TropicalSoup

Little Crash has earned his nickname this week...

We were at a young friend's birthday party at our local aquatic centre when Cole slipped pulling himself out of the pool. His right eyelid broke his fall. Yeowtch! Poor little dude got quite a fright, and we are so very lucky that the concrete edging hit exactly where it did and not lower over his eyeball or just above on his brow bone. not so lucky was my decision to take white towels that day - not so much from a laundry perspective, but more because the blood was just so obvious to everyone, especially to Cole. As it was, the gash was about 3/4 of an inch. He stayed on my lap with an ice pack for a while - adamant he was not leaving to go anywhere until the party was finished! - and actually asked to get back in the pool for the last 10 minutes.

As soon as the party was finished, he, Imogen and I paid a visit to the A&E clinic where Cole was treated and we managed to avoid stitches (yay!) thanks to the miracle of purple glue and some well placed steri strips. [and fyi for those of you who find yourself with a child about to be the recipient of some purple glue - it stings as it lands on the skin. Really stings. It's just for a moment, but enough to make a small boy squeal and wince and get all his eyelashes stuck in the glue if the nurse doesn't forewarn you. Sometimes, a headlock is a sign of love.] Since then, our Little Crash (he's thrilled to have *earned* that nickname - his dad is known to many as Crash Campbell, for some very good (very high impact!) reasons!) has been healing really well, with few complaints about the wound stinging or being generally uncomfortable. He also hasn't had anywhere near the black eyes I was expecting.

And then this morning he took a tumble at Montessori, and whacked his cheek and chin on the edge of a concrete block. So the right side of his face is quite the picture - bandaged eyelid, swollen cheek (both inside and out), a few scrapes and nice heart graze under his chin. Poor little dude. As you can see from these pics though, it's not affecting his cheeky humour or love of life unduly. And his teachers even offered to chip in for a full head helmet and padded bodysuit!

More gifty things

September's a pretty birthday-heavy month around these parts - nobody in the house celebrates then, but it's a positive onslaught of birthday balloons and candles amongst the extended family. This is a wee gift I made for D's lovely mother, who adores roses.

I twisted and stacked a few shades of sliver together, and then partially needle felted small rounds and smaller *buds* onto grey wool blanketing, with some olive green felt leaves added - the larger leaves have veins embroidered on them. This was all popped into a hoop (yes, apparently hoops are sponsoring this wee's posts!) which I backed with felt, and added a ribbon for hanging/ decoration. Hopefully Catherine realises the hoop is a decorative accent and doesn't just think I was running so last minute I sent it mid-creation! [Does partially needle felting roving/sliver into something sorta kinda meant to look like roses make me brilliant or lazy?]

Gift giving angst

Recently these 2 loons celebrated a birthday - on Friday in fact - and whilst they are now 25, I still catch myself thinking of them as my baby sisters, the little wee mischief makers that toddled around after me and were constantly mistaken for each other.

I find gift giving for these 2 so tricky - I usually spend months thinking up different ideas but,  crippled by indecision, get things finished only just in the nick of time (and sometimes not even that early!), never quite sure whether what I decided in the end was a good choice or not. Ack - somebody stop me!

This year was something simple (but, I hoped, fun and cute)...and as so often happens, the gifts ended up being very similar...a testament to the fact they are very similar people with similar tastes in a lot of ways, rather than that they are twins! Both pieces ended up in a small embroidery hoop, with a ribbon loop for hanging but, being in a rush at the last minute to find hoops the right size etc, the wee bunny was still homeless when I snapped her pic.

Happy birthday, sniffles and peanut! xx

oops

Sorry possums - I'm not even sure where the past 10 days or so have gone...though the terms blue, arse, and fly come to mind (apologies to readers of a more sensitive disposition!) Rest assured we've all been busy, though it's been lovely to do a few things en famille as well. And on Sunday, that meant the munchkins and I got to go and watch D perform a few songs with a local blues band, playing blues harmonica.

And afterwards (always my favourite part!) D moved on to the drums on the empty stage (the venue was just closing up) and his two favourite band members got out their harps and jammed with him. Ridiculously cute, albeit heavy on the loudly out of time and tune end of things!

(see that funky eye adornment on wee Cole? Tell you all about that medical adventure tomorrow!)

Given what a natural bar-leaner she seems to be at the ripe old age of 4 (she's enjoying the sacred raspberry lemonade that-is-only-found-at-this-venue-and-don't-you-dare-let-on-any-different!), I am more than somewhat nervous about the coming years with miss Imogen!

The problem with Christmas downunder

I know I know, I said Christmas. Out loud. In September. In the post title. Sorry, that's just mean. But I have been starting to think* about the holiday gift giving season, and about what to make people for it - I want to try and do another (almost completely) handmade holiday. I have this crazy spreadsheet list that I do each year, with all my big ideas on it. And sometimes some of them even get done! woot.

So here's where I get stuck - there are so many gift ideas that I would love to make that seem (are?) more Wintery in nature - funky fingerless gloves for the preteens and groovy womenfolk, cute hotwater bottles and their own knitted cosies for grandparents and others who feel the cold, scarves, beanies...they just all seem to lend themselves to nice, relatively quick, and endlessly personalised gifts. But does giving this sort of thing at the start of our warmest Season just make me look a bit loopy? What do you think? (For those of you Northern folk, would you look askance if someone gifted you a new beach towel or BBQ equipment whilst the snowstorms raged outside?) I know it's not like there aren't plenty of non-Wintery gifts to be made, but I guess I'm just wondering how many years in a row I can make quilted pot holders as gifts, however funky and bright they may be! Or do I go wild and branch out into quilted coasters?

*Disclaimer: I am thinking about it already. That means that in all likelihood there will be no shift to actually doing anything until, oh, the day before postal/holiday deadlines. I mean, that's the real reason Christmas Eve exists, right???

My Creative Space

today's creative space, originally uploaded by tropicalsoup.

A little frolic through the funghi for today's creative space - the beginnings of a little something. I've been missing some hand work, and it was so nice to slow down and enjoy the pace of handstitching for a change. Of course, now I have plans...big plans...!

For more creative spaces, check out the lovely Kirsty's space, Kootoyou.

That big-ass quilt top

Remember that pile of Anna Maria Horner (and the odd solid) blocks that I had all spread out hither and yon a while back? I finished putting the top together, a few weeks ago now, and it's been patiently hanging over my studio door, waiting for a photo op, and for me to figure out how on earth I'm going to quilt it. Oh yeah, and make a backing!

Forgive the photo - it's a cold wet, dark and miserable day here, and the colours are not as saturated as in real life. Also, the classy wool blanket hanging out underneath it all? That would be our attempts to lure the cats away from shredding the bed base until such time as I get my A into G and make a bedskirt out of a suitably thick and cat-repellant material. Just like on BH&G, guffaw!

Anyway, this quilt is going to be huge - huger than huge. For reference, the bed is a super king (that's what you get when you take a woman gestating twins bed shopping. I love it!), and each block is 7.5" finished. The quilt is 15 blocks wide and 14 blocks high (so 105x 112 inches! good grief). Lots of overhang makes for a snuggly quilt that everyone gets enough of, but it actually scares me a little, the prospects of quilting it. In fact, I think I have finally come to the conclusion I am not going to be able to quilt this puppy myself - there simply isn't enough space in the throat plate of my dear wee Bernina to do the job.

If this was your quilt, how would you want it quilted?

Slowly slowly

magnolia bud, originally uploaded by tropicalsoup.

We are slowly returning to the land of the living. I still feel a little like the possum who was surprised on the road by a logging truck, but thankfully C & I are both back to bouncing around, with a spring in their steps and fever-free colour in their cheeks. Yay! Now if I could just get my body to have half the energy my inspiration overloaded mind requires (why do you also think of eleventy billion fabulous things to make when you're so sick you need to have a rest just walking to the kitchen, never mind the energy to work magic with a needle and thread!), we'd be golden!