Meat safe

 On Saturday, I put our old baby car seat on the nature strip with a FREE sign on it.  A few hours later, it was gone.  On Sunday, Evie and I were walking home when we saw this meat safe on the footpath in front of someone's house in our street with a FREE sign on it.  I'd been wanting one for a few months, thinking the right sized one would fit nicely in the gap between the pantry and the door in our kitchen.  It's the perfect solution for when we have a glut of potatoes and pumpkins from our garden (and any other food that can be stored in a cupboard).  Andrew and I lugged it back, gave it a quick wipe over, and it fits perfectly in that space.  I call it karma!

Long weekending

I made another batch of Almond butter chocolate chip cookies, the best gluten free choc chip cookie recipe I've found that the whole family loves.  Not nut free lunch box friendly though.  I use Rapadura sugar (the only sugar we keep in the house now), and add a sprinkle of cinnamon too.

Andrew and I went to the local tip shop, as he was looking for a bar stool so he can sit at his work bench in the garage.  We bought one for $5, and came away with this piece of reo mesh for $5 too.  I've been wanting some reo for a while, to use as a trellis (I need a few more sheets), the only catch was that it didn't fit in the car, so I had to walk it home, which took me about 15 minutes.

My blueberry plants arrived from Diggers, 2 Blue rose and 1 Brigitta varieties.  The Brigitta tends to fruit all at once, but the blue rose has a spread out fruiting season.  Having 2 varieties should help with pollination.

Latest op shop finds- a mincer which can be used as a tomato machine when making passata, a cute ceramic honey pot, and a Johnson Brothers bowl in the Olde English Countryside pattern.  I'm a bit drawn to transferware, and I think I'd like to collect this particular set.  Hopefully I'll find some more.

Andrew and I started our long weekend by seeing Bill McKibben's Do the Maths presentation at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne on Friday night.  Bill was an excellent speaker, with a dry sense of humour.  The main points I got from the show were:

-We don't have much time to act on climate change;

-We need to take our money away from fossil fuel companies- look at your superannuation and where it is invested, put your banks on notice (the big 4 banks in Australia all invest in fossil fuel);

-We need as much renewable energy as we can get, as soon as possible;

-Most of the remaining fossil fuels need to be left in the ground.

Op shop haul

 We had a good day of op shopping in town yesterday.  Looks like a children's clothing shop went out of business or got rid of a lot of stock to the Salvos in Ryrie St Geelong.  We picked up Metalicus leggings for $3 a pair (the orange ones Evie is wearing are tagged size 10-12, but are smaller than some others she wears.)  The dress Evie is wearing is not from the op shop, it's from Winter Water Factory.

 Metalicus white t-shirt size 8-10 ($5), and a little dress for Liv.

Metalicus navy marle top size 8-10 ($5) and navy stripey leggings.  All perfect for next year.  So local girls, it's worth a look, they also had Gaia organic babywear, Aunty Ollie shirts for boys (small sizes), some more bigger sized Metalicus leggings, and lots of baby shoes.  First rack to the right once you go up the ramp, and a table nearby had all the goods :)

Op shop finds and second hand challenge update

I thought it appropriate that I finally get around to summing up my 2012 challenge of buying no new clothes for the family (on March 1st!)  Underwear, shoes and school uniforms were exempt from the challenge, and I had 3 get out of jail cards for times when I couldn't source clothes second hand, or wanted to support a fellow dressmaker.  I think I did pretty well, and actually found a lot of school uniform items second hand, some to put away for the coming years, I have 2 girls so they can be passed down as well.  I also found many clothes and shoes to put away for the next few years.  It was quite easy, as my local shopping strip (quite a long one) now has 4 op shops in it, and there are a few more just a little further away.  It's easy to drop in regularly when I'm walking past them a couple times a day.  Towards the end of the year, I bought a few new items for Christmas presents, and the change of season- I was wanting a few summer dresses, as I realised it was the first summer in 7 years that I wasn't pregnant or breastfeeding, so I could actually wear dresses again.  I did find one second hand one though, that I had to take in a bit.  So I did cheat a bit, but I have so much put away for the next few years, that I can forgive myself, as I figure it all evens out.  And at the end of the challenge, I decided that I wanted to focus on upcycling in my Etsy shop, so that makes me feel better about the resources I use.
The picture above is of a few of my favourite recent op shop finds- a pair of vintage bed sheets which I'll use to make upcycled nighties or pyjama pants for my shop, a gorgeous St. Albans mohair rug, and a brand new pair of Ish shoes (handmade leather shoes from the Otways), that will fit Evie in a few years ($2!)
As for a challenge for this year- I plan to buy no meat from the supermarket.  I'm trying to not buy much at all from the supermarket, I'll get food from other places where possible, and support small local businesses.  It has been made easier with a local business (in my local shopping strip) called Warren & Hutch, who sell free range and organic meats, local where possible.  We don't eat a lot of meat, and I mostly eat chicken and fish, but when we do, it must be ethically sourced.  Warren & Hutch has new owners who have given it a fresh renovation, and are bringing in more local foods, I'm now buying Shultz's organic milk from there too.  This challenge should be quite easy!

New blanket dresses

Two new dresses I made this week, the colours remind me of Easter- I think it's the pastel colours.

Woolly Blanket Dress

 This is a new style of blanket dress I've been working on, a bit of a tunic style, as I just couldn't find a pinafore pattern that worked for girls bigger than 4 years old.  I know they're out there, I just haven't found them.  Anyway, this style does away with button holes, which suits me.  Button holes are certainly much easier on my new machine (2 years old now), but there's still fiddling with dials and changing machine feet that I'd rather do without.  This one has a button and loop fastening at the back, and a sweet hand embroidered doily on the front.

And here we have Jonty enjoying some sunshine on a train track, what a life!

More summer woollies

This is what I've been working on this week (in and around school holidays activities, shovelling compost and soil into a new garden bed, and Andrew being in Brisbane), four of each of these from gorgeous wool blankets I found last weekend.  Just wondering if I might need to make one of the lemon/pink/purple ones for one of my girls, it just looks like Easter colours to me!  Some of my vests will be appearing in Nurture by Nature Sustainable Living very soon.

Winter woollies in summer

I've turned my focus at the moment to making woollen vests for winter using blankets from op shops.  It's turned into a bit of a production line, and I'm making up to 4 in each style, in sizes 1, 2, 3 & 5, but considering doing a size 6.  The size 5 would fit for a while I'm sure though.  Evie at 6 1/2 will fit into her 5 for at least a few years I'm sure, though she is slender.  I just found 4 more blankets at op shops yesterday, so there are more colours to come.  Some vests have gorgeous handmade wooden buttons bought on our recent trip to Tasmania, and some have fabric covered buttons.  I'll stash these babies away until the weather has a bit more of a chill in the air.

Upcycled vests

Not sure why I feel the need to make woollies in Summer, but when I find a nice blanket or woolly jumper as I did recently, the brain ticks over with ideas of what to make, then I HAVE to do it.  I'm happy with the way these have turned out, they're now in my Etsy shop.

Homemade Christmas bonbons

The girls and I made up these bonbons yesterday, after we'd gathered all our supplies.  We collected some toilet rolls, found gorgeous white hankies in op shops (the men's ones were bought new as they couldn't be sourced in op shops).  We bought some fairtrade chocolate treats, and some heirloom seeds to put inside as the surprise.  No plastic and paper junk and waste here.  You could also use cloth serviettes, which can then be used for dinner

Op shop haul

 Why sideways photos?  Anyway, Evie had a teacher's strike day off today (half day, but who's taking their kid to school at 12:50pm?), so we popped into an op shop on the way to pick up a few things, and this is what we found. 
Lego City aeroplane set for $15 (RRP $60)
Country Road vest size M (Liv's size)
Country Road leggings size 9 (put away for Evie)
Seed cream coloured top size 9 (put away for Evie)
Country Road white short sleeve top size 4 (Liv's size)
Country Road women's yellow dress size XS (Evie could probably almost wear this with the shoulder straps tied tight, or I could shorten it)
Ballet flats (will fit Evie in about a year)
DVD of the nativity in claymation

 It all came to just under $50, I've never spent this much at one time in an op shop, but I think we did pretty well, and I have a fair bit of classic gear for when the girls are bigger.  I won't buy trendy things that will date within a few years.  I get the feeling that the clothing probably all came from the one household, and everything looks like its hardly been worn.

 Had to put up a pic of our curry plant.  It's magnificent this year, as the neighbours behind us chopped out a huge canopy that was growing over and above our back fence.  The curry plant can now grow as it should, rather than out to the left of the pic as it did last year to catch the sun.

We can tell when Jonty's been stalking mice, as she smells like curry- the compost bins are close by.  I've even found an escaped chicken in there a couple of times, a curried chicken :)

The tablecloth

 I found a beautiful vintage cross stitched tablecloth at an op shop the other day.  It's made from white linen, and the edges were a little frayed, and a lot of threads had come loose, so they had to be woven in.  A bit of a restoration job.  I wonder how old it is, and who made it?

 It was big enough to cut two dress fronts and two little skirts.  I thought it was wise to pair it with the red polka dot cotton, to make it a bit more sturdy, and less likely to stain.

 Love the outcome, the dress is available in size 2 & 3, and the skirts are size 4-6 (34cm long).  In my Etsy shop now

3 more sleeps

 3 more sleeps until the Ashby Primary School Market Day.  1 more sleep until Andrew comes home from a 10 day work trip to the USA and UK.  Yay, I'm a little tired of solo parenting right now!

 I think this is the last item I will be making for the market.  Another tablecloth dress in size 5 this time.  It was a gorgeous cream linen tablecloth with subtle lemon and mint green embroidery, begging to be made into a dress.  I've used a reproduction cotton print in vintage yellow with little flowers on it for the back and sleeves.  This is one way to make bigger sized tablecloth dresses- tablecloths aren't always big enough for bigger dresses unfortunately.  I meant to cut this one out as a size 6, but had started cutting when I realised I was cutting a size 5.  Oh well.

After I said I don't find nice tablecloths very often, of course I find a few.   Maybe people are having a bit of a spring clean and declutter.

Bark cloth

I found my first barkcloth tablecloth this week, and have made it into two little dresses, size 1 and 2.  They will be coming to the Ashby market with me.  Bark cloth is quite a heavy fabric, and the tablecloth didn't look like it had been used.  Love the native Aussie birds, bottle brushes and wattle!

Upcycled dress for the market

A new little upcycled tablecloth dress in size 3 that will be coming with me to the Ashby Primary school market day in 2 weeks, on the 10th of November.  This market has an eco slant, so I'm taking more of my upcycled garments with me.  I wish I could make more tablecloth dresses, it's like finding gold when I find good tablecloths at op shops!  This little sweetie has some butterflies on it, and a little triangle pattern that looks like bunting.

Upcycled christening dress

When I saw a European sized pillow case in an op shop, I thought it would be perfect for a little girl's christening/baptism/naming day/flower girl dress.  It has lovely white on white embroidery, and is simple, not too frou frou.  I only just squeezed the pieces out of the pillow slip, lucky, I didn't want to have to find white fabric for the sleeves to match.  I don't have any white fabric in the house, and I'm sure it would be hard to match whites perfectly.  Anyway, it's size 1, and in the shop now.

Latest op shop finds

 Bioviva board game $5.  Retails at about $70.  This will be great when the girls are a few years older.

 100% merino wool cardigan for me $3.  Looks much nicer on.  Love fine wool knits.

 Boots $5- too big for Evie now, but will be great in a couple of years.

 Pyjamas that will fit Evie next year, with cats on them- her favourite.

These were found by my mum for Evie- a 3 piece dancing outfit for 50c a piece.  Evie and Liv are starting dancing lessons next term.  Haven't found anything for Liv to wear yet, running out of time.

We're doing pretty well on our no new clothing for a year challenge, and we've been able to stash away a fair bit for next year and the year after.

Op shop finds

I like to see other people's blogs about their op shop finds, so I thought it was high time to share a few with you. Since making my no new clothing pledge for the year, I've been on a roll. This is what I've found lately for Evie: Mini Metalicus pink star tights (new, $2), Columbine pink spot tights ($1), Fred Bare Jeans ($5), pink /red stripe socks (50c).
2 gingham school skorts ($1 & $3), navy school skort ($1), navy school tights (50c)

2 gingham school uniforms (around $5/$6 each, found last year)

Guacamole and op shop finds

Sideways guacamole picture
My second batch of guacamole for the week, it is sooo good, especially on organic sourdough ciabatta. With a massive amounts of coriander in the garden, I had to find some ways to use it up, it will bolt to seed as soon as the weather heats up. I wonder how long our avocado trees will take to bear fruit? We'll be able to use our own tomatoes and chillies in it soon.

3 ripe avocados
1 red onion
1 roma tomato
juice of a lime
fresh coriander
1 chilli chopped up, or a few drops of tabasco sauce

Andrew will arrive home from USA any minute now, and we'll enjoy our "guac" for lunch

Just a few of my op shop/second hand shop scores this week. Andrew will be right for shorts this summer. I also found him a couple pairs of pants in good condition, as he wears out the inner thighs of his pants by riding his bike to the train station. Even hemp canvas pants! I'm finding it much more exciting and satisfying to shop in op shops these days (you just have to do it regularly), shopping centres/malls just don't do it for me anymore, they seem so artificial, and just reminds me how consumeristic our society is, dragging home bags of crap. If I venture into one of those cheap department stores, I'm disgusted at how cheap and nasty the items are, and I can't stop thinking of the poor people who work in sweatshops to make it all for the western world. "Live big for less", just gets my goat. Well you can live more ethically by purchasing second hand when you need it, or by buying handmade, or from places you know treat their workers well and pay them fairly. Buying second hand doesn't mean you're poor (and so what if you are?), many people can't get past that idea, ingrained from decades ago. I was going to buy Evie a new bike for Christmas, but found 2 matching ones at a second hand shop this week, the 2 for about half the price of a new one. One was bigger than the other, so both of our girls should get a few years of riding out of them, and they were in pretty good condition. By saving a few dollars here, and there, we can spend more on ethical items such as these. Anyway, a mixed up and rambly post that I had to get out of my head. Your thoughts?