New upcycled nighties

Now in the shop!

Best Dressed 2013

Kid Independent has organised an online event called Best Dressed 2013, in which a different dress is featured each day in March, to be sold and the proceeds go to the Cuddle Craft Collective's "Keep kids in school" project.  Today my Aviary dress is featured here

From Kid Independent:
"The funds raised through “Best Dressed 2013″ will be used by World Families Australia to educate a group of children from a small community in Liwan, Ethiopia. These children come from illiterate families and are among the FIRST to be educated. They are the future doctors, nurses, teachers, etc in their village and their education will not only change their own lives but the lives of their families, their local community and future generations."

What a great project to support.  If you have a daughter, granddaughter, niece or friend who would love this dress for their birthday or even Christmas, now is a great time to support such a worthy cause.

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!

End of summer garden tour

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 Sedums flowering with a border of lavender cotton.  The sedums are covered with bees most of the time, which is great for the garden. 

 Newly emptied potato bed, about to be planted with daikon and broccoli

 The chillis and capsicums are the best we've ever grown, must be the manure and compost combined with the reflective heat from the brick path.

 One tiny watermelon protected by a cage, surrounded by a basil forest.  I made 2 more jars of pesto today for the freezer.

 Our new garden bed in the backyard.  It has a border of catmint to attract bees, and there are some lettuce, coriander, perpetual spinach and kale in there, all planted from heirloom seed.

 I'm having a go at growing sweet potato, looks like it's doing well

And we have a few butternut pumpkins coming along nicely.  After practically no rain since mid December, we had 12mls overnight and this morning, so the garden should perk up a bit.  Is this a taste of what's to come with a changing climate?  It just doesn't feel right does it?
I hope to get back to blogging a little more regularly, I've been adjusting to having one child at school and one at kinder these last few weeks.  That means that 3 days of the week I walk 12 plus kilometres a day walking back and forth (3 trips), and 8 plus kilometres a day on the other 2 days (2 trips as Liv has a longer kinder day on Fridays).  I shall be very fit by the end of the year (and probably exhausted!)

New blanket dresses

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

A Quirky new stockist

Sorry about the reflective photos, it's terribly difficult to photograph through windows!  The lovely new little shop in my local shopping strip became a new stockist of Evie & Liv yesterday, and today one of my blanket dresses is in the window.  Very exciting!  Quirk is a great new retail store and art space that sources local, independent, ethical and sustainable wares.  Some of my blanket dresses and vests are in store now, ready for the change in seasons.  I'll be back soon with better photos!

Roast tomato sauce

 Tomatoes ready for the oven with chopped garlic, thyme sprigs, olive oil and salt & pepper.  The tomatoes, garlic and thyme are all from our garden.

 After 1 hour of roasting

 After being pushed through a mouli- 900mls!  The recipe (River Cottage Veg) said I'd get about 500mls.

Ready to be frozen in 200ml (ish) portions.  Now I can try out the Roasted Tomato Risotto.