Not Sew Easy ...

My sewing patterns have all arrived. Now I just need to learn how to sew 😂😂

My new needles arrived today.

via IFTTT

I'm A Seamstress, Sort Of

Brodie had bought himself a new pair of dress pants that needed the hem taken up. He kept forgetting to take his new trousers to the laundromat so that the lady there could put the hem up. The new trousers sat in his room, with the pins I had placed on them for the desired length, for around 3 - 4 weeks. 

Brodz had been wearing his demin jeans to Church. Not a good look really when you're in a nice white shirt and tie with these raggedy old jeans on. I got tired of waiting for Brodie (who was probably waiting for me to drive him to the laundromat) to do something about them. 

Mum had taught me years ago how to hem trousers but of course when you don't need to sew very often you forget how to do it. Thank goodmess for the internet, right? I had found a pin on pinterest showing how to hem jeans and I thought I could do the same thing for dress pants, right? So yesterday out came the sewing machine, some pins and the iron and ta-da! Trousers that FIT Brodie at the EXACT length! 

The tutorial, with photos, is from Do It Yourself Divas Blog. Thank you Stephanie for sharing your tutorial. I love how easy it was to follow! 

I managed to save Brodie around $15. I think he owes me some chocolate now (~_o) 

Finished Item - Floral T-Shirt

 I've been sewing. I must be sick. Quick find the thermometer!

Before cutting out the material

After cutting out the pattern

Carefully sewing the pieces together

Ta Da! The finished piece.

All up it took me around 2 hours to make. Now I remember why I like sewing. You can make things really quickly (unless you muck it up and need to unpick a lot). The only thing I don't particularly like is cutting the pattern out. I always worry I'll make a BIG mistake and not have enough material left over to fix any boo boos! Thankfully I didn't mess up this time :D

I'm A Sew & Sew

I finally managed to sew the buttons on that baby cardigan. I feels good to have it finished. Thank you Poetess for suggesting I add some colour to it. It's made a big difference.

Silly me - I had sewn a button on upside-down :-/ and had to redo it.

Is it just me or does everyone hate sewing up their creations? I know my sister Vicki used to knit every now & then but she would hand it over to our Mum or to me to complete the sewing & to add the finishing touches like the neck/collar.
I'm in a bit of a funk with sewing things I guess. Maybe I need to so some all in one projects :D

You Sew & Sew

I'm not that crash hot at using the over-locker that I was talked into buying a few years back. In fact I think I have only ever used it twice. So when Angus wanted to make a new pencil case Mark wanted to show him how to use the over-locker because he knows how to use it and I don't.


Angus had some fun playing with the over-locker but no one was sure how to use it to sew on a zipper.


In the end Angus cut the sides of the material that he had already sewn and got my sewing machine out instead. At least we knew how to use that. Angus couldn't remember how to sew on the zipper (he had learnt to do that a couple of years ago in textiles). So I looked up good old youtube for a video on how to do it. Thank goodness for videos and using them as a learning tool as I had never sewn a zip onto anything before.


Poor Angus wanted to make his new pencil case but I ended up taking over. I don't think he minded too much. He wanted to go for a walk to the shops with Brodie. Angus's pencil case isn't much of a pencil case at all, it's more of a pouch for his memory sticks and a couple of other knick-knacks.


It had been a while since I have done any sewing. I had forgotten how satisfying it is to make something and have it finished so quickly. Now that I know how to sew a zip into place I might just have to make a few more of these small pouches.

My Visit To The Surgeon

I went and saw the surgeon this morning. Mark was able to come with me and it was good to have him by my side. The surgeon was great! Not at all like I expected. After conversations with people online from Facebook and Twitter I was sure that he would want to cut me open. I don't even know why I contemplated what I was told by some of the others! He had no intentions of making me go through with any surgery not unless I want to.

We discussed my options being things like taking anti-inflammatory medications (which I do I take mobic), using a splint overnight when I sleep, steroid injections in the wrist and we discussed the operation itself and what that entails. He also mentioned percentages of things but I'm never one to remember numbers for things at the best of times. Although I do remember that he said the operation is successful 95% of the time. Such a positive thing to remember, well I thought so at least.

Mark & I explained how my carpal tunnel affects me and that it slows me a little but not to the point where I can't do what I need to do. The doctor, who was known as a MR, said that as long as it doesn't make my daily tasks too hard to do and as long as it doesn't prevent me from doing what I normally do that he doesn't see the need for an operation. Which is kind of what I was thinking any way.


I have now made a decision based on that and the statistics he mentioned. For now, I have decided that as long as I can knit, crochet and sew when I want then there is no need for me to have an operation but as soon as I am unable to do any of these things then I will reconsider my options.

I went to the chemist a little while ago and bought a proper splint for my wrist. It will most certainly keep my wrist from bending when I am in bed. In fact I wont be doing much with my arm at all when I wear it. It really does impede movement BIG time! Let's hope that it does the trick and I don't wake up with a numb hand all the time. Crossing fingers!

Merry Christmas

Just a tad late with the Christmas wishes but its better late than never!!
~*~ Merry Christmas ~*~

We had a quiet day yesterday because we had a big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. It made yesterday a much more relaxing day. We had brunch at around 11:30 am and the kids snacked just about all day.

Brodie watched the complete 4th series of Doctor Who. Which wasn't so bad since we don't mind the show either. He did complain though when I asked him to let someone else have the tv. You'd think he would let them since he basically had control of it ALL day long.

Angus was thrilled with is tool set. He was proud as punch of it really and can't wait to start using the 'real' tools he was given. At least it's something he can use properly and add too since it's not a kids set of tools.

I was hoping that the boys father would phone them up before he got too much drinking him but he never phoned. I don't know why I thought he would. His nephew Chris and I spoke on MSN and he was telling me that Uncle Vic was already well on the way to being drunk if he wasn't already. I swear that man should be drawn and quartered. After we made the effort last year to contact him so that he could get to know his kids better. I don't know why I bother sometimes! Once a drunk always a drunk! He used to hate it when I said that but it is so true.

I know the boys are disapppointed as they had expected him here for Christmas. Especially after he promised them that he would be coming. I even offered to pay for his trip back if he paid his way overe here. He was all for it ... I'll kick myself I should really know better. Anything that stops him from his beer and wine is a bad thing...
Oh enough of him. I remember all too well why I made him move out of our home. I'm glad that I moved on is all I can say.

Before I forget. I got an overlocker for Christmas. It's not exactly what I wanted, Mark has always wanted me to get one, but after watching a dvd on this particular model last week. I was sold on it. There is so much more you can do with it than a regular sewing machine. Well maybe not more but it looked a lot easier anyway. I just had to learn how to use it now. Maybe after Mark learns to use it I can learn from him lol ... or just wait until next year and go to Gippstitch where we bought it from and get some lessons from there. I just hope that I can learn to use it properly and make the best use of it that I can.

Church, Sewing and Other stuff.

Golly I didn't realise that its been so long since I have written anything here. Guess I have had other things on my mind then huh. I've been busy sewing & doing applique, being with the boys, playing games, going to Church and other things. I've got some photos to upload too but I just don't have the motivation to do much of anything at the moment.
I have made Mark and the boys some boxer shorts. Angus has been lucky enough to get the most made for him as he is a smaller size than everyone else and there has been just enough material left over to make some for him. He of course thinks its great that Mum has made more things for him than anyone else.

I popped in to visit the new Nursery Leader today. She's my new boss I guess you could say. She has come in so full of energy and she has some great ideas that she wants to implement. It's great that there is someone who is so dedicated and wants to make Nursery so exciting for the kids. It makes me feel like I am inadequate and definitely not motivated to work with the same level of energy that she has. It makes me think of something that the Bishop said the other week. Maybe I should ask to give up my calling. I'm not worthy enough to hold it. In fact there have been times over the past few weeks that I think that if I didn't have this calling I would go to Church as often as I do. I know I need to go for the boys sake if not for my own. I just feel indifferent I guess you could call it. I don't want to sound totally apathetic because I'm not .. well I don't think I am. I just don't know any more. Maybe I need to send my spirit sister an email. She might be able to help me a little bit.

My Week So Far & my new toy!

What a busy week it's been. I think now that the boys are back at school I have been busier than when they were both home for two weeks of their holidays.

I'm still waiting for my sewing machine to be fixed but I'm not too worried about that now. I got some 'bonus' money from the government as part of a carers payment that I receive on Brodie's behalf. So Mark and I went to do some shopping. Firstly to check out all the Op Shops in town (and the next town) but we went into Gippstitch too. While we were there we were checking out the sewing machines. To be honest I was waiting to go to Spotlight to check out the ones they had one sale there but I just wanted to check out Gippstitch. Anyway to cut a long story short I ended up getting a Husqvarna Viking - Huskystar C20. It's amazing. It can almost sew on its own. Well with some of the stitches it does. The boys were so impressed that it can embroider names. I let them embroider their surname on some of their school shirts. They thought it was so cool!! I can't wait to get started on some more sewing.
I was going to do some today but I realised that I didn't have any tracing paper large enough to trace the pattern for the boxer shorts I want to make the boys. I guess I will have to wait just a little bit longer.
I am so impressed with this new machine. It really is a good one and we definitely got a bargain as I have been checking out the prices on them. We saved around $250 - $300.

With school going back this week so did the Church activities for the boys. Young Men's started back with the game of 'Punishment' its basically a game where if you do something wrong you get tennis balls thrown at you by everyone. They do not hold back at all when they play this and I truthfully do not like the fact that they can get hit in the head. Thankfully Brodie took his helmet but I was told that he still copped a few about the head. It worries me so much because of his epilepsy. He's not had a seizure for a year now and I want to keep it that way!!
While Brodie is at the Chapel I go off to applique. I was telling the girls about my new machine (which I picked up on Wednesday the day after applique).

Angus's school had a pupil free day yesterday and he and another boy in his class went to a workshop to do with reading and getting boys into reading more books. There was also a session last night that Mark took Angus too. I think Angus thought there were two great things about last night. The fact that he got 4 new books to read he also got to ride on the back of Mark's motorbike. He said he was scared to bits but he was excited. He even told me this morning that he would love to do it again even though he was scared. I know he loved it and I know Brodie is a bit jealous but hey Brodie gets much more than Angus does and I think it's about time that Angus got something that Brodie didn't! It's only fair!

Tomorrow is Angus's Primary Schools 125th Birthday celebrations. It should be a good day but the weather forecast may be a big downer though. It's awfully cold and wet today and tomorrow is meant to be the same. I just hope that the thunderstorms and hail holds off. We're expecting around 200 people to show up. I'm helping with registrations and clean up plus elsewhere if I am needed.

I better scoot in s couple of minutes. Angus spent the day at Jindi Primary school today and I need to go collect him early and then wait there for Brodie's bus to arrive as his school bus stops there at around 3:30. I bet's he's had a great day visiting there. I know he likes to catch up with some of the kids he's made friends with there over the years.

Surviving the School Holidays

Well I'm surviving the holidays. In fact the boys haven't been too bad this time round although it does help when Brodie goes away for camp for three days. He left yesterday morning and he's not due home until tomorrow afternoon sometime. I'm not exactly sure when.

Angus and I enjoyed some time together yesterday. We went to visit the old caravan park where we used to live. Our old neighbours are the new managers and they are doing a wonderful job looking after the place. It looks 100% to what it was when we lived there. Angus and I also did some baking & he helped prepare dinner. He's really enjoyed it especially since he is able to eat it lol.

We all went to the cinemas earlier this week, Mark included, to see Evan Almighty. What a great family movie to see. It was so funny. The whole audiences was laughing a lot of the time. I'm so glad that I chose this one. It was nice to see a movie that didn't involve violence and destruction. I know the boys like those sort of things but it's really not what they should be watching anyway.

I've been feeling just awful for the past week and a half. I've had tonsillitis (Angus too) and I've got my period on top of that. I've been bleeding for about 8 days now and it doesn't look like letting up yet either. I don't know if I should be worried about it yet or not. Maybe if it I'm still bleeding next week I'll go see the doctor (or not). Dr. F did say that I probably had PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) so maybe I should read up some more on it before I do anything else.

I have been waiting for my sewing machine to be fixed. It's been at the local fabric shop for about a month now. I phoned earlier this week but the bloke that was working on it had it in parts on his work bench and he wasn't there. Maybe I should phone them again. I've been waiting for ages to make up some boxer shorts for Mark and the boys. I guess a few more days wont hurt but maybe I should just pop in there tomorrow morning to see if he's finished working on it or not. If he hasn't I reckon I should ask for a discount on the repair and service!!!