Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Kelly

Rainbow doll

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Finally – a new doll for the shop! This one is a little bit special because she has a lot of hand dyed elements.
Her dark purple dress was hand dyed by me (the frill is from some fabric Nic Wood sent me). The silk cape was dyed in the shibori method by me. Her flared pants were hand painted by my son.
Then there is the hair of course. The gorgeous rainbow hand dyed and spun yarn from Nell.
I don’t think I’ll be too sad if this doll doesn’t find a home for Christmas, there are always other possibilities!

A few things I’ve been sewing

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Another busy week but at least I managed some sewing time! I found a cute monkey printed jersey at Spotlight on the clearance table and made some “non girly” pyjamas for the “non girly” girl. The good news is she loves the shorts and wants to wear them 24/7 – the bad news is she hates the top and refuses to wear it. Sigh.
I had dyed a mandala on some broadcloth that was just the right size to make a little dress for Half Pint. It’s very cute but next time I need to make the straps longer and the dress less “boxy”.
From the back.
I love these moments! I caught the boy teaching the little one some piano. These two may be 10 years apart in age but they are terrific friends.
It’s pouring rain here today after yesterday being warm and windy, so the garden is drinking it in. I must show you some photos of the garden soon, it’s such a wonderful place to be at the moment.
Happy weekend and God bless you all šŸ™‚

Bloggrrrrrr!!

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I have things to show. I don’t really like texty posts, I like to have something nice to look at too. Blogger won’t let me upload images. Not yesterday. Not today. Is it me? Is it them? What if I can’t fix it? Am I destined to become a text only blog?! Hmm, a little dramatic perhaps, but I want my image uploader back!!

My husband’s Spoonflower fabric

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My husband used to draw. A lot. Since the children came along and he became a “professional” anything artistic has taken a back seat and been almost non existent. I wanted to encourage him to start drawing again so I ordered some fabric from Spoonflower with some of his old designs as a surprise.


I’m so glad I did. He has become so inspired and it’s so great to see him feeling more like his “old (young!) self” again. The best part is seeing him hunched over his sketch pad again and imagining all the applications for his designs. He says he has found a part of himself that had been “dumbed down” and forgotten.


Naturally, this is all a dream come true to Mrs. Artsy Crafty!

Regarding my last post – I’ve temporarily switched to the old editor in order to post pictures, hoping that it will somehow just fix itself and I can go back to the new editor. Old editor is, well, old!



Buddha's Tears

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My husband brought home some Buddha’s Tears tea from T2 yesterday. He was actually buying Strawberries and Cream tisane (a family favourite) and asked for a sample of the very expensive Buddha’s Tears (also known as Jasmine Dragon pearl). The obliging person gave a very generous sample.
It is the best jasmine tea I’ve tasted – no hint of the usual bitterness. This tea is very mild and suggestive and if it wasn’t so expensive I could drink a lot of it!

Embroidery progress

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If I’d known how long these projects would take to complete would I have started them in the first place?
Probably. Yes. Absolutely!

My crewel piece has come a long way since here. In fact, I’m not too far off finishing, hooray!
I’ve made a lot of progress with the ribbon work since here too.
Unfortunately most other things get priority over embroidery so my monthly stitching group is wonderful   . 
Have a marvellous Saturday that hopefully involves some stitching.

The 6 P’s of homeschooling!

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1. Prayer
For me it is essential to start my day with prayer. I feel that things go much more smoothly if I give my first moments of the day to God. I realise not everyone is religious, so some form of meditation or reflection at the beginning of the day may help you to collect your thoughts for the day ahead.

2. Preparation and planning
Each night after the evening meal and subsequent clean up I sit down at the table and plan and prepare homeschooling work for the next day. You may be more organised and plan a week ahead. I find it better to do it the night before so it’s fresh in my mind, however some art, craft or science activities need more forward planning for extra materials etc.

3. Purpose
You don’t need a mission statement as such, but knowing what you want to achieve in your homeschooling is important. What style of learning do you want to take, maybe it’s a combination or a set style. What are you ultimate goals for your children? Think long term about this – you can always change your purpose but you need to have direction.

4. Play
For any age it is essential to incorporate fun into your homeschooling routine. This presents the teacher with many challenges in setting up activities and excursions, but don’t forget fun is in the attitude as much as the activity.

5. Persistance
The year following the birth of our fourth child has been more challenging than any other. Many times I’ve felt discouraged but determined not to give up. Homeschooling is a lifestyle commitment and your children need to feel that you are committed to them and their education. You will have bad days but hopefully they will be outweighed by the good!

6. ComPromise
OK – not a “P” word but still very important. Flexibility in a learning situation is a key to success. If you can see your child becoming very interested in something, don’t just cut off and leap into the next subject because it’s “time” to. Some of the best homeschooling days are when I “go with the flow” instead of with the timetable.
If things are feeling stale or just not working, forget the book work and do something else. Whatever it is, you child will still be learning.
Remember – you are the teacher and your own boss! Do what suits you and your family best and enjoy the the privilege of teaching these young minds!

Fish, glorious fish!

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Occasionally my husband buys fish from Conways as a treat. I don’t know about your part of the world, but here fresh fish is really expensive. I can’t fault Conway’s for freshness though, better than you can get at the Queen Vic Market.

These are blue grenadier fillets, but use what you like (or what you can afford!) For this one I lay down a generous amount of foil and put the fillet on top. I sliced lemon grass and ginger and sprinkled over the top. Then I warmed about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with 1 teaspoon of honey and a squeeze of lemon juice and drizzled over the fish. Salt and pepper, then wrap in the foil or pinch the foil together to make a pleat all the way along. Bake for about 20 minutes at 190 degrees celscius then test for doneness.
This one is really easy! Lay out fillet as above then dab some small pieces of butter along the fillet. Salt and pepper it. Lay on some fresh herbs (I used dill and parsley from the garden) then lay on thin slices of lemon. Bake as above and test for doneness.
Healthy and delicious!!

Pretty little wedding dresses

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I finished the girl’s dresses for my sister’s wedding in a few weeks.
Note the pained “I don’t feel like having my photo taken” expression.
I used some pretty quilting fabrics and satin to make the waistbands that tie at the back.
I used my trusty Miss Madeline pattern.
This pale blue fabric has pretty white patterns on it that you can’t really see here.
I’ve almost finished my dress too.
An amusing tale. In my last letter to my Grandmother I mentioned I was making our dresses for the wedding. A couple of days later I received a letter back with a gift voucher for $50. She thought it was such a pity that I “had” to make our dresses she wanted me to go out and buy some for the girls. When she had young children she made all of their clothes out of necessity.
Haven’t times changed? I don’t think she’d be convinced that I sew for pleasure.