The Panda is Back!

 The Panda is back!  After four weeks absence, it is wonderful to have our family back together.  Something has to 'give' when he is away, and computer time is it. 

I have also really taken to heart Clutterpunk's montasking ethos, and have tried to give up feeling like I should be doing something else, or just more.  So, this is what I have been enjoying lately...

 

Lots of rain, and I have resigned myself to repeatedly fetching towels and putting clothes in the washing machine.

 

I have continued to entertain myself with painting names and graphics on things to skate in (nobody does THAT much skating though!)

 

I'm quilting the worst kept secret quilt in the world.

 

The quilt of disarray stalled for a while, until I figured out the problem- it was all too neat, the leaves too flat and perfect.  So I shoved  them in a sock and put them through the wash. Now they are slightly frayed, slightly crumpled and crunchy looking - perfect!

The Sunshine Award Game

Good Morning!  I have been tagged in the sunshine award game by Emma at Frog, Goose and Bear.
I have to tell you seven things that you may not know about me.  So here we go:

1. I didn't eat mushrooms for about five years after mistaking a slug for a mushroom.
2. The work I'm most proud of is this quilt I made 100% by hand for my Dad.  It is the view of some ruins as seen through the crumbling stonework of another ruined building.  It is based on the cover photograph from his book, Farina From Gibbers to Ghost Town.

3. I got my car licence when I was 31 and had 3 children.  Before that, I rode a vespa style scooter around Melbourne.
4. My favourite book is The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
5. I was Dux of my high school, dropped out half way through my uni degree, then worked at McDonalds.
6. When I was younger, I was always self conscious of my rosy red cheeks.
7. I love singing very loudly, but only do so occasionally when I'm excited about something.

And now I'm passing on the award to:
Made in Australia by Stephanie
All Toile and No Reward
Art and Sole
 I've only picked three as the spawn are nipping at my heels, but I look forward to finding a little more about you all!  Completely no pressure though! 

Goodbye Dad

It has now been about seven weeks since my father died, and it is really sinking in now that he is dead. It sounds strange, because I knew that, but now as time goes on and he doesn't call to nag me, and everytime I think "I'll tell Dad! No wait, I can't" it is really, slowly, penetrating through that this is the world without him now. When I was in high school I wrote this poem:

Parents 
Like an old white shirt now frayed and anaemic,
From too much wear,
My parents have lost their starch.
Limp and pilled, strained seams and loose buttons,
They're collar-grimed.
Too much stress and tugging children,
Have caused their inner pockets,
Unfaded,
To stand out and show how time,
Has leeched their life,
Depositing lint in its place.
Eventually they'll be shoved in a cupboard as rags,
And the offspring that pulled them apart,
Will only come when an old rag is needed,
Heedless of the shirt, it used to be.

I wrote this about my parents, but now its about me! And I think I'm ready to cut up Dad's old shirt, and make sure the memory of him remains a part of the fabric of mine and mum's life. "For fabric thou art, unto fabric shall thou return."

Current Quilt

So, at the moment I'm working on a scrap quilt for my mother. I'm using all of the scraps from the quilts I've made for my children. I am using a bluebird because when we were children my mum used to sing to us "there'll be bluebirds over, the white cliffs of Dover". I am also intending to use one of my recently deceased father's shirts in the quilt - when I am ready to cut it up!
   I spent last night painting my roller derby name onto the back of a romper I got for $1. All the donated clothes they can't sell at their op-shop, they sell for $1 each at this warehouse shop, and kids clothes are all 50c. Its like a factory outlet for an op-shop, you can't get cheaper than that!
  My last success story for this post is my couscous recipe. I love couscous because all you have to do is pour the kettle and wait 2 minutes. But the celebrity chef pre-spiced mix is really expensive, so I tried my own and it turned out even better! I serve it as-is to the kids, and for Panda (my husband) and I add salad vege, leftover roast vege, tinned vege, tuna, ham, chicken, pretty much whatever I have in the house. So now I will share it with you!  
Screamstress' Couscous Emergency Mix
Add the following to one kilogram of plain dried couscous, then to prepare add equal parts couscous and boiling water to a bowl.

• 4 tsp ground cumin,
• 4 tsp ground coriander,
• 2 tsp paprika,
• 3 tsp vegetable stock powder,
• 2 tbs dried onion,
• 1 tbs dried garlic,
• 2 tbs dried parsley,
• sunflower seeds.