floating world:

« December 2008 | Main | February 2009 »

absolutely perfect timing

I ordered a hula hoop online, and it arrived in the post on Tuesday. It was a very unusual looking parcel.

I've been practicing in my living room, becoming increasingly obsessed. [Alistair watches me, looking baffled. The cat is alarmed.]

And now Deanne has just posted a guide to hula hooping for beginners, complete with video. Yippee!

January 29, 2009 in Hooping, I like this | Permalink | Comments (9)

good things

A new Japanese pattern book and a gold silk/metal blend to make a shift dress in.

The book is ISBN 4579111354, "Fashion from Cinema" and there is a good review and more photos here. Lots of beautiful patterns inside. Hopefully I can steal some time to sew over the long weekend.

January 23, 2009 in Books, Making things | Permalink | Comments (2)

too early, but beautiful

If I have to be woken at 5am by a hot, cranky toddler and a bed-hogging cat, it's nice to have a view like this.

January 23, 2009 in Baby, Life in Sydney | Permalink | Comments (1)

looking forward to the weekend

Things are a bit busier than usual here. I am now working "out of the home" for three days each week, which is slightly hectic. The working bit is easy, it is the getting out of the house on time, not covered in weetbix bit that is hard. But there are lots of fun bits, like getting to wear high heels and catch the bus into the city and drink coffee and read a book on my lunch break. And it makes me really appreciate the days I have at home, like today.

Things I would like to do this weekend include this and this and this. How about you?

January 16, 2009 in blah blah blah, Life in Sydney | Permalink | Comments (2)

super lazy summer sleep sack

It's hot here right now. Which poses a problem when putting Ali to bed. The easiest thing would be for him to sleep in a nappy and t-shirt, and that's what he did for most of last summer. But now he's used to sleeping in a sleepsack, and it's a key part of the Bedtime Routine, and I don't dare mess with the Bedtime Routine. If I put him in the cot without a sleepsack he thinks it's play time and charges around hurling his rabbit out and demanding stories. Plus, he's learned how to undo the velcro tabs on his nappy, so the whole thing just has potential for diaster.

So a summer weight sleepsack was in order. His current sleep sack, which is made from Burda 9640 like all the others, is lined and has a zipper. It's just two layers of cotton but it's quite warm. So I was thinking about how I could make it cooler... maybe out of muslin? Or jersey like this one? And then I hate sewing zippers, so that was a further disincentive to actually make the thing. But last night, as I was stuffing my poor clammy baby into his too-hot sleep sack at bedtime I had a brainwave.

And an hour later I had this:

Probably the easiest thing I ever made. It won't win any beauty contests, but it does the job - it's enough to make Ali feel like he's in a sleep sack, without adding too much extra warmth. And it feels so good to use up one of pile of Mark's old shirts that I've been saving for I don't know what.

To make a lazy sleep sack:

Take one old cotton shirt. I have a tall husband who wears work shirts with extra long tails, so this was long enough for a tall 16 month old.
Cut off the collar at the base of the stand.
Button up the shirt and lie it flat. Lie an existing sleep sack on top, with the shoulder seams matching. Use the old sleep sack as a pattern piece to cut out the arm holes, and taper from under the arms to the existing side seams of your shirt.
Sew from under the lowest button to the hem of your shirt closed.
Turn the shirt inside out and sew the hem closed. If your shirt has a "tail", with the back hem lower than the front hem, then sew along the front hem and trim off the excess. You can neaten with overlocker / zig zag stitch / pinking shears.
Sew from under the arm hole to your existing side seam, to make a new side seam and neaten seam.
Turn shirt / sleep sack back the right way out. Sew bias tape around the neck and arm holes like this.

Finished! Hooray! Put sweaty baby into new, cool sleep sack, so he can sleep better and without protest.

I also checked that the buttons were sewn on securely so Ali couldn't pull any off and eat them. And I appliqued a little felt bird on to make it look a little bit less, well, corporate.

January 08, 2009 in Baby, Making things | Permalink | Comments (13)

just bread

As part of my new year / new projects enthusiasm I made bread last night. I was inspired by the friends we stayed with over new year, who make delicious bread, and also by Kristen (her lovely blog is always full of ideas).

Previously I've had mixed success with yeast baking. Pizza bases and foccacia have turned out well. Hot cross buns and the supposedly foolproof no-knead bread not so much. And my attempts at sourdough in Tokyo were a disaster, I never got the starter to start and it kept either exploding or going mouldy.

But this recipe, from Stephanie Alexander, was great. I got to use the processor, and it makes two good sized loaves with minimum fuss. Mine look a little wonky, but we can work on that (and besides, it's "rustic", right?)

Mark and I ate some with dinner last night, and it's still good today.

The recipe is:

800g "strong" white flour
200g wholemeal flour
(I didn't have this, and so just used 1kg of regular white flour. I plan to pick up some wholemeal next time I'm at the shops)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
600ml lukewarm water

Mix all ingredients in a processor with a dough hook for about 10 minutes (or 20 minutes by hand), until well mixed and smooth not sticky.

(My processor jammed up after about 5 minutes and refused to continue, but this didn't seem to affect the bread)

Divide in two, put in two oiled bowls, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour)

Knead again for a few minutes until knocked back to original size. Shape into a cigar shaped loaf and leave to rise again for about 30 minutes, covered with a tea towel. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C with a baking sheet in it.

Transfer loaves to hot baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Then turn them over and bake for another 5 minutes. If you knock them and they sound hollow they're done.

Cool on a wire rack, or eat warm with butter.

January 06, 2009 in Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (3)

happy new year

Hello there! Happy 2009.
Things have been quiet around here because I've spent just over a week out of Sydney and away from the computer, catching up with friends and family and spending time on the beach and visiting a farm. Christmas was lovely, and it was so good to have a break.

But now we are back home, and back to real life and a new year. The tree is outside waiting for the green collection, decorations are down, I've put some pink lillies in a jug to banish the post-Christmas-decoration emptiness and just braved the shops to restock the fridge and pantry. I'm excited about the new year, and in the mood for clearing out and starting new things.

New stationery always helps. I love Kikki K.