Waste not, want not

Petrol prices going through the roof? Check.

Gas and electricity prices rapidly escalating? Check.

Interest rates on loans going up every single quarter? Check.

Basic essentials - bread, dairy, rice etc - skyrocketing in price on a weekly basis? Check.

House prices and rents climbing steading upwards? Check.

Wages going up? Dude, don't make me laugh!

Of late I've been realising that our household budget only has so much give left in it, yet I'm also faced with the undeniable fact that Grumbles was still in dire need of winter clothes. Apart from her two tops and two pairs of jeans, everything else was bought/made two years ago, and hence are all sitting mid-calf and above her wrist. This is not only a very unfashionable look, but a rather chilly one.

So I put on my thinking cap, assembled all my scraps and got to work. Ta da!

(Scraps from here and here respectively)

Project specs
Pattern: Ottobre Design Magazine, 4/2007, design #17
Fabric: Left over denim, left over Amy Butler cotton print
Notions: 8 buttons, found in stash

Rosy cheeks and so much more make life very good indeed

Almost a year ago (only two days over, actually!) the always inspiring Jane was pondering her own 'small pleasantnesses' - the little joys in one's life. Whenever I chance upon one of my own, I always remember that blog post, and spend a few minutes happily thinking of them: bamboo knitting needles, really good hot chocolate, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, birch trees with leaves turning red, warm summer days filled with the scent of freshly mown grass, sitting in a darkened cinema, the shadows of trees on my bedroom wall, putting flowers in old milk bottles, passionfruit spiders, reading Anne in bed on a cold wintry afternoon, watching girls in cute dresses riding bikes, orange flavoured dark chocolate and getting on down to cheesy pop music in the comfort and privacy of my loungeroom.

Oh, and getting Grumbles up from her nap and giving each warm rosy cheek a wee little kiss.

What are your small joys?

Drawing a name out of a ramekin...

...because I was too lazy to walk up to the bedroom to find a hat. So, drumroll please:



Congratulations, Audreyjay! I hope you enjoy the tix, and thanks everybody for entering.

That book meme

I've tagged by the lovely Nichola with the literary meme, the rules which are as follows:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

Since I'm reading two books at the moment you get them both. Bwahahah!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

"They took frequent excursions to the Alps. Franz would bend over, the girl hopped onto his back, and off he ran through the meadows, declaiming at the top of his voice a long German poem his mother had taught him as a child. The girl laughed with glee, admiring his legs, shoulders, and lungs as she clasped his neck."

Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

(Um, only just noticed that this slim volume only runs to 113 pages, so you get that page instead.)

"It has to be, at any price, I shouted in terror. She hung up without saying goodbye, but fifteen minutes later she called back: "Alright, she's here." "

I'm hopeless at the whole tag thing, so if you feel like doing the meme, be my guest and tell them Jorthy sent you.

Speaking of all things bookish, does anybody have any book recommendations for me? I'm after something light-ish, with a nice bit of humour. Suggestions?

And, finally, don't forget to enter the competition. Go!

Miss Pettigrew Lives, I tells ya, lives!

Last Tuesday the Galumph and I had a date night, and trotted off to see Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, and had a marvellous time. The movie was exactly my sort of flick: gorgeous costumes, wry humour, toe-tapping soundtrack, with a sweet ending.

So desperate was I to see this movie that I also entered a competition to win two tickets to it. Of course, a mere week after paying to see it, I won the bloody tickets. Oh, the irony! I never get to the flicks, and then when I finally get to see one, I also win tickets for it after the event.

So that's where you come in. Lucky sods! Leave a comment, telling me why you deserve the tixs, and you might be lucky enough to find them in your hot little hands. Take your partner/best friend/favourite cat! The tickets are valid at all participating cinemas within Australia (sorry everybody else).

What are you waiting for? I'll post the winner on Thursday, so chop, chop. Comment away!

The NQR Jeans

I have rung up all my friends, and issued them with the following order: If ever I decide to make jeans again, and start to shoot my mouth off about it, can they please slap me until I come to my senses.

It felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The number of times my machine just grunted at me in exasperation, as if to say "How the heck am I meant to sew through THIS thick el cheapo denim?" soon reached double digits (there's a good reason the stuff was only $5 per metre, and trust me to find out why the hard way). I couldn't even put the buttonhole in, as the fabric on the waistband was too thick to even sit under the machine's foot! All my topstitching seemed to be crooked, and required unpicking, and then to be unpicked some more, and the zip - oh, it simply doesn't bear thinking about how agonisingly awful it was to put that in. And to top it all off the bloody things didn't even fit properly, so I had to unpick the waistband and put some elastic in the back. GAAAAAAAAAAH! If I managed to sew a seam without hauling out the quick unpick/stabbing my finger with the pin/jamming the feed dog on the machine/breaking a needle I quietly sat there, waiting for the herald angels to burst into celestial arias because it felt like a @%#$ing miracle.
Still, Grumbles thinks that they are pretty sweet, and happily tells everybody within earshot that her mummy made them. I guess that's all that really matters (although can you really trust the views of a kid who runs about pretending to be a rabbit? See second pic below)

But seriously - SERIOUSLY - next time the kid needs pants, I'm going to make like a normal parent and go and buy them. These may have only cost $8 each to make (yes, stupid me made two pairs), but they also cost me my SANITY. If anybody wants me I'll be recovering in the winged area for acutely afflicted sewers.

Gone away

One of my beloved uncles passed away suddenly on the weekend, so I'll be away for this week, journeying back to my hometown to bid my farewells.

xo Jorth

Get cracking

Time to crack the whip. So far these jeans (admittedly I am making two pairs, a la production line style) have taken me 6 days, and I'm only just putting on the yokes. That means the fly fronts and waistbands - notorious amongst sewing circles as being the most fiendish to do and do well - still have to be done.

However, like a scandal-tainted harpy with her eye on the biggest prize, I am determined to get these done by the end of the week. I'm officially making getting these done the happening thing.

Really!

PS Nifty pocket, hey?!

For all the sewers out there

And that would be SEW-ers, not pipes of effluent. I can see how that could be confusing, especially since I am wacky enough to potentially post an entry all about effluent.

Anyhoo, enough of the idle chit chat - let's get to the point. Looky see what I treated myself to last night:

Three miniature ladies! I mean, a vintage pattern. Ahhh, I couldn't resist! Look at the nifty straps! And the pockets that are gathers that are pockets that are gathers - so smart! I purchased it from So Vintage Patterns, and let me warn you now: that site is a dangerous place. It quite often sucks not only time but money away from me, never to return, but like a lover who can't resist the bad boy, I will happily concede that it's always, always worth it.

Red. Definitely the red one. With some dressy vintage buttons. Lovely!

New York Times Sunday Magazine - The Green Issue

"Why bother? That really is the big question facing us as individuals hoping to do something about climate change and it’s not an easy one to answer. I don’t know about you, but for me the most upsetting moment in “An Inconvenient Truth” came long after Al Gore scared the hell out of me, constructing an utterly convincing case that the very survival of life on earth as we know it is threatened by climate change. No, the really dark moment came during the closing credits, when we are asked to . . . change our light bulbs. That’s when it got really depressing. The immense disproportion between the magnitude of the problem Gore had described and the puniness of what he was asking us to do about it was enough to sink your heart."

Absolutely fantastic article on why we should bloody well care by Michael Pollan for the New York Times. Read more here.

Riding, riding, riding

Hello! We're back from our biking holiday. We rode the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, starting at Beechworth and going all the way through to Bright. The clean mountain air and plentiful sunshine have done us the world of good, and with all that peddaling we now have muscles on our muscles!

If you're looking for a cheap family holiday, you really can't go wrong with a Rail Trail. So much to look at: mountains, beautiful trees, the bike path stretching out in front of you, farm animals, native animals, the bike path stretching out in front of you, places to take a quick leak before another rider comes trundling past, the - ah - bike path still stretching out in front of you...

Seriously, heaps of fun. Grumbles loved it, Galumph relished it, and I'm pleased to say that my pink bits survived hours on a bike seat each day. And the autumnal scenery was incredible.

This one has birds on it!

Eeeeek! I feel like I'm running just to stand still at the moment. I have about as much energy as a sloth, and everywhere I look there are things to be done: ants to be rid of, dishwashers to unstack, late basil to plant, sheets to be washed, floors to be mopped, windows to be vinegared, books to reshelve, dust bunnies to exterminate, neighbour's jeans to be taken up, knitting to be frogged, overlockers to rethread, quinces to be poached, songs to be sung, hearts to be won (ok, I threw the last two in just to see if you are still with me).

At least I got another top for Grumbles made. Now that's something!

Project specs:

Design #15, Ottobre Magazine 1/2005 (same pattern as this one)
Fabric: Cotton quilting fabric
Ribbon: Very pricey fancy french ribbon

Fabric and ribbon from Patchwork on Central Park

Sunday bike ride: a black and white photo essay

Well, parents, it's a Sunday morning, and you've just informed me that we're heading off for a bike ride. If that's the case, then I'll need a good breakfast to keep me going. I'll take three Nutella pancakes, if you please!

As we ride along I spot a playground. "Pull over!", I command. A girl's gotta play, you know!

Playing and pedalling. It's hard work for one so small, so a tiptop lunch is in order, I'd say. Salad sandwiches? Geez. Here sparrows, help yourselves.


More riding? You guys are going to wear.me.out. Just as well Dad packed some dates and sultanas. Oooooh - is that a chocolate bud I see? Mine, all mine! Hands off, daddy-o.

Come on, Mum! Put the camera away and get on the road already!

Sing it with me now! The wheels on the bike go round and round and twinkle twinkle with Humpty Dumpty on the waaaaaallllllll! (Note: she actually did sing that)

Faster, Jorthy, faster!

No time to blog in a coherent manner. I'm way behind on sewing Grumble's winter wardrobe, and we're going on a bike holiday in a week and I still haven't made any more pants for her. No pants! She's be a pantless rail trail-er! ARRRRGGGGHHHH! The panic button (and the '!' key) has been pressed!

And that photo I took is immensely craptacular. Gah.

A Tale of Two Patterns

Tsk, tsk, Rowan. Look at what you've made me do!

Look, let me start off by saying that I love you. Really, I do. You make spiffy, wearable knitting patterns in gorgeous yarns. But please, what is with the pattern instructions? I'm yet to knit up a Rowan pattern that wasn't in some way needlessly complicated. Take the Dream cardi, for example - why not knit it all in one piece, rather than knit half the bodice in one section then pick up all the stitches to knit the remainder? It doesn't make any sense your way, even taking into consideration that you want to thread the ribbon through. Couldn't you just sew loops on afterwards for the ribbon? Wouldn't that have been a gazillion times easier, and then you wouldn't have an ugly seam hiding out beneath the ribbony bit. I mean, really, what sort of knitter did you have in mind - one who actually enjoys picking up tonnes of fiddly stitches? Huh? HUH?

So, after wrestling with the instructions, I gave a great sigh, picked up my trusty greylead, and rewrote the pattern myself. Strangely enough, I found myself enjoying the process. Just enough maths involved to make me feel smart, yet creative at the same time. And I've done such a good job of it that I've now decided that I want to be a knitwear pattern designer when I grow up. Sheesh! As if I didn't have enough things to do!

I'm pointing the finger squarely at you, Rowan. It's all your fault.

A girl, her dog, and some MC Hammer pants

Finally got stuck back into the sewing!

Project specs

Top:

Design #15, Ottobre Magazine 1/2005

Fabric: Cotton quilting fabric

Pants:

"Desert" pants, design # 17, Ottobre Magazine 1/2008

Fabric: Light-weight denim

Both were really quick sews, about 3 hours each all up, including doing the fiddly topstitching. I'm rather happy with the top, but I'll confess: the pants are a leetle bit too 'MC Hammer happy pants' for my liking. Still, Grumbles gives them a sticky thumbs up and requests to wear them everyday, which either means that she really really really likes them or that she has no taste.

Earth Hour

Saturday night found us quietly at home celebrating Earth Hour. At about four in the afternoon, we went around the house and turned off everything bar the fridge, got the candles lit and settled down for a peaceful family evening. Grumbles and Galumph happily built Lego bridges until it was too dark to see any more whilst I read Sense and Sensibility (I felt it was an appropriate low energy reading choice, and spent far too much time daydreaming about what it was like writing it by candlelight as opposed to reading it by candlelight). We then had a low-impact meal of spicy pasta (I wasn't organised enough to make a raw meal, maybe next year, so I cooked the quickest thing I could think of), then sat around reading Grumbles her stories as it became steadily darker around us.

After a while we all began feeling the cold, so we donned jumpers and hats and sat snugly together, listening to the Galumph's hand wind-up radio and nattering about this and that.

Grumbles: Why are the lights off?

Parents: Because we are celebrating a special evening to raise awareness about global warming.

Grumbles: But why are the lights off?

Parents: Because this special event is all about minimising energy consumption, to reduce our impact on the planet.

Grumbles, behoving a sigh as though to say my goodness you people are thick and as soon as I'm older I'm going to deny being even related to you: But.Why.Are.The.Lights.OFF????

I must have remarked on how cosy! and peaceful! and lovely! and did I mention I'm really rather quite enjoying this! far too often as the evening progressed, as the Galumph finally turned to me and said "Are you going to make us do Earth Hour every Saturday night?"

Bwahahahahah! Um, yeah. Maybe?!

Almost at their destination

QUINCE #2: How long have we been sitting in these boat-like things on the table for? Because, just between you and I, the guy next to me is getting kinda whiffy. Letting off some ethylene or something, and smelling ripe. Can we change spots?

QUINCE #1: Two weeks. But don't worry kids, we'll be at our destination soon.

QUINCE #3: Where are we going?

QUINCE #1: Some place called 'Oven baked in sugar syrup'.

ALL OTHER QUINCES: Ooooooooh!

QUINCE #4: What's the hold up already? Why aren't we there yet?

QUINCE #1: Word in the fruit bowl is that she's waiting for a rainy day. Apparently it takes 6 hours to get to 'Oven baked', so she wants it all cold out so it's nice and cosy inside with the oven on.

QUINCE #2: Well it's certainly cold enough now. Is it warm where we're going?

QUINCE #1: Sure is. A balmy 160 C.

QUINCE #3: Oooooh, lovely! Sounds so tropical!

QUINCE #1: Well it's funny you mention that, sweetheart, (nice stem, by the way), as I think it is. We're meeting some characters there called Raw Caster Sugar and Vanilla Bean, which sounds pretty darn tropical to me.

QUINCE #3 (sighing happily): This sure has been some adventure since leaving the tree. I know that we're all going to get along just fine!

Oven baked quinces in sugar syrup

6 quinces, peeled and thickly sliced

3 cups water

2 cups raw caster sugar

1 vanilla bean

1 - Place sugar and water in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until all the sugar is dissolved.

2 - Preheat oven to 160 C. Place quinces in a casserole dish, then add the vanilla bean, firstly scraping out the seeds. Pour over the sugar syrup, then cover the dish tightly.

3 - Place in oven and cook for 6 hours, or until the quinces are a deep ruby colour. Every few hours take the quinces out and turn them over, covering with syrup.

Serve with yoghurt, cream, on porridge etc. Delish!

Knitting during the credit crunch

Very happy with today's post, for this morning these little beauties arrived from Bendigo Woollen Mill:

Which, in due time, will enable me to make this ultra sweet cardigan from And So To Bed by Lucinda Guy. Seriously, how adorable are the illustrations in that book? It has to be The Greatest Children's Knitting Book Of All Time. Really! I dare you to nominate a challenger. Betcha can't. Nothing can beat those gorgeous illos. Nothing!

Also very well pleased with my yarn substitions. Rowan is a wee bit out of my price range just now, and the BWM was cheap at a quarter of the price and machine washable, which really is a must for a child as grotty as Grumbles. Don't get me wrong, the tiger sure is cute, but she can spill food down her front with the best of them. And since we are about to embark on a time of nasty financial gloom, one must watch the pennies, oui? Particularly with:

- petrol going up due to oil concerns
- food going up due to increased transport costs (otherwise known as oil concerns) PLUS the impact of the drought
- electricity/gas costing more due to all sorts of energy concerns, plus again the impact of the drought on the hydroelectric schemes
- interest rates going up due to inflation AND world economic concerns

Sigh. The ol' dollar doesn't stretch quite as far as it used to, that's for sure. Is anybody else feeling the pinch?

How was my break? It was lovely, I just lounged about and read books.

Testing, testing, one-two-three. Is thing thing on? Oh, hello! It's me, ol' Jorthy, here to blow off the dust and remove the cobwebs. I feel I should explain my unintentional mini-blog break: there's been no good reason, but lots of tiny ones that all added up to prevent me from sitting down and yakking away to you all. And then, because I'd left it so long, I got a wee bit embarassed, as all my news seemed old and suddenly irrelevant.

So, in a nutshell, here's what I've been doing: attending the most relaxed and gorgeous country wedding of all time (well, my time), an engagement party for my sister, loads of bike riding in preparation for our upcoming biking holiday, sewing jimjams and dresses for Grumbles, starting kinder (!) for Grumbles (yes, I cried the first time I dropped her off), swimming in this incredible heat and much planning and prep for Grumble's winter wardrobe. Oh, and I've organised a knitting club.

Plus reading! Lots and lots of reading. Here's a brief rundown:

The Shifting Fog by Kate Morton: Excellent mystery/love story/coming of age tale, slowly eked out of the memories of Grace Bradley, a now old lady who holds the key to the remarkable events of summer 1924, in which she was a maid to one of two sisters, who both loved the same man.

Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks: I recently read Birdsong, and was absolutely rivited by the quality of writing. Some of his depictions of life in the World War 1 trenches actually had me putting down the book and taking deep breaths before I could continue. I was expecting more of the same from Charlotte, but alas, no. Did the same man even write the two books? It's not a bad story (young woman goes over to occupied France to aid the Resistance whilst pursuing her love), but it feels like it was written on autopilot, and that so much more could have been made of the material. Pity.

Good Evening, Mrs. Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes, and London War Notes 1939 - 1945 by Mollie Panter-Downes: I got Mrs Craven from a bookshop recently, and scoffed it down in one indulgent sitting. Incredible tales of what life must have been like during wartime Britian, written by one of the masters of the short story. I immediately started hunting for London War Notes, which are a collection of essays Ms Panter-Downes wrote fortnightly during the war for the New Yorker magazine. Boy, is that book hard to find. I ended up buying it from amazon.co.uk, but it was worth it. Fascinating to read her thoughts, from the latest political situations to her cool assessment of foodstuffs available. Very highly recommended, especially together.