The railway children

Yesterday was a sunny winter's day.  We took the boys to the lovely Melbourne Train Museum. 

The only reason I knew this place existed was because my brother had a birthday party there when he was about 6.  That was back in the 70's.

The boys loved it.  Henri was so excited and we all loved climbing into the cabs of the wonderful old steam engines.

My favourite was the sleeper carriage, complete with pressed metal ceilings and mosaic tiled floors.

If you have boys and live in Melbourne I highly recommend a visit.  It's in Williamstown.

Some work time

Yesterday Will took the 4 children and 2 dogs to the park which left me in a quiet house for a few hours.

I put the time to good use and made some headway on a set of patterns I need to grade for a summer dress.  To test the pattern I made a size 6 to try on Tom.

I'll be happy when Adelaide has grown a bit and I have a small fit model again.  The boys are all getting a little older now and I no longer have a fit model at the bottom end of my size range.  I have to call on neighbours and nearby customers if I want to try a sample garment for a 1 or 2 year old.

Too cute

I posted a little while ago about a lovely illustrator, Anna Walker.

  

When passing our local bookshop the other day the above book immediately caught my eye.  And it was no surprise to see who the clever illustrator was.

There are three of these books in the series and they are irresistible. 

The illustrations incorporate fabric cutouts, so there's lots for us fabric addicts to admire.

Wouldn't the panda make a cute softie.

Where do the days go?

Customer service is not what it used to be at Townmouse.  A few unlucky customers have had to wait a little too long for their orders.  The days slip by so quickly.  But hey, I've got the happy hormones coursing through my system so I'm not phased (although those unlucky customers have received discounts on their orders to reward their patience). 

I'm just feeling an immense sense of achievement having survived the first of three weeks of winter school holidays with four children!

I'm not trying to conquer the world.  Our days consist of simple challenges.  Today we went to Bunnings to buy hard-to-find globes for Adelaide's night-light.

To keep my most active son in line I strapped Adelaide to his front.  Tom's the one who would normally be running up the down escalator and drawing greasy looks from other shoppers.

But he's slipped into the role of doting carer and has left his "bad boy" label to his younger brother.  I think his little sister could be the making of him.  (By the look on her face, Adelaide's not so sure.)

So I only had two sons running up the down escalator.  The other was drawing admiring glances from fellow shoppers.  Who would have thought?

Adelaide sleeps here

When I was pregnant with Tom I found this bassinet in a babywares second hand store.

In the 7 years I have owned it, it has been in constant use amongst my circle of friends.  I love to think of all the little babies who have spent their first weeks and months sleeping here.

Adelaide is swaddled up tight, wrapped in wool and sleeping soundly.  Hopefully she will be happy sleeping in the bassinet until she is at least three months.

A quiet house

I love pottering around the house at night when all is quiet.  Will is overseas and the children are asleep.  It's close to midnight and I'm making chicken stock.

Maybe it's the colder weather, or maybe its because I'm ravenously hungry at the moment, but I'm enjoying cooking right now.  Last night I made Jamie Oliver's meatballs and the boys declared they were as good as Maria's.

Maria is the Italian nanny who used to look after the boys for many years.  She was a wonderfully traditional Italian cook and made meatballs regularly for them.  I was immensely chuffed when they gave their verdict.

Soon I'll wake Adelaide for a feed and then head off to bed.  Osso bucco and potato and leek soup tomorrow.

Image via Unruly Things.

Couldn't resist

Today I was out and about sourcing more coat fabrics.  While picking up a roll of navy wool/angora I found a really cute pea green wool/cashmere.  I thought a pea green coat lined in navy gingham would be sweet on a little red headed boy, for example.

On the way home I dropped into my local quilting shop.  I had the swatch of pea green in my handbag and it wasn't until I paired it with a pretty Liberty and another great floral that I realised it would be equally cute on a little girl.

A little green eyed blonde would look sweet in these fabrics.  I think I'll ring the supplier tomorrow and order a roll.

When I find the time

Adelaide has received some beautiful gifts from friends and family.  The great thing about being able to make children's clothes is that I can make garments to go with the gifts she has been given.

This little wool cardi and leggings from a Portugese brand has inspired some smocking.  Ordinarily I'd show you the finished project, but for now you'll just have to imagine a little pink smocked shirt in oxford cotton, or maybe a dress.  I'm back to being extremely time poor with more ideas than output.

If I do get around to it I will show you the finished product.

On a grey day

One of the benefits of a new baby is getting to explore my local neighbourhood on foot.  Ordinarily I don't take the time to get out and about unless I'm racing to get somewhere, but when there is a young baby to be settled, a walk with the pram with no fixed destination is the best solution.

Today's weather is rather grey and wintery.  Coming across this shop a few blocks from home brightened my day.

How could it not?  And while I was there I picked up some of my favourite chocolate treats.

As the name of the store suggests, these really are the best.

While baby sleeps

Adelaide and I have been packing orders this morning.  She has been asleep in the Baby Bjorn carrier.  Addressing envelopes over the top of her head is a little cumbersome, but when the orders mount up you do what you have to do.

I've been doing a little online shopping of my own this week.  This wonderful tote from Elk Accessories was delivered to my door this morning.

Another thing that arrived on my doorstep earlier this week was a bunch of pink lilies for Adealaide and a divine little carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for me.  It was dropped off by a friend who, no doubt, remembers all too well the insatiable hunger of the breast feeding mother.  I can't tell you how excited I was to open the box and see that sweet little cake sitting there.

I'm off to have the last slice now.