Theoretic Gal ~ Textiles ~

Updating a teen bedroom.

Technically monsterboy is not a teen but it is only a few short months away. We already have the sullen moods, desire to wear only cool clothes, playing of music until the wee hours and knowing the obligatory can we paint my bedroom black so it looks like a cave conversation is coming up I decided to head him off at the pass.

We lease our current abode and whilst we are on a house hunt but that may take a while.  We could have survived  the bedroom as it was but MB had refused to sleep in his loft bed thereby creating a reason to do a little makeover. Like most rentals it was well past due needing a re-paint and as we have permission to do so who could knock back dome painting practice.
We decided against a dramatic change as occurred in the nursery as  the previous colour wasn't that bad. The room still needs more sorting out but it is essentially finished.

Before:

After:

Details:
Dimensions of room: 3.9m by 3.9m
Feature wall: Blik/Threadless: We're not Savages  based on Lord of the Flies
Paint: Original ( horrid) beige/cream 
          Green was freshened up with Dulux Chromatic grey range : Knave
Bed: Black futon that was previously used as a couch/spare bed in the room.
Linen: Aura in Jak black
Book shelves: Ikea Billy in brown-black
Shelf unit/desk:  Ikea Expedit and deck in brown black
Chest: Ikea Malm in brown black  --- can we see a theme developing yet?
Bedside table: Ikea Kullen in, you guessed it... brown-black.
Extra's mostly Ikea, Officeworks or previously owned items.

Not shown is a corner behind the door with a doorless Ikea Pax wardrobe  in the wrong colour which I will make a black curtain for. We didn't see any sense in changing that as it is hidden by the door most of the time and we will be moving once we find a place and we have it livable.

All in all we are reasonably pleased with the transformation. Most importantly Mr D is ecstatic.

Lessons my toddler taught me

Setting the scene:
Mr C was being incredibly cute dressing up in his big brothers clothes so I go to grab my mobile to send a snap to his Dad to brighten what looks like being a crummy day. For some reason the mobile won't turn on even though it has been on charge overnight so I whip off the cover thinking the battery isn't connecting properly only to find there is no battery. :eek:
Ring DH he knows nothing about it. So knowing my weird obsession with finding lost things I will have to turn the house upside down to find it. Wondering how I will manage that with a toddler in tow?

Solution:
I grab the highchair strap mr C in and give him a  big pack of his big brothers old pencils and some paper.

Results:
Apparently there was more than just pencils in the pack.

Being cheap school felt tips they aren't toddler friendly i.e not easily washable.
So now I have a child who looks like he is trying out for the part as the Jokers colourblind younger self for the next Batman movie.

And I still haven't found my mobile battery.

Portraits of my treasured boys

All photos were taken by the talented Tina Giorgio.
All rights reserved.

Slide-together : now with cards

Slide-together : now with cards
Originally uploaded by fdecomite

I am such a geek but I really want one of these for my office.

Wonder if I can hint enough and the 12 year old will make one for mothers day.

Toddler tantrums- the beginning

I knew mr C was going to be a handful  but boy did I underestimate just how much of a handful.

In many ways he is so much better than his big brother.
He has had some periods of sleeping through which are heavenly and has started to settle into daycare a lot quicker than Mr D ever did.
But he  has already been showing signs of being a huge tantrum thrower something I have never really had to deal with. I always thought is was my fabulous parenting skills,  obviously I was wrong :-)

Exhibit 1:

He has been rather obstinate about running away when we are out and we have been concerned about this as he has the typical toddler self-preservation. Namely none.
Enter the cute backpack that has a parental rein and  handle at the top to grab him if he is in danger.

Obviously from the picture above he doesn't go much on the idea.
25 minutes of screaming later I took it off and we have had the same reaction every time we try it.

Exhibit 2:

Seeing as we are running for the position of Australian funkiest parents I was quick off the mark and scored some  fabulous pre-sale tickets for Yo Gabba Gabba. Our favourite children's tv program.
He loved it

 

 

for about 10 minutes then he cracked it until I let him play with my bag, missing the opportunity to hi-5 DJ Lance.

 

Exhibit 3-3000:
I need to take pictures/video of him full tantrum.
It happens numerous times every day. If I dont let him have my phone/remote/keys etc it is the end of the world: Screaming, crying, throwing himself at me, thowing himself onto the floor etc.
I do not give in but so far that isn't making any difference.

Luckily for him there are plenty of moments like this.

and this

Project and a half.

Sometimes you come across the most amazing project that you just can not get  it out of your head, however impractical it actually is.

This caravan recently on UK Ebay took  my muse hostage.

Now I am not a camping girl and the thought of packing everything up to circumnavigate Australia  or anywhere else  just isn't appealing. Not to mention the fact that I could never get DH to join me due to traumatic years he spent trying to study by lamplight in a tent whilst his parents built a house.

But a  cute retro caravan, renovated to perfection as a cool cubby-  now that is my kind of mega-project.
Check out how cool it is inside.

How I ended up checking out this great little Caravan is one of those mysteries. I can't recall whether it was mentioned on a blog or  found via a google search for particular fabrics but it wove it's way into my creative consciousness so I kept going back to it.

Now I just need a great retro caravan, a place to put it and a year or two of 48 hour days to complete it.

 

Lights, Camera, Stay still.

I love photography even though I am not very good at it.

I have recently been thinking about adding to my lens collection.
I have  the Older Canon 400D body which I purchased in 2007 with a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens and a EFS 50mm f/1.8 II  (not the standard lens bundle)
Now it is time to add a telephoto into the mix and I let the salesperson talk me into real cheapie.
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Lens
I normal do a lot of research before I buy things and this time I didn't.
They have a 14 day replacement policy and I am considering it but what to buy is the big question.
Here are a couple of the better pictures taken with it on from the weekend

I also replaced my old compact a Nikon coolpix with  a Panasonic TZ-6 as I need a throw it in my handbag camera.

The pictures are ok  but the lag on compacts make it  harder to capture great action shot with a busy toddler.

Works ok for stationary items.

Autumnal delights.

I love Autumn. Of all seasons it is my favourite.
The wonderful colours of falling leaves,
the crisp mornings but delightful sunny days,
the snuggly nights that aren't too cold,
the gorgeous late afternoon light
but most of all the produce.

Pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, swede, turnips, beets, apples, pears,quinces, citrus, fresh beans.

What better way to welcome the cooler weather than big pots of steaming soup.

I have a ritual of going to the market on Saturday mornings  and in winter that means coming home to make up the weeks stock. I love making stock, I know that is a bit weird when you can buy reasonable stock by the tetrapak at the supermarket but there is nothing like filling your house with the aroma of a really good stock bubbling away to make it feel like home.

As I am unpacking the days purchases, the chicken frames or beef bones go into the oven to brown along with some whole garlic and onions.
I  then pop that in the stockpot along with an assortment of stock veg: carrots, leeks, celery
and the herb will depends on what I am planning

Basic stock gets bay leaves, parsley, peppercorns and thyme
Asian stocks get coriander roots, lemon grass maybe a star anise, cassia bark, kaffir lime

Then I let it simmer for 4 or so hours very gently with lid on.
It is then strained and returned to the pot to reduce with lid off until volume is halved.
At this stage it is a fabulously robust and ready for the fridge or freezer.
Beef stock in particular needs to be refrigerated so the fat can settle on top and you can just skim it off.

I have so many soups that I love that I rarely make a repeat boiling. It helps that I tend to make soup in  batches of 5-10 litres so there is always a choice in the freezer ready for a quick meal.

Tonight I am using those lovely  fresh borlotti beans and root vegetables  to make a simple but hearty soup.
Finely dice, 2 carrots, a parsnip, 1 medium onion, 2 sticks celery.
Saute these in  a little olive oil
then add   4 litres of stick, borlotti beans plus a few peppercorns and  bay leaves.
Simmer for 45-60 minutes until beans are tender.

At this stage you can add diced zucchini, squash,  small pieces of broccoli ,cauliflower or beans.
pretty much anything seasonal that isn't going to overpower the soup.
Simmer for another 15 minutes and serve with crusty bread.

 

The Parcel Delivery Man.

In our neighborhood our parcel delivery man is such a lovely fellow.
Not only does he bring a whole host of internet purchases,  he is such an amicable fellow with a cheeky grin and lovely north English  working class accent.

He happily drops off parcels, jokes about what could be the next big arrival. Another pram perhaps ???  He even gets worried when I haven't had a delivery for a while.

Yesterday he came with  3 parcels. A fairly normal assortment for our household.
I had plenty of spare gymbucks and the boys offering bored me. So I purchased some cute summer outfits from a friend's daughter.
I am sure she will love them come spring. It was fun unpacking the gorgeous girls things for a change.

Package 2 was Sublime. Literally a package of Sublime knitting books and Baby cashmerino yarn.

I have been thinking of knitting this cute cardi for ages.

I know the project will probably be stashed and may be finally made when I have great-grandchildren but it makes me happy to think if I feel the urge it is ready to be cast on.

The third package was  me trying to get a little bit of sanity back into my life.

We tried baby jail and that never worked. Renting really sucks when you have an inquisitive toddler.
We have this silly sunken living room which lead to constant barrage of Where is mr C? What is C up to?
So I bit the bullet and purchased a wide gate to block off the lounge.
I am hoping this may lead to small snippets of time where I may be able to knit whilst he happily plays but I won't hold my breath.

Currently I am still working on the teeny preemie beanie to match the booties.
I managed  to sneakily measure his head at mothers group yesterday. Now I can be confident that it won't be too small. 
You never know I may get it finished before he's too big for it.

My #1 top pattern available for download

Jalie 2005
one of my favourite all time top patterns is now available as a download.

It is a nice skinny high armhole top. Perfect for modern lycra knits.
Great value at under $US9 for sizes toddler 2 to a generous women's 26

Ok so printing out and taping together patterns isn't the most fun you can have in a sewing room  but it does mean no waiting for Canadian post to arrive.