30 weeks and whatcha wearing wednesday

30 weeks and whatcha wearing wednesday, originally uploaded by summer pickles.

getting bi-i-ig!

and yes, we still have not renovated the 1968 bathroom! (renos now planned for 2011).

finally i am getting my act together for whatcha wearin wednesday. this is not what i wore to work (which i have to say was pretty glam for a woman wearing a bowling ball up her shirt!), but i figure better to take the shot than not at all!

here i am, modelling a fab kmart stretchy top (not maternity, hence the length), some pumpin patch jeans, a summer pickles brooch, new short haircut, and yes, a basketball sized belly!

chat soon xo

ps. i've been comment spammed... does anyone know how to delete these dodgy "comments"?

happy christmas, new year, etc etc!

Hi all!

Wow, what an amazing few weeks we have had in the pickles household! Full of friends, family, & crafting galore!!!

It all started with some panic crafting for our handmade <$5 christmas in the gran & pa pickles home in sunny nsw... all the gals got one of these:

This was the perfect crafty creation for me... no neat straight lines, no accurate cutting required, just loads of fun combining colours and fabrics... perfect! And I used all scrap fabrics and vintage or pre-loved buttons, which made me very happy! (nothing like the de-stash... which, by the way is my aim for the first half of this year - no new fabrics!). Which is your favourite brooch? I have a definite favourite, but I won't tell.... Some more brooches similar to these will soon be appearing in my etsy, so stay tuned...

Then, after these crafting adventures, I got onto snapfish and ordered a photobook for the grandparents. Soooo easy to use their templates, the book looked great, the photo colours came out well, and they had it delivered in time for christmas, in spite of my only ordering them on I think the 18th December... impressive! Oh, and the book was a hit... we managed to get tears from some family members - the exact result we were after!

martha stewart pom poms by summer pickles

Off to sunny nsw then, sydney via wagga, and to the gherkin's naming day (we didn't officially name him The Gherkin). We spent the night before making these gorgeous martha stewart tissue paper pom poms, which looked b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l in our garden ceremony and the following lunch. Again, these were pretty simple too... and looked just gorgeous. It was lovely to have the opportunity to celebrate (again) the little man's arrival and to do this with our dearest friends, and soo much fun to catch up with everyone's kids!!!

Then to Christmas, and all of the family celebrations, and the gherkin's first beach experience... yep, on seven mile beach (of course). However, it was very poorly planned, so, being the middle of Boxing Day, it was hot and sunny and windy (not a winning combination for our new redheaded baby's first trip to the beach!), we had a sprint onto the beach, a quick point and click and a sprint back to the car.... Fortunately we had more relaxing moments down at the beach in Ulladulla and in various parks and gardens in the south coast the following week.

(recognise this summer pickles quilt???)

Hoping you all had wonderful festive seasons, and thanks for stopping by in 2009!

Chat soon xo

baby sunhat (reversible) #1

baby sunhat (reversible) #1
Originally uploaded by summer pickles

It took me three days, but in stages I managed to make this sunhat starting from the fluted hat pattern mentioned in my last post, just with some modifications to the size, some of the construction steps and I made it reversible.

Definitely needs some refining and I made it too small so would fit only a newborn with a head circumference under 34cm, but it felt great to get back into sewing and to actually finish something was bliss!

Watch this space... more creations on their way....
xo

addit: the fluted hat pattern and tutorial that this sunhat was loosely based on can be found here

published!

Exciting news... it is released! Many of you may not remember that I was approached last year by Affa to show and tell summerpickles necklaces in her DIY craft book. Well, it has been released! And very soon there will be a copy of this book travelling its way all the way to Australia so I can ever-so-casually pop it onto the coffee table... so exciting! Some of the creations within the book look just beautiful... I am truly honoured to be a part of this book!

Thanks Affa x

So, now I am feeling well, inspired and crafty again... where are those buttons???

etsy sale!!!

Hi all

Just a quick post to let you all know that my etsy shop is having a pre-christmas sale. Button rings, necklaces, hairclips (oh my!) plus a couple of softies. I am about to get out the sewing machine again, so hope to be adding in more softies, so watch this space!

Hope all is well in your part of the world...

xx

where on earth have I been all this time?

Ignoring you? No.

Well, no, not really! I have been selling our house (or at least trying to!) and then have been traipsing off all over Aus to various family events and get togethers. So, to spare you the details, here is some of what I have been up to, in pictures...

OOOPS! Blogger images not working today.... so here are the links to the photos anyway (but probably easiest to wait for the mosaic!)

1. on the move, 2. the boys, 3. in love, 4. tyges, han and paul, 5. the house, 6. buddies, 8. paul han crop, 9. jye and hannah (fairy godmother)

Also, while I am here, a very big thankyou to all of you for being so supportive of my crafting adventures. I am thrilled to see more positive feedback about my toile bag, so watch this space... they will be appearing in my etsy soon, hopefully in time for Christmas!

Will be back very soon with more updates (and once the house sells I will be back into crafting again - yippee!)

I will chat again soon, promise! xx

ps. be sure to pop back in on Friday, as I have caught up with mum and dad and their photo albums, so have more delightful flashback photos to share! Oddly enough, still no photos of my first dog, Barkly, though.

just finished my first ever bag!

It's my first ever bag, no pattern, just me and my poor brain. This was lots of fun - fabric was left over from cushions. This one is not for sale, but is open for comment! Finished at 11:32pm Sat night...

Hope your weekend is treating you beautifully,

xo