no energy today, ache all over, my throat hurts and I'm just pain short tempered.

It's almost the end of Summer and already I have a cold.

I can see in the garden the change of season is coming.

The leaves on the peach tree are starting to turn colour.

I am feeling self absorbed and pitying today.

This little lady cheered me up a little as I worked on her.

She was made with another free pattern.

The designer of this one is happy for these to be made for profit, how generous is that!

Not that I have the time or energy to craft for others these days.

These are quick to work up and require very little yarn so would make great little additions to any craft stall.

Pattern: Kokeshi Dolls

Rav link Here

Yarn: My friends acrylic and cotton

Hook: 3.25 mm

I love these little dolls.

Megs Books in Port Pirie sells little kimmidolls which I buy as a special treat for my girls.

Each of the little dolls have a name which is a character trait.

Melly and Me have a free stitchery Kokeshi doll on their blog, I may one day get around to trying.

Heather's Upchuck Sweater

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:11:00 +1030

I came across THIS pattern on Ravelry

After a little trial and error and some improvisation.

I came up with version.

The name of this pattern is awful,

go and suggest a new name to The Crafty Queen !

I didn't have a lot of this wool.

I dyed it a while ago intending to make longies from it.

I shortened the length and the sleeves and added a crochet edging to the neckline.

Heather wasn't interested in her new sweater.

She was more focused on escaping!

I think I have another Michael!

The pattern is a work in progress.

There are a few errors but the bones are there for a fabulous pattern.

I'm really happy with how this wool knitted up.

It's a 10plyl Bendigo Woollen Mills Wool Yarn

I haven't done much yarn dyeing for a while.

There is never enough time for all the creative things I want to do.

The new bathroom...

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:39:00 +1030

Bath time is going to be an interesting experience for the next week!

Undisciplined....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:46:00 +1030

I like to spend time in the garden.

Especially when the kids are particularly undisciplined.

Looking at my garden today I can see it as a reflection of my own personality.

My own undisciplined nature.

The pumpkin vines are taking over and escaping out the gate.

We now climb the fence to get in.

Being undisciplined results in a bit of a mess in the garden.

And the house.

And my wardrobe.

And my figure.

My piles of fabrics, boxes of yarn and bags of fiber.

The tomato plants that self seeded in the chook run are hip high now and so dense it's almost impossible to get in there to pick them.

The Zucchini have suffered a little in the heat and humidity.

In the last few cooler days they've put on new healthy growth.

They are battling with the capsicum and leeks for space.

This bed has carrots and capsicums.

They're not doing as well as we would of hoped.

This is the bed we grew the garlic in.

The tomatoes we planted are doing well in here.

The bed with the Swiss chard is totally undisciplined and out of control.

There are little seedlings now all over the garden, battling with the weeds.

The apples are ripening.

A few of them should of been thinned out and now the branches are in danger of breaking.

The mandarin tree is covered in new fruit.

Should I thin them or let them be?

And on the block in the midst of the weeds grew these.

Life may be a lot easier and tider with a bit of discipline.

But I think I may miss the surprises of an undisciplined life.

I am trying to acquire some discipline.

I'd like to get some of this weight off me.

I'd like my home to be not in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)

I'd like a coordinated wardrobe, with clothes that fit me and are tidy and neat.

I'd like my kids to keep their rooms tidy, might mean I need to teach by example!

I can relate well to Vic's Post on her Blog Punky&Me

I too am a Flylady failure, I think I failed at putting my shoes on, I never really got to shine my sink!

My house is a mess, as is my body.

I'd like to change things but have no idea how.

I lack the discipline to even start.

Today I looked at those beautiful Belladonna Lilies and I thought..

Does it really matter?

Ok the weight does that is a health risk, but everything else?

Those Lilies survived and flourished with no help from me.

They didn't need to be watered, pruned and cultivated.

Are they made hardier by the lack of discipline?

A lovely surprise from the past

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:34:00 +1030

Our home is 101 years old this year.

She was built in 1910.

A traditional symmetrical four room cottage.

Built of local stone and brick.

The kitchen would of originally been housed in a separate building to reduce the risk of fire and to keep the house cool.

The lavatory would of been a drop toilet or night cart.

We think the original toilet door is actually on one of the back sheds.

The current kitchen would of been added maybe in the 1930's, we really aren't sure but it's made of stone. The laundry and bathroom were added in the 1970's and built from besa block, concrete bricks.

We think it was 70's as when we pulled down the wall we found a newspaper dated 1973

We still have a very old apricot and walnut tree.

But occassionaly we get a little surprise from the past.

There are Jonquils and Crocus and this year these beauties came up in the block.

These would of been planted at least 30 years ago, but probably have been there a lot longer.

There used to be a small two room cottage on the block,

we can see the outline of stones on the ground.

Someone long ago planted these.

I've always felt this house welcomed us.

That it wanted to be a family home again.

The peaches are ripe, they're as yummy as they look.

I've run out of my free google storage for the photos on my blog!

Options:

stop blogging ..
host photos on flickr
remove some photos
pay for extra storage...

Hetty For Lilly

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:28:00 +1030

Pattern: Hetty by Sarah Wright

Yarn: Panda Heath wool/acrylic blend

It looked way too small when I was knitting it.

It’s a close fitting garment on Lilly.

I might try it on Heather and see if it will do as a dress on her.

I hope my Top End friends are safe and dry tonight.

I'm praying you are keeping safe.

Enid's, Sunbonnet for a toddler!

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:16:00 +1030

This little sun bonnet features ina few of the Enid books.

This is the first time I have made it.

I was inspired to have a go after seeing Tab's version

The drafting was easy.

The piecing was a little of a challenge, I've never been fond of sewing curves.

My tip with this one is PIN PIN PIN or hand baste the brim to the crown.

This has a lovely wide brim and a little flap at the back to cover the neck.

It opens out for easy ironing (if you iron!)

It adjusts as the back to fit for a long time.

And ties under the neck for those little ones who hate wearing hats.

Heather was happy to wear this bonnet for about 3 minutes.

She had to struggle a little to get it off.

But she was determined!

And finally managed to pull it off.

Honey...I bought a hall table .....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 5 Feb 2011 22:48:00 +1030

Me, "Isn't it a nice hall table? I got it at the Op-shop for $60"

I'm trying to convince Pete we need a hall table.

Really ..it has a sewing machine hidden in there?

As another sewing machine may be pushing my luck right now.

Renovating is expensive.

"With the manual, you say?"

"And a tin of bits?"

"Gosh, isn't that amazing, Honey!"

Isn't she a beauty?

Could you have walked passed her?

Reno Update

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 5 Feb 2011 10:58:00 +1030

It's slow.

The professional is working on other jobs and fitting us in when he can.

We don't mind this as he is working around us as a family.

The photo above shows where the old bath was and the new opening into the new laundry.

The new laundry is now tiled.

Although putting the window into the western wall makes this space hot in the afternoon it lets in a lot of needed light. I'll have to look at getting a blind for that window.

The old toilet doorway is now sealed and the new doorway and door on.

We now have ceilings in the dining area.

The next job will be to block up the old bathroom doorway.

Then it's time to get stuck into the bathroom.

After that the tiles go down in the dining and kitchen area.

We picked the tiles out last week and ordered them.

I had wanted to lino the floor but because we have three different slabs, the floor is very uneven and lino would wear.

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 3 Feb 2011 13:51:00 +1030

Pete, Michael, Heather and I had a trip to Pt Pirie to pick out the new tiles

for the kitchen and dining area.

I now know how expensive renovating is.

The shower fitting is costing ..$1200.

Floor tiles .. around $1500

Bathroom tiles, vanity, tub, laundry trough $3,500

laundry tiles $600

and on and on it goes....

NO you didn't read that wrong.

That is how much those shower fittings with the exposed pipe work and a telephone shower hose cost!

No trip to Pt Pirie is complete without a trip to the OP-shops.

And I found an ENID.

I do already have this one but for 5c it wasn't staying there.

I also found a 1966 New Idea with an Enid feature.

The ad's are classic ...

I think I need one of those!

And as Pete does the driving, I get to knit.

I got a fair bit of this Versa by Shannon knitted.

I Love your pattern Shannon.

I can see myself knitting many of these

This one is a tunic for Rose.

I bought the yarn from Spotlight for $1 a ball and used 4 balls.

I finished the tunic this morning.

While watching the ABC coverage on Cyclone Yasi.

I think we have seen a miracle, maybe all those prayers were answered.

I'm proud to be an Aussie today and all those in Queensland are HEROS.

I'm so proud of them all.

The emergency services, the government, the way people followed instructions and kept themselves their families and the emergency services safe was so wonderful.

They are all HEROs, especially those 3 women who gave birth amongst it all.

I'm so grateful this country is my home.

Happy

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:47:00 +1030

James made this.

His design, his ideas, his hands.

It's a pencil box.

I'm so proud of him.

He is totally beaming, he is so proud of himself.

Pete gave James a little help and guidance along the way.

Y-A-L Challenge

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:11:00 +1030

This is the first item finished on my Y-A-L challenge.

Pattern: Bebop Cardi from Lion Brand Website

Yarn: Cardellino by Moda Vera, 3 balls.

I bought the yarn at spotlight earlier this week.

A total bargain, I bought 10 balls for $10 total.

The Crafty Mama's Forum is having a Yarn A Long Challenge.

You set your own challenge, write your challenge on the forum thread.

If you complete it by the end of February you go in the draw for a prize.

Just to keep us all encouraged.

Here is my challenge:

1. A Pair of Socks to finish - I've already knit half a sock, was supposed to be Pete's Christmas present.

2. I bought Shannon's Versa pattern a couple of weeks ago. So that is on the list. Yarn: Acrylic from Spotlight sale Cardellino. I got 1kg for $10!!

3. A Hetty Not sure which yarn as yet, but it is for Lilly the grot monster, Miss I'll put this on to go dig up the veggie patch and roll in the mud.

4. A pair of gloves or mitts for FOR ME!! Will come back and add a link when I've found THE pattern.I decided on THESE

5. A Bebop Cardi Because I really liked the link Liz put up to it and it should be a really quick project too.

So I can cross the Bebop Cardi off my list.

I feel like I'm cheating with this one as it was very quick to crochet up.

Fixing Mistakes

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:32:00 +1030

I'm currently knitting Hetty by Sarah Wright

I'm happily knitting along and then I notice it.

Instead of seed stitching 3 rows I'd only seed stitched 2 and a half rows.

Do I rip back and fix it?

Do I knit on as the mistake isn't really obvious.

Do I go back now and fix it?

If I get to the end and then decided I can't live with the mistake,

the fixing will take a lot more effort.

Decisions, decisions....

What do I do?

Some mistakes are just too big to leave unfixed.

Some mistakes I'll never see.

And some mistakes just add to the character of the fabric,

design elements, as I like to call them.

That got me thinking about the mistakes I've made in life.

Do I go on and make the most of it or do I go back and make amends?
Some mistakes in life can never be fixed,
the really bad ones you just have to pick yourself up from and move on.

Decisions, Decision.

Maybe knitting just gives me too much time to think!

Process Verses Outcome

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:30:00 +1030

"Mum, but you promised! I want to learn to sew."

I've been promising the girls a sewing lesson for most of the holidays.

This being almost the last day I had to honor that commitment.

I must be honest and say I didn't do it with good grace.

Despite a degree in Education and 10 years in schools,

I can be rather impatient when teaching my own.

Rose did choose something way beyond her skill level.

I had Mother Gothel singing in my head, "Mother Knows best, take it from me..."
So in an effort, not to be the manipulative mother, I reluctantly agreed to Rose's project choice.

Rose got very frustrated when things didn't go to plan.

Fur fabric is not the easiest of materials to work with.

After a few tears, we managed to get to the end.

Did Rose or I enjoy the process?

I'd say not.

Does Rose enjoy the outcome?

I think so.

Were all the tears and frustrations worth it?

I'm not sure.

I would of preferred the easy option.

There are lots of things I do that I enjoy the process of.

And many things I don't. Like gathering.

I do the less enjoyable tasks to get an enjoyable outcome.

I like a clean kitchen, but don't enjoy the cleaning.

I like fresh sheets on the bed, but don't enjoy stripping and washing the sheets.

Maybe I need to learn to enjoy and value the process more.

As a Maths teacher I spent a lot of time telling students

that the working out is as important as the right answer.

Maybe I should take my own advice.

Fern chose a less challenging project, a pair of shorts.

She is thrilled with the outcome and her process was a lot easier than Rose's.

I'm an outcome junkie.

I love the feeling of finishing.

Parenting is hard for me, I don't get an outcome at the end of the day.

Parenting really is all about the process.

The outcome I'll not see until my own children are raising my grandkids.

I really do need to become more process focused and less outcome driven.

Taking time to be in the moment.

Less of a sprinter and more of a marathon runner.

Rainbow Dress

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:35:00 +1030

Remember this?

It's now THIS

My model is very reluctant today.

It's stinking hot and her mother is making her put on a wool dress.

Yarn: handspun EL, grown and Dyed by Jane of Moseley Park fame.

Pattern: Maxi Top/ Dress by Elena Nodel

Needles: 4.5mm

Variations: Lots. I increased to put some flare in the skirt.

It's been a mad few days here.

The professionals are back and we now have ceilings and plaster dust.

The new door to the toilet is in and the old one bricked up.

You have to whistle when you shower as we still don't have a bathroom door.

The girls and I went to Adelaide yesterday to watch Tangled.

I'm still not sure if I liked the movie, the manipulative mother bit, has me a little uneasy.

I suppose it is part of life, people who pretend to be caring for their own gain.

But is this suitable for a kids movie?

I did enjoy the movie and it made me think about conditional and unconditional love.

It made me think about parenting and how I do it.

Am I as manipulative, as mother Gothel?

And is that always a bad thing?

Don't we do it to protect our kids, to raise them with the values we feel are important?

And when do we "allow" our kids to form their own value system?

And how do we react when our kids choose different values to our own?

And the Raffle Winner is......

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:15:00 +1030

Barra!

James did the honors of drawing the name out of the bowl this time.

Thanks you to everyone for entering.

And Thank you to Toni for organising the Auctions and Raffles.

Barra please contact me with your details so I can get your scarf sent to you ASAP

And The Winner is .....

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:20:00 +1030

Michelle!!

Congratulations Michelle

Thank you to everyone who bid.

Thank you to Toni and Carli for organising the Auctions.

Vintage frock, designed by Enid, sewn by me

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:56:00 +1030

I spent the day sewing.

I made three outfits today.

Another culottes for Lilly, a jumpsuit for Rose and a dress for Fern.

My back is sore, I forgot to get up and stretch.

Book: Ten to Teens

Pattern: Jumpsuit

Fabric: Poly cotton from the Oppie

Made For: Rose

Book: Dresses for Your Daughter

Simple Pattern with Variations.

I even added the flower pocket detail as Enid designed.

I added the winged sleeves, flared skirt and collar.

The fabric I found at the op shop.

.This dress came together beautifully.

Fern loves it.

A real vintage pattern and the fabric is probably as old.

There was an option to add a gathered skirt but I think the flared one looks nicer.

My little vintage girls

I Love Enid! Culottes for Lilly

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:47:00 +1030

I spent the morning jamming plums, baking homemade sausage rolls and making trifle.

But I had that bored, restless feeling.

That can only be soothed with a good crafting project.

I spen a happy hour browsing my Enid collection.

Looking for something I've not made before.

I drafted up the pattern.

Then searched through the piles and piles and piles of fabrics,

looking for something just right.

Not too heavy, not too light.

Not too dull, not too bright.

Not too plain, not too fussy.

I'm not sure who gave me this fabric or which Op-shop I bought it from.

But it's perfect!

I made the culottes almost just as Enid said.

Next time I'll leave out the zip in the side,

as Lilly had no problem getting into the culottes with the zip fastened.

The perfect little outfit for my tomboyish little girls.

No showing your knickers when you jump on the trampoline,

climb the gate or over the fence.

The buttons came from the op-shop.

The Auction ends tomorrow at 9pm!

Sorry I had to change the time to keep it in line with the other auctions.

I'm pretty excited to be able to be apart of this fabulous fundraiser.

Toni is estimating we will raise over $45,000

Isn't that amazing, every little amount sure does help.

Auction - We're Going On A Bear Hunt! (close of Auction Changed)

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:40:00 +1030

This is a cot sized quilt.

It is unique. I designed and made this quilt.

There is no other like it.

It is made of quality patchwork cotton fabrics and batting.

It is pieced, appliqued and free motion quilted.

I have included a label on the back which can be personalised as the winner wishes.

This is a quilt that will become a treasured heirloom.

To be handed down from mother to daughter.

This quilt will tell a story, not just of the Bear's, but of the lives it has touched.

The story can start with your generous bid to win it.

How this auction works:
1. Bidding will start at $50 (Australian).
2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4. This auction is open to everyone, Postage is FREE.
5. The auction begins NOW and will END at ~~midnight~~ 9 pm on Monday 24th January 2011.
6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your quilt to you.
7. Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

Baby's Sunsuit From Play Clothes by Enid

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:58:00 +1030

I've not made this one before.

After seeing THIS and THIS version by Vicki I had to give it a go.

To avoid forgetting to add seam allowance when cutting.

I find it easiest to draft the seam allowances onto the pattern before I cut it out.

A french curve and quilters ruler make drafting a lot eaiser.

I'm using a pillowcase to make Heather's Sunsuit.

I bought a pair for $1 at the op shop.

The other I made into a peasant Dress.

I made the dress too long so shortened it with a tuck.

Yep, it's crooked.

And here's the sunsuit all sewn up.

I followed Enid's instructions

I think she likes it.

It's a nice fit too

Pattern: Baby's Sunsuit

Book: Play Clothes

Size: 9 to 18 months

Fabric: Pillowcase

Sweet Little Dress By Leila and Ben

tracy@desertrosedesigns.com.au (Mad Quilter) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:15:00 +1030

I bought the orange cotton print from an Opshop in Pirie

There wasn't a lot of it and only a small piece of the other floral left.

So I combined them.

This is such an easy little dress to put together.

I bought my copy of the pattern from You Can Make This.

I will disclose I do get a little kick back if you use my link to buy a pattern from You Can Make This.

I really like downloadable patterns.

Just print, cut and go.

She is growing up so quickly!

This is the biggest size of this little pattern, there is a larger pattern available.

And I do have an Enid I can use.

Look at all those toys!

The kids were playing with me in the shed today.

While the builders were busy in the house putting in the new ceilings.

I love my shed.