Welcome back to Everything’s Famtastic! I don’t know whether you saw my post last week? You know, the one where I interviewed a great bunch of sewing bloggers, about how they got started sewing? Well, that turned out to be Part One of my interview with them all. You can read that post here and learn about what made these women, first learn to sew.
People new to the sewing world (sewing newbies, as I affectionately say) often ask themselves questions like “What should I sew as a beginner?” or “How do I get started sewing?” and “Why is sewing a good hobby?” or “Why is sewing good for me?”.
This post- my Part Two of interviewing these ladies- is full of plentiful ideas to answer exactly those questions! (Be prepared to have your creative curiosity awakened!! 😉)
Wowsers! These past couple of weeks have been busy around here. In between being sick myself (hello ear infection and sinusitis!) I have been frantically sewing costumes for the kids to wear to Karneval celebrations. In fact, for the most part, the children dreamed up the costume ideas for themselves. Heck, Miss 8 even designed her own dress, pointed at the sketches and said “This!”. Yes ma’am!
Now that the rush of Karneval is over and the more sober time of Lent is upon us, I can get back to working my way through the endless mountains organised piles of fabrics 😉 to complete some cool, everyday clothes for the kids. Maybe even something for myself! *gasp*
In this now less-time-pressured week, I find that I am REALLY enjoying sitting down at the machine again. Not that churning out original kids’ costumes isn’t fun. But since there were no patterns as such, and a lot of planning, guesswork and occasional cross-fingers-and-hope-for-the-best involved, it’s nice to have a clear pattern and no deadline to work with.
Which got
me thinking back to some of my first ever sewing projects and why I took up
sewing in the first place. I mean, why is it that sewing is so beloved by so
many people? (Witness the gazillions of pins in Pinterest or sewing memes on
Instagram).
In today’s post I am going to show you how you can create a totally cool tiger costume, without actually having a pattern for a tiger costume. “Huh? How does that work?”, you ask. Ahh, that’s the magic of sewing! 😉
Perhaps you’re even asking why it is that I am sewing a tiger costume or why I am sharing this with you today.
Well, answering the second part of that is easy. Why share? Because I am not one to keep a good sewing tip to myself! I love to support you in getting creative with your sewing machine and sewing things that will make you smile! And I love a good work-around; when the pattern doesn’t match exactly what I’m trying to achieve, then it’s the pattern that has to change, not my goal. That’s why I’m eager to share so many sewing ideas, tips and cheats with you (you can find more under the “Sewing” category on the menu bar above ☝).
And why am I sewing a costume at all? Well, Karneval is coming in a couple of weeks! In case you’re not familiar with what Karneval in Germany means (especially from a non-German’s perspective), be sure to check out my post here. Karneval is a BIG deal in many parts of Germany and for the cities’ colourful parades, getting dressed up in costumes is practically a must (at least for children it is!!).
Because I
am able to sew, and for the time being my kids actually like and enjoy
what I can create, I am the one responsible for coming up with the goods. Hence
the DIY, sew a tiger costume as my current sewing project.
I promised
to show you how to make one without a pattern, right? Well then, read on…
Wait!
What?!? Are we in February already? Whoa! I have been working countless hours
behind the scenes here on Everything’s Famtastic, studying and planning and preparing great content to serve
you better. And I was starting to think that February might have been a little
sewing-biased. And that would have been OK. But no! Not anymore!
My younger
daughter decided that enough was enough. She was waiting no longer to have her
turn in the spotlight like her bigger sister before her. So for this week,
sewing chit chat is off the table, and children’s book reviews are the thing everyone
is talking about.
If you remember, a few weeks back my eldest daughter (Miss 11) wanted to create a post reviewing her personally chosen and recommended book series for girls aged 9 to 12 years old. I was responsible for the general blurb, she wrote the review entirely independently. I’ve gotta say, I was REALLY proud of her and I’ve received a lot of positive feedback for her reviews 😊. *pat on the back Miss 11*
Not only
our eldest daughter, but also our younger daughter and son are all complete and
utter bookworms. Hand them a half-interesting book and it may well be finished
within hours. Naturally Miss 8 (and Master 6, to be honest) also want to share
their opinions of the best books to read. And by share, I mean, write a review
here on this very blog. Who said the fam in FAMtastic didn’t stand for family?!?
So, without
further ado, come and take a look at Miss 8’s recommended, best book series for
6 to 9 year old girls! I’m really
excited that she wants to get on board with my blog! Read on…
Hey, welcome back to Everything’s Famtastic! I hope you’re having a great week! We have been busy enjoying our delicious, homemade lamingtons that I baked with the kids last Sunday for Australia Day. They are sooo good! And the kids had a blast helping out in the kitchen too 😉. We had quite the production line set up…
But, this
week I want to have a break from talking kids stuff (cooking with kids, books
for kids, sick kids, school holidays…) and talk about something else that you can get excited about: SEWING!
Have you
ever wanted to learn how to sew? Perhaps your first test-drive of a sewing machine
was back in high school. Perhaps you’ve nervously left your sewing machine in its box, untouched since you discovered
it under the Christmas tree. Or maybe you have been experimenting with your
machine for a little while but have yet to get into the swing of things because
you’re unsure what
to do.
Well, you’ve come to the right place! Here I’d love to share a brilliant list full
of advice for sewing beginners just like you. Like I wish I’d heard a couple of years back when
I was starting out. These tips will help you to get confident to use your
machine and successfully complete projects without the stress and hair-pulling!
Once you’ve read through this list, there’ll be no excuses to not sit yourself
down at your sewing machine, turn it on with confidence and get started!
Man, oh, man! This week has been an entirely different one to the last. Last week I was home with an ill Master 6 the whole week. My little guy is healthy and back at kindy and bouncing off the walls again (er, unsure whether the second thing is positive or not) and I have had some time to get back into the swing of keeping things here under control. Or at least, that’s my illusion and I’m sticking to it! 😉
While my son is busy burning off excess energy, I am burning off some energy too, both the physical and mental kind. Physical, because one of my goals for the year was to hit the gym twice a week and I can proudly report back: so far so good.
And the mental energy? I am reworking my sewing space! After a couple of trips to Ikea, you know, “just to pick up a couple of things” 😉 and coming home with new bedsheets, a cutlery drawer insert and some magazine holders, I also bought a new shelf and storage system for my sewing area. So plans are being hatched about how to use the space most effectively and let me get back into my favourite hobby *evil laugh while tapping fingertips together*. I am VERY excited! Stay tuned, I will be showing off the results shortly.
But as we all know, being a mother is rarely “about me”
and this post is no different. What we ALL are getting excited about is: this
weekend. This coming Sunday, January 26th, is Australia Day!
Yes, this Australia Day I will be baking, not partying. But the kids are BUSTING not only to be able to eat lamingtons again but also to help make them. And we do like creating fun food in the kitchen together. Especially treats like these 🙂.
Wait! What? You didn’t know Australia had a national holiday? And you don’t know what lamingtons even are?!? Ok, let me go back
a few steps…
Today I am
sharing some private details of my “Mum Life” with 3 kids.
To be clearer: My life. This week. With 3 children. One of whom was sick. Oh,
and Hubby was on the road for work for a couple of days.
Let’s just let go of our inhibitions and
get crystal clear here what I have been up to: This week I had my- gloved! Hey!
I still have some dignity 😉- hands in some gigantic puddles of
vomit.
There. I
said it.
Are you
still with me? Or are you running for the bathroom already?!?
Why did I
have my hands in the re-runs of someone else’s lunch? Because I’m a mum. And that’s what we do. Not because it’s fun. But because there is a child
who needs you and there’s a job to be
done and you just do it.
So between
the tears and vomit and frustration and breaking heart and a scared little face,
is there anything positive to be found in looking after your sick child?
Well, yes
and no. One of those “Is the glass
half empty or half full” paradoxical
type of situations, you know? It depends how you look at it…
Hellooooo!
Here we meet again, on the other side of New Year’s Eve! Happy New Year! Welcome to 2020
and your new decade 😊.
Last week I was so pumped up, so excited to think about the past year and write down some concrete plans for how I wanted my 2020 to look. I wrote all about how I’ll be having a great year here, do you remember? Now my questions for YOU: did you do that activity I recommended, about writing down 10 proud achievements from last year and 10 new goals for this year? If you did, well then *big hug* for you. What’s on your list? Are you excited about it too? If you didn’t, well don’t fret. There’s 51 weeks of the year left for you to work on your goals 😉.
I am absolutely
serious about my intentions to have a brilliant 2020. But there is also a flip
side to all celebrations and festivities at this time of year, despite me
throwing around words like “brilliant” and “great” and “pumped up”.
I am
Australian but have been living in Germany with my German Hubby for 14 years
now. And Germany is a looooong way from Australia, right?…
That means
every Christmas and New Year we can spend with only one half of our families
and friends; either the Aussie ones or the German ones here. And of course, a
hot, summery Australian Christmas spent outdoors is an entirely different thing
to a cold German winter one!
I have written quite a few posts before about the internal conflicts experienced by most expats (including myself!), such as this one here, but this time of year can definitely be a bit tougher for us expats so far from “home”. Living in a foreign country may sounds glamorous and fascinating, but not every real life day is like that 😉. (Don’t let social media fool you 😉.) Even more than the usual fluctuating, mildy homesick, funk over Christmas and New Year has been affecting me these last weeks though.
Why?
Because my “home” is burning. And I can’t be there.
You’ve probably seen this photo in every newspaper article and on all your social media the last days. Photo Credit: Matthew Abbott for The New York Times.
Sounds odd, maybe? Why would I want to be where those fires are and not a million miles away?!?
Christmas
is over and New Year’s Day is upon
us. People the world over are reflecting on the past year, preparing celebrations
for New Year’s Eve and dreaming
up New Year’s resolutions
and goals for the coming 12 months.
Not only will
this be the start of a new year, 2020. But it is also the start of a new decade!
Wowsers! Can you remember what you were doing 10 years ago? A helluva lot can
happen in 10 years!!! Can you remember even 20 years ago, when it was a new
year, a new decade and a new millennium all wrapped up in one fateful night?
(Remember the much-feared Y2K bug that was surely going to bring the world to
it’s knees… but then didn’t?!?).
New Year’s resolutions are always seen as
being this big thing. Another 12 months full of endless possibilities! New
year, new beginnings, new habits…
I find the idea
of New Year’s resolutions
to be a little bit wishy-washy. Sort of, “I am sure I want to go to the
gym more this year” or “I really want to stress less
this year”. Admirable
ideas? Absolutely! But with no plan behind those vague statements to support your
resolutions, it’s no shock when
you can’t actually say with
clarity at the end of the year that you succeeded. Perhaps making an entire
year dependent on some well-meaning resolutions made whilst tipsy on the last
day of the year is not the best way to go about reaching your goals in the next
one…
I’m not going to pretend it’s not happening: Christmas is coming!!
In less than a week folks! How organised are you? Have you already
bought all of the presents you had planned to? Or are you still desperately
trying to come up with some original Christmas gift ideas?
Ok, let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?
Buying
gifts for Christmas, en masse (but birthdays too) can be stressful. You’re daydreaming of having a few days
off work. Maybe planning what you are going to feed everybody. The shops are
full. It seems that every other person in your town is out there RIGHT NOW
doing the same harried shopping trip. If you’re lucky you can go shopping alone,
without the kids who GUARANTEED will see more things to add to their Christmas
wish list. And if it’s a successful
shop, you have to lug it all home, wrap the gifts and hide them somewhere (don’t forget to remember WHERE!!!) until
Christmas.
If you are trying to be even the least bit conscious of reducing the plastic packaging and waste in your household (like we have been trying to do. Here you can read about some small steps to try to get started!), it all feels like a big, dirty contradiction.
So is there
anything you can do, to still enjoy gift-giving this holiday season without the
shopping mall stress and mounds of paper, packaging and plastic? Sure there is!!!
