Happier than a cyclone over warm waters....

Yes that would be Paul.  Before he left for Port Hedland he was adamant, "there will be a cyclone while up I'm there, I bet!!!"  And one has just managed to scrape in.  As it turns out ex-TC Carlos (soon to be reinstated as TC Carlos) will be off the coast of Port Hedland Tuesday morning, the very day that Paul was due to fly back to Perth *sigh*.  So it looks like I'm still in charge of the monkey factory for a few extra days.  Paul on the other hand is very happy to be able to say "see, I told you there'd be a cyclone".  Port Hedland is currently on Blue Alert and as Paul is in charge up there at the moment its up to him to make sure that all preparations are in place to ensure the safety of the crew.  The crew certainly have nothing to worry about - Carlos is just a baby at Category 2 and nothing makes Paul happier than planning and preparation... happier than a cyclone over warm waters even.

What do you do when you can't be there to sooth their tears...

...you go home and make them something instead so hopefully they will realise that even if you weren't with them you were thinking about them the whole time!!

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On Wednesday I dropped Chloe off at kindy and the penny finally dropped.  As much as she loves the painting and drawing and play dough and puzzles and as much as she loves her teachers Mrs H and Mrs B, she's finally realised that I leave.  The first few times I think the novelty was enough to win her over but on Wednesday she started crying as I was going.  Mrs B, the most beautiful soul on earth, was there immediately with lots of hugs and telling Chloe all the wonderful things they had planned for the day.  Because Alex attended this particular kindy last year as well, Chloe knows both Mrs H and Mrs B very well and has a very strong liking for Mrs B so I knew that Mrs B would win her over.  Still its not a nice feeling is it, leaving when your little one so desperately wants you.

I already had plans for some lovely fabric but I knew those plans would need to be put into action immediately.  With swatch in hand (how lucky was that), it was off to Spotlight for contrast fabrics and thread then home again to start cutting.  Later in the day I would be arriving at kindy with a dress for Chloe, I wasn't there during the day but I was thinking about her the whole time...

Its Modkids Kyoko pattern, however if you've been in Perth lately you'll know that the weather has been disgusting - hot, humid, sticky, blah!!!!  So I ditched the idea of sleeves and went with a bound, sleeveless look instead much cooler in my opinion.  I also thought that being sleeveless she would be able to wear long sleeves underneath when (if!!!) the weather cools down making it quite versatile.  So although the Kyoko pattern doesn't show/have a sleeveless version let me assure you it is incredibly easy to do.

The pretty geisha fabric comes from The Fabric Jungle.  The inspiration however came from a lovely friend Mel (seriously some of the most beautiful things you will ever see on her blog) who used the fabric in a gorgeous skirt set. The black butterfly fabric was an end of bolt from Spotlight.  I was originally going to get something in a soft grey with flowers (you can probably see the black geisha has grey butterflies on her dress in the next picture) but when I saw the black with the butterflies I knew it was meant to be.  The selvedge says its by Sugar and Spice Textiles.  Made for each other don't you think...

I loved putting this pattern together, so, so easy.  From whoa (woe LOL) to go in a matter of hours.  The instructions are so clear and well written with lots of photographs.  I used french seams so along with the binding its as neat on the inside as it is on the outside.

She had a great day as always, lots of painting (you should see my fridge!!!) and fun and I was waiting there with her new dress and she was all smiles...

My Creative Space - Up close and personal...

I've missed a few Creative Spaces lately, simply because the start of a new school year is pretty hectic at the best of times.  Throw in two children starting new phases of their lives - namely Alex attending his first year of pre-primary at the private school Samuel attends and Chloe attending her first year of kindy at a local state school.  So I travel between two school, Chloe's pickup and drop off times normally work brilliantly with the other school except for those first couple of weeks when we deal with the dreaded half days.  Alex has done two weeks of half days, Chloe one so on the two days Chloe goes to school I drop everyone off in the morning, I might go and do the shopping or run errands (or like I did on Wednesday go and spend some glorious kid-free time at Spotlight, what a treat!!!), pick Alex up at 12, pick Chloe up at 1.30, then finally pick Samuel up after 3ish.  As you can imagine it really wrecks the day.  However, Alex finished his last half day yesterday so no more running around like a headless chicken carting kids here, there and everywhere.

Yesterday I also received an ebay auction win... namely this:

This is actually the very first time I've ever been up close and personal with a jelly roll before.  I'm not a quilter, as much as I love them, but I've found a BOM which has captured me and so I'm going to give it a try.  Its here, Little Miss Shabby - Adventures in Quilting and wow the whole website is bursting with gorgeous colours, stunning quilts and pretty cushion - it makes me want to try them all!!!!  The quilt I'm going to try my hand at though is Birdie Stitches, the little birdies just look adorable.  I've decided to use Lila Tuellers Eden by Moda (as you can see) and so have been wondering what to use as the backing.  At first I was going to use the Dahlias, then I thought about using Paradise but since having got the jelly roll, I'm absolutely loving the dots.  If only there was some way of making a removable backing then I'd make a backing in all the different varieties LOL.  I'm so looking forward to spending a little time each day embroidering my Birdie Stitches quilt.

To see what everyone else is up close and personal to visit My Creative Space.